Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
In the fourth chapter of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul
beseeches (or begs) all believers to walk worthy of the vocation (or calling)
that in which they were called. And to endeavor to “keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, writes down seven unities. They are the one body, one Spirit, one hope,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. Today, we’ll
just look at the three in verse number five.
One Lord
The one Lord is of course referring to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ is the one true God.
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He is God manifest in the flesh (John 1:1-3,14)
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He is the creator of all things (Col. 1:16)
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He is the mediator between God and men (1 Tim.
2:5)
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He is the King of kings, Lord of lords (1 Tim.
6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16)
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He is our Savior (Titus 2:13)
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He shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6) when He
comes back to the earth to setup His kingdom
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He is the Head of the Church, which is His body
(the Body of Christ) (Eph. 1:22,23). Believers today, under the Dispensation of
Grace, are members of His body (1 Cor. 12:12,13).
One faith
The one faith is what we believe today (the one faith that
saved us). It is the preaching (or the message) of the cross (1 Cor. 1:18). It
was a free gift given by God to us by His grace. We don’t deserve eternal life,
instead we deserve death. But, God has provided eternal life as a free gift
through the work that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did on the cross. He
died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Cor. 15:3,4). He
was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification
(Rom. 4:25).
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Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
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Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in
mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
One baptism
The one baptism is a spirit baptism. There are many baptisms
mentioned in the Bible (both wet and dry baptisms). The word baptism simply
means identification. There is only one baptism for the Dispensation of the
Grace of God (Eph. 3:2; 4:5). This baptism is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 12
and verse 13.
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1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are
we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we
be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
We, members of Christ’s body, were all baptized by one
Spirit (the Holy Spirit) into one body. In the above verse we have three of the
seven unities of the Spirit. There is the one Spirit (who does the work of
baptizing). There is the one body (where every believer is placed into). The
one baptism is the actual work itself that the Spirit does to identify each
believer into the one body. The Spirit identifies us with Christ’s death,
burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:1-4). Since Christ died, was buried, and rose
again, then so did we. We too died with Christ, were buried with Him, and then
we rose from the dead with Christ.
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Galatians 2:20-21 I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
We are crucified with Christ, and we also now have new life
because of Christ rising from the dead. His resurrection is the proof that His
death did satisfy as the payment for our sins.
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Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to
be a propitiation [satisfaction] through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance
of God;
In conclusion, we are saved by the one Lord that came to die
for all, who gave His life a ransom for all (1 Tim. 2:4-6), by believing or
putting our trust in the one faith that Christ died for our sins, was buried,
and rose again the third day and then being baptized that very same moment that
we believed by the one baptism that the Spirit identifies each believer into
the Body of Christ. Now, let’s go back the other way. We are baptized with the
one baptism by the one Spirit into the one Body because we believed the one
faith that saves us, which was provided as a free gift by the one Lord that
came into this world to save sinners.
Praise and glory to God!
