Common Christianity

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4-6, NASB).

I had been thinking about what all Christians share in common when the apostle Paul's words came to my mind.

One Body--A people who have been changed by the message of Jesus Christ. We share the following...

One Spirit--The Holy Spirit lives within each member of the body of Christ, prompting us to express greater levels of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. He has provided us with the Scriptures to assist us in knowing Christ and to guide us in following him.

One Hope---We live with the anticipation of seeing the return of Jesus Christ, the one we admire and respect and love above all other people.

One Lord---The body of Christ responds to the directions of our one Lord, Jesus Christ. He has earned our obedience in becoming a man and suffering the punishment that we deserve for our sins. When he returned to life, Jesus demonstrated that he was worth following.

One Faith---We trust in Jesus rather than our own good works, our own good intentions, or our own good ideas. Our one faith is placed in the one who has proven himself to be completely trustworthy, the Lord who is accurately revealed in the Bible.

One Baptism---Followers of Christ have been motivated by faith in Jesus and by repentance to be immersed in water as Jesus taught. In a way that symbolizes burial and resurrection, our immersion marks the end of our lives without God and the beginning of our lives of following Jesus Christ.

One God and Father---Each member of the body of Christ enjoys a father/child relationship with the Creator of the universe. We have the honor of being in the family of the most honorable of all.

While every Christian is unique, we have some powerful bonds holding us together and making us one.