"4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."
Ephesians 4:4-7
If we begin with the essentials mentioned in yesterday's Note we shall immediately find ourselves turning to Paul's earlier concept of 'the household of God,' which means the family of God. This has necessary implications: the unity of the Spirit is not like a natural bond of friendship in which people accept one another on various levels and for various reasons; rather, it is like a family relationship in which we do not really have a choice. We are born into a family, and although we may disagree with members of our family, we cannot get rid of the relationship, or opt out of it. It is a matter of blood. Furthermore, it is of the essence of a family that we do not, and cannot, 'join' it; we are born into a family, and we do not have a say in becoming part of it. And in the Christian sense, Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are one by virtue of the family bond, and they do not have to try to be one. And they are required, by family rules, to be what they are, to the best of their ability. The fundamental basis, therefore, of unity, in practical terms, is spiritual life. If we are children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus, we are one in Him. Following from this, we must add that with regard to the teaching of Ephesians as a whole, this unity is presupposed throughout, from 1:10 onwards, where Paul speaks of all things being gathered together in one in Christ. This is what Paul continues to expound in this chapter: in 1-3 he makes his general appeal for unity on the basis of what Christ has made us; in 4-6, he describes the nature of the unity; in 7-12 he describes the variety and diversity in the unity, and the means which God has taken to preserve it; and finally, in 13-16, he describes the unity in its ultimate full realisation and flowering.