“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” — Ephesians 4:4-6.
THE Church of God is defined as “the fellowship of His Son” in 1 Corinthians 1:9. This Church is composed only of those who have personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They alone constitute “the Church, which is His Body” (Eph. 1:22, 23). This Body was formed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12, 13). It is therefore the communion, or fellowship, of the Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). It is He who unites believers and gives them to enjoy the precious things of Christ. It is therefore incumbent on us, as Christians, to endeavor to keep (which implies, to manifest) “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). This unity is sevenfold, as indicated in the verses quoted above. It is not a sectarian unity, nor a question of loyalty to some one particular denomination. It is the recognition of all Christians everywhere as members of Christ and hence of one another.
“Jesus, united by Thy grace
And each to each endeared,
With confidence we seek Thy face,
And know our prayer is heard.
Still let us own our common Lord,
And bear Thine easy yoke.
A band of love, a threefold cord,
Which never can be broke.
To Thee, inseparably joined,
Let all our spirits cleave;
Oh, may we all the loving mind
That was in Thee receive.
This is the bond of perfectness,
Thy spotless charity;
Oh, let us, still we pray, possess
The mind that was in Thee.”
Charles Wesley.