Ephesians 4:3–4

This unity is what we have to keep. We are urged to be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" — to keep in practice what already exists in fact. We are not to make a unity, but to keep, by the bond of peace, the unity that exists through the presence of the Holy Spirit in the one body.

We are to aim at more than agreement. We could all be of one mind, in the sweetest agreement, in favour of something completely wrong! We are to give all diligence to keeping the unity of the Spirit — not Paul's unity, not Peter's, not yours or mine, but the unity the Spirit has produced. We did not make this unity, and we cannot break it. The Spirit made it, and we are to keep it in practice in the bond of peace.

What then is the great leading principle of a walk worthy of our wonderful calling? The place this has in our hearts and lives will serve to test how far we are in unison with the mind of God for the glory of Christ in the Assembly; it is seen in Ephesians 4:3, which literally translated reads: "Using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace"; but we must not overlook the moral conditions in which alone, even in the brightest days of the Assembly, such a path could be maintained.

People often ask what it means to be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3), and they pass over the first two verses… You cannot get to verse 3 without going through verse 2 and learning it in practice. We need all the humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love, to keep the unity of the Spirit.

Peace is spoken of here not so much for our own souls before God, but for enjoying and furthering union among God's people in practice. The flesh is anxious and restless. A peaceful spirit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and it does much to bind hearts together in practice.

This unity cannot be kept where man's mind and will are in control. It is kept only where the Spirit is free to make known the mind and will of God, and where there is a settled effort to carry out what God has said. No one can force such a state. It is the fruit of communion, so the words "in the bond of peace." How far this is from the common desire, even among true believers, for peace at any price. If we give up divine principles for the sake of peace, that is not the peace of the unity of the Spirit.

Scripture never allows that it is impossible for God's people to walk in fellowship with God's Spirit and to hold on to the truth. That is always possible. The Spirit of God assumes there will be evil and dangerous days. Even so, God commands us to be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," and He commands nothing impossible. We can never restore anything to what it was. But we can walk in obedience to the word, and in the company of the Spirit of God.

Notice now the three circles the apostle presents: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call" (v. 4). That shows us the circle of divine reality. That one Body and Spirit embrace every Christian, every child of God on earth at this moment, even as the hope is one, of which the Spirit is the source and power.

In the first circle, one body shuts out all human organisations. The One Spirit excludes the flesh and its activities. And earthly hopes give way to the heavenly hope of our calling.

The outward condition of the church gives us anything but a true picture of the body. God's word is emphatic in saying "there is one body," or it might read simply "one body" (Ephesians 4:4). It is as though God would press on our hearts the thought held in those two words. That verse again ties the oneness of the body to the "one Spirit." There is only one Holy Spirit, and His work produces only one body.

The one body is an actual existing fact on this earth. It was formed by the baptism of the Spirit: this 1 Corinthians 12:13 shows. This baptism took place on the day of Pentecost, so someone may wonder why Acts 2 does not reveal and state the fact. But one essential feature is that the body includes both Jews and Gentiles. So it was fitting for that revelation to wait until Gentiles too were baptised into the body.

Then we hear the particulars, and in a very orderly manner. This verse states the intrinsic unity that never passes away. It begins with the fact of "one body." Then comes the power that produces it, one Spirit. Last comes the cause of it all, the calling of grace. Nothing touches these.

All this fits the calling of the saints with one hope in view — the coming of the Lord for all His saints. No one who is His own can be shut out of this hope, for there is only "one hope." In scripture, hope always carries the thought of something future but certain, never mere wishful thinking.

There is only one Christian calling. "Our calling" is not sectarian. Scripture knows nothing of a special "calling" for a particular class or company of Christians. Some Christians understand their calling better than others. Some may walk more fully in its truth and shape their conduct to match it. But this is in no sense a different calling.

We are to give all diligence to keeping the unity of the Spirit. It is not Paul's unity, not Peter's, not yours or mine, but the unity which the Spirit has produced. We did not make the unity, and we cannot break the unity. The Spirit made it and we are to keep it in a practical way in the uniting bond of peace.

That grand statement sets out the only true ground on which believers can gather: "There is one body and one Spirit." And again, "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body." (Eph. 4:4; 1 Cor. 10:17) If God declares that there is only "one body," then many bodies, sects, or denominations must be contrary to His mind.