One God And Father Of All
As a
prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling
you have received. Be
completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep the
unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just
as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is
over all and through all and in all.
But
to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he
ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”
(What does “he ascended” mean except
that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who
ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
So Christ himself gave the
apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
to equip his people for works of
service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith
and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then
we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown
here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of
people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in
every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
From him the whole body, joined
and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in
love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians
4:1-16
We are all a part of God’s
family. We are all a part of the body of Christ. It is not always easy to gain
unity. Harmony with other Christians is important because it reflects the unity
between Jesus and His heavenly Father.
When problems arise in
the family of God, the Bible tells us to be humble, gentle, and bearing and
sharing our problems. We are to be bearers of love. This is the way to
experience family togetherness with people who share the fundamentals of our
faith.
Our hearts
are linked through the love of Christ.
Our Daily Bread –