New Testament Christianity is a religion that supports and necessitates unity among its members. In order to prove this immensely important point, amidst the many Biblical passages that touch on unity, two are prominent in their advancement of it. First, the prayer of Jesus Christ in John 17, especially verses twenty through twenty six, record the plea of the Lord that all who would believe on Him and obey Him be one. Second, the book of Ephesians, from start to finish, builds on the plea of the Lord to not only seek it, but also state the terms of unity and the blessings that come out of unity.
Paul, the writer of this epistle, first came in contact with the citizens of the city of Ephesus in the midst of his second missionary journey. Near the end of that journey he visited briefly in that location and left Aquila and Priscilla there to build on the work. Then during his third missionary journey, he once again stopped there, spending three years in that location, the longest he spent in any one place as recorded in scripture. The success of the work in Ephesus is summed up by Acts 19:20 in which Luke records that, “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” It was later, around A.D. 62 or 63, that during his incarceration in Rome, Paul went about to send this correspondence back to those brethren with whom he had worked for so long. However, unlike the Corinthian epistles or the Galatian epistle, the sending of this letter was apparently not spurred by doctrinal error or congregational division as Paul deals with no specific sins of which the Ephesians are guilty. It likely was sent as a letter of encouragement that was intended to be circulated amongst all the churches of Asia.
For all intents and purposes, the book of Ephesians is sometimes divided into two parts in order to understand its general outline and theme. The first part, consisting of the first three chapters, is called the doctrinal part in which Paul deals with the church and the plan of salvation. The second part, consisting of the last three chapters, is called the practical part and discusses God’s plan for the church as it functions on a daily basis.
Discussing, though, the book of Ephesians from the standpoint of Christian unity, it seems perhaps best to divide the book into its three natural sections in which the topic of unity is discussed, thereby simplifying its general message. First, addressed in Ephesians is the means of Christian unity. At the very beginning of the book Paul states, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ…” (Ephesians 1:3). All blessings that benefit the spiritual nature of man are made manifest by Jesus Christ, and what is the greatest of all these blessings? Redemption from sin! We all, at some point, were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), “but God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,…and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:4-6). Sin condemned us all, yet by obedience God has raised us up together (a term of unity) and blessed us in Christ. “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us…” (Ephesians 2:14). There is no Jew and Gentile, but through Christ we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father (Ephesians 2:18). Christian unity is a blessing, the means of which is reconciliation unto God by the blood of Christ Jesus.
Second, addressed in Ephesians are the terms of Christian unity. What is important to understand about these terms of unity is that they are God’s terms, not man’s. Therefore because God has determined the standard terms of unity, in order to achieve that unity man must be wholly submissive to them and not his own. What are these terms?
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 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 4:1-7).
Often called the seven points of unity, God directed Paul to outline the points upon which unity must be attained. Man cannot differ on any of these points and still claim unity because the Bible explicitly reveals the truth regarding them. Therefore for a difference to arise, one or more parties must reject the objective truth of the Scriptures. Ultimately the litmus test for Christian unity can be applied by asking the question, are all parties involved unified with God? If so, then the terms of unity have been met.
Third, addressed in Ephesians are the blessings of unity. Simply stated, these blessings, though multitudinous, are: (1) Christian increase (Ephesians 4:16); (2) Christian edification (Ephesians 4:32); (3) Christian compassion (Ephesians 5:1-2); (4) Christian salvation (Ephesians 5:25-27); and (5) Christian companionship (Ephesians 6:10-20). However, all of these to the side, the blessing of Christian unity is Christian unity itself. How fortunate we are to dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1)!
The book of Ephesians is a marvelous message of togetherness both now in the temporal and then in the eternal. And what makes that unity possible? The blood of Christ that redeems us all and unifies us with God!