It just lays on our hearts to
do something. You've got to do it. I'd like you to ask you to open your
Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4. We're going to camp right there
so you can lay that Bible on your lap there because we'll
be referring to it in this one verse here. I know those who believe A little
bit of Christ is preached in many, many, many, many languages
of churches. For instance, for example, they
believe that the true gospel is preached in
the church, the Methodist church, mixed in with a little bit of
that. I asked him one time, I said,
why do you go to these other churches, why do you go to these
other churches and join in with them in song if you don't believe
what they're preaching? And this person told me, because
you never know. There's just a little bit of
truth being taught there and you never know how it's going
to flourish. Are you with me in Ephesians
chapter 4? Look at verses 4-6, will you? 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. I'd like to talk to you this
morning about the oneness of true believers. There are seven things which
stand out boldly on this subject, the oneness of believers. It
says, there is one body, one spirit, even as you are called
in one hope of your calling. There is one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, one God and father of all who is above all and through
all and in you all. Men have endeavored for centuries
to bring religious people together. That's what Catholicism is. It's
supposed to be a united Christian fellowship. For centuries, they've been trying
to bring religious people together, and there have been a number
of movements to get denominations, to get churches, to get professed
Christians together under one umbrella or one group to head
in that direction. Look how many churches in today's
world are called non-denominational. That's a movement trying to bring
Christians together for one cause. And they've done a pretty good
job of it if you look at all the big churches there are out
there. Joel Olsteen, multi-billionaire
for preaching what he calls the gospel. I've never actually heard
him preach the gospel. He talks a lot about how you
can build yourself up and become a better person. But all that
is about self-help and self-promotion. People like that stuff. They
like thinking, I did that one time. I was in Amway. And that's
what the Amway was. Amway, they grew so big because
they were a pyramid type of scheme. But it was all about getting
the people to come into these meetings, pumping them up. You
can go out and save the world. Go out and do it. And I fell
for all that stuff. And I went out and I bought a
Cadillac. I was only making minimum wage. And I bought a Cadillac, thinking,
I'm going to do it, yeah. Yeah, I had to give the Cadillac
back. Actually, it was an older Cadillac, so I ended up just
selling it pretty quickly, not too long afterwards. Point is, if we're reading this scripture
correctly, they're not going to come together. This is the
things they'll say in efforts to bring religious people together.
They'll say, we all believe in one God. We all believe in life
after death. We are all going to the same
place. So why should there be any divisions among us? Let us
unite together and win the world for Christianity. Folks, I'm
here to tell you this morning, it'll never happen. Despite all
the efforts of all the people in the organizations, from all
the generations and ages to come and ages behind, to get religious
people together, unification cannot and will not be done.
And here's the chief reasons why. Religious people will never
come together as one because they are not one. They are divided over the essentials
of faith. The very things that we just
read. Just a moment ago, these are
the things that divide the people. The essentials of faith are this.
There is one body, there is one spirit, there is one hope, there
is one Lord, there is one faith, one baptism, and one God. This is where they are all divided
and they will never be one. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us
the definition of true faith and eternal life when He said,
this is the life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. These people
who know the truth. These people who know the true
and living God. These people that we just read
about. who know Jesus Christ whom He
has sent. They are one and they are not
divided. Now I'm not talking about religious
people. I'm not talking about professing Christians. I'm not
talking about churches and denominations. I'm saying that every true believer,
every converted, redeemed person in Christ are one. We're one. In Christ. In John chapter 17, our Lord
is praying His high priestly prayer. The Master is saying,
Father, in verse 20 He says, neither I pray for these alone,
speaking of His disciples, but I pray for them. them which
shall believe on me through their word, through the word of the
disciples, that they might be one as thou, Father, art in me."
That's our Lord speaking. That they might be one as thou
art in me. That's a pretty special oneness,
isn't it? to be one with the Father. These who believe the Word, who
believe on Christ through the preaching of the Word, are one. They may be one as thou, Father,
art in me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us, I in them,
and thou in me, that they be perfect and one. Folks, We who
believe the Lord Jesus Christ are one exactly as the Father
and the Son are one and we can never be separated. That's what
the Lord is telling us. We've always been one. Even before
we knew it. We have always been one in Christ
before the world began. That's what it means to be loved
by God before the foundation of the world. We have always
been in Christ. You know, they speak about the
breastplate and the names of the breastplate. Well, the Lord
Jesus Christ has a book. A book with every believer's
name written in it. And that book was written before
the world ever was. We were all one in Christ in
that book before the world was even created. We are one because we are one
in Christ. And Christ is not divided, is
He? He's one with God the Father, is He not? Paul said in Ephesians chapter
1 verses 3-7, he says, We are blessed with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ, according as He has chose us
in Christ. as He had predestinated us to
be like Christ, and we are accepted in Christ the Beloved, in whom
we have redemption in Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and
the fullness of time that God would gather together all things
in Christ." Simple as that. Is Christ divided? Could you
imagine such a thing? Christ cannot be divided. That
God had divided would be foolishness. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, they are three or one. If the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you, and Christ dwells in you, and Christ says, I and my
Father will take up and abode in you, then He is in me. How can we be divided? How can
we be headed in two different directions and believe two different
things? Believers are one, and true believers
are one, because of Christ is one. Listen to what it says in
1 John 4, verses 7-8, Beloved, let us love one another, for
love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God. The
one who truly loves is born of God and knows God. We are brought
to know God by Himself, are we not? Well, if we're brought to know
God, then we know the true and living God, then we all believe
in the same God. We are one in believing in who
the same God is, right? That's why I asked the question,
how can you go over to the Catholics and sing and praise and worship
with them? They don't believe in the true and living God. How can you go and pray with
the Jehovah Witnesses? They don't believe in the true
and living God. They believe in themselves. God is this to
them. Now you have to do this. And
that's not the God of Scriptures. The God of Scriptures is the
One who has done it all. And we believe in this God. Because
He has brought us to it. He's not going to divide us with
other stuff. There's only one true living
God! Jesus Christ the Lord! Those who are born of God, we
love the truth. Those who are born of God love
one another, and there is no question about it. Let us love
one another, for love is of God. It is a gift of God, it is the
gift of God and the grace of God, and it is shed abroad in
the hearts by the Holy Spirit. In our text, Ephesians 4, it
says Paul, in our text in Ephesians 4, Paul gives us seven reasons
why all true believers are one. First, he says there is one body. What
is this body? Is it this one? No. No. What is this one body? This one body is the church.
Now there are a lot of places that call themselves churches,
local churches. We're not talking about local
churches. We're talking about the church
of God. Now, first off, you have to understand what the word church
stands for, what it means. It means the called out. What
our Lord is talking about here is not a local church. He's talking
about the church of God throughout creation. As we mentioned in
Bible study, from every tongue, from every nation, from every
tribe, God has His people spread out all over the place. And all
of God's elect are the church. One body. And that body is the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and living God. There are no
tares in this church, the church that we're talking about. There
are no hypocrites in that church. There are no false professors
in that church. For everybody that is in this
church, this church, this one body that the Lord is talking
about, everybody that is in this church is in Christ. Because
He is the head of that church. And there is one head and one
body, His church. Do you understand what we're
talking about here? The oneness of true believers? We are members of that church
in Christ. He is the body, His body, His
church is perfect in every way. His body is without stain or
spot. It is without blemish or wrinkle.
In Colossians 1.18 it says, Christ is the head of the body, the
church who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
and all things that He might have, the preeminence. In Ephesians
5 verse 23 it says, For the husband is the head of the wife, even
as Christ is the head of the church. Husbands, love your wives
as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. It does
not say for them. No, it says for it. As Christ gave himself for it,
the church, the called out. that He might present to Himself
a glorious church having neither spot nor wrinkle. It is the church
of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. Like I
said a moment ago, there are no tares, there are no hypocrites,
there are no false professors in this church. There is neither
Greek nor Jew, there is neither male nor female, there is neither
rich nor poor. There is one church, one body,
and one family. We all say, Abba, Father. One
Father. Christ is the head and we are
the one. We are the body of Christ and
the body of Christ cannot be divided. Certainly not. Secondly,
not only is there one body, but there is one spirit. This is the Holy Spirit of God.
Now listen to me carefully, for the Bible says, if any man hath
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. If you don't have the Spirit
of Christ, you are not of His. All of God's church, one Spirit. The Spirit of the Living God. We have people who say that they
have been saved, but they are seeking the Holy Spirit. Have
you ever heard that? I'm looking for the Holy Spirit
to dwell me. If I go to church this Sunday,
maybe the Spirit will fill me. How can you be saved without
the Holy Spirit? How can you be saved without
the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth?
He is the Spirit of Christ. It says, if any man hath not
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. Folks, there's just one
body. If a person is saved, he is in
that family, he is in that body, he is in that church. Well, how
did he get there? He was baptized, immersed, and
submerged into that body by the Holy Spirit Himself. We're not
talking about this Fiberglass tub that people climb into up
here? That's not the baptism of the Spirit. The baptism of
the Spirit is done in the heart. This is what the Word of God says.
It says, No man can call Jesus Lord. We read this in the Bible
study this morning, didn't we? No man can call Jesus Lord but
by the Holy Spirit. There's only one Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God is the
Spirit that regenerates us. The Bible says that we are born
of the Holy Spirit. We are born of God, born from
above, born of the Spirit, and born of the Word. Not only does
the Holy Spirit regenerate believers, but He convicts us of our sin.
Our Lord says in John 16, when He has come, speaking of the
Holy Spirit, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment, and of sin. Because they believe not on Me,
of righteousness, because I go unto My Father, and ye see Me
no more. Of judgment, because the Prince
of this world is judged. All of this conviction has to
do with Christ, and it is related to Christ. And that's what the
Spirit does. The Holy Spirit not only convinces
us of sin, but the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us. Our Lord says, when He has come,
He will take the things of Mine and show them to you. He will
not speak of Himself, but of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
God's Gospel concerning Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Holy Spirit
leads us to our Savior, Jesus Christ. He shall not speak of
Himself, but He shall speak of what He hears. He shall not glorify
Himself, but He shall glorify Christ. It is the Holy Spirit
that reveals Christ. It is the Holy Spirit, our Teacher.
He will take the things of mine and show them to you, is what
God says. All men will be taught of God. That's what the Spirit is doing.
Revealing the things of Christ from His Word to our hearts.
Applying them to our hearts. The Holy Spirit seals us. He
is our earnest, our pledge, as the Word says. That is what Paul
says in Ephesians. He is not the spirit of confusion.
No, that's a different spirit. That's the one who's divided
all those religions up. That's the ones who've convinced
men that they need to pray to some man at the Vatican over
in Italy. Or others to pray to this, or
others to come down to the front of the aisle and exercise their
free will, making a decision. Or others to actually get into
the pool, this fiberglass tub, and pretend that they're saved
from that. That's the spirit of confusion. The Spirit of God teaches us
that Christ has done all that and fulfilled all that. We rest
in Him and Him alone. They come and they preach another
spirit that attracts attention to their false Gospels. The spirit
that lauds and exalts the righteousness of the flesh. The Holy Spirit
exalts Christ and He glorifies Christ. The Holy Spirit reveals
Christ and He honors Christ. There is no confusion, there
is no division. He is the Spirit of Truth. And
believers are one because they are in the body. They are in
the one body of Christ. They are indwelt by one Spirit. Thirdly, there is one hope of your calling. You see, salvation is a calling
to Christ. It's called the holy calling. Salvation is being called by
that holy calling, the called of Christ Jesus. God is calling
out a people for His name. Paul says it this way, he says,
He called you by our gospel. And then he says this, Do you
see your calling, brethren? Salvation is a calling, and here
He says, one hope of your calling. There is one hope of that calling,
and that which you are a participant, a recipient of. Well, what is
that hope? In 1 John, we see this in verses
2-3, Beloved, right now are we sons of God. Right now. It does
not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He
shall appear, in other words, when Jesus Christ shall return,
we shall be like Him. What a calling it is to know
that we shall be like Him. I think it was just mentioned
in my prayer, didn't I? Something about, we're not there
yet, but the day is coming when we will be like Christ. We will
be conformed to the image of God. That's His Word. When He shall appear, we shall
be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is, and every man that
hath this hope in Him purifies himself." What hope is it talking
about? It's talking about this, the hope to be like Him. Oh,
I can't wait until I can shut off this body of sin. Pastor
Gene was just mentioning to me the other day, you know, him
and Judy are up a little bit in age, It would get a little
tougher for him to get around. He went out and bought a walker so he can go to shopping with
Judy and get around the store a little better. Maybe go down
a few aisles with her instead of sitting at the front at the
bench because it hurts for him to walk. He goes, John, I'm just
waiting. I'm just waiting for that blessed
day. And it's going to come soon. That's what we're all waiting
for. This world is not my home. I'm just passing through. Where are your treasures this
morning? Mine are somewhere above the blue. A hope that I have
that the day is coming when I will be like Christ and stand with
Him in perfection forever and ever and ever, glorifying and
worshiping Him. If I were going to write a paper
on the word hope, the hope of a believer, and the hope of glory,
and the hope of eternal life, I would write one word. Christ Jesus is my hope. He is the hope of glory. Those who preach degrees in glory,
larger crowns, or dwelling places of others haven't met Christ
yet. God's people see this. Christ
Jesus is my treasure. You take all the crowns of glory
that you want. I've got Him. I am His and He is mine. What more do you need? You need
more? Well then you don't have Christ. Every believer is going to be
just like Christ. We will all love the same, be
redeemed the same, and we're all going to be just like Him.
Anyone who aspires to be anything higher than that doesn't know
God. Anyone who would be satisfied with anything less than that
has a problem. Folks, we're going to be just
like Him. Fourthly, there is one Lord. This is why
we are one. Because we have one Lord. He
says, My sheep hear My voice. We hear the voice of Christ.
We hear the voice of the Lord speaking to our hearts. We believe
because that Lord, the One who is God Almighty in the flesh,
has given us the gift of faith. That gift, the same faith. I love looking at the Old Testament
figures and understanding that they had the same faith that
we have. That Jesus Christ is Lord. Abraham has the same faith
that you and I have. God said such and it will be. That's what his faith was. God
said that He would have a son from whom the seed would come
from, and He knew that that would be. He believed God because God
gave Him the gift of faith. The same gift that you and I
have. One faith. One belief in one Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord of God's
eternal decree. God made Him Lord. That's what
Peter said at Pentecost. He said, God hath made this same
Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. He is not only Lord by eternal
decree, but He is Lord by creation. The Word says all things were
made by Him, through Him, and for Him. He is also Lord by death. He died that He may be Lord of
the dead and of the living. I'm talking about the lost and
the saved. There's a day coming, folks.
There's a day coming when every knee shall bow. That's God's
Word. They may not know it now, but neither would you or I. if
it hadn't been for the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior.
We'd be right there with them in that very day. There'll be
gnashing of teeth. What do you mean, I'll spend
eternity in hell? Look at all the things that I've
done for you. Look at all the things I think
I've done for you in the name. Those were not in His name. Those
were for your glory, not mine, is what the Lord will say. Depart
from me, ye workers of iniquity. He is Lord by faith and confession.
He says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord
and believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. Fifthly, believers are one because
there is one faith. There is just one faith, one
Lord. There's one faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There may
be small faith, there may be great faith, there may be weak
faith, there may be strong faith, there may be early faith, there
may even be late faith. But there is only one faith.
And they have the same author. The same one who writes that
faith on our hearts. He, our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, is the author and the finisher of our faith. You believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ the same as I believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ because the Lord Jesus Christ is writing it on
our hearts. We are not the authors of our
own faith. Faith didn't spring up in our gardens. Faith is a
plant of God. Faith is a gift of God. That's
what it says in Ephesians 2. By grace are you saved through
faith, and not of ourselves, not of yourselves. It is a gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. This faith,
this one faith, it has the same author, Jesus Christ, the author
and the finisher of it. It has the same object. He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the
Son shall not see life. All who do not believe on Christ
and love Christ and receive Christ and rest in Christ are unsaved. I don't care where you live,
what you profess, or how you act, or how you worship, or whatever
it is you might think you must do. He that believeth on the
Son hath life. And he that believeth not on
the Son shall never see life. That's God's Word. We have one faith, and He is
the author of it. Do you think He would author
something that was divisive? When the Lord comes to us and
gives us faith, it's faith in Him. It's faith in what He has
done. It's faith in what He did that
day, a little over 2,000 years ago, when He went to that cross
willingly and shed His blood for our sins. It's faith in knowing
that God Almighty shed His own blood for those sins and that
those sins are paid for. We believe that our sins are
paid for because it is Christ who wrote that belief in our
hearts. The same belief that each and every one of you have
if you belong to God. This faith rises out of the same
need that we are sinners. Christ came into the world to
save sinners of who I am chief, Paul said. And this faith has
the same foundation. It's the foundation of the Word
of God. We believe the Word of God. In the beginning was the
Father. Scripture says, faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. David and Paul both
said this, they said, I believe therefore I have spoken it. Well,
what is it that they believed? They believed the Word of God.
Abraham believed God. That's what I said a moment ago.
Do you believe God? He says, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. What a great thing to believe
in. No maybes. No mights. No possibilities. It's for sure. It's going to happen. You can
rest in that. You can get rid of all those
other things that we've been trying to do to make ourselves
worthy to God. And look to Christ. The author and the finisher of
our faith. Sixthly, there is one baptism. Many people believe that this
baptism that is speaking up here in Scripture in these verses
is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It's not a second work of grace
because there is nothing better than Christ. Christ is all and
is in all. He that hath the Son hath life
and we are complete in Him. You see, we are all baptized
into one body by the Holy Spirit. We are baptized by the Spirit
into one body, and that's what a lot of people believe that
this is talking about, one baptism. I believe it's so also. Because
every believer is baptized and immersed into one body, and that
body is Christ, and it is baptism by the Holy Spirit. There is
another baptism, a water baptism that we go through, and it's
revealed in Scriptures and in the Gospel. It is a baptism by
immersion and it is for believers. Our Lord says, Go ye into all
the world and teach all nations and baptize them. Make disciples
and baptize them, He says. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel and he that believeth is baptized and shall be saved. So baptism is for believers. You don't get baptized You don't baptize an unconscious,
insensible person. People have called me and asked
me, I'd like to have my child baptized. Can I have it there?
No, we don't do baptism that way. Seriously. I've had them call
me. They drive by and they like the
looks of the church. You know, let's have our baptismal
there. No. It is for believers. The eunuch
said this, here is water. What does hinder me from being
baptized? And Philip said this, if you
believe on Christ, you can. Folks, if you don't, then you
can't. Baptism follows faith. It is
a confession of our faith. It's an identification with Christ.
It is a declaration of our death, of His death, His burial, and
His resurrection. How can you declare something
that hasn't taken place if you don't know about it? Baptism
is for believers. The very word immersed means
that it is a death, a burial, and a resurrection. And then
lastly, let's look at this one last thing. There is one baptism,
one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
and one God. He is the Father of all believers
and He is above all. They said, David, where is your
God? When all the troubles that came upon David, the mockers,
those who didn't believe, where is your God today? They said
the same thing about 9-11. Where is your God when all those
people were killed in that building? Our answer is the same as David's
was. He is in the heavens. He hath
done whatsoever he pleased. This one God is above all. He
is above all angels, above all creatures, all men, all events,
all actions, all deeds, and all ages. We use the word sovereign. He is a sovereign God. And in
all things such as creation, providence, and salvation, He
is above all. And He answers to none. Where
were we when He created the world? Does God need our advice? None can stay His hand, or say
to Him, What doest Thou? He is through all, Scripture
says. That is, by His providence He
accomplishes all things. By Him all things consist, all
things work together for the good to them that love God, to
them who are called according to His purpose. And the reason
is just this, because He is working it out for us. Have you ever stopped and tried
to understand that when you're going through a trial? How can this cancer be good for
me? That's the same as asking God,
why do us now? Folks, I'm telling you, He knows
what's good for us. He knows what we need. And the
day will come when we will see that all things were for our
good. Believers are one. God the Father
dwells in us. Unless God is divided, then how
can we be divided? Read again with me, in closing,
Ephesians 4, verse 6. One God, and one Father of all,
who is above all, and through all, and in you all. We are one in Him. We all worship the same God,
because He has brought us to this place and purposed us to
do it. True believers are one in Christ. Amen?