What is the meaning of Ephesians 4:5? One Lord – Paul declares that there is only one rightful Master: Jesus Christ. “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 8:6). – His uniqueness flows from His deity (John 1:1), His incarnation (John 1:14), and His exaltation: “God exalted Him to the highest place… that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:9-11). – This confession is exclusive, not one option among many. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). – Because there is only one Lord, all believers stand on equal ground; no personal pedigrees, denominations, or cultural differences can supersede His authority (Romans 10:12-13). One Faith – The “one faith” is the shared body of truth centered on the gospel: Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). – It is singular, not a smorgasbord of personalized spiritualities. Jude urges believers to “contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). • This faith is received by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) and rests on the reliability of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). • It unites Jews and Gentiles alike into “one new man” in Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16). – Any message that adds to or subtracts from this gospel is condemned (Galatians 1:8-9). Our unity is possible only when we rally around the same truth. One Baptism – Baptism is the outward, God-ordained testimony that a believer has been joined to Christ. “All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death… in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead… we too may walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). – There is no second-class Christianity that lacks this sign; baptism is for every disciple (Matthew 28:19). • It pictures cleansing (Acts 22:16) and identification with the body: “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13). • The “one baptism” underscores that Christian initiation is not repeated or replaced by ritual upgrades. Our life of obedience flows out of that once-for-all declaration. – Because we share the same baptism, we share the same covenant family and mission (Colossians 2:12). Summary Ephesians 4:5 anchors Christian unity in three inseparable realities—a single Lord who commands our allegiance, a single faith that defines our belief, and a single baptism that seals our identity. When these truths remain central, division loses its power and the church displays the oneness that mirrors her Savior. |
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