Ephesians 4:1-16
Unity in the Body of Christ
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men." 9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until 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.
14Then 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 men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From 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.
We have one body and one Spirit...There is only one hope, like there is only one LORD, one faith, and one baptism...There is only one God, who is over and above all things...We are children of God...He is our Father and is in all and through all...Jesus brings us the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit is housed in us...In our body and soul is the Holy Spirit...Since we are His children, we are to act holy...We are to take care of ourselves and grow...After all, the house of the Holy Spirit is within us...
St. Paul teaches us to be humble and holy...We are to be gentile and patient, and to love one another...
Jesus ascended on high and gave gifts to men (Psalms 68:18)...He ascended higher than the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe...He gave the apostles, the prophets, the pastors, and teachers a gift...The gift of the Holy Spirit...He also gave this group the gift to prepare God's people for works of service...These groups in spreading the gospel build up the body of Christ until we all reach a unity in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God...Believers are to be unified...On earth, it seems, we will have some disagreement and a number of denominations...Maybe this disunity, is the result of this sinful nature and world...Yet, even in our disagreement on how we interpret the Bible, we are to love our neighbors and to pray for one another...There is only one Jesus, not several...He wants believers unified, not divided...
While living on earth, it seems we can always be growing in Christ, but we will never be perfect in Him...We try and must try...We can continue to read, study, and practice being like Him, as much as we can, even though we just can't quite get there...Some of the saints have done a better job in their growth towards Him than others...This is a sinful world and man is flawed...But it still remains God's goal that all men and women become more like Christ...