The central institution of Christianity is expressed by the members of the body of Christ being gathered to His Name at His table to remember Him in His death. “For we being many are one bread and one body…partakers of the Lord’s table.” “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.” 1 Cor.10:17,21; 11:26. These high privileges are then accompanied with responsibilities.
In Ephesians 4:1-3 the apostle Paul entreats the saints “to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love; using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.”
In 1 Corinthians 12:13 we see that “The Unity of the Spirit” is the unity that exists due to the fact that the ONE SPIRIT has united the members of Christ in one body. Ephesians 1:22,23 also teaches us that God has set Christ “to be Head over all things to the Church which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.” It is clear then, that if “by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body,” we must own every one thus united as being a part of that body, or we shall not be keeping the unity of the Spirit. Not keeping the unity of the Spirit would be the case if we held that there are many bodies, or more than one when God says there is but one.
It is of first importance to see that “Keeping the Unity of the Spirit” is based upon the unchangeable truth, “there is one body and one Spirit” Eph.4:4. The unity of the Body of Christ, formed and maintained by the Spirit is indissoluble; it cannot be broken because it is God’s workmanship. We are not exhorted to keep that; it belongs to the eternal position of the Assembly, and is outside the responsibility of man. However, what we are called upon to do, is to use diligence (ie, earnestly labor) to guard or preserve (from loss or injury) the unity of the Spirit by walking according to this unity, that has thus been formed already 1 Cor.12:13. For it was by the Holy Spirit’s baptism on the Day of Pentecost that all believers, both Jew and Gentile, were formed into One Body uniting us to Christ, and giving us our individual place in that one body. Therefore, the only ground upon which “the unity of the Spirit” may be maintained is the ground of the One Body. If there is One Body of believers Eph.4:4, which God recognizes, why not refuse all other man-made bodies and gather together simply as members of His Body? This would not be making another body or unity, but recognizing the unity which the Spirit of God has made among all true believers who have been baptized by one Spirit into the Body of Christ.
Secondly, it is of vast importance that we lay hold of the fact, if we hope to be found faithful in preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, that this can only be accomplished as those blessed fruits of the Spirit are seen in us which are mentioned in verse two. Bearing with one another in love, really sums it all up as love is ever the divine regulator (1 Cor.13). How sadly deficient we have often been in this, even in our sincere endeavor to keep (as we thought) the unity of the Spirit! How much hardness has often been manifested in connection with this very thing! The Holy Spirit is always careful to guard against extremes: “Speaking the truth in love” Eph.4:15). There must be no compromise of truth under the plea of unity, yet, where foundation truth is not involved, we surely are to bear with one another, remembering our own weakness and limitations. It is just here we should be found “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit”, which is the power or principle which keeps the saints walking together in their proper relationships in the unity of the Body of Christ.
But how little is this blessed “oneness” understood! Consequently various “churches” (denominations) have arisen, whose very existence depends upon ignoring this most precious truth, and is in itself a gross denial of the very ground of the One Body. If there is “One Body and One Spirit,” we surely are not left to “join” anything. The believer is already, by the Holy Spirit, joined to, and is a member of, the only Church which Scripture recognizes; and to sanction anything other than this must necessarily be a practical denial of this truth. Whatever the ruin about us and no matter how many denominational bodies there may be around us, it is still true that “There is one body” (Eph. 4:4), and God still sees His scattered people as one body of which He is Head. Therefore, to faith, the truth of the one Body of Christ on earth still remains as the only Scriptural ground of gathering together. In this present day of the outward ruin of the Church on earth, we must readily admit that while no group of believers today could claim to be “The Church of God” in a locality, yet those who recognize and act only upon the truth of the one Body of Christ, can truly say that they meet on the ground of the Church of God in their locality.
Now, some may plead various difficulties, and expediency in view of the outward broken state of the Church in the present day; but in following God’s Word, the path for faith is as plain today as ever, and simple obedience is the path of blessing, and well pleasing to the Lord. Lightly esteeming the divine unity of the Church, and seeking to substitute for it a miserable daubing with untempered mortar (Ezekiel 13:10,15), contenting themselves with an appearance of unity in the presence of evil, only proves the very ruin they seek to justify by their professed expedience.
It is evident from 2 Cor.6:14-18, 2 Tim.2:19-22, and Hebrews 13:12,13 that we are responsible to walk apart, or in separation from all that is inconsistent with the truth connected with the death of Christ and the name of the Lord respectively, whether it be ecclesiastical relationships or worldly associations.
In the early days of the Church, believers were together without distinction of Names: the “one loaf” upon the table, partaken of in the Lord’s Supper, manifested the truth of the one body. “We being many are one loaf, one body, for we are all partakers of that one loaf” (1 Cor.10:17). This corporate aspect of the Supper is largely lost sight of today. The Episcopalian formula: “Take this in remembrance that Christ died for thee,” substitutes individual remembrance for what should be collective, and the truth of the one Body is lost sight of.
May it be our constant endeavor to hold “The Head” (Christ), not merely in theory but in practice, “from which all the body, ministered to and united together by the joints and bands, increases with the increase of God, (Col.2).