As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who and through all and in all
Eph. 4:1-6 NIV
Unity is not uniformity. Unity comes from within and is a spiritual grace; uniformity is the result of pressure from without. Paul used the human body as a picture of Christian unity here in these verses. Each part of the body is different from the other parts, yet all make up one body and work together.
If the church of Jesus Christ is going to preserve the “unity of the Spirit,” she must possess the necessary Christian graces. There are seven of them listed here. The first is humbleness. Humility means putting Christ first, others second, and self last. It means knowing ourselves, accepting ourselves, and being ourselves to the glory of God. God does not condemn you when you accept yourself and your gifts. He just does not want us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, or less highly than we ought.
Gentleness is not weakness. It is power under control. In the Greek language, this word was used for a soothing medicine, a colt that had been broken, or a soft wind. In each case you have power, but that power is under control. Allied with meekness is patience, which literally means “long-tempered,” the ability to endure discomfort without fighting back. This leads to the mentioning of perseverance (bearing with one another), a grace that cannot be experienced apart from love. “Love suffereth long and is kind” (1 Cor. 13:4). Actually, Paul is describing some of the “fruit of the Spirit.” The “unity of the Spirit” is the result of the believer “walking in the Spirit.”
The next grace that contributes to the unity of the Spirit is commitment (make every effort). Literally it reads “being eager to maintain, or guard, the unity of the Spirit.” “It’s great that you love each other,” I once heard a seasoned saint say to a newly wedded couple, “but if you’re going to be happy in marriage, you gotta work at it!” In fact, when we think the situation is the best, Satan will move in to wreck it. The spiritual unity of a home, a Sunday School class, or a church is the responsibility of each person involved, and the job never ends.
The final grace is peace (“the bond of peace).” Note that the reason for war on the outside is war on the inside. If a believer cannot get along with God, he cannot get along with other believers. When “the peace of God” rules in our hearts, then we build unity.
While not all Christians agree on some minor matters of Christian doctrine, they all do agree on the foundation truths of the faith. Unity built on anything other than the Truth that is Christ Jesus is standing on a very shaky foundation. Along with the seven Christian graces, Paul names here the seven basic spiritual realities that unite all true Christians:
One body. This is, of course, the body of Christ in which each believer is a member, placed there at conversion by the Spirit of God. The one body is the model for the many local bodies that God has established across the world. The fact that a person is a member of the one body does not excuse him from belonging to a local body; for it is there that he exercises his spiritual gifts and helps others to grow.
One Spirit. The same Holy Spirit indwells each believer, so that we belong to each other in the Lord. There are perhaps a dozen references to the Holy Spirit in Ephesians, because He is important to us in the living of the Christian life.
One hope of your calling. This refers to the return of the Lord to take His church to heaven. The Holy Spirit within is the assurance of this great promise. Paul is suggesting here that the believer who realizes the existence of the one body, who walks in the Spirit, and who looks for the Lord’s return, is going to be a peacemaker and not a troublemaker.
One Lord. This is our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, lives for us, and one day will come for us. It is difficult to believe that two believers can claim to obey the same Lord, and yet not be able to walk together in unity. Someone asked Gandhi, the spiritual leader of India, “What is the greatest hindrance to Christianity in India?” He replied, “Christians.” He added, “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.” Acknowledging the lordship of Christ is a giant step toward spiritual unity among His people.
One faith. There is one settled body of truth deposited by Christ in His church, and this is “the faith.” Jude calls it “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Christians may differ in some matters of interpretation and church practice; but all true Christians agree on “the faith” - and to depart from “the faith” is to bring about disunity within the body of Christ.
One baptism. This “one baptism” is the baptism of the Spirit, that act of the Spirit when He places the believing sinner into the body of Christ at conversion. As far as the one body is concerned, there is one baptism - the baptism of the Spirit. But as far as local bodies of believers are concerned, there are two baptisms: the baptism of the Spirit, and water baptism.
One God and Father. The marvelous oneness of believers in the family of God is evident here, for God is over all, and working through all, and in all. We are children in the same family, loving and serving the same Father, so we ought to be able to walk together in unity. Just as in an earthly family, the various members have to give and take in order to keep a loving unity in the home, so God’s heavenly family must do the same. The “Lord’s Prayer” opens with “Our Father” - not “My Father.”