The unity of the Spirit.John Farley
Pastor Teacher Sunday, April 14, 2024 The unity of the SpiritJoh 17:20-23 Jesus prays for all who will believe in Him through the word of the disciples: the church. He asks for unity: He prays for His church to be one in the same way that He and His Father are one! This unity serves an evangelistic purpose. In the epistles, the Lord reveals mysteries to the church. He also expresses His will for us. The unity of the church was created for us by the Lord. We are not called to create the unity of the Body of Christ, the church. But we ARE called to PRESERVE the unity of the body. 1. What the Lord has done to establish our unity. Eph 4:1-3 Who established it? the Spirit. In verses 4-6, Paul identifies the seven essential elements of this unity. Eph 4:4-6 Three of Two are linked with the Spirit: the Two elements are linked with the Lord Jesus: one faith, and one baptism. The Father is over all. He is sovereign over all things. In this way, 1Co 15:22-28 The Father is also over the Holy Spirit. The Father is also through all. The Father is also in all. He is in Christ, and Christ is in us. Eph 1:22-23 The one body is Rom 12:4-5 We saw in Eph 1:23 that the church is His body. That unity of the one body is forged by the baptism by the Spirit. Every believer in Christ is baptized into Christ by means of the Holy Spirit. “baptized into Christ” means to be placed into Christ and identified with Christ.
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