Ephesians 4:4-6
“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel that unites. It is a message of salvation, peace, and hope for all who believe and respond to the call of Jesus. It’s a gospel that moves us from death to life. It tells us that we’re all sinners, under God’s wrath, in need of salvation. Then it tells us the incredible news that through trusting in Jesus we are forgiven.
In fact, more than forgiven: raised, lifted up, given strength and security in God’s love, made his children, and given a glorious hope. It is a gospel for all—Jew and Gentile—who repent and believe. Therefore, in Christ there is “one body”, “one Spirit” and “one hope”.
Paul goes on to further declare our unity in Christ by proclaiming there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism”. These are all connected to one another. The “Lord” is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Ephesians 1 Paul has already spoken about God’s plan “to sum up all things in Christ: things in heaven and things on earth, in him” (Ephesians 1:10).
People are brought into unity under the Lordship of Christ through “one faith,” which means believing in specific truths about a specific person: Jesus Christ who died on a cross and rose from the dead to bring salvation. As Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14.6)
There is also “one baptism,” which is about becoming a Christian through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word itself means “dunking” or “immersing”. In the New Testament (and today), baptism normally involves an actual dunking in water, which symbolically enacts being immersed in the truths and promises of God himself.
Baptism isn’t a magic ritual and it doesn’t do anything by itself. Baptism is about clearly and publicly expressing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—and through that faith, we are saved.
Here, Paul says there is “one baptism.” He’s not saying there is one way of doing baptism. He is simply emphasizing that the act of baptism provides an external symbol of an internal confession of faith in Jesus. There’s no special path for Jewish believers to be saved in one way, and for gentile believers to be saved in another. There is only one way to be saved—believing in the gospel message about Jesus Christ. Baptism is an outward and public declaration of that belief.
Finally, Paul declares there is “one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.” Paul describes God as the one who rules and sustains the entire world. God is, as Paul wrote earlier in Ephesians 3.15:, “the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.”
There is not one local god for some groups of people and another local god for others. There is one God and Father of all. Now the fact that God is “Father of all” doesn’t mean God automatically brings salvation to every person: God saves those who believe in his Son Jesus Christ, not everyone in the world.
But even though salvation is for those who believe in Jesus Christ, it’s vital to remember that the God who saves us is not just our personal or cultural deity. He is the God who rules and sustains the entire world. And so God’s unique Son Jesus Christ—and the mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ—is for all the world.
