One body - Ephesians 4

Getting this right will help you have your Bible doctrine correct in other areas of study.

The one body is the assembly of scripturally baptized believers that gather together at a specific location.  It is called the church.  Preaching takes place, hymns and songs are sung, an offering is taken, and the two ordinances are observed.  Its members have the responsibility of preaching the gospel to every creature. 

Now for those that have trouble with that definition, lets look at the scriptures.

Col 1:18
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

And the church is shown clearly to be a visible, local assembly in
I Timothy 3:15
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

So the body is the church and the church is a place where your behavior is addressed in the scriptures.  Therefore the one body is the N.T. church. 

In case you were wondering, there is no such thing as the universal, invisible, body or church.  For there is only one body, we have just defined it, don't go trying to find a second body, the Bible said there is only one. 

One according to the scriptures

Ephesians 4
4   There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5   One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6   One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Get ready, here comes controversy.  But there need not be, these three verses are very simple.  They state that there is only one of each of the seven points that are listed.  So stick around, we will look at each one, showing from the scriptures why there is only one of each of these that is listed. 

But first an intermission, as we depart for new trails over the Thanksgiving Day break.

This one thing I know

Jesus healed a blind man in John 9. When the blind man was confronted about it by the religious leaders of this day, he simply gave this response.

"One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."

Salvation is compared in this account to the giving of sight to a blind man.  That sight is dealing with spiritual matters.  That sight allows one to see what the Lord is saying in the Bible, while those that are blinded cannot understand Bible truth.

I Cor 2
14   But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

You can give all kinds of excuses for why you don't understand the Bible, and therefore don't read it, but the real excuse is the fact that it is spiritual blindness.  That is a blindness caused by your sins. 

The Lord Jesus can take away those sins, and save your soul, and give sight to the blind.

In Luke 4:18, Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."

I may not know a lot, but as that blind man said, I was spiritually blind, but now because of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, I can see.

John 3
3   Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Am I the only ONE who is not impressed?

I read today that the U.S. Postal Service is $2.7 billion in the red.  Add their billions in losses to the billions on Wall Street, the billions in mortgage banks, the billions in the auto industry, the billions in.... what will be next to announce?  I assume that the leaders in these industries are not teenagers fresh out of high school.  I assume they have much experience in the field they are working.  I assume that the CEOs of these companies have more than a freshmen level understanding of economics and business.  So why is the situation so serious across the board?

I know the reason.  There is only one.

I Timothy 6:10

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

"The root of all evil" the scriptures say. 

What is going on around our country, is the fruit of a couple of generations that have bailed out their children every time they had some difficulty, rather than simply let them toughen it out and eat beans, drive an old beater, and live some undesirable rental property.  Now these same "bailed out children" are running major companies, and assuming someone can just bail them out.  In enters big (or should we say gigantic) government, and just like mommy and daddy have done in the past, bails them out, and keeps them from having to suffer in the least.

I for one, see through it, a bunch of spoiled brats in the highest places of commerce and government. 

So how do you line up?
Are you in the red or in the black?
Do you feel someone else should step in and fix your problems?  Or will you toughen it up, eat some beans, and do what it takes to make it in difficult times. Even if everyone else is becoming a socialist, and wanting everyone to share their wealth with them. 

More important to ask.
Are you in debt with your sins?

This area though is where you can't fix the problem on your own.  No amount of good works will ever appease God Almighty.  No church regardless of its size, name, or history can help you with your sin debt. 
That is why Jesus Christ died for your sins.  He took them upon himself, and suffered the wrath of God in your place. 
The trade is offered to you.  Your sins for the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

II Cor 5
21   For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Rather that standing before God in your sins, you can stand before God clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
It is only available to those repent of their sins and place saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in Mark 1:15
"repent ye, and believe the gospel."

The one rule all cyclists need to remember

I don't know how many of my readers also ride a bicycle. 

But when the trail gets rough, remember this-

Brakes slow you down, but breaks stop you from riding at all.

Now that isn't too spiritual, but you could apply it your life. Maybe some of you could comment on that and give some examples. 

I have one verse for those events....

I have one verse for those events that do not go the way I had hoped, wished, or planned on.

Psalm 34:1

"I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."

For I am still saved, still have my King James Bible, and I am still a member of one of the Lord's churches.  Heaven is my home, my soul is washed clean, and I have some treasures in heaven. 
As Job said in the 19th chapter of his book,
25   For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26   And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

While the USA is rapidly sinking, the Kingdom of God is still glorious, and the events of this world are pointing towards the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Only one will win

In every election only one will win.  Many started out in this presidential election hoping to be elected, but due to a variety of reasons, only a few are still in the race.  The hope is that the voter will accept their campaign promises, and go along with their slogans rather than the competitor(s). 

With God only one is accepted.  That one is the Lord Jesus Christ.  All others are rejected.  For this matter is shown clearly by what the Lord Jesus said in John 8:29
"for I do always those things that please him."
 
Can that be said of you?  You would be lying if you said yes.  In fact the Bible says the opposite.  "There is none that doeth good, no not one." 

Therefore to be on the "winning side" with God is to be with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The book of Ephesians tells us the place that God' children have, "he hath made us accepted in the beloved".  So are you one of God's children?  You enter the family of God by a spiritual birth.  "Ye must be born again."  "Repent ye, and believe the gospel".