-One. One-ness. Eight times in these next 4 verses, Paul will use this word, this number which is the great unifier. Even our English word ‘unity’ comes to us from the latin ‘unus’ - one. There is no more, nothing else, that’s all there is, no other possibilities, no other versions. Only one. Oneness then is the state of being one, one entity, one group, one whole over and above whatever individualities might exist. There is togetherness, sameness, singleness, integration, amalgamation - many diverse parts merged and fused into one unified whole. This is the Body of Christ, a work (ongoing) of His Spirit, and one is the only-est number that we should ever do, as we will see. But this oneness is naturally produced by the Holy Spirit between true Christ-followers. From the moment we believe it is the Spirit who fills each believer with an awareness of being a genuine child of our heavenly Father, causing our hearts to cry out, ‘Abba Daddy’ and giving us an internal sense of being related to one another as fellow members of a heavenly family, siblings - brothers and sisters forever. Then as we spend time together, loving and serving and sharing with one another and serving others together, the Holy Spirit naturally causes that oneness to grow even deeper and stronger. This oneness is irresistably attractive to unbelievers (if and when they ever get a glimpse beyond a Sunday go-to-meeting)- by design, so much so that God’s people are repeatedly admonished to expend every last resource and ounce of energy and do whatever it takes to constantly guard and maintain this oneness, to protect it - from the forces of brokenness which naturally encroach on all earthly relationships, as well as against the schemes of a scheming enemy hell-bent on doing whatever he can to break down this oneness and break up the Body. Vigilance. We are vigilantes (or should be), hot and zealous and ever on the lookout for ways to preserve this divine oneness (and to be proactive in restoring it whenever necessary).
-This is precisely where the humility and gentleness and long-suffering and holding-towardness come into play. We go low and let go - of our rights and our wants and our preferences and petty differences, and we hold on. We hang on to love - love in spite of - and to one another. These are the bonds of peace. Peace is the essence of the Good News, is it not? Peace on earth - AMONG MEN (Luke 2.14). indeed, blessed are the peacemakers, the true sons of God (Matthew 5.9). Ours is not the absence of conflict, but rather the ongoing (and vigilant) resolution thereof. And it is more - no doubt Paul has in mind the Hebrew concept of shalom, a completeness and wholeness, an overall wellness and prosperity which derives from a state of harmony and unity. In pursuit of this lofty call we suffer long and bear with one another’s weaknesses and warts and faults and missteps with grace and mercy and love - exactly the way God deals with us. We forgive. We bear with and let go of all the bad. And we hold on to each other for dear life. That’s what the ligaments in our bodies do - the forces exerted on the bones by our muscles would forcibly rip them apart were it not for those ligaments. Precisely the word Paul uses here, and precisely what the Spirit has in mind for us, constantly cooperating with Him to do whatever it takes to spread shalom in the body and to guard our oneness at all costs.
-Unfortunately, this is no longer the way the Body of Christ functions in many places. We have been allowing division and differences to creep in and separate us for centuries. Partisan denominationalism, petty preferences, power struggles, competition - all compounded by gross worldliness and abuses and unrepentance, fueled by arrogance and unforgiveness - all these have reduced the Body of Christ to a fructured bloody mess in many places, particularly where the phenomenon of Christendom has held sway. The worldly power and affluence accorded the Church in these places has invariably corrupted its leaders and spoiled its members, infecting the Body with rampant schismatiism and rendering us largely impotent and increasingly irrelevant. We are but a shadow of the glorious bride we are meant to be. God help us.
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