Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Eph. 4:3)
Expanded Passage: Ephesians 4:1-6
Sometimes our congregation affirms its faith in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, that classic summary of Christian beliefs dating from the early church. As our voices fill the sanctuary, we’re each making a personal declaration (“I believe”), but we’re making it together as a body. It’s singular and plural at the same time.
So is unity in the church. We’re not all of the same mind on every issue, of course, but Paul reminded us in this passage that we can and must be of one Spirit. After all, he wrote, we who are many have one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all.
St. Paul’s Cathedral in London is steeped in history, but it still fulfills its principal purpose as a house of worship. When my wife Judy and I visited years ago, we saw a large portrait of the old church in its narthex. Actually, it turned out to be a mosaic, an image of St. Paul’s created by the arrangement of thousands of tiny photos of individuals. The photographer/artist had composed it from pictures taken of every visitor to the church over a three-day period previously. It was an impressive work of art, but it also symbolized the truth that the “original” St. Paul himself was expressing in this passage. Together—key word, together—we are the church.
“Make every effort” to transform disunity into unity in the Spirit.
Bob Black is a third-generation Wesleyan minister and professor emeritus of religion at Southern Wesleyan University (SC).
© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
