THE PERFECTION OF UNITY

John 17:20-23 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; [preaching] That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. [preaching to make them one] And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Ephe 4:1-7 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

• Talking about a "walk" worthy of the vocation by which we are called.
• So we will see a PROGRESSION in this list.
• Then lists seven elements of oneness.
• Seven means perfect.
• PERFECT UNITY - seven ones.
• God's plan is seen here in this list of perfect unity
• There is a sequence of progression to this series of items listed.
• Look at each item, and the order they are listed in.
• We then see a manner in which God chose to construct Salvation and why.
• Salvation could have been made possible through any number of ways because He is God and His mind could plan countless plans that were flawless.
• The one He chose to implement is the one given in the Bible.
• Its the only one that will save a soul.

1. One Body
2. One Spirit
3. One hope of your calling
4. One Lord
5. One Faith
6. One Baptism
7. One God and Father of all, who is above all, through all and in you all.

I. ONE BODY

The beginning point and the entrance into God's plan for salvation is seen in this not concerning one Body.

• God is using ONE BODY in this world.
• This means He is not using multiple bodies in multiple manners of ways or religions.
• THERE IS ONE BODY.
• This is called the CHURCH.

Colo 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.

Colo 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

• God is not using many groups in this world.
• There may be many organizations that contain true believers, but not all organizations that claim to be true believer are true believers.
• All true believers recognize their organization is not the "Body" that the Bible is talking about.
• The Body of Christ is containing all believers who preach and believe what Jesus told the Apostles to preach and believe, with nothing added to it nor anything detracted from it.
• Jesus said, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; "
• Jesus prayed for the people who would believe upon Him "THROUGH THEIR WORD", speaking of the Apostles.
• So Jesus put a stamp of approval upon the Apostles, knowing they would preach His truth as He commanded.
• That means we must look at their words and believe upon Jesus.

Here are a list of demands people preach to see people "saved" that were NEVER preached by the Disciples.

• Sign a Membership book in the church.
• Raise a hand if you accept Jesus.
• Make a "decision" today.
• Make Jesus your personal Saviour.
• Prepare for Armageddon.
• Contract a celestial marriage for time and eternity.
• ABC (Accept, Believe and Confess).

None of these things are found in the entire Bible!

• Yet people give these as others ask how and why to be saved.
• IF YOU WANT TO SEE IF YOU ARE SAVED, LINE UP WITH THE PLUMBLINE OF THE BOOK OF ACTS.
• Peter answered the question concerning what people must do to be saved very clearly.
• Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
• The true Body will preach the precise same message, and nothing less.
• God is working with ONE BODY, and we must see our need of being in it.
• How do we get into it?

II. ONE SPIRIT

This point connects with the previous point of One Body.

1Cor 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

• People often trip over the terms, "Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
• We know FATHER is a Spirit, and we read about the Spirit of the Son. So with the Holy Spirit in mind, also, are there three Spirits?
• NO. THERE IS ONE SPIRIT.
• God is ONE SPIRIT, and has accomplished three main roles in order to save man.
• He is FATHER of creation
• Son for redemption.
• Holy Spirit for regeneration or new birth.
• God baptizes you with His single Spirit into the Single Body.

Roma 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

If we do not have this one Spirit, we are none of His, since this one Spirit puts us in the One Body He owns.

• If you do not have this Spirit in you the way they received in Acts, with speaking in tongues, then if I were you I would reach out by faith not caring what anyone thought of me so that I could receive this Spirit to put me into His possession!

Acts 10:45-46 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

Acts 19:6 And when Paul had laid [his] hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

• The Spirit is the same Spirit everyone else is filled with if they are filled by God.
• If you prophesy and I work miracles, then the same Spirit that makes you prophesy is the same one that makes me work miracles.
• You do not have the God of prophecy while I have the God of miracles. THERE IS ONE GOD.
• It is your source of LIFE.
• If the SAME SPIRIT that raised Christ from the dead dwell in you, it will quicken your mortal bodies.

III. ONE HOPE OF YOUR CALLING

After the Spirit places you in the Body, who put everyone else who is in the Body in there, you have the same HOPE everyone else in the Body has.

• There is a Heaven.
• There are not many places for you to go to, while I go somewhere else if we are saved.
• Some say only 144,000 are going to Heaven and the rest are staying here.
• But Paul said there is one HOPE of your calling.

• THAT blessed hope, not THESE blessed hopes.
• One appearing of Jesus, not many appearings.
• Titus connected something to the thought of this single hope.

If you want this only Hope God offers, you have to live righteously!

IV. ONE LORD

We must understand now that we have one Lord.

• We are looking for the appearing of our LORD Jesus Christ.
• We do not have TWO MASTERS.
• Where He leads I'll follow.
• What He feeds I'll swallow.
• LORD is the biblical term used for JEHOVAH.
• And if Jesus is LORD, then He is Jehovah.

V. ONE FAITH

The unity of the Faith follows the unity of the Spirit because these items are listed in a sequence of progressive understanding.

• We keep unity of Spirit in Eph. 4:3

Ephe 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

• And we come to the unity of the Faith in Eph. 4:13.

Ephe 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

• We are coming to agreement.
• He will not lead you to a truth to which He will not lead me.

• In Jude's day man false doctrines were floating around.
• Jude stopped His preparations to write about the Gospel, and had to deal with false faith.
• He said among all the faiths in the world, ONLY ONE was the correct one.
• FIGHT FOR IT!
• IT WAS ONCE delivered, which means there was no later delivery of a different faith, since the ONE faith delivered to the saints was the only faith to be ever believed. So therefore we should never even consider another option.
• ONCE comes from the word ONE.

VI. ONE BAPTISM

There is only one baptism, and it is Baptism into Jesus Christ.

• Baptism is included in this list of perfect unity.
• Why?
• Baptism is absolutely necessary.

1Pet 3:21 The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Roma 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

• Jesus said "Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Matt 28:19
• Peter said, "Be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." Acts 2:38

• Paul said there is ONE BAPTISM.
• That means the NAME mentioned in these two references is the same NAME.
• No name was mentioned in Matthew 28:19, so the one name mentioned in Acts 2:38 must be the same name, for both verses refer to Baptism, and there is only ONE BAPTISM.
• Anything else says TWO BAPTISM.

VII. ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL

Lastly we see it wind up with ONE GOD.

• That makes seven "ones".
• Seven implies PERFECT.
• So we have perfect unity.
• This final point is very important.
• It ends it all.
• THERE IS ONE GOD.
• Not two, or three. ONE.

• The source.
• Something that is the FATHER OF ALL is unique.
• If another thinks he is God and came from the SOURCE of All, then that other one must bow down to the SOURCE, the FATHER, and that disqualifies that other one from being God.

His will is to be THROUGH ALL.

• THE GOAL of the believer who gets into the Body.
• If the UNITY OF THE FAITH comes after the UNITY OF THE SPIRIT, and the FAITH is listed AFTER the SPIRIT, then we see we are progressing through these elements.
• And the last one would therefore be our GOAL.
• Our Goal is to be vessels in which the FATHER dwells and works THROUGH.
• This takes us back to the first element - the BODY.
• We are the vessel, or BODY.
• After this is mentioned we read about the MINISTRY.

There are many ministries, but these five are WORD ministries.

Ephe 4:11-12 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

• FOR PERFECTING OF THE SAINTS
• He lists the PERFECTION OF UNITY and then says there are ministers who PERFECT the saints.
• These ministers will preach about these seven things.
• Their preaching will perfect you -- bring you to the goal of seeing the FATHER work THROUGH ALL.
• He is a Spirit and the universe is physical. He chose to influence the spiritual realm and the physical realm after influencing only the spiritual realm by filling YOU so He can be THROUGH not only the spiritual, but the physical, making Him THROUGH ALL.
• The ministry works for the EDIFICATION OF THE BODY.
• We BEGIN in the BODY and we are edified and strengthened by progressing towards the last note -- being vessels of the FATHER.

Ephe 5:23-27 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

• Present the Church to Himself for what?
• For a means of filling all.
• He is washing us with the WORD.
• He lists the seven elements of unity, and then says that ministers preach this to PERFECT the church, and then says the WORD washes the CHURCH, the BODY, for the sake of presenting it to Himself.

Our opening text said....

John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; [preaching]
John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. [preaching to make them one - PERFECT them... perfection of unity.]

Do not ruin this work of unifying the BODY.
UNITY involves relationships with others.
Notice the points regarding UNITY in the following:

Ephe 4:17-18 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

Ephe 4:22-25 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

Ephe 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Ephe 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

• The one Spirit that binds us all together is grieved when we break unity.
• If you hurt one another, you work against the efforts of the Spirit who is uniting us all together.
• You grieve the very One who will rapture us when you divide as He tries to unite.

Ephe 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

IT is being PERFECTED.
The preaching of these SEVEN ELEMENTS OF ONENESS is absolutely vital to our perfection, so that we can be in the CHURCH He is coming for.