Ephesians 4:1-6 - The Spirit and The Church

Ephesians 4:1-6

“Not only (1) is their unity expressly stated as coming from the Spirit, but (2) four of the five graces listed in vv. 2–3 are among the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5:22–23; and (3) in the Trinitarian confession that follows, pride of place is given to the Spirit, precisely because the one body, which is Paul’s present concern, is the result of their common experience of the one Spirit, whose presence in their lives is also the predicate of their one hope.” - Gordon Fee

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Jn. 17:20&21)

“Put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25-32)

“We cannot expect the world to believe the Father sent the Son, that Jesus' claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.” 
- Francis Schaffer, The Mark of the Christian

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:” 
(1 Cor. 1:2)

“This is highly instructive. This mess of a church whose meetings did more harm than good is still a real, legitimate church. It is a church of God…This church is composed of "those sanctified in Christ Jesus." A saint is not a special kind of Christian, someone who has been through some sort of spiritual finishing school. A saint is another word for a Christian. In Christ we are sanctified in the sense of already having been set apart by God to be his people and needing to learn—bit by bit, day by day—how to live out what that actually means. Paul goes on to say that these Corinthian believers have been "called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord." Their own individual status in Christ connects each of them not only to the rest of their own church but even more widely to all who name the name of Jesus as they do. There is something unavoidably corporate involved in calling on Christ. He is the common Lord they all share—“both theirs and ours.”
- Sam Allberry

“The church is wholly constituted of those saints that are his jewels, that are the spoils of his enemies, that were once his enemies' possession, but that he has redeemed out of their hands.” 
- Jonathan Edwards

“The Spirit delivers Christ to us not just anywhere and in any way but where and how he has promised. Although he is free to work outside of his covenanted mercies, we are assured of his saving blessings and presence only where he has been promised to us. If we identify the Spirit only with the unexpected and irregular, we will miss most of the times and places where he actually meets us.” —Michael Horton

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (Eph. 4:4-6)