“There is one body…” (Eph. 4:4).
The body is the church. “And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23). Therefore, there is one church. This comes as a shock to many people, but it is true.
False teachers have long told us there are many churches from which we may choose. They have told us to pick one that best suits our tastes. The problem is, all the various denominations are products of men, not God (cf. Matt. 21:25). This means they do not please God and will one day be destroyed by Him (Matt. 15:1-14).
Contrary to the doctrines of men, the Bible teaches that we must choose God’s will above our own (Jn. 7:17; cf. Lk. 22:42). That is, we are to choose the church of God’s choice, the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12; 1 Cor. 12:27). It was purchased by His blood and therefore belongs to Him (Acts 20:28). This also means that it is valuable, precious and loved by the Lord (Eph. 5:25-33). He is the One Who has the right to direct its affairs. The church does not have the right to dictate to the Lord what it wants, nor does it have the right to offer anything it pleases to God (Eph. 5:22-24). Rather, the body follows the directions of the head.
Further, we must carefully consider and accept the fact that salvation cannot be found outside of that one body. The Spirit revealed, “and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” (Eph. 2:16). We can no more remove Christ or the cross than we can remove the one body in God’s plan of reconciliation.
Just as surely as there is one Spirit, one Lord and one God the Father, there is one body (Eph. 4:4-6). Reconciliation to God is found in that one body to which the Lord will add you when you are baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38, 47; 1 Cor. 12:13).
Steven F. Deaton
