Eph summary of faith

In writing to the ecclesia in Ephesus, Paul appeals for unity of mind and fellowship among believers there based on their mutual acceptance of seven “ones”: “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” (Eph 4:4-6).

The enumeration of these seven “unities” has the distinctive appearance of a “summary of faith”, a statement of faith which is wholly Biblical. Some writers (Marcus Barth, “Ephesians 4-6”, Anchor Bible, pp 462,463; Alfred Barry, “Ephesians”, Ellicott 8:36; Francis Foulkes, “The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians”, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, p 112)         suppose that Paul is in fact citing a concise yet precise doctrinal summary known to the worldwide church or ecclesia of his day:

1. One body
2. One Spirit
3. One hope
4. One Lord
5. One faith
6. One baptism
7. One God

The seven “ones” may be defined by comparing especially Paul’s use of the same words elsewhere. This produces a credible statement of essential doctrines — which defines the distinctive truths we believe, and sets that system of truth apart from various false “gospels”:

1. One body: The unity of all believers, and specifically both Jews and Gentiles, reconciled to God on the same basis (Eph 2:16). One body, bound together in love with Christ as the head (Eph 4:12-16; Rom 12:1,4,5; 1Co 12:12-27). Also, one body as “husband” and “wife”: the “great mystery” of Christ and the church, or ecclesia (Eph 5:23,28,30). Finally, the “one body” of the church is equivalent to the “one bread” of communion or fellowship with Christ (1Co 10:16,17; 11:24,27,29). Thus “one body” defines the ecclesia in terms of fellowship, both inclusively (all true believers being members)         and exclusively (no others being members).

2. One Spirit: The Holy Spirit of God, by which prophets and apostles were inspired to record the one truth, and by which the Bible itself was written, validated, and preserved. This was the Spirit of truth, or the Comforter, which came to the apostles, to teach them the words of Jesus (Joh 14:17,26; 15:26; 16:13). As there is one true Spirit, or Teacher, the others must be false “spirits” or teachers (1Ti 4:11; cp 1Jo 4:1-3)         when they teach other doctrines contrary to that which the apostles received and taught (Gal 1:8-11).

3. One hope: In Paul’s own words elsewhere, the one “hope” is the hope of a resurrection (Act 23:6; 24:14,15), the hope of the promises made to the fathers (Act 26:6-8; Rom 4:13-18), and the hope of Israel (Act 28:20)         — that is, the kingdom of Israel restored (Act 1:6; 3:19-21; 2Sa 7:12-14; Luk 1:30-33). Thus the “one hope” must also be the hope of Christ’s appearing and kingdom (Act 1:11; Col 1:5; Tit 2:13)         and the hope of eternal life (Tit 1:2; 3:7). Those who are “without Christ” have “no hope” (Eph 2:12).

4. One Lord: References to “the Lord” in Paul’s writings are too numerous to catalog here. The essence of Bible teaching about the “one Lord” might be summarized, however: Jesus is the one Lord because he is the only-begotten Son of God, and the one man in whom all mankind (that is, all believers)         are included (Eph 4:11-16; 2Co 5:14-17). He was the one man to lead a perfect life, and therefore the one man capable of dying as the perfect representative sacrifice for all men. Thus he was raised from the dead (Phi 2:8-12)         to become the head, or Lord, of all who would have eternal life in him (Rom 5:12,18,19). A final point: as the “one Lord”, Jesus is always personally distinct from the “one God” (Eph 4:5,6; 1Co 8:4-6; 1Ti 2:5).

5. One faith: Faith in the crucified and risen Christ is the one and only means to salvation (Act 4:12; Rom 3:22-31; Gal 3). By such faith — in prospect — even Abraham was justified, or declared righteous (Rom 4:1-5; cp Rom 3: 25 and Heb 9:15). By faith sinners may be forgiven (Rom 4:6-8), apart from their own works or acts of righteousness (Eph 2:8,9).

6. One baptism: The one baptism (ie, the only true baptism)         is that which is preceded by belief in the one gospel, as defined in the list. Paul knows only one form of baptism: a burial (Rom 6:3,4; Col 2:12)         in water. Baptism is the means by which believers become heirs of the promises made to Abraham and his “seed” (Gal 3:27-29).

7. One God: The last of the seven “unities” in Paul’s list is actually the first and greatest “unity”, from which all other “unities” are derived. “One God”, as distinct from even His own Son (1Co 8:6; Gal 3:19,20; 1Ti 2:5). The “one God” is the “Father” of one Divine family, all made one in Him because of His love for them, as shown through His Son (Eph 3:14-21).

The essential doctrines derived directly from Paul’s “summary of faith” in Eph 4 are listed below. The references 1 through 7 are to the preceding seven numbered “unities”. For ease of future reference, the essential doctrines are listed in the general order familiar to readers of our common statement of faith.

• The Bible (the teachings and writings of prophets and apostles), the only source of truth and the only hope of eternal life (2).
• One God, the Father of all (7).
• The Holy Spirit, God’s power unto salvation (2).
• The one Lord, Jesus, the Son of God, who is distinct from God Himself, being a man and the head of all men, by virtue of his perfectly obedient life (4).
• The one Body: all men — both Jews and Gentiles — who have been reconciled to God through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1).
• The forgiveness of sins, only through faith in Christ (5).
• Christ as the one mediator between God and men (4).
• The second coming of Christ (3).
• The resurrection of the dead (3).
• The reward of the faithful with immortality (3).
• The fulfillment of the promises to the fathers: eternal possession of the earth (3).
• The kingdom of Israel restored (3).
• The one true gospel, which cannot be altered (5).
• Baptism (total immersion), only after belief of the gospel and repentance (6).
• The memorial supper, expressive of fellowship (inclusive and exclusive)         in the family of God (1).

Certain false doctrines are very directly and distinctly ruled out by belief in the positive teachings summarized above:

• The “trinity”, and the pre-human existence and “divinity” of Christ (all being contrary to the “one God”).
• The immortality of the “soul” (contrary to the “one hope”).
• Heaven-going (contrary to the “one hope”).
• The earth literally burned up (contrary to the “one hope”).
• A superhuman fallen angel “devil” or “Satan” (contrary to both the “one God” and the “one Lord”).
• Infant-sprinkling (contrary to the “one baptism”).
• Universal salvation (contrary to the “one hope”).