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Power of One

Words of Faith Final

Power of One

Words of Faith 3-3--2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

www.faithfellowshipweb.com

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Ephesians 4

[4] There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called--   [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism;   [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

 

     There is a little-known secret in Christian culture that many are not aware of.  If you want, I will tell you.  Shh. Here it is: There isn’t another Body of Christ to go to or another Spirit to surrender to.

     Really?  Yep.

    There is only one Body of Christ and one Spirit.  It is comprised of those who are born of the Spirit, trust in the Lord Jesus for salvation and are indwelled by His Spirit.  One, huh?

      When people move to a new town or city, they will sometimes come and say--   We are "church shopping."  Of course, what they really mean is that they are looking for the new location where they will worship, give, learn and grow. They aren’t really looking for a new church because there isn’t another church.  What they need is a new place where they can best connect with the Body to serve. 

      At other times people are tempted to go "church shopping" or even "church hopping."  The reason may be that they were hurt or became upset about something, or they were bored with the styles. So they shop around for something different.  But in the end, there is the same Body of Christ just in a different location where they don’t know the imperfections of those people yet. 

      Sometimes the bonds of peace were not protected in one location, and a ligament that banded the Body together was broken. Rather than repair the disunity, folks will look for another set of people who do not know them. The Holy Spirit reminds us that there is not another church to shop for.

      But wait a minute.  It seems like there are churches on every corner that are competing for our attention, time, and money... sort of like grocery stores and banks.  That may be true, but that is more a reflection of our market-driven culture. That is not a reflection of the Spirit and has nothing to do with the reality that Paul was communicating here.

      So here it is again.  Shh.  There is only one Body and one Spirit.   One. You can’t change churches because there is only one. The people you want to avoid in one location will be in heaven when you get there or soon after.  How long can you avoid someone in eternity?  

      You may choose to meet in a different location or attend a different gathering, but it is still the same church if it is the church our Lord Jesus.  You actually cannot decide what part of the Body you will be or what you are going to do.

      Wow, that is really different than the competitive world of marketed church life and frequent church hopping that we often see. The Holy Spirit says here that we are called to one Body.  We are not called to create one Body or one Spirit-- there IS one Body and one Spirit.  Our goal is not to unite all different people-- but rather to recognize the one Body and Spirit and refrain from breaking the ligaments of that Body. If we get out of the way... unity will happen by the power of the Spirit.

     Wow.  That is a great big secret.  We were called to one hope and one Lord. One faith and one baptism.  One God and Father.  It is often said that blood is thicker than water, meaning that family is a stronger bond than non-family.  This is true unless it is the water of the Spirit that cleanses us to give us hope.  The Spirit actually gives us a bond that is closer than family.

     So here is what we celebrate.  We have a new family with one Father who is over all-- above every one of us.  He is through all-- working through every one of us.  He is in all-- in every one of us.  One.  Let’s not keep it a secret.

 

      Father, help me to recognize the power of one.  Help me to set aside my agendas and wants to see Your agenda and plan.  Give me the grace to be united with Your Body in Your Spirit.  In Jesus' Name.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2010, 2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.