“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

There is a unifying power at work in the Body of Christ and it is the power of the prayer of Jesus, “that they may be one as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may know that You have sent Me” (John 17:21).

The John 17 oneness or the “unity of the Spirit” in the words of the Apostle is held together in the “bond of peace” because of the strong bonding of the Body of Christ as individual members of the Prince of Peace. The Bond of Peace is the inherent order in the Spirit by which God has “gathered together in One all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him” (Ephesians 1:10b). Any disruption of this Order is a disruption by the failures and weaknesses of mortals which will in the end be overcome in accordance with the appearance of Christ.

In the words of the Apostle, we are to “endeavor” to be in unity in the Spirit which means we will have to make every effort and be forever diligent to guard and watch over our relationships with others in our life in the Spirit “with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

The Bond of Peace: There is a unity by bonding that are “ties that bind” our hearts in One, just as there is a natural unity of the body by the union of ligaments, tendons, and joints that unite the body and form the body as one unitary being. The unity by bonding in the Body of Christ is a bonding of Peace.

Peace (Gr. Eirene from Eiro): Agreement, to join together, Prosperity

The joining together in the Body in agreement and harmony where all things are reconciled in Christ produces the prosperity and peace of God in each member, as we lay down our lives for one another in the very nature of the Lamb of God.

As members of the Body of Christ, we come into the Unity of the Spirit by the means of sacrifice. This has been the means of God’s grace in the saints from the beginning. We sacrifice in accordance with our knowledge of the will of God. We sacrifice in obedience to that known will. Christ Jesus knew the will of the Father. He sacrificed, He willingly laid down His life in obedience to the will of God. Philippians 2:8 tells us, “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.”

May it always be that the prayer of Jesus is fulfilled in each of our lives together as members of His Body. May each of us prayerfully endeavor to keep, watch over and guard the unity of the Spirit. May each of us commit our hearts to live in obedience to the known will of God and to sacrifice our own will to His will and become completely reconciled to the Lord and to each other in patient endurance and in the love of Christ. May the Bond of Peace seal us in Oneness that the testimony of Christ may be given in all the world and may all come to the unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace.

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