Ephesians 4:4

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling”

“There is”: “One may leave this great basis, it remains nonetheless what it is. One may rest on it wholeheartedly or weakly, that, too, does not change it in the least” (Lenski p. 510). “One body”: This is another name for the church (Ephesians 1:22). All Christians are members of this one body (Ephesians 2:16). This one body is not composed of differing religious bodies, rather it is composed of individual Christians (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:27). Jesus prayed for. unified body of disciples (John 17:20). “To thank God for all the different ‘churches', to declare that ‘any church is alright', or to encourage people to ‘join the church of your choice', is to promote disunity and discord. Denominationalism seeks to have one head with many bodies. Paul is declaring. unity of membership among Christians in. single church” (Caldwell pp. 164-165). God maintains only "one body". There is only one way to enter the body of Christ (Acts 2:38; Acts 2:41; Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 12:13). God weeds out the unfaithful among His people (2 John 1:9; Revelation 3:4). God does not endorse congregations that depart from His will (Revelation 2:5; Revelation 3:16).

“One Spirit”: One Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians 9:1; 1 Corinthians 10:1; 1 Corinthians 11:1). "One Spirit" demands one consistent revelation of truth (Ephesians 3:3-5). Hence the Bible does not teach contradictory doctrines, for all truth was revealed through "one Spirit" (John 16:13). There is only one body because the one Spirit directs sinners to only one plan of salvation and one place of salvation (1 Corinthians 12:13). Denominationalism cannot be linked to God, because nowhere does the Spirit ever direct anyone to become. member of some human denomination.

“One hope of your calling”: “Called to share one common hope” (Con). “Just as there was but one hope set before you when you received your Call” (TCNT). The "one hope" is eternal life (Titus 1:2). The Jehovah Witnesses argue that two hopes exist, that is an earthly paradise for the vast majority of believers and then heaven for the 144,000. There is only one problem--- it contradicts the Bible. All Christians are told to set their minds on heaven (Matthew 6:19; Colossians 3:1; 1 Peter 1:4). “This hope is not something individual and private, but something public and corporate (Col.ossiansEphesians 1:13)” (Boles p. 268). If Christians all have "one hope", then we should all have the same basic goals and ambitions in common. We should all "value" the same spiritual things. We should all recognize what is important and what is not (Matthew 6:19). We should all work towards helping others obtain eternal life. We should all realize how important it is to encourage each other so that we all gain this hope (Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:25).