Ephesians 4:4

Ephesians 4:4. There is. This is properly supplied, since we have here, not an exhortation, but a motive. ‘For' is not inserted; the argumentative force of the passage is obvious without it

One body, i.e., the mystical body of Christ, the invisible Church. The existence of this as a unity is a motive for preserving the unity of the Spirit among Christians. The force of this motive is weakened by taking the term as exactly equivalent to ‘church,' and such an explanation inevitably leads to false notions of the unity of the Church, and to unwise methods of preserving it.

One Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who is the life of this body, yet distinct from it. The term should not be weakened by any reference to the human spirit. In the New Testament it never means temper or disposition.

As ye were also called, etc. ‘Were called' points to the time when they became Christians; what occurred then corresponded with the fact that ‘there is one body, and one Spirit,' enabling them to recognize this fact. The correspondence is better suggested by joining ‘also' (not ‘even') with the verb.

In one hope of your calling. ‘In' points to the element in which the calling took place; the ‘one hope' is not that which is hoped for, but our hope, which is one, because it has one object and source. ‘Of your calling' may mean either that the hope resulted from the calling, or belonged to it, as characteristic of it. The latter is perhaps preferable.