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When “One” Doesn’t Mean “One”: The Church, One Body
Institutions declare, “One team.” Whole nations announce to themselves and to other nations, “We are one.” You’ve got, “one office,” to promote productivity for the work place. To express the unity of a city, there’s “One Atlanta.” Not surprisingly, you see “One Philadelphia” too.A single team isn’t saying, “We’re numerically one team.” No. The people on the team or the leadership of the team attribute unity or oneness to it. Speaking of the nations of the world at the World Cup, “We are one,” means a desired unity of all the nations. Even an office wants unity, because a unified office gets more work done together. It’s normal for cities to say they are one through all the racial, ethnic, religious, etc. diversity. I could find almost every major American city to possess some initiative toward “One Miami” and the like.When we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, we say, “One nation, under God, indivisible.” The Pledge of Allegiance recognizes at least a desire for unity in a nation. That pledge isn’t saying that other nations aren’t nations except the United States. It also isn’t saying there is one mystical nation, maybe even a single invisible nation to which everyone in the world belongs.
Scriptural “One” For Unity
That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 13:11, “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” Philippians 1:27, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” Philippians 2:2, “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” 1 Peter 3:8, “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.”
Acts 19:34, “But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”
One Body
Romans 12:4-5, “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office. So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” 1 Corinthians 10:17, “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:20, “But now are they many members, yet but one body.” Ephesians 2:16, “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” Ephesians 4:4, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
The Circularity and Wholeness of the Ten Commandments and, Hence, God’s Law
God is one, so His Word is one and His Law is one. It can explain James 2:10:
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
James says offend one point in the law, offend the whole law. It’s like being controlled by the Holy Spirit. You are or you’re not. It’s not like 57% control is control. 100% control is control. Let me explain, using the ten commandments.
The first command is this (Exodus 20:3):
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The tenth command is this (Exodus 20:17):
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Paul writes that covetousness is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Is. Breaking the tenth commandment is breaking the first commandment.
The desire for anything but God’s pleasure is covetousness. It’s also having other gods before God. The first commandment and the tenth commandment are the start and the finish, but they are also the same thing, as if it’s all the same thing. This is why all the commandments can be one commandment, love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart. If you do that, you keep all the commandments.
If you are not coveting, God is before all other gods. If God is not before other gods, you are coveting. The key is the first commandment. Have God before other gods. Then you will not be coveting. How will you know that you have other gods before God? You will be coveting. It’s the means for knowing.
If you start your way through the other commandments, they are interchangeable in the same way. The second command is a physical thing, an image, which is being coveted. It’s an idol, so it also breaks the first commandment and the tenth commandment. Covetousness is idolatry. And idol is before God.
Someone takes God’s name in vain because God is too low in a person’s estimation, so something is ahead of God, so again he is coveting. That which is higher in estimation, even in attitude, is being coveted. Vain taking of God’s name isn’t high treatment of God because something else is ahead of Him, so it is being coveted.
The Sabbath might seem like a difficult one, but it is like the others. God could require every day of the week to be set aside, but He requires one. If someone won’t do that, something else is ahead of God and someone has a vain relationship with God. You can’t say, God is high, but I can’t give Him just one day that He requires.
What about the second table of the law? The nature of God as love is God putting others ahead of Himself. This is why it isn’t murder to kill someone out of the protection of another person. In the case of the Sabbath, someone hasn’t violated the Sabbath when he saves someone’s life and protects someone’s property. If God does that, then you are not putting Him first when you don’t do what He does.
All authority is of God with a special emphasis on father and mother. It is hierarchical, so as long as it puts God first, then all of God’s authority will be kept. You can’t say that you’ve put God first, when you don’t honor those whom He puts in charge. You want your own way so much that you are willing to dishonor your parents, that is covetousness.
God attaches a long life with honoring parents, which is getting something that you can’t get through covetousness, even if you really want it. It’s not how life works. God is the author of all life. On average dishonor of parents, and God, who sustains life, doesn’t allow the same length of life to enjoy what’s more important than His authority. You can say God is before all things when you dishonor His authority, father and mother, but you in fact do not. One can say that anyone who does not honor father and mother does not honor God, even if he claims to honor God.
In Genesis 9, we know that murder strikes at the image of God in man. That’s before the law was written. God created men in His image. Murdering a man is to put another god before God. God’s prohibition against adultery we know was because God is holy and as a part of worship of Him, His people needed to be different than those in the land of Canaan, distinct and according to His design. It’s obvious stealing proceeds from covetousness rather than trusting God. You’ve stolen a material thing, elevating a thing ahead of God, a kind of idolatry.
God reveals Himself through the truth. Bearing false witness is against God’s identity as the Truth. The revelation of God is dependent on truthfulness. No one can know God and, therefore, worship Him without the truth about Him.
All of the ten commandments relate with one another to the extent that they are one. If you offend one, you’ve offended them all.
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