Walk Worthily: the Unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:1–4)

In the preceding chapters the Apostle thoroughly explained how all things are summed up in the Lord Jesus Christ, striving in every way to lead the Ephesians to the contemplation of this truth and praying for it to God. Now, from this main thought as a starting principle, he derives how Christians, so united and so renewed in Christ, ought to live and act. First he depicts A. the general order of life in Christ Jesus — Eph. 4:1–16; then he proposes B. rules of life: 1. general — Eph. 4:17–32; 5:1–21, and 2. particular, according to one’s state of life — Eph. 5:22–33; 6:1–9; and finally, on the ground that life of this kind is a struggle, C. he clothes the Christian in the whole armour of God: here is an outline of asceticism — Eph. 6:10–18.

A. The General Order of Christians’ Lives. Eph. 4:1–16.

The outline of this order is very simple: keeping 1) the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace — Eph. 4:1–10; 2) under the guidance of God-ordained shepherds — Eph. 4:11, 12; 3) grow up in all things into Christ — Eph. 4:13–16.

1. The unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

This is the principal thing for Christians—that each person be as all are, setting himself apart in nothing. Previously, in passing, the Apostle had already noted that the understanding of Christians proceeds in harmony “with all the saints” (Eph. 3:18), and that their prayer to God ascends from the face of the whole Church (Eph. 3:21); now he teaches that their whole life also flows together—in heartfelt union with one another and in self-denying mutual cooperation.

The foundations of such heartfelt communion are the dispositions that oppose self-love: humility, meekness, patience toward one another, unity of mind and soul (Eph. 4:1–3). Without these virtues it is impossible to sustain a firm communion and a bond of peace.

Eph. 4:1–3. I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling to which you were called, with all humility and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The first verse—on walking worthy of the calling—may be taken as a heading and general starting principle for all the moral teaching, in the sense of: walk worthy of the Christian calling. Whatever moral rule one takes, it will fall under this principle and flow from it. But, judging by the flow of the discourse, the Apostle had in mind a specific manner of walking worthy of one’s calling, namely: the loving mutual communion of all. For he had just shown how all are united in the Lord and have become one—in Him and through Him. Now he says: you have been called to this; walk worthy of it, that is, abide in loving mutual communion. Holy Chrysostom, approaching the exposition of this verse, cries out: “And again our Head is Christ”—that is, again the Apostle directs us to the same thought about the summing up and uniting of all in Christ, so as to dispose all toward mutual union with one another.

The terms with which the Apostle surrounded this lesson on walking worthy of the calling—“I urge, a prisoner in the Lord, in which you were called”—are all directed toward animating, stirring into motion, and intensifying this disposition.

“I urge.” He could have commanded; he could have imposed obligations by Apostolic authority—but he urges, calling forth submission to the commandment of humility by his own humility, and counting their right conduct a personal favor to himself. And everyone knows how such speech binds one to right conduct with soft but nonetheless firm bonds (Theophylact).

“A prisoner.” How fittingly the holy Paul mentions his imprisonment here too, as he proceeds to set forth the commandment of loving mutual communion. For the bonds of St. Paul were the fruit of the bonds of love—love for the Lord, for His teaching, and for all believers. Loving mutual communion also imposes bonds and demands self-sacrifice. By recalling his own bonds he powerfully disposed his readers toward these (Oecumenius). Could a word about the bonds of love, spoken by one who was himself held in bonds for love’s sake, have remained without effect? Blessed Theodoret writes: “The mention of bonds is sufficient even to rouse those afflicted by the most extreme insensibility to virtue.”

Discerning this thought of the Apostle, holy Chrysostom draws from it a lesson for all regarding the moral bonds of love, saying: “But do we not wish to bind ourselves?! I counsel you to accept imprisonment—not Paul’s imprisonment, for the times are different now—but there are other bonds (of love): bind your mind. There are yet other bonds (of punishment); and he who does not impose upon himself the moral bonds of virtue will experience the latter, for hear what Christ says: ‘bind him hand and foot’ (Matt. 22:13). That we may not suffer that imprisonment, let us lay upon ourselves these bonds.”

“Prisoner” “of the Lord”—that is, for the Lord’s sake, for His cause and teaching. What I have said and will yet say is not such that one might retreat from it at the sight of danger; even if a thousand deaths were to face you, retreat from it you cannot. My bonds for the Lord speak this to you. Therefore my word is for you an inviolable law. Do you wish to be with the Lord? — Then by all means fulfil what I write to you. “Be ashamed of my bonds” (Theophylact). “It is good to be a prisoner, but not simply so, but for Christ’s sake; that is why he said: ‘prisoner of the Lord’, that is, for Christ’s sake; only such bonds carry so great a significance!” (holy Chrysostom).

How deeply holy Paul loved the Lord Jesus Christ! His most sweet Name was unceasingly on his lips. Open his epistles and simply run your eyes over the pages—you will see them strewn with the Name of the Lord. And this is especially so in the Epistle to the Ephesians. — Was it not in imitation of him that lovers of the Lord so acquired the habit of calling upon the Name of the Lord that it ceaselessly repeated itself on their lips and in their hearts, like a murmuring stream?

Otherwise it could not be, for all we have is from the Lord. But in the Apostle’s present case there is this particular quality: that he is even in bonds with the Lord, and his bonds for the Lord’s sake he holds forth as a banner of victory, as a royal distinction. Theodoret writes: “What is worthy of admiration in the blessed Paul is that he glories in his bonds for Christ more than a king glories in his diadem.” Holy Chrysostom presents the spectacle of Paul’s imprisonment as the most pleasing of subjects for contemplation: “The bonds of Paul, drawing us away from the present theme, attract us to themselves, and I have no power to resist this attraction. Holy Paul rejoiced in his bonds, gave himself over to chains, and was led away under guard with other prisoners. Great is the power of Paul’s bonds! Instead of all spectacles, it is enough for one to see Paul bound and being led out of prison. What can surpass the pleasure of seeing him in bonds and sitting in the dungeon? How shall I reckon this pleasure? Do you not see kings and consuls carried in chariots, adorned in gold, with their bodyguards likewise clad all in gold—golden spears, golden shields, garments trimmed with gold, their horses in golden trappings? Yet how much more pleasing is the former spectacle than the latter! I would sooner look once upon Paul going out from prison with the other prisoners than see those men a thousand times with their lance-bearers. How many Angels, do you think, went before him when he was led out in this manner? — If Elisha was surrounded by a host of Angels (2 Kgs. 6:17), what shall we say of Paul? The prophet David says: ‘The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him’ (Ps. 33:8), and again: ‘They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone’ (Ps. 90:12). But what do I say of Angels? The Lord Himself was with him when he went out (from prison). — He Himself gave the promise: ‘I am with you always’ (Matt. 28:20); and, appearing to Paul, said to him: ‘Do not fear… for I am with you’ (Acts 18:9, 10). — Thus the wondrous servants of God are always full of great grace, and most especially when they suffer danger for Christ’s sake, when they become prisoners for His sake! As it is pleasant to look upon a soldier faithful to his duty at any time—and most of all when he stands and fights at the side of the king himself—so too picture Paul to yourself: one could see him teaching even in bonds.”

“Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” “What do I pray for? — Not for myself, but for you—that you should walk worthy of your calling, for you have been called to something great: to be seated together with Christ, to reign together with Him. You ought not to shame the dignity of your calling by deeds unworthy of Christ” (Theophylact). “He has co-raised us and co-seated us in the heavenly places—us who were so hostile to Him and did so much evil. This is a great calling, and to great things it calls! It is great not because He called us out of such a condition, but because He called us to such deeds and in such a manner” (holy Chrysostom). “He called us that we might have Him—Christ—as our Head, and be sons of God” (Oecumenius). “Love therefore the manner of life befitting your calling; do not dishonour the gift of grace by a lawless life” (Theodoret).

This manner of life worthy of the calling is here, as already noted, the loving mutual communion and mutual cooperation of all. This is clear from the fact that, having begun to explain how to walk worthy of the calling, the Apostle reduced everything to striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And from the calling itself the same conclusion follows. All things, both earthly and heavenly, are gathered together under Christ as Head; by faith you have been brought into this common bond of all; live therefore in loving communion. Having laid down this beginning, the Apostle goes on to explain how it is possible to attain to walking in this manner. Our nature is sociable and communal by creation. But sin came and cooled it. The freezing force within it is selfishness, the source of division and separateness. The slaying of selfishness is the return to the warmth of communal love. This is why the Lord defined the first step in following Him as self-denial: “Let him deny himself, whoever wishes to follow Me”, He says (Matt. 16:24). The Apostle does not set forth this primary principle explicitly, but enumerates the virtuous dispositions contrary to self-seeking impulses, and these he lays as the foundation of loving mutual communion.

In the first place he sets humility. The Lord also placed it first in the beatitudes, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3). Just as pride is the foremost expression of selfishness, which divides and isolates, so conversely humility is the foremost expression of self-denial, which makes communion possible. For if self-denial requires self-forgetfulness, where is that more manifest than in humility? The humble person accounts himself as nothing, considering all others to be his masters and offering himself to them as a servant. Hence he has thought only for others, just as the self-seeking person has thought only for himself. “I am not about to labour and spend myself for him,” is the habitual saying of the proud. The humble person could not bring his tongue to say such a thing, nor his mind to think it. He regards every other person’s concern as his own, and is ready for any effort and sacrifice on its account. He is like a member of the body. No member of the body lives for itself, but entirely for the others. So too the Christian has this disposition, united with all as one body under Christ the Head. A given member of the body might seem capable of exalting itself above the others, yet there is no time for that, being unceasingly occupied with serving the others. So it is in the body of the Church. One may receive greater gifts, yet he does not exalt himself by them, knowing that they are not his own and were not given for him alone; on the contrary, he fears greatly lest he err against them and nullify their worth by directing them toward himself alone, confining them to himself alone, shutting them within this tiny space, like a single point.

Holy Chrysostom therefore says: “How then is one to walk worthy of the calling? — ‘With all humility.’ He who is such walks worthy of this calling: humility is the foundation of every virtue. If you have humility and remember how you were saved and from what condition, the remembrance of this serves as your incentive to virtue. You will take pride in nothing, but, knowing that everything you have is a gift of grace, you will humble yourself. A humble person is like a servant who remembers the kindnesses done to him and is grateful for them. ‘What do you have,’ said the same Apostle, ‘that you did not receive?’ (1 Cor. 4:7). And likewise of himself he said: ‘I laboured more than all… yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me’ (1 Cor. 15:10). He did not simply say: ‘with humility,’ but ‘with all’ humility—that is, not in words and deeds only, but in all outward manner and tone of speech. Do not treat one person with humility and another with arrogance; preserve humility with everyone, whether your friend or your enemy, whether a person of rank or of no account: this is what humility consists in. Also in other matters maintain humility; for Christ says: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit’—and this beatitude He places before all the others. This is why the Apostle also said: ‘with all humility.’”

Blessed Jerome writes: “He who acknowledges himself to be earth and ashes and remembers that in a little while he must return to dust will never be lifted up by pride. And he who, contemplating the eternity of God, sees that the span of human life is brief, resembling a single point, will always have his end before his eyes, and will be humble and self-abasing. ‘For the corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle burdens the mind full of cares’ (Wisd. 9:15). Therefore let us speak with all humility: ‘Lord, my heart is not lifted up, neither are my eyes raised aloft’ (Ps. 130:1). Humility, moreover, is not in words but in the disposition of the soul. Be humble in conscience, so that God too may see that neither in thought nor in feeling do you esteem yourself at all.”

In the second place the Apostle sets gentleness. The foremost offspring of pride is anger, irritability, and offensiveness; the foremost fruit of humility is gentleness. The proud person thinks, feels, and speaks to another with contempt: “How dare you treat me in this way?” If he dislikes an action, or a word, or even an expression on someone’s face, he takes offence. The humble person does not perceive that there is anything in others’ treatment of him that falls below his dignity, and indeed cannot even notice such a thing, for he considers himself nothing, and any manner in which others relate to him—a kindness beyond his deserts. Therefore he meets everything not only without displeasure, but with gratitude, as an act of kindness and honour, even though to others it may seem that he is being humiliated and insulted. Hence there is in him no movement of displeasure, not even the shadow of offence. He is gentle before all, like a lamb. For this reason all likewise relate to him peacefully, warmly, and with respect, even if he is not of high rank. Here then is the bond, here is the cement! Nothing can separate the gentle person from others or others from him; and the more gentle souls there are in any place, the stronger the bond among them there, and the more peace and joy there is. The Kingdom of Heaven is the land of the gentle, as the Saviour said: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Blessed Jerome writes: “Gentleness is a disposition of the soul in which it is not disturbed by any passion, and above all not by anger and wrath. He who possesses it will attain the blessedness promised by the Lord.” — “On the contrary,” Ambrosiaster continues, “agitation and irritability at anything engender quarrels and drive people to defend even what they themselves recognize as bad and wrong. From this comes strife, which severs the bond of peace.”

In the third place the Apostle sets long-suffering. Patience encompasses all that is to be endured: troubles, injuries, persecutions, deprivations, and every labour and burden involved in doing good and fulfilling one’s duties. Here the Apostle points to that patience which is exercised in mutual relations and encounters. The word he uses is μακροθυμια — long-suffering, or magnanimity. The magnanimous soul is so strong and vigorous that no offence from others produces any disturbance or change in him. Look at water that has grown calm: its surface is smooth as a mirror. But cast even the lightest object into it, and at once it is set in motion, agitated at a single point, sending out a wave that spreads across the entire surface. This is an image of faint-heartedness, which, at the slightest encounter with something unpleasant, is immediately troubled and grieved. But behold—a cliff! Waves beat against it, and it stands unmoved, paying them no heed, as though none of it concerned it at all. This is an image of magnanimity and long-suffering. Look at the magnanimous person! — All around him is turbulent and affects him greatly, yet he is at peace. It is as though he had no soul. One might think that such a state is characteristic of those whose hearts are hard. On the contrary, the magnanimous are the most tender-hearted: warmth emanates from them. What is the secret of such a state? — It is the grace of God. This gift is given for the ascetic struggle against oneself, which elsewhere holy Paul expresses thus: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). The experience of overcoming evil with good produces invincibility by evil. In prescribing long-suffering as the means of preserving loving mutual communion, holy Paul says as it were: strive in this ascetic effort, and you will not stumble in your walking worthy of your calling.

“Bearing with one another in love.” Magnanimity and long-suffering endure injuries and offences with composure; but in mutual relations and encounters, beyond these, there may arise unpleasant things that repel, even without any intention on the part of others to cause annoyance. These may include defects of soul and body, tangles of circumstance by which one person becomes an impediment to the affairs and progress of the common life, various kinds of friction, and the like. The Apostle enjoins that all this be endured and borne. “Bearing with one another” might seem like an attitude of indifference toward others. But the Apostle removes this impression and commands that we bear with one another in love, as a mother patiently endures everything in caring for her child. Holy Chrysostom says: “How can one bear with another? — The Apostle has shown the way, saying: in love. Patience in all things exists only where there is love. Bind yourself to your brother with the bonds of love: everything is easy for those who are bound to one another by the bonds of love.” One may even say that there will be no burden of patience at all, for love does not notice its labours. Only those on the outside can marvel at how one can endure such and such a person. But not everyone ripens quickly in love. At first this bearing with one another is what it is—one endures with gritted teeth; the expression of displeasure is ready to break forth, but is checked by force of will. These are the first fruits of bearing with one another. He who diligently continues to restrain himself and strain toward love acquires first the habit of enduring calmly all that might disturb him, and then of covering and absorbing everything in love. At this level, bearing with one another passes into the supporting of the strong by the weak—in spiritual matters and in everyday life alike. The Greek word means not merely to endure, but also to support. This means: to comfort the grieving, to instruct the foolish, to correct the sinning, to supply the needy with what they require, to defend the wronged—in a word, to help and assist one another in every way. Love cannot remain calmly at rest at the sight of another’s need, for it feels itself to be blended with others and takes their feelings upon itself. Another’s need is its own.

Blessed Jerome writes on these words: “Taking the phrase ‘bearing with one another’ at its literal sound, one might think that this commandment does not apply to holy men—for the saints have nothing to bear with in one another—but only to those who are still overcome by some passion. And it is no wonder that the Ephesians hear this, since among those who believed from among them there were still some who needed to bear with one another. This same thing seems to me to be what is written to the Galatians: ‘Bear one another’s burdens’ (Gal. 6:2). But both of these testimonies can also be interpreted differently—namely, that by them the rich are urged to relieve the needs of the poor. He who helps and ministers to a sick brother bears with him in love. He who, living the blessed celibate life, helps in some way or brings consolation to another who has a wife and children, bears the burden of the other. It happens that a man sees his mother or sister, a widow in extreme poverty and need, yet he cannot help them: whoever extends to him a helping hand bears with him in love. Whether we take the first interpretation or the second, it is clear that whoever does not support a sinning brother and does not comfort one in need has no love and despises the words of the Apostle, who commands: ‘We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are weak, and not to please ourselves’ (Rom. 15:1).”

“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Everything would seem already to be in place: humility is there, gentleness is there, magnanimity is there, bearing with one another is there—what more is needed for the strength of the bond of communion? There is need, he says, to strive further to “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” What is this unity of the Spirit? If we understand by the spirit the human spirit, the unity of the Spirit will be an interior, heartfelt unity, as distinct from an outward bond. To be humble, gentle, to endure unpleasantnesses, to bear with one another and to help one another—all of this is a manner of conduct capable of sustaining peace among you. But do not strive for peace alone; strive that together with this peace, within this bond of peace, there may be among you also a unity of spirit—that you may be united in heart, that you may have one spirit, one soul.

“Unity” — ενοτης — properly means oneness, unity, sameness. If we analyse the spirit into its spiritual constituent parts—thoughts, strivings, tastes—then unity of spirit will point us toward unity of mind, unity of disposition, and unity of soul; and in the Apostle’s word we shall receive a commandment to preserve among all a single way of thinking and of viewing things, a single set of dispositions, intentions, and desires, a single range of feelings and sympathies—to find pleasure in one and the same things; in a word, that there be no interior separation or isolation from others, but that each one have only what all have in common. This oneness of inner disposition will bind all together and establish the bond between all — συνδεσμον — which will provide a solid foundation for inviolable peace. The bond of peace is the outward aspect; its soul is the unity of spirit. Only in this way can all become one body.

Holy Chrysostom says: “What is the unity of the Spirit? — As in the body the soul embraces everything and imparts a certain unity to the diversity arising from the difference of the bodily members, so too here. But the soul is given also that it may unite people. The elder and the youth, the poor and the rich, the child and the adult, the man and the woman, and every being endowed with a soul, form something one; and this unity is greater than bodily unity. The first kinship is higher than the last: there is more perfection in spiritual unity. As fire, when it falls upon dry timbers, turns them into a single blazing mass, yet has no effect upon wet ones and does not unite them to one another, so it is here: coldness of soul does not conduce to union, whereas warmth of soul for the most part draws each one toward itself. From this comes the warmth of love. The Apostle desires to unite us all in the bonds of love. He desires that we be bound not merely by peace alone, but that all may have one soul. These are beautiful bonds: they unite us both with one another and with God. These bonds do not burden or constrain the hands of those bound by them; on the contrary, they give them greater freedom, open to them a wider sphere of activity, and make those bound more joyful than the free. This bond can be broken by no distance of place, no heaven, no earth, no death, nor anything else: it is above and stronger than all things. Flowing from oneness of soul, it can at one and the same time embrace many. Hear what Paul says: ‘You are not restricted in us’ (2 Cor. 6:12).”

But some understand by the Spirit the Spirit of God, or the grace of the Holy Spirit. In that case the thought here is: “You have all been granted one and the same grace; a single source pours out its varied streams. Therefore, being guided by humility and gentleness, bear with one another according to the law of love, and preserve the bond of peace” (Theodoret).

The bond of peace will make of all of you a single, firmly compact vessel, capable of retaining the streams of grace poured into you. The one Spirit of God fills you all: strive to preserve Him within you, and for this purpose preserve among yourselves by every means the bond of peace. When peace is no longer among you, you will be like a broken vessel. The Spirit of grace will depart from you, and you will become carnal once again as before. The Apostle says elsewhere: “For where there are among you envy and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walking according to man?” (1 Cor. 3:3). Blessed Theophylact expresses this thought thus: “As in the body the spirit is the principle that unites and binds everything together, though the members may differ, so also among believers the Holy Spirit is He who unites all, though we differ from one another in race, disposition, and occupation. Through this Spirit we are made one body. Let us therefore strive to preserve this unity through mutual peace among ourselves. If we do not maintain the bond of love and do not keep peace with one another, we shall destroy the unity which the Spirit has granted us. Then it will be with us as if a hand or foot were cut off from the rest of the body and severed its connection with the other members—we shall no longer be held together by the one Spirit.”

That the Apostle says “endeavouring to keep”—this “gives us to understand that the matter is neither easy nor a thing that just happens of itself” (holy Chrysostom). Nothing encounters so many obstacles as the preservation of the bond of peace and the unity of spirit. Much prudence, exertion of will, self-command, and all-round vigilance are needed for this. “Without particular effort and labour we shall not preserve peace” (Theophylact). So it is at the beginning; but in time peacefulness becomes character and disposition, and it is no longer easy to disturb it by anything.

Having thus laid the firm foundations of loving communion for all in the virtues of the heart that oppose selfishness, holy Paul sets forth the most powerful incentives toward this (vv. 4–6), so that this holy work might be accomplished not mechanically but freely—by rational resolve of the will, by reasoned convictions. Otherwise, he says, it cannot be. You must be in loving communion with one another, for all among you is one. This is demanded of you by the unity of the body of the Church, of which you are members; by the unity of the Spirit, whom all of you receive and who, penetrating all the members, imparts to each spiritual life and movement; by the unity of the blessedness to whose inheritance all alike are called; by the unity of the Lord—Redeemer and Saviour; by the unity of Baptism, through which you are born into new life; by the unity of God the Creator, Provider, and Father, who embraces all with one love, governs with one omnipotence, preserves with one providence—being everywhere present and filling all things.

Every word is an incentive to unity. The Apostle has depicted the whole order of Christian relations as it exists according to the idea of Christianity. From each feature of it one and the same conclusion follows: therefore, be one with one another. I am showing you what you are by vocation. But in order to be such in deed, you must apply your own effort as well. Strive therefore to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Holy Chrysostom, entering upon his discourse on these verses (4–6), speaks thus: “When the blessed Paul desires to dispose Christians toward something especially lofty, being filled with the wisdom and grace of God, he moves them to it by heavenly things—by the example of the Lord Himself. Thus in one place he says: ‘Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and gave Himself for us’ (Eph. 5:2), and again: ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God’ (Phil. 2:5, 6), and in the same way here as well. And he does this rightly, for when great examples are pointed out, there arises in a person a strong zeal and desire to imitate them. What then does he say in urging us to unity? — ‘One body and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling,’ and so on (Eph. 4:4).”

Such is the essence of Christianity, that those who profess it are one, that all believers form “one” living and vitally united “body,” in which there dwells “one Spirit” who fills it and sets all things within it in motion—which is therefore one, because it is animated by this one Spirit. Here then is the first incentive toward loving unity in the bond of peace. And this should be all the more compelling in that, together with the unity of body and spirit, you have also one hope. As all societies are united by unity of aims and hopes, so you too are called to one thing, you labour with a common purpose, you strive toward one goal. To all alike the one Kingdom is promised; its door stands equally open for you all. Blessed Theodoret writes: “One Spirit you have received, one body you form, one hope of the Resurrection and of the Kingdom of Heaven is given to you.” From this the conclusion follows of itself: why then should you hold yourselves apart from one another, break the unity of the Spirit, sever the bond of peace?!

Holy Chrysostom sets this forth at length, directing the whole discourse primarily toward disposing believers to unanimity. “What is ‘one body’? — The faithful of every place in the world, those living, those who have died, and those yet to come into the world, as well as those who pleased God before the coming of Christ—all form one body. Among us it is customary to say of things that are joined together and have a close connection: they are one body. In exactly this way we also form one body. The body, although it is composed of different members, important and unimportant, yet neither does the better member take up arms against the insignificant one, nor does the latter treat the former with contempt. Although not all members have the same function, they are equally worthy of respect. The Apostle Paul demands from us such a love as would bind us together, making us inseparable from one another, and such a perfect unity as if we were members of one body, for only such love produces great good. By the words ‘one body’ he demands that we have compassion on one another, not covet the goods of our neighbor, and share in one another’s joys—all of this he expressed together. Then he very fittingly added: ‘and’ ‘one Spirit,’ teaching that together with one body we should have unity of mind. He wished to urge by this a mutual agreement, as if saying: since you have received the one Spirit and drank from one source, there must be no divisions among you. Then the Apostle says: ‘even as you are called in one hope of your calling.’ That is: God has called all of us to one and the same thing; He has granted nothing more to one person over another: to all He has given immortality, to all eternal life, to all unfading glory, to all brotherhood (from the one sonship to God), to all an inheritance; for all He has become the common Head; all He has co-raised and co-seated. So then, having such equal honour in spiritual things, why do you think highly of yourselves? Because one of you is rich and another powerful? But is this not absurd?! For tell me: if a king were to choose ten men and clothe them all in purple, seat them on the royal throne, and bestow upon them all one and the same honour—would any one of them dare to revile another because he is richer or more distinguished? Not at all! So then, shall we, being equals in heaven, boast before one another on account of earthly distinctions?”