“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” (I Corinthians 12:13).

The true church of God comes from all backgrounds, yet in Christ we have unity. We may have different gifts and ministries, yet as we see in our text, through the Spirit we are on common ground. Verse two of the hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation,” reflects this ideal.

Elect from every nation, Yet one o’er all the earth, Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth; One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, With every grace endued.

This marvelous unity is strangely fragile, and must be guarded, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:3–6).

To be a unified church, Jesus Christ must be Lord, and Scriptural truth paramount. Any foundation other than this will prove to be shifting sand.

The hymn mentions “holy food,” as did Christ Himself. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). Eating of this bread gives entrance into the church.

The hymn also mentions a unified hope, the Christian’s “blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). This hope is a sure hope. “That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). JDM