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also of `the Head' and of `the members'. We must ponder the great warning of
Colossians 2 and acquaint ourselves with all that divides and spoils this
unity. The reader who contemplates so doing will not be likely to call in
question the translation suggested earlier, `endeavour, or make it your
business', for the keeping of this unity will colour every department of life
and activity and nothing that we do or omit in the affairs of every day can
be considered unimportant. The Unity of the Spirit is bound up with the
Unity of the Faith, the Unity of the Body and the life of every member.
One Spirit
We read in James 2:26, that the body without the spirit is dead, and
so, it is very right that immediately following the One Body in the Unity of
the Spirit comes the One Spirit (Eph. 4:3,4). With one exception every
reference to pneuma `spirit' in Ephesians refers either to the Person or the
work of the Holy Spirit of God. The one exception being found in Ephesians
2:2:
`Wherein in time past ye walked according ... to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience'.
The Revised Version and all the critical texts read `the fruit of the
light' in Ephesians 5:9 instead of `the fruit of the Spirit' as in the A.V.
We must, therefore, exclude that reference from our list. This leaves us
with fourteen occurrences of the word pneuma `spirit' which is distributed
through the epistle as follows:
Pneuma in Ephesians (14 occurrences)
A
1:13. Sealed.
The Holy Spirit of promise.
Redemption.
B
a
1:17 -19.
Spirit of wisdom. Energizeth.
b
2:2,3. Spirit that now energizeth. The Mind. Once.
C
2:18.
One Spirit. The both.
Access.
D
c
2:22. Habitation of God.
Katoiketerion
d
3:5,6. Threefold Unity.
c
3:16,17. Dwelling place for Christ. Katoikesai
d
4:3. Sevenfold Unity.
C
4:4. One Spirit. The Unity.
B
4:22,23.
Spirit of mind renewed. Former.
A
4:30. Sealed.The Holy Spirit of God.
Redemption.
D
e 5:18,19. Psalms, Hymns, Songs.
f 6:17. The Word of God.
e 6:18. Prayer and Supplications.
In addition to the above, we find in the same epistle three occurrences
of pneumatikos `spiritual' as follows:
Pneumatikos in Ephesians (3 occ.)
Ephesians
1:3.
Spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
5:19.
Spiritual songs, melody in the heart.
6:12.
Spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.
It will not be possible to study each one of these seventeen references
very closely, although it must be recognized that we cannot `keep' a unity