`go on' unto the perfection here revealed.  We gladly leave `the baptism of

the Spirit' to the dispensation to which it belongs, and we gladly subscribe

once more to that unity of all unities, `That Christ is all and in all'.

We now come to the last member of the Unity of the Spirit `One God and

Father'.  The first thing we notice is that this is the only double title in

the series of seven.  Is it the intention of the apostle to introduce into

this very elective and exclusive unity such a fundamental doctrine as the

Unity of the Godhead?  That can hardly be his purpose.  His intention is to

stress the fact that in this unity all are members of one family, and that

God Himself is the Father of them all.

The character of the church of the Mystery is contained in Ephesians

1:3 -14.  There, as in the sevenfold Unity of the Spirit, we find the Father,

the Son and the Spirit.

A

1:3 -6.  The Will of the Father.

B

1:6.  To the praise of the glory of His grace.

A

1:7 -11.  The Work of the Son.

B

1:12. To the praise of His glory.

A

1:13,14.  The Witness of the Spirit.

B

1:14. To the praise of His glory.

All blessing originates in the Will of the Father.

Consequently, Paul

opens this wondrous section with a note of praise:

`Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath

blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

according as He hath chosen in Him before the foundation (overthrow) of

the world' (Eph. 1:3,4).

God is `our father' because He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ.  We are men, and for our sakes the Word was made flesh, He Who was

the Image of the invisible God, was found in fashion as a man; He Who created

all things, Who upholds all things, and for Whom are all things, He Who is

worshipped by angels, and Who is yet to be acknowledged as Jehovah (Phil. 2:9

-11, with Isa. 45:23) became the Babe of Bethlehem, the Seed of the woman,

and as the Unique Man, owned no human being as Father.  The Father is He Who

has blessed us, chosen us, predestinated us and Who has made us accepted in

the Beloved.  He predestinated us to `adoption' huiothesia `the placing as

sons' -- something more than children by birth, and as sons we cry `Abba,

Father'.  The Church of the One Body is a part of a great family, a family

not limited to heaven, but extending to the earth.

`For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father ... of Whom the whole

(or every) family in heaven and earth is named' (Eph. 3:14,15).

Just as the Father is the last member of the Unity of the Spirit, so

the goal of the ages is that God shall be the recognized Father of His

redeemed family, and `All in all' to them.  Thus this member of the unity is

extended; it does not merely say `One Father' but

`One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in

you all' (Eph. 4:6).