“When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. ... Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:1-4,41-421And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1‑4)
41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:41‑42)).
We find that that which the Lord Jesus had spoken of concerning the church in Matthew 16 and 18 is now an accomplished fact. Acts 2 reveals to us that it has now taken place. The Spirit of God has come. That rushing, mighty wind was the symbol of the Spirit of God, which had come into the world to live as a divine Person upon the earth. The result was that on that day something was created that had never existed on the earth before — the body of Christ, made up of all of the believers indwelt by the Spirit of God. These believers went out and preached the gospel that day and three thousand souls were saved.
Brethren, what did they join? What organization did they join? If you look at verses 46-47 for a moment, it says, “They, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
Teaching on the One Body
In 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 we read, “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.” We have the explanation here of what took place on the day of Pentecost. I have no doubt that if you had asked Peter that day the significance of what had happened, all he would have been able to say was, “It was the promise of the Father — the Holy Spirit is come that He might be with us and in us.” The Lord had told him that. But now the Apostle Paul is used to reveal the significance of what happened on that day of Pentecost. “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” It is not that they were not saved, but they had not been put together into one body. For that to happen, the Spirit of God had to come, and that had to wait for the day of Pentecost. But now we are told that on that day one body was formed, and by God’s wondrous grace, the Spirit of God not only joined all believers together into one body, but He also joined us to the Head, which is in heaven — the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why it says here in 1 Corinthians 12:12, “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.” This means that the body and its head have a name, and that name is Christ. Isn’t that a marvelous thing?
You remember how it says of Adam and Eve that God looked upon them and “called their name Adam.”
Eve was so closely identified with Adam that she took his name. Here we find the body is identified with the Head. The Head is in heaven and the body is here on earth. So closely are you and I united with our Head in heaven, so much is the body one with the Head, that the Word of God gives the Head and the body one name. That name is Christ. “So also is Christ.” “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.”
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Do you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you believed the gospel of your salvation? If you have, then the Word of God says you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The moment that you accepted Christ as your Saviour and believed the gospel of your salvation, the Spirit of God came to dwell in you. You were sealed by the indwelling of the Spirit of God, and at the same moment you were made part of the body of Christ. By the indwelling of the Spirit of God, you were brought into that which was formed on the day of Pentecost, and if you belong to Christ, the Spirit dwells in you and forms a divine link, which links you, not only with every other believer on the face of the earth, but also with your Head who is in heaven.
Going on to 1 Corinthians 12:25-27 we read, “There should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Here we find the Lord’s care for the body, and as members one of another we are called upon to have that care one for another.
The Unity of the Spirit
In Ephesians 4:1-41I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; (Ephesians 4:1‑4) we read, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; 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.” What took place on the day of Pentecost was the formation of the body of Christ. Now we are told that it isn’t simply that there was one body, but there is one body. Today, it is just as true as it was on the day of Pentecost: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.”
On the day of Pentecost, the believers were all together, with one accord, in one place, but their all being together did not make them into one body. The three thousand were not made members of the one body of Christ because they went on with the others. They were made part of the body of Christ by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and on the day of Pentecost when a soul was saved, he was indwelt with the Spirit of God, and when a soul is saved today, he is indwelt by the same Spirit of God. On the day of Pentecost the saved soul was added to the assembly, and the soul that is saved today is immediately added to God’s assembly by the Spirit of God. Nothing has changed. As far as God is concerned and as far as that which is vital is concerned, there is still one body and one Spirit.
When you and I look around today, we see very little outward evidence that there is one body, but there is one body. The Spirit of God has maintained that which He formed on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit of God has not been fragmented. The Spirit of God has not had His work demolished by man’s frailty and man’s failure. What He formed still exists, but the Word of God says, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Endeavoring to keep it. God has formed, by His Spirit, the unity of the body, and it is unbreakable. But the unity of the Spirit — that which is to represent before this world that the one body of Christ is a reality — is sadly fragmented today.
The fact that the testimony to the truth of the one body of Christ that God intended to be seen in this world is so broken up does not in any way set aside your responsibility and mine to endeavor “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
One Table
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 10:15-21: “I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is anything, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils [or demons].”
God has formed this body by His Spirit. We are instructed to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, that is, to act in such a way in our relationships one with another as to conform scripturally to the truth of that which God has formed by His Spirit. God has formed one body, and in endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit, we want to act in such a way as to show out that there is one body formed by the Spirit of God.
Communion
One of the ways, indeed the principal way, that God has given to His people to manifest that there is one body is in believers’ all partaking of the one loaf. We find in 1 Corinthians 10 that “the cup of blessing which we bless ... the communion of the blood of Christ” is mentioned first because, before we can take the step that would bring us to the Lord’s table, we need to know the ground for our acceptance there, and that is the precious blood of Christ. By being saved through the precious blood of Christ, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. By being indwelt with the Holy Spirit, we are made members of the body of Christ, and by being members of the body of Christ, our place is at the Lord’s table.
We next read of the body: “The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” There in that loaf every member of the body of Christ is represented — one loaf, one body! We look at that loaf on Lord’s Day morning, and what we see there is the symbol that God has given to us to represent what God has formed by His Spirit: the one body of Christ.
The Lord’s Supper
When we talk about the Lord’s table and the Lord’s supper, we are talking about that which is infinitely precious, and yet we must ever be conscious of the truth that “holiness becometh Thine house, O Lord, forever.” They are told in verse 28, “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” They were to examine themselves and to put away that which was contrary to the Word of God, and then they were to partake of that bread and drink of that cup.
But, brethren, what has happened in Christendom today? Man examines himself or others and he says, “I don’t like it. I think those people are too strict. I’m going to start my own table and I’ll claim the Lord’s presence too. I’ll claim I’m meeting in the name of the Lord too.” Or perhaps discipline comes in and the result is that the man who is set aside forms his own table, as Jeroboam did. So we look around today and we see the saints of God divided into so many companies. The Word of God, in language that cannot be clearer, shows us that there can only be one loaf partaken of that expresses that there is one body. The Corinthians were to examine themselves and partake of that bread, not one of their own choosing.
There are problems and difficulties that beset the Lord’s people in acting on this principle, but the fact remains that God by His Spirit is still gathering to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That which is to characterize those who are thus gathered remains the same: an endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, a separation from evil, and a conscious sense of the name to which we are gathered and of His presence there. Such will be a house of prayer, a place where discipline is exercised to maintain holiness, and a place, above all else, where the Lord is worshipped.
We must never expect the Lord Jesus to do that which would frustrate His own purpose and His own prayer “that they all may be one ... that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” He will, and still does, make Himself the center to which He would gather all His people around Himself, where they can partake of one loaf and express that they are one body.
Adapted from J. Brereton