Ephesians 4:3-4 says, "Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit." The expression one Body and one Spirit is very crucial. We should endeavor to keep the oneness of the Spirit because there is one Body and one Spirit. The one Body and the one Spirit are all-inclusive. In order to understand them, we need to read and study the entire Bible, from its first page to its last chapter. These truths, along with nearly all the basic and intrinsic truths in the entire Bible, have been nearly lost among God's people. We have been in the Lord's recovery for many years, and what we have done through all these years is mainly to study His holy Word for His recovery.
Based on the recent turmoil among us, I have the deep sensation that it would be worthwhile for us to study the holy Word in a complete way concerning the one Body and the one Spirit.
The one Body is based on the one God, who is triune (Gen. 1:1; Matt. 28:19). God is triune, but He does not have three economies. He is triune, but from the beginning He did not move, act, or do things in three ways. He has always worked in one way for one economy, but He needs to be the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in order to carry out His one economy. The one God, the Triune God, is the first unique base of our belief concerning the one Body.
The one Body is also based on the one incarnation—God mingling Himself with man (John 1:1; 14). Before incarnation there was the one creation; but the creation was not God's goal, nor was it His aim. This creation, the old creation, is just the temporary means to reach the goal. One day the old creation will be over. However, the new creation came out of, and is still coming out of, the old creation. Its coming out of the old creation has not yet been consummated. According to the Bible, God will use four ages, four dispensations, to work in the old creation in order to produce the new creation. These four ages include the age before the law (from Adam to Moses—Rom. 5:14), the age after the law (from Moses to Christ's first coming—John 1:17), the age of grace (from Christ's first coming to the restoration of all things at Christ's second coming—Acts 3:20-21), and the kingdom age of one thousand years (from Christ's second coming to the end of the millennium—Rev. 11:15; 20:4, 6). The last age will be the shortest age. God will use these four ages to work out the new creation from His old creation.
We were in the old creation, but one day God worked on us. As a result, we became a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). God's work to produce the new creation out of the old creation is still going on. Before the incarnation God was there, but He was never in any part of the old creation. His life and nature were always kept absolutely in Himself. He never came with His divinity to enter into humanity. From Adam until the New Testament age, no one among the human race knew what God's purpose was. According to Paul's word in Ephesians 3, God's purpose was kept concealed; hence, it was a mystery (vv. 4-5, 9). His purpose was not made known to any of the sons of men, great or small. Not even Abraham, one who was close to God as God's intimate friend (James 2:23), knew the purpose of God's creation.
Genesis 18 shows that God had an intimate friendship with Abraham. He came to visit Abraham with the intention of rescuing Abraham's nephew Lot from His fiery judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. But no one knew of this intention, so God said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" (v. 17). God had to let Abraham know. Yet in the Old Testament God did not reveal His economy, not even to Abraham. The purpose for God's creation of the heavens, the earth, and billions of items, and man in His image and after His likeness, is not a small thing, but God never told anyone what His purpose was.
God had a good friendship not only with Abraham but also with Moses. Exodus 33:11 says that God spoke with Moses as a man speaks with his friend. God revealed a great deal to Moses. The five books of the Pentateuch are God's unveiling to Moses. But in all this revelation God did not tell Moses what the purpose of His creation was.
The purpose of God's creation was not touched until Matthew 1. The Gospel of Matthew opens with the genealogy of Christ, showing that Christ is the son of Abraham and the son of David (v. 1). Matthew 1 tells us that this Christ would be born of the virgin Mary (v. 16). He is the Christ, the anointed One, the centrality and universality of God's economy. Although this is revealed in Matthew 1, today most Christians do not know the real significance of incarnation.
Incarnation is God mingling Himself with man. The creation of the heavens and the earth was a great thing, but incarnation is much greater. Many scientists through the past centuries have studied the heavens and the earth. Although the creation is very great, it cannot compare with incarnation because in incarnation God mingled Himself with man. This was a miracle. The Triune God, the One who calls not being as being (Rom. 4:17), one day entered into the womb of a young virgin and remained there for nine months. We call this a conception, but Matthew 1:20 says that it was a birth—"That which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit." God was born into that virgin. Then when Christ came out of the womb, that was the second step of His birth. First, God was born into Mary's womb, and then Jesus was born out from Mary's womb to be a God-man.