One Body Eph. 4:4

As part of my studies recently I have followed the historical progress that culminated in the converging of several Oneness organizations to create the UPCI fellowship over 67 years ago. The spirit of liberty and a personal hunger to join forces into one church body, unified together as the apostles in one mind to help grow the kingdom of God on earth, prevailed in the hearts of these early ministers and laymen. Yes there were disagreements on how to run a singular group. And still more concerns on the laws and precepts to govern them as a group. But ultimately, in the spirit of humility, they concluded that beyond adhering to the form of salvation laid out in the word (Acts 2:38) that the Spirit would establish the precepts.

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;" Ephesians 4:4

Lately we have had a surge of personal sentiment that has torn asunder the church fellowship and while thinking about these things another great civil war was brought to mind. The American Civil War was fought when two groups, failing to agree on personal convictions, clashed. It was in this dark hour that Abraham Lincoln gave a moving speech we know today as the Gettysburg Address. I have copied and altered these words slightly to reflect upon the current condition of our fellowship and hope that it might inspire some. and that we would all learn a lesson from our forefathers, both spiritual and national.

"Threescore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new fellowship, conceived in the Spirit, and dedicated to the proposition that one God created all men equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that fellowship, or any fellowship so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great spiritual battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of our prayers, for those who have given their lives, that that fellowship might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this memory. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this fellowship, under God, shall have a new birth of Spirit, and that government of the people, by the Spirit, for the Kingdom, shall not perish from the earth.

God Bless,
J.P. Ladd