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In Ephesians, believers are told there is one body and one Spirit. The Shepherd of Hermas echoes a similar tradition, describing the community's unity through the stones of a tower, which represent believers and fuse into one spirit and one body.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Ephesians 4:4
New Testament
1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Shepherd of Hermas 90:6
Early Christian
5 So all those stones,” he said, “that you saw go into the tower’s building, carried in by their hands and waiting to be built in, have been clothed in the power of these virgins. 6 That is why you see the tower made one stone with the rock. So also those who have believed in the Lord through His Son and are clothed in these spirits will become one spirit and one body, and all their garments will be of one color. Those who have the names of the virgins live in the tower.” 7 “Then, Sir,” I said, “why were the stones thrown aside, since they passed through the gate and were put into the building of the tower by the virgins’ hands?” “Since you are so interested,” he said, “and ask about everything so diligently, listen to what I say about the stones that were thrown aside. 8 They all,” he said, “received the name of the Son of God, and also received the power of these virgins. When they received these spirits, they were strengthened and were with the servants of God, having one spirit and one body and one garment, for they were of one mind and did righteous deeds.
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Notes and References
“... The tower (v. 5), which has previously been described as a monolith in appearance, is now augmented by another detail: it appears to be one stone with the rock upon which it is built. Those who believe will become one spirit and one body with each other just as the individual stones carried by the young women became as one on their shoulders (3.5). The inverted allusion similar to Eph 4:4 testifies not so much to Hermas' knowledge of Ephesians as to the familiarity of the phrase in early Christianity. Its occurrence there in baptismal context strengthens the suspicion that the same is true here, even before the explicit introduction of baptism in 16.3. ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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