Common purpose stands at the heart of the unity Jesus Christ prayed for in John 17, where He asked at least six times that His followers be one with the Father and with each other, just as He and the Father are one—one in kind and in perfect agreement, though not one person. This drive toward oneness is woven into virtually every human communication, since people are always seeking alignment, whether for peace or for influence. James 3:18 confirms that the fruit of righteousness itself is sown in peace by those who make peace, showing that without unity there remains an undercurrent of unrest. This theme threads through the book of Ephesians. Paul first shows that a measure of unity with God became possible through His calling and the gift of His Spirit, and he prays that believers grasp the hope of that calling in Christ Jesus. He then explains why unity is so difficult: a great Adversary works against unity with God and consequently against unity among people, making salvation—oneness with God—possible only through God's merciful grace. Ephesians was written to a congregation containing both Israelites and Gentiles, groups with real prejudices against one another. Israelites carried feelings of superiority, while Gentiles carried resentment and a sense of inferiority and rejection. Both attitudes had to be overcome, since it was God's own choice to work through Jacob's family and to reveal Himself more fully to Israel while hiding Himself from the Gentiles. Neither group was wholly responsible for this situation, yet each had to reconcile to it: the Israelite had no natural superiority, and the Gentile was not naturally inferior. The foundation of unity is having what is truly important in life in common. Paul establishes in Ephesians 2:11-17 that both groups were on the same level, since circumcision was merely hand-made and not a spiritual remaking of the heart. The most important commonality, established in verse 13, is that through God's calling alone both groups share faith in Christ, justification, and hope in the Kingdom of God. Verses 14-17 clarify that Christ abolished the enmity—the hostility between the two peoples rooted in human nature's antagonism against God's law (Romans 8:7)—not the law itself. The real barrier to oneness was their attitude toward law: Israelites emphasized ceremony while neglecting weightier moral and spiritual matters, generating pride, while Gentiles' natural antagonism turned into envious hatred equally evil. The solution for both was found in fulfilling their responsibilities to Christ, who loved them both and removed the worst of their antagonism through justification and His Spirit. The remaining task was for each to humble himself, repent, and make the sacrifice of compromise by forgiving the other, thereby securing both unity with one another and with God. This same pattern remains the solution today: since none is perfect and God has called all, each person must repent and make that sacrifice to achieve common purpose.