Communion Spring 2024: That They May All Be One

Songs

My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

Man of Sorrows

Stricken Smitten and Afflicted

And Can It Be

“How could you worship with those who weren’t of like faith?”

Question asked by a well-meaning woman at a church in Ohio.

“So, will there be a conservative Mennonite church there in Mozambique that you will attend?”

Raising support for MAF, question was asked by a family friend,

Where were these questions coming from?

What was on the hearts of these folks who asked these questions?

Well, they were concerned about unity, and rightly so

They were concerned about what unity is in the Body of Christ and

How do we find unity? Especially when we are not worshiping at our home church

These questions call into question what unity really is. Is it possible to worship with those who aren’t like you?

If so, what is unity based on?

Tonight I would like us to look at John 17. And as you are turning there...

I know that you have heard me speak on unity on a number of occasions before

But this is something that I am intrigued with, and I want to continue to explore with you

Because it’s something that isn’t always clear cut, is it?

It’s something that we struggle to understand and live out on occasion

John 17 .

Setting the scene:

Jesus had eaten the Passover supper with His disciples

He had revealed that one of them was about to betray Him

He had told them that He was going to leave them

A message which caused distress to His disciples

But He offers them comfort and promises them that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter would come to live with them forever

At the end of chapter 14, they get up and leave the upper room and head out toward the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus would be betrayed

And as they are walking, Jesus continues His final instructions

Reminding them to abide in Him as a branch stays connected to the vine

He reminds them that the world is going to reject His disciples, just like it rejected Him

But He reminds them to stay faithful in the midst of persecution and hardship because, again, the Holy Spirit would be there helping them

And after all of that, He offers up this beautiful prayer.

And in that prayer, He prays for His disciples who are with Him, and, I believe, for us

And, I believe, for us

First, Jesus prays for His disciples, who are standing right there

John 17:9–11 (ESV)

9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

And then, Jesus looks into the future. And he sees the church at Fairview on March 29, 2021.

And he prays fervently,

John 17:20–26 (ESV)

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Can you hear our Lord praying for His disciples?

Can you hear Him crying out for His church?

We don’t have many instances of Jesus talking to His Father, and this is by far the longest prayer of Jesus that we have.

One of the longest prayers recorded in Scripture.

Our unity comes from being in Christ

21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

This expression, this idea, of being “in Christ” appears over and over again in the New Testament

And it’s something that has such incredible implications. Such incredible power

In Christ Jesus you were given grace before the world was created. Second Timothy 1:9, “He gave us grace in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”

In Christ Jesus you were chosen by God before creation. Ephesians 1:4, “[God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world.”

In Christ Jesus you are loved by God with an inseparable love. Romans 8:38–39, “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In Christ Jesus you were redeemed and forgiven for all your sins. Ephesians 1:7, “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.”

In Christ Jesus you are justified before God and the righteousness of God in Christ is imputed to you. Second Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

In Christ Jesus you have become a new creation and a son of God. Second Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Galatians 3:26, “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”

And we could go on

Our unity comes from the fact that as Believers, we are in Christ and that Jesus has done all of this in our lives

And this is true of all who have believed in Him and have been transformed by the new birth

Our Unity should reflect the unity of Jesus with His Father

“Just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us that they may be perfectly one!

PERFECTLY one!—because of the perfection of Jesus Christ!

The unity of the disciples of Jesus (us) is a high and sacred calling and it is centered on Jesus and His relationship with His father

You know, churches have divided and broken fellowship with each other over many different things

Some things are legitimate—things that go against the instructions of God’s Word

But other things, you want to say, “Is this really worth breaking fellowship over?”

Matters of dress

Interpretations of practice

searching for a church with better music

And all the ideas about preference that we may have

There are many things that have broken relationships within the body of Christ

And i think it should make us wonder...”Really? Over that?”

Considering the holiness and the awesomeness of what Jesus is praying for here, I find myself thinking, “Could we not have found some agreement? That we are together because of Jesus?”

Jesus and His Father were more than father and son as we understand father and son

Because of the imperfection and sin that is in our relationships, it’s hard, maybe even impossible for us to grasp the unity that Jesus is praying for here

I’ve talked before about the relationship between my dad and me

And I know that I’m not alone in having a challenging relationship with my dad

Sometimes the best that we can hope for between fathers and sons is:

Well, I get along with my son alright

I get along with my dad alright

We are at least on speaking terms

Thankfully, not always, but sometimes that’s what we know as unity between fathers and sons

This is how it was between my dad and me. We were at least on speaking terms

I know that we loved each other

Could it be that as a church, as the Body of Christ, as the Followers that Jesus was praying for that unity often looks this way as well

Well, we can at least be in the same building together

I can say “good morning” to that person.

But I’m certainly not going to go out of my way to talk to that person

maybe we think that’s the best that we can hope for

But do you hear the heart of Jesus in this prayer?

Jesus uses a comparison to describe the kind of unity that He desires from His followers: Just as The Father and I are one.

Do feel the weight and the power that this little phrase carries?

I don’t know if we can grasp the wonder of the unity that Jesus and His Father had and still have

Were they one in appearance/form?

No. God was still Spirit,

Jesus had taken the human form

Were they one in function?

No. God was Father, All powerful, All knowing,

Jesus chose to bow His will in submission to His Father and be a servant, give His life

But were they one in mission, in purpose?

Absolutely! There was no doubt or division in their mission.

Were they one in heart and in spirit??

Yes! Jesus said, “All that I have is My Father’s. All that The Father has is mine.”

He said, “I and The Father are one”

I love to watch animals that have the ability to operate as one unit

Flocks of birds

Schools of fish

They operate as ONE organism

There was no division or doubt in their mission and purpose.

There was no division or doubt our jealousy in their relationship.

And we say, “But we are talking about God here. We are talking about the Trinity here. What can be more perfect than God, than the relationship of the Trinity”

Yeah. We are talking about that.

And Jesus prays for us, that we, His church, would have that kind of perfect unity.

This is the highest calling that we as a Church can have. To be unified. To be one in spirit and in mission.

The unity of His church reflects the unity of The Trinity

God is glorified in unity

The same glory that God The Father manifested in Jesus, is manifested in us when we are unified

John 17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one,

The unity that Jesus prays for is so that the fame of God is magnified

So that His glory is magnified

Glory—not just brightness

But it has this idea of significance

Something that has glory is something that you think about seriously

Unity among the disciples of Jesus is meant get people to think about Him

How does unity glorify God? The unity of God’s people is a witness to the world

It is a declaration to the world that Jesus was sent by The Father because of His great love for them

John 17:21 (ESV)21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

John 17:23 (ESV)23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Unity is not for the purpose of making us happy, although there is great joy in being unified

And It’s not so we don’t become “that church” that everyone points to and clicks their tongues and says, “Too bad they couldn’t hold it together.”, as has happened in so many communities.

Unity is not meant to give us the ability to maintain some kind of cultural identity

It’s much bigger than that.

Unity is a declaration to the world that Jesus is who He says He is, that He was sent by The Father to draw all mankind to Himself, to reconcile fallen mankind to The Father

Remember the passage that we read at communion.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

You unroll the scroll and you shout it from the rooftops

The unity of the church of Jesus Christ should be so incredible, so outstanding, so over and above what the world knows as unity,

That it shouts a message to the world who is longing for that kind of unity.

That it shouts the message that Jesus has come from The Father to unite the whole world back to Him.

You know as well as I do that the world likes to point to hypocrisy and divisions in the church as reasons why going to church just isn’t worth it

But unity, when it is centered on Christ, it shouts out the Gospel message.

It proclaims the Gospel. That Jesus has come to reconcile fallen mankind back to The Father

What a tremendous and incredible message!

That should excite us. That should make us eager to pursue unity with all of our hearts.

Do we want to glorify God? Do we truly want Him to receive as much glory as we can possibly give Him? Do we WANT the world to know that Jesus was sent by The Father to reconcile the world to God?

Then it starts right here in the Body of Christ. Let’s be eager for unity.

Let’s strive for unity.

Ephesians 4:1–7 (ESV) 4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Hebrews 12:14–15 (ESV)14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

The farmers when they are putting in their crop or harvesting are eager to get into the field (at least I imagine they are).

They are chomping at the bit, so to speak, poised like a runner on the starter blocks

They strive to get their work done before the weather changes and makes it more difficult, putting in long hours

They are tired; their families miss them. But it’s their calling, their passion.

They are eager to do their work, and they strive to get it done!

Could we be that eager, that hard-working, that driven, to maintain unity!

Could we be like farmers with their equipment cleaned, oiled, and tuned up, poised to get into the field at the first opportunity

Shouldn’t we poised and ready to approach our brother or our sister and say, “Let’s make things right.”

Again, we aren’t talking about looking the same and living the same.

We aren’t even talking about everyone agreeing on all the ins and outs of how we “do” church

We are never going to be there

It’s futile to try to start there with agreeing on these things.

We are talking about being unified as people whose hearts are all striving to know Him. Striving for intimacy and unity with Jesus

If we are agreed that this is what we are going to do, that is true unity

If we have unity because we are all seeking the heart of Jesus, it is in this that God is glorified.

Because it’s for the glory of God.

When we are striving for unity, we are striving for His glory!

Church, unity is a high calling. I can’t emphasize it enough.

It’s a message that I need to hear.

It’s a message that WE need to hear.

Church, how is our unity?

Are we pursuing unity with all of our hearts?

Is our unity glorifying Jesus?

Is it glorifying God?

Is it shouting, declaring the message that Jesus was sent by The Father because of His great love for the whole world?

When we were in Ohio we attended a certain conservative Mennonite church that went through a significant church split a year or two after we left.

Some years later, we spoke to the pastor of the people who “stayed”. The remnant. I asked how things were going?

These were his words: “We are agreed on the doctrinal issues”.

I have to tell you, I was sad. Not that doctrine isn’t important. It is!

But is that the kind of unity that is going to shout the gospel to the world?

How is our unity?

Are we just enduring one another, or some of the folks here?

The Bread

English Standard Version Chapter 11

the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

The Cup

English Standard Version Chapter 11

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

John 13—foot washing passage

English Standard Version Chapter 13

13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”