Church-Week 2
Notes
Transcript
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
Sanctification is the goal of every last believer
Sanctification is the goal of every last believer
This is a BIG word that means a lot - can boil down to ‘the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made to join together with HIS holiness’.
let’s not forget what this word ‘holy’ means. Ultimately - it means ‘set apart’. If you have a dozen eggs, and you set one apart for a special purpose, you can say that egg is ‘holy’.
God is completely and entirely Holy, because there’s nothing in all of creation that’s anything like Him.
And this is a key thing - that we aren’t being given our own, separate, disctinct holiness. Our holiness comes from God, is powered and sustained by Him, and leads to him.
You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.
So when Jesus says, sanctify them by your truth, what he’s saying is
Show them the way to be set apart by God for God’s purposes
Show them the way to be set apart by God for God’s purposes
And that prayer wasn’t just for the disciples around Jesus at the time. Jesus specifically says - this extends to anyone who hears the gospel and believes in that message.
But I ended this verse in John a LITTLE early on purpose. Because I want you to hear something.
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—
I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Our unity is one designed and powered by God
Our unity is one designed and powered by God
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—
I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Unity was one of the most fundamental goals of the Church
Unity was one of the most fundamental goals of the Church
Jesus says - show them your way to be holy. And by doing this - they will be one.
This cry continues throughout the new testatment.
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Paul even goes on to say, we should have the same mindset as Jesus did.
Unity doesn’t need to be created - it needs to be valued
Unity doesn’t need to be created - it needs to be valued
Jesus a
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Any church that prioritizes this will see amazing things
Any church that prioritizes this will see amazing things
General Ideas
Unity and Community are primary
Unity was one of the primary prayers of Jesus for His future church
John 17:17–23 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Jesus says - OUR goal as the church is to be united, like Jesus and the father are. And Jesus even says - he gave US the glory that god gave HIM - SO THAT we may be one and we could experience complete unity.
Paul in 1 corinthians had 4 pillars of Christian Unity
Focusing on the cross (1 Cor 1:18-2:5)
Understanding true spiritual wisdom (1 Cor 2:6-16)
Recognizing the fundamental equality of all believers (1 Cor 3:1-23)
Treating Christian leaders appropriately (1 Cor 4:1-21)
‘Unity does not need to be established, for it already exists, given by God. It needs to be valued and maintained.’
Christ is not divided (1 Corinthians 1:13 “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” )
‘Christianity is a God-directed, Christ-defined, other-oriented religion’ (NIVAC ephesians)
Our own ego is often the source of the biggest struggle.
any aspect of the christian faith that holds any power is held with other people. Even the very personal idea of salvation - God saves you, but he saves ALL of us, and knits us together.
This unity was not about conformity or similarity (God did not call us to unity in that we’ll all see it the exact same way, or agree on every topic).
The world has a very, ‘you do you, and i’ll do me’ mentality. But faith is, ‘we do what Christ says’.
Unity is based on two distinct emphasis - DIVERSITY and RESPONSIBILITY
Different is good, and you need to do things
Ephesians 4:11–13 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ministry takes place, in the body, to equip others for service - so that we reach unity and maturity
This verse isn’t talking about hierarchy (apostles/prophets/evangelists etc up top, congregation down low) but rather of function (apostles/prophets/evangelists role is serving and equipping)
Romans 12:6 “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. ”
Too many emphasize, ‘church is something others do for me’. Church is defined by, someone playing music for me, and someone else preaching to me.
Both are essential - but every single man, woman and child has a responsibility to build up the church. And every single one of us is essential.
A church can function without a worship team, or a preacher, or a building. It cannot function without unity, and without the corporate responsibility of the believers
If God’s love and power is really so great - we should be able to live in light of it in every possible area of our lives
John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.””
Unity and community are the easiest ways to both practice and demonstrate the transformative power of the gospel
This love NEEDS to not start in human motivation - it is supernaturally empowered
Our unity is not something we create - it’s based in the oneness of God and the gospel. God makes us one - we simply deny the parts of ourselves that try and make it otherwise
STORY - Some therapists will say in a healthy marriage, ‘there is no scoreboard’. That’s garbage. There’s absolutely a scoreboard, and you should try to win at every opportunity. The problem is - it’s not you versus your wife. It’s you AND your wife versus whatever problem that exists.
To first century jews, the individual was intimately tied to their community. ‘The individual does not have real existence apart from the whole people’ (Tyndale bible dictionary)
An early punishment for someone in Israel was ‘being cutoff from the people’. And this was a big deal.
This same fundamental connection ‘is the background for the intimate connection Paul makes between “the first Adam” and sinful humanity as well as between “the last (or second) Adam” (Christ) and renewed humanity (1 Cor 15:45–49; see also Rom 5:12–21)’ (Tyndale bible dictionary)
‘Unity with Christ means Community with Christians’
Galatians 3:27 “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
This kind of unity is supposed to be where traditional barriers of human society are overcome
‘There is no such thing as a christian in isolation’. This doesn’t mean that God rejects you unless you are standing next to someone. It means that God’s plan is for you to exist within a vibrant and personal community, not apart from one.
What does unity ACTUALLY look like?
(NOT SURE IF THIS FITS) Is it ‘satisfy your needs and desires privately, so long as it doens’t hurt others’?
This is the push of some human ways of promoting unity. ‘What does it matter, so long as no one gets hurt?’