God's Mission: a unified Church

Intro

I was asked to speak on the topic of mission. As I thought and prayed about what to share, I came to a passage in John 17. As we seek to follow Christ in this life, we face many challenges. There are times when we will find that we disagree with others in the Church about how things should be done or what we believe. This can be seen in that fact that there are more denominations of Christianity than I would care to count or name. While it is okay for us to have minor differences, we will see in the passage today that despite the differences we are called to live in unity with one another. Not only are we called to it, but it is Jesus’ prayer for us and desire for us. As we look at the passage we will seek to understand what unity looks like and how it is accomplished. Once we have a grasp of that we will see how unity relates to the mission God has given us. If you will turn with me to John 17 starting in verse 16. I will be reading from the ESV.

John 17:16–21 ESV

16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 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.

V 16

For context, Jesus has begun praying for Himself, the disciples, and the believers to come. This is taking place at the Last Supper after Judas has left.

Jesus starts by praying that the disciples are not of the world just as He is not of the world. Jesus is saying that there is a separation, a difference between His disciples and the rest of the world. The disciples have a different nature than the rest of the world. The world is slave to their fleshly, carnal, sinful nature, while His disciples have a new nature because of their faith in Him. Jesus talked of this rebirth in John 3, where He explained that to see the kingdom you must be reborn. Because the disciples have a different nature, their desires and goals are different from that of the world. The sinful nature seeks to glorify oneself by whatever means necessary. The new nature seeks to glorify God and do His will. This ultimately boils down to the fact that they have a different God. Everyone is worshiping something, but those with a new nature worship the one true God while those with the old nature worship the creation.

V 17

Then Jesus prays that the Father would sanctify them in the truth. Sanctify means to be set apart and make holy for God’s use. Jesus does not pray for their temporal well being, but for them to be set apart for God’s use in His global mission. Sanctification is a gradual, lifelong process. The means of sanctification is truth. Jesus says here that God’s Word is truth. Jesus does not say that God’s Word is true, that it aligns with some outside standard of truth, but that it is the standard of truth. The Bible is the measure by which all other claims of truth should be tested. When Jesus says Your word, this encompasses both the Old Testament and the word He gave to His disciples which now comprises the New Testament of the Bible. Jesus attests to the divine origin and authority of the Bible. God’s Word, the Bible is the means by which the progressive change from worldliness to Godliness takes place. Now, I am not saying that by simply reading God’s Word we will become holy. Mere intellectual knowledge will not make someone holy. Rather, it is by studying God’s Word that our affection for Christ is stirred through the work of the Holy Spirit within us. It is the Spirit of God working in us as we participate by studying the Word of God. As we learn, we grow in our love for Jesus, and as we learn to love Jesus, we begin to live more like Jesus. This is both relational and moral in likeness. As one is sanctified, one is relationally removed for the participation in and influence of evil. This does not mean that those who follow Christ do not interact with the people of the world, but that followers of Christ are less and less taking part in the evil acts of the world. This also means that a follower of Christ will begin to grow in sensitivity to what they let influence them. More and more they will seek to be influenced by what is godly and seek to cut off ungodly influences. The work of the Spirit in us brings about this change. Paul says it like this, bad company corrupts good character. This company speaks to the people we let into our lives, whether through friendship, music, movies, books, etc. All of these are ways we are influenced, and as we are sanctified, we should cut out evil influences. Jesus says that if something is not for Him, it is against Him. This also means that we grow in our relationship with Christ. As the evil is cut out, it makes room for the good, both in fellowship with God and other believers. As sanctification takes place, there will be a moral growth. Holiness and purity in thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions will come about. This is what I was speaking about earlier, where our learning and loving Jesus turns into living like Him. Sanctification is the work of God in us, but we must do our part of obedience. We are told to abide in Christ and we do that through regular study of His Word and time of prayer. We are also commanded not to neglect the fellowship of other believers. As we obey God’s Word, He will bring about change in our lives. Our desire for what honors the Lord will grow and our sensitivity to sin will increase. This is Jesus prayer, that His disciples be set apart by God for God’s purpose.

V 18

Jesus was sent into the world to accomplish the will of the Father. He came not to do His own will, but the Father’s will. Likewise, Jesus sends His disciples into the world to accomplish His will and not their own. They have been sanctified for the purpose of doing His will.

V 19

Jesus then says that He consecrates Himself. The word He uses is the same Greek word which means to sanctify. The ESV translates it consecrate because Jesus does not need to be made pure or holy because He is perfect. He has perfectly kept the Law of God, down to the smallest detail. What Jesus means here is that He is set apart for a sacred, unique task, namely, His sacrificial death on the cross. All of Jesus’s earthly life has been building towards His sacred task to atone for sin. Jesus, God in human flesh, lived a perfect life, free of any sin. Sin is what people often refer to as brokenness. Sin is when we do anything that violates God’s law. Every person has sinned in many ways. We sin when we lie, when we look lustfully, when we desire what another person has for ourselves, when we make ourselves the center of our world and seek to serve our desires rather than God’s. Because we sin, we deserve punishment from God. This is not because God is mean, but because He is just and fair. If He were not just or fair, then He would not be good, and all the good in life that we enjoy would not exist because there would be nothing good. But because God is good, and He is just, sin must be punished, and the Bible tells us that the punishment of sin is death. The death the Bible speaks of is not only the physical death at the end of life, but an eternal death, being separated from God, who is good. Meaning that for all eternity we should be separated from all goodness. This is why God became a man. Sin had to be paid for, so God decided long ago before the foundations of the world, that He would die in the place of sinners so that all who believe in Him would be saved. Jesus was perfect and so He did not deserve death, but He then took the place of sinners. He was punished by God for sins He did not commit. He went as a substitute so that the people who believe in Him could have life. Jesus says that eternal life is knowing God. They can know God because the sin that separated them has been removed and paid for in full by Jesus. We can be certain that it is paid for because Jesus did not stay dead, but rose from the grave defeating death and sin. Jesus thus is saying that He is set apart so that many people could also be set apart for God’s service. Our sanctification is made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection.

V 20

Jesus then relates this prayer to all who will believe by the disciples word. He is speaking both directly and indirectly. So those who are saved by hearing the apostles speak and those who read and here the word of the apostles preached, which is the Word of God. Jesus is praying for your sanctification. He is praying that you be set apart for God’s service. He is praying that you know God’s truth and are set free by it. Jesus is sending you into the world to be His witness. All that we have discussed thus far applies to you if you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If you believe in Jesus, you have been set apart by God for God. You are not of this world just as Jesus was not of this world. Your life is to be different, it is to reflect Jesus.

V 21

Jesus prays that we all be one. The standard Jesus sets forth for our oneness is that of the Trinity. God is comprised of three persons, while being one God. There is no greater unity than that of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Each works in perfect harmony with the other to accomplish God’s will. The Father sent the Son, the Son accomplished the Father’s will, the Son sent the Spirit, the Spirit accomplishes His will. This unity is defined by perfect love for the other. After describing the unity of the Trinity, Jesus asks that the believers be in them. This means that believers are to be united with God Himself. This is true of anyone who is a believer is Jesus Christ, who has placed their faith in Him alone for salvation. By faith, they are joined with God in fellowship and union, and we have become co-heirs with Christ. This is how the Church is to find unity with one another. We are to look to what we have in common with one another. All who believe share the same faith in Jesus Christ. We have the same truth to which we adhere and are sanctified by. We will share the same heaven with one another as we share in Christ’s life. We have the same heavenly Father and God who is Creator and Sustainer of the universe. We have been given the same work which is to witness of Jesus to a lost world. We have the same example of Jesus. There is much for the Church, the body of Christ to be unified around. Unity does not mean a mechanical unity of church function. Jesus is not just saying we need to get along in surface level relationships. He is not saying we avoid conflict for the sake of quote unquote peace. Unity means that we are drawn together as one family, the family of God. The church is not supposed to just be a function that we attend, it supposed to be a family who weeps with those weeping and rejoices with those rejoicing. It means that we consider not only ourselves but also the needs of others, humbling ourselves for them. It means doing what is inconvenient for ourselves for the sake of another. The Christian love that we are to have is to go beyond being helpful and loving when it is convenient for ourselves. That is not the love of Christ, but a self-serving love. Love is costly as Jesus showed by dying on the cross. This love I speak of is defined by the Bible and not the world. This love that should be evident in believers, is one that is grounded in truth. Jesus has shown this in the order of His prayer. He prays for growth in truth and then for unity. Our unity with one another will naturally flow out of our growth in the understanding of God’s Word, our growth in our love for the Word made flesh, Jesus, which leads to living out God’s Word. Unity amongst believers is a result of believers growing in Christ individually and corporately. This means that unity is not easy. In fact, it is very challenging, because we are involved. Each of us is broken, still battling sin. Each of us is growing at a different pace. Each of us will continue to make mistakes. But this is the beauty of God’s community, we get to grow together. We get to learn together. God calls us not to a life of isolation, but one of fellowship with others. As we are growing individually, we get to come alongside each other. The unity that Christ is praying for is messy. It means that we have to be involved in the lives of others, and others have to be involved in our lives. This means they will see us at our best and our worst. We have to be vulnerable in order for unity to be accomplished. The Church is meant to be a space where we grow in Christ, but if we act like we have it all together with the Church, we are not giving opportunity for growth to take place. In America, the understanding of what church is is greatly mistaken by many. For many, church is a place they go to once or twice a week. That is not a biblical definition of what church is. Church is not a building, it is a body made up of many members. This misunderstanding has led to even more misconceptions within America. Since church is something we go to once a week, many people are no longer living in close fellowship with other believers. This means that one of the main ways God encourages us and sanctifies us is only taking place once a week for a couple hours max. As we are disconnected from God’s Church, it is likely that we could drift from God as well. In God’s eyes, the church is our family. For us to have unity, the Church has to function as a family. Just as the Trinity is one God made of three persons, so the Church is one body made up of many members. A body cannot function properly without all its members working together. We need the family of God. And while families may have disagreements, families work through them. God has given us the standard of His Word to guide us as we grow with our family of believers.

And now, after all of this, we get to mission. Jesus says that the world will know He was sent by God by our unity. If we claim to be of God, and discord, strife, anger, hostility, are what define our relationships with each other, no one on the outside will want in. Or, if our relationships in the church are defined by distance and many walls keeping people out of lives, again, no one will want in. Our relationships with each other are supposed to model the oneness of God. How can we say God is love and not love one another as Christ has loved us. If our lives do not model the love we speak of, no one will believe that God is love. But if our relationships look like sacrificial love, caring for others above ourselves, the world will notice. They will see that the truth of Christ’s sacrificial love has transformed our lives and relationships. As we love the Church in this way, we are to welcome nonbelievers into our lives to see the unity we have with one another through Christ. This will lead to the conversion of many. But this does not mean that everyone who sees us in unity will believe in Christ. Jesus tells us that many will reject us because they are rejecting Him. The truth is hard to understand. Many have hardened themselves to the truth and will not believe. They love their sin and do not want to turn from it, so they will not turn. Some may even treat us wrongly as we seek to love according to the truth. This is what happened to Jesus. He loved and was killed, so we should expect the same from the world. Our call is the same, to love as Jesus has loved. Jesus reached out to the outcasts, the sinners, the unwanted. Jesus showed them love, that they were valued, but He also never let them stay as they were, each of them that believed was transformed to live new lives that honored God. As more are welcomed into the family of God, change will take place in each of their lives. They too will be sanctified by the truth. God will be working, and we get to be a part of the growth process.

Conclusion

We are set apart for God’s purpose. His purpose is that we grow in truth and unity with one another as a testimony of the truth of Jesus Christ to the world. Let us pray.