John 17:20-26
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Praying for Who?
Praying for Who?
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
For the church- those who would believe because of the testimony of the disciples
Unity is the main theme here, as we have talked about before the question becomes, united how?
As I look around the room I see...
Why would we choose to come together every week to share and care for each other- but for our unity in Christ
What we share is an understanding we’re sinners saved from punishment by the grace of God, through the blood of Jesus
We share Christ- we are all on a journey, we find ourselves at different points in this journey, some have been journeying long, some short, some today could be the beginning, but we are journeying together
Praying For?
Praying For?
Unity
Unity
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.
Unity is not compromising truth
Unity is not compromising truth
Exalting Jesus in John Unity Is Not Compromising the Truth
D. A. Carson wrote,
[Unity] is not achieved by hunting enthusiastically for the lowest common theological denominator, but by common adherence to the apostolic gospel. (John, 568)
Our unity began when we heard the truth about God conveyed through the word of the disciples (verse 20) and our unity continues based on that truth- the truth of who Jesus is revealed in his word
Unity is Not Outlawing Any Diversity
Unity is Not Outlawing Any Diversity
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
There are differences- gifts, kinds of service, kinds of working but there is Unity in the essentials- same Spirit, same Lord, same God
Unity does not mean uniformity
Unity is Participation in a Shared Relationship with Jesus
Unity is Participation in a Shared Relationship with Jesus
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.
Evidences of Unity
Evidences of Unity
Shared Glory
Jesus uses the word glory in the sense of revelation. John 17:22
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—
The disciples received the revelation about God through the ministry of Jesus- its the same word glory used in John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
We will be united/one as we continue to hold firmly to the (glory) revelation of God
Shared Identity
As believers we are “in Christ.”
Father is used 3 times in this passage- verse 21, 24 and 25
If he is father then we are his children- we are brothers and sisters- we are family
We love one another as family members
It’s people of all ethnicities, countries and social circles becoming family members
Shared Love
Twice in this passage verses 23, 26 we are told believers will know and experience the same love the God has for the Son
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.
I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
This love must overflow into our relationships with others- its reflected in the one another’s of scripture
It’s commanded John 15:9-14
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
Shared Journey
The pursuit of Unity always moves us forward striving for perfection John 17:23
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.
That word complete could be translated perfect-
it contains the idea of pursuing the highest degree of unity
it keeps a target always in front of us- we must never say that “we are unified enough”
disunity and broken relationships are like poison in the church
On this shared journey the church should be the safest place for a child of God
Exalting Jesus in John Unity Is Participation in a Shared Relationship with Jesus
Puritan preacher Thomas Brooks wrote, “Discord and division become no Christian. For wolves to worry the lambs is no wonder, but for one lamb to worry another, this is unnatural and monstrous”
we are on this journey together, we must recognize that we may find ourselves at different places- journeying unto the same end but at different points along the way- I think when we forget that it is a Thomas Brookes puts it that sheep begin to worry each other
Unity is Our Testimony
Unity is Our Testimony
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.
Real unity is a supernatural work and it points to a supernatural reason- Jesus lives in us
Exalting Jesus in John Unity Is Participation in a Shared Relationship with Jesus
John MacArthur puts it this way: “The effectiveness of the church’s evangelism is devastated by dissension and disputes among its members”
Exalting Jesus in John Unity Is Participation in a Shared Relationship with Jesus
A unified church reveals powerful, life-changing truths to the world. Christian unity reveals Jesus actually did come to the earth, sent by the Father to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sin (v. 21). The church is the visible display of God’s goodness to this world. Each local church is the visible display of God’s kindness to its community. We don’t have any photographs of Jesus. The church is the photograph. The church is the picture of his love and mercy. There’s a picture frame around each church and a sign above us that says, “Come, see what God is like.”
To be Reunited with Him
To be Reunited with Him
Now we see the heart of the Father an of his Son toward his people- we are united by the death of Jesus but I don’t think it was the unity of the church that held Jesus on that cross
it was individuals, it was you and me
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
the heart of the father and his son is to be reunited with his creation, to dwell amongst his people and to be there God- remember that’s the way it was always supposed to be
We look forward to the day when we see the full “glory” of God- now we only catch glimpses through his word and the indwelling of the Spirit.
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Exalting Jesus in John Jesus Prays that Believers Will Be Reunited with Him
We will see him as he is. We will worship him face-to-face. What a privilege! What a promise! We, who know Jesus and have been received into his family, are going home. We’re going to a home unaffected by divorce, unmarked by abuse, and untainted by sin. We’re going to a home where we will forever experience perfect and complete harmony. Why? Because we’re going to our Father’s house.
The church can be a taste of heaven. When people with different preferences, hobbies, jobs, backgrounds, skin colors, accents- love one another with a love that surpasses all human love- a love that overflows from the love of the father for his children
The Way-
The Way-
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
