Why Unity?

Unity is one of those words which is so often misunderstood.  Some would suggest that unity means that we all agree on every single detail.  We don’t all look alike, dress alike, or think alike. Agreeing on every minute detail is obviously not unity; it is uniformity.  If I suggest chocolate ice cream and you suggest vanilla ice cream, neither of us is in danger of heresy.  

In our current culture, which suggests that if we are not accepting and tolerant towards everything, we are branded as hateful or whatever other negative description one can suggest.  Sadly, this has caused many to allow, tolerate and accept behavior which is definitely not biblical nor God-honoring.  Peace and love are not real or genuine unless they are based on the foundation of truth.  We cannot walk hand in hand with those who promote principles which are contradictory to God’s Word.  Paul spoke of this quite plainly in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15: 

Do not be bound together with unbelievers, for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

The only people who can experience true unity are those who are true Christians. 

As true followers of Christ, we must be united in the truth.

The Defining - 17:20

I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word . . .

Jesus is defining who the recipients are in His request to His Heavenly Father.  As He stated earlier, He is not talking about the unbelievers.  But there is something somewhat different in Jesus’ prayer.  Jesus is adding a group of people that includes more than these 11 disciples.  Jesus has just been praying specifically for the 11 who remained with Him.  This new group is being added.  Who might they be?

Simply stated, Jesus is here praying for all those in the centuries and millennia to come who will become Christians, or followers or disciples of Jesus Christ.  From our perspective, that is somewhat mind-boggling; to know that Jesus was praying for us long before we were born.  Yet, He has known all of us since before time began.  

There is also a further defining of who this group is, as seen in the last part of this verse.  It includes only those who would believe in Me.  It does not include anyone who speaks for Christ using their own words.  It does not include good people, or those who do good works in an attempt to get to heaven.  Jesus is talking about a people of faith in Him.  

But we see a qualifier which should be dealt with before we go further; through their word.  Whose word?  In the context, it seems to point to the 11 disciples.  There would be many saved by hearing the inspired message that these men would be preaching over the next several years.  There are many of us who have been saved as the Spirit of God took the message of these 11 and the apostle Paul and spoke to us.  This is what is commonly referred to as the “Apostles’ teaching” upon which the church is built.  

What an encouragement!  Even though, we’ll read about more foibles by the soon to be apostles, Jesus’ prayer guarantees that their ministry would be successful.  What God desires to accomplish, He will bring it to happen.  Any success we are allowed to see, as souls are won to Jesus Christ, goes back to this verse in Jesus’ high priestly prayer.  

John MacArthur states:  Through the centuries all who have preached the true gospel have preached the apostles’ word. As Paul wrote in Romans 10:17,

“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ”

(lit., “a speech about Christ”)—the apostolic message of salvation.

Now that we have the defining of the focus of the prayer, being the followers of Jesus Christ from that time forward, we now turn to what the request is specifically.

The Desire - 17:21a

. . . that they may all be one . . .

On first reading of this, we may shake our heads and wonder why this isn’t always this way.  However, for the one who is a true Christian, that concept must be based upon the simple truth that everyone who believes that salvation is by grace through faith and in Jesus Christ and no other, we do have unity. The true Christian will believe that the Bible is our absolute authority in all matters of faith and practice.  Sadly, even among true Christians, we yield to the flesh and listen to the whisperings of Satan. We understand from other places in the Bible that there are those, and will be those, who are misguided by this world, even though they made a commitment to follow Jesus.  My prayer is that they, just like the immoral brother from 1 Corinthians, will come to their senses and return to the absolute truths of the Bible.

Who is not included in this prayer?  Those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and do not hold to the Bible as being the absolute authority, are more than likely not followers of Jesus Christ, for they have called Him a liar, as they pick and choose, which Bible passages to follow or not follow.  Thus, we cannot have unity with those individuals.  Those who would suggest that there are things or works which must be done to make certain of their salvation, have denied the very words of Jesus and are not true Christians.  We do not have unity with those people, either.  For those who would suggest that there are many roads and paths to heaven and that we’re simply using different words, they have denied the essence of salvation through Jesus Christ, alone.  They are not true Christians and we cannot have unity with them.

D. A. Carson notes that the unity for which Christ prayed is not achieved by hunting enthusiastically for the lowest common theological denominator, but by common adherence to the apostolic gospel, by love that is joyfully self-sacrificing, by undaunted commitment to the shared goals of the mission with which Jesus’ followers have been charged.

This unity started on the day of Pentecost.  This is something which we cannot manufacture or guarantee.  It is done by the Holy Spirit.  However, we are told to keep or preserve it.  Paul speaks, in Ephesians 4, of 7 different aspects of this unity where we are to be one.

One body - all believers of all ages.

One Spirit - causing salvation to take place and baptizes us into one body.

One hope - looking towards eternal life as guaranteed by the One Spirit.

One Lord - Jesus is the only head of the body of Christ.

One faith - the doctrine which has been handed down in the New Testament.

One baptism - that confession of faith in Christ, as well as the receiving of the Holy Spirit immediately upon acceptance of Christ.

One God and Father Who is over all and through all and in all - the sovereign ruler of all.

Now we look ahead to see what this might look like.

The Description - 21b, 22-23

. . . even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity . . .

The unity that should be seen amongst true Christians ought to be an exact reflection of the same unity which exists between Jesus and the Father.  Everything which the Father desired, the Son desired.  Let’s look at five things which are seen in these verses where this unity is expressed.

First, there is an absolute commitment and unity to the goal of God’s glory. You see a form of the word, unity, throughout this prayer in chapter 17. You also see it throughout Jesus’ ministry, in that everything He did, His desire and prayer was always that the Father would be glorified. As a result, He too, was glorified. We might wonder how that unity could possibly be seen in the church. Paul understood this when he wrote 1 Corinthians 10:31: 

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Secondly, we see that Jesus and the Father had a common goal of purchasing lost sinners and granting them eternal life through Jesus Christ. This was a decision God made even before creation. Christ chose to come to this planet to give His life as a substitutionary sacrifice to pay the price for our salvation. How is this unity to be seen in the Church? We have been commanded to reach out and share the Good News of Jesus to a lost and dying world. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 28:19-20:           

As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Thirdly, the Father and the Son are united in truth. This is seen in multiple passages throughout the Gospels. Everything which Jesus spoke was exactly what the Father spoke. There were never any conflicts in what they said. As the true church, those who are true followers of Jesus Christ, there must be a unity in that we are committed to proclaiming the absolute truth as found in God’s Word. There is no wiggle room for changing things to make them more palatable to our so-called tolerant culture. If the Church will stick to proclaiming God’s Truth as found in the Bible, there will not be division, but rather unity. We do not need committees, hearings, discussion groups, etc. Paul’s prayer in Romans 15:5-6 ought to define believers in Jesus Christ: 

Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Fourth, Jesus and His Heavenly Father are also in unity regarding holiness. There is a total separation from sin. Throughout the entirety of the Bible, we read that there is only holiness in connection with the triune Godhead. The church needs to reflect this same type of holiness. When we play and dabble with sin, we become confusing to the world. We are called upon to radiate God’s holiness and glory, not tolerate sin. Hebrews 12:14 states: 

Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.

Finally, we understand that there is a unity of love between the Father and the Son, especially as we look at the various places in the Gospels where this is described. In the church, we understand that love is what keeps Christians united; love for God and for one another. Jesus reminds us that the world will know that we are His by the love we have for each other. This is that glory which the Father and Son have in each other. This is seen in the church as we reflect the glory of God to a lost and dying world. We need to make sure that we don’t get in the way.         

So far, we have seen the defining parameters for whom this unity is prayed; that is all who claim the Name of Jesus for salvation.  We have understood that the overriding desire is that the unity which Jesus and the Father experience, we too may experience.  We then were able to see that the reason for this, is that what the church does will be a reflection of the same unity that the Father and Son experience, in order that the world may be impacted.  

Now, we will look at exactly what the dynamics of unity in truth ought to have on this world.

The Dynamics - 17:21c, 23b

. . . so that the world may believe that You sent Me. . . . so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

Interestingly, we have a great deal to do with how the world perceives Jesus and all that He has offered them in saving them from their sin.  By seeing the truth being lived out in unity in the church, it will make more sense to the world as to why the Father did send the Son. By seeing unity in the local church and around the world, the world will understand more clearly the incredible love the Father has for His Son and for humanity.  

You see, if we are indeed born again, we ought to display unity in truth, which will be further evidence that Jesus Christ has made a difference in our lives.  We’re no longer the same people we used to be.  We are now a people of hope.  The world is desperately looking for hope.  

Sadly, the testimony of the church is disrupted, if not destroyed, whenever there are divisions and dissensions within the church.  Obviously, there will be divisions between the true church and those who are playing church with their own rules.  But for true followers of Jesus Christ, we must keep the unity, so as to have the greatest impact on this world for Christ, so that many will come to salvation through Him.  

The Deduction

So, what exactly can we deduce from these verses today?

As true followers of Christ, we must be united in the truth.  

We know that this can only be for those who are truly born again.  

We know that this is seen by a unity which reflects that of Jesus and our Heavenly Father.  It is not uniformity, but unity.  

We know that if there is unity in truth, it will be obviously seen by the church making sure that all we do is for God’s glory; that we are pursuing reaching out to the lost just as Christ did; that we are holding true to the Word of God and not any person’s ideas or opinions; that we are living in submission to the Holy Spirit in lives of holiness and not practicing the ways of this world because we are to be different and set apart; and that we genuinely love one another in the same manner which Christ loved us.  

Then, we get to see the dynamics of what happens when the world sees us living as Christ would have us to live.

Ephesians 4:1–3 gives a very appropriate reminder to what we’ve been looking at today:

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.