Be United With One Another

copyright 2005 Leo Reynolds

Be united With One Another. John 17

One Sunday a minister was giving a children’s sermon to all the kids in church. A little three-year-old girl was listening intently as he explained that God wanted them all to get along and to love one another. She was following along well until he said, “God wants us all to be one.” To which the little girl replied, “But I don’t want to be one. I want to be four.”

I think this girl was on to something. Sometimes, we don’t want to be one either. It’s much easier for us to splinter into four groups, or forty groups, or even four hundred different groups.

Here are just a few of the passages that lift up the spiritual standard of a cohesive community of faith.

Judges 20:11, “So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city.”

2 Chronicles 30:12, “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.”

Psalm 133:1, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”

Jeremiah 32:38-39, “They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them.”

John 10:16, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”

Acts 4:32, “All the believers were one in heart and mind…”

Romans 15:5-6, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:10-11, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

How are we doing in our quest for unity? Are we united as one? Are we living together with a singleness of heart and mind this morning? Are we in agreement with fellow Christians? These are tough questions to answer.

The night before his death, He makes an appeal for unity. John 17:1 begins, “After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed…”

This chapter goes on to record the longest of Jesus’ prayers. It’s long in two ways: ­ it is Jesus’ longest recorded prayer, taking 26 verses, and it’s the longest in the scope of time it covers because it extends all the way to today. Verse 20, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” That’s you and me. As we read these words of Jesus, we can almost hear the urgency and intensity as Jesus pleads with His Father to make His followers one. In fact, He asks for our unity four different times!

Several things jump out at me in this passage.

1. Unity should include all believers. He doesn’t want us to just get along with a few people, or just with everyone in our church, but verse 21 says, “that all of them may be one.”

Let me add some caution here though:

We should avoid separatism. Some churches refuse to acknowledge that there are true Christians in other churches. Some groups criticize and label people just because they don’t hold to the same outward standards that they do.

We should also beware of theological sloppiness. Sometimes there are doctrinal differences and biblical distinctions that must be recognized. Earlier in this same prayer, Jesus established that holiness can only happen based on God’s word. Verse 17, “Sanctify them by the truth; your Word is truth.” God’s Word alone must determine who we align ourselves with. There are many groups who claim to be Christian but have no foundation in the Truth of God’s word.

2. The example of perfect unity is provided in the Trinity. In verse 11, Jesus prays that his disciples would experience the oneness that exists in His relationship with the Father. In verse 22, “May they may be one as we are one.” The unity that Christ wants us to have is so intimate, so personal, and so vital that it is patterned after, and based on, the relationship that exist in the Godhead.

3. The purpose of unity is to accelerate evangelism. Look at the last part of verse 21, “so that the world may believe…”

4. The practice of unity puts God’s reputation on display to the world. Unity gives credence to our claims. Specifically, according to John 17:23, the world will know two things:

They will know God’s Mission: “Then the world will know that you sent me.”
They will also know God’s Message: “Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” God loves people. People will be attracted to the love of God when they see it manifested in our lives and in our church.

Are you willing to be an answer to Jesus’ prayer for unity today? Are you willing to pursue reconciliation and, when possible, resolution in all interpersonal conflicts?