That They May Be One

We're going to move now into our time in God's Word together.

If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

For those of you who are visiting or new,

we have been traveling through the Gospel of John.

It's been some years now since we started that journey.

And we're really taking our time because we really want to come to terms

with what God is saying to us through John about Jesus.

So as we pick up the story here, we're in chapter 17.

It's the night of Jesus' betrayal.

Jesus has had his last supper with the disciples.

Judas has left to begin enacting his betrayal.

And Jesus has been taking time to talk to the disciples.

He's been giving them words of encouragement and comfort,

instruction, promise, warning.

All to help carry them through the difficult things that are about to happen.

And we saw as all of a sudden the disciples just have this like aha moment.

Now we understand what you're talking about, Jesus.

And very soon after that, Jesus begins to pray right there in front of them.

And the content of his prayer is chapter 17.

Isaiah 17 · chapter mention

We heard already how his prayer began.

Jesus expressed his longing to be restored to the glory that he had with the Father before the world began.

And then we heard him go on to pray for his disciples,

reflecting on how they have responded well to his word.

They have believed.

And he prayed for their protection.

Because Jesus says, I'm going out of the world.

But they are going to remain here.

So protect them, Father.

We're going to pick up Jesus' prayer in verse 15 of chapter 17.

Jesus prays,

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world,

but that you protect them from the evil one.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

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.

Now we're going to zip through these first couple verses,

verses 17 to 19.

These are some difficult words to understand.

We've got that strange biblical word, sanctify.

And we've got some differences in the translations.

Is it by the truth or is it in the truth?

And what does that even mean?

And then we've got Jesus telling the Father

that he has sanctified himself for them.

There are many pages of commentaries written on these few verses

and differing interpretations and opinions.

So I'm just going to skip over some of that

and share briefly with you my take on it.

My take on these verses is that Jesus is praying

a prayer of dedication for the apostles.

A prayer to consecrate them,

sanctify them,

and set them apart for your special service,

your special work.

And that work or that service for the apostles

is to speak the very words of God

and to bear witness to Jesus.

There seems to be a bit of a parallel here

in verses 18 and 19.

Jesus draws that parallel between himself and them.

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.

And so he prays, sanctify them.

Jesus has set himself apart,

dedicating himself to that special service of God.

And now he's praying that God would do the same for them,

set them apart for his special work and service.

So that's my take on those verses.

Now we come to a bit of a shift in Jesus' prayer.

Let's read it in verse 20.

Jesus says,

My prayer is not for them alone.

I pray also for those who will believe in me

through their message.

So this signals a shift in Jesus' prayer.

This statement sort of clues us in

that up until now,

Jesus has mainly been praying for the 11,

the apostles who are with him.

And now he kind of expands the circle

to include all who will come to believe in Jesus

through their word, their message.

Now I want to be careful here.

I think that there is probably two mistakes

that we can make.

One mistake is to assume

that everything Jesus has prayed so far up until now

is a sort of general, indiscriminate prayer

for all of his followers of all time.

But verse 20 here makes it clear.

There's a bit of a dividing line here.

It's mainly the disciples who are with him

that he has been praying for up until now.

They are the ones who up till now in the story

have believed and accepted and obeyed Jesus' words

as Jesus described in verses 6 to 8.

They are the ones whom the world has hated

as Jesus describes in verse 14.

And they are the ones whom Jesus has sent into the world

as he describes in verse 18.

That word sent, by the way,

goes back to in the original language.

It's apostello from which we get our designation apostle.

So we might be mishandling Jesus' words, I think,

if we just take them all as a sort of general prayer

for all of his followers for all time.

The second mistake, that being said,

is to assume that everything that Jesus has prayed so far

applies only to the apostles

and has no relevance for us who believe today.

And I think this we just know.

We know that Jesus doesn't just want protection

for these 11 men,

but that he desires it for all his people.

He's already said,

I am the good shepherd

and taught that he wards off the thief and the wolves.

Similarly, we know that Jesus doesn't just have a purpose

for the apostles remaining in the world,

but for all who will come to believe in him

remaining here in the world.

That each one of us would fulfill our unique purpose,

our unique role in the body of Christ.

So just to sum that up,

once again, there's two errors that we can make here, I think.

Where did that come from?

We could assume that everything Jesus prays

in these first verses,

he prays indiscriminately for all believers.

Or we could assume that nothing he prays in these verses

reflects his heart and prayers for all of us.

Let's continue on.

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.

So Jesus makes this grand request

of his Father.

He asks that all of them,

all who will come to believe in him,

that's the whole Christian church,

that all of them may be one.

Up until now,

what is it that's been holding

this rag-tag bunch of men and women

from Galilee and Judea together?

Jesus has been the uniting factor.

But now,

as Jesus has said many times,

he's leaving.

He's going to the Father.

And all of his followers,

and all who will yet become his followers,

they're going to still be here.

They're remaining in the world.

They're going to have to face trials

and temptation.

They're going to have to figure out

how to live as his followers,

even with their many differences.

You've got Jew and Gentile,

slave and free,

rich and poor.

And they're going to have to figure out

how to do all this

in the face of hostility

and persecution,

because as the story went,

the religious leaders of the Jews

continued to persecute

and go after Christ's followers.

And so is it any surprise

that Jesus asks the Father

for the oneness of his people,

that they would remain united,

together, undivided?

Now, I'll be honest.

Sometimes I think we look at this prayer

and we wonder,

what happened?

Why hasn't God answered this prayer?

I mean, look at the world today.

Look at the church,

all the denominations today.

But I got thinking about this.

Maybe we're looking at it the wrong way.

Is it possible that God

has been answering this prayer all along?

Let's think about how things unfolded.

Jesus, the leader, was crucified.

And the disciples were scattered.

But that wasn't the end of the story.

They all came back together again

and became witnesses of the risen Christ.

The disciples were opposed

and persecuted by the religious leaders.

But did they become so divided

that they all just turned away

and abandoned following Jesus?

No.

No.

The apostles would later be arrested

for proclaiming Jesus

in the streets of Jerusalem.

And I'm reminded what Gamaliel,

the Pharisee,

said in the assembly

that day

while they were all there on trial.

He stood up

and said,

some time ago,

Thutis appeared

claiming to be somebody.

And about 400 men rallied to him.

He was killed.

All his followers were dispersed

and it all came to nothing.

After him,

Judas, the Galilean,

appeared in the days of the census

and led a band of people in revolt.

He too was killed

and all his followers

were scattered.

Therefore,

in the present case,

in the case of these 11 men,

the apostles,

I advise you,

leave these men alone.

Let them go.

For if their purpose

or activity

is of human origin,

it will fail.

But if it is from God,

you will not be able

to stop these men.

You will only find yourselves

fighting

against God.

Gamaliel was right.

Without the leader alive,

things like these

fizzle out.

Followers get into fights

and divide

and it all comes to nothing.

But that's not what happened

with the followers of Jesus.

2,000 years later,

we still haven't fizzled out.

We're still here.

We still believe in Jesus.

We still love him.

We still love his words.

Yes,

we still get into fights

sometimes and arguments

and even divide.

But every true believer knows

by the testimony of God's Spirit

living in them

that they are part

of the one body of Christ.

That he is alive

and that he will someday

unify us deeply,

powerfully,

and permanently.

That from every tribe

and tongue and nation

and people on earth,

we will stand before

the throne of God

and the Lamb

and worship with one voice

saying,

salvation belongs to our God.

So back to Jesus' request.

He prays,

asking the Father

to make all his followers one.

And as we look at

how the story continues,

it's a prayer that God

has been answering.

It didn't all fizzle out

and come to nothing

as movements of men

usually do.

Just the opposite.

The church has been growing

and spreading

ever since that day

to every corner of the world,

uniting people

of all different kinds.

I invite you to look

around the room

here this morning.

Look at how different we are.

Some of us younger,

some of us older.

Some of us born and raised

in rural Saskatchewan,

some from the cities

in Ontario,

some from China,

some here with disabilities

and health problems,

some with good health,

some single,

some parents,

some empty nesters,

some who love sports

and some who couldn't

care less about them.

If we were to sit down

and tease out

all our differences,

I think the list

would probably blow us

all away.

Like, why are we here

in this room together today?

It's because of Jesus.

So God is answering

this prayer

that we would be one.

And this is not

the end of the story.

Someday,

the Bible tells us

that Jesus will be

revealed in glory

and that every eye

will see his glory.

In the same way,

all of us who believe

in Christ Jesus

will be revealed

in glory with him.

The one body of Christ.

Paul said it this way

in Colossians 3, verse 4.

Colossians 3:4

He said,

when Christ,

who is your life,

appears,

then you also

will appear with him

in glory.

That's a you plural,

by the way.

Now let's consider

for a moment

the kind of unity

that Jesus is asking for.

He says,

I pray 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.

Every time I read that,

it blows me away.

Like this is next level unity.

This is an out of this world

kind of unity.

The kind of unity

that Jesus asks the Father for

on our behalf

is the same sort of unity

that he has

with the Father.

Father.

He says

that they may be one

just as you are in me

and I am in you, Father.

I think this is our clue right here

that this request

will not be fully answered

until the end

when Jesus returns.

in order for us

to be united

this deeply

with God

the Father

and God the Son

and with each other

we need

to be perfected

finally and forever.

We need sin

to be out of the equation

gone

and dealt with

forever.

The way Jesus

prays this

here

you know

it opens up

a whole new

vantage point

for meditation.

Our unity

with each other

as believers

will someday

reflect

the unity

that Christ

has

right now

with his Father.

And so now

we need to go back

and we need to

restart the sermon series

go back through John

we need to

look at this relationship

that Jesus has

with his Father

and that

amazing unity

that's there

it's breathtaking

it's wonderful

it's mysterious

we've seen that

all the way through

how Father and Son

speak

and work

together

purpose

together

honoring

one another

acting

in perfect

harmony

always

aware

of each other

your will be done

not mine

and yet

not unaware

of their own

desires

and this is a

picture of how

it will be

between

me and you

brothers and

sisters in Christ

it's wonderful

there's coming a

great and grand

display

of the glory

of God

and part of that

display will be

you and me

and all who

believe in Christ

living together

in perfect

unity

the kind

that Jesus

has right

now

with his

father

it's amazing

and this is God's

purpose

for this unity

this oneness

he prays

that all of

them may be

one

so that

the world

may believe

that you

have sent

me

he goes

on and

gives another

rationale a little

further down

in verse 23

then the world

will know

that you have

sent me

and have

loved

them

even as you

have loved

me

so twice

we hear

Jesus express

the purpose

the grand

result

of our

unity

in Jesus

we are

to become

in our

unity

a sign

to the

world

a testimony

to the

world

that yes

God really

did

send Jesus

and yes

God really

has loved

us

people of

the world

Paul tells

us in Romans

that the

world

acts

wickedly

suppressing

the truth

distorting

the truth

denying

the truth

but someday

God in

answer to

Jesus prayer

here will

give the

world another

great sign

that breaks

through that

suppression

and undeniably

proves

yes

this Jesus

we've been

proclaiming all

along he

really did

come from

the father

and he

really

has

loved

us

people

of the

world

so what is

Jesus saying

here

let me just

sum it up

for us

this morning

he's praying

for all

who will come

to believe

in his name

the whole

Christian church

and he's

asking God

for their

unity

unity

not just

some kind

of a

visible

charade

that we

put on

for the

world to

see

but he's

asking for

that deepest

possible

unity

a unity

that reflects

his unity

with the

father

he asks

that we

would be

joined

to one

another

and to

the father

and to

him

as deeply

as he

is joined

to his

father

such that

we are

in

God

in

Christ

and he

is in

us

and the

glory of

Jesus

Christ

he says

is to be

given to

us

revealed

in us

and our

unity

is to be

proof to

the world

that God

sent

Jesus

and in

doing so

truly loved

the world

this is what

Jesus is

thinking about

this is what's

on his

heart

the night

before

his

crucifixion

he's been

thinking

back

and longing

for that

glory

that he

had

with God

before the

world began

and at the

same time

he's also

looking ahead

to the end

of this

world story

to the day

when his

glory

will be

shared

with his

people

the ones

that he's

about to

die

to save

it's a

magnificent

glimpse

for us

who believe

in the

name of

Jesus

so what

do we

do

with all

this

well first

of all

if you're

here this

morning

and you

haven't put

your trust

in Jesus

yet

let me

urge you

to do

that

today

Jesus

prayed

for all

who would

come to

believe in

him

through

the

message

of his

apostles

in this

gospel of

John

he is

one of

those

apostles

do you

hear what

Jesus

prayed

do you

see

Jesus

heart

of love

for his

people

wanting

them all

to be

united

together

and to

share in

his glory

and so

if you've

not yet

put your

full trust

in Jesus

let me

urge you

to do

that

today

only

those

who

believe

in him

will

share

in his

glory

when he

comes

again

it's

free

it's

a gift

of

God's

good

generosity

second

there's

a personal

obligation

that we

all have

in response

to these

words

Jesus

prays for

the unity

of his

people

he longs

for it

he desires

it

and so

I think

we must

carefully

and prayerfully

ask ourselves

this question

Lord

have I

been

contributing

to division

and disunity

in my

church

have I

been bringing

those

attitudes

that cause

conflict

and disunity

an attitude

of superiority

pride

a selfish

attitude

the desire

to have

my way

despite

what others

want

or desire

am I

combative

prone

to arguing

debating

proving my

point

being right

what about

anger

am I

harboring

bitterness

and unforgiveness

against someone

in the

church

I pray

that each

one of us

would soberly

ask this

question

Lord

have I

been

contributing

to the

division

and disunity

the tension

the conflict

in my

church

through my

attitude

my

actions

further

growing

in unity

requires more

than just

self-examination

we must

go beyond

a broken

and contrite

heart

to action

Jesus

said

blessed

are the

peacemakers

not the

peace

wishers

the peacemakers

there's action

there

Matthew 5

Matthew 5:9

verse 9

he said

if your

brother or

sister sins

against you

go to

them

Matthew

18

15

and Luke

17

3

go to

them

too often

we cower

in fear

or

we stand

aloof

in pride

and we

just let

the

grievance

fester

and so

we should

ask this

question

Lord

have I

been acting

to bring

about

peace

resolution

reconciliation

in my

church

as I

should

is there

a conversation

that I need

to have

with someone

here in

the church

in the

quest for

Christian

unity

we must

first

deal

with

ourselves

am I

hindering

that unity

am I

helping

that unity

then we

can start

to think

about

unity

outside

the walls

of our

church

outside

the borders

of our

church

many point

to this

prayer of

Jesus

and they

ask

why don't

we all

just come

together

and become

one church

here in

Davidson

one church

around the

world

you might

think that

that's a

philosophical

question

but I

hear it

regularly

isn't that

what Jesus

was asking

for

this is the

cry of the

ecumenical

movement

but the

problem with

the ecumenical

movement

is that it

aims to

achieve

unity

without

building that

unity

on a

proper

foundation

if you

go to

the world

council

of churches

website

you'll find

one thing

totally

missing

there's

no

statement

of faith

there's

no

statement

of

beliefs

they're

calling

out for

all

Christians

everywhere

to be

on the

way to

visible

unity

in one

faith

but there's

no

definition

of what

that one

faith

is

what is

that one

shared

set of

beliefs

that will

bring us

all

together

they won't

define it

they won't

put words

on it

because as

soon as

you start

to put

words on

it

that visible

unity

evaporates

it's

gone

and so

we must

be constantly

carefully

doing as

the reformers

did

we must

be going

back to

the source

back to

the words

of Jesus

back to

the inspired

authoritative

words of

the men

he sent

the apostles

we go

back to

the bible

and

amazingly

when we

do that

we find

that this

one

faith

of which

the apostle

Paul speaks

in Ephesians

Ephesians 4:5

4 verse 5

is quite

well defined

here in the

words of

Jesus

and in the

words of

the men

he sent

the apostles

in fact

holding fast

to these

words

became the

litmus test

it became

the measure

of a faithful

shepherd

like Timothy

1st

Timothy 4

verse 16

it became

the qualification

for someone

to serve

as an

elder in

the church

1st

Timothy 3

verse 9

and Titus

Titus 1:9

1

verse 9

it's the

good deposit

that

pattern

of sound

teaching

that we

are to

keep

and to

guard

2nd

Timothy

1

verses

13

and

14

it's

the

test

that's

given

to us

to know

who

really

knows

God

1st

John

John 4:6

4

verse

6

as

John

himself

the

apostle

so

poignantly

said it

in his

second

letter

2nd

John

verse 9

and 10

he said

anyone who

runs ahead

and does

not continue

in the

teaching of

Christ

does not

have God

whoever

continues

in the

teaching

has both

the father

and the

son

if anyone

comes to

you and

does not

bring this

teaching

do not

take them

into your

house

or welcome

them

so

unity

with other

Christians

outside

our

own

church

it

has

to

start

right

here

with

the

word

of

God

are

they

holding

fast

to the

faithful

word

the

gospel

are

they

continuing

in that

teaching

of Jesus

and the

apostles

or are

they

leaving

it

behind

or

adding

to

it

it's

rather

fitting

that we

come to

this

passage

today

as we

have

representatives

here

from

the

Baptist

General

Conference

of

Saskatchewan

as most

of you

know by

now

we are

exploring

whether or

not we

can

partner

with them

and have

fellowship

with them

and the

churches

that they

represent

so that's

what the

meeting is

all about

we'll have

some questions

for them

and I'm

sure that

they have

questions

for us

but

the most

important

question

before we

even get

to most

of those

questions

is whether

we're both

standing on

this common

ground

and holding

fast

to the

word of

God

the faithful

word

the gospel

that's been

entrusted

to us

on that

foundation

the kind

of unity

that Jesus

prayed for

can flourish

and grow

between

local churches

fellowship

can happen

partnership

and working

together

to reach

the people

of our

province

and beyond

can happen

so what

we're doing

today

after the

potluck

is just

one of

those ways

that we

are seeking

after this

kind of

unity

that Jesus

prayed for

with other

Christians

outside our

own church

and we'll

see what

the Lord

has for

us with

that

let's

take some

time now

to pray

together

and just

talk to the

Lord

Lord

about what

we've

heard

Lord

Jesus

we open

ourselves

up before

you

and we

invite you

to examine

us

and to

search our

hearts

Lord we

bring these

questions

to you

would you

show us

if there's

any way

that we

have been

hindering

the unity

of our

own

church

here

attitudes

that we've

brought

things that

we've said

or done

and if

so we

ask for

your

forgiveness

and we

ask that

you would

show us

how we

can make

this right

Lord you

know that

there are

some of

those things

that get

such a

deep

hold

in our

lives

whether

anger

bitterness

hurtful

habits

I pray

that you

would deal

with us

that you

would help

us to

overcome

Lord I

do pray

that you

would show

us

if there's

anyone that

we need to

have a

conversation

with

if there's

anyone that

we've been

offended with

or that

we've

offended

show us

Lord

we desire

that unity

that you

prayed for

here in

our church

please

work it

and build

it here

among us

make us

a testimony

to this

community

of Davidson

around us

we also

pray as

well for

wisdom

in our

meeting later

this afternoon

we do want

to be part

of what you

are doing

in the

larger scale

of things

here in

Saskatchewan

around the

world

so give us

wisdom

about those

things as

well

we just

commit ourselves

to you

and to your

grace

in Jesus

name

amen