“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, 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” (Jn 17:20-21).
We saw last time that as the Father has sent the Son into the world, so the Son is sending His disciples into the world with a message of forgiveness in the name of Jesus. As the disciples are being sent out, others will believe. So here, Jesus’ prayer extends beyond the disciples to include us. We are in the flow of those who have heard and believed the disciples testimony regarding the Christ.
And Jesus’ prayer for us, His body, is that we would be ONE. This ONE is so so powerful. Christ went so far in this verse to say that us being ONE will facilitate others coming to faith. The world will believe that the Father sent the Son when they see the ONE in us.
But the ONE in us is not just our unity and getting along. The ONE in us is seeing Jesus and the Father in us. It is literally the Father and Son living in us. Please hear this: There is NO separation between you and the Father. This verse clearly draws the picture that you are IN the Father and IN His Son (vs 21). Likewise, as we learn elsewhere, the Father dwells IN us by the Holy Spirit.
As an aside, if you believe that you are somehow separated from the Father even after coming to faith, you will interpret the Bible and you will interpret your life through the lens of a broken or tentative relationship. Faith in Jesus’s words says otherwise. Your connection to the Father as His beloved child is rock solid.
Look again at the power in Jesus’ statement, “that they (meaning us) may all be one, just as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us.” It is an incredible connected life. Christ in the Father. The Father in the Son. And we in Them. Does the world see this? Does the world see our indwelling by the Father and the Son?
I believe it can. Christ promised that He would live His life through us (Gal 2:20). When the world sees us as one with the Savior, they are seeing Christ. They will not see “Christ in us” by us keeping the rules for pride’s sake, judging others, condemning our neighbors. None of these will draw men to Jesus. What will draw the world to Jesus? Seeing us live out grace. Seeing us live out Christ in us. Seeing us live out the love, acceptance, and forgiveness message that Christ lived on this earth. That oneness of Christ living His life in us is “so the world may believe that You have sent Me” (vs 21).
We are Christ’s light in the world. Shine on, my friends.
Yes and Amen. We so readily follow paths of division. Christ would have us know this unity He prays for us.