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- The Unity That
Jesus Prayed For
James E. Haynes, Jr.
In John 17:20-21, Jesus prayed, "I do
not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe
in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father,
are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that
the world may believe that You sent Me." The Lord uttered
that plea for unity approximately 1,974 years ago, just a few
hours prior to His cruel crucifixion. Since his death those words
of unity have been proclaimed time and time again. Due to continued
disunity and outright division, the vocal plea for unity is still
sorely needed. Complete unity is possible, but it necessitates
a complete return to God's word, the Bible.
The Bible itself is a unified book. Generally,
the 66 books of the Bible are viewed as having been written by
approximately 40 different men over a span of 1,600 years. The
authors of the Biblical books, for the most part, did not know
each other and many lived centuries apart. The servants of God,
Moses and Luke, never sat around a table and discussed their plans
for writing concerning the coming prophet (Deut. 18:15; c.f. Acts
3:22); however, their message about the prophet (Jesus) was unified.
The entire collection of inspired books is unified in its message
of hope and salvation.
God is also unified in His efforts. There is only
one God but three separate personalities: God the Father, God
the Son or Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures teach us
that they were all unified in their work of creating and redeeming
mankind (John 17:21). God the Father paved the way for the incarnation
of God the Son; God became man and was named Jesus; and the Holy
Spirit was sent to direct the Apostles and the early church prior
to the revelation of the complete word. The entire Godhead was
unified together in their efforts to provide salvation for you
and me.
Initially the church in the New Testament was
unified. Following the conversion of 3,000 precious souls (Acts
2:41), the new Christians were carefully taught the will of God
(Acts 2:42). The events that occurred in Acts 2:38 2:47, happened
just like Jesus had instructed, "Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them...teaching
them to observe all things that I have commanded you..."
(Matt. 28:19, 20). The new Christians were taught clearly and
plainly the word of God. They were never authorized or allowed
to change the word of God.
Since then, men and women throughout the ages
have not been satisfied with the revealed word of God. As Paul
prophesied, "...they did not have a love for the truth
that they might be saved (2 Thess. 2:10)." The Scriptures
plainly teach that no one is to add (+) to or take away
(-) from the complete, revealed word of God. This is the
main reason for the disunity that exists today; mankind has presumptuously
taken and changed the word of God. The only way to repair the
damage done by centuries of departures is for men and women today
to humbly return to the word of God. Unity will soon follow!
Dear friends, unity is the plea and prayer of
the Lord Jesus Christ! The only way unity can possibly exist is
for individuals who love the Lord to return to the word of God.
In churches of Christ this is our plea, let us all return to the
word of God seeking to do only those things authorized by the
word of God. Unity will occur and many in the world will believe
(John 17:21).