As the time draws near to the end of our present situation I see crowds returning in sports arenas etc and one thing that struck me most is a word called unity. It’s coming together quite nicely!
All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
John 17:10–11
Unity was also the hallmark of the early followers of Jesus. Why unity? Well, the answer is simple. Jesus, the one we follow, prayed for that just before He died. Jesus knew the importance of people being together with the same purpose. There can be and should be diversity. After all, we are all different but the one outstanding feature is that there should be unity amongst followers of Jesus.
When this is not in operation it always leads to disaster. Is that the reason why Jesus prayed for it so earnestly just before He died? What would your last prayer be?
When Jesus prays for us in John 17:20–26, He asks the Father that we would have the most intimate of relationships with Him.
Jesus points the way. Jesus prays that His followers would be “one in Us” (referring to the Godhead, v. 21). This is a prayer for unity among all believers in union with God.
Do you know where unity exists we find special displays of God’s power, presence, and purpose? Today we need this more than ever.
You see I cannot wait till all of us at Pype Hayes are in one room again. I have dreamed about it. It will be like Christmas morning in the sense of the expectancy of what presents have I been left – you know what I mean! Remember the tingle of excitement seeing children’s faces that morning as they come downstairs. Well, I can only imagine a similar feeling as together we vibrantly worship Jesus in one place. There will be cake and coffee too as fellowship is so important.
Read John 17:20–26 and see what Jesus says about unity in His body.
- What is Jesus’ opening request about being “one”?
- What is mentioned about the results of our unity?
- What has Jesus done to allow us to be one?
In the following scriptures, you can learn more about the incredible power released as we pray and live in unity in the body of Christ. Look through them and record what they say about God’s power, presence, and purpose in a united church.
Please read 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, Psalm 133:1–3, Acts 2:1–4, 2 Corinthians 11:2 and Revelation 21:2-3,9
When you read John’s account of Jesus life on earth you cannot help but notice Jesus constant reference that Jesus and the Father are one. Jesus uses similar language when He prays for the church. Jesus doesn’t just pray we all just get along. No, it is much stronger than that. Jesus prays for our oneness. He wants us to be spiritually united and working toward the same motives and goals
I leave you with some notes from Jack Hayford.
Word One, = echad., a unit; united; unity. <Echad comes from the root <achad, “to bring together, to unify; to collect one’s thoughts.”
<Echad serves to portray the same range of meaning as “one” does in English, from the very narrowest sense (one and one only, as in Ecclesiastes 9:18, “one sinner destroys much good”) to the broadest sense (one made up of many, as in Genesis 2:24, where a man and his wife “shall become one flesh”). <Echad is considered one of the most important words in the Old Testament, as it is used to describe God as one (Deuteronomy 6:4).
With one accord, = homothumadon. Being unanimous, having mutual consent, being in agreement, having group unity, having one mind and purpose. The disciples had an intellectual unanimity, an emotional rapport, and volitional agreement in the newly founded church. In each of its occurrences, homothumadon shows a harmony leading to action.
Hayford, Jack W.; and Hayford, Mark, Kingdom Warfare, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1998, c1993
Stay safe and Blessed.