Imagine a father adopts children from every possible background—different ethnicities, tribes, statuses, educational backgrounds, sexes, etc. If his goal is to form a cohesive unit that acts like a family and treats each other as brothers and sisters, then the task might be next to impossible. It is with good reason that potential adopters are usually vetted before they are allowed to adopt a child legally. The potential family’s compatibility is crucial, especially if there is another child in the mix.
Christianity is the quintessential example of the above illustration. We are the one family that shouldn’t work because of all the differences that exist between us. In every sense of the word, we are a dysfunctional family. Nevertheless, we not only work well despite our enormous differences, but we also have a bond stronger than any familial bond. Our bond is so strong it perplexes the world. How did we gain such a strong bond? Did we work for it, and it somehow worked? No, we didn’t. Instead, it is a gift from God through Christ.
In John 17:20-23, we see that Jesus prayed for our unity. He prayed that it might mirror the unity he shares with God the Father and bring about the fruit of the gospel.
Why Did Jesus Pray for Our Unity?
What could have compelled Jesus to pray for our unity in the bond of peace? To answer, we need to go all the way back to Genesis. We were created as those without sin. We were made to be united in our worship of God. Further, we were commanded to multiply and fill the earth to the glory of God.
United in Rejecting God
However, that all changed as a result of the fall. We chose to reject God, and instead of our unity glorifying God, it became one of rejection. So vexed was God that he cleansed all of mankind except for 8 people (Genesis 6-7). Our unity in rejecting God is best displayed in Genesis 11:1-9. Men grouped to build a tower tall enough to reach the heavens for their own glory. Thus, men not only united in their rejection of God but also in their desire for their own glory. In his merciful judgment, God broke off that unity with the sole purpose of rebuilding it for his glory.
The Unity Jesus Prayed For
This he did through his Son, Jesus Christ—through his life, death, and resurrection. Now the unity afforded to us in Christ isn’t in rejection of God, but one that strives to glorify God and image him, for that is the reason we exist. That was the basis of Jesus’ prayer.
He prayed for a unity that returns us to what we were before the fall, when we were created in the image of God. The fall disfigured that image. However, through Christ, we are brought near to God, and that nearness allows us to image God by becoming Christlike—by our unity. We who were far off have now been brought near together. This is fully exemplified in Acts 2, when, despite distinctions due to language and ancestry, the common denominator was the proclamation of the gospel to the glory of God.
The Son’s Unity with the Father
In the continuation of his prayer, Christ’s desire is that our redeemed and restored unity mirrors the remarkable unity that the Father and the Son share. But how is the Father united to the Son?
United in Will
They share a unity of will. As the Son said of himself, he does nothing except the will of his Father. Their unity is exemplified beautifully in the Trinitarian plan of salvation in Ephesians 1:3-14. In it, we see that the Father initiated the plan of salvation, which the Son acted on. Philip, curious to be shown the Father, was told that by seeing the Son, he had seen the Father (John 14:9). For the Son and the Father share one will (John 14:10).
United in Truth
In John 8:29, Jesus says that his unity with the Father hasn’t been severed, because he always does what pleases the Father. However, they aren’t united just in will, but also in truth. It is because the Son does his Father’s will that he is the way and the truth. He told his hearers that if they abided in his word, then that truth would set them free. Why does Jesus equate himself to the truth? It is because he is the living word of God, as we see in John 1:1. From the very beginning, he was with God. They are so united in truth that the only way we gain access to the Father is through the Son (John 14:6, 10), and vice versa (John 6:44).
How Are We to Mirror Unity?
Such is the unity that Jesus prayed we might be gifted with. A unity so tight that it is our main distinguishing mark while bodily present in the world. A unity brought about by the glory of God in us (John 17:22). This glory might mean one of two things, but I believe it represents both the transformation within us and the gospel of Christ.
We ought to be united both in will and truth. We must strive to maintain this unity in the bond of peace, living in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We should never be ashamed of this gospel. Instead, we are to be those who are united in heralding it to the world. Our differences notwithstanding, whether cultural, socio-political, educational, etc., we are to be those whose gospel light shines ever so brightly.
The Delights of Being United
From this prayer, we already see that we can’t be individualistic about our Christianity. To hammer this home, Jesus shows that our unity in the gospel will bring about gospel fruit. As Jesus prayed, our unity in the gospel helps us proclaim the gospel. It helps prove that it is the power of God unto salvation. The church is a community that defies logic. If you were to take a survey of those you belong in the same church with, most of them wouldn’t be your friends if it weren’t for the unity you share in Christ. In the church, masters and slaves could sit in the same pew. Among the disciples, you had a political revolutionary, Simon the Zealot, and a tax collector, Matthew, dining together. Because it all shouldn’t make sense, the world is forced to regard this unity as supernatural.
The world is presented with a positive picture of Christ. It reckons that it is only through him that a true unity can be found. We also paint a wonderful picture of the gospel when everything is functioning like a well-oiled machine, and yet none of us is like the other. Therefore, since Jesus not only prayed for this unity but also worked to ensure we attain it, we have an obligation to maintain it. We have an obligation to mirror and honor the unity of the triune God, not just for our sake, but especially for the sake of the gospel and its proclamation to the ends of the earth.