As I have been on active duty for over five years now, one of the great things that I’ve learned and appreciate about the Army Chapel is the sense of unity among Christians in our chapels. Most of the services that I have come in contact with have been what we call Collective Protestant.
I get asked on occasion; “What is meant by Collective Protestant?” Protestant basically means that we are Christian but not Catholic. Collective Protestant means that we, as individuals, represent many different theological subsets or denominations within the greater Protestant Christian community, and then collect together on a common purpose to worship our Father through his son Jesus Christ. It is amazing and exciting to me to see how different people express their faith and grow in their faith and experience what Christ is doing in their life. To me it is exactly what Jesus is talking about in John chapter 17. So this morning, we are going to be looking at this passage in our Bible.
Look with me at John chapter 17 verse 20:
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 ?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. 22 ?The glory that you have given me ?I have given to them, ?that they may be one even as we are one, 23 ?I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, ?so that the world may know that you sent me and ?loved them even as you loved me. (Jn 17:20-23, ESV)
This passage is a portion of the High Priestly Prayer offered by Christ, on the night of His betrayal, prior to walking to the Garden. Jesus is praying for his disciples. His prayer for them is applicable to us—for he prays also for “those who will believe in me through their word.” So we listen intently to what Jesus is saying about us.
Jesus is praying that we as Christians may all be one.
The first question I look at, from this passage is “why does Jesus have to pray that we become one.”
Which bring me brings me to my first point.
1. We are to be one regardless of our differences.
In verse 20, Jesus says;
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 ?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, ESV)
Why is this a concern of his—that we will all be one? He is concerned because we are designed to be different. We bring different skills to the table. We have different passions and different personalities. This sometimes causes conflict as we compete with one another for credit, pride, money, or even revenge as we are forced to get along.
Jesus prays that we all will be one.
I was at the Master Resiliency Trainer Course in Philadelphia this week. There we took some time to evaluate our character strengths. In those strengths, we find out how our personality or character is demonstrated. The survey finds that some strengths are naturally valued by each individual person more than others. Also, the value weights how these strengths are represented in our daily life. While many of us had similar character strengths, we had different levels within the group. We were uniquely and individually different the way we use our character strengths. While we talked about these strengths, we learned how to use them to improve the performance within the smaller units—squads and platoons.
Paul discusses the same concept as he writes in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11.
11 And ?he gave the ?apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the p?shepherds?2 and teachers,12 ?to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ?building up ?the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ?to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of ?the fullness of Christ, (Eph 4:11-13, ESV)
The concept of being different and using these differences as a strength to build different areas of ministry is nothing new but we are to be unified and we are to be one.
No matter what the differences are, Jesus prays that we use or strengths, our personalities, our individual passions to become one untied team supporting one another toward the goal.
2. The second point about being one is that we are one through Christ.
22 ?The glory that you have given me ?I have given to them, ?that they may be one even as we are one, (Jn 17:22, ESV)
Jesus prays that we all be one through him. Jesus says “the glory that you (God) have given me (Jesus) and I have given to them.” It flows from the father to the son to us.
People become unified around many different things. People could be unified around political issues, football teams, and even armies. Jesus prays that will be all one in him.
One of the biggest problems that I see in American Christian culture is that we have of problem with the elevation of certain preachers or personalities that garner large followings of people to “rock star status.” There’s not a problem with the “rock star” person necessarily. The preachers who have great followings—are in many cases good people, with good theologies, and good genuine hearts.
The problem comes when people find one individual to base their whole ideology on. They will read everything that this person writes, read only the authors that are recommended by that preacher, they will believe everything the person believes or teachers. They will gain a sense of arrogance—an idea that because they believe what this preacher says they are, therefore, somewhat ahead of the class in spiritualality. In this arrogance, they will destroy friendships, divide churches, and break down newer believers as they set unattainable standards of perfection. Is this new? No, this is not new.
Take a moment to turn to Corinthians chapter 1 verse 10 and you will find that Paul was dealing with a similar issue in his letter to the Corinthians passage. He writes:
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united ?in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that ?each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow ?Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ?baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and ?Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Co 1:10-17, ESV)
Look again at verse 17.
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Co 1:17, ESV)
This is critical. We cannot get wrapped around the following of “rock stars”. I am glad we have great people to learn from. I have my own heroes of the faith. I listen to several preachers. We need to take what they say in healthy ways but we are to be unified around Christ and his Gospel.
Which brings me to the third point this morning;
3. We are to be One so the world may know.
John 17:23;
23 ?I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, ?so that the world may know that you sent me and ?loved them even as you loved me. (Jn 17:23, ESV)
The third thing that John chapter 17 teaches us and he says it twice in these three verses is that he prays that we will be one, so that the world may know that God sent him. Verse 21 reads:
so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (Jn. 17:21b, ESV)
Jesus wants us to be one for the sake of the gospel. He wants the world to know that God loves them. Jesus wants the world to know that God loves them and that he was sent from God because of that love. And that’s the message that he wants us to rally around. He wants our focus to be on the fact that God loves the world so much that he gave his only son, Jesus, to die on a cross to wipe that sin away—and make the pathway available for each of us to spend eternity with the Father in heaven. We have so many different issues that we can that can divide us, so many issues that we can fight about, so many personality problems, and some much baggage. God wants us to be one so that the world may know that he loves us.
That is the good news. Steve Green sings a song that has meant much to people through the years called “People Need the Lord.” The song begins with these words:
Everyday they pass me by I can see it in their eye
Empty people filled with care Headed who knows where
On they go through private pain Living fear to fear
Laughter hides the silent cries Only Jesus hears
And the chorus reads:
People need the Lord People need the Lord
At the end of broken dreams He¡¯s the open door
People need the Lord People need the Lord
When will we realize People need the Lord (http://ccmlyrics.tripod.com/PeopleNeedTheLord.htm )
That is the gospel message that is our mission.
People do need the Lord. People need us to unite as one to share God’s love with them.
You may be sitting here this morning, and you wonder what the gospel is. You don’t feel like you can unify with other people in this chapel because you are unsure of what the gospel really is.
The gospel is as simple.
God loves you but we can’t reach God because of our sin. Sin is anything you think, anything you say, or anything you do that makes God unhappy. And the Bible says “the wages of sin”, the punishment of sin is death and we must pay that punishment. But, God loves us so much that he sent his only son Jesus to pay the penalty for us and in our place. He died on a cross and was dead three days until he rose again for our justification. All that he asks of us is that would accept that payment and live our lives for him. You may have never done that before. You may have never accepted Christ and his payment before this morning, I ask you; “Will you do that today?” After the service, I down the front shaking hands, CH Gibilisco will be around, CH Walker will be around there is always somebody here to talk to you about trusting and accepting this payment. Do not hesitate—accept this good news today.
Now, Christians, the sermon’s not over. As you reflect back on the fact that you accepted Christ. You reflect on the fact that you accepted his loving payment that has rescued you from hell. Don’t let be divided between other Christians. Be one as Christ is one with the Father. Rally around the gospel, so that the world may know that Jesus loves us. Share that love with everyone you meet in every way, in every day, and in every way. A-men.
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This sermon was preached at Memorial Chapel, Fort Lee, VA in May, 2010.
All scripture marked ESV: The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001, S.