Jesus: Prays for all believers - Pt. II
So that you may believe - Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 53:59
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Unity of believers (Jn17:22-26).
Unity of believers (Jn17:22-26).
Is unity of believers important?
Does unity mean uniformity?
Can there be unity of believers?
Are we praying for unity of believers?
Previously:
Eyes lifted to heaven after speaking to the apostles that the hour has come, Jesus prays.
He prays for the Father to glory the Son so the Son can glory the Father (17:1-5)
He prays knowing He has completed His task, and for the apostles may complete their so others may believe their words. (17:6-12)
He prays for protection over the apostles, not to take them out of the world but use them for the world so that others may believe. (17:13-21)
(Transition) - Tonight Jesus is going to pray to the Father for the glory and the unity of the believers.
Wiersbe said “the lost world cannot see God, but they can see Christians; and what they see in us is what they are going to believe about God.”
Jesus already said some would believe because of the witness of the apostles, the word of the apostles.
20 “I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message.
The unity of believers is important. Unifying factors as mentioned last week should be
We are called to love one another
We share the same Savior
We share the same glory
We share the same heaven
We share the same Father
We share the same work
We share the same truth
We should share the same example.
Our responsibility is to promote spiritual unity of believers in our common salvation through Jesus Christ.
A passage of glory and unity
A passage of glory and unity
Turn to and read Jn17:22-26.
22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Last week we asked questions from the text
What did Jesus give to them (v.22)? - Glory!
What was Jesus request (vv.22-23)? - They be one, in perfect unity.
What was Jesus desire (v.24) - They be with Him, Be where He is. See His glory as was in the beginning
What had they come to know (v.25)? - That the Father had sent Him.
Glory revealed, given, to be unified (Jn17:22)
Glory revealed, given, to be unified (Jn17:22)
Jesus is now praying for the unity of the believers, and for them to be marked by glory.
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
Everything Jesus had, the Father had given to Him, everything Jesus had He gave to the disciples, this includes His glory
The glory of His presence
The glory of His Word
The glory of His Spirit
The glory of His power
The glory of His leadership
The glory of His preservation
While the glory from the Father to the Son may have seemed weak, timid, humble, filled with rejection and suffering. It was in the glory that the sacrifice was to be fulfilled so we can be unified in the glory of God through Jesus Christ!
Jesus prayer for unity comes through that they may be one, as Christ’s body, one body united in Christ (ref: Rom12:5)
Unity grounded in love (Jn17:23)
Unity grounded in love (Jn17:23)
23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Unity of believers comes through love. Jesus love for believers, the Fathers love for Jesus because of the Fathers love for the world.
Not unity built on fear, but on love
Not on command but on commitment (devotion)
Not a love of compromise, but of truth
Not in ways, but in The Way, the Truth, the Life!
Unity is found in common identity in Christ alone.
Unity being reminded again is knowing the Father sent the Son (ref: 17:21) and here.
There are many reasons the believers can be divided
A darkened mind (2Cor3:13-16; Eph4:17-19; Rom1:20-21)
17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
People have the truth and trade the truth (Rom1:25)
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Unity comes with great responsibility (Jn13:34-35; Gal5:13; Eph4:32)
Love one another
Serve one another
Forgive one another
Jesus prays for unity in position and possession (17:24)
Jesus prays for unity in position and possession (17:24)
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Jesus previously proclaimed and promised unity (Jn14:2-3) and now prays for the possession of unity
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus is asking for the fulfillment, the consummation of all things that the believers be in heaven with Him.
The verse says “desire.”
Desire: (N) - a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. (V) - strongly wish for or want (something).
A strong desire wish, feeling for the believers to be where He is.
The unity of the believers is united in the heavenlies (Eph1:3, 2:6)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
And if that was not enough
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Desire for believers to see the glory given to Jesus; glory as before the creation of the world.
Desire is fulfilled by the outpouring of the Fathers love and the sacrifice of the Son that opens the door for us to receive and to see the glory of the Father and the Son.
Stone in his commentary says: This tells us that before anything was created, there was a love relationship between the Persons of the Godhead, the Trinity. Even if Jesus had not specifically told us this, we might have understood it by other Biblical truths, Understanding that God is eternal (Mic5:2) and that God is love (1Jn4:8 and 4:16). There was never a time when God did not love and was not love.”
Jesus summation of His prayer (17:25-26)
Jesus summation of His prayer (17:25-26)
25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Jesus declares the righteousness of the Father that the world does not know.
Jesus declares that those who are His know The Father sent Him
Jesus declares I have made Your name known and will declare it. - through love
Jesus declares that it is love, love of the Father in Him, and He in them will be the unity of the believers.
The priorities in the Saviors heart can be ours too when we:
Give all the glory to God
Pray for the sanctify of God’s people
Pray for the unity of the believers
Share the Good News with a lost world that does not know the Father nor the Son
Christian unity is possible when each believer is committed to the truth of God’s word as given through God’s prophets and apostles for us. Do your part! You be united with God through His word and His Spirit and may that be the light that shines in you and through you to others.
(Prayer) (Exit)