Sunday, January 10, 2021
John 17:20-26
“One For All and All for One”
Service Orientation: Our mission as a church and as followers of Jesus is only realized and accomplished to the degree that we live united to, and in unity with, other believers.
Memory Verse for the Week: “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Philippians 2:1-4
Background Information:
- Christ’s High Priestly Prayer in John 17 contains his final words to his disciples in the upper room, the terminus ad quem. There only remains Gethsemane and the cross and then the stupendous resurrection of Jesus Christ. We need this terminal perspective to grasp the full impact of what Christ said in this majestic prayer. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 370)
- The Father and the Son’s oneness has been mentioned earlier and has been implicit in all that Jesus has said and done. This oneness includes both a unity of being and a distinctness of person, and it has been seen especially as a oneness of will and love. These are also the characteristics of the oneness that Jesus desires for his disciples to have in their relationship with one another in God. The picture of the relation believers have with one another and with God becomes clear when the various expressions are compared. This oneness is made possible through two types of mutual indwelling—the believers in the Son and the Son in them (14:20; 15:4-5) as well as the Son in the Father and the Father in the Son (10:38; 14:10-11; 17:21). These two types are combined to explain the believers’ living in God: on the one hand, the believers are in the Son, who is in the Father (14:20; cf. Col 3:3); on the other hand, the Father is in the Son, who is in the believers (Jn 17:23). The believers’ point of contact in both cases is the Son. Nowhere in this Gospel is it said that the Father is in believers or that believers are in the Father. The believers have a mutual indwelling with the Father, but only by the Son, for no one comes to the Father except through the Son (14:6). (Rodney A. Whitacre, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: John, 418)
- 25-26 – The title “Righteous Father” parallels the title “Holy Father” in v.11. Both are unique and appear only in this prayer. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 167)
- While every generation indeed bears witness to the next, all faithful generations are in fact re-presenting the foundational message of the first witnesses. The unique position of the original band of disciples further justifies the earlier focus of Jesus’ prayer specifically upon them (17:6-19). (Joseph Dongell, John: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, 207)
The question to be answered is…
What is Jesus’ longing as revealed in this last section of his high priestly prayer?
Answer…
Jesus’ longing is for his disciples to be one as he and God the Father are one. Why? For the sake of his glory and the world’s saving.
The word of the day is… one
What should we take note of about unity as revealed in today’s text?
- Christian unity is centered on Jesus and his glory. (22, 24)
(John 1:14; 17:5; Rom. 8:17; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:11-12; Col. 1:25-27; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 4:11)
The glory of the only begotten shines in all the sons of God. How great is the majesty of Christians. (John Wesley, Wesley’s Notes on the Bible, 262)
What the Incarnate Son of God had once been to the Jewish people, the church is now to the world—the incarnate love and glory of God. (Sir Edwyn Hoskyns, The Fourth Gospel, 502)
- Christian unity is not simply or merely a matter of present unity. (v.20-21)
(Ps. 90:2; Is. 10:21; 51:16; Rom. 11:5; 1 Cor. 8:6; 1 Pet 3:18-20; 4:6)
It is first and foremost a prayer that there may be a historical continuity between the church of the first century and the church of subsequent centuries; that the church’s faith may not change but remain recognizably the same; that the church of every age may merit the title “apostolic” because it is loyal to the teaching of the apostles. (John Stott, Christ the Liberator, 82)
- Christian unity helps facilitate the world’s saving.
(Mat. 28:18-20; John 3:16-17; Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 1 Timothy 4:10; 1 John 4:14)
Unity is not simply mystical and spiritual, but it is revealed in a particular fleshly company of disciples. As the love of Christ is perfected among God’s people in a deepening unity which is visible, the world is challenged. The church then becomes God’s call to the world. (Roger L. Fredrikson, The Communicator’s Commentary: John, 259)
Our love will not be perfect, but it must be substantial enough for the world to be able to observe or it does not fit into the structure of the verses in John 13 and 17. And if the world does not observe this among true Christians, the world has a right to make the two awful judgments which these verses indicate: That we are not Christians and that Christ was not sent by the Father. (Francis Shaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster, 154)
Conclusion…How can we serve to be the answer to Jesus’ prayer regarding Christian unity?
A. By realizing that unity does not mean uniformity.
(Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 27; Ephesians 4:1-32)
Christ’s prayer for unity does not mean we all should be the same, though many Christians mistakenly assume that. Too many think other believers should be just like them—carry the same Bible, read the same books, promote the same styles, educate their children in the same way, have the same likes and dislikes. That would be uniformity, not unity. We are not called to be Christian clones. In fact, the insistence that others be just like us is one of the most disunifying forces in the church of Jesus Christ. It engenders a judgmental inflexibility that hurls people away from the church with deadly force. One of the gospel’s glories is that it hallows our individuality even while bringing us into unity. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 372)
This gift of unity is not a forced conformity, but an expression of the creative diversity within the Godhead. As there is only one “true God” who manifests Himself through the differing functions of Father, Son, and Spirit, so the loving unity of the body of believers is expressed through a rich variety of gifts and ministry. The whole family of God is a beautiful montage of differing cultures and temperaments, colors and gifts, offered to God in worship and ministry that He may be glorified. (Roger L. Fredrikson, The Communicator’s Commentary: John, 258)
B. By growing in awareness of things that hinder unity.
(Pro. 6:16-19; Luke 11:17; Rom. 12:16; 14:19; 15:5; 16:17-18; 1 Cor. 1:10-13; Tit. 3:9-11)
The lost world cannot see God, but they can see Christians, and what they see in us is what they will believe about God. If they see love and unity, they will believe that God is love. If they see hatred and division, they will reject the message of the gospel. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 297)
Divisions in the church breed atheism in the world. (John Stott, Christ the Liberator, 11)
C. By discerning what can be held loosely for the sake of unity. (Rom. 14:5-6; 1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11; Eph. 4:3; Phil. 2:2; Col. 1:18; 2:16-17)
Christian harmony is not based on the externals of the flesh but the internals and eternals of the Spirit in the inner person. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 297)
D. By pursuing unity through Christian community.
(Ps. 133:1; Ecc. 4:9-12; Acts 2:42-47; 4:32; 1 Cor. 14:26; Gal. 6:2; Col. 3:14; Heb. 10:24-25; 13:17)
The closer we draw to Christ, the closer we draw to one another. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 371)
Our unity can be described as an inverted cone, with God at the top and believers around the base. As we ascend the slopes of the cone, drawing nearer to God, we draw closer to our fellow believers. At the pinnacle (in God) we touch one another in deepest joy. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 371)
Worship Point…
The gathering of believers for worship is one of the most unifying and powerful things Christ’s body does on earth. Why? Because in it Jesus’ followers demonstrate just how awesome and important Jesus is to them.
(Matthew 18:20; Romans 15:6; Ephesians 4:11-14; Colossians 3:16; 1 Peter 2:5-10)
[Jesus] desired to see a deep connection between those who were connected to him. The unity of which he spoke was clearly a reference to his earlier command to “love one another” (13:34) In Jesus’ words, both unity and love have the same purpose: “to let the world know” (17:23) or so that “all men will know” (13:35). In a world where unity means to broaden the labels or enlarge the structure, Jesus commands us to be united in him. Passionate commitment to Jesus Christ leads a believer to discover fellow believers in the most unusual places. The unity that the world seeks to impose, whether it is sociological, governmental, legal, or religious, will actually bring discord. The unity that Christ offers brings peace within and between persons. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 342)
Gospel Application…
The One for all is Jesus. Jesus came so that whosoever believes in him might be saved…
The all for One is the church; who, living united, demonstrate to the world the greatness and glory of King Jesus. (John 17:23; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; Philippians 1:27)
Christian unity is important because the world’s pursuit of unity is futile. When genuine unity is authentically demonstrated, it is irresistible. Real unity between Christians is a supernatural work, and it points to a supernatural explanation—Jesus Christ in us! (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 373)
This unity is not simply mystical and spiritual, but it is revealed in a particular fleshly company of disciples. As the love of Christ is perfected among God’s people in a deepening unity which is visible, the world is challenged. The church then becomes God’s call to the world. All men will come to know Jesus has been sent by God through the witness of a fleshly company of forgiven sinners who love one another as the Father loves the Son and as He loves His people. This is Christ’s body in the world. And “” (Roger L. Fredrikson, The Communicator’s Commentary: John, 259)
The purpose of this unity is the maintenance of a convincing testimony before the world to the revelation of God in Christ and to his love for the disciples. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 167)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- What examples can you recall illustrating the power of Christian unity in your life? How about in history?
- How does Jesus’ prayer for unity among believers challenge you where you are at in your journey with Jesus?
- How can you strive to promote unity in the body and be the answer to Jesus’ prayer in today’s text?
- What are things we can hold loose to as believers for the sake of unity? What are the things we must hold firmly to?
Quotes to note…
Christians may belong to different fellowships, but they all belong to the Lord and to each other. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 297)
The nearer we live to God while we live, the more ready shall we be to dwell forever in His presence when we die. (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John Vol.2, 176)
True believers are united in the core of their beings. That is why we often can sense that we have met another believer before words have even been spoken. We share the divine nature! (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 371)
The ruin of the human race is, that, having been alienated from God, it is also broken and scattered in itself. (John Calvin, Commentary on John, 153)
Unregenerate men are never brought to believe in Christ by any external displays of Divine power and goodness—the benevolent miracles wrought by Him clearly prove this. Nothing but the Word applied by the Spirit ever quickened sinners into newness of life. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 806)
[Jesus] prays that all His people throughout all time may be one. Jesus asks that their unity may be rooted in “Us” (v. 21), reflecting that eternal oneness which the Father and Son know in dwelling in one another. This unity of His disciples is not institutional or organized, but a living, organic oneness which flows from the action of the Father. (Roger L. Fredrikson, The Communicator’s Commentary: John, 258)
Jesus’ great desire for his disciples was that they would become one. He wanted them unified as a powerful witness to the reality of God’s love. Unity between believers is not often mentioned as the catalyst for someone becoming a Christian. However, Christian unity does provide an environment for the gospel message to make its clearest impact, and lack of unity among Christians frequently drives people away. Are you helping to unify the body of Christ, the church? You can pray for other Christians, avoid gossip, build others up, work together in humility, give your time and money, exalt Christ, and refuse to get sidetracked by arguing over divisive matters. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 343)
The last section of Jesus’ prayer shows that he expected the failure of the disciples to be only temporary. The entire tone of the farewell discourse is built on the assumption that after the Resurrection they would renew their faith and carry on a new ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 166)
The provisions and warnings of the upper room discourse presuppose the continuation of Jesus’ work through these men. It illumines his declaration recorded by Matthew: “I will build my church” (Matt 16:18). Jesus expected the ministry of the Spirit in the disciples to result in adding more believers to their number. So his prayer includes all believers in all ages. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 166-167)
[Jesus] was not calling for uniformity, since he and the Father are distinct from each other and have different functions; nor was he calling for agreement in external opinion. He predicated that the unity would be one of nature; for he and the Father, while distinguishable in person, are one being. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 167)
He has already prayed about security and sanctity; now the burden of His prayer is unity. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 297)
People [are not to] do not see us and glorify us; they [are to] see the Lord and glorify Him (Matt. 5:16; 1 Cor. 6:19–20). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 297)
The world certainly has many opportunities to get to know the Father, but it prefers to go on in blindness and hardness of heart. Our task as Christians is to bear witness to the lost world and share God’s saving message. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 297)
Jesus makes it clear that truth and love must go together (see Eph. 4:15). It has well been said that truth without love is brutality, but love without truth is hypocrisy. The mind grows by taking in truth, but the heart grows by giving out in love. Knowledge alone can lead to pride (1 Cor. 8:1), and love alone can lead to wrong decisions (see Phil. 1:9–10). Christian love must not be blind! (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 297)
More holiness is the very thing to be desired for all servants of Christ. Holy living is the great proof of the reality of Christianity. Men may refuse to see the truth of our arguments, but they cannot evade the evidence of a godly life. (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John Vol.2, 176)
Christ’s blood alone can give us a title to enter the inheritance. Sanctification must give us a capacity to enjoy it. (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John Vol.2, 176)
He who despises holiness and neglects good works, under the vain pretense of giving honor to justification by faith, shows plainly that he has not the mind of Christ. (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John Vol.2, 176)
We do not see Christ now. We read of Him, hear of Him, believe in Him, and rest our souls in His finished work. But even the best of us, at our best, walk by faith and not by sight, and our poor halting faith often makes us walk very feebly in the way to heaven. There shall be an end of all this state of things one day. We shall at length see Christ as He is, and know as we have been known. We shall behold Him face to face, and not through a glass darkly. We shall actually be in His presence and company, and go out no more. If faith has been pleasant, much more will sight be; and if hope has been sweet, much more will certainty be. No wonder that when Paul has written, “We shall ever be with the Lord,” he adds, “Comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:17, 18.) (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John Vol.2, 177)
The flow of Christ’s thought is: his earthly prayer for his church (vv. 20–23), his heavenly prayer for his church (v. 24), and his eternal vow to his church (vv. 25, 26). (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 370)
He was concerned about his people’s love, holiness, and mission, but in his final earthly prayer he made unity his transcending concern. Logically, then, this unity must also be his dominant concern today. True, it is not his only concern (the ecumenical movement has used this verse as a proof-text while ignoring the context and theology of the prayer). Nevertheless, it is foremost among Christ’s earthly concerns, and we cannot overestimate its importance for today. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 370)
unity, though, does not mean uniformity in everything. In the Trinity there exists a unity in diversity—three distinct Persons, yet they are one. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 371)
The unity for which the Savior prays is a unity that comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and grows as we draw nearer to God by being rooted and strengthened in his Word. We are never closer to one another than when our hearts are genuinely focused on God. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 372)
Thomas Manton said, “Divisions in the church breed atheism in the world.”4 The converse is also true: unity in the church builds belief in the world. In view of that, there is scarcely anything more important than Christ’s prayer for genuine unity in the church. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 373)
This unity does not happen automatically or easily. It must be worked at. When a man and woman become one in Christ in marriage, there must be a commitment to oneness—an ongoing commitment to communicate, to share their souls, to spend time together, to have the deepest relationship possible in body, soul, and spirit. Such a relationship is unutterably wonderful when experienced. But many people never attain this, not because they do not want it, but because they are not committed to working toward it with God’s help. The same is true of the unity of believers in this world. We must be committed to scaling the heights, committed to the apostolic faith, and committed to humbly serving one another. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 374)
while a pattern of perfect happiness was exhibited in Christ, he had nothing that belonged peculiarly to himself, but rather was rich, in order to enrich those who believed in him. Our happiness lies in having the image of God restored and formed anew in us, which was defaced by sin. Christ is not only the lively image of God, in so far as he is the eternal Word of God. but even on his human nature, which he has in common with us, the likeness of the glory of the Father has been engraved, so as to form his members to the resemblance of it. (John Calvin, Commentary on John, 154)
Seven things Christ asked the Father for the whole company of His redeemed. First, He prayed for their preservation: “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me” (John 17:11). Second, for their jubilation: “that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13). Third, for their emancipation from evil: “that thou shouldst keep them from the evil” (John 17:15). Fourth, for their sanctification: “sanctify them by thy truth” (John 17:17). Fifth, for their unification: “that they all may be one” (John 17:21). Sixth, for their association with Himself: “that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am” (John 17:24). Seventh, for their gratification: “that they may behold my glory” (John 17:24). (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 801)
The description here given of those who do have an interest in Christ’s intercession is their faith in Him. This is the fundamental mark of their identification. He mentions not their love, their obedience, their steadfastness (though these are necessary in their place), but their faith. Wherever our participation of the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection are spoken of, the one thing named is faith. Why? Because this is a grace which compels us to look outside of ourselves to Him! Faith is the great essential, for faith is the mother of obedience and the other graces. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 804)
The nature of this oneness would be like the oneness enjoyed by the Father and Son—oneness of purpose, truth, and especially love (17:24, 26; 5:20). So it is that all believers are to be bonded together in their common devotion to God’s purposes, their common embrace of truth as revealed by the Son, and their common life of sacrificial love one for another (15:12-14). (Joseph Dongell, John: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, 207)
We can point with embarrassment to pervasive and persistent divisions between believers, and must confess our own part in inflicting or deepening ugly wounds which mar universal Christian fellowship. However regrettable these divisions are, and however estranged believers may be from each other, a unity among them still exists by virtue of their common salvation through faith in Jesus. But Jesus prayed for a richer unity than this: … May they be brought to complete unity . . . (17:23, my emphasis). Their unity would move toward completeness, no doubt, in proportion to their growth in love, since love characterizes the perfect unity between the Father and the Son (17:24, 26; 5:20). (Joseph Dongell, John: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, 208)
In the first century there was a widespread belief among Jews, Greeks and Romans in the unity of humanity. Various sources for this unity were suggested, including the concept of one God, the recognition of one universal human nature, the recognition of a universal law and the notion of one world. Efforts were made to embody this unity. For example, Alexander the Great had set out to unite the inhabited world, and later the Romans picked up the same goal. On a smaller scale, the members of the community at Qumran referred to themselves as “the unity,” which included a unity with the angels, thus linking heaven and earth. So Jesus’ prayer would speak to an issue of great interest, but the oneness he refers to is distinctive in its nature from other notions of unity. It is grounded in the one God, as were some other views of unity, but also in himself and his own relation with the one God. He claims to offer the unity that many were desiring, but this unity is grounded in his own relation with his Father. Furthermore, he says that the band of disciples there in the room with him is the nucleus of the one unified humanity. (Rodney A. Whitacre, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: John, 417)
“I in them, and thou in me.” How wonderful! Only the Spirit of God can accomplish that. The unity that exists between the Father and the Son is the unity that is to exist between the believer and the Lord Jesus Christ! “And hast loved them, as thou hast loved me”—means that God loves you as much as He loves the Lord Jesus Christ. That boggles the mind! (J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible Commentary Series, John, 293)
Jesus concluded his prayer by including us. His words, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message” (17:20), can bring real comfort during times of discouragement. We can easily replace “those” with our own names and realize that Jesus had us in mind as he prepared for the cross. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 342)
This oneness does not readily fit the idea of one unified church structure. Rather, this unity becomes most visible through love, obedience, and commitment to the Father’s will. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 343)
God and man are together involved in bringing the new creation into being. The effect of this united testimony is a confirmation of the divine mission of Jesus and of God’s love for believers. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 167)