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Book: John
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John 17:23
Intro. The main petition of Jesus for His church is that they might be
one. Twice He repeated the request. "That they might be one is Us."
and "That they might be one even as We are one."
I. He then explained this unity. "I in them, and You in Me."
A. In chapter 14 He has said, "In that day you will know that I am
in the Father and you are in Me and I am in you."
1. In IJohn 1 He wrote, "And these things write we unto
you that you might have fellowship with us, and truly
or fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus
Christ."
2. i.e. We not only have fellowship or communion or
oneness with each other, but also this same oneness
with the Father and the Son.
a. In the New Testament this meant a common
sharing of all things.
b. I share with you all that I have, and you share
with me.
c. The amazing thing is that God will join in this
sharing with us.
3. "I in them."
a. Paul speaks of "Christ in you the hope of
glory."
b. For the Ephesians Paul prayed, "That Christ
might dwell in your hearts through faith."
B. Who is it that has this fellowship?
1. Jesus said in John 6:56 "He that eateth My flesh and
drinketh My blood dwelleth in Me."
2. IJohn 4:15 Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son
of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God."
3. IJohn 4:16 And we have known and believed that love
that God hath to us. He who dwells in love dwells in
God and God in him.
II. "That they may be made perfect in one." The word perfect means
complete or fully matured.
A. You are not complete in yourself.
1. None of us liveth unto himself.
a. You cannot be complete by yourself.
b. We need each other and we all need God to be
complete.
2. Paul speaks of the body of Christ in ICor. 12 of its
inter-relationship, and inter-dependence.
1CO 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also [is]
Christ.
1CO 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we
be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have
been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1CO 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
1CO 12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of
the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1CO 12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of
the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1CO 12:17 If the whole body [were] an eye, where [were] the hearing? If
the whole [were] hearing, where [were] the smelling?
1CO 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the
body, as it hath pleased him.
1CO 12:19 And if they were all one member, where [were] the body?
1CO 12:20 But now [are they] many members, yet but one body.
1CO 12:21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee:
nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
1CO 12:22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be
more feeble, are necessary:
1CO 12:23 And those [members] of the body, which we think to be less
honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our
uncomely [parts] have more abundant comeliness.
1CO 12:24 For our comely [parts] have no need: but God hath tempered the
body together, having given more abundant honour to that [part]
which lacked:
1CO 12:25 That there should be no schism in the body; but [that] the
members should have the same care one for another.
1CO 12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it;
or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
1CO 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
B. The grasping of this principle is a sign of true maturity in
Christ.
C. Conversely the failure to grasp this truth is a sign of
spiritual immaturity.
1. There are always those who are seeking to divide the
body of Christ. What a paradox, they claim to have a
corner on truth but in seeking to prove the truth, they
divide the body.
2. I think that Jesus is more interested that you walk in
love than that you be dogmatically correct. For you are
wrong even when you are right, if you have not love.
a. The love that suffers long and is kind, that
envies not nor vaunts itself. The love that
thinks no evil, that believes all things, hopes
all things, and endures all things.
b. The love that is kind and tender hearted
forgiving one even as God for Christ sake has
forgiven us.
3. Some are more interested in persuading people to their
particular doctrinal position than they are winning the
lost.
3. They spend their lives arguing for the rightness of
their position.
4. If they truly have the truth, they do not have to
defend it.
5. The scriptures exhort us to speak the truth in love.
6. Their are reasons why the 5 point Calvanist are not
really evangelical.
a. If grace is irresistible, and the atonement is
limited to only the chosen, and the human will
has no part in the decision, then why even try
to convert the lost? If they are ordained to be
saved, they will be saved, let's us spend our
time arguing and proving our position to the
ignorant members of the body who must share our
position on this vital truth in order to be
eternally secure.
b. I believe that a man is eternally secure in
Christ whether he believes it or not, why argue
about it and divide the body?
c. Again if by my insistence upon my having the
only true understanding of the truth, I divide
the body of Christ, I am wrong when I am right.
d. It was the prayer of Jesus that we be one.
III. "And that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me."
A. This should be the true witness of the church to the world.
1. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was sent by God into
the world to reveal God to man, and to redeem man from
the power of darkness, and to give eternal life to all
who believe in Him.
2. This witness we declare verbally. IJohn 4:14 "And we
have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son
to be the Savior of the world."
3. This truth we demonstrate to the world by or oneness.
B. That we may know that Thou hast loved them as Thou has loved
Me.
1. How much do you think the Father loves the Son?
a. More than once He seemed to be so proud that He
bragged on Him. He declared, "This is My
beloved Son in who I am well pleased." Sort of
a "That's My Boy."
b. Do you think that you can fathom His love for
His Son?
2. How much do you think that God loves you?
a. As much as He loves His only begotten Son.
b. That's how much Jesus loves you too. "As the
Father loveth Me, so have I loved you."
3. What do you think it would take to separate you from
the love of God?
ROM 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall]
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword?
ROM 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we
are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
ROM 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
that loved us.
ROM 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to
come,
ROM 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
C. Paul's prayer for the Ephesians was that they may be rooted and
grounded in love and be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth, length, depth, and height, and to know the
love of Christ which passes knowledge.
D. The past few days God has been revealing to me His love. I feel
that if He shows anymore I will burst.
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