THE LORD’S PRAYER, Part 3: United for the Glory of God
John
17:20-26
Introduction: Have you ever been on a trip, and heard repeatedly
from someone in the car, usually a little someone in the back seat, saying, “Are
we there yet?” Kids can be so focused on
the destination, they have little appreciation for the journey. In this prayer Jesus looks ahead to the destination, but, for the most part, it’s a prayer for us
on the journey. One of the beauties of preaching through books of the Bible is
that the passage for the next week is pretty much chosen for you. Here we are at the end of John 17. In my flesh, if it was up to me, I probably
would have chosen something safer. Over
a year in the Gospel of John, and “just by chance,” we have arrived at a text
that speaks precisely to this moment in the history of our church. At the heart of John 17, really the foundation
of the entire Gospel of John, is the revelation of the glory of God in Christ
and in His church. The question for us,
as a church family, as a body of believers is, “are we there yet?” Is God’s
glory, above all else, the desire of our hearts? Is it the desire of my heart? I want it to be.
It certainly was a chief concern of Jesus in his prayer in John 17. The prayer began talking about the glory of
God manifested in Jesus (4,5) and it ends in this passage talking about the
glory of Jesus shining in and through the church (22). We’re on a journey together, I’m with you
in the back seat, and together we’re asking Abba, “Daddy, are we there yet?”
If the answer to that question is our final destination, that will only be answered
in the affirmative when we are in heaven with Him. But God isn’t only interested in the
destination; He is interested in the journey.
If the answer to that question is the path that we are on, I would say
that we absolutely are right there, where He wants us to be. God is in this place. He is working. He is
changing us individually as we know Him better and grow in our relationship
with Him, and He is changing us as a church, even through our willingness and
desire to shine more brightly in our community.
The Big Idea: Jesus prayed that we would be so united that it
would be visible and attractive to the world and glorifying to God. Are we
there yet? Because Jesus prayed we
can be sure that is indeed our position. The question is will we choose to live
in the light of that truth today, now?
I. Jesus prayed for the church to be united (21-22). What Jesus prays is clearly His desire for the church, this is what He
wants for us. More than that, it’s also the best for the church. This is what we need if we are going to
carry out His mission to maximum effect in the world. Jesus is praying for “those who will believe
through their word” (v.20). That means
all subsequent Christ followers through the ages, including us! As He prays, He makes an astounding request
on our behalf…
·
He
prays first of all for a supernatural unity among believers: “they may be one as we are one.” What a
statement! The measure of the unity that Jesus desires for us is the unity that
exists between the Father and the Son! Remember how John 1:1 expressed that? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God…” The doctrine of the Trinity is a great
mystery – one divine essence, united in purpose, three distinct persons. That
unity, in all its perfection, is viewed as a model of the unity between
believers. Eph 4:3 says we
should be “…endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace...” That is in the imperative mood, its something we strive for. Yet our reality is described in v.4-6: “There
is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your
calling; 5 one Lord, one
faith, one baptism; 6 one God
and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in you all…” That means we
experience a unity that is more than just theory, its something visible, it’s
something we work out in our relationships, it’s tangible, and so it becomes
evangelistic.
·
A tangible unity, is something that goes beyond “position” to being visible to the world.
Another passage in which Paul mentions
this theme of unity is Philippians 2:2, where he
says, “…make my joy complete by being of
the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one
purpose.” Consider each of those aspects…
-The same mind: Not that we
always agree. Unity does not mean “uniformity.” One of the beauties of the church is the
diversity in its composition and expression. But it does mean that we always
agree to seek God together, that His will trumps our will, that His Word is
truth and so stands as our final authority. That is the "Great foundation" for Christ followers, the God who is had spoken, His Word is Truth.
-The same love: This is “agape”
love that we choose. That's the Great Commandment for his disciples, love God, and love your neighbor. It’s not based on feelings it’s based on the love God has
shown us which compels us to love one another (Jn 13:35).
-United in spirit… NKJV says,
“being of one accord.” It means literally “one souled.” John MacArthur says it points to a “passionate
common commitment to the same spiritual goals.”
We seek and strive together for God’s will and His glory. That means God’s
agenda is preeminent, not mine. Together we seek Him and seek to discern His
will and direction for us.
-Intent on one purpose: Because we
are united in Spirit, love one another, have the same goals, we should commit together
to carry out God’s mission to His glory. His mission is the Great Commission that has been entrusted to us. The Great Commandment and the Great Commission reinforce one another. As we love God and love our neighbor, united in Spirit, the world will take notice. So
this unity, as it is realized experientially, testifies to the Truth.
·
It
is a unity that is tangible and visible like that is attractive, and so it
is a unity that is evangelistic: A supernatural, tangible unity that
testifies to the world and attracts them to Jesus (21, cf.23). In Jn 13 Jesus
said “By this men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another…” That has to be talking about more than a “feeling,”
it’s a choice. It means that we care about each other, sacrifice for one
another, bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Jesus is
praying to the Father for a unity among his followers because of the Son and by
the power of the Spirit that is tangible, visible to the world, and so promotes
a positive response to the church in its mission. Jesus prayed that we would be so united that
it would be visible and attractive to the world and glorifying to God. Are we
there yet? Because Jesus prayed we
can be that is indeed our position. The question is will we choose to live in
the light of that truth? That’s a decision we make every day as we choose to
walk the path that Jesus desires for us.
II. Jesus prayed that the world might be persuaded by our unity (23). “…so that…” or, “…in order that…” the world
may know. Verse 23 picks up on
the theme from v.21, the effect that the visible, tangible unity of the church
can have on the world, it speaks volumes that we have experienced something
real, something supernatural, something that can be used by God to draw people
to himself.
This
does not preclude the importance, indeed the necessity, of sharing the Gospel
with our words. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
Christ.” When Paul wrote his letters he
communicated the Good News in human language.
As all the writers of Scripture were “carried along” by the Holy Spirit
they wrote down exactly what God intended.
We need to share the Christ of Scripture with the World and God will use
that. You may not be confidant about your Bible knowledge and so may be
hesitant to actually talk to someone about your faith. God doesn’t call you to
be an expert, just a witness! Carrying a couple of Gospel tracts with you at
all times is not a bad idea, if you have time you can walk someone through it,
if not you can leave it with them and encourage them to read it later. God uses
the Word!
But
there is another side to our witness that is equally important. This statement
by Bruce Milne is so to the point I have to quote it:
“…the gospel proclaimed from the pulpit [and
by our words] is either confirmed, and
hence immeasurably enhanced, or it is contradicted, and hence immeasurably
weakened, by the quality of the relationships in the pews. In this sense every Christian is a witness.
Every time we gather together we either strengthen or weaken the evangelistic
appeal of our church by the quality of our relationships with our fellow church
members.”
That’s convicting, I don’t know if I like to think that the
world is watching me, but like it or not it’s true, and they are watching you
too. Not just our conduct in terms of
morality, but especially our relationships, our “oneness” as Christ followers, speaks,
one way or another, to those around us. This kind of “practical” experiential
unity is what Jesus is praying for us in this text. There was an old Hagar the
Horrible cartoon (I think it was) with Hagar following some “enemy” footprints,
which leads him and his men around in a circle right back to his starting
point. At that point someone announces
“We have found the enemy, and it is us!”
Well our enemy is not “us”, it’s the devil, but if we allow
jealousy or a negative spirit, or critical attitude or a refusal to forgive to
divide us, we are playing into the enemies hands! Scripture warns us not to
give the enemy a foothold. Because God
loved us, we love one another, and if we choose to love we will live out the
reality of our unity in Christ.
The words of
the psalmist reflect the idea of a unity that is visible, that outwardly
testifies that something supernatural and real is going on in this community:
In Psalm 133:1 it says, “Behold, how
good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!” Look! See how beautiful and evident is the
hand of God on these people! Are we
there yet? When Barnabas arrived at
Antioch in Acts 11 he saw the church that had been planted there among the
gentiles after the persecution had scattered the church in Jerusalem. Acts 11:23 says, “He saw the grace of God,
and was glad…” It was evident that God
was working, Jesus was building His church, and it brought joy to the heart of
the son of encouragement. We’re on the
path that God wants us on. The evidence of God’s grace is overflowing in the
lives of the people in this church. It’s one of the things that attracted us
here, that made us feel like we could be a part of this family and continue on
a path with you of learning and growing together into what Christ wants us to
be. Jesus prayed that we would be so united that it would
be visible and attractive to the world and glorifying to God. Are we there yet?
Because Jesus prayed we can be that
is indeed our position. The question we must ask every day is will we choose to
live in the light of that truth?
III. He prayed that the
Father’s mission might be accomplished: the unity of the church was envisioned by God in eternity
past, accomplished by Jesus in his infinite sacrifice, and, if we trust Him, it
can be lived out in our experience today (24-26).
What Jesus
wants is the will of the Father to be carried out in His disciples, and in all
Christ followers throughout history. He
prays for “Those you have given me… to be
with me where I am, and to see my glory…” We see His glory partially
already, as 2 Corinthians 3:18 says: “But we
all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord...”
But the day is coming which John speaks of in 1 John 3:2 where he says “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it
has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is
revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” What a day
that will be! Jesus is praying about that day in 17:24 when He says,
"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.”
In that day
we will be with him in Heaven and will see His unveiled glory – does that
motivate you to live differently today?
Have you heard the saying that someone is “…so heavenly minded they are
of no earthly good…”? Actually the
opposite is much more of a problem in the American Church in the 21st
century: we get so “earthly minded” that we are of no “heavenly good”! We’re too comfortable. We have so much. I’ve not been to Haiti or Uganda as many of
you have, but from what I’ve heard from you it’s not too different from some of
the churches in Brazil that we’ve been in. There is a joy, an excitement about
God’s presence and God’s work. Many of the people are as poor as dirt, but they
know they have something of infinite worth – so they are happy, truly happy!
Jesus is praying for all those who
believe, all who will be with Him. There is an implication there: we will be
together, with Jesus, and with each other, forever! We might as well embrace
the unity we have in Christ – we are a
family. And we will be forever!
Vv.25, 26, The world doesn’t know
God, but God has revealed himself to us through His Word. And God’s love, the
love He demonstrated when He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for
us all, God’s immeasurable love, is in us, because of Jesus. 1 John 4:7 says “Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of
God and knows God.” In His Gospel John said that love would show the world
that we are Jesus’ disciples: “…By this
men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another…”
What is God saying to me
in this passage?
Jesus prayed that we would be so united that it would be visible and attractive
to the world and glorifying to God. He prayed for us! Are we there yet? Because Jesus
prayed we can be sure that is indeed our position. And we are on a path,
exactly where He want us to be, choosing to live in the light of that truth, one
person at a time, one relationship at a time, forgiving, choosing to love one
another, bearing one another’s burdens.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage? If God wants us united in such a way that the
world sees something real here, something attractive, what does the enemy
want? What are the kinds of things can
so easily divide us? Cultural things like how I dress or the style of the music
we sing? It’s not about me, it’s about
Jesus. As long as the music is true to
Scripture and is sung from a heart that wants to worship Him – it’s all
good.
I read this week a story of two men who individually
began attending a church at about the same time, and though they had been there
several weeks no one had ever come up to them to greet them. Finally one guy decided, “If no one greets me
today, I’ll never go back into that church again.” The other guy decided, “If no one greets me, I’ll
go right up to someone and introduce myself.”
That same Sunday they came into church, and no one greeted either of
them. The final hymn finished and the
first guy was ready to leave, determined never to come back. The second guy, just as the song ended turned
around, put his hand out to the first guy who was sitting directly behind him
and said “Good morning, I’m glad to see you, that was a good message wasn’t it?” They became friends and both stayed in the
church! Let’s choose, each one of us, to
make our church the most welcoming, the most loving, the most inviting body of
believers that we can be. It starts
with me, and with you.
We have to constantly be seeking God,
asking Him to lead us in our lives and in our church. But when Jesus prayed for
us, we know some of what He surely wants: that is that we would be of one heart
and mind, intent on His mission. That kind of unity will confirm the words we
speak, and will testify there is something real here. To God be the Glory!
No comments:
Post a Comment