Scripture reading: Acts 1:1-14.

Sermon text: John 17:1-11.

Introduction

We’ll remember Election Year 2008 for a lot of promises, but one candidate in particular has emphasized unity as a major part of his campaign. Unfortunately, unity is far easier to discuss than to achieve. Far too much separates us in our nation for us to choose someone simply for the sake of unity. Unity alone will not overcome the problems we face. Achieving unity requires more than a political program.

In John 17, Jesus prayed for unity among the disciples and among all who would hear their message. While the Church managed to remain united for several days after His ascension, Jesus’ prayer has thus far remained unfulfilled. The book of Acts records dissension only weeks after Pentecost as the Greek-speaking Jews grumbled about the treatment of their widows. Acts also gives us the first record of conflict between Jewish and Gentile Christians. The Church began facing schisms within a century of Jesus’ ascension, finally leading to the ruptures of the Great Schism of 1054 and the Reformation. Today, one source I found (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_denominations_of_churches_are_there) states that over 33,000 denominations exist in the Body of Christ.

What happened? Does the current situation resemble anything near what Jesus asked God to fulfill? If not, what must we do to fulfill Jesus’ prayer, the prayer He prayed for us as well as for the disciples? True unity will not result from conferences or watered down confessions. True spiritual unity in the Body of Christ will come from believers who humbly submit to His service and follow Him in sacrifice. True unity comes from those who give themselves wholly to His death, burial, and victory in the resurrection.

Sermon

The Gospel of St. John contains Jesus’ final teachings in chapters 14-16. In chapter 17, St. John records Jesus’ prayer for His disciples prior to His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. This prayer is often known as the “High Priestly Prayer” because of its intercessory nature. In this prayer, Jesus intercedes directly for the believers of all ages.

Jesus’ prayer begins with words that proclaim His power but also bring hope to all believers. Jesus prayed that God would “glorify” Him in order that He may glorify the Father. The word for “glorify” reminds us that all glory in this life belongs to God. Everything the Son did in His life on earth brought glory to the Father; everything Jesus did honored the Father and pointed people to the Father.

Jesus continued with the words that bring us comfort: “since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.” Jesus received authority over all humanity from God the Father. Since He has the authority in life, He can give eternal life to all those given to Him by the Father.

How do we receive this eternal life? “This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” When we confess Jesus as Lord, believing in His resurrection, we receive eternal life. This life does not begin at our deaths; it begins at our confession and continues throughout eternity. We receive the Holy Spirit, who guides us through life and gives us peace in times of trial. God is ever present with us.

Jesus continued by reminding the disciples that He had not left anything undone. “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” Some may question why Jesus died at all. Why, if He were God, didn’t He simply establish His kingdom while He lived? Note that Jesus had far greater plans in mind than merely establishing a Jewish kingdom. Jesus came to defeat sin and death for our sakes. Jesus accomplished everything He needed to do in this life before His death. Jesus healed everyone He needed to heal; taught everyone He needed to teach; and brought from the dead everyone He needed to bring back to glorify the Father.

Therefore, it was time for Jesus to return to His eternal existence. “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” Before time began, Jesus was. As God, Jesus has always existed, even before His incarnation. Jesus existed eternally in heaven before His incarnation. After His ascension, Jesus reassumed His eternal glory.

We cannot ignore Jesus’ next words:

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.”

God had prepared a precious few for the reception of Jesus’ words. God had chosen the disciples and the other believers before their births. These were the ones who recognized Jesus as the Son of God. These were the ones who received Jesus’ words as the words of God. These were the ones whom God would use to spread the gospel after Pentecost.

“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.” Notice that Jesus specifically omitted “the world” from this prayer. This prayer was for believers! Jesus prayed for those who would carry His gospel and for those who would believe their words. Jesus cared enough for His people to lift us before God.

We shouldn’t mistake this sentence as Jesus’ condemnation of the world. Instead, we need to remember again why He prayed for us: To give us courage to carry the gospel to the world. Jesus told Nicodemus, “God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Jesus has not surrendered the world to evil; He has called us to proclaim His truth to the world.

How do we proclaim the truth to the world? “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”

This phrase, “that they may be one,” takes us to Jesus’ teachings about love in John 13. In His last time with the disciples before His arrest, Jesus told them, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The world would recognize Jesus’ disciples and their message by their love for one another. The world today looks to us to see our love for one another. Christian love for one another gives the world our greatest testimony.

This, I believe, helps explain Jesus’ prayer that we may be one.  We know this prayer applies to us today as well, because Jesus will say in verses 20-21, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 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.”

Notice the repetition here: “that they may all be one.” Unity mattered a great deal to Jesus. He will pray for our unity 4 times in this prayer. Verses 11, 21, 22, and 23 contain the words, “that they may be one.” Three times, Jesus will compare this unity to His unity with the Father in the Trinity: “as we are one.”

Notice the result of our unity: “so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

Have you ever wondered why the world seems to ignore our message of salvation? We have the words of eternal life! We have the words of hope to a dying world. We have the words of redemption to a world enslaved by sin. However, precious few believe us. Why do they not listen to our message?

I passionately believe that our disunity has weakened our message. To whom should the world listen? With over 33,000 denominations trying to preach the gospel, all with our own explanations and emphasis on different doctrines, to whom should the world listen?

I can’t repair the fissures in the Church with one sermon. For many of us, the divisions remain deep. The Orthodox still haven’t forgiven the Western Christians (both Catholic and Protestant) for the excommunication of Patriarch Cerularius in 1054 and the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the Crusaders. The Catholics and Protestants haven’t managed to overcome the Reformation of 1517 and the Council of Trent in 1545, at which all Protestants were anathematized. Since the Reformation, Protestants have broken into too many groups to count accurately. Many of these divisions occurred over doctrinal disputes that resulted in massive persecutions. Others resulted from political disputes.

However, I believe we can begin to repair the damage in the way we are born again: One believer at a time.

First, each of us must unite ourselves to Christ. We must confess Him as Lord and realize the true message of that confession. We must resolve to obey the Scriptures as Jesus commanded.

Secondly, we must unite with one another in our local congregation. Our confession of Jesus as Lord must result in our loving one another as Jesus loved us. We must always seek to serve one another in love. Every decision we make, every ministry we begin, must demonstrate our love for one another.

Christianity is not an individualistic religion. We have no option in this matter. Jesus has called us to unite with one another. This means we must risk trusting each other and coming together. We must worship together, serve together, rejoice together, mourn together.

What about unity beyond the congregation? Baptists believe strongly in congregational autonomy, meaning each congregation is responsible for its own governance. This belief does not — indeed, should not — prohibit our cooperation with others in the Body of Christ. We must unite with other congregations whenever possible to advance the gospel of Christ. 

Does this include congregations of other denominations or traditions? What criteria should we use? St. John wrote in his first letter that “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). Anyone who can confess that Jesus is the eternal Son of God is a child of God. The Nicene Creed, written in the fourth century, gives us our chief criteria:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.

Any congregation that can confess Jesus as the eternal Son of God in the Trinity is worth our support and cooperation, regardless of their denomination or tradition.

Is this a popular belief in Baptist circles today? Of course not. Many Christians, in our tradition and others, would insist on exclusively cooperating with those who believe exactly as we believe on every single issue. This teaching explicitly contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture. Even the Jewish and Gentile believers had to cooperate in the first century. We, too, must cooperate with one another to spread the gospel of Christ.

The salvation of the world is far too important for us to remain divided in our witness. The prayer of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, remains unfulfilled. Our unity with one another and with all believers in Jesus Christ, living and dead, will tell the world more about our message than any program we can devise. If you have confessed Jesus as Lord, follow His command; do your part in fulfilling the prayer of our Lord, High Priest and Redeemer.