Comunidad y discipulado

A Farewell Prayer (John 17:20~26)

2016.05.22Mike Lee

In John 17:20-26, Jesus prays for all believers, including us, to be one, and that unity reflects God's glory and shows the world who Jesus is.

Jesus prayed for every believer, including us (v. 20)

Jesus does not pray only for the disciples who were with him for three and a half years. He prays for those who would believe through their word, which means he is praying for us today. Just as parents pray into their children's futures, Jesus prayed into ours. Our unity begins with knowing that we are part of this family across generations. Because the church is one spiritual family, division among believers grieves God and damages his purpose.

Our unity is spiritual as well as horizontal (v. 21)

Jesus is not asking us to be carbon-copy Christians who dress, talk, and eat alike. His prayer describes a unity that is vertical as well as horizontal, rooted in our union with the Father and the Son. Like the transitive property, if we are in Christ and Christ is in the Father, then we are connected to the Father and to one another. Paul made this point often, appealing in 1 Corinthians 1:10 for no divisions and for believers to be united in the same mind. Yet we are prone to sin and division, and Satan wants nothing more than to divide the church.

Our unity has a purpose: to show the world Christ

Unity is not only about getting along; it is the means by which the world sees the mission of Christ through us. Mission teams often pray for unity because a divided team loses its purpose and disrupts what God is doing. God gives each of us different gifts, like crayons in one box, each with a different color and role. When the church is united for the kingdom, the Father's love becomes visible, and the world is challenged by what it sees.

God's glory is the weight and worth we give him (v. 22)

In Hebrew, glory means weight or value, and in Greek it means the highest opinion, praise, and honor. Christ has already given us his glory, and we will fully experience it in heaven, as Peter, James, and John glimpsed at the transfiguration. The question for us is what matters most to us: our status, our bank account, our job, or our education. As we grow in the Lord, people should see less of us and more of the God who lives in us. Our good works point others to the Father, as Matthew 5:16 teaches, and our bodies are where God's glory is displayed, as 1 Corinthians 6:20 reminds us.

Our united lives make God's glory visible

The giant redwoods of northern California grow a few feet apart, but over decades their roots and trunks touch and grow together until they appear as one enormous tree. In the same way, the body of Christ must grow into such unity that the world will recognize us as one. In an individualistic society, this kind of unity is a testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Our oneness is not a human achievement but a visible sign of the glory God has given us.

Apply to Life

  • Let us pray for our children, our future spouses, and the generations to come, as Jesus prayed for us.
  • Let us examine our hearts for any division with fellow believers and seek reconciliation in Christ.
  • Let us use our gifts together for the kingdom of God so that the world can see the Father's love among us.
  • Let us ask whether anything matters more to us than the glory of God and let our works point people to the Father.
  • Let us grow together into the kind of unity that the world can recognize as a testimony to Jesus Christ.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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