"THAT THE WORLD WILL KNOW"
John 17:20-23
INTRODUCTION
1. Shortly before His betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion, Jesus prayed
to His Father...
a. For Himself - Jn 17:1-5
b. For His disciples - Jn 17:6-19
c. For all His future believers - Jn 17:20-26
2. His prayer is truly remarkable...
a. It has been called "The Lord's High Priestly Prayer"
b. It is truly "The Lord's Prayer", a title normally given to the
sample prayer found in Mt 6:9-13; Lk 11:2-4
3. We learn what weighed heavily on our Lord's mind, knowing that
"the hour has come"...
a. He sought to be glorified by His Father
b. He was concerned for the well-being of His disciples
c. He wanted His followers to be one, even as He and the Father were
one - Jn 17:20-23
4. It is our Lord's concern for unity that I want us to examine in this
study...
a. Why was unity so important to Jesus?
b. What has Jesus done that it might be accomplished?
c. In our religiously divided world today, how can we maintain unity
among those who believe in Jesus?
[As we look closer at our text (Jn 17:20-23), we are immediately
impressed with...]
I. THE IMPORTANCE OF UNITY
A. "THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE" - Jn 17:21
1. Without unity, it is difficult to persuade unbelievers that
Jesus came from God
a. Those in the world care little about doctrine and
theological distinctions
b. But in a world with racial, ethnic and cultural divisions,
unity can capture their attention!
2. This is not to say that doctrine is not important!
a. Jesus had already emphasized the importance of abiding in
His word - Jn 8:31
b. But the proclamation of truth must be accompanied by unity
3. When we are united in Christ, it gives credence to our claims
a. That Jesus was sent from God
b. That as the Son of God who rose from the dead...
1) He lives in our hearts
2) He has transformed our lives by the power of His
resurrected life!
-- Which is why some have referred to unity as "The Final
Apologetic" (Schaeffer)
B. "THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW" - Jn 17:23
1. Jesus again emphasizes the power of unity among His disciples
to convince an unbelieving world!
2. Not only that they may know God sent Jesus...
a. But that God has also loved them! - Jn 3:16; 1 Jn 4:9-10
b. Indeed, even as God loves His only begotten Son ("as You
have loved Me")!
3. What a powerful message we have to share with the world!
a. God loves them even as He loves His Son!
b. But to convince the world of such love, unity among
disciples is imperative!
[In light of Jesus' prayer for unity, no true disciple can be content
with religious division as it exists today (cf. 1 Co 1:10). Paramount
in our discipleship should be efforts to eliminate any kind of
religious division that is contrary to the will of Christ!
But how can we be one, even as the Father and the Son are one? Here
are some thoughts on...]
II. THE ATTAINMENT OF UNITY
A. JESUS HAS PROVIDED "GLORY" FOR US TO BE ONE...
1. "Glory" which He had received from the Father - Jn 17:22
a. Which He had given to His disciples
b. Which enabled them to be one just as He and the Father were
one!
2. What is this "glory" to which Jesus refers?
a. It may involve the idea of Jesus abiding in us
1) I.e., the glory of Jesus abiding in us even as the
Father abides in the Son
2) Through such abiding, we may be made perfect in one
- Jn 17:23
b. Certainly without abiding in Jesus, we can do nothing
- cf. Jn 15:4-5
[Whatever the "glory" refers to, we should note that true unity
comes from Jesus Himself; with this in mind, note the following...]
B. JESUS ATTAINED UNITY THROUGH HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS...
1. As Paul expounded in Ep 2:14-16
a. The division between Jew and Gentile ended at the cross
b. Jesus died to make it possible for us to be one body!
- Ep 4:4
2. When we come to Christ through obedience to His gospel, we are
united with all believers in His one body!
a. We are baptized into one body - 1 Co 12:13
b. Thus we begin the Christian life united with all believers
in Christ!
[When it comes to "attaining" unity, Jesus accomplished the unity for
which He prayed! Our challenge is "maintaining" this unity if we wish
to honor Jesus' prayer...]
III. THE MAINTENANCE OF UNITY
A. REQUIRES THAT WE OBEY THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST...
1. Unity is impossible without adherence to the same standard
a. Unless there were standards regarding weights and measures,
confusion and division would result every time we went to
the store
b. Religious division occurs because people accept different
standards of authority
1) Some accept the authority of a pope, presbytery,
prophet, or preacher
2) We cannot maintain the unity for which Jesus died unless
we can agree on the same standard
2. For Christians our standard of authority must be that which...
a. Originated from Christ - cf. Jn 8:31; Mt 28:18
b. Was delegated to His apostles - cf. Jn 13:20; Mt 28:20;
Ac 2:42
c. Was proclaimed and written by His apostles - cf. 1 Th 2:13;
1 Co 14:37
3. Taught by His apostles, we must be careful to...
a. Observe ALL that He has commanded - Mt 28:20
b. Not allow traditions of men to make void the commandments
of God - Mt 15:3-6
c. Not teach as doctrine the commandments of (uninspired) men
- Mt 15:9
-- The "apostles' doctrine" (i.e., the New Testament) must be our
standard of authority, even as Jesus acknowledged when He
prayed "for those who will believe in Me through their word"
(i.e., the apostles' teaching) - Jn 17:20
B. REQUIRES THAT WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST...
1. As Paul instructed the Philippians - Ph 2:2-5
a. There is no place for selfish ambition or conceit
b. We must esteem others highly, and look out for their
interests
2. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians - Ep 4:1-3
a. We must manifest lowliness, gentleness, longsuffering,
forbearance in love
b. With such diligence, we "keep" (maintain) the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace
-- Without this "mind" of Christ, we will misuse the word of God
and destroy the unity Jesus attained through His death on the
cross!
[With His doctrine before us, His mind in us, we can maintain the unity
Jesus attained. With lives transformed by His teachings and His
attitude, we provide visible proof to the world that Jesus did come
from God and that the Father loves them also.
Finally, some thoughts about a providing a "visible" unity ("That The
World Will Know")...]
IV. THE DEMONSTRATION OF UNITY
A. MUST BE MANIFESTED IN THE LOCAL CHURCH...
1. It is in the context of the local congregation that unity will
be most evident
a. For that is where interaction of Christians most often
occurs
b. Note that the warnings against division were often
addressed in the context of the local church - e.g., 1 Co
1:10-13; 3:3-4; 11:18
2. Therefore unity truly begins "at home"
a. We may rightly deplore the religious division elsewhere
b. But our first concern must be preserving unity in our own
congregation!
c. How sad when those who condemn religious division in the
denominations can't even preserve unity in their own
congregation!
B. PRECLUDES ORGANIZATION ABOVE THE LOCAL CHURCH...
1. In the New Testament, each congregation was self-governing and
independent
a. Governed by a plurality of elders (bishops, pastors) whose
authority was limited to the flock of God among them - cf.
Ac 14:23; 20:28; 1 Pe 5:1-2
b. There was no authority above the local congregation other
than that of Christ and His apostles
2. It was only after the apostles died that things soon changed
a. "During the second century A.D. churches came to have a
single bishop, and then that bishop came to exercise
oversight over nearby rural churches as well as the city
church so that his ecclesiastical territory became known as
a "diocese" or "see" ("eparchy" in the East). Bishops of
churches that had been founded by apostles were said to be
in succession to the apostles, and hence their teaching was
held to be authentic and their authority collegial. By 400
A.D. in the West, the bishop of Rome began to assume
extraordinary authority above other bishops." (Holman Bible
Dictionary)
b. "Ignatius shows that in the early second century the office
of bishop over the elders had developed, but Lightfoot has
shown that it was not so in the first century." (Word
Pictures, A. T. Robinson)
3. Such changes were not only unscriptural, but set the stage for
denominational division
a. Churches were expected to line up under one bishop,
patriarch, or council
b. Rather than let the Lord Himself judge each church (cf. Re
2-3), religious hierarchies began determining which
churches were faithful
c. This has led to the denominational division so rampant
today, and which presents a religiously divided picture to
the world!
-- As long as the denominational practice of organizing churches
under some hierarchy above the local church continues,
religious division will remain!
CONCLUSION
1. No true disciple of Jesus should treat religious division with
nonchalance...
a. It is contrary to our Lord's prayer for unity - Jn 17:20-23
b. It is condemned by Paul as a manifestation of carnality - 1 Co 3:
3-4
2. Unity among disciples of Christ must be a primary concern, for
Jesus...
a. Died on the cross to attain unity
b. Believed it to be "The Final Apologetic" to convince the world
that He came from God
3. Since Jesus attained unity through His death, our task is to
maintain it by...
a. Following the doctrine of Christ as communicated through His
apostles
b. Displaying the mind of Christ as we interact with one another in
our local churches
c. Honoring the New Testament pattern of church organization, which
is designed to slow the growth of religious division whenever it
occurs
It is not always possible to avoid religious division (cf. 1 Co 11:19),
but may we do all we can to preserve the unity we enjoy in Christ!
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