John 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
John 17:21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
John 17:22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
The prayer of John 17 has been used many times to argue the disparity of the Father and Son; debating an obscure separation. However, Jesus stated that (John 14) when you see him, you see the Father. Hebrews 1:3 states that Jesus is the “express image of his person.” Therefore, the prayer of John 17 is a view of flesh and spirit, or humanity seeking divinity. Jesus was in fact fully God and fully man.
The main point of the above text is the Oneness of the church. Just as Jesus is the Mighty God in Christ, the Church is the living, acting, moving Body of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote the “body is fitly formed together.” He said, there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free. All were part of the same body.
The idea that skin color or ethnicities can separate us is against the design of the Church. There is only One God; One Blood; One Heaven, and One Church. The world has a difficult time with this concept because so much time and effort is given to expound on the external differences of people. This magnification of appearances is contrary to the Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He longed for a day when content and character took precedent over color or appearance. He asked to be judged on internal things; not by the external.
The Church must represent a Oneness of people to the world! Government and secular education has failed and will continue to fail. Media, entertainment, and all forms of secular influences have not and will not bring people together. The spirit of this age is designed to separate. The prayer of Jesus was this: “make them one.” Not divided. Not estranged or indifferent, but united in spirit and purpose. We are the Church! One, inseparable body of Jesus!
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole