That They May be One - Oh My!

[Vine Abider]

The oneness the Lord conveys in these verses has amazed me for some time!  He equates the perfect oneness with Him and the Father with how our oneness is to be - how to fathom that wonderful idea!?!?  Today's "The Supplied Life" devotional brings this out.  It's only by the very Spirit of the Lord living in us that makes this possible.

There is no way our human minds can grasp this - we can only enjoy the fact of it in Spirit!

November 15th

Organic, life oneness  "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect into one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." John 17:23

The organic oneness between believers is revealed in the Lord's prayer in John 17. In verse 21 He prayed, "That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." Here the Lord is praying for the oneness of all who would believe on Him through the apostles' word (John 17:20). In His prayer to the Father He specifies the nature of the believers' oneness--"That they also may be one in Us" or "That they also may be in Us."(The latter translation is according to some of the oldest Greek manuscripts.) In verse 22 the Lord continues praying, "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one." This part of the prayer again specifies the nature of the believers' oneness - it is a oneness that is directly related to the oneness between the Father and the Son. Furthermore, in verse 23 He utters exactly how we are one. In other words, to be "one just as We are one" means in reality "I in them, and You in Me." This is how we are one--one in the oneness of the Father and the Son! This oneness is the Son Himself indwelling us ("I in them"), and thereby bringing in His oneness with the Father ("You in Me"). This is an organic, life-oneness. It is this oneness entering into us as the gift of eternal life (John 17:2-3) that causes us to be made perfect into one.

According to the Greek text, the word "perfect" in John 17:23 is a perfect passive participle and may be translated more literally, "that they may be in a state of perfection." This means that when eternal life enters into us in the Person of the Son of God, a perfect state of oneness enters into us. It is simply the "I in them, and You in Me" that creates and establishes the oneness of believers with Christ, the Head, and all the members of His Body. It is being grafted into an organic oneness (John 15:4-5). In this way the church is Christ--by an organic, life union with the Head, who is supplying every part of Himself with His life (Eph. 5:28-30).

[Wayne222]

    We have the glory so we can be one. Jesus gives us his glory. By becoming a member of his body. We become part of his body and receive glory. Then we have fellowship with the father and son. We are one in them. And they in us.