Does John 17:21 Exemplify An On-Going
Need for the Church to be One?
It is usually about
this time of year that I sense a preponderance of raised eyebrows. There is a sense, in the community that I
live, that I have committed the unforgivable sin. What is that sin? Lack of participation. Indeed, this is the annual gathering of
various women to pray for the world. My
reluctance to participate in ecumenical activities brandishes me as something akin
to an arrogant, self-righteous sus. Of course the main armament is John 17:21 (ESV),
"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."
The Gospel of John
The ESV Study Bible helps us summarize this
key Gospel. "The Gospel of John was
written to persuade people to believe in Jesus (20:30–31)."[1] To take this further the
Gospel of John teaches us to believe in Jesus AS GOD! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1, ESV). The Gospel is intent on showing us that, and in
Christ's so-called "High Priestly Prayer" (John 17) he does not
propose to change his purpose.
The Context
A careful study of
John 17 will direct the reader to see that this prayer is the expression of the
doctrinal truths already established in this Gospel. And the preceding context (John 14-16) shows
us Christ's intimate love and mercy for His followers and the comfort that they
(we) can expect from the Holy Spirit.
This compassion is extended to us because of the imminent death and
suffering that Christ anticipates and the glory of His return to the
Father.
The Believer's Study
Bible[2] has nicely organized the prayer for us:
The
High Priestly Prayer of Christ
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This prayer of the Son of God was recorded to instruct the
readers of their privileged place in their union with both the Father and the
Son because of Christ’s ministry on their behalf (17:1–26)
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Jesus
Prays
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(1) For
Himself:
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(2) For His disciples
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(3) For future believers
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(vv. 1–5)
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(vv. 6–19)
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(vv. 20–26)
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He
affirms the glory of the Cross (vv. 1, 2)
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He
prays for their knowledge (vv. 6–9)
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He
prays for their oneness (vv. 20–22)
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He
expresses the very essence of eternal life (v. 3, 4)
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He
prays for their perseverance (vv. 10–12)
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He
prays for their perfect unity (v. 23)
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He
rejoices in the shared glory of the Father (v. 5)
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He
prays for their joy (v. 13)
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He
prays for their future presence with Him (vv. 24, 25)
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He
prays for their sanctification (vv. 14–17)
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He
prays for their mutual love (v. 26)
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He
prays for their mission (vv. 18, 19)
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The Immediate
Context
The chart above then
shows us that Christ is praying for future believers. These are Christians who will be saved
through the apostolic gospel mission. In
verses 20 to 23 we see that unity and oneness are on the heart of the Savior;
and in verse 26 Christ prays for their shared affection.
““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. The glory that you have given
me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and
you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that
you sent me and loved them even as you loved me . . . I made known to them your
name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have
loved me may be in them, and I in them.”” (John 17:20–23, 26 ESV).
John 17:21
The most casual and
superficial reading of this text is obvious.
Christ is praying for a unity that is "just as” similar to the
unity that is in the Godhead. There is
no hint of unity of appearance or even organization. There is no appeal for any sort of
uniformity. In this place He is not even
praying for theological harmony. Jesus is praying for unity of nature. The necessary exegetical glance must be
toward the Trinity. It is within the
Trinity that there is a shared common nature of divinity. Christ is praying that all who believe on the
Word of the Apostles – the Gospel – would share a familiar nature.
This is not a new
idea! “But to all who did receive him, who believed
in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of
blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12–13, ESV).
And again Jesus has taught in John 3:3 (ESV), “Truly, truly,
I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” "The Johannine symbol of the vine in John
15 contains the same idea of a vital unity in which every separate branch is
still an integral part of the one vine . . . As the central life of the vine
appears in all the branches and makes them fruitful. so genuine eternal life
imparted by Christ will unify his people."[3]
It should prove fairly obvious that Christ
believed that it was through believers being in Him; and He being in believers,
that this would provide the compelling testimony that the world needs to
hear. It was through the New Birth and
this witness that people would believe that He was God.
Application
The question then is this: "Is this
prayer of Jesus still needing to be answered?" Do we yet wait for the day when Believers
will share a common nature? John
MacArthur is right when he observes, " This is not still a wish, but it became a reality when the Spirit
came (cf. Acts 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:13). It is not experiential unity, but the unity
of common eternal life shared by all who believe the truth, and it results in
the one body of Christ all sharing His life."[4] Indeed the Apostle affirms
that this prayer has been answered in Ephesians 4:4–6 (ESV), "4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one
hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and
through all and in all." And again MacArthur notes, "The church, the body of Christ, is composed of every believer since
Pentecost without distinction, by the work of the “one Spirit” (see 1 Cor.
12:11–13)."[5]
In John 17:21, Jesus is praying for
Pentecost! The prayer of Jesus in John
17:20-26 was answered at Pentecost! At
Pentecost all believers of all variants and distinctions were united in one by
the Third Person of the Trinity – the Holy Spirit. All true Christians are one by the essential
work of the Spirit.
So What About Ecumenism?
When Biblical
Christians teach and preach that a person must be born-again to inherit eternal
life, this presumes that we believe also that prior to the New Birth we are “dead in the trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1, ESV). It presumes that the only hope of salvation
comes from “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which
he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together
with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” (Ephesians 2:4–5, ESV). In summary it presumes that “he saved us,
not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own
mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” (Titus
3:5, ESV).
If the Bible is true and it is, I would
find it an affront to God and the witness of the Holy Spirit to commune with
Roman Catholics in a Day of Prayer, who do not believe in salvation by faith alone through grace alone in Christ alone. Rome also teaches that salvation is
accomplished through the meaningful participation in the sacraments. Rome also
holds to a view of the mediation of Christ that is shared with His mother: Mary. Will Christ share the glory He had with the Father, with another?
If the Bible is true and it is, I would
find it an affront to God and the witness of the Holy Spirit to commune with
liberal denominations that deny the deity of Jesus, deny the inspiration and
authority of the Bible (as Christ prayed in John 17:17) and deny the need for
repentance and faith in Christ – who essentially deny the Gospel. They deny miracles and most would deny the need of the New Birth.
True and biblical ecumenism can only be
observed when men and women born of the Spirit, in obedience to the true
Gospel, seek the glory of God through pursuits of holiness. Otherwise the fellowship is a farce – the
communion is a charade.
[1] The
Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Jn). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
[2] Believer’s
Study Bible. 1991 (W. A. Criswell, P. Patterson, E. R. Clendenen, D. L.
Akin, M. Chamberlin, D. K. Patterson & J. Pogue, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (Jn
17:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:John/Exposition of John/III. The Private Ministry of the Word
(13:1-17:26)/C. The Last Prayer (17:1-26)/3. The prayer concerning future
believers (17:20-26), Book Version: 4.0.2
[4] The
MacArthur Study Bible. 1997 (J. MacArthur, Jr., Ed.) (electronic ed.)
(1619). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.
[5] The
MacArthur Study Bible. 1997 (J. MacArthur, Jr., Ed.) (electronic ed.)
(1808). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.
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