PRAYER FOR ONENESS (John 17:11, 20-23)

“As history was rushing toward its focal point in his redemptive death, the persistent concern Christ expressed in his prayer was for the oneness of his followers … the same kind of oneness that prevailed between Father and Son within the Trinity.” (Bilezikian 35-36) ” … that they may be one as we are one.” (v. 11) “Jesus was asking for the restoration among humans of the oneness that had originally been entrusted to them in creation, a oneness made in the image of the oneness within the Trinity.” (Bilezikian 36)

Jesus said, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” (John 17, 20)

Reality Check.
“In our day, whenever the church is ineffective and its witness remains unproductive, the first questions that must be raised are whether the church functions as authentic community and whether it lives out the reality of its oneness. In a community-starved world, the most potent means of witness to the truth of the gospel is the magnetic power of the oneness that was committed by Christ to his new community at the center of history.” (37)

Bilezikian, Gilbert. Community 101: Reclaiming the Local Church as Community of Oneness. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997.