“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.” (John 17:21)
In John 17, Jesus prays what is often known as the “High Priestly Prayer,” in which he speaks to his Father on behalf of his disciples and the church through the ages—all those who would one day believe in him through the preaching of the gospel. (That’s right, Jesus prayed for you!)…He wants us to be one—that is, unified in him in the same way that he is unified with his Father. This isn’t something we can just commit to and make happen by best intentions and good hustle. But Jesus wouldn’t desire a thing for us that he doesn’t also make available to us. So there is a built-in promise here. This is a supernatural kind of togetherness, given to believers by the Holy Spirit. It is the kind of togetherness that isn’t defined by how we are similar to one another but rather that overcomes differences the world around us might see as insurmountable barriers. (Ephesians 2:11-22 explains and portrays this magnificently.) Jesus is promising that his Spirit will reside in his church and be our unifying, defining reality.
Jesus also makes clear that he wants us to know and show his love; he wants us to be with him. He is offering and promising a context of absolute, unhindered belonging in and through himself. And it is not the kind of belonging that is self-serving and exists solely so that we as individuals can have our needs met and find a place of comfort. Yes, the church is to be that, but it is to be that “so the world may know that [God] sent [Jesus].” Our togetherness, our belonging, is to be a public evidence and invitation to the transforming, freeing, life-giving, comforting presence of Jesus Christ.
An excerpt from my book Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another (The Good Book Company, 2023).
