John 17:21-23
Dr. Tony Chute, Lead Pastor
Overview: In this portion of the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus changes not only the primary audience but also the personal focus of His petition. Jesus now prays for the original disciples and for those who will believe through their word; He also pleads with the Father to make them one just as He and the Father are one. This desire for oneness is born out of the relationship Jesus already has with the Father, such that He shares so fully in the Father’s glory and love that it can be said that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. This union is so precious and glorious that Jesus longs for others to enter into it and He desires that the world will see it and believe that He has been sent by the Father. Jesus thus prays for unity among His followers as a present reality, a perennial pursuit, and a visible witness to a watching world.
01. Union with Christ is a present reality for all who are in Christ; let us rest and rejoice in the benefits we have through Christ.
02. Unity in Christ is a perennial pursuit for all who are in Christ; let us endeavor and strive to function well as the body of Christ.
03. Disunity among Christians discredits our testimony to those outside of Christ; let us love one another out of love for them and for Christ.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & DISCOVERY
1. When Jesus prayed for His followers to be one, He knew of all the divisions that otherwise separate people. Consider how John 17:21-23 is lived out in light of Galatians 3:26-29. How difficult was it for Jew and Gentile, slave and free, to belong to the same church? How did their unity in Christ point people to the truth and power of the gospel? How can our unity in Christ do the same?
2. John 17:20—“that they may be one”—has often been used to place visible unity among Christians above sound doctrine. What indicators from John 17, as a whole, indicate that sound doctrine is essential to true Christian unity? What doctrines must Christians believe in order to have true unity? What doctrinal issues might Christians have a different opinion on and still have true unity?
3. Note how Jesus speaks of His relationship with the Father in verses 21-23. Keep in mind that the Son is distinct from the Father but is also equal to the Father. What does it mean, then, for the Father to be “in” Jesus and Jesus to be “in” the Father? Hint: It does not mean that the Father is spatially or physically inside the Son. What does it mean for us to be “in” them? See John 15:1-11 for further insight.
4. At Northpoint, we pray for other churches during our worship services. How does this communicate to the church that we are one in Christ? Do you rejoice when another church becomes the talk of the town because it is thriving? Do you grieve when a church is divided, or their members are complaining? How do 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 and Ephesians 4:1-6 speak to the unity of the church in Christ?
5. Does unity among believers come naturally or without concerted effort? What tangible ways do you pursue unity in the church? How does disunity among believers discredit our testimony to a watching world? How can Christians of various denominations demonstrate unity to a watching world?
