Scripture Introduction
The Matterhorn rises 14,692 feet, one of the highest peaks in the Alps and also one of the world’s deadliest mountains. The climb is technical and difficult, and even though ropes are fixed on parts of the route to make it safer, each year several climbers fall to their death.
R. A. Torrey tells of four men climbing the most difficult northern face of the Matterhorn, all roped together. As they crossed a particularly treacherous place, one lost his footing and slid over the side. The sudden pull on the rope caused another to lose his grip and be pulled away also. The same happened with the third. But the guide in the lead, feeling the first pull on the rope, drove his ax into the ice, braced his feet, and held fast. Three men dangled on the cliff face which had taken many lives. But held back by one, the other three eventually regained their footing and climbed back to safety. The Bible holds out a similar hope for the church. When one member slips, others hold her up until she regains her footing.
In John 17, Jesus prays for the kind of unity among his followers which he has with God the Father, a perfect unity in heart and mind. May God be pleased to answer that prayer in our fellowship, for his glory and our joy.
[Read John 17.20-26. Pray.]
Introduction
George Whitefield was one of the greatest preachers in church history. One biographers writes: “Though slender in build, he stormed in the pulpit as if he were a giant. During his own lifetime, it was said of him ‘his voice startled England like a trumpet blast.’ Without amplification, he held spellbound 20,000 people in outdoor, open air preaching…. He preached about 18,000 sermons in his lifetime, an average of ten a week. He was a firm Calvinist in his theology yet unrivaled as an aggressive evangelist….” (www.CCEL.org).
He was also friends with John Wesley, an opponent of Whitefield’s Calvinism. Wesley believed that God gave all people a prevenient grace (one that goes before) which empowers every person either to accept or reject Christ. He taught that Christ’s death atoned for all people and only those who resisted grace were lost. Wesley also felt the doctrines of grace resulted in antinomianism, so in addition to opposing Reformed theology, he taught Christian perfectionism.
Whitefield ardently disagreed with Wesley, and not over what Romans 14 calls, “doubtful things” (Romans 14.1, NKJ); these were fundamental truths. Yet George Whitefield said: “The good Mr. John Wesley has done in America is inexpressible. His name is very precious among the people; and he has laid a foundation that I hope neither men nor devils will ever be able to shake.” And Whitefield asked Wesley to preach his funeral sermon.
Charles Spurgeon wrote of the disagreements between these men: “Wesley had laid down clearly the differences between his views and those of the Calvinists. It is much to the credit both of Mr. Whitefield’s friends and of Wesley that this was not allowed to interfere with their invitation to him to preach the [funeral] sermon, nor with his own affectionate and ungrudging recognition of the greatness and goodness of his departed fellow worker. Indeed, their difference of opinion had never been permitted to interrupt their mutual love and esteem; they agreed to differ, and still to love one another.”
Iain Murray pastored in the Presbyterian Church in Australia until he returned to England as co-founder of Banner of Truth. He is a most respected church historian and expert in Puritan theology and practice. He observes: “Some evangelical writers have sought to minimize the division between Whitefield and Wesley by referring to their ‘minor differences’…. The truth is that Whitefield rightly made a distinction between a difference in judgment and a difference in affection; it was in the former sense that he differed from the Wesleys, and that difference was such that it led them to build separate chapels, form separate societies, and pursue, to the end of life, separate lines of action…. The gulf between Wesley and Whitefield was immense. But his personal affection for the Wesleys as Christians was preserved to the last. In this respect Whitefield teaches us a needful lesson. Doctrinal differences between believers should never lead to personal antagonism. Error must be opposed even when held by fellow members of Christ, but if that opposition cannot co-exist with a true love for all saints and a longing for their spiritual prosperity then it does not glorify God nor promote the edification of the Church.”
We too must meld our commitment to pursue Biblical truth with maintaining of love if we would glorify God and edify the church. It will not be easy. I studied much this week on unity; and almost every learned and godly author speaks of the difficulty of this topic.
J. C. Ryle, for example, in his booklet, Can There Be More Unity Among Churchmen? opens by saying: “The question which heads this paper is a very hard one to answer, and I scarcely know how to handle it without giving some offence. Scylla ['si-lə] is on my right hand, and Charybdis [kə-'rib-dəs] on my left. On the one hand I am afraid of being too narrow, and on the other I am afraid of being too broad. In short, I feel I am entering a path where I cannot walk without treading on somebody’s feet, and fingering a knot which perhaps will never be untied. If I come in collision with any cherished opinions, I ask my readers to bear with me, and give me a patient hearing…. Between a narrow spirit and a spirit of compromise it is very hard to avoid mistakes. An excessive zeal for pure doctrine is apt to make us illiberal and uncharitable. An excessive love of unity is apt to blunt our spiritual discernment, until we sacrifice God’s truth on the altar of peace.”
Such is the challenge from the prayer of Jesus for us to be one as he and the Father are one. How do we labor for that unity which clearly pleases God without compromising that truth which is essential to the faith? We can only take a small step toward an answer this morning, but I would suggest to you three-fold cord of heart and action.
1. We Must Desire and Strive for Oneness
No true believer can deny the importance of unity among Christians after hearing Jesus pray. This is clearly of concern to the Lord! God wants us united, and the divisions which too often characterize us are both a scandal to the true faith and a sin against the true God. When we should be resisting the devil and fighting hard against sin, evangelical Christians are too often contending against one another.
These implication are plain and obvious in the text. But let us advance further and notice the connection between unity and glory in verse 22: “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one.” Pastors and theologians have proposed different answers for exactly what Jesus meant by “the glory” he gives true believers:
• Some suggest it is the image of God which is renewed in those united to Christ, as we are transformed from one degree of glory to another. As we become more like Christ, we are brought together.
• Another thought is that the “glory” is the influence and authority which characterized the ministry of Jesus. As God gives Christians those same traits, we are made one.
• The working of miracles has also been proposed as the glory which Jesus asks for, so that we are united as the church demonstrates this power.
• Augustine thought the glory was a heavenly glory related to immortality, so that Jesus is praying for our future perfect unity in eternity.
I agree with those who hear Jesus asking for the Father to pour out the Holy Spirit on us. In 1Peter 4.12, the third person of the Trinity is called “the Spirit of glory and of God.” In 2Corinthians 3.8, Paul notes that if the law, the ministry of death, caused Moses’ face to shine with a glory unbearable, how much glory does the ministry of the Spirit have? It is specifically the work of the Holy Spirit to transform us from one degree of glory to another. And Paul pleads with Christians in Ephesus to walk with “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4.2-3).
Also observe in v. 23, how “God in Christ” and “Christ in you” are in precise parallel. The divine union of three persons in one God is similar to the union that the full number of the elect have in Christ, a union created and held together by the Holy Spirit. As a result, when we draw closer to Christ, we are drawn closer to one another. Then the world will know that God sent Jesus and the he loves us with an everlasting love.
Two truths are pressed on us here. First, the wonderful union between Christ and his own. The same Holy Spirit, one with God the Father and God the Son, also binds us to God! Here is our confident hope, our assurance of salvation, our boldness in prayer and ministry. Christ in you, the hope of glory, united to him for eternity by the power and presence of the his Spirit.
And second, we are taught that the union we have one with another cannot remain merely an abstract principle or professed doctrine – we must desire this and strive for its fulfillment. This does not mean we push for a formal and external partnership, as in the World Council of Churches, a union which compromises truth and believes little for the sake of organizational uniformity. Jesus’ prayer is not answered by all of us becoming Roman Catholic.
It does mean that we make the choice to “bear much, concede much, and put up with much,” before we separate (Ryle). The Lord prays for unity; if we love him then we will desire the same and “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14.19). I have seen Reformed Christians fight over just about every doctrine imaginable; rarely, rarely if ever, has someone said of us, “My how hard they battle against the flesh for the sake of peace and mutual upbuilding.” If we are to love and obey Jesus, we must desire and strive for oneness.
2. We Must Set Our Hopes on God’s Glory (John 17.24)
Jesus prays for our unity with him both now and forevermore. As a result, we will see his full glory and the love of God the Father.
If you have been in the church for long, you know that the best congregations lack the perfection of unity which we ought to have. God has broken down the wall of hostility between mankind, making one body out of many. In a sense, this prayer was fully accomplished at the cross, for when Jesus reconciles people to God, we are reconciled one to another. Yet “what we will be has not yet appeared” (1John 3.2).
When will it appear? When we are with God in heaven. There we will see the glory of Christ, the perfection of unity in diversity, the depth of love which binds the many together in perfect harmony. And there we will have the unity in perfection which Christ here prays for in principal.
What does that mean for the here and now? If we are to progress in unity in this life, we must set our hope on that same glory. Unity comes between true believers, not because we agree on everything, but because we share a common passion for the glory of God. The opposite of glory to God is glory to man, and it is that pride which the Bible most often points to as the source of our divisions.
When then Paul exhorts the Philippians to unity, he begins by speaking of humility. When he tells the believers at Colossae about harmony and oneness, he begins with: “Put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” When Peter writes of this subject, he says, “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” Humility and unity are always married because pride always separates people.
Therefore, as we set our hopes on God’s glory we are brought into more perfect unity.
3. We Must Bask in God’s Love (John 17.26)
The prayer of the great high priest concludes with a most comforting word: the same love which God has for his only begotten Son will be in all those who are sons and daughters by adoption. Christ prays that you will know God’s love, that you will be certain of God’s fondness for you, that you will rest in the full assurance of God’s never-ending acceptance.
Many times in the church, we fight to prove we are right because we fear that we are not loved. If my acceptance with the Father depends on getting everything right, then I am tempted to squabble when I should forbear. It is when I am most certain of God’s acceptance that I am most accepting of God’s people. So it follows naturally that a hope for unity leads requires confidence of God’s love. Thus Jesus prays.
4. Conclusion
Having laid a foundation for unity from the prayer of Christ, the glory of the Spirit and the love of the Father, I would like to speak to some particulars of how we can fulfill Romans 14.19: “Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” Unfortunately, a 30 minute sermon does not allow both of those tasks. So I will use the Sunday School class to address that topic.
To conclude for now, let me remind you of the difference between a spotlight and a laser beam. One can burn through steel in a matter of seconds, while the other will never do more than warm it to the touch. Both may have the same electrical input – the difference is unity.
Because laser light is monochromatic, coherent, and collimated, all of its energy is focused into a small point of intense power. A spotlight spreads its influence, many colors going their own independent way, even occasionally interfering with one another. As a result, little of its power can be focused to do any useful work. The difference is unity.
God is not after a uniformity based on compromise or the watering down of our creeds. We wrong him if we caricature his prayer with such a complaint. He is after the humility of heart and mind that makes us think the best of one another and unites us in love and care. Will God say of us, “My, how they fought for that unity for which my beloved Son prayed?”
You think about that, amen.
