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What does Jesus teach us about unity through His prayer for His disciples in John 17? How would you define unity in the church? Do you think it is possible to accomplish unity in the church? If so, how? If not, why not?
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I was really struck by the idea the the purpose of unity in the church is to spread the gospel. That when we break unity with the church, we sacrifice our unity with Jesus because the church is Jesus new body.
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Jesus wants us to be unified because it represents the bond of eternity just as the trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church needs to be unified to show the love of Jesus and yes they can come together by avoiding gossip, build others up, work together in humility, giving their time and money, exalt Christ, and refuse to get sidetracked with the worldly ways.
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Unity is one body with one purpose, to live and glorify God. There are so many denominations that makes the Church not look unified. It is not possible because people are involved in the process.
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Jesus emphasizes several times how He longs for His disciples (and even for “those who will believe in [Him] through their word-v. 20) to be one as Jesus and the Father are one. He longs for us to not be divided but one in Him and in the Father. Unity in the church should be a reflection of fellowship, the evident fruit of the Spirit, and the open invitation of His Spirit to work in and through the people of the church. I do believe it is possible to have unity in the church and even in Christian schools and organizations. Jesus prayed that those whom the Father has given Him will be a beautiful reflection of the relationship that the Son and the Father have (v.11) and in turn, “the world may believe that [God] sent [Him]” (v.21). As we remain steadfast in keeping Jesus the center of our churches, we will have the unity that He has prayed that we remain in.
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We see Jesus and the Father are united, as Jesus is completing all the the tasks that the Father sent Him to perform. He desires that His followers be united in the Great Commission, so the world we see true Christianity lived out. Sadly, many in the church of today do not study the Bible for themselves and some church’s doctrines have moved far away from the Bible. This is what had happened in 1517 when Martin Luther wrote his 95 Theses. Because sin is still in the world, there are church divisions. When we all have our glorified bodies in heaven, there will be no more division.
