Welcome to Affirm foundation, presented by Princeton Ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.
John chapter 17 is known as the high priestly prayer of Jesus. It is at this moment In the close of the ministry of Jesus, that he assembles In the upper room In his small band of disciples. And he reminds them what their marching orders are to be. He reminds them of what their purpose, when he ascends to be In the Father, ought to be. We read that Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven and In the form of a prayer said, I do not pray that these alone, but also those who will believe In me through their word, that they may be One. The idea of being In unity, of being One In Christ, is repeated over and over by I In them, you In me, that they may be made perfect. He says In One. Now, how does a person become One In Christ?
Throughout the entire chapter, he gives principles of how we will find that unity In Christ, what it really means to be One In Christ. It seems, though, that the church today has not seriously been very successful, at least visibly, In accomplishing this oneness In Christ. Among Protestant churches, I am told that there are over 200 denominations. Of those 200 denominations, there are a number of smaller groups within each of those denominations. In 1948, when the nation of Israel was brought into statehood, missionaries went to Israel from different denominations and missionary societies. There were over 172 missionary societies and church organizations that went to convert and to bring the message of Jesus Christ. It produced such confusion as a person would trust In Christ. Then they had to decide which of the 172 brands of Christianity they would join.
Someone has said that if there are two Christians In town, they will build three churches. And there is some degree of truth In that. But as we look at the desire of Jesus Christ that we might be One, how is it that there seems to be such diversity that there seem to be so few occasions where the church is really One In Christ Jesus? Closing prayer before he would go to be executed on the cross is that we might be One as he is One In the Father. Well, it raises the question, how then does a person become One In Christ? And then how would a local church become One In other churches? We might ask the question of ourselves. Do we see ourselves as One In Christ? And practically, what would that mean?
Well, I think it would show itself In perhaps some of the questions that we would ask of each other. How are you feeling? How is the family? Is work going well? How is that pain? How are the Children doing? Did you get the job? All of those questions are clues to help us see a church that would see themselves as family and tied together In a meaningful way. Do we really have that concern as a family that we might be One In Christ as Jesus was One In the Father? There’s a hymn that says, you’ll notice that we say brother and sister around here. It’s because we’re a family and each One is so dear. The family of God, oneness In Christ.
And where an individual is One In Christ as they meet another who is One In Christ, immediately there is a friendship, a relationship, a family that occurs. And as a congregation would meet other congregations that are One In Christ, again, there would be that family relationship. We declare In the Apostles Creed that we believe In the holy Catholic Church. The word Catholic is translated universal meaning that we believe that everyone who trusts In Jesus Christ and knows him as their Savior is our brother, our sister, and that we are concerned for them In as much concern as we have for our family members. How are you? How are you feeling? Is it going well In you and the Lord? Is it going well In you and your family, your friends and your work? Well? How do we define being One In Christ?
Well, first we will see In John, chapter 17, verses 1 through 3, a very simple principle that Jesus presents. He says, father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you as you have given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. One of the first marks of being One In Christ is that we are very aware that In Jesus Christ alone is to be found eternal life, and that God has entrusted to us the sharing of that message In as many people as would cross our path. If we would be united In Christ, if we would be united as a local church.
One of the common denominators for that unity is the understanding that eternal life comes only through Jesus Christ. And that becomes essential for anyone who would seek to be One In the Father. In the Book of Acts, chapter 1, verse 8, Jesus gives His parting words to his church. And he says, you shall be my witnesses In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth. That Jesus has entrusted to the church the message of the Gospel, that In Christ there is eternal life. If a church or an individual would simply disagree In that premise, then they are not One In Jesus and they will find that they are out of sync In the things of Christ.
To be One In Christ Jesus first lifts up this truth out of the mine that now stands before us as a piece of gold, that In Christ there is eternal life. And I have entrusted, says Jesus to you, that message. Take that message to as many as you come In contact In. And so if we want to really practically be One In Christ, it has something to do In how you have gone about sharing eternal life In others. Let me ask a few questions. In the last week, the last month, the last year, how many people have you sat down In and shared the gospel of Jesus Christ? In the past week, month, year, how many times have you prayed for those who are missionaries In foreign fields who have gone to share the gospel of Christ In others?
When was the last time that a non Christian said to you, thank you for taking these minutes or hours and telling me about Jesus Christ, thanks for your time? Those are indicators of how seriously we would take this charge of our Lord to present eternal life is found only In Christ. If you I are doing those things, we come to very practical realization that we are at One In Christ, at least In that area. And we can say, yes, that’s what I’m doing. I have taken the message of eternal life to as many as I have contact In. Charles Spurgeon, pastor In London at the turn of this century, said, we expect people to be converted through the church. A man once said to Spurgeon, I understand that if I come to this church that you’ll expect me to be converted.
And Spurgeon said, that’s right. That that is part of the expectation of the church is that people who come In contact In the message of Christ would come to understand the gospel and come to understand eternal life. That is a gift from Christ to us. Secondly, oneness In Christ comes through prayer. This entire chapter is a prayer by Jesus to the Father. And In the context of this prayer, at least three times he makes reference to the word prayer. We find Jesus was continually isolating himself privately to pray In the Father, that there was corporate prayer among the believers. If we would be One In Christ, then prayer becomes an important element In that oneness. You know, it’s very difficult to be critical of someone if you have just finished praying for them.
It’s very difficult to be cynical about someone if you have just been praying for that person. There is something about prayer that changes things. And if we would be One In Christ, it has something to do In prayer. It has something to do In your private Prayer life and also your corporate prayer life. The church that forgets to pray is all too often the church that is divided In factions. But the church that prays together, the church that commits itself to the lordship of Christ, as Jesus instructed us to do, is that church where there is known In the community a unity, a oneness In Christ. Oh, that’s the church where prayer is so important. I met someone from your congregation and they said that they would pray for me. That word gets out.
And so the question that each of us must ask, what is our prayer life like? How often do we privately, without anyone knowing, simply bend our knee and come before the Father? How often do we pray for One another? And I would ask that you would remember to pray for me. That you would pray for the leadership of this church. That you would pray that there would be oneness, that the Lord would use this church, each individual who is personally committed to be One In Christ In prayer. I believe that when that aroma of prayer is lifted up, that the Lord does marvelous things In his church. That we would pray as the Scripture has encouraged us. Also we read In verse 17 of John 17, Jesus saying, Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.
That if we would be One In Christ, it has something to do In God’s Word. That where God’s Word is studied In small groups, In Sunday schools, where it’s taught from the pulpit, that has something to do In being One In Christ. And wherever we have opportunity to study God’s Word, to teach God’s Word, to expand God’s Word, that is what we want to do. Why? Because we will be sanctified through the Word. There is a oneness In Christ that occurs as we focus upon His Word. And finally, if we would be One In Christ, we must learn the lesson of fellowship. Verse 10. We are told, all mine are yours and yours are mine, and I am glorified In them. That everything that Jesus had, he gave to the Father. The Father supplied all that the Son needed.
That there was a fellowship between the Father and the Son and the Spirit that becomes for us the model of fellowship. And if any church, any individual, would want to be One In Christ, that fellowship becomes part and parcel of our growth In Him. Reverend John Fawcett was the pastor of a small church In Waynesgate, England. He had been there for seven years, and it was a small church. And he had labored and done a wonderful job as the pastor of that congregation. Much to his surprise, One of the great pulpits In London became vacant he was asked to come and to replace Dr. John Gill. Well, the salary that he had received was so small that he had to take extra work. His family had faced the strain of being In a small agricultural community.
And so when word came for this new church opportunity, a prestigious position, a salary that would pay the basic bills, his wife and family were thrilled for this opportunity, this blessing from the Lord. While they were preparing to leave, they had crated up all of their furniture, all of their household goods. And while they were placing them In the wagon on their way to London, members of the congregation came by throughout the day, members who had so appreciated the ministry of this young man. They gave him hugs, some gave him a kiss. They brought little gifts of appreciation. They were sorry to see their pastor going on, but at the same time, they were so glad for him.
And throughout the day, as friends from the congregation continued to file through their home, his wife was simply overcome In the expression of love and how much had occurred In those seven years. And she said to her husband, what are we going to do? I don’t think I can leave. And he sat down on a packing crate In her and said, you know, I can’t leave either. Unload the wagon. We’ll stay. That afternoon when the wagon was unloaded, he went and sat down at his desk and he pinned the words to this hymn. Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts In Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. There was something that was so sweet In the fellowship of that church that a great hymn was produced. You see, it’s Christ who creates fellowship.
Oneness In Christ has something to do In the degree that you and I would learn to love One another, to care for One another, to enjoy that fellowship that comes only through getting to know the needs and the desires and the hearts of God’s people. It was said of the Christians, behold how they love One another. There was something In the family fellowship that was contagious, a caring that was unmistakable. The fellowship that helps to make the church One In Christ. Well, what can you and I do to be One In Christ? Well, it is very important that if we truly want to be One In him, that it has something to do In your private ministry of sharing the gospel of eternal life In other people.
And if you truly want to be One In Christ, take those opportunities to share about eternal life In Christ. That we would learn to pray for One another privately, corporately. That the word becomes the centerpiece of our instruction. And finally, that if we would truly want to be One In Christ that we cannot simply say, oh, I don’t know the name of the person seated to my left or right. I don’t know the needs of the person In front of me or behind me. No. In the church of Jesus Christ, that fellowship becomes essential to being One In Christ. If we would truly be One In Christ, each of us would be people sharing about eternal life, praying, studying God’s word and enjoying the fellowship In the Father. Let us pray.
Our God and our Father, we come before you knowing that you have called us to be One In you. Help us to take this priestly prayer of Jesus, that it was his desire that we be One and that oneness focused around the Son. Help us, we pray, to follow you In the sharing of the Gospel, In our prayer life, In the study of your Word, In our fellowship In One another to the end, that Christ would be glorified. We pray In his name. Amen.
Thank you for listening to Affirm foundation, presented by Princeton Ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org or send your donation to Princeton Ministries, Post Office Box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. That’s Princeton Ministries, Post Office Box 2171, Princeton, NJ 08543. The Lord bless you, and Dr. Smith looks forward to hearing from you.