INTRODUCTION

The statements of Jesus' desire for unity
John 17 contains what has been called "The High Priestly Intercessory Prayer" of Jesus. This prayer, recorded in John's gospel just before the arrest of Jesus, contains timeless insights to the mission of Jesus and his intimate desires for his followers. A few of the themes in this prayer include the glorification of God the Father by the Son and the culmination of the Son's mission on the earth. Additional themes are the mission and the sanctification of the church, the desire of the Son for unity among his disciples, and the unity of "those who will believe in me through their message."

Brief Overview
In examining Jesus' desire for unity the following points will be discussed: (1) The high view Jesus has for unity by way of a Trinitarian analogy; (2) The task for the contemporary church to be called out and different than the culture; and finally (3) The opportunity and power of the unified worshipping community.

JESUS' HIGH CONCEPT OF UNITY

The heart of Jesus for the unity of his followers is given two times in this prayer. In John 17:11 (NIV) He says "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name -- the name you gave me -- so that they may be one as we are one." In John 17:21-23 (NIV) we see several more statements of Jesus about unity. He says that his prayer is that "all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." He says that the purpose of unity is "so that the world may believe that you have sent me" and it is something that his church must be "brought to," suggesting it will be a process. The prayer of Jesus reveals the following three principles for unity amongst His followers:

1. Unity requires God's protection.
2. Unity is not superficial but should be a reflection in the church of the unity of God himself.
3. Unity has a purpose to glorify God and evangelize the world.

Unity requires God's protection
Perhaps an often-overlooked passage on unity in the New Testament is Jesus' prayer for the protection of his people "so that they can be one as we are one." Protection is obviously a necessity and precursor for Christian disciples to be brought together in unified love and community. It seems that Jesus reveals to us that unity is not a given in his body although it is his ideal for the church. The sin of his followers, the lies and attacks of Satan against the church, and the cultures of the world will all threaten the unity of his children. Jesus knew his children would need protection from these strong enemies in order for unity to be possible. It is a comforting truth that Jesus promises in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of Hades will not overcome his church. This promise brings hope even in the midst of what appears to be a fragmented rather than a unified Christian church.

Unity is not superficial, but a reflection of the unity of God himself
The question of what it means to have unity in the body of Christ is an often-discussed topic in today's world of denominations, Para-church groups, and unaffiliated or non-denominational churches. What kind of unity is Jesus describing here in John 17? Does he mean unity in purpose? Unity in doctrinal correspondence? In love for one another? Practical sharing of life and mission with other believers? It seems at times that the church can be too quickly satisfied with a conceptual version of unity; a simple statement that we believe that we are unified with our brothers and sisters in spirit and purpose. What makes such a position of conceptual unity without practical outworking difficult to defend is Jesus' analogy to his own unity with the Father as the model or ideal for his church. The very triune nature of the mysterious God of the Bible is the parallel given for unity among Christians.

A brief survey of some of what we know of the unity of the Trinity makes this parallel all the more profound. The Trinity is an eternal loving community and enjoys an inseparable relational unity. The Trinity is mysteriously a complete unity in essence, while having distinction in persons; the Trinity is one what (unity) comprised of three whos (diversity).¹ The human search for unity in the diversities of life is long and recorded in the history of philosophy. The Greek attempt to bring unity out of the four essences earth, wind, fire, and water gave birth to the word "quintessence." This word was born out of the search for a "fifth essence" that would unite (unity) all the other essences (diversity). In our own country, America, we find the motto "E pluribus Unum," out of the many - one. We find the concept of searching for the unity in the diversities of knowledge in the word "University" which gives name to the institution once dedicated to that search. It is not surprising then that an ideal so sought after since the dawn of philosophy, this unity in diversity, is present in the very nature of the first cause and Creator of the universe. Listen to how Dr. Ravi Zacharias explains the importance of understanding the Trinity:

A proper understanding of the Trinity not only gives us the key to understanding unity in diversity, but also brings us a unique answer to the great struggle we face between races, cultures, and-and for that matter-even genders. The Trinity provides us with a model for a community of love and essential dignity without mitigating personality, individuality, and diversity.²

Jesus' allusion to the Trinity as our model for unity does not solve the problem or answer all our questions about what unity means, but it certainly challenges us not to come up with any patronizing or simplistic answers. Our unity must be modeled after the loving community of the Godhead and therefore will not come easily to sinful human beings. With God's protection the church can and must work for a unity that is not only conceptual, but one that is visible to the lost world around it.

Unity has a purpose to glorify God and evangelize the world
In Jesus' teaching we see that unity is a beautiful concept spawned by the union of the Father and Son. However, Jesus shows this is not just theoretical but also practical. It is to be lived out in community with each other and has some powerful purposes in God's plan for the evangelization of the world. First, God's glory is given to the church in order that we may be one and reflect praise and honor to God. The glory of God brings unity and the unity that results reflects even more glory to God. Second, Jesus clearly says that the world will believe and know that Jesus was sent from the Father as a result of authentic and visible Christian unity. This powerful apologetic for the truth of the gospel will be examined in detail later in the paper.

THE TASK FOR THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH

In light of Jesus' heart and high vision for church unity we must ask ourselves what needs to be done. The local church, denominations, and Para-church organizations all must evaluate what it means to be unified with our brothers and sisters in Christ and work towards this ideal. Jesus' desire for us to be "brought to" complete unity must call Christian leaders to put practical steps in place to work towards unity in the church. Some areas and suggestions for the difficult work towards unity are as follows: doctrinal unity, unity in mission (evangelism) and unity in compassion. Many Christians have pursued unity at all cost, many times at the sacrifice of the doctrines central to Christian belief. This does not necessarily have to be the case. The popular motto, "In essentials, unity, in non-essentials liberty and in all things charity," must be continually taken to a deep level of discussion and worked out incarnationally among believers. The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to "watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them..." because he knew that many false teachers would come into the church to distort the essence of the revealed message of God. Doctrinal unity should be pursued among denominations, Christian organizations, and seminaries in a spirit of cooperation, but not at the expense of the clear meaning of Scripture. Theological debate on non-essentials is not only possible in the context of Christian love and leadership of the Holy Spirit, but the debate itself can continually draw us together. Another area in which Christians need to work together for unity is the area of mission. Jesus gave the job of world evangelization and discipleship to his entire church and such a task must bring us together. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association emphasis on community-wide denominational cooperation, Campus Crusade's Jesus Film Project partnership with almost twelve hundred denominations and missions organizations³ to spread the gospel around the world through media, and Mission America's concerted effort to give every soul in America a chance to hear the gospel are shining examples of cooperation and unity centered around a common mission. A final area that demands unity in effort is Jesus' call for the church to take care of the poor, the outcast, and the downtrodden.⁴ This ministry of compassion has inspired numerous cooperative efforts among those in urban ministry and ministry to the poor. Christian ministries dedicated to urban renewal have shown the power of Christian unity in the cities of America.⁵ These areas of unity must continue to bring us together because the enemies of unity are numerous and strong. Doctrine, mission, and compassion can bring us together to help us overcome the barriers that exist in Christ's church today.

WORLDLY BARRIERS TO UNITY: RACIAL BARRIERS, ECONOMIC BARRIERS, AND APATHETIC LEADERSHIP

Sunday Segregation and Dinner table absences
It has been said that Sunday morning still remains the most segregated hour in America. It is not any secret that America has a problem with racism and race relations in general and it seems the church of Jesus Christ in many ways is no better than the culture in tackling our racial problems. Such an issue is beyond the scope of this paper, but a few comments need to be made. Much of the church's struggle with racial issues arises out of perspective. White and black Christians rarely spend much meaningful time together in worship or in common "life" situations. This leads them to perceive racial issues quite differently. Listen to how sociologists Michael Emerson and Christian Smith, authors of the book Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, powerfully describe some results of their research:

As interviewers, we were struck by how racially homogenous the social worlds of most evangelicals are, particularly those of white respondents. Other than an occasional acquaintance, they had few interracial contacts. With a few notable exceptions, none lived in worlds that were not at least 90 percent white in their daily experience. Many commented on this while answering the race questions. It was common for the respondents to speak of being sheltered, unexposed to racial diversity, insulated, in their own small world.

This isolation is important sociologically. Because the vast majority of white evangelicals do not directly witness individual-level prejudice (with the exception of some relatives who used the "N" word occasionally), the race problem simply cannot be as large an issue as some make it to be. Granted it was a problem in the past, and a residue may remain today because original sin remains, but the race problem is not severe in their estimation.

The white evangelicals we interviewed do not want a race problem. They want people to get along and to have equal opportunity. They see these as essential to living out their faith. In short, they yearn for colorblind people. This is the contemporary white American evangelical perspective.

Black evangelicals tend to see the racial world very differently. Ironically, evangelicalism's cultural tools (ideas, habits, skills, and styles) lead people in different social and geographical realities to assess the race problem in divergent and nonreconciliatory ways. This large gulf in understanding is perhaps part of the race problem's core, and most certainly contributes to the entrenchment of the racialized society.⁶ (emphasis added)

If the church is to display an actualized unity in the world, it must deal with its own problems dealing with issues of race.

We do not live together - Class and Economics
One factor contributing to the gaps between Christians of various races is one of economics and geography. To put it simply, we don't live together, so we do not understand one another nor will we if things remain the same. It does not take much research to learn that Americans of different races live in predominately separate communities. This continues separation from one another in real life circumstances that perpetuates racial misunderstanding. Much of this is due to economics and historical racism. The "good" neighborhoods are safer, more expensive, and have better property resale values and this is where the middle-class white evangelical chooses to live. If current demographic trends hold, by 2050 America with be much more culturally and racially diverse. By this time it is projected that white Americans will comprise just 53% of the population.⁷ If the church misses the opportunity now to love and worship together across racial lines, unity in the American church will remain unrealized and a great opportunity for the glory of the God of all races will be left unrealized.

Apathetic Church Leadership
The church of Jesus Christ today needs courageous leaders who will sacrificially love and live out racial reconciliation. This is a serious call that many in the church simply refuse to accept. Evangelical denominations must take the task to reach all people seriously; far too often the church that rightly sends missionaries to the uttermost parts of the earth will completely ignore the one uttermost part commonly referred to as "the other side of town." John Perkins in his book "With Justice for All" gives a prophetic call to Christians in America in these words:

"This book is an invitation-an invitation to join me in proclaiming and living out the gospel in a way that brings good news to the poor and liberty to the oppressed. It is an invitation to white and black, Jew and Gentile, to every racial and ethnic group in our nation to be reconciled to one another; to work together to make our land all God wants it to be. And it is a blueprint-a practical strategy by which American evangelicals can do the work of biblical justice in our own land.

Just as Nehemiah challenged his countrymen to join him in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, I extend my challenge to you-my fellow countrymen, my fellow Christians; Come, let us rebuild the wall of America!⁸

Leaders serious about winning people to Jesus Christ in America must begin to believe and live the words of Jesus across racial and cultural lines.

"MAY THEY BE BROUGHT TO COMPLETE UNITY TO LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT YOU SENT ME AND HAVE LOVED THEM EVEN AS YOU HAVE LOVED ME.
(John 17:23 NIV)

APPLICATION - A POWERFUL APOLOGETIC TO THE POSTMODERN MIND

America today is perplexed with its own cultural and racial problems. As diversity and multicultural programs proliferate around our nation in the work place and in the university, we remain ever more divided. What is the church of Jesus Christ to do? She must lead. The loving, living, and reconciling Savior must triumph over the fear and comfort in the church to bring his people together across cultural divisions. Perhaps like no other time in history a unified worshipping community will serve as a powerful testimony to the power of Christ and His gospel. Multiracial, multiethnic, and socioeconomic diverse churches will be a strong witness in the postmodern world. Evangelist and apologist Ravi Zacharias, in a message about worship, exclaims that perhaps the most powerful and often missed evangel to the postmodern world is the worshipping community.⁹ In conclusion, in a world that is ever more experientially driven and hungering for the actuality of God, the culturally diverse worshipping community will provide a powerful apologetic to the truth that it is Jesus.

Notes:

---

¹ For a more thorough look at the philosopher's quest for unity in diversity please see Zacharias, Ravi Can Man Live Without God (Dallas: TX, Word Publishing, 1994) pp 147-150.

² Ibid, p148

³ Official Ministry Statistics as of April 1, 2001for the Jesus Film Project available from http://www.jesusfilm.org/updates/statistics.html accessed 4/26/2001.

⁴ Matthew 25 records a great teaching of Jesus on this matter explaining to his followers that what is done in his name to help the hungry, the prisoner, the naked, and the sick is actually service rendered to him.

⁵ The author was blessed in being a participant in one such partnership between Athletes in Action, Here's Life Inner City, and Circle Urban Ministries to reach out to urban youth in Chicago, IL during the summer of 1998.

⁶ Michael Emerson and Christian Smith, "Color-blinded?" Christianity Today, Vol 44, No 11, October 2, 2000.

⁷ Meacham, Jon "The new face of race" Newsweek, Vol 136, No 12, September 18, 2000. pp 38-41

⁸ Perkins, John M. With Justice for All (Ventura: CA, Regal Books, 1982) pre-cover page. This book offers a three-fold strategy of Relocation, Reconciliation, and Redistribution for Christian believers to make a difference in areas of social justice in America.

⁹ Ravi Zacharias, audiotape series "Leadership Seminar Workshop", Ravi Zacharias International Ministries 1986.