Perfectly As One

I do not pray only for them. I pray also for those who will believe in me because of their message. Father, I pray that all of them will be one, just as you are in me and I am in you. I want them also to be in us. Then the world will believe that you have sent me.

I have given them the glory you gave me. I did this so they would be one, just as we are one. I will be in them, just as you are in me. I want them to be brought together perfectly as one. This will let the world know that you sent me. It will also show the world that you have loved those you gave me, just as you have loved me. -Taken from John 17:20-23

Jesus, right before he walks through the passion, leaves his disciples with these words. These words are found recorded by John near the end of his final prayer. These words are spoken right before he was going to complete the work the Father had sent him to do. These are important words. I like to think that these are the deepest part of his heart. What are the last words you would tell those you loved right before you left to die?

Jesus prayed that we would be one. Then he defined what that looked like. That we would be one with each other just as Jesus and the Father are one. Not only that, but it is Jesus’ deep desire that we be one with the Father and himself. Why? Because it is then that the world will believe that the Father sent Jesus to save the world.

Jesus goes on to say, I have given them the glory you gave me. Why? So we could be one, just like Jesus and the Father. The world will know that the Father sent Jesus, the world will be able to see the gospel, to hear the good news, to understand the kingdom of heaven, when we are one.

I think we understand what it means to be one outside of each other. I know what it means to be alone. To be one among many. That’s what sin does. It separates us. My own sin makes me feel guilty, causes shame, separates me from people and I become one, alone. Conversely, other’s sin against me hurts me, makes me angry, causes me to mistrust and again it separates me from people and I become one, alone.

Jesus gave us the glory that was given to Him by the Father. When we enter into relationship with Jesus we receive this glory. I like to think of glory as weight. Jesus carried the full weight of the Father and those who Jesus entered into relationship with felt that weight. Those who accepted Jesus’ words were given that weight to carry. We carry the glory of the Father, we carry his weight, his influence, so that we might be one with each other. When we live together as one, I believe the collective weight we carry is compelling and convinces the world that Jesus is who he said he is and came to do what he said he came to do. This to me is what it means to live the gospel.

I am convicted by this prayer. I’m convicted by these words. Does the world look at our lives, or relationships, our church and feel compelled to say, “I now believe that Jesus came from the Father because of what I see in these people. Has anyone ever looked at our community of followers of Christ and said, “I now know that the Father loves them just like he loves Jesus.” Yes? No? I read these words and it cuts me deeply. I’m not sure I know how to live in such oneness with those God has called me to live with that the world looks at us this way. What did Jesus call it? Being brought together perfectly as one? Wow.

I think I know what it doesn’t look like. But what does it look like to fulfill Jesus prayer and to be brought together perfectly as one?

Do You Know Your Father?

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed. He said, “Father, the time has come. Bring glory to your Son. Then your Son will bring glory to you. You gave him authority over all people. He gives eternal life to all those you have given him.

“And what is eternal life? It is knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do. So now, Father, give glory to me in heaven where your throne is. Give me the glory I had with you before the world began."

What is eternal life? It is knowing God the Father and Jesus. Eternal life is not a destination. It’s not a set of facts to be believed. It’s not a state of being. Eternal life is a relationship. Specifically, eternal life is knowing God the Father and knowing Jesus. Jesus’ purpose in ministry was to show us the Father. His work was to make it possible for us to be in relationship with, to be connected to, the Father.

So if relationship is Jesus’ goal. How much does that translate into our lives? What’s the purpose of our gathering together? I believe our purpose in ministry is to show “the world” God the Father. We do this through relationship: relationship with each other, relationship with Jesus and relationship with the Father. I cannot directly bring glory to someone I don’t know.

If we desire to be fully alive, if we want to be fully free, if it’s our goal to become everything we were created to become, we will find all of these things in a relationship with God the Father.

Carrying Full Weight

And what is eternal life? It is knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do. So now, Father, give glory to me in heaven where your throne is. Give me the glory I had with you before the world began. (John 17:3-5)

I like to think of the concept of “glory” in terms of weight. The glory of God in my mind is easily transferable to “the weight of God”. When I “feel” God I’m really feeling the weight of His presence. The weight of who He is. When I experience God, the more intense that experience, the greater the weight I have carried. The more I live in who Jesus created me to be, the greater the weight I carry. The greater the weight I carry, the more “glory” I bring to Jesus.

I think in relationship we bring our “weight” to bear in each other’s lives. I bring weight to my relationship with you. You “feel” the weight of who I am when we spend time together. I feel the weight of who you are when I choose to engage with you. When I experience your personality, I feel your weight. When I laugh with you, cry with you, wonder with you, I experience the weight of who you are. The more of myself I share with you the greater you feel my weight. Or better said, the more of myself I share with you, the greater the portion of my weight you carry. Our ability to carry each other's weight is determined by how mature we are.

Jesus carried the full portion of the glory of the Father. When you look at Jesus in the gospels, you are looking at the full revelation of the Father. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one”. He also said, “I share with you only the words I hear from my Father.” To look at Jesus was to see the Glory of the Father. Jesus carried the full weight of the Father and I believe it was Jesus’ desire for us to feel the full weight of the Father.

If I “weighted” this passage it would look like this:

And what is eternal life? It is knowing You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have carried the weight of who You are here on earth. I have finished letting these, Your chosen children, experience the full weight of who You are, just as You desired for me to do. So now, Father, let my weight be felt in heaven where your throne is. Give me the weight I had with You before the world began.

Jesus lived with the end in mind. From this passage it would seem that one of his core motivators was to attain the glory, the “weight” that He had before the world began. I surmise from his words that he was looking forward to sharing in that glory. He desired, after he had completed what his Father asked him to do, to engage in the weight of his eternal existence.

Jesus’ desire to be brought into this glory holds significance for me. Glory, or as we’ve been inferring, “weight”, originates from the Father. Since weight originates from the Father, there is only one place where having weight matters. Weight only has value in the Father's presence. The weight of being that I carry only has value in the presence of the Father.