‘Unity’ is the theological buzzword of today. But what does it really mean? When does unity trump and when must it be abandoned? Alan Purser, former Director of Mission Partnerships, takes us back to what God’s word teaches in Jesus’ prayer from John 17.
Unity matters. It did to Jesus, so it surely must to we who are his disciples today. In fact, unity mattered so much to Jesus that he prays for it three times in the upper room, in John 17. Jesus’ request for unity is no crowd-pleasing platitude because what he asks for is no ordinary unity. It is unity on a level that is enjoyed between the Father and the Son within the Trinity (v21). And it is unity that will have a missiological impact: so that the world may believe.
John Stott cautioned ‘These are well known prayers. They are probably quoted more frequently than any other petitions of John 17. They have come to be the proof texts of the ecumenical movement. But there are many who are familiar with these phrases who are ignorant of their context and
are therefore unbalanced and even mistaken in their interpretation. It is important that we subject them to a careful and critical scrutiny.’1 I hope to do precisely that, and to sketch out some implications for maintaining unity in our churches and for engaging today in God’s mission.
But what kind of unity is Jesus referring to? And between whom? A careful reading of the text yields some significant – perhaps even surprising – answers, and makes sense of its connection with mission.
The structure of Jesus’ prayer is clear, falling into three parts. First, he prays for himself to be glorified as he fulfills his Father’s will in his death (v1-5). Then, he prays for his disciples to be sanctified and set apart for sharing the gospel (v6-19). Finally, he prays for those who will believe through their testimony to be united (v20-26). The unity is not just between subsequent believers; it is between ‘these’ disciples – soon to be apostles – and ‘those’ subsequent believers. Stott says, ‘Christ’s prayer is that ‘all’ – i.e. both the ‘these’ and the ‘those’ – may be one’.2
The significance of this can hardly be overstated. Jesus is first and foremost praying for unity between the apostolic church of the first century and subsequent generations of believers. In other words, he is praying that we today might believe the same truths, follow the same Lord, proclaim the same message, obey the same teaching, suffer for the same cause and share in the same hope as the apostles did. How can this happen?
Just as Luke records the first converts devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship (Acts 2:42) so, with a New Testament in our hand, it is marvelously possible for us to do the same. The second half of v21 is the means envisaged by Jesus to produce the unity for which he prayed: that they also may be in us. Jesus’ eternal fellowship with the Father is to be the pattern for the relationship between the church and the Godhead. Again, Stott puts it helpfully, ‘The unity of the church for which Christ prayed was not primarily that we may be one with each other, but first that we may be one with the apostles and second that we may be one with the Father and the Son. The first speaks of a common truth, the second of a common life. And both are needed to unite the church.’3
Far from the notion that doctrine divides, Jesus taught that unity amongst his disciples would be secured by their loyalty to divine revelation (v11). Unity in the church is secured by the same means: unity in the truth. It is not institutional unity but confessional unity. 16th century bishop and Reformation martyr, Hugh Latimer, wrote ‘Unity must be according to God’s holy word, or else it were better war than peace. We ought never to regard unity so much that we forsake God’s word for her sake.’
What then of the connection between unity and mission? How is Jesus’ prayer for unity so that the world may believe answered? Only by adhering to apostolic truth will the good seed of the authentic gospel be preserved. Do we need to recover our confidence in proclaiming the gospel from the Gospels so that the spiritually dead may by believing have life in his name (John 20:31)? It is through that same testimony, alongside the work of the Spirit, that God’s mission will continue to advance amongst people of every nation until Christ returns. That is something to unite in prayer and practice around.
1, 2, 3 IVCF missions conference in Urbana, USA, 1970