"These [in Berea] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11
Light Mode
ShareShare this on FacebookPinterestWhatsAppEmailPrinter version

(11) And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one.

(20) "I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. (21) I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. (22) I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one: (23) I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.

Good News Bible copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society.

It is a measure of how important "being one" with the Father and Son is that, in this most important prayer delivered on the last night of Jesus' life, Jesus requested of the Father that we be "one with Them" four times! In that sense, it is the most important request in this prayer that we become one with Them.

Will a human being sacrifice for a good and moral purpose? Yes, we will if we believe God, and believe that He loves us. That last element is not easy, as it takes a lot of experience with Him to know that He loves us, and that He loves us every bit as much as He loves Jesus Christ. Notice what verse 23 says: "You . . . have loved them as You have loved Me." As means "equal to"! We have no trouble believing that God exists, but we have a great deal of trouble believing that God loves us. Yet, it is necessary for becoming one with Him, and returning that love back to Him. Human beings will sacrifice if they can get a good handle on their lives, believing God, and believing that He loves them.

Becoming one with the Father and the Son is accomplished through a number of factors, but none is more important for us right now than beginning to live as They live in preparation for being with Them. No other way of life is acceptable to Them, because no other way of life is in harmony with the way that They live.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
Knowing God



 

Topics:

At One with God

Being One with the Father and Son

Believing God

Harmony With God

Harmony with God's Purpose

Harmony with God's Will

Knowing Christ

Knowing God

Living as Christ Lives

Living as God Lives




Back to top