In Jesus' 'high priestly prayer' of John 17 we find in three verses Jesus praying for the unity of his followers - not just the disciples who were with him daily, but for all who would believe in him because of them (v20).
He prayed in verse 11 that they may be one,
in verse 21 that they may be one,
in verse 22 that they may be one,
and in verse 23 that they may be perfected in unity.
Then, twice Jesus ties the spread of the Gospel to this unity: in verse 21, so that the world may believe that you sent me, and in verse 23, so that the world may know that you sent me.
That this is the topic of Jesus' prayer just before his arrest, torture, and crucifixion demonstrates its importance to him. Of all the things that could have prayed for, four times he prayed for the unity of his followers.
The question moves then to WHAT? What is it that unifies us, and/or for what are we unified?
Jesus doesn't give us that answer in his prayer - at least not directly.
There are numerous passages that deal with church unity and that point us to an answer. One of those is Philippians 1:27 which reads, Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving for the faith of the gospel.
First - WHAT unifies them:
In 1:5 Paul mentions their koinonia fellowship in the Gospel
In 1:7 He commends them for their koinonia partnership with Paul in the Gospel
In 1:12-26 Christ/Lord/Gospel are mentioned at least 12 times
And then verse 27 - conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of - WHAT? THE GOSPEL
The Gospel is the heart of their fellowship together
The grounds of their partnership with Paul
And the goal of their Christian walk
It is the Gospel that binds them together - the WHAT - is the Gospel.
The church should find the basis of its unity in Christ - in the Gospel.
In Him there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free - In Him we are ONE
The Gospel is about our common need and His incredible provision - the ground of the gospel is level - No matter who we are or where we are from - no matter how pretty or ugly - no matter how rich or how poor we all have the same disease and share in the remedy of His blood.
We are bound BY the Gospel
and...
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.
my paraphrase - I am in bods and may very likely die in this Roman imprisonment. I hope to come and see you again, but that may not happen. One way or another, my great hope is to hear that you are conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. And if you are, I will hear that you are standing firm in one spirit and with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.
The Greek wording is key to understanding the picture that Paul was painting here. Standing Firm is translated from a Greek military term. It is a battle term. The picture is of a war time unity - a battle mentality.
The adverbial participle that is translated as STRIVING TOGETHER is another military word that describes further what Paul meant by STAND FIRM. Standing firm is not a defensive posture, it is instead an OFFENSIVE posture. The picture that might come to mind for Paul's readers is that of Roman soldiers advancing side by side into battle. The battle to be won here is not for Rome, but for the Gospel! The church then is to be united in the cause of the Gospel. We are not to passively sit back, neither are we to barricade our doors in order to protect. We are to gear up for battle like soldiers and strive together to advance the Gospel and the Kingdom of God.
So - it seems we are united BY the Gospel and we are to be united FOR the Gospel. The Gospel is then the heart of who we are and what we are to do.
If this is the unity that Jesus had in mind when he prayed that his followers would be one, then is it any wonder that he tied the unity of his followers to the belief of the world?
The mission of New City Church is to see the Gospel transform everything within our reach - ourselves, our church, our city, and the world.
We understand that our church is more than a building, an organization, a man, or a service. We are a group of missionaries, a family of believers, a population of diverse individuals united by, striving for, and growing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Better said, we are "a worshipping community of missional theologians."
