17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
WOW ! Is this really possible...to be one as Jesus prayed for us. I think possibly it could work if we applied a few of these scriptures.Before we look at hese scriptures look at the last 10 words of verse 22 "That the world may know. When Christians can find a way to be one the World will hav e abetter understanding of who Jesus is.
Here are a few verses tha tcould help us be one.
5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
It's so easy to love those who agree with us or who grant us favors etc. but we are to be kind also to the unloveable. To those who are 'different' For our Father rains and cause His sun to shine on the just and the unjust.
Epheasians2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved
2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Galations 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
I do beleiev there are many other verses tha tgive us insight on how we that are so different can live together and be one in spirit.
Chuck you have given a very good message in this thread.
You have been given one of the most important gifts of the Holy Spirit, Loving your fellow man.
Being ONE with your fellow believer is as it should be, just be sure what you are being one with.
Thanks
Mr-Pirk
__________________
A proud owner of a Flying Vee. Bestowed by the fine Gentleman VC1111 himself.
just be sure what you are being one with.
Mr. Pirk
I do believe friend there will always be things to argue about. When I was a new Christian I went to a powerful Bible study where the leader walked in strong love. From time to time we would get different religions and such in there. Our leader dealt with them in a very kind matter yet in authority. It was very fruitful as no ones feelings were hurt yet.The people never came backand I never saw our leader on the defensive. When we seek first His kingdom and righteousness truly "All these things shall be added unto you as well." Very rarely do I come across blantant false doctrines. Most of the arguements come over things that should not cause divisions.But they do. And the mature ' or perfect' man should be wise enough to see the big picture and bring peace. We can only be one when
Phillipians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
(Romans 15:5-7 KJV)
(5) Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: (6) That ye may with one mind {and} one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (7) Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
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John 3:16
things are more like right now than they've ever been
It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
William James
I agree that the Lord wants us to be one, . . .what should we be one in? . . . the truth that is in Christ Jesus:
Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
I'm sure that He doesn't want us to be one in falsehoods, but one in truth.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
No matter wha tthe situation is we are told not to lean unto our own understanding but to look unto God for the answer. Genuine love takes alot of prayer and fasting. We must get beyond our intellect and tap into His Spirit. We must pray. When we truly get a hold of God's love...God will be glorified. Alot of foks dismiss love as sugar coating the gospel because real love takes serious humility and death of ones will.
12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is MORE THAN ALL whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
12:34
And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Keith..this is one of my favorite Bible verses. Just from understanding these concepts Jesus says."THou are not far from the Kingdom of Heaven."
Brother Chuck
These scriptures tell us how important it is to believe what the followers of Jesus have taught. Jesus prayed for their faith, or believing ability. Faith will be the ability to become one with God, (that they may be one in us). We will never be one with the world because the world received him not. Jesus said "Ye are not of the world". This shows the importance of "Ye must be born again" . When The Lord reckons the people He will say that this and that man was born in her. One doesn't join a family, he is born into a family. The family one God is one and they all bear the family name of whom the whole family in Heaven and Earth is named.
Amen.....That we would be oneso the world would know Jesus.
We can probably never be one as far as totally agreeing doctrinal things .However ; if our purpose is to win the world we will be more slow to speak and strive to have a heart of understanding. I've seen some seasoned Christians do this real good. Most of the time alot of us have more in common than what we think. In themilitary, the first thing we would attack is usually the enemies communication lines. I beleive our adversary does the same thing.Onlythrough the love of Christ, can we discern that the short in the circuit of communication and maintain unity . I beleive we all would agree with the main things...
No other salvation apart from the name of Jesus.
Fruit and obedience must accompany salvation
Baptism....for me immersion.
And yes...I have no problem seeing Jesus as God." Phillip if you have seen me you have seen the Father." The Word is God and dwelt in the flesh."
Of all of these Obedience is where we live now. If we truly love God we will obey / keep His commandments.
Chuck
Jesus desires us to be one.
