One: In Us
Before Jesus was led off to His crucifixion, He prayed for His disciples and for all who would "believe on Him through their word." This prayer is recorded in John 17:1-26. Beginning in verse 11 He prayed, "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS WE ARE. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US..." (John 17:11,20-21)
Jesus knew that God's blessing rests where there is unity. In Psalm 133, David declares, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity...for THERE THE LORD COMMANDED THE BLESSING, even life for evermore." (Psalms 133:1,3) Jesus also knew that unity is found in our relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed that the same unity that He enjoyed with the Father, is the same unity that should be enjoyed among the brethren. This unity was to extend throughout the body of Christ. According to this prayer, Jesus believed it was possible for millions of Christians to come together as one but that unity would only exist, as Jesus put it, "IN US."
From the beginning, man was designed in the image and likeness of God. Genesis 1:26 reads, "And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness...So man was not made in the image of God the Father alone. For God to say, "Let US make man in OUR image", God must be represented in more than one person. So man was created in the image of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit! It's amazing that, though man was created in the image and likeness of three persons, according to Jesus' prayer, man can function as ONE!
Think about it. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit never walk or work independently of each other. From the beginning, it's evident that they always work together to accomplish the will of the Father. When God the Father spoke, He sent His Word into the earth where the Spirit was moving upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-3) We know from John 1:1-3,14 that the Word God sent into the earth was "in the beginning with God AND WAS GOD! All things were made by HIM: and without Him was not anything made that was made." We know that that person, the Word, was Jesus for verse 14 reads, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Another example of this is found at Jesus' baptism. The scriptures record that as John baptized Him in the river Jordan, "the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou are my beloved Son: in thee I am well pleased."
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always work together in concert with each other. They are never contentious or work contrary to one another's purpose. They always work in complete harmony with each other.
Since every person is made in the image of the SAME Father, the SAME Son, and the SAME Holy Spirit, we are able to come together in unity to accomplish God's purpose in our lives and experience His blessing.
The reason there is so much contention and division in the home and in the church is that Christians do not have a keen awareness of who they are or what they are supposed to be pursuing. Many, perhaps most Christians feel they are free to pursue anything they want. They have a will, their spouse has a will, their neighbor has a will, everybody has their own will and are therefore free to pursue anything they want, any time they want. Everybody is seeking their own will and their own way and my friend that is a recipe for disaster!
Man was not created to pursue His own will. Man has a will, and man can pursue that will, the will of God, or the will of another. According to Jeremiah 10:23, it is folly to pursue one's own will. It states, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: IT IS NOT IN MAN THAT WALKETH TO DIRECT HIS STEPS." Man is not capable of developing a successful plan for his life. God didn't create man to walk independently from Himself. On the contrary, man was created to be absolutely dependent upon the work of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in his life.
As we come to know the working of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we come to know what our pursuit in life should be. We come to know the working of God in our spouse's life, our children's lives, and our neighbor's life. As each of us becomes more fully acquainted with the ones in whose image we are made, we are able to come together in unity, in fulfillment of Jesus' prayer Who prayed that "THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE... IN US."
Jesus knew that God's blessing rests where there is unity. In Psalm 133, David declares, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity...for THERE THE LORD COMMANDED THE BLESSING, even life for evermore." (Psalms 133:1,3) Jesus also knew that unity is found in our relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed that the same unity that He enjoyed with the Father, is the same unity that should be enjoyed among the brethren. This unity was to extend throughout the body of Christ. According to this prayer, Jesus believed it was possible for millions of Christians to come together as one but that unity would only exist, as Jesus put it, "IN US."
From the beginning, man was designed in the image and likeness of God. Genesis 1:26 reads, "And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness...So man was not made in the image of God the Father alone. For God to say, "Let US make man in OUR image", God must be represented in more than one person. So man was created in the image of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit! It's amazing that, though man was created in the image and likeness of three persons, according to Jesus' prayer, man can function as ONE!
Think about it. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit never walk or work independently of each other. From the beginning, it's evident that they always work together to accomplish the will of the Father. When God the Father spoke, He sent His Word into the earth where the Spirit was moving upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-3) We know from John 1:1-3,14 that the Word God sent into the earth was "in the beginning with God AND WAS GOD! All things were made by HIM: and without Him was not anything made that was made." We know that that person, the Word, was Jesus for verse 14 reads, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Another example of this is found at Jesus' baptism. The scriptures record that as John baptized Him in the river Jordan, "the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou are my beloved Son: in thee I am well pleased."
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always work together in concert with each other. They are never contentious or work contrary to one another's purpose. They always work in complete harmony with each other.
Since every person is made in the image of the SAME Father, the SAME Son, and the SAME Holy Spirit, we are able to come together in unity to accomplish God's purpose in our lives and experience His blessing.
The reason there is so much contention and division in the home and in the church is that Christians do not have a keen awareness of who they are or what they are supposed to be pursuing. Many, perhaps most Christians feel they are free to pursue anything they want. They have a will, their spouse has a will, their neighbor has a will, everybody has their own will and are therefore free to pursue anything they want, any time they want. Everybody is seeking their own will and their own way and my friend that is a recipe for disaster!
Man was not created to pursue His own will. Man has a will, and man can pursue that will, the will of God, or the will of another. According to Jeremiah 10:23, it is folly to pursue one's own will. It states, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: IT IS NOT IN MAN THAT WALKETH TO DIRECT HIS STEPS." Man is not capable of developing a successful plan for his life. God didn't create man to walk independently from Himself. On the contrary, man was created to be absolutely dependent upon the work of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in his life.
As we come to know the working of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we come to know what our pursuit in life should be. We come to know the working of God in our spouse's life, our children's lives, and our neighbor's life. As each of us becomes more fully acquainted with the ones in whose image we are made, we are able to come together in unity, in fulfillment of Jesus' prayer Who prayed that "THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE... IN US."
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