That They All May Be One
Jesus' prayer for unity is essential for the world to believe in Him, and it is a call for believers to strive for oneness and unity with Him and with their fellowman.
K.P. Yohannan emphasizes the importance of unity among believers, drawing from John 17:21, where Jesus prays for oneness among His followers. He reflects on the insights from 'The Calvary Road' by Roy Hession, highlighting that true revival and the flow of life come through collective teamwork in the Spirit rather than individual efforts. Yohannan urges the church to practice genuine love and fellowship, linking arms in unity to fulfill God's mission. He prays for a deeper understanding of this unity and encourages believers to actively maintain it in their daily lives.
Text
"That they all may be one,as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You;that they also may be one in Us,that the world may believe that You sent Me." John 17:21
One of my all-time favorite books is The Calvary Road by Roy Hession. This book was written in the context of a group of missionaries working and experiencing a time of revival together. In the introduction of the book, Norman P. Grubb writes,
We [the group of missionaries] are beginning to learn, as a company of Christ's witnesses, that the rivers of life to the world do not flow out in their fullness through one man, but through the body, the team. Our brokenness and openness must be two-way, horizontal as well as vertical, with one another as with God. We are just beginning to experience in our own ranks that team work in the Spirit is one of the keys to revival, and that we have to learn and practice the laws of a living fellowship.1
It is my prayer that the Lord would give us an understanding of true unity and help us to put into practice the "laws of a living fellowship." We were not called to be individuals doing our own thing. We were called into the family of God, to oneness and unity with Him and with our fellowman.
May we strive to maintain this unity, each day linking arms with our brothers and sisters, genuinely loving each other and laboring together to see the kingdom of God come.
Notes: 1 Roy Hession, The Calvary Road (London: Christian Literature Crusade, 1950),
pp. 8-9.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Unity
- The Nature of True Unity
- The Key to Revival
- Team work in the Spirit
- Living fellowship and mutual love
Key Quotes
“We are just beginning to experience in our own ranks that team work in the Spirit is one of the keys to revival, and that we have to learn and practice the laws of a living fellowship.” — K.P. Yohannan
Application Points
- We must strive to maintain unity with our brothers and sisters, genuinely loving each other and laboring together to see the kingdom of God come.
- True unity requires vertical unity with God and horizontal unity with one another, characterized by mutual love and living fellowship.
- Team work in the Spirit is essential for revival, where believers labor together to see the kingdom of God come.