John 17:20-26

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E Pluribus Unum

Anybody recognize that motto? I expect it won’t surprise anyone to hear that this is the motto on the front of the Great Seal of the United States. It is the Latin phrase printed on the scroll held in the mouth of the bald eagle. This motto is as old as the country. It was proposed for the seal in 1776 and has been on the seal ever since. It’s shown up on some coins over the years too.

It wasn’t replaced as the nation’s official motto for almost 180 years. In 1956, Congress changed the country’s motto to “In God we trust.” But that new motto’s popularity and widespread usage didn’t begin until the Civil War, as a rallying cry for the Union in its quest to keep the original motto, E Pluribus Unum, true.

So what does it mean? Roughly, “Out of many, One!” Originally, it voiced the new country’s aspiration to make 13 very different colonies into one nation. It was definitely about the varied states coming under a single government. There was the mis-step of a confederation government which emphasized the “many” part a little too much; followed by the federal government which some argued at the time emphasized the “one” part too much. But at the beginning it was all about states. In fact there were comments early on about the fact that the motto is made up of 13 letters that made it even more appropriate as a motto, representing the 13 colonies, like 13 stripes and stars on the national ensign, sorry called the national flag by landlubbers.

That emphasis on states gradually shifted over the 19th and 20th centuries to emphasize the individual citizens. But I’m going to stick with the original emphasis on states for a moment, not because it’s more pure or anything, but because it is easier to make the point I want to make this evening.

The founding politicians of our nation never dreamed that unity would require that all of the states would become identical. Assimilation was never the goal of bringing the various states together into a single union. That is to say, those political figures never assumed that every state would need to look, feel, act, talk the same. Every state would never need to have the same economy. Every state would never need to have the same government structure. The states would always be unique and different – many – AND at the same time they would be – one.

The founding political leaders did not believe that unity could only be achieved if every state agreed with each other and looked like each other. They didn’t even think that states needed to like each other. Although that would need to be secondary to seeing each other as inextricably connected into one.

We will come back to this in a few minutes, but right now let’s look at verse 21 of our text. Here Jesus says that He is praying as he has been in His prayer, “that they may all be one.” We often talk about this as the unity of the Church, capital “C” church as well as individual congregations. When we talk about unity we can get distracted by what it means to have unity. Does that mean we all agree? Does that mean we just do what Mr. X or Mrs. Y says? I don’t think so based on my study of the chapter.

At this point I just want to set some foundations for talking about “being one.” I think the example from our country is helpful for this. As the Christians Jesus is praying for, being one does not require us to be indistinguishable from each other in appearance, character or beliefs. I mean, some of us are men and some of us are women, there are great grandparents, grandparents, parents and children in our congregation. In fact in verse 11 Jesus says to the Father “that they may be one even as We are.” Father and son are one but they are not indistinguishable. I mean Jesus is praying to the Father. So being one does not mean indistinguishable or assimilated. But if that is the case then what does it mean to be one? I have no intention of making this “spiritual” or wishy washy, or, God forbid, I really have no intention of making this optional or a “nice to have.” Jesus is asking for something specific, but it isn’t assimilation or flattening out or making everyone the same.

So hold that thought for the moment and let’s take a closer look at our text from John 17.

In verse 20,

“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;

So here I’ll just repeat again that Jesus is praying not just for those who he personally (in bodily form) interacted and taught. Jesus here is praying for each of us even now, if we believe in Jesus based on the witness of his disciples. Jesus here is including all of his followers in the prayers, which adds another dimension (time) to the next verse.

that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

So we’ve already talked at length about these first phrases. But as it is following verse 20 so closely, I think we should also note that all of his followers not only now but for all time are included here.

Not just this congregation. Not just the Christians present in our county and state and nation right now. Not just the Christians present everywhere in the world right now. But every Christian since Jesus was here walking on the earth. Jesus thinks that all of those people can be one. Jesus prays that all of those people would be one.

This is not just some Christian version of “We are the world” sentimentality. This is all Christians from all countries in every era being one.

And in this verse we also see just how concrete this can be. “Even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You.” That is an incredible mystery. This idea of the trinity. But we believe that the Godhead is one God made up of three distinct actors. And like the trinity the Christians of all time are distinct actors but are one.

And this verse also has an invitation. “That they also may be in Us.” We talk a lot about Jesus / the Holy Spirit being in our heart, but here is another dimension of that. The word “that” indicates if we are all one, that we also can be in the trinity. I don’t know what that means fully. But I should be clear this is not some kind of universalism. This doesn’t say we are God or even gods. Jesus is careful to not say that we are one with God. But He does says that we are invited to be creatures within the Godhead in some way. Let move on, verse 22.

“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;

Now Jesus says that the glory which the Father gave Him…. (Remember way up there in verse 1 Jesus asked the Father to glorify Him?) Anyway, the Father has given Him glory and what does He do with it? Does He bask in it? Does He hoard it? Does He insist that it is for Himself alone because He deserved it? No! He gives it to - us?! And here He reveals something about the glory. It isn’t an end in itself. It isn’t the end all. We run into another “that”. He gives us the glory “that they may be one.” So His glory makes it possible for us to be one. Remember my first teaching on John 17. I talked about how Jesus asked for glory so that He could glorify the Father with it. And I talked taking from the Apostle Paul that the glory was received on the cross, because that was the point at which Jesus took our guilt and made it possible for us to live.

And here that glory is what makes it possible for us to live - as one. The cross makes it possible for us to live as one. The forgiveness. The elimination of our guilt. The redemption of His people. That makes it possible for us to be one.

This may just be me, but Christ died so that I can be one with you, then I want to do my part, whatever it is, to be one with you.

Then He says “just as We are one.” Being one as Jesus and the Father are one. Different, distinct, separate individuals, who consciously decide to set aside individuality to be considered one. Isn’t that what Jesus and the Father have done? They are both capable of being God on their own but have chosen to be one. That is what the apostle Paul said in Philippians 2 in that great Christ hymn. Jesus, “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,” and “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.”

So for us to be one, we are going to need to disregard our equality and humble ourselves. Or as Paul says earlier in that chapter, we will need to “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than (y)ourselves.” Or as Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 and Luke 9:23 “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” Luke adds the word “daily” as in “take up his cross daily.”

Jesus is praying that we too would take up our cross so that we can put each other first and be one. That is our part, made possible by Jesus’s glory, the cross.

Then we get to verse 23.

I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

More “thats”. Jesus in us and the Father in Jesus, “that” we may be perfected in unity “that” the world may know. Here is a cycle. If we have faith then Jesus will abide in us, And that will cause us to be one with each other, which will cause us to be changed, which will lead to more people coming to faith and it repeats, and repeats and repeats. And what powers this cycle? God’s love. The Father loves Jesus and loves us. This is all about God. We have our part to play, because God loves us. God’s love is never a reason for stagnation. God’s love calls us to live differently.

Jesus has one final thing to add before he summarizes everything. He asks for God to allow us to be with Him where He is. So that, we may see His glory. Verse 24:

“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

When I first came across this I was fascinated by it because it shows a connection between Jesus and His disciples. It can be seen other ways I’m sure, but I was struck by how this feels like family. Isn’t it a normal feeling for parents or grandparents to be present when a child does something, or has a momentous event. Like being at a boat race all day because your son will spend a couple minutes on the race course. There is a draw of wanting to be present and to see our kids or friends succeed. I think that goes the other way also. Kids wanting to be present for important events for their parents. I think this is part of what Jesus is saying.

But I think as I’ve read and studied and spent time in this chapter, I’m struck by how purposeful Jesus is throughout this prayer. I think now I also see Jesus say to the Father, I really want these to be one, I want them to be successful at being one, and them seeing my glory is critical to their success. Jesus has invested everything in us, so that we will be one. He has experienced God’s love since the beginning - the foundation of the world - and He wants us also to experience God’s love. So He want us to be one so that we will experience God’s love and so that the world will also be invited to know God’s love.

Ok, so I’ve dug into a lot of things tonight. Let me see if I can bring it all into one things. To help with that I will introduce one more thing from our current news.

In our newspaper on Thursday there was an AP story on the very back page, below the weather and surrounding the crossword puzzle solution. It was a story about what is happening in our Vietnamese American population right now as they watch tens of thousands of refugees coming to the United States from Afghanistan. Let me just quote a couple paragraphs from the article:

Television images of Afghans vying for spots on U.S. military flights out of Kabul evoked memories for many Vietnamese Americans of their own attempts to escape a falling Saigon more than four decades ago…

It has … spurred many Vietnamese Americans to donate money to refugee resettlement groups and raise their hands to help by providing housing, furniture and legal assistance to newly arriving Afghans. Less tangible but still essential, some also said they want to offer critical guidance they know refugees and new immigrants need: how to shop at a supermarket, enroll kids in school and drive a car in the United States.

What does this have to do with “being one”? Well, here are people who are not the same in terms of language, culture, religion or race to another group of people, but who are moved to act because of a shared experience, not just any experience, but a life shattering, no turning back, terrifying experience. This makes these two groups see themselves as “one”. There is no way that someone like me who has never had the experience can be part of this “one”. It doesn’t matter if I believe the same thing, or have the same number of kids, or am the same age. And at the same time it doesn’t matter that the Vietnamese Americans and the soon to be Afghan Americans have different political views or the same, for that matter. It is the experience and the centrality of that experience in their lives and memories that makes them one.

This is why it is so important for us, for us Christians to have a shared experience. A shared life shattering, no turning back, terrifying experience that is central to our lives and memories. An experience of coming to the point of seeing our utter depravity in sin, the hopelessness of a condemned sinner with nothing good in our future, and that we were then rescued, airlifted, not on C17s but on the wings of Jesus Christ himself so that we now have life and hope that is completely and utterly undeserved but real because of God.

If that is an experience that we share, if that is an experience that is central to each of our lives, then we will be one, and it won’t matter what state (or nation) we came from, nor how we think about politics, nor what translation of the Bible we read. We will share that experience and will be spurred to be one, spurred to act on each other’s behalf. And being one will be a witness to the world and to the powers and principalities of the absolute and terrifying sovereignty of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who stands as the only way to life and hope.

And that is exactly what Jesus is asking the Father to make happen. There are many place that we can join other people with, but the one that Jesus says matters is that we are one in Him. Because that is the thing that will make it so we know God’s love, and more importantly that the world will know that God loves them. It isn’t information or education that will make the world turn to Jesus. It is seeing people who are living as one, in Jesus.

I think the well known chorus has it mostly right. I’m going to change the words a little, but… “We are one in the spirit, we are one in the Lord. And we pray that our unity will one day be made true. And they’ll know we are Christians by God’s love.”

Preached at Holiness Fellowship on September 26, 2021.