John 17:11-19

       In this passage Jesus continues praying for His disciples, the men whom You have given Me out of this world (v6).  We have seen why He prays for them; now we see what He prays for them.

            First, there is one thing Jesus has in mind for His disciples.  It is that they be one as He and the Father are one (v11).  (Note that in v21 He prays this for all believers, and adds that they may be one with the Father and Son as well.)

            What does this mean?  He is not praying that they all share an external oneness.  Clearly the disciples were as diverse a group as you could get.  And we have noted that while there is one God, the Godhead exists as three distinct persons.  This oneness is not organizational but organic, if you will.  It is much deeper than anything you might see.  It is the very provision of a “you in Me and I in you” relationship He promised back in 14:19-20.

            In the New Testament the concept of fellowship is related to this oneness.  To be a partaker with someone or to be in fellowship with them is to share something with them.  It means you have something in common.  In the case of believers we share the same life:  the life of Christ.

            – We are the fellowship of His Son, 1 Cor. 1:9.

            – Our fellowship as believers is a fellowship with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:1-4).

            – We are partakers of, or sharers in, the divine nature (2 Peter 1:1-4).

            – Christ lives in us, Gal. 2:20.

            In Gal. 2:9 the Apostles granted to Paul the right hand of fellowship acknowledging their oneness, while at the same time recognizing their diverse ministries.  So again, this oneness or fellowship does not require one organization; but it does recognize our one Lord, one faith, etc. (Eph. 4:4-6).

            When we say that the oneness is not organizational we do not mean that those who are one are free to hate each other.  Remember that one of the motivations behind this request is the fact that Jesus has called the disciples to love one another.  They can have their differences externally.  But this oneness must express itself in the attributes of love as seen in 1 Cor. 13:1-8.

            We will return to this subject yet again in v22 where Jesus says He has given us His glory.  For now our need is to understand that Jesus is praying that we share oneness by sharing His life.  How marvelous is that?