God's Great Passion For UnityIhe Atụ

Jesus Prayed For Unity

With death knocking at his door, Jesus’ final thoughts and prayers were spent on unity. Of all the things he could have prayed for, Jesus made unity a massive priority. This theme is echoed continually in the New Testament and also woven into the very fabric of creation. Unity pleases God and it must become a priority to us like it is for Christ.  

Unfortunately, the word unity has grown tired, exhausted by our many failed attempts to embrace it. As a result, today, we are divided on so many fault lines: politics, ethnicity, sexual ethics and theology keep us fractured to name just a few.

But it is time to demolish the dam of disunity.

Overcoming our crisis of fragmentation begins first with knowing the God who is the source of all unity. Unity within diversity already exists in perfect form within the Trinity, therefore we cannot manufacture it, but rather we are invited into it. That’s exactly what Jesus asked for when he prayed: “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you” (John 17:21a). This was a bold, radical and specific request. 

Think about it. Jesus literally asked that we would be as one as the Trinity! 

What type of unity did Jesus pray for? Not some common denominator faith that compromises on truth. That is not unity, that’s conformity. Instead, Jesus prayed that his fellowship of believers would be a community marked by the same radical love, submission, power and impact in the Godhead. That is why Jesus tied his prayer for unity immediately into the missional calling on all believers. Jesus follow up his unprecedented request for unity with an amazing line: “…that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21b). Jesus saw with extreme clarity that His Lordship would be most clearly declared to the world through the unity of the Church. He is waiting for us to come alive to this truth and become the united body we were designed to be! As you read John 17, consider how can you propel and protect unity in your spheres of influence. 

How can you be an ambassador for unity and become the answer to Jesus’ prayer?