This prayer is for us!  During His prayer to Father God, Jesus interceded firstly for His trainee apostles (John 17:6-19).  Then, He prayed for all the people who would come to believe in Him (John 17:20-26).  We in the 21stC have never met Jesus face to face, but we have believed in Him because somebody told us what the apostles wrote about Him (Acts 8:12).  The gospel message is literally life-changing, and Jesus prayed for people like us whose lives have been transformed by the message of God’s grace with forgiveness of sin, adoption as children and eternal life.

Every person who receives Jesus becomes a child in God’s household (John 1:12).  Unlike so many human families where individuals proudly demand their own way, God’s home is characterised by humble unity as each child looks after the interests of the others (Philippians 2:3-5).  That unity mirrors the oneness between God the Father and God the Son.  Jesus designed His church to be united around one gospel, empowered by one Spirit, having one hope of eternal life (Ephesians 4:4-6). The unity of the church is not the uniformity of a club held together by many rules, but the organic unity of origin and purpose which should characterise a functional family.

That unity is undeniable evidence that people from many different backgrounds and cultures belong together (John 13:34-35).  They love each other, because they have all received God’s love in Christ Jesus.  The external purpose of the church is to let the world know that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14).  God’s plan is that we should be so eager to proclaim Jesus, that the world will see that His honour is our chief concern (John 5:23). The glory of the church is not in its vestments or architecture, but in the transformed lives of ordinary people who have given themselves to Jesus.

Much is said about Christian unity which has little connection with this prayer.  People talk about committees, councils, and projects; but Jesus was praying for a common desire to evangelise the world in ways which give glory to Him (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).  Others think of unity as enjoying membership of a big club; but Jesus was praying for people who would risk their lives to preach the gospel and save the lost.  Some think that unity is about loving each other so that our unity becomes a mutual self-seeking; in other words, an idol; whereas Jesus is concerned that the world might know God loves them to the same extent that Jesus knew He was loved by His Father.  Where the gospel sets the agenda, unity enables it to be effective (Philippians 2:17).  If your Christian fellowship is not based on working together in the gospel, it is defective.  The church which works at spreading the gospel will see people believe in Jesus; and He will be glorified.