Bible Text: John 17 | Preacher: Rev. Dr. Lou Saldiveri | Series: Sunday Morning Worship

— Pastor Lou’s Notes —
Intro: People are people. That is a nice way of saying we are all the same in some ways and different in other ways. There is a factor with which we all battle that makes unity among diversity very very difficult. That factor is that we are all rebels against God (sinners). Because of our sin nature, it is natural for us to stay divided and unnatural to be united. This is even true in the Christian church e.g. churches which are faithful to the teachings of the Bible. If we are honest, most times our disunity is not over core doctrine issues, but over issues of preference or issues which are not clear in the Scriptures. There is a saying that has been hanging around the church for some years now; “O to be with the saints in heaven, that will be glory, but to be with the saints on earth, well that’s another story”.

In this last section of Jesus’ prayer before He goes to the cross, He prays specifically for those who will come to faith in Him. That is us and future generations. He prays very passionately for the unity of Christ followers. Jesus’ prayer reveals key insights about unity.

1. Unity Is Possible If We Abide in Christ v. 20-23
1. Unity Is Supernatural v. 24-26
2. Biblical belief in Christ is a belief that encompasses heart, mind, and soul
1. Belief will come as a result of hearing the message of Christ

3. Abiding in Christ means to be lovingly obedient to Him in an ongoing love affair with Him
4. When we abide in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we will experience the blessing of being untied with the Trinity and we will desire to united with fellow Christ followers

2. Unity Is Grounded in Christ’s Love For Us v. 22-25
1. When we allow the Word of God and the Spirit of God to change us from the inside out, we will be slowly changed to be more like Christ and to love like Christ
2. Jesus’ desire is for us to dwell with Him in glory when He comes again
1. There will be no more divisions and disputes among Christ followers in glory
2. I don’t believe there will be a Baptist section, Charismatic, Pentecostal, etc section of heaven

3. The more we are able to love more like Christ, the greater true unity
1. Explain core beliefs, interpretations, preferences, cultural issues, etc
2. Unity must never compromise the truth of Scripture’s core beliefs
3. Illustration: St. Augustine, ““In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
― Augustine of Hippo

3. Unity Shows the World the Power of the Gospel v. 23
1. Unity of Christ followers shows the power of the gospel.
1. The more united we are, the more powerful the witness
2. Through true unity, the world will sense God’s love for the world in Christ Jesus e.g. John 3:16

2. The journey towards unity takes effort, time , and God’s help
1. We must be on a path towards spiritual maturity
2. We need to let the Word of God and the Holy Spirit cultivate Christ’s love in us as we yield ourselves in loving obedience

Closing: Is it our desire to be part of something larger than our self? Are we willing to let God grow the love of Christ in our heart? Are we willing to do the hard work towards spiritual maturity with the help of the Holy Spirit? Only then will we be on the path towards true unity in Christ.