In this chapter we will consider the truth in the New Testament concerning the genuine oneness of the church. Christians today often speak of oneness, but there are many kinds of oneness that are not genuine. We need to realize that there is only one kind of oneness that is genuine. In the previous chapter we saw that the church is Christ. In this chapter we will see that the genuine oneness of the church also is Christ. Because Christ is the proper and real church life, He is the genuine oneness.
We are one in the church not because we have a common concept, goal, interest, or work. These factors could never create the genuine oneness. If we are one because of these factors, our oneness is not the genuine oneness. Any kind of oneness besides the genuine oneness is a oneness in division. Every denomination has a certain kind of oneness. The Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Baptist Church all have a kind of oneness. In any Christian work there is a kind of oneness. Without some kind of oneness, no one would work together. There is a multitude of different denominations, and there is a multitude of different kinds of oneness. The oneness of the Christians in the Methodist Church is their method. The oneness of those in the Baptist Church is in the practice of baptism by immersion. The oneness of Pentecostals is mainly speaking in tongues. However, even in tongue-speaking there are different kinds of oneness. Not all agree on how to speak in tongues. Those who speak in tongues are not one even in tongue-speaking. Thus, there are many kinds of oneness among the denominations, but none are genuine.
We can be genuinely one only because of Christ. Christ is in every genuine believer, and this indwelling Christ is our real oneness. If we do not see this, we will not be able to be one with those of different nationalities and backgrounds, nor will we even be able to be one with our own spouse. Not many couples are one. Apart from Christ no human being can be one with anyone else. In other words, no two people are one without Christ. The genuine oneness is Christ. There is no oneness apart from Him.
John 17:21-23 is a deep portion of the Word. In verse 21 the Lord prayed, “That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” This verse reveals that the secret for the believers to be one is to be in the Triune God. If we are outside of the Triune God, we are not one. The genuine oneness is possible only when we are in the Triune God, not only in doctrine and position but also in experience. We have the genuine oneness when we are practically and experientially living in the Triune God. Christians do not have the genuine oneness because very few Christians live in the Triune God. They may believe that they are in the Triune God, but they do not live in the Triune God. Their walk, their daily life, and their work are altogether outside and apart from the Triune God. Therefore, although there are many genuine believers, there is no genuine oneness among them, because the genuine oneness, which is Christ Himself, is only in the Triune God.
In order to have the genuine oneness, we first need to be in the Triune God. As believers, we are all in the Triune God doctrinally and positionally, but we may not be in the Triune God experientially. If we go to a movie theater, we surely are not experientially in the Triune God. We also may not be in the Triune God in all the areas of our moment-by-moment daily living, such as our relationships with our family members or roommates. Rather than being in the Triune God experientially, we are often in our self, our choice, our preference, our flesh, our jealousy, our hatred, or our pride. Although we know that we need the genuine oneness, we often lack this oneness because we do not live in the Triune God. As long as we are not in the Triune God, the oneness among us is not secure. The genuine oneness is safeguarded and secured only by our being in the Triune God practically and experientially in our daily living.