In this oneness with the Triune God, we have oneness with one another. This is the oneness of the Body of Christ. This oneness is unique, that is, unique in the Triune God. It is also unique in the organism of the Triune God, which is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). The Body of Christ is altogether organic. It is not an organization. We are the church to be the organic Body of Christ not by being organized, but by being enlivened, regenerated, and made alive with the Triune God as the oneness within us. No one can divide this oneness. Although Satan has divided many in Christianity, he can never divide the organic Triune God as the very essence of the oneness within us.
The Lord prayed in John 17 for this unique, organic oneness, a oneness totally of and in the divine life (vv. 2-3). We have pointed out in the past that the new way of meeting and serving for the building up of the Body of Christ is the way of life, whereas the old way is the way of organization. Today’s Christianity is a religious organization. The Body of Christ, however, is altogether a matter of life. Our physical body is not an organization, but an organism. Likewise, the Body of Christ, the church, is the unique organism of the Triune God. A wooden stand is made of pieces of wood organized together into one entity. Our physical body, however, is not organized but organic. Our body is built up by growing because it is an organism full of life. The Body of Christ is also an organism built up by the growth of the divine life.
Because our physical body is organic, we sometimes feel weak or sick. Even though we do not always feel happy about the condition of our body, we still have to nourish, cherish, and take care of it. The reason why the church life is not always so easy is because it is organic. New believers may declare how good and how marvelous the church life is. However, the church life may be good to them for only a short period of time, a “honeymoon” time. We do not always feel so happy in the church life, but we must take care of the church life organically just as we take care of our physical body. Our oneness in the church life is an organic oneness in the divine life, and we must care for this life.
After the Lord Jesus lived and accomplished His ministry in thirty-three and a half years, He prayed for the oneness of the Body of Christ, for the oneness of the believers. The Lord’s prayer in John 17 is the conclusion of His life and ministry on this earth. He did not pray such a prayer at the beginning of His ministry. The Lord prayed for the oneness at the end of His ministry because He had sown the seed of life into His disciples. By themselves and in themselves the disciples could never have been one. James and John were called “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). How could a son of thunder be one with others? After the Lord Jesus sowed Himself as the seed of life into His disciples, He prayed for their oneness in the eternal life. Peter, James, and John did not realize that Jesus had sown Himself as the spiritual seed of life into them. Based upon His sowing, He prayed, “Father...glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You, even as You have given Him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him” (John 17:1-2). The oneness of the believers is in the eternal life.
In His prayer the Lord revealed that the oneness of the believers is also in the name of the unique Father (John 17:6, 11-12, 26). Although the disciples did not realize it at that time, the Lord infused into them the name of the Father. It is very intimate to call God, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). When we realize that God the Father is within us, we feel He is very intimate. The sweet title “Abba, Father” has been made fully known to us in an experiential way because we have His life. Now we are one in Him by His life.
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