The matter of oneness is a common topic among Christians today. We are one not because we have common concepts, similar interests, and the same goal, nor because we are doing the same kind of work. Though there is a oneness that arises from the factors people have in common, this is not the genuine oneness. Any unity other than the genuine oneness is a oneness in division. For example, there is a oneness to be found among Catholics, or Presbyterians, or those engaged in a Christian work; without some kind of oneness people could not work together.
Outside of Christ there is no true oneness. Every true believer has Christ within. Apart from Him no two human beings are truly one. There is no need to say that the Chinese cannot be one with the Americans, nor the French with the Germans; even the Yankees cannot be one with the Texans! To come even closer to home, what husband and wife are one apart from Christ? He is the only real oneness.
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” (John 17:21). The secret for believers to be one is for them to be in the Triune God. Christians do not have the genuine oneness because they are not living in Him, though positionally they are in Him.
In the next verse, John 17:22, the Lord prayed further about the oneness: “And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one.” What glory is referred to here? There is something in the universe that is called the glory of the Triune God. The glory that the Father gave the Son, the Son has given to the believers for the very purpose of their all being one. Whatever glory means, it is surely something just of God. Glory is God expressed. When we are in the expression of God, we are one. Electricity is hidden until we turn the lights on. The shining lights then become one in the glory, the expression, of electricity.
To have the genuine oneness, you must be in the Triune God. Positionally and doctrinally all believers are surely in Him. In experience, however, where are you? Are you in the Triune God in your daily living? in your family life? in your relationship with your mother-in-law? when it’s your turn to wash the dishes? Most of the time, we must admit, we are in ourselves-in our choice, our preference, our flesh, in jealousy, hatred, or pride. While we may be aware that we need to be in the genuine oneness, we cannot attain this because we do not live in the Triune God.
Over these many years I have seen a good many saints who really loved the Lord come into the recovery, stay for a while, and then leave to become part of some division. There were even some dear Christian co-workers on the mainland of China who went out from us to set up a division. The simple reason for such a regrettable departure was that they failed to live in the Triune God. If you are not in fear and trembling to live in Him day after day, the time may come when you too will cause a division.
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