All the Three of the Triune God are one. That is the real oneness and that must be the pattern of our oneness. The Three of the Triune God are one in the divine life, in the divine nature, and in the divine glory. We, the many sons of God, must also be one in the divine life, in the divine nature, and in the divine glory. We must be one in the same way as the Three of the Triune God are.
The believers are one in the Father’s name by the eternal life. To be one in the Father’s name is not to be kept in oneness by means of a title. Suppose there are five brothers in the flesh. They were all born of one father and have the same life. The life which they have received from their father is the reality of their father. Their father is real to them because they have his life. Perhaps these brothers are unhappy with one another and despise one another. What should they do? Should they separate and be divided? No, although they are unhappy with one another and may despise one another, deep within them is something that holds them together and causes them to say, “Brothers, we have one father and should not be divided. We must be one.” In this way they are kept in oneness in the name of their father. Actually, however, they are kept by the father’s life. Although they may be unhappy with one another and may desire to separate, the life of their father within them joins them together. Deep within, they love one another. When ever one of them is attacked, the others stand as one to fight against the attacker. Likewise, the Father’s name, the reality of which is the Father’s life, keeps His children one.
However, if the Father’s children allow their mentality to overcome and overshadow their inner life, they will be divided. The Father’s life unites them and keeps them in oneness, but their mentality divides them. Christians today are divided by their big mentality. While their mentality is overdeveloped, their stature in life is that of a dwarf. The more developed you are in your mentality, the more you are a dwarf as far as life is concerned. This overdevelopment of the mentality is the cause of division. If we allow the inner life to develop, we shall all be united in the life of the Father. If we stay in the Father’s life, we shall all be one.
Any person in a local church who considers himself quite smart in his mentality will be a main cause of division. Never consider yourself smart in your mentality. You must fear your smart mind just as you fear the poison of the serpent. Oh, how we need to be kept in the Father’s life! Many brothers in the flesh love one another, not according to the outward condition but according to their inward blood. I had four brothers. Although we sometimes fought with each other, whenever someone tried to injure us, we were immediately united because we were of one blood. Likewise, the life of the Father, which is the reality of genuine oneness, unites us. Do not care for your likes or dislikes. Your feelings may cause you to be unhappy with me, and my temper may cause me to be unhappy with you. But we must forget about such things and take care of the inner life. Deep within, you have the Father’s life, and I have it too. We all have the Father’s life, and by the eternal life of our Father we are one.
We are one in the Father’s name by enjoying the Father Himself. As the children of God, we all have the same Father. But when we are not one with one another, we do not have the sense that we are enjoying the Father. The more we are one by His life, the more we have the sense that the Father is so enjoyable. When we are together calling, “O Father,” it is so sweet. Suppose, however, we fight and are divided into many groups. In such a situation, when we try to call, “O Father,” we lose the sense of the sweetness of the Father’s name. The sweet flavor of the Father’s name relies upon the oneness of His children. When we are one, we enjoy the Father.
The first aspect of oneness, which is the building up of the believers, is the oneness in the Father’s name by His divine life. In this aspect of oneness the believers born of the Father’s life enjoy the Father’s name, that is, the Father Himself, as the factor of their oneness. We are one because we have one Father. We not only have one God but one Father. This 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.
The first ground and reason for our oneness is that we all are sons of God having the same divine life and that God is the Father of us all. Because God is your Father and mine, we are of the same family, the family of God. You are an American and I am a Chinese, yet we can call one another brother. This is so dear and intimate. In fact, I do not sense such an intimacy with my own brother in the flesh. The Lord can testify this for me. Why is this true? Because we were all born of the same Father, have the same life, and are brothers in that life. We are not brothers-in-law—we are brothers in life. Praise the Lord that we are brothers in the Father’s life! For this reason, we must be one. There is no reason for us not to be one, for we are one family having the same Father and the same life. Therefore, we have the real brotherhood in life. In this life we all must be and can be one.
In verse 13 the Lord said to the Father, “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world that they may have My joy made full in themselves.” The fullness of joy is in the real oneness. When we are one in the Father’s name by the Father’s life, enjoying the Father together, we shall have the Lord’s joy made full in us. This is the reason that when we are truly one, we are filled with praises to the Father. This praise is simply the overflow of the inner joy. We rejoice in oneness with the overflow of joy.