Two is always better than one.

So much can be accomplished when there’s unity. When people are welded together for a cause, they can be an indomitable force. They look out for each other by strengthening each other, for a common goal. There’s shared struggles and victories that give a sense of belonging. Strong values make it incumbent upon all parties to uphold and defend what defines them. The family unit is where we learn most about unity. The stability within the family shapes the character of each member, through communication and unity. We depend on each other but there’s one who sticks closer than our loved ones—The LORD Jesus. He taught us what it was like to be united with a loved one, and how it was the very core of His existence. 

“Disobedience is bred out of distrust.”

²⁰ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me (John 17).

The Lord Jesus did nothing apart from The Father—They were inseparable. He spoke what The Father spoke and did what He saw The Father do. As The Son of God, he exemplified unity with His Father in Love by obedience, even till His death. They had an unbroken fellowship, shared Glory and Power that was founded on Love. Christ came as a man to show us an example of how we are to relate to Our Father in Heaven. Disobedience is bred out of distrust. Lack of trust erodes love and leads to drifting away. Being one is being in agreement, which strengthens relationships. 

This heartfelt prayer The Lord made was heavy on His heart. He wanted us to be one in Him, as He was in The Father. Believing in God is one thing, but being in agreement with Him is a whole other level. Though we have learned Scripture and believed it, we have to be of one mind with The One who teaches His Word. Until we are in unity, we remain unfruitful in our knowledge. Even though Christ was God in the flesh, He intentionally humbled Himself as One who did nothing apart from God. We can only be perfect, as He says, if we are in Him as He is in The Father.  

What a privilege for the Creator of the whole Universe to long to be in us and we in Him. We share the same love and glory given to The Son of God, when we are one in Him. Just as the Son was to The Father, so are the sons and daughters of God. Why would He pray that we be one in Him? Because He wants the world to know Him through those who are found in Him: He wants us to receive of The Father the same Love He has received: The Lord Jesus is the first-born among many, but He is not a jealous sibling. He wants us to share equal privileges as children. We are living witnesses of Who Christ is by our abiding in Him. The Lord is still reaching out to the world by revealing Himself through us. God is willingly sharing the Glory He shared with His Son, with those who abide in Him. We are perfect as long as we are abiding in Him.

“Actions are proof of character.”

³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ⁵ “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If  you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples (John 15).

We are made clean by believing and doing what the Word says. But that’s not enough, because a spiritual transformation must be followed by actions that prove a change in character. We will always do what we believe is right in our own eyes. Actions are proof of character. They are fruit for all to see. Apart from Christ we can do no good thing, because He is the only perfect One. Whatever we do for our own glory falls short of His Glory. We are warned that if we choose to do life apart from Him, we are going to be cast out as unprofitable, then wither as dead branches that are slated for destruction. 

Those who abide in Christ will bear much fruit because they allow Him to be the life in them, by submission. The fruit is the Character of Christ for all to see. By this The Father is glorified; when we let more and more of Christ’s likeness be our likeness. We believe the Word as God’s perspective on how we live, but we never live this life apart from the One who gave it to us. 

“Abiding in Christ is casting off the old nature in Adam.”

¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. ¹⁶ And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. ¹⁷ For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (Romans 5).

We all began in Adam. His sin led to the judgement of all mankind as a people incapable of obedience. God had all creation under judgement, but also had all creation under Grace by One Man, Jesus Christ His Son. An old creation abides in Adam, a new creation abides in Christ. While one remains under judgement for disobedience, the other is justified by Grace for disobedience.. Which camp are you in? Those who abide in Adam, abide in condemnation, but those who have received abundant Grace are those who exchange their life in Adam, for the Life of Christ. One man’s sin led to the condemnation of many, while One Man’s obedience gave justification for many through repentance. 

See, the seed of Adam makes excuses for sin, shifts blame to Eve and others, but those in Christ believe they are sinners in need of grace, and seek reconciliation by repentance, and newness in the Son. They are grieved by their sin, and want no association with the likeness of Adam. Abiding in Christ is casting off the old nature in Adam. Christ imputed to us His Righteousness because we were wanting.

“We are perfect as long as we are abiding in Him.”

¹⁸ For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2) .

Through the Spirit of The Risen Lord Jesus Christ, we are made one with Him. His Spirit dwelling in us, gives us access to the Father as He has access. We are made one in Him as He is in The Father. Just as children who have the DNA of their parents make them siblings, we become one household with other believers. As we are one in Christ we become one with other believers; one faith, One Spirit, One Savior, One God and Father. Only in Christ can any group of people truly live in unity for the betterment of others. This is because Christ is expressing Himself through each individual and is also making His presence dwell among them. They are not expressing themselves and their ambitions, but He is. So, they don’t see differences in each other, but likeness. 

The Body of Christ—The Church, is the only community in the world that will outlive others in unity and love, with no barriers of nationality, race, political hue, education, profession or financial status. Like every family, they have disagreements but still remain united in Christ alone. The Church is the dwelling of God among His people. The Church is not confined to four walls; but is a people who abide in Christ and are united in their love for Him and each other. This is the place where all people from all walks of life, with all sorts of checkered pasts, can have a sense of belonging. 

“It’s a lifetime commitment to live in Christ. “

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. ⁴⁶ I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness (John 12). 

Believing in Christ means believing in God. There’s no other God but the God in Christ Jesus. If we have learned from Him we have learned from The Father. We can’t believe One without the Other. He does not abide in darkness but light. Those who abide in Christ must walk in the light and not in darkness; they must do the things of light and leave off those of darkness. Sin has to be confined to darkness. Those who believe their existence now is in Christ should not abide in darkness but move out of it. They should not continue to do the things that corrupt, but shun evil. It’s a lifetime commitment to live in Christ. It’s a choice between light and darkness in our thinking and conduct. 

Unity with our Lord is agreement with Him. It makes us one, He in us and we in Him. We are no longer in Adam but in Christ; justified by His Grace in our daily repentance, so that our fellowship remains unbroken. Our character becomes fruit for all to see; the nature of Christ in place of our own self-will. We are united with other fellow believers by love, as a dwelling of God’s Presence. The Holy Spirit makes us one household with access to our Heavenly Father. When we pray, we receive what we ask, because we keep His Word, and abide in Him. We have everything in Christ to be fruitful and glorify The Father.  We believe that we are those who were chosen in The Lord Jesus Christ before the foundations of the Earth. Privileged to show God’s Grace and Glory; equipped with everything in Christ to live by Him, as beloved sons and daughters: Being made perfectly One in Him.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. ⁴ Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself; according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1).