Daily Bread

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

They May Be One As We Are One

Date: Jul. 5, 2024

Passage

John 17:20-26

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Key Verse: John 17:22

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,

Jesus prayed for his future disciples (us) to be one. This unity does not refer to social unity. It is the unity of believers whom Jesus has redeemed through his blood. Everyone needs unity with our Father God and the Son, submitting their self-centered desires to God’s will and having the same spirit, love, and purpose of Christ. When we are transformed in Christ from what we were, we will see the world from God’s perspective and live according to God’s words and will. We will be one as the Father and the Son are one. The unity of believers from all walks of life is a witness of Jesus Christ to others.

Jesus prayed also that we would be with him in the kingdom to come. He really wanted to share his glory with us. What a glorious day it will be as we shall see his glory and share in it.

Jesus also prayed for us to continue to know the Father. The goal in the Christian life is to grow in our relationship with God, for this is eternal life through Jesus Christ (3). Jesus promised that he would continue to make God known to us and that he himself would come to dwell in us.

Prayer: Lord, help me to pursue Christian unity and come to know you ever more.

One Word: Unity in Christ

A Covenant Sealed in Blood

Exodus 24:1-18

Key Verse: 24:8

And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

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