There are many prayers recorded in the scriptures, but there is one that stands out from the rest in a couple ways. In Jn 17, Jesus is praying to the Father. It isn't that He is teaching the disciples to pray, as he did in what is commonly referred to as "the Lord's prayer," but He is actually addressing the Father. Now, although Jesus frequently prayed, there are not many instances where the words of His prayers are recorded, but here, they are recorded in detail; and that alone is significant. More than that, while prayers in scripture will often apply generally to us today, in verses 20 and 21 we find that Jesus is specifically praying for us! The creator of Heaven and Earth was praying for you and me! But what was He asking for? Jesus prayed, "I do not ask on behalf of these alone [i.e. the apostles], but for those also who believe in Me through their word [that would be you and me]; that they may all be one; even 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 sent Me." Jesus prayed for unity among His children--and that unity would provide evidence that Jesus is the Christ.
One of the saddest things we see in the religious world today is division amongst those who claim to be a part of the body of Christ. That division is evident simply by the number of denominations within the world today; but in fact, even within particular denominations there are divisions--as we can see by the recent issues within the Episcopal Church. There was a great deal of conflict within that denomination over whether they should appoint an openly homosexual priest as a bishop; and now that they have, it appears that there is a rift between the parties that may be unable to heal. Jesus prayed for unity among Christians; and if unity helps others to believe as we see in v21, then division is a hindrance in the cause of Christ.
The fact is, as Christians, we must be united. The church in Corinth in the first century had a number of problems; among them was division. They were dividing into parties, saying that they were followers of Paul, Apollos, Peter, or Christ; but that should never have been. In 1 Cor 1:10, Paul wrote in some of the strongest language that he could, "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (i.e. by His authority), that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment."
You see, Paul knew the destructive nature of division within the local church. Jesus Himself referred to that general principle when He said, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand." And so, when he wrote to a group of congregations that apparently had issues with division, in Gal 5:15 Paul warned the brethren, "...if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another." In that same chapter, Paul identified some behaviors that would show whether one was growing in Christ or not; and of the fifteen negative behaviors mentioned, four of them dealt with divisiveness.
Writing to another congregation in Phil 2:1,2, Paul exhorted, "Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion [and the answer to each of those thoughts is, of course, yes], make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose." How much more emphatic could he be? Division among brethren was a great concern to Paul.
Yet scripture doesn't only point out the problem of division; it also tells of the cure for it. After having told the Philippians in verses one and two to be of the same mind and maintain the same love, united in spirit and intent on one purpose, he continues, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves..." If we truly want to become united, if we want to rid ourselves of division, then we are going to have to lower our opinion of ourselves with respect to our brother. We have to think of our brother first. Paul then emphasizes his point by commanding, "...do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."
In his letter to the Ephesians, 4:1-3, he wrote, "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Walking in humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance will go a long way in bringing about and maintaining unity, if it is motivated by love.
Now, for many, that alone would be the cure for division--that would bring about unity right there. If only we would be tolerant enough, we could all get along; yet, there is more to achieving unity than simply being tolerant of our differences. Really, that kind of tolerance--"peace at any price"--would not be motivated by love; but rather, by apathy. That kind of tolerance means that we'd stand beside one another; but we would not be united--we would not be one.
But Paul is not speaking of "peace at any price"; rather, he is asking us to be willing to sacrifice both our opinions and our liberties. In Rom 14, after talking about differences of opinion, in v13 he concludes, "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore..." In other words, don't condemn each other because of opinions. Then he continues, "...but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way." There might be something that we do that is not sin in and of itself; for instance, eating meat. There is no sin in eating meat; but what if my brother thought there was, and by eating it I caused him to go against his conscience (which is sin)? Paul wrote that I should forego my liberty in that case so I wouldn't cause my brother to sin--I shouldn't eat meat.
But there is a difference between opinion, liberty, and doctrine--we dare not sacrifice doctrine. You see, the second unifying factor that we find in scripture regards the scriptures themselves. The writers of the scriptures claimed inspiration--that is, God directed what they were to say. In 1 Thess 2:13, Paul wrote, "For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe."
If, as Paul assured them, he revealed to them the word of God, and that word is recorded in scripture, then we must be careful with how we ourselves handle the word--knowing that it is sacred, and we have no right to change it. As Peter commanded in 1 Peter 4:11: "Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God..." We must study it, understand it, and share it just as it is--not twist it, add to or take from it. Scripture is the unchanging standard of right and wrong, and we can be unified by it as well.
That being the case, we find that there is a time for division. In 2 Tim 3:16,17, Paul, speaking of the Old Testament scriptures, but equally applicable to the New, said that "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." You see, not only is scripture the only standard of truth, but as such, it is to be used for teaching what the truth is, and if a brother is in error, for correction. While we can and must be tolerant of each other's opinions, we can't afford to tolerate sin and error. If we love someone, we will tell him if he stands in danger, and not simply tolerate our differences. His soul is at stake!
Scripture teaches that we, as children of God, are to be united with one another; and if we have that proper spirit of humility and love, we can both achieve and maintain that unity. As the psalmist David wrote so long ago, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" (Psa 133:1)
Yet that unity cannot be one of complete toleration; while we have to be willing to yield our opinions, and to forego our liberties, we can never be willing to tolerate sin and error. We should seek unity; but it is far better to be divided because of truth, than to be united in spite of error. Even so, may we strive with all our hearts to understand God's word, so that if division should come, we stand on the side of truth.
