Christian Fellowship

John 17:18-23; I Corinthians 1:1-3; 12:4-7, 12, 13

GOLDEN TEXT: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one.”—John 17:20,21

JESUS’ prayer for the oneness of His church would appear not to be answered were we to judge upon the basis of Christendom’s divided condition today. Paul’s reference to the many members of the one body does not refer to many denominations which all belong to Christ, but to individual Christians whose hearts and lives are fully surrendered to the will of their Master. It cannot be used, therefore, to cover up the spirit of division which exists among the professed people of God.

Yet we cannot suppose that the Master’s inspired prayer has gone, or will go, unanswered. The prayers which are not answered are those out of harmony with the divine will. James explains this point, saying, “Ye ask, and receive not because ye ask amiss.” (Jas. 4:3) But it cannot be supposed that Jesus asked “amiss” when He prayed that His followers all be “one.”

And the objective of this oneness is important to keep in mind “that the world may believe.” Without doubt the unbelief of the world is attributable, to some extent at least, to the disunited front of the professed Christian churches. But even if Christendom could be united and present to the people a super world organization, it would not be the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer for unity. It is doubtful also if such a world organization would be especially convincing to unbelievers.

Jesus foretold (in the parable of the Wheat and Tares) that there were to be imitation Christians as well as genuine ones, and His prayer for unity was not concerned with the nominal believers represented by the tares, but with the true, the wheat class. Each one of these is united with Christ, the Head of the true church, and by virtue of this is also united with one another. There have never at any time been very many of these in the world, but to the extent that they have had contact with one another a wonderful spirit of unity has existed among them.

But this only partially fulfils the concept of the Master’s prayer. The real fulfillment will be when the complete church, exalted to heavenly glory, is united with Him as His bride, and shares with Him the work of dispensing Kingdom blessings to all mankind. This complete, divinely planned unity of Christ and the church will indeed result in convincing the unbelieving world, for, under the direction of this heavenly Kingdom class, the knowledge of the glory of God will be caused to fill the whole earth as the waters cover the sea. (Isa. 11:9; Hab. 2:14) Thus will blind eyes be opened to the truth, and all shall know the Lord from the least even unto the greatest.—Jer. 31:34

Those who entertain a hope of sharing in the united Kingdom work of the future will endeavor to practice the spirit of unity now. The fact that the professed followers of the Master are divided is not a legitimate excuse for yielding to the spirit of disunity and separating ourselves from our brethren over trivial matters. We should not compromise the fundamentals of Christian doctrine and practice in order to associate with others, neither should we separate ourselves from our brethren simply because they do not see eye to eye with us on nonessential interpretations of the Scriptures.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (chapter 12) reminds us that unity among brethren does not imply that they should all have the same kind of service in the church. God has placed the members in the “body” as it pleased Him. That is true of the church in the flesh and will also be true of the church in glory. Much of the spirit of disunity manifested among Christians is due to their failure to be guided by this fact.

We should not allow personality, selfishness and jealousy to separate us from the brethren. If in God’s providence others have work to do for Him which we feel should be our privilege, this should not be allowed to engender bitterness in our hearts which, sooner or later, might cause us to leave the fellowship of the saints. We can’t all do what we would like to do. If our faith in God is strong we will realize that His wisdom knows what is best for us and we will endeavor to render faithful service in the place where His providence has indicated we should be.

Worldwide Christian fellowship is a wonderful ideal. It is approximated by brethren enjoying the knowledge of Present Truth. These may travel where they will and wherever they find their brethren they find friends with whom they can enjoy sweet fellowship. When the true knowledge of God fills the whole earth this same condition will prevail among all peoples and races. Thus will the spirit of God be victorious over the spirit of Satan.

QUESTIONS:

Are the many members of Christ’s body individuals or groups?

How will Christ’s prayer for unity be answered?

Should Christians allow trivial matters to cause divisions among them?

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