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Last week, I gave a study called “As We Are One.” The message it presented was a simple one, a powerful one, an effective one. It was also a rarely-heard one in the borders of Christendom, which is why I believe it needs to be given as much focus as possible.
To the world, which is dying in sin, we offer them victory over that sin. We offer them a faith that results in righteousness, in holy, sanctified conduct that reveals a soul that is preparing for Heaven – that is righteousness by faith. But where that leads, while we are still on earth, is not often discussed, and that is in a covenant relationship with Yahweh the Creator, and a covenant relationship with Yahshua and His Church, Who are the Bride and Groom.
In short, the Three Angels’ Message ends in unity. That is the result of following those three messengers. The Victory over sin ends in unity. Free from sin, nothing prevents Yahweh’s people from being the united people we were always intended to be. Righteousness by Faith ends in unity. It is righteous to be connected with our fellow believers. The second great principle of the commandment is to love one’s neighbor as one’s self, and this cannot happen while remaining isolated from them. We read, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)
It is right in our Father’s eyes that we ‘dwell together in unity’ it should be no surprise, then, that the culmination of every proper interpretation of the Gospel, and every symbolic or doctrinal representation of it, should end in a single, united people. It is not a loose, disconnected, theoretical, or “in spirit only” kind of unity, but a practical, active one-ness on which the divine community is built.
The verse from which the title of these studies has been taken reveals this very thing. To quote that verse, on which last week’s study ended, “And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one.” (John 17:22)
This is one of the great equational teachings that we may draw from John 17. By that I mean, John 17 provides some of the clearest statements of truth, and Christian principles, to be found in the Bible. They are like equations; “this means that,” “the definition of such a term is this.” They leave little room for misinterpretation and therefore, they are often ignored by those who are deceived by Trinitarianism, by the doctrine of salvation in sin, and by the idea that salvation is a private, isolated experience.
For example, we read: “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Yahshua the Messiah, whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)
This tells us exactly what eternal life is; it is a genuine knowledge of the Father and Son, a true connection with Them, Who are the never-ending Source of our life. Without understanding the character of the Father and Son in a practical, “experimental” way – and remember, sanctification is all about the perfecting of the Christ-like character – life cannot endure the trials and temptations of this fallen world.
Here is another one: “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” (John 17:21)
We have talked about this before. If there is unity among the Christians, the world will come to see Yahshua in them, and individuals will have a chance to believe in Him. The reason why the world is filled with unbelievers, and with professed Christians who have only a surface-level knowledge of holiness, is explained right here in this equation. Disunity = failure. Anyone who is not promoting unity is working at cross-purposes to the work of the Creator, as Yahshua directly said, “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad.” (Mat 12:30) This is not meant to be a statement that is divisive just to be divisive; it is an observation, a statement of fact. Those who are not pressing for unity are at the very least justifying those who are against it, and who are interested at growing their own little kingdoms at the expense of the Heavenly one.
A third equational statement is the one we have just read. Again, “And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one.” (John 17:22)
The equation here is that Yahweh’s glory = unity. To receive the glory of the Father from the Son is to receive the desire and drive to be one with Them, and one with those who are one with Them. Those who are not teaching a message geared toward unity have not received the Glory. Few doctrines in the Scriptures are so direct as this.
Now, how did Christ give us His glory? It is not revealed in a single event, but is the effect of our receiving Him as Lord. He made us His disciples, even as He called some to follow Him during His earthly ministry. However, those whom He called were not immediately made holy. In fact, we have the New Testament record of Him correcting them, even rebuking them, for their misunderstandings and errors. We learn from their mistakes, so that we do not repeat them, but we have our own sanctification to follow as well. While no born-again believer will commit a willful sin, and in this we have the advantage of genuine conversion over those early disciples, we are still learning to do well, having ceased from doing evil.
Our current understanding of holiness gives us a beautiful parallel. We explain that sanctification is not gaining more faith, or more righteousness, or more power over time, but understanding more deeply the perfect faith, and righteousness, and power, that we have had from the beginning. Similarly, from the moment that Yahshua called His disciples to follow Him, they had all of Him. They had the fullness of Yahshua, in the flesh, among them. They could speak to Him about anything, ask Him any questions. They did not have “some” of Yahshua, or “a part” of Yahshua, but the entire Yahshua, with them day and night. Their understanding of Him, however, that had to grow, to develop, by seeing Him do His Father’s works, and by hearing Him teaching them day by day.
So then, the glory we have received from the Father is not “revealed” in a single event, and I said that very deliberately. The moment we are born again, Yahshua gives us the Father’s glory. We have Him, all of Him, by His indwelling Spirit, a complete gift of the Father. We must learn, though, what that means, and we do so just as the early disciples did, by coming to know Yahshua more deeply as time and experience permit. As we do so, the nature of the glory that He has given us is revealed more fully, both to us, and through us to others. At no time do we lack anything that we need. We come to see the importance of unity all the more fervently, as our knowledge of righteousness, and our realization of the effects of sin as a separating and isolating principle, increase.
Recall that at the very end of Yahshua’s ministry, we have this: “Philip saith unto Him, ‘Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.’ Yahshua saith unto him, ‘Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, “Shew us the Father?” Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself, but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me, or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father.’” (John 14:8-12)
I will return to that statement about “greater works” in a moment, but notice how Yahshua expresses some disappointment that after all this time, Philip is still asking questions that ought to have, in His estimation, an obvious answer. The Father cannot be “seen” with physical eyes, making Philip’s question – on the surface – meaningless. But to know the Father in principle, in the Spirit, this is something that Yahshua had been showing them all along. Thus, Philip’s inability to recognize all he could see of the Father in Yahshua’s character was an unpleasant admission of a lack of understanding the nature of their message.
The Father is love; therefore, His essential nature is one of unity. What Yahshua had been showing Philip and the others all along, among other things, is the importance of all believers being one in Spirit. In this, we have a parallel to EliYah’s ministry, which we examined last week. We saw that the Old Testament prophet’s work had two components, to turn the nation as a whole back to Yahweh, and to reunite the affection and alliance of the Tribes. He built two altars, one for Yahweh and one for Israel, each representing a covenant, a bond.
What we will now do is go through Yahshua’s miracles, and see how each demonstrated this grand idea, that throughout His life, Yahshua taught unity. This was a much emphasized aspect of the discipleship of His followers, and is a thread on which Paul would later pick up, describing the Church in more than one place as a single, harmonious Body, of which each member is a part. (Rom 12:4, 1Cor 10:17, Eph 2:16, Col 3:15) Those who do not understand that have missed the significance of the Gospels, and have not understood the teachings of Paul. Those who resist unity do not have the same spiritual “blood” as the rest of the Body; they do not have the same Holy Spirit that flows through all believers. This is clear… as clear as any equation.
Even before His birth, the angels that announced His appearing to the Shepherds sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) Peace to those on earth, a cessation of conflict, a harmonious state of safety, this is what the Messiah would bring.
At the very beginning of His ministry, right after His baptism, Yahshua began to draw followers from all walks of life. In the first chapter of John, we see Him gathering, in rapid succession, Andrew, Simon, Philip, and Nathaniel.
In turning water into wine, (John 2:9) Yahshua blessed the attendees at a wedding feast, a celebration of the covenant reflective of Yahweh’s relationship with mankind.
In John 4, Yahshua spoke with a Samaritan woman, a very strange thing for a Jewish man to do, and taught her that the Water of Life is for all; not just those of the Nation of Israel, but for all who will worship the Father “in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) This was an unprecedented call for unity, expanding the borders of Yahweh’s grace beyond the borders of the “Chosen People” in such a way.
Right after that, He healed a nobleman’s son by merely speaking to him, and as a result the man became a believer, “and his whole house.” (John 4:53) Both within and outside of Israel, Yahshua was calling people together.
When Yahshua healed the sick man at the Pool of Bethesda and claimed to be doing the same work as the Father, we read, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” (John 5:18) You might wonder, how does that demonstrate unity? Well, during Yahshua’s trial the nature of the Jews’ hostility was explained further: “But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him for envy.” (Mark 15:9, 10) These acts of healing, especially when done in public, drew the attention of the multitudes to Yahshua, and revealed His Father to be One who expressed love and concern for the suffering. This undermined the Pharisees’ more legalistic view of the relationship between God and man, and raised the affection of the people heavenward.
When Yahshua cast a demon out of a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue, we read, “And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they do obey Him.’ And immediately His fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.” (Mark 1:27, 28) Again, He drew the people to Himself with these acts of supernatural mercy, setting the stage for vast numbers of converts to the Church through the ministry of His disciples after His death and resurrection. Some have pointed out that in His life, Yahshua did not gather that many lasting followers, and that is true, but through His teachings and miracles, which were all centered on the principle of unity, He prepared the way to complete the work by His Spirit working within those whom He left behind.
From here, there are a significant number of healings and miracles, all with the same effect: to gather the common people, the willing together, and to shed light upon the hypocrisy and faulty principles being taught by the religious leaders of the day. We do not need to go into each one, but a couple more do stand out.
In the incident at which Yahshua cast demons out of a man and into a herd of swine, we read, “And they that kept [the swine] fled, and went their ways into the city, and told everything, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Yahshua; and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart out of their coasts.” (Mat 8:33, 34)
That seemed like it was about to go very well, until we realize that this miraculous act of healing had indeed united the people, but against Him. If we keep reading into the next chapter, though, we find this: “And He entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city. And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed, and Yahshua seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, ‘Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.’” (Mat 9:1, 2)
We may learn a significant lesson from this contrast. Despite what I have been saying, it is not enough to just say, “Unity, unity,” and think one has the right message. It must be unity, but unity on the basis and foundation of Christian character, the Law of Yahweh, and the Faith of Yahshua. At that time, at least, it was understood that the Law of Yahweh, and its extension to the health of His worshippers, forbade the flesh of swine as food. Instead of rejoicing that a member of their community had been set free, the Gergesenes were more upset at the loss of their livestock and the implied rebuke of their farming practices. By contrast, those who knew Yahshua received Him with joy and sought out His healing power. The message of Yahshua unites those who are willing to receive Him, to receive correction from Him, and to follow His example, and it also unites those who reject Him under the banner of the Enemy. These two camps cannot abide near each other, and so there is division, separation… but it is not a separation of individual from individual, church from church, or group from group. It is not separation into chaos. Satan’s message does that; his doctrines result in chaos. But the message of Yahshua, when it separates, it separates people into one of two united groups, those who love the truth, and those who do not.
One last example. In perhaps his most spectacular miracle, which demonstrated His power over death itself, Yahshua raised His friend Lazarus from the tomb. “And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Yahshua saith unto them, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’
“Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Yahshua did, believed on Him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Yahshua had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, ‘What do we? For this Man doeth many miracles. If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe on Him, and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.’” (John 11:43-48)
Here it is again, that division into two camps. Those who were willing to receive Him as Lord rejoiced at what He could do. Those who opposed Him did so because “all men will believe on Him” if they let Him continue His earthly ministry. The Pharisees well knew that Yahshua’s work was one of uniting the people; however, because this meant that they would lose their power, they conspired against Him, leading to the events that ultimately ended in His death and resurrection.
What Yahshua did, with all these miracles I have listed, and all His others as well, was to continue the work of the prophets in restoring Israel from sin. It is what EliYah did, and what John the Baptist did, acting as fore-runners of Christ Himself. But when He arrived, He did not do a different work than they did, in terms of its fundamental nature. He continued what they were doing, and laid out the path for us to continue to do what He and they did.
In the spirit and power of EliYah, in the mind and Spirit of Christ Yahshua, there is a unification. The Spirit, working through His people to prepare the way for His appearing, does the work of EliYah, John the Baptist, and others. Christ Himself is directing this, even as He concludes His final priestly tasks in the Heavenly Sanctuary. This is, indeed, a continuation of His earthly Ministry by His People, as He said, and as I said we would come back to, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father.” (John 14:12)
In our day, this saying is fulfilled. What are the things we do that are greater? What does it mean that we have come to understand, more clearly than ever before, that we have received Yahweh’s glory from His Son Yahshua? It means we have understood the nature of our work. The Apostles did not fully understand it, even though they wrote about it. The papacy certainly did not understand it. The reformers understood it in part, but they themselves broke apart, fragmented, and therefore ultimately failed to bring about the perfect character of Christ represented in His people. Remember the equation: disunity = failure. Seventh-day Adventists were beginning to understand it, and had they heard the testimony of Ellen White with divine wisdom, and willingness to be cleansed, they would have finished the work.
The work is the building of the Temple of Yahshua on the earth, a spiritual building that hangs together as one, perfectly united, and raised up on the foundation of the Commandments of Yahweh, and the Faith of Yahshua. We are the builders, and we are the building. We are the teachers, and we are the ones who are instructed. The building of this spiritual House is that for which the Son of Yah is returning, and it is a “greater work” than He did in His earthly ministry. But through that earthly work, He made it possible for us to be called, and to be converted, and to become cooperating laborers with Him. Through His sacrifice, He opened the door, and by His miracles, and by His teachings, He taught us that the banner over the door of that House must be Love, and that to enter into that door is to enter into a single, united Body, where Church membership is understood and valued, where individuality and conformity are held in their proper balance, and where the glory of Yahweh, gratefully received, introduces us to a life that is eternal in both quality and duration.
It is our work, and our great pleasure, to invite others to this experience. Unity is offered by invitation; it can never be created by force, and as I began this two-part set of studies by saying, an invitation to the Family of Yah must be the song on the lips of every evangelist. Without it, no doctrine matters, no work has merit, and no faith can ever lead to righteousness. But we have these things, and we have them in abundance. Let us go forth, therefore, and share them with the world.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“The first work of Christians is to be united in the family. Then the work is to extend to their neighbors nigh and afar off. Those who have received light are to let the light shine forth in clear rays. Their words, fragrant with the love of Christ, are to be a savor of life unto life.” [Letters and Manuscripts, Vol. 16, Manuscript 11, 1901]
“If the world sees a perfect harmony existing in the church of God, it will be a powerful evidence to them in favor of the Christian religion. Dissensions, unhappy differences, and petty church trials dishonor our Redeemer. All these may be avoided if self is surrendered to God and the followers of Jesus obey the voice of the church. Unbelief suggests that individual independence increases our importance, that it is weak to yield our own ideas of what is right and proper to the verdict of the church; but to yield to such feelings and views is unsafe and will bring us into anarchy and confusion. Christ saw that unity and Christian fellowship were necessary to the cause of God, therefore He enjoined it upon His disciples. And the history of Christianity from that time until now proves conclusively that in union only is there strength.” [Testimonies for The Church, Vol. 4, p. 19]
“Christian unity is a mighty agency. It tells in a powerful manner that those who possess it are children of God. It has an irresistible influence upon the world, showing that man in his humanity may be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We are to be one with our fellow-men and with Christ, and in Christ one with God. Then of us can be spoken the words, ‘Ye are complete in Him.’” [Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 142]