Unity (Part 3) The Purpose Of His Glory

Review (P1 and P2 in this series):
Unity – The Place of Anointing, Refreshing, And The Commanded Blessing
Unity – The Key To World Impact
Book of Acts – Unity At Work
Unity – An Intentional Effort
Unity Happens When We All Walk In Humility

Causes of breakdown in unity and what would be some of the ‘cures’ :

• ‘Positionalism’ - The mother of James and John
• ‘Stubbornness’ - Paul and Barnabas
• Cliques, Factions - The Corinthian Church

Today: Unity – The Purpose of His Glory

John 17:20-23

In verses 21 and 23, the Lord Jesus expresses that us being one is key to world impact.
21  that they all may be one, ...that the world may believe that You sent Me.
23  ...that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know....

And in between these two verses, in vs 22, He describes how we will all be one:
Vs 22 “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:”

The reason the Lord Jesus shared His Sonship glory with us, is so that we may be one.

KEY POINT:
It is walking in and manifesting His glory – that makes us all one.
We look at this from two perspectives:
1, From the inner working of the glory of God within us : defining who we are – the LIFE we live
2, From the outward working of the glory of God through us : defining what we do – the MINISTRY we carry out

1, From the inner working of the glory of God within us : defining who we are
His glory within us is like having His DNA, His character, His nature within us.
We are all to look like HIM. (Romans 8:29)
His glory within us transforms us to be like Him. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Our oneness comes because all of us are “like Him” – walking like Him.

1 John 2:6

When we walk as Christ walked, in His character, His purity, His humility, His compassion, etc. we are walking in the glory of God.

The question I need to ask myself moment by moment, in the decisions I make, in the choices, in the words, etc. – is this an expression of His DNA? Is this what Jesus would do? Does this represent Him?

2, From the outward working of the glory of God through us : defining what we do
Our oneness comes not from a particular teaching, from a particular denomination, from a particular movement – but from all of us manifesting the same glory of God  - in character and power.

In ministry, I need to ask myself, does this manifest who Jesus really is and what He would really do in this situation to address this need?

A closer look at the Early Church :
Book of Acts – Unity At Work
Several times the phrase “one accord” is used to describe what God was doing among believers:

Acts 1:14  These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
…and they prepared themselves for the receiving of the outpouring of the Spirit.

Acts 2:1  When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
…and they received the outpouring of the Spirit and the New Testament church was born.

Acts 2:46  So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
…and they saw the rapid growth of the Church, many being saved. They saw a great move of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 4:24  So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
…and they saw God work great signs and wonders.

Acts 5:12  And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch.
…and they continued to see great signs and wonders and many were added into the Kingdom of God.

(Please refer to the APC publication “A Church In Revival” PDF available online for the following points)
Some of the key characteristics of the Early believers walking in “Sonship glory” can be seen in the following:

•     Birthed in Unity and Prayer
•     Continued Daily in What the Lord was Releasing into Their Midst
•     Sense of Community—Sharing Together

•     Rapid Growth of the Church
•     Notable Miracles that Cause Continued Growth of the Church
•     Not Devoid of Internal Problems

The Early Church was not devoid of problems. We look at two of the earliest challenges that confronted the Church.

Acts 6 : There was a problem where the Greek speaking Jews and the Hebrew speaking Jews had a problem with each other, that the food distribution to their elderly was not fair. The apostles resolved this problem and the church moved on. The church kept growing.

Acts 15 : There was the doctrinal issue, whether the Gentiles who became believers had to also follow Jewish customs. Here again, the apostles and elders met at Jerusalem, arrived at a decision led by the Holy Spirit, and move on.

Acts 15:25  it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
…and they established the counsel of the Lord for the future growth of the Church.

The Early Church affected their then known world. They turned their world upside down.

If we as believers will learn to walk in the “Sonship glory” given to us, we will be able to flow together as one – and together we will impact our world for Jesus Christ!