LET US ALL BE ONE FOR CHRIST'S SAKE

Acts 16:16-34; Revelation 22:12-21; John 17:20-26

Introduction

Our reflection today is a simple yet powerful call: “Let us all be one for Christ’s sake.” Not for our sake. Not for politics. Not even for peace, as the world seeks. But for Christ’s sake, because He prayed for it, He died for it, and He lives for it.

Oneness for Christ's sake emphasizes the importance of unity and love among believers, inspired by the example of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible. It is a call to strive for a unified spirit and practice actions that reflect Christ's teachings and examples.

Think of this: Do you see the "Church" as one today?

Do we, as the Body of Christ, reflect the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17?

Oneness for the Sake of Christ's High Priestly Prayer

Reflecting on the words of Jesus, just hours before His crucifixion, in John 17, He prays—not just for His disciples, but for all "who will believe" through their witness. That means us. You and me. He says:

“That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.” (John 17:21)

What a staggering prayer! Jesus is actually asking the Father that we, the Church, be united with each other as closely as the Son is united to the Father. That is beyond organizational or institutional unity. That is spiritual, life-sharing, intimate unity. Remember how Jesus described His oneness with the Father,

 

"Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father... I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me. The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work."

(John 14:9-10) 

So why is this unity so important?

“So that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

(John 17:21b)

The unity of the Church is not just an option, it is a mission call. Our credibility in the eyes of the world depends on our love and unity. When the world sees Christians divided by race, denomination, pride, and self-interest, they have every reason to doubt our Gospel. This is the greatest impediment to the gospel in our dispensation.

I love the statement from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one who resisted the Nazi regime said, “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others.”

Oneness is not an option for the Christian, it is our witness.

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Oneness for the sake of Christ's Freedom

The story of Paul and Silas in prison gives us a living picture of how God’s power brings people together.

Paul and Silas are beaten, imprisoned, and fastened in stocks. But what do they do?

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”

(Acts 16:25)

In the darkest of circumstances, they lift their voices together. And what happens next? An earthquake shakes the prison. Chains fall off. Doors fly open. But no one escapes. Instead, Paul stops the jailer from harming himself and says, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” (v. 28)

"We are all here." That’s the voice of unity, Jews and Gentiles, prisoners and free men, oppressors and the oppressed, all now freed by the mercy of God.

The jailer asks, “What must I do to be saved?”

And Paul replies:

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

(v. 31)

And then the walls separating them vanish. The division now diminishes. Their differences now gets buried. The jailer washes their wounds. He feeds them. He is baptized that night, with his entire family together.

The Gospel has the power to create unity where there was none. Unity, born not out of documentation but out of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. 

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Oneness for the Sake of the Vision

In Revelation, we see the culmination of Christ’s work. A vision of a world restored, a Church unified in glory.

“Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Rev. 22:17)

Who is invited here? Everyone, no restrictions, no divisions. No class, no race, no status. Only one who hears, who is thirsty and one who is willing.

And Jesus says:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (v. 13)

In other words, I am the center and the circumference of your life. I am the author of your life. Christ holds it all together, our past, present, and future. Unity in the Church begins when Christ is made the center of every individual life. When we all orbit Him, we are naturally drawn closer to one another.

C.S. Lewis puts it, “When we are drawn nearer to God, we are drawn nearer to one another." He adds, "If you want to get warm, you must draw near the fire."

If Christ is the fire, then drawing closer to Him inevitably draws us closer to each other. If you draw closer to Christ, and I also do same, we are consciously or unconsciously drawn together.

The call to oneness as Christians is only fulfilled as we individually draw near to Christ. Look at it this way: Like the magnet, when it draws magnetic materials to itself, they invariably become one.

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What Does it Mean to be "One for Christ's Sake"?

It does not mean uniformity. In fact, unity is not sameness. It is about the bridge we lay in our differences. For instance, consider your Congregation—different ages, cultures, political views, gifts, skills, talents. That’s the beauty of the Body of Christ.

It means loving one another despite our differences. Our differences must bridge us but not to break us.

It means when you hear gossip, you shut it down.

It means when someone offends you, you forgive, not because it’s easy, but because Christ has forgiven you.

It means bearing with one another in love.

It means choosing reconciliation over being right.

It means you chose relationship over ego.

John Stott said, “We must be ready to break with every loyalty which would hinder our total loyalty to Christ.”

That includes our loyalty to cliques, ideologies, tribes, principles, and factions that divide the Body of Christ.

Precious one, let me ask you: 

Will you seek oneness for Christ’s sake?

Will you lay down your pride, your prejudices, your grudges?

Will you forgive as you have been forgiven?

Will you pursue unity—not as a strategy, but as a sacrament of obedience?

I invite you to pray with Jesus, saying, “Make us one, Father.”

Conclusion

“Let us all be one for Christ’s sake.”

Not for comfort. Not for appearances. But for the love of Jesus, who died not just to save you, but to make you a part of His Body.

Shalom aleikhem...