Hearing His Voice #31

[Jesus said,] “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me.”

John 17:22-23

Normally, Jesus’ prayer for oneness is seen as a call for Christian unity. When He says, “so they may be one,” we instinctively add the words “with each other.” It certainly includes that, but it’s more. We can just as easily add the words “with Me” and understand this as a prayer for oneness with God Himself. After all, the rest of the sentence implies something far more supernatural and mystical than we’re accustomed to. Jesus is praying that we may be one with Him in the very same way that He is one with the Father.

How is Jesus one with the Father? In motives, in desires, in mission and purpose, in character and attributes, and even in substance. He has already made that clear in His teachings: “The Father and I are one,” He said to an infuriated crowd (John 10:30). Now He prays for that kind of oneness with us. It’s an invitation into the fellowship of the Trinity. We are united at our very core with the life of God Himself.

So when Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesy a new heart, and Acts describes the coming of the Spirit, and Paul says that it’s God working within us, the picture we get is far more than a new set of motives and desires. It’s an inner union between us and the substance of God. The practical aspects of this union aren’t inevitable—many Christians live in rebellion or apathy—but they are certainly available. We can truly know that He is powerfully dwelling in us and that His life within us has very practical implications. One of those implications is that the Word Himself speaks. Within. Almost constantly. And we can hear because this is why He came.

Jesus, fulfill this union in every way possible. Let me have Your heartbeat and breathe Your breath. And may Your voice flow through me and out of me constantly.