SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/24/2017
9:11 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Request
for True Unity
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: John 17:21a
Message of the
verses: “that they may all be one.”
We have been talking about unity and stated that the
unity of the believers that Jesus is praying for here in John 17 is different
from the unity that Paul speaks of in his letters, a unity that speaks of
believers getting along in the local church.
In this section from these few words in verse 21 Jesus is praying for
the Holy Spirit unity which we will talk about in a bit. What is the true unity that Jesus is praying
for here? John MacArthur writes “Despite
their outward denominational differences, all Christians are spiritual united
by regeneration in their belief that salvation is by grace through faith alone,
in Christ alone, and their commitment to the absolute authority of Scripture.” This is what the heart and the soul of the
gospel is all about, and this is what all true believers believe, and as
mentioned in an earlier SD from our study in the book of Colossians where Paul
was teaching these truths in order for those in the Colossian church could
understand true Christianity. I
mentioned in that SD that a banker does not study counterfeit money in order to
be able to spot it, but they know everything there is to know about true money
so when they see something that is not true they can understand it. The quote from John MacArthur speaks of what
true born-again believers believe and so if one runs into a person who says
that they are a Christian and does not believe the things he wrote which come
from the Scriptures then you will be able to know that they probably are not a
true believer.
John MacArthur quotes D. A. Carson who notes that the
unity for which Christ prayed “is not achieved by hunting enthusiastically for
the lowest common theological denominator, buy by common adherence to the apostolic gospel,
by love that is joyfully self-sacrificing, by undaunted commitment to the
shared goals of the mission with which Jesus’ followers have been charged.” MacArthur adds “By the power of God,
believers, united in spiritual life, are also united in purpose, share the same
mission, proclaim the same gospel, and manifest the same holiness.”
The answer to Christ’s prayer is seen at the beginning of
the Church when we read in Acts 2:4 about the beginning of the church age “And
they [the disciples] were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” Peter’s great sermon came shortly after this
as the church age began, fulfilling Christ’s prayer. Everyone who has been saved since then have
immediately received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and that baptism of the
Holy Spirit places believers into the body of Christ, “For by one Spirit we
were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or
free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13).” Now because of this there is a extraordinary,
supernatural unity in the universal church, which as we began with is the unity
of the Holy Spirit which is written about in Ephesians 4:4-6 “4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also
you were called in one
hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one
faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father
of all who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us
grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” If you count the “one’s) you will find out
that there are seven of them which speak of the Holy Spirit unity that every
believer has in Christ.
1.
“One body” and
this is the body of Christ that composes of every believer since the church
began in Acts chapter two.
2.
“One Spirit”
and this speaks of the Holy Spirit and if it were not for Him no one could be
saved as they are not able on their own to believe in Jesus Christ “Therefore I
make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus
is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the
Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3).” We mentioned
that it is the Holy Spirit who baptizes all believers into the body of
Christ. “"As for me, I baptize you
with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I,
and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11).”
3.
“One hope” and
this is the promised eternal inheritance guaranteed to each and every believer
by the Holy Spirit as seen in Ephesians 1:13-14: “13 In
Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of
promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance,
with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His
glory.”
4.
“One Lord” and
this of course is the Lord Jesus Christ as He is the sole head of the body as
seen in Colossians 1:18 “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have
first place in everything.” (See also
Acts 4:12; and Romans 10:12).
5.
“One faith” “Beloved,
while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt
the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed
down to the saints (Jude 3).”
6.
“One baptism.” John MacArthur writes “This probably refers
to water baptism, the believer’s public confession of faith in Jesus Christ. (Holy
Spirit baptism is implied in v. 5).”
7.
“One God and
Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” God who is the One
true Sovereign God rules everything including over the church.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: How could I not be thankful for the answered
prayer that Jesus prayed for that we see was answered and by God’s grace I have
this unity that Christ prayed for.
My Steps of Faith For Today:
Trust that the Lord will bless
everything about our evening that is planned for us as we meet with some
believers who are doing a wonderful job is spreading the gospel all over the
world, and also the possibility that my son may begin to work for them.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “He asked for a double portion
of Elijah’s spirit” (2 Kings 2:9).
Today’s Bible
question: “How long did Felix keep Paul imprisoned?
Answer in our next SD.
3/24/2017 9:59 AM
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