That They May All Be One | Frontline Faith

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Scripture • World English Bible

John 17:20–26

WEB

²⁰“Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word,

²¹that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.

²²The glory which you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one,

²³I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.

²⁴Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.

²⁶I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain

Reflection

In the quiet prayer Jesus offers in John 17, his concern stretches beyond the little circle of his immediate disciples. He prays for all who will believe through their witness — for every follower across time — that believers would be one in the same way the Father and the Son are one. This is a startling picture: the unity Jesus asks for is not primarily organizational or cosmetic. It is a unity formed by mutual indwelling — Christ in us, the Father in Christ — a life shared at the deepest possible level.

That unity has a purpose. Jesus ties it directly to the church’s witness: that the world may believe that the Father sent him and that the Father loves people as he loves the Son. Unity, then, is missional. When Christians show a common life rooted in Christ’s glory and love, that visible reality points people to the reality of God.

Notice, too, that Jesus speaks of unity as a gift and a process. He says the glory given to him has been given to us so that we may be one, and he prays that we may be perfected into one. Unity is something rooted in what Jesus has already given — his glory, his love — and something the Spirit works in us over time as we are formed into maturity. It does not begin with us cleaning up all our differences; it begins with receiving the life of Christ and letting that life change us.

This passage also helps us see what true unity is not. It is not uniformity that denies conscience, theological conviction, or legitimate cultural expression. It is not mere tolerance that ignores sin. Rather, it is a unity grounded in the mutual life of the triune God, informed by truth, expressed in love, and aimed at the world’s good.

For anyone feeling the sting of church division, this is hopeful news: Jesus has already prayed for you. His intercession is the root of our unity, and his glory and love are given to heal what is broken. Practically, that means we pursue reconciliation when we can, bear with one another in humility, and keep returning to the common center — the person and work of Jesus — allowing his life to shape how we relate to one another.

So live as people indwelt by Christ. Let his love shape your speech, your willingness to forgive, and your patience with differences. When the church shows that shared life, the watching world catches a glimpse of the Father’s heart and the truth of the gospel.

Putting Faith Into Action

Reach out to one Christian you’re estranged from. If it’s safe, ask to meet in a public place, listen without defending, and pray together for reconciliation rooted in Christ rather than debating who was right. If reconciliation could put you at risk or involves abuse, don’t pursue a private meeting—seek support from a trusted leader, counselor, or authority and consider mediated or written steps toward reconciliation.
In your church life, choose a concrete act of unity this week: serve alongside someone you normally disagree with, join a small group outside your usual circle, or publicly celebrate another believer’s gift. Practice asking questions, listening first, and refusing to gossip about disagreements.
Cultivate your personal union with Christ so your relationships flow from his life in you. Spend time in Scripture and prayer asking God to make his love — the same love he has for the Son — alive in you. When conflicts arise, pray for Christ’s presence in the other person and seek God’s shape of humility and forgiveness.

Prayer

Father, thank you that Jesus prayed for our unity and that his glory and love are given to us. Where divisions wound your church, bring healing by your Spirit. Help us be people who reflect the mutual life of the Trinity: loving one another with your love, listening with humility, and living so the world may believe. Give us courage to seek reconciliation when safe, wisdom when it is not, and the grace to bear with one another. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Memory Verse

John 17:20 — “Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, (WEB)

““Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word,”

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Bible Context

Read all of John 17

John 17

World English Bible • WEB

¹Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;

²even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

³This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

⁴I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do.

⁵Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.

⁶“I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.

⁷Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you,

⁸for the words which you have given me I have given to them; and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.

⁹I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

¹⁰All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

¹¹I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are.

¹²While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

¹³But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.

¹⁴I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

¹⁵I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.

¹⁶They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

¹⁷Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.

¹⁸As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.

¹⁹For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.