13 That They May Be One

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, longing for the unity Jesus prayed for.

To all who confess Jesus as Lord and love Him — grace to you, and peace.

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed a prayer we often quote but rarely face:

"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me." (John 17:20–21)

Jesus ties two things together: our unity and the world's ability to believe the Father sent Him. This is not vague spiritual oneness that no one can see. Jesus compares it to His unity with the Father — real, concrete, visible. The watching world was meant to see something about God by how His people live together.

The Apostle Paul echoes this: "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment." (1 Cor. 1:10)

No divisions. Same mind. Same judgment. That is far bigger than "we all love Jesus but do our own thing."

The generations immediately after the apostles seem to have taken this for granted. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote around 107 AD: "Take care to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you do, you do according to God: for there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup that leads to unity, there is one altar, just as there is one bishop." (Philadelphians 4)

Cyprian of Carthage, writing in the mid-3rd century, said: "The Church is one which, with increasing fecundity, extends far and wide into the multitude, as the rays of the sun, but the light is one; the branches of a tree, but the strength is one rooted in a firm foundation." (On the Unity of the Church 5–6)

Whether you agree with every conclusion these men drew is not the point. The point is what they assumed: one visible Church, one altar, one faith, one baptism lived out in real communities—not thousands of competing versions.

I grew up in church. I was taught to love Jesus, read the Bible, pray, and share the gospel. For that, I am grateful. My faith was positively simple, child-like. I didn't know who Martin Luther was until my late twenties. I had never read John Calvin. Many believers today trace their understanding of church to the Reformation more than to the first three centuries of Christian history, whether they realize it or not.

One idea that gained strength in that era is often called the invisible church: the belief that the "real" Church is a hidden, spiritual reality known only to God, while visible churches and denominations are imperfect shells around it. There is a truth there — God alone knows who are His (2 Tim. 2:19). But when this becomes our main way of thinking, visible division stops bothering us. Fragmentation becomes normal, even defended.

Yet Jesus prayed for a unity the world could see. Paul rebuked factions that said, "I am of Paul" or "I am of Apollos" (1 Cor. 1:12–13). The earliest Christians spoke of one visible Church, not thousands of separate camps.

Today, estimates suggest there are tens of thousands of distinct Christian denominations worldwide. Many love Jesus. Many preach the gospel. Many are sincere. But the sheer scale of division should, at minimum, make us pause. If a tree is known by its fruit (Matt. 7:16), we have to ask: What kind of tree produces this much fragmentation?

Often, when division is discussed, someone will bring up the parable of the wheat and the tares. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed, but while his men slept, an enemy sowed weeds among the wheat (Matt. 13:24–25). Many use this to say, "Of course the Church is messy, mixed, divided — it's wheat and tares together."

But when Jesus explains the parable, He says: "The field is the world." (Matt. 13:38)

The world, not the Church.

Yes, hypocrites and false believers can be found inside visible churches. Yes, we should be patient and merciful. But this parable is not a permission slip to shrug at division or treat thousands of rival interpretations as normal. Jesus' own interpretation draws a line: the world is the field where wheat and tares grow together. The Church is His Body, called to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" because "there is one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism." (Eph. 4:3–6)

I have friends who love Jesus, submit their lives to Him, and revere Scripture — yet they understand the same verse in very different ways. One reads a passage convinced it teaches one thing. Another, who is also prayerful and sincere, believes it teaches something else. Both say, "I am listening to the Holy Spirit."

Yet Scripture says: "When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13)

The Holy Spirit is not confused. He does not teach opposite doctrines. The problem is not in Him but in us — our traditions, blind spots, wounds, pride, and the lenses we bring to the text. The same Spirit who inspired Scripture also led the earliest Church as they lived it, prayed it, and suffered for it. Their witness does not replace Scripture, but it helps expose how much our era and assumptions might shape our "obvious reading."

And the Spirit leads through humility. "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (1 Pet. 5:5) If I cling to my interpretation as if I cannot be wrong, I close my ears to correction. If I hold my understanding with open hands before God, Scripture, and the wider Body of Christ, I leave room for God to lead me deeper.

When sincere believers disagree, I do not conclude that truth is unknowable. I conclude: I must stay low before God. I must listen. I must test my views not only against verses I like but against the whole counsel of Scripture and the witness of those who walked closer to the apostles than I do.

I am not writing to tell you where you must land. I am writing to invite you into the same wrestling the Lord has led me into.

Ask Him: Lord, is my view of church shaped more by the last 500 years than by the first 300? Have I grown comfortable with division in ways that You are not? Am I willing to let You challenge my assumptions? Lord, show me the truth no matter the cost!

The Holy Spirit is faithful. He is the Spirit of truth. He does not contradict Scripture; He illuminates it. He will never lead you away from Jesus, only deeper into Him.

Paul