In John 17, Jesus prayed to the Father for us asking that we would be one. He elaborated on what that oneness was – the oneness He and the Father have. Though some translations use the word “unity” the Greek is the word for one.
Unity comes when people discuss and discourse until they come upon an agreeable decision that all can work with. The oneness that Christ prayed for comes from having the same mind – literally. Jesus and the Father were one and thus they thought the same thoughts, had the same desires and willed the same things to be. As the body of Christ we are called to have that kind of oneness. This is possible because we have all been given the same Holy Spirit and we have all been given the mind of Christ. The problem is, we seek unity, not oneness. Oneness comes out of our spending time individually and corporately with the one whose mind we have and who lives in us. As each becomes one with their lord and Holy Spirit, together we will all have the same heart and mind – Christ’s. How do we attain this? The same way Jesus maintained it; through much time in fellowship with the Lord. This is what prayer is – communion with Christ. In Acts 2, most miss the most important part of that story because we focus on the manifestation of Holy Spirit. In John 20:22, when Jesus appeared to His disciples He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” What happened on the day of Pentecost? The disciples had spent time learning to seek the heart of the Lord in prayer (Acts1:14). The night of Pentecost, they were all together reading the word of God and praying and praising the Lord as one. Their oneness had grown to the place where Holy Spirit could then manifest.
Oneness gives the environment where Holy Spirit can manifest in every way He wants. It is in that place of oneness that we are all of the same mind, heart and desire – our Lord’s. In unity, we are in a place of agreement among ourselves and that is a brittle union. When we are all functioning from the mind for Christ, there is a strength that cannot be broken for Christ’s mind is firm in its understanding.
Let us strive to grow in our oneness with the Lord individually and when we come together corporately, we will then all be of the same mind, heart and desire and ready for Holy Spirit to move in and through s as He desires. Power in the spirit is never around a creed or a doctrine. It is in a person – Christ in you the hope of glory.
