Right Use of Power in the Church—Part IX—Jesus’ Intent for His Church, His People

(Read: Right Use of Power in the Church—Part VIII—Imitate Christ’s Example)

Continuing to reflect on the question: Why does it hurt so much, individually and community-wide, when a church leader fails by abuse of power or betrayal of trust or worse?

As Jesus prepares for His death and subsequent departure, He prays the following for His disciples (and us as His followers):

·         Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

·         Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

·         …I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

·         My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

·         Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

·         My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

·         I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

·         I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (John 17:1-26).

Jesus’ intent for us as His disciples is

·         To know God, through Jesus, as our primary priority.

·         As part of the protection Jesus prays for His disciples, He asks the Father to engender oneness among believers. Somehow, unity and our protection from the evil one are interconnected in some holy way.

·         Jesus’ desire for us includes joy—“the full measure” of His own joy—within us, meaning that He intends these instructions to be less onerous and more wonderful.

·         He asks God to sanctify (purify, consecrate, make holy) us by the truth of His word. Veracity, integrity, truth-telling are non-negotiables for God.

·         When Jesus specifically says He is praying for us (“those who will believe in me”), He asks that ALL OF THEM MAY BE ONE. A oneness that mirrors the inseparable unity of the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). He says that this visible, living harmony will be how the world believes Jesus is the Son of God.

·         He repeats the prayer that we may be one as God is one—and adds “so that they may be brought to complete unity.” Again, He says, in case we missed it—“then the world will know” not only that Jesus came from God but that God loves us as much as He loves His own Son, Jesus.

·         Jesus prays that we would be filled with the love that comes from God.

Love. Interconnectedness. Joy. Truth. Oneness. Harmony. Complete Unity. Love.

Jesus’ desire for His Church is that we be a living model of His love to one another and to the world. That we live in stark contrast to worldly factions. That we be Spirit-led and Spirit-filled champions of “complete unity” in our midst. Not uniformity, but in agreement about the important things like Jesus is Lord. About love for each other. About shalom.

So, when we in our churches experience what feels to be the opposite of this Jesus prayer, we are rightly upset, shocked, feel betrayed, traumatized, etc. If we are “one”, then what happens to anyone in our midst affects and impacts all of us.

Reflect:

·         Take time to read all of John 17.

·         Pause and use it as a prayer—for yourself, for your church, for the global Church.

·         Is knowing Jesus your primary priority? How are you maintaining your relationship with Him? In what way/s are you growing in this season?

·         Of what significance is church oneness/unity to you?

·         What do you think the “full measure” of Jesus joy would be like?

·         What recent experience have you had where God seems to be sanctifying/purifying/making you holy through His Word/Truth?

·         How might a church that lives out complete unity/harmony be an attractive example to the world? How is the opposite true?

·         End with a time of prayer asking God to fill you with His love—to extend to others in your church, your community, the world.

Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and leaders in a diversity of fields for over 30 years. She has also been Catalyst for Equipping at her church since 1999. Contact her about growing your self- and other-awareness and life/ministry coaching.

Photo (c) Shirley Giles Davis, all rights reserved.