A Revelation of the Meaning of the Oneness (or Unity) of the Church that Jesus Prayed For in John 17

“I DO NOT pray for THESE ALONE, BUT ALSO for THOSE WHO WILL BELIEVE in Me through their WORD; that THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, 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. And THE GLORY WHICH YOU GAVE Me I HAVE GIVEN THEM, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE JUST AS We ARE ONE:  I IN THEM, and You IN Me; THAT THEY MAY BE MADE PERFECT IN ONE, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:20‭-‬23 NKJV, emphasis mine).

Beloved, here is a very important revelation that the Body of Christ (or the Church) needs to grasp so earnestly. There is no Mother Church, as some people falsely claim and teach; and the prayer of Jesus in John 17 asking the Father that all believers may be ONE (or united) in Him or in the Godhead, HAS ALREADY BEEN ANSWERED. (Well, Jesus never had an unanswered prayer anyway). Now, let me explain. There has always been One Church, and in this One Church, there has always been (and still are) false brethren, whom Jesus also referred to as the tares among the wheat. (see Matthew 13:24-30; with Galatians 1:6-9; Galatians 2:4;  2 Corinthians 11:26; 2 Corinthians 11:14‭-‬15; 1 Timothy 4:1-3). So it is utterly wrong for anyone to push for an artificial and superficial unity of the (physical) Church -- one which is not the work of the Holy Spirit but of the flesh (or human effort). The Bible says that Christ has made us ONE Body or Church. (see Ephesians 2:14‭-‬18; Ephesians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 10:17; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27). And so, as far as God is concerned, there is only ONE Church or ONE Body, whose Head is the Lord Jesus Christ (see Colossians 1:18), and that church is NOT a physical Church; it is a SPIRITUAL CHURCH (see 1 Peter 2:5; Hebrews 12:23), which is ONE and complete in Christ. (see Colossians 2:9-10; with John 17:20-23).

Beloved, the Ecclesia (or Church) is not physical; it is SPIRITUAL. It is not the physical gathering of the brethren (both the true ones and the false ones) that you see every Sunday or every so often, even though those gatherings are important, and are encouraged. (see Hebrews 12:22-23; with Hebrews 10:25). The Church is the Body of Christ. Christ is spiritual, and so is His Body. (see 1 Corinthians 15:4-49; with 1 Corinthians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 3:1; 1 Peter 2:5). If you belong to the Body of Christ, you belong to a SPIRITUAL Body, and you are also spiritual (if only you knew it and would live as such). Therefore, you trace your source or origin directly to the Head of the Body, which is Jesus Christ Himself. You have been baptized by the Spirit into the Body (that spiritual Body) of Jesus Christ. (see 1 Corinthians 12:13). So the unity of the Church that Jesus prayed for in John 17:20-23 is a unity that can only be achieved (and has, in fact, already been achieved) in the Spirit. Thus Jesus' prayer was answered. The (spiritual) Church is already united; it is already unified. Paul said that, in the Church or the Body of Christ, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28 NKJV). Indeed the (spiritual) Church is ONE Body "where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all." (Colossians 3:11 NKJV; see also 1 Corinthians 12:12-14). After all, it is the Church of the living God. (see 1 Timothy 3:15). And God purchased the Church with His own blood. (see Acts 20:28). Indeed, it is “the general assembly and church of the Firstborn who are registered in Heaven.” (see Hebrews 12:23).

Beloved, God has unified His Church in Christ the Head. And so our responsibility today as individual members of the Church, is to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us to manifest (in the physical realm) the unity of the Church that is already a reality in the spirit realm. For as long as we (as individual members of the Church) all adhere to the true gospel of Christ, or as Jude puts it, “CONTEND EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH WHICH WAS ONCE FOR ALL DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS” (see Jude 1:3 NKJV), “HOLDING FAST TO THE HEAD (who is Jesus Christ), from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the INCREASE THAT  IS FROM GOD" (see Colossians 2:19 NKJV, brackets and emphasis mine), we will have one mind (in the flesh/body), which is THE MIND OF CHRIST -- the same mind that our spirit HAS (see 1 Corinthians 2:16); and our unity will manifest to the world to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, this will require that each believer submits his mind, his emotions, his will, and indeed his entire body to the leading of the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:14; Romans 12:1-2) who dwells in our hearts (see 2 Corinthians 1:22) and is (permanently) joined as one with our spirit. (see 1 Corinthians 6:17).

Thus, no physical Church today can claim to be the Mother Church, because there is no Mother Church. The Church (in its spiritual state) has always been ONE (with no divisions). And the True Mother/Father (or Parent) of the Church (if you're willing to accept it) is (and has always been) God in whom our life is hidden with Christ. (see Colossians 3:3). This is important to know and understand, so that no so-called (physical) “Mother Church” can deceive you with doctrines of demons. (see 1 Timothy 4:1-3). Paul says, "BEWARE lest anyone CHEAT YOU through PHILOSOPHY and empty deceit, according to THE TRADITION OF MEN, according to the BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE WORLD, and NOT according to Christ." (Colossians 2:8 NKJV).

Truly, the Lord loves the Church. “For NO ONE EVER HATED HIS OWN FLESH (or Body), but NOURISHES AND CHERISHES IT, JUST AS THE LORD DOES THE CHURCH. For WE ARE MEMBERS OF His BODY, of His FLESH and of His BONES.” (Ephesians 5:29‭-‬30 NKJV,  brackets and emphasis mine). Hallelujah! May you hold fast to this revelation, by holding fast to the Head of the true (or spiritual) Church, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “The secret things  belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." (Deuteronomy 29:29 NKJV). May you be a doer of God’s Word. Remain blessed.

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