(#1569) Day 15. What True Unity Is, And What It Shows (7/10/26)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our 9-week series: Fresh Vision From Jesus' High Priestly Prayer from John 17. 

This week, we continue our three-week focus on John 17:6-19, the second section of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, where we will see that genuine Christian fellowship ('One Anothering') is essential to God's vision for our lives and the local church.

To watch this devotional, go to:

Please read John 17:6-19

1. Unity Is Not What We Often Think It Is

Unity in the church is about far more than simply getting along or enjoying harmonious relationships. It lies at the very heart of what it means to be God's people and is one of the ways the world comes to know who Jesus is.

When we think about unity, many of us need to adjust our understanding. We often hear people say that all who claim the name "Christian," regardless of what they believe, should unite in order to answer Jesus' prayer in John 17:

However, Jesus is not calling for unity at the expense of truth.

Throughout His prayer, He makes a clear distinction between those who belong to Him and the world. For example:

These disciples are those who have received His word (v. 6–8), and later Jesus prays, ‘“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”’ (v. 17).

True Christian unity is always unity in the truth. It cannot be separated from the gospel or from faithful obedience to God's Word.

2. What Is True Unity?

Respecting and treating people with kindness - even when we disagree - is a Christian duty. But that is not the unity Jesus is praying for.

Christian unity is a spiritual reality. It is our shared life in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Paul describes it like this:

Our union with Christ is the foundation of our unity with one another. We are one because we share the same Lord, the same gospel, and the same Holy Spirit. Jesus prays:

From Jesus' prayer, we see that true unity involves:

• Receiving Jesus for who He truly is - the Son of God and our Saviour.

• Spiritual Union - Being united to Christ through the Holy Spirit.

• Love - Living out that spiritual unity by loving, serving, and persevering with one another.

3. What True Unity Reveals

When believers are united in Christ and walk together in love, they display something of God's own character.

Our unity points beyond ourselves. It reflects, however imperfectly, the loving unity between the Father and the Son - and within the Trinity. 

Jesus says:

The church is called to be a living demonstration of the gospel. As people see Christians united in the truth, loving one another despite their differences, and living as one family in Christ, they catch a glimpse of the God who has redeemed us.

Moment To Reflect

God wants His church to display a unity that is rooted in the truth of the gospel and union in the Holy Spirit.

• Do you understand that true Christian unity is founded on our shared faith in Christ and His Word?

• Are you careful to distinguish between showing love to everyone, whilst only sharing spiritual unity with those who belong to Christ?

• How can you better represent the perfect and loving relationship between the Trinity in your relationships?

Download the booklet

Below is the link to download the devotional booklet: Fresh Vision From Jesus Prayer. This is a series of 27 devotionals based upon Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17.

This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:

Community Group Study

(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week, so we’ll be focussing on this during our time together. 

1. Notices

It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News. 

2. Worship together

Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.

3. Study and pray together

(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week)

On Sunday, we continued our series, Fresh Vision From Jesus’ Prayer, and continued in our three-week focus on John 17:6-19, the second section of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, where we will see that genuine Christian fellowship (One-another) is essential to God's vision for the local church.

As we think and pray about our mission together, I’m sure we can see that our unity -our loving support of one another - is vital if we are to encourage each other in seeking to reach our community for Jesus. 

What is SIV? 

SIV stands for Serve, Invest and inVite. This is our very simple strategy to help bring our community to Jesus. We believe that God has placed us in relationships and in specific locations to be 'salt and light.' and to ‘fish for people’.  We can effectively bring people to Jesus by: 

• 'Serving' them - Demonstrating the love of Christ in practical ways; 

• 'Investing' - Investing in the ‘people of peace’ those whom we feel the Spirit is leading us. 

• 'Inviting' - Inviting them into our homes by showing hospitality and inviting them to church events, to Alpha, and ultimately, inviting them to come to Jesus through the gospel. 

In your groups: 

• Share stories – Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing stories of how we’ve seen God at work through simple faithfulness.

• Think about practical next steps – Who might God be placing on your heart at this time? Are there any “people of peace” (see note below) in your life - those who seem open, welcoming, or receptive to spiritual conversation?

Pray together:

i. Let’s begin by praying for one another regarding our SIV theme: 

• Pray for courage, wisdom, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit in our Serve, Invest, and Invite opportunities.

• Pray specifically for the ‘people of peace’ in our lives - that God would open hearts and deepen relationships.

• Pray for our Alpha ministry and Phil Mash who heads up this team 

• Pray for our mission in Roehampton - that He would lead us in reaching that community with the gospel. 

ii. General Prayer: Let’s also pray for a three specifics things in our church life: 

• Gift days: Continue to pray for our 30k target to be met at our upcoming gift days on 11th and 18th October.

• Community Groups: In line with Sunday’s theme of unity, continue to pray for our Community Group life to flourish. (for info on groups, go to https://www.communitychurchputney.com/community-groups )

• Our 50-hours of prayer: Pray for God to inspire us to pray, speak as we pray, and lead us in powerful prayer together. 

• General prayer: How do people want prayer at this time?