Oneness

Oneness.  It is so much more than a name for a new ministry.  It is the essence of and source for our Christian life.  It is the prayer Jesus prayed for us right before He was taken to be crucified.

And I ask not only for these disciples, but also for all those who will one day believe in me through their message.  I pray for them all to be joined together as one even as you and I, Father, are joined together as one.  I pray for them to become one with us so that the world will recognize that you sent me.  For the very glory you have given to me I have given them so that they will be joined together as one and experience the same unity that we enjoy.  You live fully in me and now I live fully in them so that they will experience perfect unity, and the world will be convinced that you have sent me for they will see that you live in each one of them with the same passionate love that you have for me.  John 17:20-23 TPT.

Living apart from the awareness and experience of our Oneness with Christ leaves us to be our own source for life and godliness.  We will also find ourselves in bondage to things like performance and the opinions of others and ourselves.  We may suffer from guilt, shame and condemnation.

Living from Oneness will enable us to understand the gift and benefits of the New Covenant more fully and see Scripture and what are seen as commandments in a new light.  Let’s look at a few verses:

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.  John 14:6 NASB.   This is accomplished by our Oneness with Christ.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me can do nothing. John 15:5 NASB.  This is accomplished by our Oneness with Christ.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.   Ephesians 4:31-32 NASB.  This is accomplished by our Oneness with Christ.

. . . You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”   Matthew 22:37-39 NASB.  This is accomplished by our Oneness with Christ.

See a pattern?  If it is to be, it’s not up to us.  We need a Source outside our religious self-effort.  We need a God-initiated, Christ-centered, Holy-Spirit empowered life.  Oneness!

So, what is our part in this gift of Oneness?  To receive the God-initiated gift with joy and delight, to rest in the finished work of Christ, and to respond to Holy Spirit’s leading.  What will be the outcome of living in Oneness?  Christ being seen in us (giving God glory).  The world being convinced He was sent by the Father (evangelism).  Living loved by the Father (being enabled to love ourselves and others).

This is the freedom and the abundant life Jesus came to give us.  Enjoy!

- by Pat Everett