Made Perfect in One
This morning at 5 AM we had 16 men ready to finish John 17. We had a great discussion of the meaning of verse 23 where Jesus prays that the future disciples will be "made perfect in one." That is a very interesting and meaningful phrase for us to consider. What did Jesus mean when He prayed for us in that way?
The men were quick to point out the unity with the Lord that was necessary to be complete or perfect. Without Him we can never be what He desires for us to be. We must strive to walk in close fellowship with Him. However, when we looked at some references to this Greek word, we realized that Jesus was even more specific than that. He came to finish the work the Father gave Him. (John 4:34) That is the same word as perfect in verse 23. Then, in John 17:4 Jesus told the Father that He had finished the work. Therefore, this word means a completion of what God has for each of us to do in life as believers. When we are made perfect in one we will be accomplishing what He set out for us to do. However, we will never fully finish like Jesus until we get to Heaven. Paul pointed that out in Philippians 3:12, when he said that he was not perfected already, but he would press on to the goal of the upward call of God in Christ. Then, we had a wonderful moment of thinking about seeing Christ in all of His glory in Heaven as we worship Him around the throne of God. That is when we will be ultimately perfected in one. We will be in perfect fellowship with God and each other, and we will have our glorified bodies so we can behold the fullness of God's glory. Aren't you glad that Jesus is praying all of that for you? I pray that we would all achieve these things, because it is still up to us to trust Him each step of the way.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 68-69 and Romans 8:1-21.
The men were quick to point out the unity with the Lord that was necessary to be complete or perfect. Without Him we can never be what He desires for us to be. We must strive to walk in close fellowship with Him. However, when we looked at some references to this Greek word, we realized that Jesus was even more specific than that. He came to finish the work the Father gave Him. (John 4:34) That is the same word as perfect in verse 23. Then, in John 17:4 Jesus told the Father that He had finished the work. Therefore, this word means a completion of what God has for each of us to do in life as believers. When we are made perfect in one we will be accomplishing what He set out for us to do. However, we will never fully finish like Jesus until we get to Heaven. Paul pointed that out in Philippians 3:12, when he said that he was not perfected already, but he would press on to the goal of the upward call of God in Christ. Then, we had a wonderful moment of thinking about seeing Christ in all of His glory in Heaven as we worship Him around the throne of God. That is when we will be ultimately perfected in one. We will be in perfect fellowship with God and each other, and we will have our glorified bodies so we can behold the fullness of God's glory. Aren't you glad that Jesus is praying all of that for you? I pray that we would all achieve these things, because it is still up to us to trust Him each step of the way.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 68-69 and Romans 8:1-21.