²¹ “… that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

Fully divine, God in the flesh, that’s what Jesus was. Some Christians in their efforts to defend this teaching, see in our verse for today a proof text in support of that truth. However, Jesus was not speaking about His deity or equality with God, but about His unity of purpose and will with the Father.

Other Scriptures more clearly present His deity: “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him…” (Col 1:19); “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form…” (Col 2:9). Even in the gospel of John, the inspired writer begins with:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1–3)

Jesus was and is the Creator God and there is only one Creator God:

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God … there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other…” (Is 45:5–6).

He is not merely “a” god, as some cults would assert. If He is “god” at all, He must be the “God” over all, because there can be no other gods besides the Sovereign God of the Universe. Strict monotheism is rooted in Scripture: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut 6:4). God is unified, singular in being, exclusive of all other supposed deities. If Jesus were not God, then John and Paul committed the worst of blasphemies, and the Jews would have been right to stone Him.

So we confirm absolutely the deity of Jesus Christ, but we don’t look to our verse today to support that. The emphasis in John 17:21 is rather on the unity of mind and purpose of the Son with the Father, and how we followers of Jesus Christ likewise should be unified in mind and purpose. This “practical” theology is a prerequisite to fulfilling the mission God has for us here on earth. We see it affirmed frequently in Scripture. For example, Paul teaches, “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Phil 2:2). This was the desire of our Master in the Upper Room prayer.

Lord, like Jesus, I ask You for unity of believers today, with Jesus as the center.