²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

This speaks of intimacy and unity of the highest order, that is what is meant by the little preposition “in.” Like in English, the Greek word “en” has a broad field of meaning, and the precise rendering depends on the author’s use. It can variously be translated as “in, with, by” or “in union with, joined closely to.” Obviously not meant as a physical placement, some have tried to think of this “I in them” as referring to the spiritual presence of the Lord in our life, as taught elsewhere in Scripture (e.g. Matt 28:20).

Actually, the spiritual presence of God is depicted more as having to do with the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who comes in Jesus’ absence: “… the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). In the Upper Room prayer, Jesus prays for an intimacy that is centered on a unity in purpose. This is the perfect goal He had in mind.

The word “perfect” is used in Scripture in a variety of ways. In this context, Jesus was speaking of communal unity of purpose. We are brought to maturity in Christ through His body, the church, as we worship, fellowship and serve together. Paul rejoins this idea when he wrote to the Philippians: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6). We take this to be both a personal promise as well as a corporate promise for the church. To be sure, there is an individual aspect of perfection, but that will remain future, “until the day of Christ.” Yet the future aspect did not keep the apostle Paul from striving for it: “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:12).

However there is a sense in which we have already been perfected, in the sense of being made acceptable to God. “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb 10:14, see also 12:23). In Christ, we have become perfectly acceptable to God; our sins have been forgiven through the sacrifice of a perfect offering. We have been made complete, in that there is nothing further that needs to be done in order to gain salvation. We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are already saved and now belong to God. Nothing can separate us from His love.

Lord, thank You for the perfection we have in Christ; help us live in unity.