²² “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one…”

Some Christians have so narrowly defined their circle of doctrine that they see themselves as the remnant, the extreme, very few, the faithful. They insist on conformity, complete with their specific ‘shibboleths.’ You will remember the story in Judges 12, where the men of Gilead would test the fugitives crossing the Jordan. Not being able to say the word “Shibboleth” properly was a dead give away that a person was an Ephraimite and was to be executed. Today, minute doctrinal fidelity in many circles comes down to using specific words that put people into ideological boxes for determining whether they are “one of us” or not. For example, in some groups, using the word “church” instead of the word “assembly” in reference to the local gathering of believers marks a person out as not being “one of us.” This would not bode well with the teaching of our Lord in the Upper Room.

We dare not understand Jesus’ teaching about unity too narrowly or too loosely. The pendulum continuously swings through church history and among churches today, each extreme knocking people out one way or the other, but neither attaining to the unity of which Jesus spoke.

So what do we do with doctrinal differences? Who decides which doctrines should legitimately divide us? The answer may never be known this side of eternity, but one thing is absolutely clear. Jesus should be the center of our unity—the Jesus of the Upper Room, not a watered down religious figure of our own manipulations, the lowest common denominator for the sake of ecumenical unity. Neither is this a pharisaical Jesus who dissected the law down to the elimination of grace. Nor is this Jesus of “monkery” or separation that leads people to isolate themselves from the “contamination” of those of lesser fidelity.

The unity Jesus talked about has Him, the biblical, historical Son of God and Son of Man in the center. Deity in the flesh. Savior, Lord, Master. The Way, the Truth, the Life. He is the hub from which all spokes extrude. The Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End. The Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life, the Door of Salvation, Healer, Teacher, Miracle Worker. He is the I AM. He is where our unity as believers lies- followers of His, redeemed sinners, saved by grace, elect from the foundation of the world. We are part of the household of God, with Jesus as the Head, being built up in unity to the fullness of Christ. As we continually exalt Him and follow Him, we will invariably come closer together in the experience of our unity in Him.

Lord, help us all to see You as the center of our lives, that we might be unified.