On the day of Pentecost, the 120 were in one accord. They were "tuned in" with the Word of the hour. To be one with God now, we too must be one with His Word for today. Jesus said, "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee." The Son was the personal manifestation of the Father – the same substance, the same Spirit, the same life.

The Son was born by the Spirit, as we find recorded in the promise given to Mary, Lk. 1:35, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee." The same is confirmed in Mt. 1:20. The Holy Ghost came upon Mary who had received and believed the promised Word. Thus the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The oneness of Father and Son is not based upon agreement, but is a oneness in essence. The same is with all sons and daughters of God. They are born again by the same Word, through the same Spirit, and therefore are partakers of the same divine nature (II Pet. 1:4).

Only those who have the same nature and the same life of Jesus Christ can be one in the Spirit. James writes, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures" (1:18). Jesus was the only begotten Son, and we must be after His kind the begotten sons and daughters of God. In this respect, the Scripture speaks of Him, "…that he might be the first-born among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). According to God's law of reproduction, ever since Genesis every seed brings forth after its own kind. From God only God could come forth; from the Son of God only sons and daughters of God can come forth. Peter emphasizes the same truth in saying, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…" (I Pet. 1:3).

Jesus could say, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (Jn. 14:9). Husband and wife are also spoken of as being one. But nobody could ever say, "If you have seen me, you have seen my wife." The spiritual oneness Jesus speaks about does not mean to agree with each other or to be joined, but to be of the same substance, although a different manifestation. No one can join the Church of God – one is born, baptized and sealed into it.

Let us go back to the statement made in Jn. 17:21: "That they all may be one as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee." This is the secret of the divine oneness: God in Christ – Christ in His Church. Jesus is praying in this chapter, not preaching. What He expresses is meant for prayerful consideration, in expectation of fulfilment.

Some of the criteria for this oneness according to Jn. 17 are:

"… that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him"

"I have manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world"

"For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them"

"… and have known surely that I came out from thee"

"I pray for them … and I am glorified in them"

"Sanctify them through thy truth – thy word is truth" "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."

"I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one."

The whole chapter must be read carefully, and every thought expressed there is cause for consideration: We must ask ourselves, Is it so with me? Only if these conditions are met namely, that we have received eternal life; that His Name was manifested to us; that we have received His Word; that we are sanctified in the revealed Truth; that Christ dwells in us as the Father dwelled in Him, we are candidates for this oneness and can be made perfect in one. It takes divine revelation to see these things clearly and grace to experience them.

God has His own way to bring about the oneness which our Lord prayed for. All His true sons and daughters will experience the things Jesus mentioned in His prayer. They will fall right in line with the Word and so become one with Him who is the Head and one with each other as members of His Body. "For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body" (I Cor. 12:13). To the Ephesians Paul writes, "…endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Eph. 4:3-6).

The fivefold ministry (v. 11) was given "for the perfecting of the saints … for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (w. 11-13).

On the day of Pentecost, the 120 were in one accord. They were "tuned in" with the Word of the hour. To be one with God now, we too must be one with His Word for today. Jesus said, "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee." The Son was the personal manifestation of the Father – the same substance, the same Spirit, the same life.

The Son was born by the Spirit, as we find recorded in the promise given to Mary, Lk. 1:35, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee." The same is confirmed in Mt. 1:20. The Holy Ghost came upon Mary who had received and believed the promised Word. Thus the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The oneness of Father and Son is not based upon agreement, but is a oneness in essence. The same is with all sons and daughters of God. They are born again by the same Word, through the same Spirit, and therefore are partakers of the same divine nature (II Pet. 1:4).

Only those who have the same nature and the same life of Jesus Christ can be one in the Spirit. James writes, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures" (1:18). Jesus was the only begotten Son, and we must be after His kind the begotten sons and daughters of God. In this respect, the Scripture speaks of Him, "…that he might be the first-born among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). According to God's law of reproduction, ever since Genesis every seed brings forth after its own kind. From God only God could come forth; from the Son of God only sons and daughters of God can come forth. Peter emphasizes the same truth in saying, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…" (I Pet. 1:3).

Jesus could say, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (Jn. 14:9). Husband and wife are also spoken of as being one. But nobody could ever say, "If you have seen me, you have seen my wife." The spiritual oneness Jesus speaks about does not mean to agree with each other or to be joined, but to be of the same substance, although a different manifestation. No one can join the Church of God – one is born, baptized and sealed into it.

Let us go back to the statement made in Jn. 17:21: "That they all may be one as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee." This is the secret of the divine oneness: God in Christ – Christ in His Church. Jesus is praying in this chapter, not preaching. What He expresses is meant for prayerful consideration, in expectation of fulfilment.

Some of the criteria for this oneness according to Jn. 17 are:

"… that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him"

"I have manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world"

"For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them"

"… and have known surely that I came out from thee"

"I pray for them … and I am glorified in them"

"Sanctify them through thy truth – thy word is truth" "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."

"I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one."

The whole chapter must be read carefully, and every thought expressed there is cause for consideration: We must ask ourselves, Is it so with me? Only if these conditions are met namely, that we have received eternal life; that His Name was manifested to us; that we have received His Word; that we are sanctified in the revealed Truth; that Christ dwells in us as the Father dwelled in Him, we are candidates for this oneness and can be made perfect in one. It takes divine revelation to see these things clearly and grace to experience them.

God has His own way to bring about the oneness which our Lord prayed for. All His true sons and daughters will experience the things Jesus mentioned in His prayer. They will fall right in line with the Word and so become one with Him who is the Head and one with each other as members of His Body. "For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body" (I Cor. 12:13). To the Ephesians Paul writes, "…endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Eph. 4:3-6).

The fivefold ministry (v. 11) was given "for the perfecting of the saints … for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (w. 11-13).