The desire of the Lord Jesus is that we would be one with Him and with each other. The Lord prayed in John 17:20-23, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 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; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” The Lord prayed for unity among all those that know Him as savior. The purpose expressed here is that we might be one in exhibiting the character of Christ in our lives so that others might see Christ in us and believe on Him as their savior.

Of course, believers cannot be ‘one’ with unbelievers. We are different. As Christians, we realize that we are not citizens of the earth. Philippines 3:20 tells us, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” As has been properly said many times before, “We are IN the world, but not OF the world.” Our home is in Heaven. What is our role here in the world? We are to represent Christ to a lost world that so desperately needs to be saved. 2 Corinthians 5:20 tells us that, “…we are ambassadors for Christ…” In our Lord’s prayer in John 17, Christ expresses His concern and desire for us in verse 15, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” Although we are not OF the world, we have been left here IN the world to seek to win precious souls to Christ by being faithful witnesses of Him in what we say and what we do.

There is coming a day when there will be oneness in the world. This day will come after the seven year Tribulation Period. When the Lord Jesus establishes His millennial kingdom on the earth, then there will be oneness all over the world, even among people and animals. Isaiah 11:6-9 speaks of that time. That says, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

While we long and wait for that wonderful day, the Lord has assured us in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The world will be against us, but the Lord is for us. We have great reason to rejoice…the Lord has overcome the world! (164.1)