The language of Jesus’ prayer as recorded in John 17 is that of unity. Jesus says, “They know in truth that I came from you” (v. 8). Jesus also references that he has coexisted with the Father “before the world existed” (v. 5). And later in verse eleven Jesus prays that God would protect the disciples and unify them in the same way that Jesus and God are unified, stating “as we are one.” A few observations from the text: Jesus desires for the disciples to have the same kind of intimacy and love for one another that are manifest in the Father and the Son. Jesus also clearly states that he is God – and that there is one true God. And that Jesus is speaking not of uniformity, but rather unity.

In reading from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the theme of unity between Gentile and Jewish Christians permeates chapter two. One major observation is that there are not separate truths of God’s promises communicated for Gentile and Jewish believers. Paul writes that “all of us” gratified the cravings of the sinful nature (2:3). And all of us