The Genuine Oneness

To have the genuine oneness, we must first move out of ourselves and into the Triune God, then we must allow Christ to live in us. (John 17:21-23)

Oneness is the building up of the believers by God’s divine life. We are one because we have one God. The first ground and reason for our oneness is that we all are sons of God having the same divine life and that God is the Father of us all. Because God is our Father and mine, we are of the same family, the family of God. We are American and we are Chinese, yet we can call one another brother. This is so dear and intimate.

We were all born of the same Father, have the same life, and are brothers in that life. Praise the Lord that we are brothers in the Father's life! For this reason, we must be one. There is no reason for us not to be one, for we are one family having the same Father and the same life. Therefore, we have the real brotherhood in life. In this life we all must be and can be one.

We are brought into oneness, then in this glory. This oneness is genuine because it is in the Triune God. We are not trying to be one in doctrine or in practices; a oneness in these areas is not genuine. Our oneness is in the Triune God, not in our beliefs or ways of doing things. As those who believe in the Lord Jesus and are the regenerated children of God, we are all members of the Body of Christ. Regardless of the differences we may have in practice or in doctrine, we have no way but to remain here in the genuine oneness. We can give no place to idol worship, immorality, division, or the denial of Christ's divinity and redemptive work. But of other things we must be tolerant.

If we desire to be one with others, we need to move out of the self and into God the Father. No one can make this move for us; we are responsible to do it ourselves. When we move out of ourselves and into the Father and into His glory, we are one and are even perfected into one

May the Lord preserve us in Himself that we may enjoy the real oneness.

Hymn: We are one in Christ

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/ns/88

What a wonderful church life,

All the saints truly are one,

No matter where and who we are,

    We are one!

Nothing can set us apart,

For we have the same life,

Although Satan tried and tried,

    We are one!

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Scriptural base & additional references

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1)  John 17:21-23 (ref: http://online.recoveryversion.org/BibleChapters.asp?fcid=85&lcid=85)

21 That they all may be ^1aone; even as You, Father, are ^bin Me and I ^cin You, that they also may be ^din Us; that the ^eworld may believe that You have ^fsent Me.

22 And the ^1aglory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be ^2bone, even as We are ^cone;

23 I ^ain them, and You ^bin Me, that they may be perfected into ^cone, that the world may know that You have ^dsent Me and have ¹loved them even as You have ^eloved Me.

2)  Truth Messages, pp.56. (ref: http://www.ministrybooks.org/books.cfm?id=%23%23J5%29%0A)

3) Life-Study of John, pp. 479-480. (ref: http://www.ministrybooks.org/books.cfm?id=%23%23ZI%28%0A)

4) Mending Ministry of John, pp. 35, 47. (ref: http://www.ministrybooks.org/books.cfm?id=%23%22%3AI%2C%0A)