THAT THEY MAY BE ONE

  “Communion: Common-Union”

  (An excerpt from the book

  "The Powerof an Endless Life")

  Doug Fortune

"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." (John 17:21-23)

Imagine with me for a moment... You know you are in your last hours in this life on earth. In a short time your mortal life will be ended. In your last prayers, what will you be asking of the Father? Suddenly that promotion at work, that better car, that bigger house doesn't seem too important. More than likely, your last prayers will be the summation of what you lived your life for. When this life is drawing to a close only that which is of utmost importance comes to the surface.

I guess I'm questioning whether that which I've spent my time and energy on in this life will even make an 'honorable mention' in my last prayer. I understand that the Father has entrusted unique and vital ministries to all of us, and that we tend to view life through the window of our particular ministry 'bent'. Allow me a moment of levity here as I make a point. For many involved in the current apostolic-prophetic movement, if we based our last prayer on our activity in life, it might sound something like this, That they all may be sent forth and prophesying! For the Pentecostal it might sound something like this, That they all may be baptized in the Holy Spirit! For the Evangelical it might sound something like this, That they all may be witnessing and saving souls! Now don't get me wrong, those are all certainly good and necessary things and I would never demean them. However, all those things have to do with DO-ing. Jesus is really more interested in our BE-ing than our DO-ing. "And he ordained twelve, that they should BE with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach..." (Mark 3:14) He ordained them to BE with Him. BE-ing precedes DO-ing. BE-ing is the foundation upon which all of our DO-ing is predicated. When we try to DO things that we are not BE-ing, it produces something that is hollow, something without substance. He sent them forth to preach, to DO, as the result of a natural outgrowth of their BE-ing with Him.

Jesus is really more interested in our BE-ing than our DO-ing. "And he ordained twelve, that they should BE with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach..." (Mark 3:14) He ordained them to BE with Him. BE-ing precedes DO-ing. BE-ing is the foundation upon which all of our DO-ing is predicated.

Jesus last prayer really sums up the entire thrust of His life on earth, That they all may BE one; AS thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be ONE IN US. When we read that verse, most of us think of that thing we DO when we gather with other churches, say nice things about each other and hold hands while singing 'Kumbaya'. Again, don't get me wrong, Church unity certainly IS a very good thing, but that's not necessarily what Jesus is talking about. The key to His intention is found in how He explains this oneness. There is a little word in the verse that can be easily missed- AS. "That they all may be one; AS thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee..." That word translated AS is kathos in Greek, and its' meanings include- according as, just as, even as, in proportion as, in the degree that. Jesus is saying that JUST AS, even as, in proportion as, in the degree that the Father was IN Him and He IN the Father, that the Father and Son may be IN US and US IN the Father and the Son! Remember what Jesus said concerning the closeness of His relationship with the Father? "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath SEEN Me hath SEEN the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" (John 14:9) He said, If you've seen Me you've seen the Father! And remember we just read how Jesus prayed that OUR relationship would be JUST AS His relationship! Suddenly I am personally confronted with what appears to be a huge discrepancy between my experience and what I believe the Word is saying. Jesus seems to be saying that when people look at US they should see God. For a moment, I throw up my hands and shake my head because that seems absolutely impossible. Yes, in fact it IS totally impossible! But that is exactly what He has called us to- the impossible. You see, we cannot "be as God" (Genesis 3:5), however HE can live His Life THROUGH us. There is a big difference. Only Christ can live like Christ! It's not about ME trying to be like God, that was Adam and Eve's folley. Rather it's all about the Christ-Life, or as the Weymouth New Testament states it, the 'Life of the Ages'; "The Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness, and we declare unto you the Life of the Ages which was WITH THE FATHER and was manifested to us." (1 John 1:2 Weymouth) This was the 'Life' flowing through Jesus that enabled Him to say, If you've seen Me you've seen the Father.

Jesus was the expression of His Father's 'Life'. He saw things through His Father's eyes. He spoke the words of His Father. His ear was tuned to the voice of His Father. This is because their relationship was 'face to face'. Normally when we hear that expression, we think primarily of intimacy in relationship. I believe it is even more than that. Let's explore this idea for a moment; "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then FACE TO FACE: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) We are all very familiar with this passage of Scripture, however most of us have consigned its' fulfillment to when we get to heaven. When does the Scripture actually say this will happen? "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." (1 Corinthians 13:10) The Amplified Bible states it as such; “But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).” The Literal Bible says, “When but comes the full-grown thing, what is in partial will be abolished.” The word translated as perfect in that verse, teleios in Greek, is another form of the same word we can read of in Ephesians chapter four. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the PERFECTING of the saints... 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: That we... may GROW UP into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-15) Perfect means complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character), completeness; it is often translated as ‘of full age’, man, perfect. It sounds to me like the Father's intention is for this 'completion' to happen on this side of heaven, not someday in the sweet by and by.

We can find a clue to this 'completion' in Psalms 8:4-5; "What is MAN, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." As we discussed earlier, the word translated as angels is Elohim in Hebrew, refering to God; "In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) The word translated as lower, chaser in Hebrew, means to lack, be without, decrease, be lacking, have a need. The Literal Bible says, "For You have made him LACK a little from God..." Youngs Literal Bible states, "And causest him to LACK a little of Godhead..." You see, man is made 'lacking' with the intention of filling or completing that 'lack' so that we can ultimately say, If you've seen me you've seen the Father. When the 'completion' of the character of Christ, His inner likeness is worked out in us, "then that which is in part shall be done away." (1 Corinthians 13:10) Then we see 'face to face'.

Like I said earlier, when we hear that expression we think primarily of intimacy in relationship, however I believe it is much more than that. "For now we SEE through a glass, darkly; but then FACE TO FACE..." (1 Corinthians 13:12) That word translated as to (as in face TO face) is pros in Greek, it means a preposition of direction, forward to, toward; it implies motion towards. It could easily be translated as face INTO face, to give us a more accurate picture. The mental picture I get is that of a computer graphics program where one face is being 'morphed' into another face. Jesus said, If you've seen Me you've seen the Father. He had been 'morphed' into the 'face' of His Father. The word often translated as transformed and transfigured in the New Testament is metaMORPHoo in Greek, and means to change into another form, to transform. It is the word used in Romans 12:2 as we are told to "be ye transformed (metamorphoo/ transfigured) by the renewing of your mind." It is also the word used in Matthew 17:2 as Jesus was "transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light." The way that we are transfigured, changed into another form, is through the renewing of the mind. Renewing the mind has to do with how we SEE things. The un-renewed mind sees through a glass darkly, the perception is limited and blurred, but the renewed mind sees face INTO face.

When you think about it, the face is a very important part of the anatomy, especially when it comes to our interaction with the world around us. The face is the primary seat of our perception, it is where four out of five senses have their home. Our sight, sense of smell, taste and hearing all happen in and around our face. As we are 'morphed' into the 'face' of Christ, who is 'morphed' into the 'face' of His Father, we see things through His eyes, we speak His words, we hear what He hears and our ear is tuned to His voice. Then we have one 'face'. We become the expression of His 'Life'. This sounds a lot like what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21, "For to ME to live IS Christ..."

Paul speaks of this again in 2 Corinthians 11:3 as he writes, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY that is in Christ." The word translated as simplicity, haplotes in Greek, means singleness; it is derived from the Greek word haplous, meaning a particle of UNION, folded together or SINGLE. Paul is saying we are to be in union, folded together or single IN Christ. This truth is echoed in 1 Corinthians 6:17, as it states, "But the person who is united to the Lord becomes ONE SPIRIT with Him." (1 Corinthians 6:17 Amplified Bible) That sounds like 'face INTO face' to me! It's really all about becoming ONE with Christ in union. Isn't that what Jesus prayed for? "That they all may be ONE; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be ONE IN US:" (John 17:21) Isn't that what Isaiah prophesied of also? "...Surely God is IN THEE; and there is none else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God that HIDEST thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour." (Isaiah 45:14-15) Paul even tells us where He hides Himself, "Christ IN YOU, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27) The simplicity in Christ speaks of our union with Christ, thus being an expression of the ONE Life of Christ as it is lived through us.

The temptation that the serpent offered to Eve was thus, "Ye shall be as gods." (Genesis 3:5) The thing is, they were ALREADY like God; "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." (Genesis 1:27) Because they were already like God, the real temptation was that they would become SEPERATE gods, rather than being an expression of the Life of the ONE True God. That is still the temptation today. We cannot allow our minds to be corrupted from the simplicity, the union, the oneness that comes as we are IN Christ. I realize that the idea of us becoming ONE with Christ in union is a bit mind boggling, and perhaps to some it sounds even blasphemous. However according to Paul, in the very next verse after speaking of this simplicity, this oneness in Christ, he declares that to preach anything else is to preach "another Jesus, whom we have not preached... receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted..." (2 Corinthians 11:4) Any teaching that tells you that Jesus is 'out there' somewhere, distant, removed, is teaching another Jesus. Any teaching that tells you that even after coming to Christ you have a different spirit other than His Spirit, is another gospel. "For as the body is ONE, and hath many members, and all the members of that ONE body, being many, are ONE body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST. For by ONE Spirit are we all baptized into ONE body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into ONE Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) It is one Spirit, one Body of Christ, of whom Jesus is the preeminent Head.

Notice also that Jesus prayed, "That they ALL may be one..." (John 17:21) So far we have been speaking primarily of the personal 'face into face' relationship we have with God. I believe that we must be pursuing and progressing in this personal relationship before we will be able to effectively move into corporate 'face into face' relationship. Why do I believe this way? It's all a matter of perspective, how we see each other.

Notice also that Jesus prayed, "That they ALL may be one..." (John 17:21) So far we have been speaking primarily of the personal 'face into face' relationship we have with God. I believe that we must be pursuing and progressing in this personal relationship before we will be able to effectively move into corporate 'face into face' relationship. Why do I believe this way? Because relationship is all a matter of perspective, how we see each other. When we look at each other with our natural eyes, from this earthly perspective, we often see the differences we have with each other. Certainly we all want to be in the 'right', so the natural conclusion is that if you are different and I am 'right', then that means you are wrong! And if you are wrong, then it is most certainly my duty to try and make you understand your error and get 'right' like me! I think we've all done that at some time, and if the truth be known, we've probably done it often.

The only way we can truly move into corporate 'face into face' relationship is when we see each other through His eyes and see His 'face' in them, when we hear each other with His ears and our ear is tuned to His voice speaking through them. Then we have one 'face' and we recognize others as merely another expression of His 'Life'. "For the body is not one member, but many... And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you... That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another." (1 Corinthians 12:14, 21, 25) When we see each other from this earthly perspective, with natural eyes, we also perceive within the context of our time-space continuum. In other words, we see others in the light of how WE think they should be progressing in their spirituality. The trouble with this is many times we perceive them as either being spiritually 'slow', not maturing fast enough, or we think they are moving into things they are not ready for, moving faster than their maturity level. Perhaps this may be the case sometimes, but all too often our 'discernment' is really just our opinion. Perhaps when we just let God 'fix' people on His own time-table, we will move closer into corporate 'face into face' relationship.

True 'face into face' relationship also requires that we acknowledge the deposit of 'Christ' that is resident in each other. We can see this principle in 1 John 4:2-3 as it states, “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ IS COME in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even NOW already is it in the world.” Many have thought this verse to mean that if someone denies that Jesus Christ was born and walked the earth as a man, then they are operating in the spirit of antichrist. However, historical evidence proves unequivocally that Jesus Christ walked the earth as a man. We must also realize that when that verse was written, it hadn’t been that long since Jesus had done just that. Obviously this verse has to mean something different than a casual reading renders.

Let us focus on the primary wording upon which the verse hinges; “Jesus Christ IS COME in the flesh.” Notice it does not say HAS come, it says IS come; nor does it say YET to come, it says IS come. In modern day language, 'is come' seems to be a strange way to say something, however that's about as close as we can come to the true meaning. The word translated as 'is come', erchomai in Greek, is the middle voice of a primary verb used only in the present and imperfect tenses. The middle voice is that use of the verb which describes the subject as PARTICIPATING in the RESULTS of the action. The present tense may be used to describe an action that, begun in the past, CONTINUES in the present, the emphasis is on the PRESENT time. The imperfect is often used to describe an action or state that is IN PROGRESS. Like the present tense, the imperfect tense displays an internal aspect. That is, it portrays the action from within the event, without regard for beginning or end. The imperfect (like the present) takes a motion picture, portraying the action as it unfolds. As such, the imperfect focuses on the PROCESS of the action.

I don't mean to belabor a grammar lesson, but this is important in order to understand the meaning. This verb is not necessarily descriptive of a past event that is finished or completed; nor is it descriptive of an event that is yet to be. It is describing the COMING of the Lord as something that began with Jesus Christ, yet continues presently as a process that is not yet complete. Keep in mind that the middle voice means the subject PARTICIPATES in the RESULTS of the action. My friend, when it says “Jesus Christ IS COME in the flesh”, we must understand that the 'flesh' He is appearing in presently is the flesh (the human life) of His people! Remember, this verse was written AFTER His death and resurrection and WE are participating in His coming, as He is appearing in His people. Revelation 1:12-13 tells us clearly where to look for the Son of Man to appear; “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the MIDST of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man...” He appears in the midst of the candlesticks! And, of course verse 20 tells us exactly what those candlesticks are, “...the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven CHURCHES.” That's US folks!

Now then, I said all that to say this: when we do not acknowledge the deposit of Christ IN each other, not acknowledging that Jesus Christ 'is come' in the flesh, we are operating in the spirit of ANTI-CHRIST! We MUST honor the deposit of 'Christ' within one another in order for us to move toward true 'face into face' relationship. "Wherefore henceforth know we no man AFTER THE FLESH... Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to US the ministry of reconciliation... NOT imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto US the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:16-19) We must determine to see each other IN Christ, as new creations, honoring the deposit of Christ in each other, NOT imputing trespasses upon one another. As I have taught many times, I believe that the cherubims upon the Mercyseat are symbolic of you and I. Let us also remember what these cherubims are doing; “...their faces shall look ONE to ANOTHER; toward the MERCY SEAT shall the faces of the cherubims be.” (Exodus 25:20) They are looking at one another, looking toward the Mercyseat. Like the cherubims, we should look at one another while looking toward our Mercyseat- Jesus Christ. Remember, these cherubim are of the SAME piece of gold (gold is symbolic of divine nature) as the Mercyseat. The cherubim looked at one another but they SAW the mercyseat! So it is for US, as we look at each other we must SEE the Mercyseat- Christ IN US! We can also see this pattern as we read of the seraphims in Isaiah 6:3, "And one cried unto another, and said, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” We must acknowledge the holiness of the Lord IN each other. We must also acknowledge that the whole earth, even these earthen vessels (body, soul and spirit) are being filled with His glory!

Seeing each other through His eyes and hearing each other with His ears is only possible when we are truly IN Christ. When I am IN Doug, wallowing in my carnality, I see 'after the flesh'. When we are truly IN Christ, then we see each other through His eyes and see our Father's 'face' in them. You see, the real objective here is "that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me..." (John 17:21) I believe that the world will not see God IN us until WE begin to see God in us. Let us press into this ONENESS that Jesus prayed for! "At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye IN Me, and I IN you." (John 14:20) May 'that day' be this day!