GOD = Love

Intro by Carissa

Read:
John 17:20-24 The Voice
Jesus is praying to the Father:  17 Immerse them in the truth, the truth Your voice speaks. 18 In the same way You sent Me into this world, I am sending them. 19 It is entirely for their benefit that I have set Myself apart so that they may be set apart by truth. 20 I am not asking solely for their benefit; this prayer is also for all the believers who will follow them and hear them speak. 21 Father, may they all be one as You are in Me and I am in You; may they be in Us, for by this unity the world will believe that You sent Me.

22 All the glory You have given to Me, I pass on to them. May that glory unify them and make them one as We are one, 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be refined so that all will know that You sent Me, and You love them in the same way You love Me.


24 Father, I long for the time when those You have given Me can join Me in My place so they may witness My glory, which comes from You. You have loved Me before the foundations of the cosmos were laid.

*In this great prayer that Jesus prays for His disciples, He returns repeatedly to the gathering of believers unified with the Father and the Son. - The Voice

*God’s very essence is love. He has eternally existed within a community, or triunity, of love. Jesus’ prayer, recorded in John’s Gospel, gives us a glimpse into the love and unity Jesus has always shared with his Father. It also shows us how committed he is to helping us participate in this divine community of love and oneness.- Carissa Quinn

Video - God by Bible Project

Question
Consider vs 23. What happens when followers of Jesus live in oneness with God and with one another? On the other hand, what if onlookers can’t find a unified expression of love on earth? How might this affect how they view God?

Read:
Ephesians 4:1-6 - The Voice

Paul is writing to the Church of Ephesus: As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you: Live a life that is worthy of the calling He has graciously extended to you. 2 Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. Tolerate one another in an atmosphere thick with love. 3 Make every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit has already created, with peace binding you together.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were all called to pursue one hope. 5 There is one Lord Jesus, one living faith, one ceremonial washing through baptism,[a] and 6 one God—the Father over all who is above all, through all, and in all.

*Now that Paul has described the new world as God would have it, he urges believers to live out their callings with humility, patience, and love: to walk as Jesus walked. These are the ways of Jesus. Paul encourages them to do whatever it takes to hold onto the unity that binds people together in peace. He does not ask them to create that unity; this has already been accomplished through the work of the Rescuer and His Spirit. Rather, he calls believers to guard that unity—a more modest but no less significant task—because that unity is founded on God’s oneness and work in the world. - The Voice

*Paul urges his listeners to live a life that matches God’s call to unity. He understands that without humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearing love, unity cannot exist. So he calls people to make every effort to keep the habits of unity that exist in the Spirit of God. God is one, and we too are called to be one. -Carissa Quinn

Question:
Where have you noticed expressions of humility, gentleness, patience, or love most recently?

Think on this in the coming week:
Think about a time when you were experiencing brokenness in a relationship. If you could travel back to that time, with this passage in mind, what would you do differently? What can you do today to build or rebuild a bond of peace?

Copyright © 2020 The Bible Project 1302 SE Ankeny St Portland, OR 97214 Church at Home series Dr Carissa Quinn, author

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.