One Body

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There is one Body in this universe,
And we express it here on earth;
We stand as one in each locality
For all to see, for all to see.
Hymn #1107

This is the chorus of a hymn we often sing when gathered together. It expresses the unique oneness of the Body of Christ and our desire to manifest this oneness for the world to see. Some would call it an anthem of the church. But why is oneness such a great matter — even the great matter — of the church today?

In the book of John, the Lord declared: “But concerning those also who believe into Me through their word, That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me” (17:20-23).

There is no greater purpose for the church than to manifest oneness and for all men, saved and sinner alike, to see the glory of the church. Yet throughout the ages, something crept into the church defiling this expression and fracturing the oneness. What once was simple and pure has become complicated and divisive. We have diluted the true meaning and understanding of oneness, replacing it with man’s interpretation to “get along, think the same and do the same thing.” Yet this is not what Christ declared when He prayed to the Father on our behalf. 

Oneness is beyond just “getting along or tolerating one another.” It is being mingled, “I in You, and You in Me.” The intimacy of this can only come through a relationship. Christ was the perfect pattern of this divine and harmonious oneness. All that Christ was He gave freely to the Father. All the Father had, He gave freely to the Son. This beautiful and symbiotic relationship was the oneness. And Christ prayed on our behalf to the Father that we’d have the same relationship. Today, through Christ, we can have this relationship not only with the Father, by the Son, through the Spirit — we can also have it with one another. And that is called the church, a gathering of the called ones. Whether we have known one another all our life, or just met today, the Christ we share makes us immediately mingle-able, harmonious, one.

There is one Body in this universe, and there is no room for man’s pride or opinion. To behold a room full of men, women, and children of all races, cultures, ages, and walks of life coming together for the sole purpose of enjoying Christ and being mingled — it is beyond compare; words fail to describe just how beautiful oneness truly is. It must be experienced. When Christ is the center, all will witness the glory of the church as she was meant to be, standing as one.

(Above are notes of fellowship taken from a gathering on 1/5/2025, not reviewed by the speaker.)

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