Can We be Perfected into One (John 17:23)?, Anonymous

Today the Lord Jesus is building His church. He promised that He would (Mt. 16:18). As lovers of Jesus we desire to cooperate with Him toward this building. We have no heart to build up something man-made, self-serving, or individualistic. On the night He was arrested He prayed, even sweating blood (Lk. 22:44), and the essence of His prayer was oneness, the unique nature of His life's work (Jn. 10:16). He asked God the Father to perpetuate this oneness in those who would believe after His death (Jn. 17:20-21). The Apostle Paul echoes this truth in his epistles, particularly in Ephesians, his master thesis on the church (Eph. 4). Paul also gives us the consummate image of the church Jesus is building as the body of Christ, with our dear Lord as the Head (Eph. 4:15-16). This is the vision that knocked Paul off his horse, governed his life and propelled the gospel to the Gentile world, our world.

My experience of the Lord began in childhood, having been raised by believing parents and prayerful grandparents. His love was made known to me and we began to fellowship in prayer. Mostly I asked Him questions, especially once my family moved outside the United States. This caused me to realize that great nations and myriads of people lived their lives with different goals and on other foundations than those I was familiar with. From my youth I began to ask the Lord about the meaning of human life, and He answered me with a question: “What about My death?” He Himself gave me the key to the answer to His question while I was in college, guiding me to read the entire chapter 17 of the Gospel of John. From that time (1968) I knew His desire, but not where to find or how to experience what was revealed in John chapter 17.

My search ended abruptly in 1981, when I accepted the umpteenth invitation to worship with Christians outside the denominations. I began to meet with the church in Austin, and began to read the writings of Witness Lee. For the first time I was able to see the Bible as one book, a complete entity, with a clear line of truth and purpose. This changed my living from individualistic, concerned with my own spirituality, to being corporate, or Body conscious. I always remember Witness Lee reminding us not to just take his word for it, but to search the Scriptures. For me, his ministry always passed with flying colors. Now I have the vision and the way to receive all believers and preach the kingdom (Acts 1:3) till He comes!