Jesus prayed, “that they all may be\u00a0one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us<\/em>” (John 17:21). This prayer was not for unity among denominations, nor even for goodwill among congregations. It was for all individuals who believe in Jesus. Furthermore, it is not attained in some earthly organization or association but in God and Christ — ” In us.” Jesus prayed. I am one<\/em> with individuals who may never know of my existence if we are both in Christ. This unity depends on two things:<\/p>\n We abide in Christ, the vine, as His word abides in us (John 15:3-8). However, “Whoever transgresses\u00a0and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God<\/em>” (II John 9). When one leaves the doctrine\u00a0of Christ he separates himself from Christ and those who abide in the doctrine. I must not “receive him into<\/em> [my] house nor greet him<\/em>” as a brother (II John 10). John describes such individuals: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest,\u00a0that none of them were of us<\/em>” (I John 2:19).<\/p>\n Among those who endeavor to “abide in the doctrine of Christ<\/em>,” conflicting loyalties can destroy unity. This was the problem in Corinth. Paul wrote, “Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas, or ‘I am of Christ<\/em>” (I\u00a0Corinthians 1:12). Paul, Apollos and Cephas were good men with no desire to be the nucleus of a faction, yet factious people made this of them based on various prejudices and preferences.<\/p>\n If this was a problem in Corinth, it can surely be a problem for us. We can admire a certain preacher<\/strong> to the point that we judge anyone who does not share our admiration for him to be of questionable soundness. We\u00a0can be so strongly supportive of a college<\/strong> that we view with suspicion anyone who does not attend that college or send their children there. We can be loyal to a particular religious paper\u00a0<\/strong>to the point that we take as truth anything it teaches and question\u00a0the faithfulness of anyone who does not take that paper or may read\u00a0or write for another one (Loyalty\u00a0to a particular paper in the 1950’s determined the position that many took on controverted issues). We can even be so enthusiastic about the congregation<\/strong> we attend that\u00a0we find fault in others just to try\u00a0to improve our own reputation. We may also make the mistake that the Pharisees made when we elevate our human traditions<\/strong> (and every congregation has them) into a standard that every congregation or individual must respect to enjoy our approval.<\/p>\n Such attitudes are divisive and sinful and can cause us to be lost. Among the works of\u00a0the flesh in Galatians 5: 19-21 are “factions, divisions, parties<\/em>” (ASV). Like adultery, fornication, etc., such attitudes give pleasure to some people. They enjoy competition between us<\/em> and them<\/em>, especially when they can feel a sense of pride in the comparisons. They are ready to believe everything good about “us” and bad about “them.”<\/p>\n This was the spirit shown by John when he complained to Jesus: “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us<\/em>” (Luke 9:49). Elijah also suffered from such a spirit, exclaiming that of all the prophets of God, “I alone am left<\/em>” (I Kings 19:10). Both these men were rebuked, Elijah being informed that God had “seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him<\/em>” (I Kings 19:18). Doubtless there are seven thousand and many more faithful disciples of Christ who have never heard of the preachers I admire, the college I attended, the papers I read\u00a0or the congregation I attend, yet they are one with me in God and Christ. Let me never disregard them simply because they do “not follow with us.<\/em>“<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Sewell Hall via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 Jesus prayed, “that they all may be\u00a0one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:21). This prayer was not for unity among denominations, nor even for goodwill among congregations. It was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[478,996,456],"class_list":["post-69718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-false-teachers","tag-loyalty","tag-unity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88477,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/vital-starting-points-for-unity\/","url_meta":{"origin":69718,"position":0},"title":"Vital Starting Points for Unity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer All believers should, at the least, accept that Jesus wants His followers to be united together. He prayed \"for those who will believe in me through their (the apostles') word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52330,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/perfected-in-unity\/","url_meta":{"origin":69718,"position":1},"title":"Perfected in Unity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 17:13-26 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 final prayer to the Father before his arrest, Jesus expressed his desire that his followers be united, just as he and the Father were one - John 17:22-23 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That \u201cone\u201d is not numerical, but a unity in purpose and action.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37807,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/christs-prayer-for-unity\/","url_meta":{"origin":69718,"position":2},"title":"Christ’s Prayer for Unity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant In Christ's final hours before his crucifixion, we find him in the garden in earnest prayer to the Father. Much of his prayer expressed his concern for his disciples who would be left behind to carry on the mission that Christ had been sent to accomplish.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28710,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-jesus-prayer-for-unity-be-about-the-jews-and-gentiles-and-not-about-doctrine\/","url_meta":{"origin":69718,"position":3},"title":"Could Jesus’ prayer for unity be about the Jews and Gentiles and not about doctrine?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My question is about the Lord's prayer for unity in John 17. We generally view that as being a unity of doctrine but what in that passage determines that? Could the prayer for unity be for unity between the Jews and Gentiles and of heart and spirit (Acts 4:32)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41690,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-have-a-new-preacher-teaching-unity-in-a-diversity-of-beliefs\/","url_meta":{"origin":69718,"position":4},"title":"We have a new preacher teaching unity in a diversity of beliefs","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Our congregation recently has a new preacher. He is related to half the church members and is well-known in the community. But he is very liberal and has admitted to me that he wants to change things at our congregation. He told me, \"he is about a relationship with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61662,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-unity\/","url_meta":{"origin":69718,"position":5},"title":"Notes on Unity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Psalm 133:1-3 \"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69718\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Teaching or Practice Contrary to the\u00a0Teaching of Christ<\/h2>\n
Conflicting Loyalties<\/h2>\n