The Oneness Flowing From Pentecost

One of Jesus’ most treasured ambitions was to see true oneness among believers. John 17:21

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.

To be clear, this is a record of Jesus praying for you and I. He wants us to go way beyond unity of purpose and become one as he is one with Father God. He wants us to know the deep connection of inseparable beings who share the same Spirit – a dream that found its first fulfilment at Pentecost.

The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost brought the disciples into a shared experience, filling each with the same love and power, and stirring every one of them to the same action – to pour out into the streets and begin to minister the love of God to the gathered citizens of the known world. They drew the same Breath and were empowered in the same ways, knowing complete oneness in moments that saw the Kingdom of God become a reality on Earth for the first time.

I used to attend a small group with 5 other men, some of whom were on the opposite end of the political and social spectrum to me. We would not have gravitated to each other if we’d met somewhere else but as a small group we became close, supporting each other through difficulties and rejoicing with each other in blessings and victories. This unity was forged by spending time in the presence of God and learning to collectively follow his leading.

There were plenty of instances when personalities chafed uncomfortably against each other but once we began to pray, that faded to nothing. Every person in the group was either already sensitive to the Spirit or became more so as part of the journey we went on, and he would lead us in wonderful, complementary ways that brought us into a flow of power and purpose. Our prayers were answered (a promised outcome of spiritual unity), and we would be deeply touched by the love of God. Our barriers were down, our hearts open, and during those times of Spirit-led prayer, we were one.

The Holy Spirit brings oneness. In fact, the Holy Spirit is oneness, and we are called to lay down our defences and enter that flow.

We should not seek to diminish the importance of being led by the Spirit or to demystify the Great Mystery. We need to embrace the fact that we are spirit beings, led and loved by the ultimate Spirit Being. 1 Cor 2:10-13

“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

We are far more than we often dare to believe. We are spirit beings infused with the Spirit of the Living God. If we have him boxed in, he is asking for the freedom to move. If we deny his presence and power, we shut his work down in our lives. Let’s not seek to demystify the Breath of Life. Instead, let our hearts yield to his love and seek perfect oneness with him and with others. It takes courage to say yes to God – what will you say, when he asks for you to lower your defences and yield to Love?