'That they may be one just as We are One'
Regarding Joh 17:22 which many suppose that "the Father and the Son are
one and the same", our Lord Jesus Christ, praying to the Father, simply
said in the verse:
"And the glory which you gave me, I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one." (New King James Version)
The statement as you will see, does not in any way teach that Christ is
Himself the Father and vice versa, as how others interpret the verse.
Verse 9 and 20 of that chapter inform us that Christ was then praying for the believers or true Christians:
"I pray for them, I do not pray for the world but for those whom You
given Me, for they are Yours. ... I do not pray for these alone, but
also for those who will believe in Me through their word." (Ibid.)
As part of his prayer for the believers, Christ then said to God in verse 22, "that they may be one just as We are one."
First, if we were to accept the interpretation that Christ here was
teaching that "He and the Father are one and the same," then we would
also have to accept the absurd and unbiblical conclusion that Christ is
praying that all Christians become one and the same when he said "that
they may be one just as We are one."
Without isolating the phrase, "We are one" in John 17:22 from its
proper context, the message of Christ is very clear and does not result
in any absurdity:
"My
prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and mind, just
as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world
will believe you sent me. The glory which you have given Me I have given
them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in
Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that
You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." (John 17:22, Living Bible; 22-23, New American Standard Bible).
It is clear therefore that the "one-ness" being referred to by Christ
in His prayer is neither His alleged being "one and the same" with God,
nor His supposed being God also as the Father is, but His having "one
heart and mind" with the Father or their "unity".
Furthermore, the teaching that Christ is also the Father creates
forthright contradictions, just in the beginning of John 17, the Gospel
records, thus:
"After
Jesus had finished speaking to his disciples, he looked up toward
heaven and prayed: Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to
your Son, in order that he may bring glory in you.
"Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent." (John 17: 1,3, Contemporary English Version).
Notice that Christ said, "Father, the time has come for you to bring
glory to your Son." This statement of Christ clearly teaches that the
Father to whom Christ was praying has a Son. Now, if Jesus were Himself
the Father, then who would be the Son of Jesus to whom He would bring
glory? It is therefore very clear that when Jesus looked up toward
heaven and said, "Father," He was neither referring nor talking to
Himself but to someone else-the Father who is the only true God.
Finally, to prove that He differs from God who is the Father, Christ said, "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28, New King James Version).
The phrase "greater than" obviously shows that two subjects distinct
from each other are being compared, for it is absurd and illogical to
say that one is greater than his own self. Indubitably therefore, Christ
and God are not one and the same.