“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 

one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

(Ephesians 4:4-6, NIV)

 

One Sunday, my pastor preached on how there are different levels with God. His sermon for that week was about the level of service some of the disciples had. As he was preaching, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Service is not available in the heart until oneness is established in the Spirit.”

 

I finally understood why so many pastors are having to beg their members to serve. There is no true oneness with God. John 10:30 (NASB) states, “I and the Father are one.” 

 

John 17:11 (NASB) reads, “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.” 

 

 John 17:22 (NASB) reminds, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one.”

 

These scriptures illustrate Jesus’ oneness with the Father, which is the same oneness we should have with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, if we are born-again Christians.

 

When I think of oneness with God, immediately I think of the scripture John 15:7 (NKJV), “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

 

The word abide means to dwell. So, to rephrase this scripture, it would say, “If you dwell in Me, and My words dwell in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

 

When I looked up the word dwell on Dictionary.com, two of its meanings stood out. The first is, “to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside." The second is, “to live or continue in a given condition or state.”

 

So, to obtain oneness with God, we need to take up permanent residence in Him, and in return He will take up permanent residence in us. Now that’s just amazing! But that’s oneness! And from a state or condition of oneness, service will come as a byproduct of the heart of God being manifested in our hearts.

 

As we can see from the scriptures above, even Jesus was one with the Father, and what the Father did, Jesus was also able to do. Jesus said he came to serve, so if we allow oneness with God, the Father, through God the Son, by the Power of God, the Holy Spirit, we will also be servants in God’s kingdom. Simply because we have God’s heart to serve with. Remember, “As He is so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17, KJV).

 

Prayer:

Father, we receive our oneness with You. We give you all of us in return for all of You. We renounce our sinfulness for Your righteousness and blessedness. Holy Spirit please enter into us and take up Your dwelling place in our hearts. Thank You, Lord, for creating in us clean hearts and for renewing the right Spirit within us. In the name of our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.