The foundational hypothesis of this research study, now moving into its fifth year, has been:
- The final prayer of Jesus for perfect unity in John 17:23, just before he went to the cross (“tell ‘em what you told ‘em), can be fulfilled today by you and me; …
- … if all believers will commit to obeying all the commands of Jesus – this what we have in common.
- The Cycle for us begins with the commands of Jesus;
- We suffer temptation and disobedience which lead to disunity from God and from each other;
- We receive warnings and then judgment, following the pattern of all humanity;
- But then we are given a choice:
- Repent sincerely and receive the never-ending love of God and restoration to the Kingdom of God; or
- Repeat the Cycle over and over starting with temptation and ending with judgment.
To get to this point, we have searched for lessons of unity verse by verse through the entire Old Testament and the early chapters of the Four Gospels.
But today we reach ground zero for perfect unity – the initial commands of Jesus.
So today, I will step out of setting context, and simply record the initial commands of Jesus, some of which we have already seen. Together these commands serve as the immovable foundation for all the commands of Jesus that will now emerge from the Four Gospels:
- “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15);
- “Begone, Satan” (Mt 4:10);
- “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17);
- “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15);
- “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17; Jn 1:43);
- “Let us go on to the next towns, for that is why I came out” (Mk 1:38);
- “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well: for I was sent for this purpose” (Lk 4:43);
- “Come and see” (Jn 1:39);
- “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade” (Jn 2:16);
- “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:3); and
- “…the Son of Man must be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15).
- Righteousness matters above all things – Jesus does not ask us to do what he does not do himself.
- The way to ward off temptation is by asking Jesus to command Satan to get lost.
- The only way into the kingdom of God is through repentance.
- The time is fulfilled for Jesus to inaugurate the kingdom – we must not delay.
- Follow Jesus day in and day out, every waking hour.
- Jesus came to preach the good news to everyone, everywhere – through us.
- Jesus is accessible – come and see.
- The church is holy; do not defile it with crass business dealings.
- We must be born again to enter the kingdom of God.
- Whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life already, not just later.
Is there anything here that true Christians cannot accept in seeking unity together?