Please note the following is an excerpt from “Jesus’ Prayer from A to Z”, of which I’m Editor.


– T – Transcending Unity, by Trune, Dean


“My prayer is... for those who will believe in me... that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21)
Jesus knew the incredible power that comes from unity. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3) He has had a “front row” seat for all of history.

Consider the account in Genesis concerning people at the tower of Babel. But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (Genesis 11:5-6)

Apparently construction did not transcend language. But, more importantly, the Lord understood fully the power of unity. He knew what was possible with “one people”. His perspective was (and is) that unity makes all things possible. This unity transcends all barriers.

Let us consider what transcend means. One appropriate definition of transcend means “to climb above and see”. When we climb above the perceived barriers to the unity for which Jesus prayed, we will see His perspective. When we see His perspective, we will be enabled to have unity because we will then see His Spirit’s work in one another’s hearts, molded and shaped by this same Jesus.

Transcending Language:
Language need not be a barrier to unity in Jesus. My contacts with believers speaking different languages have convinced me of one thing: demonstrating Jesus in our lives is more important than words. The life of Jesus within provides a solid foundation for unity. Speaking the same language is helpful for unity, but certainly not necessary. Jesus is our common denominator. When teaching in countries where my English had to be translated, our language differences did not hinder our unity in Jesus, for we saw one another’s hearts!

Transcending Culture:
We often are led to believe that different cultures think differently, behave differently, and understand differently. Not so with unity in Jesus. Jesus bridges and transcends all cultures. I recall an hour conversation with a Chinese pastor whose culture was totally different from mine. He shared experiences as a believer that I can only hear of with awe and amazement. But we saw one another’s hearts! In what we saw there was plenty of unity in Christ to last a lifetime.

Transcending Doctrine:
I have led prayer seminars in Bible-believing churches outside of my own brotherhood and have learned of a multitude of things we have in common. By contrast, our differences shrunk to the place of being seemingly “immaterial”. The love, fellowship, understanding and compassion we shared were firmly based on our common faith in Jesus and His Word, not in our own doctrinal interpretations. I was extremely blessed and so were they, because we saw one another’s hearts! True, biblical doctrine on any matter is important, and we all have some of it, but the doctrine of our unity in Jesus is of over-riding significance. Jesus said people would know that we are His disciples, not by our right doctrine, but by our love for one another. (John 13:35) That is unity in Jesus!

Let us pray: Father, open our eyes to Jesus’ perspective. I pray and believe for the unity in Jesus that transcends every barrier for His glory. May that transcendent unity be evidentially at work in us to win the world to faith in Jesus. Make our lives to be all about Him!


We Are One In The Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored:
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand;
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land;
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

- Peter Scholtes (b. 1938)
(C) 1966 F.E.L. Assigned 1991 to The Lorenz Corporation All rights reserved
International copyright secured. Used by permission.


What barriers has God’s love transcended in my life?
Transportation & Travel
(Auto, truck, plane, train, ships)

Pray for Believers in Tahiti, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks & Caicos Is., Tuvalu

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tom (Jn.17:21) M.,