May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
At the beginning of his gospel John lays out the principle elements of Jesus mission to earth:
• Jesus is both with God and is God. (vs 1)
• Jesus is the source of life (John equates life with light here) (vs 4, 9)
• Jesus (God/Life/Light) came into the world but the world did not recognize him. (vs 10,11)
• Jesus gives the right to become children of God to those who believe in his name. (vs 12-13)
If people will believe that God has sent Jesus, if they believe in Jesus’ name, he is able to fulfill his mission. The question then becomes what does it take for people to believe that Jesus is real?
People of the world are very aware of people who claim they are not of the world. What believers say and do is important. It affects what the people of the world think about God. If we as Christians act like frauds then it makes sense that our claims about God carry very little weight. If we as Christians live like Christ, then we can credibly represent him to the world.
Our power to live like Christ does not come from our own will. It comes from Christ within us. If we are not one with Christ we have no credibility. If we are one with Christ, then our testimony is valid and our actions reflect our Lord.
But what about other people who claim to be believers?
Being “of the world” does not mean that you cannot claim to be a believer if that is what you want to do. Being one with Jesus does not guarantee that the world will believe you. Jesus asks his Father that his believers would be “in us” so that the world “may believe” that Jesus was sent by God.
I pray that God answers Jesus prayer.
Food for Thought: Does who you accept as a brother or sister in Christ reflect on your credibility as a Christian believer?
While it does definitely affect our ability to witness, but don’t think that people come to faith chiefly because Christians are great role models or have their lives out together. Our credibility does matter but we are also going to fail – we represent Jesus to people but we can never be Jesus for people.
Hi Nathan and Bri
Thanks for the comment! I agree with you 100%. Yet there are times when people who claim to be Christian deny the validity of God’s Word and substitute their own values. What then? Does it matter which church we associate with? If the answer to that is yes does it then matter which people we associate with? (I mean this in the theological sense not in a people sense. )
Yeah, this is a good albeit tough question. There are many angles from which to view this question. If we associate with, or call a brother or sister someone who is clearly not, we could end up confusing people who are seeking truth and trusting us as as a role model for their faith. In other words, we need to be careful what we communicate and model. Yet, Jesus is the only one they need. We must always point to Him. And He can overcome our failures. My life is a daily reminder of that.