June 24, 2023
Unified In All Things
“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 (NASB)
Today’s passage will take us on a little theology lesson for today concerning the Trinity. Because this passage has been debated for centuries, feel free to re-read it again to gain complete clarity. It may take some time to read, but I am sure you will gain a new appreciation for what Jesus said. It will allow you to see with clarity how important the Trinity is, and how it is unified in our salvation. I wish someone would have shared this with me years ago so I would have been clearer in this area. When we understand God more fully, it helps us understand and appreciate who God is and what He has done for each of us who know Christ as Savior.
“I and the Father are one.” This is one of the greatest statements in the New Testament. Jesus statement leaves no doubt that He and the Father are One. These statements from Brown and Fausset are a little deep for reading, but I think you will enjoy how they break this statement down and make good practical sense: “I and my Father are one—Our language admits not of the precision of the original in this great saying. “Are” is in the masculine gender— “we (two persons) are”; while “one” is neuter— “one thing.” Perhaps “one interest” expresses, as nearly as may be, the purport of the saying. There seemed to be some contradiction between His saying they had been given by His Father into His own hands, out of which they could not be plucked, and then saying that none could pluck them out of His Father’s hands, as if they had not been given out of them. “Neither have they,” says He; “though He has given them to Me, they are as much in His own almighty hands as ever—they cannot be, and when given to Me they are not, given away from Himself; for He and I have all in common.” Thus it will be seen, that, though oneness of essence is not the precise thing here affirmed, that truth is the basis of what is affirmed, without which it would not be true. And Augustine was right in saying the “We are” condemns the Sabellians (who denied the distinction of Persons in the Godhead), while the “one” (as explained) condemns the Arians (who denied the unity of their essence).”[1] While they may sound complicated, they explain how Jesus and the Father are two distinct persons. They are one thing, or one interest, with one goal. When Jesus illustrated those (believers in-Christ) who were given to Him by the Father, He was actually saying “Since we are two people, being the same in oneness, no one can pluck anyone from our hands.” This is because an attempt to take us from the Father’s hands would be like trying to take us from Jesus’ hands. This is impossible. This union is One in two distinct persons. As you can see from the latter part of this quote, there were those who denied the three distinct persons in the Godhead (Sabellianism). There were also those who denied all of the Godhead as a union (Arianism).
So what does this mean to us? The Father and Jesus have always been in unison. There was never a time otherwise. Jesus statement to the Jews was not only a response to the continued denial of Him, but to declare Himself God Incarnate. The words couldn’t be clearer. “I and the Father are One.” The Jews heard the truth as clearly as He could have communicated, and they hated Him for it. Even though men hated Him, it would not stop God in His plan. “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). But He did it anyway!
[1] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, pp. 147–148). Logos Research Systems, Inc.