When Yeshua (Jesus) prayed to the Father about the oneness of the Body of Christ, He said, “That they may all be one … so that the world may know that You sent Me” (John 17:21, 23).[1] What Yeshua says is important. So if we turn that statement around and put it in the negative, is it possible to say that the world will never believe unless we are one? If that is the case, we must do something about it.

Sometimes our message to the world seems like a joke to them because they look at the Church and do not see the truth of what we are preaching. Some say, “You can’t even get along with each other. Why would I want to join that?” They have a good point, but God has given the Holy Spirit to help us. Yeshua said, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me” (John 17:22–23). I want the world to know that the Father sent Yeshua, but I have to ask myself, “Do I want them to know it badly enough that I’m willing to be one with my brother?” It requires something from us.

This oneness is where the early Church had its power. When they all prayed together, “they lifted their voices to God with one accord” (Acts 4:24). They were all saying the same thing. “And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). Great miracles and signs and wonders were taking place though the apostles and abundant grace was on them all. The power was in the oneness.

We have yet to see thousands of people saved all at once (Acts 2:41, 4:4). If we are going to manifest the Kingdom of God in this earth, then we must bind the strongman and plunder his house (Matthew 12:29). When Yeshua talked about casting out the devil, He said, “If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). The ability to bind and cast out satan is a manifestation of the Kingdom of the Father. Our job is to bind the strongman and plunder his house, and part of that plunder is the souls that are under the devil’s control. We are not supposed to wait for Christ’s return to get rid of satan and create the atmosphere of the Kingdom. Yeshua expects that to be done by the time He gets here. Individually we cannot do this, but together we can. If we come into oneness, there will be an outpouring of His Spirit.

The first six chapters of Acts show the tremendous oneness of the early Church, and with that oneness came tremendous power, anointing, miracles, boldness, and a Word from God. The believers were moving in the power and authority of the Spirit—not just the apostles, but the entire Body of Christ. So we must open our hearts to follow the Holy Spirit as He leads us into oneness. Then once again people will shout, “These men who have upset the world have come here also” (Acts 17:6).

[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).