Unity is a very big deal to Jesus. This is evidenced by the fact that He prayed for it three times (17:11, 21, 22). There exists a unity between the Father and the Son, even when Jesus was upon the earth and had rid Himself of His deity. He was fully human and yet at the same time fully unified with the Father (John 10:30).

John 17:11  I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.

John 17:21-22  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.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:

John 10:30  I and the Father are one.”

Further, He states that the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father. The two are one and yet distinctly different. Barrett sees it this way, “the Father is active in the Son – it is the Father who does his works (14:10) – and apart from the Father the deeds of the Son are meaningless, and indeed would be impossible; the Son again is in the Father, eternally with him in the unity of the Godhead, active alike in creation and redemption.” The amazing thing here is that Jesus prays a similar thing for all believers. They are to be in the Father and in the Son without losing their identity. Remember what He said in (John 15:4-8). It is only in this type of relationship that they can do anything. So the unity Jesus is requesting is one which will result in a more complete relationship with the Father and the Son and this, in turn, will result in the world believing that Jesus came from God. Strachan notes that, “The size and extent of the Church alone will not impress the world. This inward unity expressing itself in a common mission and message will alone impress the world.”

John 14:10  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

John 15:4-8  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

This brings us to ask exactly what is the type of unity Jesus expects His followers to have? The type of unity that it is not to be is one of organization. Nor is it a unity of creeds or rituals. Jesus does not want us to strive for ecclesiastical unity as some religious organizations do. The unity He wants is one of personal relationship. This has several facets:

Unity of one body (John 11:52; Eph 1:10).

John 11:52  and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.

Ephesians 1:10  to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

Unity of being one in spirit with the Lord and thus with everyone else who is also one in spirit with the Lord (1 Cor 6:17).

1 Corinthians 6:17  But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Unity of heart. This is similar to the previous one in that it has to do with having the same desires, aspirations, priorities, and love.

This unity will become perfect upon our arrival in heaven and will be developed within us until that time (John 17:23, Eph 4:13).

John 17:23  I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Ephesians 4:13  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.

The process by which unity among believers today is attained is revealed in (Eph 2:15-16). Unity is only possible in Christ. Bromiley (Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, p 539) states that “As divided men they first meet in his crucified body, in which their old life is put to death and destroyed.” It is Christ who unites us. If we truly love and obey Him, unity is only natural because He is not divided among Himself (Matt 12:25-26). Our differences should never be an excuse for disunity (1 Cor 12:12-13, Rom 12:4-5).

Ephesians 2:15-16  by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,  and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

Matthew 12:25-26  Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

1 Corinthians 12:12-13  The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Romans 12:4-5  Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,  so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Unity is beautiful and should be sought after (Psa 133:1-3).

Psalms 133:1-3  A song of ascents. Of David. How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!  It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes.  It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life for evermore.

It seems that the prayer of Jesus was answered for a time after His ascension (Acts 4:32). However, it didn’t last long (1 Cor 1:10-11, 3:1-4) and with all of our different denominations and so much discord within individual churches today, it still is not being answered. This was not the intent of Jesus! Why is His prayer not answered? Because God will not over-ride the will of man.

Acts 4:32  All the believers were one in heart and mind. No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

1 Corinthians 1:10-11  I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.  My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.

1 Corinthians 3:1-4  Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

On a different note, sometimes it takes time for prayer to be answered. If it takes 2,000 years or more for Jesus to get His prayers answered, why should we lose heart when our answers linger only a few days or months?