The night before he died Jesus prayed for us, for you and me, for we who meet in his name and for all who believe in him. What he prayed for us all was that we all may be one. It was his last wish offered in prayer to his Father. As you, Father, 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. There is a great deal in this prayer.
Every word is packed with meaning.
The request That they may all be one does not stand alone. The kind of unity for which he prayed is included in the prayer, and the purpose for which we should be united is also there. In one way or another Christians of all traditions seem to agree that it is God's will that they should all be one in some sense but believers have different ideas about the nature of the unity to which we are called. There has been much debate over the centuries about such things as whether it is necessary that Christians should have organic unity, being one visible fellowship, worshipping together at the one table, etc., or whether it is sufficient that we recognize our spiritual unity, sharing perhaps an invisible unity which we have by virtue of our communion with the one Lord. He said, As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us .