One Nation Under God

“…one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

These are noble words, and nothing could be closer to the heart of the Creator than to have a holy nation that matches that description. Indeed, the Law and the Prophets, and the Savior who came to fulfill them,1 call for nothing less than such a nation. Old Israel failed to be that indivisible holy nation producing the fruit of justice and righteousness that God earnestly longed for:

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant planting; and He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;for righteousness, but behold, an outcry! (Isaiah 5:7)

That is why Jesus, when He retold Isaiah's parable of the vineyard to the religious leaders of His day, ended with this stunning judgment:

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. (Matthew 21:43)

You can be sure that He had in mind nothing less than the holy nation which the Apostle Peter wrote about many years later:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

So where is this holy nation today? Is it America? But if that were so, where does that leave believers who are citizens of other countries? Are they excluded from the holy nation? Or could it be that Jesus was not thinking of a political nation at all, but rather a spiritual nation? For what if America, for example, should go to war against another country, such as Germany? How could the believers in America ever take up the sword against their fellow believers in Germany?2 They would have to disobey their Savior's command to “love one another as I have loved you.”3 Unthinkable!

Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight…”4 But He actually forbade His disciples to fight for His sake with the weapons of this world.5 And as His beloved disciple John later wrote, “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”6 So if the whole world, including all of its political nations,7 is under the control of the evil one, then where is the “one nation under God”?

If ever there could be such a nation, surely it would be the answer to the Savior's earnest prayer the night before He was crucified:

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. (John 17:20-23)

The World Can't See Mystical Unity

Jesus was not one to waste words or utter vague generalities. His prayer was very specific, urgent, and not the least bit mystical. If His disciples — all of them — are not one as He and His Father are one, then there is no possibility that the world can know that His Father ever sent Him, or even that He loves them. This unity must be expressed outwardly, for how can the world “see” the so-called mystical unity that Christians say binds all “true believers” together? Disciples of the Son of God cannot be divided in any way — not doctrinally, not politically, not economically, not racially, not socially — unless the Father and the Son are also divided in the same way. They are to be truly one nation under God — that is, a spiritual nation that transcends political boundaries and bears the fruit of the Kingdom, being under the headship of the King.

“Impossible!” you say? If that is the case, then either Jesus died in vain or we are following another Jesus who does not have the power to save us from the sin that divides us.

“But there is no other Jesus! There is only one Jesus and He's our Savior!”

Ok, then why do all of us who claim to know Him as our Lord and Savior not seem to know the same Lord?8 If we truly have the same Lord, why are we going in thousands9 of conflicting directions?10 Why are we divided over doctrine, politics, race, sexuality, culture, and in countless other ways?11 How can there be rich and poor Christians even within the same congregation?12 And why are the past 1700 years of history stained with the blood of Christians killing one another?13

Human Nature

I know, “It's just human nature. When we all get to heaven, then we'll be one.” So how is this Jesus saving his people from their sins?14 Isn't that why the Savior came and died for us — to set us free from our sinful nature?15 The Apostle Paul didn't go for the “sinful nature” excuse: