When Jesus said that he and his Father were one, what exactly did he mean? Well, when we are unsure of what is meant in Scripture, it is good practice to compare Scripture to Scripture to gain an overall picture of what Scripture says on the matter. Accordingly, let’s look to the Scriptures for other similar instances of the use of the word “one” to help us understand what is meant by “one” in John 10:30:
- The first instance of the word “one” is in Genesis 2:24, which tells us that when a man and a woman marry, they become one. Clearly, we don’t become the same person when we marry. We do, however, become one in thought and purpose.
- When Paul wrote to the Corinthians about his ministry there, he said that he had planted the seed and Apollos had watered it. Then he said, “he who plants and he who waters are one” (1 Cor. 3:8, KJV). In the Greek texts, the wording of Paul is the same as that in John 10:30, but no one claims that Paul and Apollos make up “one being.” Furthermore, the NIV translates 1 Corinthians 3:8 as “he who plants and he who waters have one purpose.” Why translate the phrase as “are one” in one place, but as “have one purpose” in another place? In this case, translating the same phrase in two different ways obscures the clear meaning of Christ’s statement in John 10:30: Jesus always did the Father’s will; he and God have “one purpose.”
- John 11:52 says Jesus was to die to make all God’s children “one”, and John 17:22-23 (NKJV) says, “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.”
Here, Jesus prayed that we would all be one with God, just like Jesus is. I think we can all agree that we are not all God, therefore Jesus couldn’t have been claiming to be God when he said he was one with his Father. - Paul further explains the mindset of Jesus for us to be one in Philippians 2:1-5 (REV), “Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from love, if any fellowship based on the spirit, if any compassion or mercy, fulfill my joy by having the same mindset, having the same love, being together with one soul—of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or out of empty conceit, but in humility consider one another as more important than yourselves. Each of you should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of each other. Have this mindset in you that was also in Christ Jesus.”
In conclusion, when we look closely at the Scriptures, as well as the context of John 10:30, we can conclude that Jesus was referring to the fact that he had the same purpose as God did, and that he was backed by God. Jesus was speaking about his ability to keep the “sheep,” or the believers, who came to him. He said, “… no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:29). Note that he doesn’t say that no one can snatch them out of his hand, rather, he says that no one can snatch them out of his Father’s hand (because his Father is mightier than all). He was explaining that he is backed by his father; that no one can take the sheep from Jesus’s hand because his Father won’t allow it (not because they can’t). After he explains this, he says that he and the Father are “one.” So after Jesus explains that his Father is the power behind him, he goes on to say that he and his Father are one, clarifying that they are united in thought and purpose (that they want the same things and they will back each other on those things). This is a very common expression used even today. It wouldn’t make any sense for Jesus to distinguish himself from the Father the way he did, making himself inferior, in verse 29, and then going on to say that he is the Father in verse 30. So when we look closely at these verses in the context of what is happening, it becomes clear that Jesus was not claiming to be God, rather he was explaining that he and his Father always have the same purpose; in this case, it is the purpose of keeping and protecting the sheep.
