The Beliefs of John Robert Stevens

In John 17:21, Jesus prayed that His people would be one—just as He and the Father are one—in order that the world would believe the Father sent Christ. Out of this scriptural foundation, Stevens placed a great emphasis on the importance and power of oneness.

There is a purpose behind the unity. Our witness of Jesus Christ as Lord depends upon that unity. When we are one as the Father and Christ are one, then the world will believe…. The day of personal ambition is over. The day of one independent church is over. The day of saying, “Here I stand with my ministry” is also past. Today it is the ministry of Jesus Christ through a many-membered Body.¹

Another scriptural promise concerning oneness that Stevens taught was from John 17:23: “I in them and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity…” Oneness brings about our perfection. The members of the Body of Christ should help one another grow into that perfection. Romans 15:1 says that the strong should help carry those who are weak. Stevens believed that spiritual independence is a sin against the Body.

The early Church was of “one heart and soul,” and they had a power in their oneness. When they prayed together, things were shaken (Acts 4:31-32). Their oneness was not born out of a conformity of personality, or even a sharing of common interests but was divinely imparted by God through the Holy Spirit.

True spiritual oneness begins with a revelation of one another in the Lord. Instead of seeing each other by our natural eyes, God reveals our brothers and sisters to us by His Spirit. Many interpersonal problems are solved simply by receiving a revelation of one another. Stevens contrasted oneness with unity, saying that people can be united, but not necessarily be one. He believed that true oneness can only be achieved in God; it is He who makes us one. Oneness is not dependent on conformity, nor is it threatened by diversity. God has given each member different gifts and ministries, but in Christ every believer is able to participate in the oneness of His Body together.

The term oneness appears 1,689 times in Stevens’ written materials.