Unity. What Kind?

     In John 17, the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the New Testament, He prays, among other things, for unity. It begins in verse 11, "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you, Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given to me, that they may be one as We are," (NKJV) and continues from verse 20 forwards. Jesus prays that we may be one as He and the Father are one, that we may behold His glory, and that the world might believe. For many years I have believed that this is one of the most important themes in the entire Bible. I still do. However, I find myself questioning again what kind of unity that Jesus refers too. I have previously dismissed the idea of organizational unity a la the Catholic Church, or doctrinal unity as many Protestants prefer in favor of something i labeled "relational unity," based on the familial language found throughout the New Testament- God as the Father, Jesus as the Son , and believers as brothers or sisters. I saw followers of Christ coming together in unity based on our relationships. I now believe that is incomplete.
     Our true unity is found in Jesus Himself, and specifically in His Lordship. It is our loving obedience to Jesus in response to His loving obedience to the will of the Father to give Himself as an atoning sacrifice for our sins ( 1 John 4:10) that creates unity among us. In other words the focus is on Jesus, not on us. This thought is taken from many Scriptures such as Philippians 2:9-11 which says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Or John 4:34 where Jesus says that His food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Or John 14:15, "If you love me, obey my commands."