The Ones Who Stand as One

The Ones Who Stand as One

Based on Gospel of Thomas, Saying 23: "I'll choose you, one out of a thousand and two out of ten thousand, and they'll stand as a single one."

Opening Scripture & Reflection

"Many are called, but few are chosen." - Matthew 22:14

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." - Matthew 18:20

There is a choosing that does not flatter. There is a calling that does not comfort. There is a unity that does not erase difference, but burns through it like fire through dross, refining what is precious and consuming what is false.

The words are few, but they carry the weight of ages. One out of a thousand. Two out of ten thousand. And they will stand, not as many scattered voices crying in the wilderness, not as competing claims to truth, but as a single one. United not merely in thought, but in the very Spirit of God. Joined not by human doctrine alone, but by divine depth that surpasses understanding.

This is the great paradox that Paul knew well: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). The many becoming one without ceasing to be many. The individual dissolving into the universal while becoming more fully who God created them to be.

The Mystery of the Few

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matthew 7:13-14

This is not a sermon about exclusivity wrapped in spiritual language. It is not about the chosen few lording over the unchosen many, for as Jesus himself reminded us: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" (Mark 10:43-44).

This is a sermon about readiness, about the soul that has been cracked open by divine longing, the heart that has been hollowed out by sacred fire, the mind that has finally stopped its desperate grasping and learned to listen with its whole being to the voice of the Shepherd.

The choosing spoken of here is not merit-based, as if some cosmic scorekeeper were tallying our good deeds against our failures. Scripture is clear: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Rather, this choosing is resonance-based, like the sheep who know their shepherd's voice: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). The chosen are not better than others, they are simply attuned to a frequency that others have not yet learned to hear, responsive to a call that others have not yet recognized as their own.

Think of Samuel as a boy in the temple, hearing his name called in the night while Eli slept on, unaware (1 Samuel 3). Not because Samuel was more worthy than Eli, but because his young heart was tender and ready to receive what God wanted to speak. The choosing is both gift and preparation, grace and attentiveness, divine initiative and human receptivity.

As Jesus told his disciples: "The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand'" (Matthew 13:13). It is not that God withholds truth from some and gives it to others arbitrarily. Rather, some have developed eyes to see and ears to hear, while others remain clouded by the concerns of this world.

The Many Who Become One

"I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you 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." - John 17:20-21

To stand as a single one is not to lose yourself in some gray uniformity. It is not to become a faceless member of a spiritual collective. It is precisely the opposite, it is to become yourself so fully, so authentically, so completely in Christ that the artificial boundaries that seemed to separate you from others simply dissolve like mist before the morning sun.

This is what Paul meant when he wrote: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Not that our human distinctions cease to matter, but that they cease to divide us when we recognize our deeper unity in the body of Christ.

The chosen are like the stones in Solomon's temple, each cut to fit perfectly in its place, each unique in shape and function, yet all serving the same sacred purpose: "In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built" (1 Kings 6:7). Each stone was prepared in isolation, yet when brought together, they formed something greater than the sum of their parts, a dwelling place for the Most High.

When Jesus speaks of choosing one from a thousand, he echoes the ancient pattern we see throughout Scripture. Noah and his family from all humanity. Abraham from among the nations. Moses from among the Israelites. David from among his brothers. Mary from among all the daughters of Israel. Not because the others were worthless, but because these were ready for the specific work God had prepared.

As Jeremiah heard: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" (Jeremiah 1:5). This knowing, this setting apart, this choosing, it exists before merit or achievement, before success or failure. It is the recognition of something that was established before the foundation of the world.

Parable: The Flame and the Echo

"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

In a vast canyon where the walls rose like cathedral spires toward the infinite sky, ten thousand voices cried out for truth, each echoing the desperate prayer of the tax collector: "God, have mercy on me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13). Each voice echoed off the ancient stone, distorted by distance, multiplied by repetition, until the canyon filled with a beautiful cacophony of seeking, heartbreaking in its sincerity, overwhelming in its volume.

But one voice remembered the words of Elijah's encounter with the divine: "The Lord was not in the wind... not in the earthquake... not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper" (1 Kings 19:11-12). This voice did not join the chorus of crying. It listened. It became still as the stones themselves, patient as the sky, receptive as the empty spaces between the canyon walls.

And in that profound stillness, deeper than silence, it heard what the others could not: the flame. Not a sound that could be captured by ears, but the kind of knowing that burned in the hearts of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:32). Not the roar of obvious revelation, but the whisper that Elijah heard in the cave, the still small voice that speaks louder than shouting.

The flame did not choose this voice arbitrarily, like a cosmic lottery. The voice chose the flame through its willingness to follow the wisdom of the Psalmist: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). And when this voice finally spoke again, if it spoke at all, it was no longer one voice among many. It had become like Mary, declaring: "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled" (Luke 1:38). The canyon itself finding its voice, the stones and sky and empty spaces singing in perfect harmony.

Biblical Foundations of the Choosing

The Pattern of Divine Selection

Throughout Scripture, we see this pattern of the few chosen from the many. When God called Abraham, He did not call all the families of the earth at once, but one man through whom all families would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). When Jesus chose his disciples, He did not invite all of Israel to follow, but twelve men who would turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6).

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last" (John 15:16). The initiative belongs to God, but the response belongs to us. The choosing is grace, but the standing is partnership with divine purpose.

The Unity of the Body

Paul's great revelation was that this choosing creates not competition but collaboration: "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" nor the head to the feet, "I don't need you!" (1 Corinthians 12:21). The chosen ones are not competitors but collaborators, not rivals but members of the same body, each with their unique function in the grand design of God's redemptive plan.

The Narrow Way

Jesus himself spoke of the mathematics of the Kingdom: "Someone asked him, 'Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?' He said to them, 'Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to'" (Luke 13:23-24).

This is not divine cruelty but divine reality. The narrow way is not narrow because God makes it so, but because so few are willing to lay down their lives to walk it. As Jesus said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).

Key Points

The Choosing Is Internal

"The kingdom of God is in your midst." - Luke 17:21

You are not sitting by your phone waiting for God to call with a special assignment. You are not checking your spiritual mail for an acceptance letter from the divine academy. The choosing you are waiting for has already happened, it happened before the foundation of the world, when God "chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:4).

What you are really waiting for is to echo Mary's response: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). The path is not about becoming worthy of selection, but about removing the obstacles to recognizing a selection that has already been made.

As Paul writes: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:28-29). The calling is sure; the question is whether we will answer.

Numerical Symbolism

The numbers evoke vastness and precision. It’s not random. It’s mythic mathlike the aleph in Hebrew, which means both “one” and “one thousand”. The chosen are singular and infinite.

The Numbers Are Prophetic

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." - Luke 12:32

When we hear "one out of a thousand," our mathematical minds start calculating odds. But Scripture consistently speaks of the faithful remnant, the few who remain true when many fall away. Isaiah spoke of it: "Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return" (Isaiah 10:22).

Jesus himself prophesied: "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:12-13). The numbers point not to divine stinginess but to human resistance, not to cosmic cruelty but to the simple fact that few are willing to pay the price of discipleship.

Unity Is Not Uniformity

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them." - 1 Corinthians 12:4

To stand as one does not mean to become identical clones of each other. Paul's great insight was that unity in Christ enhances rather than erases our distinctiveness: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work" (1 Corinthians 12:4-6).

The chosen ones do not look alike or think alike or even worship alike in every detail. What unites them is not their form but their foundation, not their methods but their Master, not their theology but their transformation into the likeness of Christ.

The Path Is Hidden

"Your life is now hidden with Christ in God." - Colossians 3:3

The ones who stand as one do not wear special badges or carry divine credentials that are obvious to the world. They walk among us on paths that look utterly ordinary, following the example of Jesus himself, who "made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" (Philippians 2:7).

Their greatness is not in their circumstances but in their character, not in what happens to them but in how they respond to what happens, not in their positions but in their posture of humility and service.

The Practice of Standing as One

Cultivate Deep Listening

"Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." - Romans 10:17

In a world addicted to noise, become a sanctuary of silence like Mary, who "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). Create spaces in your day where you listen not just with your ears but with your whole being to the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Listen especially to what the Spirit is saying to the churches (Revelation 2:7), to the still small voice that speaks in the silence, to the presence that underlies all experience and calls you deeper into the heart of God.

Practice Radical Acceptance

"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." - Romans 15:7

The chosen ones are not those who have perfected themselves according to some spiritual checklist, but those who have learned to accept themselves and others exactly as they are while remaining open to transformation. They know that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Accept your humanity fully, your fears, your failures, your struggles, not as obstacles to overcome but as the very material through which God works to conform you to the image of His Son.

Embrace Sacred Solitude

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen." - Matthew 6:6

Following Jesus' example of withdrawing to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16), develop comfort with being alone with God. In solitude, the noise of social conditioning begins to settle, and you start to hear your authentic voice beneath the chorus of expectations and opinions.

Solitude is not loneliness but wholeness, not isolation but intimacy with the One who knows you completely and loves you unconditionally.

Serve Without Seeking Recognition

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them." - Matthew 6:1

The ones who stand as one follow Jesus' teaching about secret service: "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:3-4).

They serve because service is their nature, they love because love is what they have become in Christ, they give because giving is the natural expression of having received God's abundant grace.

Ritual Invitation

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." - Matthew 11:28

If you feel the stir, that inexplicable restlessness that no amount of worldly success can satisfy, you may be hearing the call of the One who said, "Follow me" (Matthew 4:19). If you sense the ache, that sweet sorrow that tells you there is something more, something deeper, something truer than what you have been settling for, you may be awakening to your identity as God's chosen child.

If you hear the quiet pull beneath the loud demands of daily life, if you find yourself drawn to silence in a culture of constant noise, if you feel homesick for a home you have never seen with physical eyes, these may be the signs that the Spirit is already at work within you, calling you to stand as one with all who belong to Christ.

Not because you are special in the sense of being better than others, but because you are learning to listen to the voice of the Shepherd. Not because you have achieved some spiritual superiority, but because you are developing the spiritual sensitivity that comes from walking closely with Jesus.

Stand still. Not the stillness of inaction, but the stillness of perfect presence, like Mary sitting at Jesus' feet while Martha busied herself with serving (Luke 10:38-42). Let the flame of God's love find you, not through frantic seeking, but through ceasing to run from what you already are in Christ.

Questions for Reflection

As you sit with these words, allow these questions to penetrate deeper than your thinking mind, to reach the place where the Spirit witnesses with your spirit that you are God's child (Romans 8:16):

• What would it mean to stop trying to become chosen and start recognizing that you already are chosen in Christ?

• Where in your life are you still adding to the noise rather than creating space for God's voice to be heard?

• How might your apparent separateness from other believers be the very illusion that your unity in Christ can help dissolve?

• What is the unique gift that God has given you to contribute to the body of Christ?

• How is the Holy Spirit calling you to stand as one with your brothers and sisters in faith?
  

Benediction

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." - Ephesians 3:20-21

May you be the one out of a thousand who remembers that in Christ, all separation is healed. May you be the two out of ten thousand who discover that unity and uniqueness are not opposites but dance partners in the symphony of God's grace.

May you stand, not above others, not apart from the human family, not in judgment of those still finding their way, but as a single one with all who call upon the name of the Lord. United with all that is holy, whole in Christ, transparent to truth, resonant with divine love.

May your remembering help others remember their identity in Christ. May your unity awaken unity in the body of Christ. May your standing as one call forth the image of God in all whom you encounter.

And may the flame of God's love that chooses you burn so clearly, so purely, so brightly that others are drawn not to you but through you to the source of all light, all love, all life, to Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Go now as the chosen one you have always been in God's heart, carrying the flame that is both gift and responsibility, both privilege and service. The world is waiting not for your perfection but for your witness to the perfect love of Christ, not for your answers but for your authenticity in following Jesus, not for your righteousness but for your reflection of the righteousness that comes from God.

Stand as one. The One who calls you faithful is standing with you, in you, and through you, now and always.

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." - 2 Corinthians 13:14

Amen.