Christmas/New Year/Ministry: With The Mind Of Christ-3

Christmas/New Year/MINISTRY: With The MIND Of CHRIST-III

—Philippians 2:1-18[part-3--2:2b-4 of 2:1-4]

Attention:

Unanticipated Cure:

The owner of a drug store walks in to find a guy leaning heavily against a wall.

The owner asks the clerk, “What's with that guy over there by the wall?”

The clerk replies, “Well, he came in here this morning to get something for his cough. I couldn't find the cough syrup, so I gave him a bottle of laxative.”

The owner screams, “Are you nuts! You could get us in big trouble!...You can't treat a cough with a bottle of laxatives!”

The clerk calmly replies, “Of course you can! Look at him; he's afraid to cough!”

The drugstore clerk approached the challenge of the cough with temporary & even dangerous results!

Mind-over-matter is not always a proper solution!

Church members do the same, when they minister WITHOUT the power of God, thru the self-righteous, self-centered, feeble, & ineffective power of the flesh!

The way God’s people approach the challenges of life is very telling....

God’s people are to minister WITH the mind of Christ Jesus, our Savior & Lord!....

Need:

The apostle Paul counseled the Philippian church to minister empowered with the mind of Christ Jesus.

And so, God’s people are to minister with the mind of Christ Jesus.

But, How do God’s people minister with the mind of Christ Jesus?

4 characteristics of Christians who enter ministry with the mind of Christ Jesus.

Before Christmas last year, we began to explore the depth of meaning

in the truths presented in 2:1-4 & following....

....TODAY we’ll continue our examination of those truths, seeing that....

(CONT...)1—Christmas/New Year/Ministry with the mind of Christ...

LOVES As JESUS LOVES(:1-4)[Part-3--2:2b-4]

:2—“fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”

:2b—“fulfill my joy by"..."having the same love,...”

The “fulfillment” of the apostle Paul’s “joy”, could only come to him, when there was a genuine or authentic integrity(“same”), in the churches & in the individual Christians that he ministered to!

•Biblical Christian ‘integrity’ is obvious, palpable, & tangible, in individual Christians, & so, it can & should define the Church as well!...That is, Biblical Christian ‘integrity’ is obvious, whenever the Church allows Jesus to unite them in mind, thought, & “love.”

“Love”(see :1)—agaph—Noun Fem. - Accusative Sing. Fem.—1) Brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence; 2) Love feasts. Strong—Love, i.e. Affection or benevolence; specially(plural)--A love-feast. R.H. Mounce—Agaph is selfless love, which cannot be turned in on itself. J. MacArthur—‘...one of the rarest words in Greek literature, but one of the most common in the New Testament.’

:2c—“fulfill my joy by"..."being of one accord,...”

Describes being so joined or together in thought & intent, that you are ‘with’ the “soul” of all other true Christians.

“Of One Accord/Joined In Soul”—sumqucov—Adj. Nominative Plural Masc.—1) Of one mind, of one accord. Sumqucov is made up of two words: “sun”(together with) & psuchos(soul, self, inner life, or the seat of the feelings, desires, affections). So the word refers to being united in spirit or harmonious(A&G). Paul desired the Philippians to be united in their affections - one in Christ in all desires! Used only here in the NT.(Wayne Steury) Strong—Co-spirited, i.e. Similar in sentiment. Used 1X--Php. 2:2.?From—sun—1) With. Strong—With or together(but much closer than meta or para), i.e. By association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc.; a primary preposition denoting union.—&—quch—Breath, i.e. by implication--Spirit, abstractly or concretely--The animal sentient(perceptive) principle only. Quch corresponds to Hebrew—vpn.

•A ‘test’ of “being of one accord” in the church, is their faithfulness to ‘the mind of Christ’(:5; 1Cor. 2:16).

•And that means that the overall ATTITUDE of Christian individuals & of the gathered body of Christ, is one-&-the-same.

•Another ‘test’ of that “accord” in the local church, is the church’s faithfulness to God’s written revelation & so to ‘biblically based’ doctrine.

•So biblical doctrine must be scrutinized, prioritized, & regularly taught thru the local church!

•Still another ‘test’ of a local church’s “being of one accord”, is the church’s faithfulness to the balance of ministries, both thru it’s outreach & thru it’s in-reach.

:2d—“fulfill my joy by"..."Being...of one mind.”

Again(:2a--“Like-minded”), the “one mindedness” of Christian brothers & sisters is of great importance in fulfilling God’s plan for mankind’s life & living!

“Of One Mind”(See above--“like-minded” & “lowliness of mind”--below)—to en fronountev—Lit. = ‘The One Thing Minded’, OR--‘Thinking the one thing.’——RWP—“ ‘Thinking the one thing.’ Like clocks that strike at the same moment. Perfect intellectual telepathy. Identity of ideas & harmony of feelings.” “One”—eiv(including the neuter[etc.]--en)—Noun Numeral—1) One. Strong—One; a primary numeral.—+—“Mind”(see “like-minded” above)—fronew—Present Active Participle-Nominative Plural Masc.—1) To have understanding, be wise;... 2c) To be of the same mind i.e. Agreed together, cherish the same views, be harmonious;. Strong—To exercise the mind, i.e. Entertain or have a sentiment or opinion; by implication--To be (mentally)disposed(more or less earnestly in a certain direction); intensively--To interest oneself in(with concern or obedience). Used 29X.