Evidence Of Christian Unity

Evidence Of Christian Unity

Philippians 2:2

I would like for us to walk through verse 2 of this chapter and examine “The Evidence Of Christian Unity”. In this one verse, Paul lists 4 attributes that will be seen in a Christian assembly that is unified. Because of their encouragement in Christ, consolation from love, fellowship of the Spirit, and affection & mercy, the Philippians were equipped to join together with “the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord, and of one mind.”

Again, Paul’s appeal is one that promotes unity within the church. He declares that this kind of Christian unity would “fulfill his joy”; this literally means that if the saints lived together in harmony & unity of purpose, it would serve to make Paul’s joy complete; Paul has already declared his great love for “all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi” and the joy that he experienced as a result. Joy is one of the main themes in this letter; one of the primary reasons for his joy was the “fellowship” or “partnership” that he enjoyed with the saints at Philippi. If the saints continued to live and serve in unity, this would bring him even greater joy.

- In this verse he shares four exhortations that would assist them in this process. First of all we see that:

CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE LIKE MINDED

It is clear throughout this letter that it was Paul’s desire for his brothers and sisters in Philippi to be “like minded”. (Philippians 3:15-16 “Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.”) (Philippians 4:2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord.)

In the verses that follow, Paul illustrates the kind of humility that is necessary for Christians to be “like-minded”. (Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.)

Following this, the Apostle shares the greatest example of humility and that is of course Jesus Christ Himself. (Philippians 2:5-8 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.)

Christians will never be able to be like-minded and live together in unity if they fail to “adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus”. We must humble ourselves and we must not do anything “out of selfish ambition or conceit”. Furthermore, we must “consider others as more important than ourselves” and we must not “look to our own interests”, but rather to “the interests of others”.

Paul’s appeal for “like-mindedness” speaks to the fact that the saints in Christ Jesus should “think the same way”. This is a common theme throughout his epistles:

Romans 15:5 now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,

1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren… Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

One of the greatest attributes of the first century church was that they were “together and in one accord”. The amazing move of God that spread from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and beyond would not have been possible if it were not for the unity among those first Christians. Likewise, unity and like-mindedness is essential in the church today. Satan loves to sow seeds of discord and division among God’s people. Many once great local churches have ceased to exist because certain people in those churches lost sight of their true purpose; they began to focus on their own interests and not the interests of others. Even worse, they ceased focusing on Christ and began focusing on themselves.

Philippi was a great church, the overwhelming majority of this letter was positive, but there is clear evidence that there was an element of strife and division within that assembly. Paul’s great love for the saints motivated him to address this issue before it spread any further. He wanted them to continue to move forward for Christ, for this to happen, they must be of “like mind”. The same is true for the modern-day church. Any time God’s people assemble together there will be many different people from many different backgrounds. We all have different likes and dislikes, different views and personalities; we are from different backgrounds, races, and economic situations. Though we are very different people in many different ways, when it comes to the church, the gospel, the kingdom and the Christian life as a whole, we should all be of the same mind.