Philippians 2:1-2 One Mind

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. [Philippians 2:1-2 NKJV]

Paul has a request to make of the Philippians, but first he speaks to their motivations. He is saying, "If you have found any comfort in Christ; if you have received the Holy Spirit; if you have any love..." in short, "If you call yourself a Christian, then this is how you should behave."

His request is simple: agree with one another.

I have often heard it said that being united in Christ doesn't mean we have to think the same thing. Yet, that is exactly what Paul is asking of the church; that they think the same thing.

We often create platitudes and excuses to explain away why we don't live up to the standards of the Bible. For example, Jesus said, "Go and sin no more." We say, "I'm just a sinner saved by grace." to explain why we are still sinning. It has a measure of truth in it, yet it denies the power of God free us from sin. The Bible says, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." [Galatians 5:16 NKJV] I am not a sinner saved by grace. I was a sinner, but having been saved by grace, I am now a saint (that is, one who has been sanctified by the grace of God).

When we look around us at the church today, we many differences. We have Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, and many more denominations plus non-denominationals, all with differing theological opinions.

We dismiss these divisions by saying that it's just human nature to disagree; but our nature is supposed to be transformed into the image of God. We say that we must have differences because there are many passages in the Scripture that are not clear. But if a doctrine is unclear, why do we fight so strenuously to defend our opinion of it?

Instead of making excuses, we should be repenting before God. These division within the church are sin, and the body of Christ is mostly unrepentant. 

As an individual, I have no influence or power to change the church. I can't heal the divisions, and I can't make people agree. 

There are two things I can do; I can pray, and I can live my life as an example.

I can't change anyone else's mind, but I can find common ground. I have a friend who is Catholic (I don't belong to any denomination). We both know that the other thinks differently about religion, but when we are together, we don't talk about the differences. We agree that Jesus is Lord, and that He died and rose again on the third day. We agree that we both love Jesus, and that He loves us both. I think it would be great if everybody worshiped God in Spirit and in truth without any religious overtones. Since we can't change reality, let us, at least, find the areas where we can be of the same mind with one another.

When we pray, it will be good for us to intercede on behalf of the church. In Matthew 15, a Canaanite woman asked Jesus to heal her daughter. In so doing, she gave us a wonderful example of intercession when she said, "Have mercy on me." She fully identified with her daughter, as you would expect a mother to do, and her request to Jesus was not for her daughter alone, but for her as well. 

When we intercede, let's identify with those for whom we are praying. For the Canaanite woman, when her daughter hurt, she hurt. For ourselves, when the church body hurts, we should hurt. When we pray for the church, let us not say, "Lord, look at them. They are a mess." Instead, by identifying, we say, "Lord, look at us. We are a mess."

Heavenly Father, please forgive us of our sin. We have strayed from the teachings of the Bible, and have allowed divisions to define who we are as a church. We have allowed divisions to weaken our witness in the world.   I pray that you will give us the wisdom and grace to come together in the unity of Your Spirit. Help us to find fellowship with one another, and not conflict. Please open our hearts and minds to receive Your truth.