Four Qualities Of Spiritual Unity

Philippians 2:1-2

“If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is an consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”

Paul lists four qualities of spiritual unity and then in the next verse gives four exhortations to maintain that unity:

Quality
Encouragement in Christ
Comfort from His love
Fellowship of the Spirit
Affection and compassion

Exhortation
Be of the same mind
Maintain the same love
Oneness in spirit
Oneness in purpose

Just as Christians draw encouragement from Christ and what He has done for us, so are we to be of one mind to encourage others and to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We encourage our mates and our families by being of the same mind and not bickering with each other. Paul was encouraging the church at Philippi to be of the same mind so they might be most effective in the Christian life. We are to have the same attitude in our church body.

We draw comfort from Christ’s love, especially when we face tough situations. We are to maintain that same love toward Him and toward each other. That love will cause us to always think and do what is best for each other.

We appreciate the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives and are encouraged to be filled with His presence (Eph. 5:18). If we are filled with the Spirit and fulfilling His will in our lives we as a couple, a family, a church will be unified in the Spirit.

Finally, we are encouraged to have and to demonstrate concern and love for each other. All of these qualities come together to make us one in purpose.

I pray that you will seek the qualities we have discussed and that they will produce the results God desires

Christian Conduct

Philippians 1:27-28

“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents – which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.”

Paul next urges the Christians to live in “a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”. Then he indicates what that means. He encourages them to:

“stand firm in one spirit”
“with one mind”
“striving together for the faith”
be prepared for your opponent
be confident in your victory

His first exhortation is to “stand firm”. We should not be bashful or ashamed about our belief in Jesus Christ. Our opponents should not be able to cause us to back down from our belief. We are able to stand firm by relying on the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with His presence He is able to help us do that. We must also be careful not to let other “spirits” control us; notice the use of “one”. One of Satan’s tactics is to use other spirits to confuse us and we must be careful not to let that happen.

If we are together in one spirit we will have one mind. We must be careful about divisions within. Satan uses disagreement to divide us. Our heart and our mind should be centered on the person of Christ and that happens by faithfully studying the Bible, maintaining a consistent prayer life, and confessing sin as soon as we realize it.

When Paul says we should “strive together for the faith” he reminds us that we are not in the battle alone. We remain strong through fellowship with other believers. We can accomplish more together as a group than we can as individuals. We encourage one another, we exhort one another and we comfort one another.

We should remain constantly prepared for our opponent. Sometimes Satan works in very subtle ways and we must remain on guard against his advances. Ephesians 6:10-11 tells us we should “put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Finally, if we will do those things we can be confident in victory. Paul says in II Cor. 2:14 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ…”

Paul's Life Purpose - Exaltation of Christ

Philippians 1:20-21

“according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Paul’s statement here, as well as other similar statements in this book, reveals to us his purpose in life “to glorify Christ”. It was his prayerful desire that regardless of what happened to him, including death, Christ would be exalted. Because Paul has written so much of the New Testament we get to know him quite well as we study God’s Word. Although he uses the personal pronouns “I”, “me”, and “my” many times in the books he wrote they are carefully wrapped in language that reveals to us a selfless attitude and one of glorifying Christ.

As Paul sits in prison he realizes he potentially faces imminent death. Because of the cold, difficult circumstances death could come through illness or at the hands of his captors. We talked about attitude earlier and here we see that Paul had adopted the attitude of regardless of what would be done to him physically, he was going to glorify Christ. He was so dedicated to that purpose in life that nothing, including death, was going to distract him from it.

The statement in verse 21 “for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” reveals his attitude that his enemies could do him a favor by killing him, because that would bring him into an even deeper relationship with Christ. I’m reminded of Psalm 116:15 which says “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones”. God looks at death differently than do we, because He knows we will enter an enhanced relationship with Him that we cannot realize while living on this earth. I’m confident that Paul understood that and knew he would be rid of all the ravages of sin that buffeted his mind and body.

These verses help me to see how purposefully Paul walked through life and challenges me to do the same. Because of this attitude Paul had a joy and inner peace that is not realized by many. As we began to study this book I mentioned one of the themes was joy. I pray that you will clearly see God’s purpose for your life and carry it out with joy.

The Basis of Our Confidence

Philippians 1:19

“For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

Paul expressed the real basis for peace and confidence in this verse; prayer and God’s provision of the Holy Spirit. He was a strong believer in prayer and he also knew the Philippians were praying diligently for him. I’m sure he also sensed the filling of the Spirit in His life and knew that if he stayed in fellowship with God, the Spirit would lead him in God’s best for him and would protect him through whatever he faced.

While many Christians give verbal assent to the importance of prayer, relatively few prayer warriors exist today. Wednesday night prayer services have become almost extinct in our churches today. Individually we seem to be so busy often we only pray when we are in trouble or in need of God’s help. God designed us to communicate with Him and He strongly desires we do that.

How can we develop the discipline of prayer? First, we must make it a priority. For years I have found the best time for me to have an extended prayer time is early in the morning before all the hassles of the day begin. It is easier then for me to remain in an attitude of prayer throughout the day. In the well known passage concerning prayer, Matthew six, Jesus said “when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your father…”

Secondly, it is good to maintain a list of prayer needs. Years ago I developed a prayer list for each day of the week. I pray each member of our family every day. I pray for each of the missionaries we support once a week. I pray for our pastors and his families several times a week. We also get a list of needs each Monday from our church family.

Finally it is good to take note of God’s answers. Sometime they come quickly and sometimes God says “no” or “wait”. We must believe His timing is perfect.

We must also realize the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. One of the responsibilities of the Spirit is to intercede for us. Romans 8:26 says “…for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

I pray that you will be a person of prayer, because in those times of quietness you will draw closest to Him