The Book of Philippians: Chapter 2
Today, we’ll focus on the 2nd chapter of the book of Philippians, written by the Apostle Paul while in prison.
“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
In this excerpt, we are admonished to be of one mind.
I think it might have been very misleading if the Apostle didn’t go further in the explanation of what he meant. Say, for example, the builders of the Tower of Babel were of one mind, and see how that ended.
This is why I love the Bible, God would not just ask you to do a thing without giving you guidelines of what He means and what is expected.
Even though the people of the world like to think that they all have minds of their own and everyone is doing just what they want to, the truth is they are actually all living with the same mind that is borne of death. They have no idea that the enemy has their souls right where he wants them to be, and so the choices and decisions they make lead them to the very same end of damnation.
This is because they ignorantly have become conformed to a certain way of thinking that is not sponsored by the Spirit of God.
So in a way, they all think the same, acting according to the flesh and doing the will of the enemy. That’s one-mindedness too if you ask me.
Now, from the very beginning, we see how God has always shown us the spirit of unity and one-mindedness.
In Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
The phrase ‘Let us’ speaks volumes of the nature of God.
Now even though there is no exact scripture in the Bible that explicitly states the Trinity, the scripture helps as a basis for that belief for us Christians.
God, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit are three persons in ONE. None of these distinct persons is higher than the other. They’re all the same because they are united. They’re one-minded and have related to mankind in different dispensations with the very same purpose — to redeem us and give us eternal life like we were originally designed for.
If Our God, the Trinity is united, then why should we as Christians be otherwise?!
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This excerpt further speaks on the unity in the Trinity. Christ is God, nobody could ever take that away from Him — which is why He gave it up by Himself, temporarily for an eternal purpose.
He knew who He was and did not struggle with identity crisis like some of us do today. Even when the enemy came to deter him, he rebuked him without hesitation.
Just because He wasn’t in His glory here on earth does not mean He forgot for a second who He IS.
Things may not be looking so great for you today, but please, never sell yourself short of what you’re really worth. You’re worth a lot for Christ to have left heaven for earth for your sake.
Hallelujah!
It’s awesome to know how much you’re worth, isn’t it? But then, human nature often fails us at times like this.
God is not showing you how much He loves and values you just so you can feel you’re better than the world. You WERE once the WORLD.
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought doesn’t mean we should not carry ourselves with esteem, rather, do not trample on others while you do so.
Do not try to create comfort and a happy place for yourself at the expense of others. One way that can help you to do this effortlessly is to look at others through the eyes of God.
You know what God has done for you, you know how much He loves you and all His promises for you. You see yourself in a different light because of this, right?
Now, take that same light you see yourself in, and shine it on others. Even that person you think deserves the worst kind of death because of all the evil he has committed against you and anyone else you know is loved by God. And yes, all the sacrifice Christ made was done for them as well.
When we learn to put this in the right perspective living in one-mindedness, which is the mind of Christ, the mind of humility God will then exalt us.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason, you also be glad and rejoice with me.
We are admonished to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling”, not because Christ has not completed the salvation formula or because God is so violent that we should be afraid. Absolutely not!
Working out your salvation tells you that once you accept Christ, life isn’t over, rather, you just started living. And if there’s anything you can be sure of is that this world will come for you because you have separated yourself from its system.
The Christian walk is a very intentional journey. Your faith has to be backed up by works.
You should expect challenges for these are what refine you into an image that’s more and more like Christ every day. Jesus said we should in fact expect these challenges, but He also said, he will be with us through all of them — He’ll never leave us, nor forsake us. Your path will shine brighter and brighter into the perfect day. You need to put some work into it, by faith of course.
Fear, in this context, is not “trepidation”. The Bible says that “The fear of God” is the beginning of Wisdom.
So this fear is first an acknowledgement that God exists and that He is a rewarder of they that diligently seek Him.
When you seek Him, you will surely find Him, for He Himself seeks those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
This fear, in fact, means love, for when we seek and find Him — or He intact finds us — we then understand what true and perfect love really means. For perfect love casts out all fear.
We are to present our lives as “living sacrifices”, Holy and acceptable unto God. Nothing you do for the sake of the Gospel is in vain.
The Bible describes this as our “reasonable service”, meaning before the eyes of God, if there is anything worth considering, it’ll be how we serve Him. And it is worthy to note that serving God is actually based on how we serve the people that surround us.
We may not see God with our physical eyes and we say we love Him, so how can we then hate those we can actually see? The quality of life will not be measured in how many possessions you garner in your lifetime, but rather, in how your Christ-like self has imparted those you’ve been privileged to serve.
This is what matters.
I pray that The Lord will give us all the grace we need to live lives that make him proud of us every day.
Amen.
Reflection
- Think about the situations that made you question who you are, and confess what the bible says about you.
- Remind yourself that God is with you always.
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