Christ Church (Moscow, ID)

We have been focusing on like-mindedness and joy. But the particular like-mindedness and joy that Paul is urging upon the Philippians is not simply something that would create harmony and happiness within the body of Christ. It also creates a dramatic contrast with the only other way of attempting to be human, the way pursued by those who are outside of Christ. Christians who are living like Christians shine like stars against the darkness of a complaining generation.

Text: Ephesians 2:11-22

The Text: 2 Corinthians 3:17

We have been emphasizing like-mindedness and its relationship to joy. But like-mindedness cannot be cobbled together from side-to-side. If you tied two people’s legs together, what you get is not unanimity, but rather a three-legged race at the picnic, and people falling down. So the like-mindedness that we must pursue must be pursued through our imitation of Christ. Paul said in the first chapter that he wanted them to be of “one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27). He exhorted them in Phil. 2:2 to be like-minded. In the next verse he commends lowliness of mind (Phil. 2:3). And here we come to the capstone of all of this—which is the mind of Christ.This is how we are to understand how it all ties together: one mind > like-minded > lowliness of mind > the mind of Christ. 

Ephesians 1:3-10

Isaiah 2:6-22

As we consider the state of our Christian lives, some of the things we have to deal with are the knotted topics of desire, envy, competition, and ambition. Considering the next two verses in Philippians, we should pay some attention to competition, something dear to the heart of most Americans. But because of this we must guard our step. You have heard many times that we must learn to repent of our virtues, and here is a good place to start.

Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

We have already had occasion to look at Paul’s concern for like-mindedness as expressed in this letter, and we should remember that later on he appeals for peace between Euodia and Syntyche (Phil.4:2-3). Given this emphasis on like-mindedness, and its relationship to joy, also a theme of this epistle, it will profit us to meditate on this topic in greater detail.