Wednesday - Same Mind, Same Love, Same Soul

Philippians 2:2 - Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Verse 1 told us what Christ has done for us. Verse 2 tells us what that should look like among us. Paul gives us three marks of a unified church.

The same mind.

Likeminded means "to think the same way," and one mind means "to have the same purpose and goal." Paul isn't saying we'll agree on everything. He's saying we'll be headed in the same direction – reaching people with the gospel.

Scripture is full of God's people losing that shared direction. In Acts 6, the growing church in Jerusalem began to group off and grow suspicious of one another. In Corinth, people lined up behind their favorite preacher – "I am of Paul; and I of Apollos." In Ezra 3, when the foundation of the new temple was laid, the young shouted for joy while the older generation wept because it wasn't like it used to be.

And in Philippi, it came down to two women:

I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. – Philippians 4:2

Unity isn't uniformity – being exactly like one another. It isn't unanimity – always agreeing with one another. Unity is harmony: setting aside our preferences and working together with the same goal of advancing the gospel.

The same love.

The love here is agape – a love that chooses to love, even when the other person doesn't deserve it. Guess what? It's the same love Christ has already shown us. He loved us when we didn't deserve it, so we love each other the same way.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. – John 13:35

People ought to see the love of Jesus in the way we treat each other.

The same soul.

"Of one accord" literally means "of one soul," or "joined in soul." When a church is of one accord, it shares life together – the triumphs, the tragedies, the trials, all of it. When one person hurts, we all hurt. When one person is glad, we're all glad.

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. – Romans 12:15

Some people don't like that idea of church. But that's God's design. We love one another. We care for one another. We are there for one another.

Wanting it isn't the same as living it.

Same mind. Same love. Same soul. That's the kind of church we all want to be part of. But unity doesn't happen just because we sing the same songs and sit in the same room. Tomorrow, we'll see how Paul says we get there.

Today, ask yourself: is there a preference I'm holding tighter than the gospel?