Sunday, August 19,
2018 pm
FULFILL MY JOY
Philippians 2:1-2
a.
Our blessings in
Christ – we are reminded that in Christ we truly are blessed.
We enjoy great blessing in Him.
Ephesians 1:3-14 is another passage that remind us of the
abundant blessings found in Christ.
In this text, Paul is simply reminding them of how blessed they are to
have each other. He has alluded
to what they have experienced together because of Christ.
Now he builds on it.
He begins here, “Therefore”
(tying it to what he has been talking about – conduct worthy of the
gospel of Christ and here notes the blessings afforded therein.
Things they would KNOW were found in Christ.
“If
there is any…” – Paul is speaking rhetorically (here he is
pointing to things that IF they exist, THEN what follows should
develop), in reality stating that these are things we KNOW to be true.
You might say Paul is writing, “Therefore, if there is any…AND THERE
IS!”…
b.
Consolation in Christ
-the word for consolation here is translated comfort in 2 Corinthians
1:3-7 – where Paul speaks of the God of all comfort, with which we are
able to comfort one another.
Some translate this word as “encouragement”.
The word literally means “to call to ones side” – which is
descriptive of our Lord. He
is with us (Matthews 28:20, 11:28-30, cf. 2 Timothy 4:17 – where Paul
notes that the Lord stood with him when all others were gone. Or John
14:18 where He said, “I will not leave you orphans”…
Certainly in Christ, there is comfort or encouragement –Truly, in Christ
we find hope.
c.
Comfort of Love
– the word for comfort here is similar to that of consolation (and used
on in this text). There is
a comfort to be found in godly love (agape).
That applies whether we are addressing the love of God and Christ for
us – cf. 1 John 4:9-11, 2 Thessalonians 2:16 says,
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us
everlasting consolation and good hope by grace,
1 John 4:19 notes
that we love Him because He loved us first
OR the comfort found in loving one another as brethren – when we
love each other the way we should, we will be a source of comfort to
each other. And of course
our love for one another thrives BECAUSE of His love for us (1 John
4:11). See also John
13:34-35.
d.
Fellowship of the
Spirit
– very likely this is a reference to the Holy Spirit.
We know as Christians, that in some way we have the Holy Spirit – Romans
8:1, 9-11. We have a
fellowship with Him (when we are walking in the light).
Our body is described as the temple of the Holy Spirit in 1
Corinthians 6:19-20.
As Paul concluded his 2nd letter to the Corinthians he said,
The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all. Amen.
(2 Corinthians 13:14)
This could ALSO be reference to our fellowship with one another because
of the Holy Spirit – meaning, He is the one (through His word) that
brings us together.
e.
Affection & mercy
– two words that both point toward compassion and “tender mercies”.
We have received mercy from God, and continue to receive it – Ephesians
2:4-7 – God is rich in mercy.
This mercy is also something we are expected to show to one another.
It is conditional – Matthew 5:7, James 2:13, 3:17, etc.
a.
Fulfill my joy
– These brethren have been a source of great joy to Paul.
He has rejoiced in them as we have noted.
Yet, Paul finds his joy fulfilled or complete, when brethren are
dwelling together in unity.
There are times, where we must understand that even the good things do
not mean there is no room for improvement.
Example: 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11 speaking of brotherly love, he
challenges them to “increase more and more”.
In 1 Thessalonians 3:12, we find Paul’s prayer that their love
for one another abound.
Psalm 133:1 – Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to
dwell together in unity!
3 John 4 says, “I have no greater
joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth.”
There ought to be nothing that brings us greater joy than when we as
brethren are treating each other with the godly unity we find manifested
in His word.
In this verse he describes the degree to which we are to be united. IT
is a fourfold unity!
b.
Like-minded
– thinking the same things in the same way.
The word is a compound Greek word dealing with the way we think.
The word for mind here is found in passages like Romans 12:3
where we are not to THINK more highly of ourselves than we ought to.
Romans 12:16 – be of the same mid toward one another.
Romans 15:5 – Now may the God of
patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another…
2 Corinthians 13:11 – Become
complete. Be of good
comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace
will be with you.
Philippians 2:5 – let this
mind be in you which was
also in Christ Jesus…
Philippians 3:15-16, Therefore
let us, as many as are mature, have this
mind; and if in anything you
think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you….let us walk by the
same rule, let us be of the same
mind.
Philippians 4:2 – this was the “same mind” he desired Euodia and
Syntyche to be of.
The word here is
associated with purpose,
and deals with our intentions.
It is more than mere “intellectual agreement”.
In other words, we’re talking about more than just agreeing on
certain facts. This is an
overall mindset. We need to
be thinking the same way.
Yes, we are individuals with independent minds.
But with God’s word, and as fellow brethren, we ought to be
agreement at the fundamental level.
There needs to be agreement as to how we approach God’s word and our
understanding of pivotal teachings.
Consider 1 Corinthians 4:6 where we are called upon, “not
to think beyond what is
written…” And this is
the SAME word!
God is NOT the author of confusion! (1 Corinthians 14:33).
Are we of the same mind?
That is where true unity that produces joy will begin.
Consider the bitterness and misery in our country right now
because we are so divided! No unity, no joy!
c.
Having the same love
– a
mutual motivation.
Love is the glue that keeps us together.
As we have noted, the idea of Christian love means that we care
about each other. If we
don’t care, we are not going to expend due effort to reach the point of
unity God wants us to have.
Paul noted that without love, everything we do is nothing but noise – 1
Corinthians 13:1-3.
John 13:34-35 – Jesus emphasized our need for love as we show the world
we are His disciples.
1 Peter 1:22 notes, Since you
have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in
sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure
heart,
This love does so many things: 1) Romans 12:10 – we are affectionate
toward one another in brotherly love.
2) Galatians 5:11 – through love, we serve one another (without taking
undue advantage)
3) Ephesians 4:2 – we bear with one another
4) 1 Peter 4:8 – we seek to “cover a multitude of sins”
Revelation 2:2-4 – in its later years, the church at Ephesus suffered
because they had left their first love.
The genuine affection needed to keep us going strong and
remaining true.
Genuine unity, will include godly love
d.
Of one accord
- literally of one soul. We
are joined together. I think of
the word harmony.
The word accord is used a few times in the NT and gives us the idea
(though the Greek words may differ) – Acts 1:14 – they all continued
together with one accord in prayer and supplication…
Acts 2:1, When the day of
Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place…
Acts 2:46 – so continuing daily
with one accord in the temple…
Acts 4:24 – when they heard that
(the release of Peter and John),
they raised their voice to God with one accord…
We see the idea in this!
There is to be a harmony in the way we live and the way we treat each
other. This needs to be evident.
The reason for this harmony, is that we are guided by the SAME source -
the Spirit of God. His word
unites us together, not only in our discussions, but also our
application. Isn’t that what
our Lord prayed for (John 17:20-21)?
e.
Of one mind
– one purpose or intent.
The direction we are headed.
Most sources make little differentiation between this phrase and the
first one.
We need to be standing together with the same goals in mind –
1) To get to heaven and help each other get there
2) A genuine unity and love that we have discussed here – Ephesians 4:3
– endeavoring to keep the unity of the Sprit in the bond of peace
3) A church of the Lord’s people where we are all headed in the same
direction
4) Equal respect for God’s word, striving to handle it accurately (2
Timothy 2:15) and to apply it consistently and with unity!
And thus we can see the unity Paul desires that we have.
How do we accomplish this?
A key element is addressed in the next few verses – in humility,
we think about others rather than ourselves.
In our next lesson we will address this.
Paul’s joy is found in true
unity. I am convinced that such
could also be said of our Lord.
So, is the Lord pleased with our efforts to achieve this unity?
Think about it!