Being of the same mind

Let's have fun with two verses this morning and there's enough meat here that I was just reflecting with Margaret coming down today. You know Roger and Jim and I all kind of have different styles and not good or bad just different and so anyway you got to put up with me today like it or not.

Actually, let's go ahead and read. We're kind of approaching a new area, although we've got therefore, and remember, when therefore is there, what's it there for? So we're going to reflect on that in a second. Let's read chapter two. I think one through eight would be fine, and that'll kind of set the stage for what we're going to be dealing with the next three or four weeks. Donna, please. Okay. If there therefore be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any vows and mercies. Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

These first eight verses of Philippians 2 are really so uplifting, encouraging, and really have a founded and firm doctrine in terms of what the Christian walk is all about, because it really, I think, very much is identification truth. have this mind in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, what's that all about? I mean, I'm working on that. It's not quite seeming to happen, but you know, again, doctrinally we're to have this mind. That's because we're identified with him.

Let's begin then with chapter two, verse one. Therefore, if there is any consolation, this is New King James version, there is, is implied. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, comma, we'll get to verse two in a second. And as I gave you a bit of an appetizer this morning, therefore always means what's it there for, right?

So I'll give credit to Jay Vernon for that. Okay, so if you know can be we're going to before we answer that question We're going to kind of look at the grammar here a little bit if you know is one of those Terms that can be interpreted in many many different ways this use of if means then or therefore accordingly Consequently since these things being so this assumes. This is not if like Subjunctive could be maybe it's not this is a firm statement therefore if that means since we're sure that this is true, that there's consolation in Christ. So this is not, could be, it's always true.

Perhaps we should then look at the term consolation. How would you define consolation? Silver ribbon? Wow, the gold, you look puzzled. Well, you're going to see a lot of binds today. Paracletus is the term here for consolation. It means a calling near or a summons, that's one interpretation. A second one is importation, supplication and treaty, kind of a bonding kind of relationship. The third is exhortation, admonition or encouragement. In fact, that's used frequently in terms of the translation of this Greek term.

The fourth is consolation, which is what's used here in Philippians 2.1, which means comfort, solace, and that which affords comfort or refreshment, typically in a setting which is less than favorable. We're going to look at a few verses here this morning.

So Acts 9.31. Doris, can you find that one for us? I think I can. And 2 Corinthians 1, 3-7, multiple verses there, Margaret. And 2 Corinthians 7, 4 and 7, 7. Perhaps, Donna, why don't you take those. The bolded is the 2 Corinthians 1, 3-7.

We'll take a close look at that. That's a passage that we all know well, I think. Acts 9, 31. then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified in walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied." Okay, the comfort I think would be the same Greek term, consolation, that's what it's used in the King James. What version are you reading? Is that the New American Standard? No, it's the King James. Is it the King James? Okay. Alright. 2 Corinthians 1, 3-7.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforted thus in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounded by Christ. And whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so shall you also be of the consolation."

I think that word is used five or six times in there. Comfort, consolation, comfort, consolation. And it tends to, again, Be solace. It's really an uplifting term. Look at the other ways it's used. Exhortation, encouragement. This is not a second place prize here, this consolation. Oh, by the way, we can always lay back on Christ. The idea here is that His presence and our identification with Him through these difficulties ultimately give us a lot of peace and, as the word implies, comfort.

And then 2 Corinthians 7.4 and 7. Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you, I am filled with comfort, I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you when he told you your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me, so that I rejoiced in you.

OK, so anything but a second place prize. Another definition is a persuasive discourse or restoring address to bring something to one's attention. And this could be ultimately instructive. It could be an admonition. It could be conciliatory, da-da-da-da-da-da. So lots of ways this word could be interpreted. Here in context, they use consolation. I think any one of these really fits with the idea that we're lifted up in his presence and this is not something to be feeling defeated about. This is a term that's not anything but an encouragement. So back to therefore.

Let's turn to Philippians 1.27-30 and we're going to answer the question, what's it there for? 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. been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now here to be healed. Okay, so therefore, if the consolation really is related to the suffering in many of the verses we looked at, that we just read, in fact, relate to that type of atmosphere that surrounds the verse.

Notice the foundation of our consolation in the verse Philippians 2.1 is in Christ. So we're steeped in identification truth in terms of the consolation. This world doesn't offer much consolation, does it? Our relationship, which is one of identification, provides consolation or comfort during all circumstances, whether they be positive or negative.

Now the other ifs in the verse really is aitis, which is a biblical usage commonly that means whoever or whatever. So that sounds kind of funny. if means whoever or whatever, but in fact that's the way this if can be interpreted. So, let's go back to the verse again a second. Therefore, if, meaning since, there is any consolation in Christ, if, meaning whatever or whoever, comfort of love, if in any fellowship of spirit, if any affection and mercy. In other words, the if here is defining the terms that follow. comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, affection and mercy.

So, whoops, that's bad. Alright, so this is the only New Testament usage of this Greek term, paramytheon, comfort. So, interesting, comfort. It would seem like a lot of the consolation we relate to comfort, but why this Greek term is used here rather than the term for consolation, only the Lord knows. And I say notice that this is a different word than the one that was just used for consolations.

That must mean it has some sort of different meaning, and I can't quite figure out what that might be. I tend to relate the two, but anyway, different word for some purpose here. Love here is agape, and the question I ask you is, what kind of love is this? Well, isn't God love? I mean, God is love, right? Maybe the reason it's a different term is that this is a totally different kind of comfort. I mean this is, you know, this is agape love.

Yeah, remember, so the first if is since. Since there's a consolation and the definitions, the second three ifs really relate to these are they. Whatever, whoever. One is comfort of love, the other is more comfort of love is the first. Fellowship of the Spirit, etc. We'll get to these. So what kind of comfort is this? Yes, it's a comfort that the world system can't begin to operate in. So that love, agape, of course, is a term we know well in terms of the unequivocal nature of Christ's love. Again, same if.

Fellowship of the Spirit. So association, fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse. And what kind of fellowship is this? The Fellowship of the Spirit. What's it mean when we in fact commune with the Spirit, we have an association with the Spirit, we have joint participation? I think it's you think of the identification. Yeah, I was going to say identification is what this seems like. Okay. Fellowship of the Spirit. What's that feel like? I think a commonality connects me when I see that. We have something we share, it's nothing else. John 17 would bear that out as far as I'm concerned. That's really true, right, and Christ pointed to that, promising that to us, didn't he?

The question I hear at the end is, what's the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit anyway, this fellowship of the Spirit? What's the primary purpose? If you had to take this question and address it to an audience of skeptics and or people who had no knowledge of the Word of God, what would you tell them?

This Holy Spirit, by the way, is the most profound and misunderstood concept of the Triune God. In fact, you know, it's kind of nebulous and it isn't. I mean, God the Father and then the Son who lived on this earth, crucified, buried, resurrected. The Spirit? What's that stuff? That kind of ephemeral, kind of tough to describe. What's the purpose of the spirit, scripturally? He what? He does the praying. Alright, that's certainly one function. He reveals Christ. Yeah, I think as we think of the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit, he reveals the Lord Jesus Christ in us, doesn't he? We could turn back to where was that?

John 14, I think. I should have cited that verse, but when it talks about the Spirit, we in fact have that really well-documented scripture. Let's see if we can find that in just a second. I didn't take time to do that, but I think John 14 seems to me to be about the right place. Yeah,

16. A lot about the Spirit in 14 too. No, he's talking about verse 16. Oh, I'm sorry, verse 16.

Yeah, and I will pray the Father He shall give you another comforter that He may abide with you forever. But in terms of His role in us in revealing Christ, dwells with you, will not leave you comfortless. Verse 26, But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said unto you. That's still not the verse. How about 16 How about 1614? He shall glorify me for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine therefore said I that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you. That's close.

Anyway, I don't think you can be really corrected by saying the purpose of the Spirit his predominant, primary purpose is to reveal the new nature within us. Right? I mean, that's kind of what he's there for and that doesn't mean he doesn't carry other functions out. I think, you know, pray in the Spirit and ultimately we grieve the Spirit. But the point is that his primary role is to reveal the new man in each and every one of us. In verse 13, I think that's the one you're probably... Oh, okay. 16, 13? Yeah.

But when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you. into all the truth, for he will not speak of his own initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and will disclose to you what is to come. I think that's good. He shall glorify me, or he shall receive of mine. Maybe that's the first one, he shall glorify me. And you think of a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ within us, glorifying him would seem to be everything that he's about, because everything that Christ is and who we are in Christ really is what we are in terms of Christians living and walking the Christian life.

So anyway, enough on that. Alright, so, if any affection and mercy, again, same use of the word if, Affection, or bowels, binds. The bowels were regarded as the seat of the more violent passions, such as anger and love, but by the Hebrews as the seat of the tenderer affections, especially kindness, benevolence, Compassion, hence our heart, are tender mercies and affections. So, you know, vows is kind of a term we kind of feel about, you know, kind of reflects, anyway, medically I won't go there, but all this aside, you know, but the vows really, I think, you know, in the Greek, you know, language probably really meant, again, the source of the soul, if you will, and affections really probably fits that quite well.

And I turn to Colossians 3.12, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on bowels, or tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering. So this is a work, if you will, of the Spirit, and this is whatever or whoever this consolation is all about, affection and mercies. Mercy, vines, compassion, pity, mercy. bowels in which compassion resides, a heart of compassion.

So the mercy really is seeded in this source of affections and encouragement that ultimately we're about in the new man. This can be reflected by emotions or language and ultimately I think this fellowship of the spirit, the comfort of love, and ultimately these affections and mercies are all part of the new nature. And remember, this has come out of the sufferings that ultimately were really listed in the end of Philippians 1, 27-30.

So this is what the new man looks like, and these are kind of the manifestations of the Spirit working in us. Entirely identification truth. This isn't something you work at. Remember, if is sense, and the other three ifs really are identifying what that sense looks like. Affections, mercies, fellowship of the Spirit, and comfort of love. Now, verse 2. More fun. Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord of one mind. How do you fulfill his joy? What do you think about fulfilling his joy? What's that all about? What was his joy?

Anybody have a verse that pops up? Hebrews 11, 1, 12, 1, I think 12, 1. 12, 2. 12, 2. Okay, read 12, 1 and 12, 2. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher for our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Now notice the joy. The joy was going to the cross but also sitting down at the right hand and that's where we identify, right?

And so fulfilling his joy really reflects, I think, positionally. Fulfilling his joy is actually believing foundationally the truth of what Christ has done in terms of our sin, our sin nature, ultimately positioning him in his self. His joy would be that we're uplifted by our positional truths, that our condition increasingly would reflect our position. I think that's his joy. His joy is to see believers living by faith in everything that he's accomplished. Now some people might define this differently, but I think when we're founded in identification truth, his joy must see the believer in himself and walking by faith.

And this isn't a list of works. This is an act of faith. that were new creations in Christ Jesus. His joy being fulfilled in the way we can exemplify that. By the way, just to share with you just briefly, I had an opportunity to share the Lord with three Jewish women the other night at a dinner in Bethesda. And it was interesting. The guy to my right was a black man from Birmingham, Alabama, who's a Seventh-day Adventist.

He said nothing. But I won't interpret that one way or the other. So how do we get on this? But anyway, I mean the idea of sharing the fact that Christianity isn't a life of restriction, but it's one of freedom, and that freedom is misinterpreted by the world people. It's kind of like Gee, they made me address a question of Rick Santorum in terms of his belief about all other faiths.

I kind of dodged that one a little bit. The Spirit kind of indicated that the love of the Lord for them was no different than the love of the Lord for me, even though I'm saved. I mean, making sure that they didn't feel condemned because I'm looking down on them as sinners. I'm equally a sinner.

So, a long conversation. It's about a 15-minute deal. curious. They're looking at me very inquisitively in terms of where I was coming from because I think they put Christians in a box looking at a restrictive life and being unwilling to accept anybody else for who they are and what they're doing. I want to make sure they understand the love of God cuts through all of that.

I shared the Carolyn Becker story many years ago when Margaret and I went to our first meeting for when I was on the American Board of Internal Medicine and questioned asking committee, and Carolyn Becker asked Margaret how she met me, and she said, well, I met him at a Bible study. And about a half hour later, she blurts up, I guess you hate me. And the reason she said that was because she admitted to being a lesbian. And for the next hour, we kind of made her understand that our hatred for her is not relevant.

That our sin itself, our vanity and pride is equally as heinous before a holy throne. But anyway, just back here, fulfilling his joy I think is being in a position of the ability to have spirit-led life that ultimately others may see a light and not be turned off by the light but allow it to maybe make an impact on where they're at and ultimately us plant seeds and let the Lord work the soil in terms of maybe bringing them to a better understanding.

The reason I share that is because I think fulfilling his joy, I take no credit for that, I mean, the Lord opened the door. There wasn't any argumentative nature of the conversation. It was simply an opportunity to share the faith with meekness and fear, as the Bible says. And it was neat. But I think His joy reflects how we walk, how we carry ourselves by being Spirit-led and reflecting His great glory.

And again, we take no credit for that. I mean, the only thing we need to do is live by faith. His life in us is what is transforming. thoughts, comments. I was going to say, when you think about it, if anyone sees the Lord in you, they're not seeing you. Right. And that's why we don't pay attention to our own walks. The Lord provides the opportunities. He does the walking.

We live by faith that He will provide opportunities throughout our life, in every circumstance, to bring glory to Himself and fulfill His joy. And His joy is, I think, seeing the believer founded in truth, doctrinal truth, that we're new creations in Christ Jesus. And I think that's what Paul all his epistles are ingrained in, that truth.

And here particularly we see that. It's the only way you can be of like mind, or by fixing your eyes on the truth. It's when self gets in the way that you get all these other denominations and thoughts and everything else. It's all about them, not Christ. And the carpet we walk on is one of grace, entirely of grace. Yeah, so good. And I think as you understand that, joy is one of the manifestations of that understanding.

Do you feel defeated, Don, as a Christian, as a believer? I mean, so many believers, I think, feel the cloud upon them in terms of what they can't do and what they must do, but the freedom we have in Christ is just intellect, isn't it? To walk a life that's entirely of Him. and we may be judged by others for that glass of wine we have occasionally, but so what? The point is we have that freedom to remain open to living a life that is called from above, and a glass of wine doesn't put anyone to hell, for sure.

All right, let's go ahead now. Being like-minded, having the same mind, being of one accord, and being of one mind. How's that for a dose of redundancy? Look at that, all in the same verse. Being like-minded, having the same mind, being of one accord, and ultimately being of one mind. Duh! It must be important. You think that's for emphasis? Ellen, I'm glad you got a good night's sleep last night. this morning. All right, let's look at this a little bit. Why all the redundancy? I guess Alan's already answered that question, right?

This must be important. Well, and I think, too, Peter and Paul both, I mean, in Paul we see it all the time in his writings. They repeat things over and over again because they know that we're pretty dense. I mean, we need that emphasis so that we understand that it is important. We're going to say this to the end, but we're going to get to this about what this looks like, because that would be a fun conversation. But let's build the case for the redundancy here first.

The first mind is altos, so being like-minded, and that's actually a pronoun that indicates the same. So it's really, being like-minded is a pronoun. I mean, that's what Thayer says, and that's what Vine says, and it actually means being the same. So that means, as a collective body, we're kind of the same. We're looked at as the same. So that means that the foundational truths that we just talked about, about fulfilling his joy, being identification truths, live that by faith, means we all must agree to that.

Keep that in mind, sorry. The second term for mind is actually agape, not mind. Having the same mind, which really means agape, love. It's translated in some versions as love, because the term is agape. Altos modifies agape. The concept here is that this being like-minded or the same is ultimately the love of the Lord Jesus Christ that's manifested in our lives. So like-minded is Christ's love in the body being consistently and repeatedly demonstrable to the fellow citizens of the body of Christ and also to the world beyond that. In Christ, the same mind is that of love, isn't it? If you have the mind of Christ, you have the love of Christ.

Now the love of Christ, the agape term, is simply unconditional. It doesn't mean that we can't at times be in a position to judge a believer for wrongdoing. Agape love would be one to correct the body when the body is in error, correct? I mean we see that scripturally. But the mind of Christ is one of unconditional love, which is something the flesh can't put on as much as you try to put it on.

It's sort of what you were trying to explain to the women, and that's what they don't understand, is that the judging that they're so used to hearing about, especially in the Jewish faith, you know, there's a lot of judging that goes on. I mean, you know, it's just kind of everything that they do, it's part of the judging. And so to have agape love of everyone is so foreign to them, they don't even understand that concept.

Of course, I really didn't get into that concept the other night, but they were hearing a message from a born-again believer that they've never seen. I mean, again, I take no credit for this. I mean, the Spirit entirely. But nevertheless, it was a message that they'd not seen. They thought there was always this judgmental view. That doesn't mean their sin, just like mine, wouldn't carry them to hell one day. We didn't get into that either. But the issue was a conversation. And they'd never really experienced anything like that.

But that's, if you will, the joy, fulfilling His joy in our lives. Ultimately being able to give them a sense that we're all equal at the foot of the cross. That's the one place there's no prejudice. It's at Calvary's cross. Everyone is made equal. No black and white, no male and female, no lesbian and gay versus heterosexual versus adulterous. The point is everybody's the same at the cross. It's the great equalizer of all time. No prejudice at all at the cross.

Alright, accord, being of one accord. Hi, Jerry. So what we're dealing with, we're on verse 2 of Philippians 2, so we're kind of dealing with the redundancy of verse 2. I mean, we're talking about being like-minded, having the same mind, being of one accord, and being of one mind. Boy, there's a little bit of redundancy there. So we're kind of sorting through that in terms of the various terms.

The first means the same. The second's really agape, not mind, but in the New King James it's translated as mindfully agape or love. And autos, the same word that's used for like-mindedness or sane, is modifying the love, i.e., being light-minded is having Christ's love exemplified in the believer. The third is being of one accord, and that's a different Greek term, and I'm not going to, well I am going to read.

Vine says this word is made up of two words, sin, which is together with, and psychos, soul, self, inner life, or what the seed of the feelings, desires, affections. So the word refers to being united in spirit or harmonious. Paul desired the Philippians to be united in their affections, one in Christ and in all desires.

Philippians 2.2, just like the term we use for consolation, this is the only occurrence of this word in the New Testament also. So for whatever reason, Paul's picking some words here that are used only once in the New Testament in these first two verses of Philippians 2. I don't know what the significance of that is, but it's kind of interesting.

The last mind is phronio, that's actually a verb. So it's interesting, the Greek grammar here is we've got nouns, we've got verbs, and we've got pronouns, all kind of bonding us into one-mindedness, or being the same. So in Binds, to have understanding, be wise, to feel, to think, to direct one's mind on a thing, to seek or to strive for, to seek one's interest or advantage, to be a one's party, side with him, again the idea of being one. So four different ways to kind of bring us into this single-mindedness or like-mindedness as the body of Christ. Now I'm not sure why I didn't animate this more carefully, but I'd like to. But anyway, it's all on the board. So how important is this one mind thing anyway? Let's address the first question.

Is this doctrine? I think it is. for the, the faith, the singular faith, the singular understanding, the singular doctrine. And so according to Paul, there's not supposed to be, there should not be any disagreements as to what the Bible says. There's the doctrine, there's the truth, and as the body we're supposed to unify around that one truth that the scripture teaches. Okay, so the one-mindedness, the one-likeness, the agape, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ exemplified in the believer is doctrine.

Is it not? Can we argue with that? We can't. This is doctrinal truth being one-minded. Number two, is this practice? Should be. Okay. Is it being implemented? Well, I think that's why we come here, to learn, to be in the Word by teachers and elders who are of one mind in their teaching, so that we can learn that. Alright, not a rabbit trail I hope, but if you look at the Christian performance, and I use that term loosely, Because founded in doctrine, the performance is an act of faith, exemplifying the identification truths for all their worth. But if we look at that across Christianity, is this practice? Are we of one mind in the body of Christ? I really don't think we are, are we? And why not? I mean, are we one mind to Holly Hills? And again, we always have to remind ourselves that we can't ever have an elitist view of what we understand and know about the Word of God. We're privileged.

And I've always said, to come to identification truth means you've come to the end of yourself. I think that's the beginning of understanding this sound doctrine of Christianity. When we're tired of working for God and failing, we turn to the cross for everything it's worth. And that's not only our sins, it's the fact that You know, basically, Alan and Doris and Bob were all co-crucified, buried and resurrected in newness of life. So, that's Levitical doctrine.

Back to the conversation just a couple nights ago at the dinner table. Why, in fact, is the world really skeptical at best, but very critical of Christianity? Is it possibly because the practice of one-mindedness is in fact what really divides us and makes us seem like hypocritical in terms of the eyes of the world? There's definitely inconsistency. There's certainly inconsistency between how many Christians act and how a lot of the world perceives Well, you would like to think if somebody actually understood Christianity, then they would accept it, but they definitely see a lot of inconsistency. How many different denominations are there, 10,000 or something like that, that all have their own way of looking at things and they all disagree with that one?

How many were saved as adults? Am I the only one here saved as an adult? I mean, everybody else dead? Yeah, I was not 18. But before you get saved, I mean, weren't you, I was very critical of Christianity just because I grew up in a mainline church and I just saw kind of hypocrisy and I said, this can't be true. First of all, I never heard a personal gospel ever. It was all social gospel. And so I was critical of the fact that the social gospel didn't have any more meat than working hard to please fellow man, right? I mean, that was the entire message.

So, you know, and then you go to college and you get skewed, particularly if you direct yourself scientifically, and then medical school and all. But anyway, I was very critical of the hypocrisy I saw in the church. The church I'd been exposed to was just a small part of the church. You know, there may have been saved people there, who knows? I just have no way of knowing. But when you're saved as a child, maybe you don't have that same perspective. I don't know.

You know, here again you go back to the identification truce, the hypocrisy that was directed towards myself in the fact that you couldn't live up to the standards that were placed on you by the church framework because of political reality. So until the identification truce came in, there was no understanding of the life that's revealed in the scripture.

It's really true Donna, I think, and it would seem to me that if you're not founded in biblical doctrine, that's why my first question is, is this doctrine? It's doctrine, the fact that we in fact have one mind, and that mind is of Christ. And when you have that, I think that first of all helps put the sin nature in perspective, doesn't it? We still have the sin nature, but we're to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin, risen with him and in his life. But we still have the sin nature. And so I think the world wants to see us admit that we do wrong. I think one of the things about being one-minded in Christ would be when we grieve the Spirit that ultimately when we've offended someone not of the faith that we are readily open to admit that we've fallen short.

And I just think that's one example of how this one-mindedness plays out. I think along with that lines of non-fulfillment going along the rabbit trail, but, you know, two, like, the outside world maybe sees something bad happen to you. And they may see how you react. And the reaction can be more Christ-like and glorifying Him, or pointing the finger. You know, this happened to me because it was somebody else's fault. And I don't know, that's what affected me, is just their reaction of how they reacted when bad things happened. We all know that, you don't want to say bad things happen, but things happen for a purpose to conform you to his warning, to him.

Well in the first verse we read about consolation before he came in. We talked about that consolation is not a second place kind of finish here. The consolation is an uplifting level of comfort by our faith that is doctrine. The if is since we have these sufferings, ultimately the consolation, this is what it looks like, it's affection of love, tender mercies, and fellowship with spirit, and all that kind of stuff. I don't know exactly how to say this, but the doctrine has to result in a relationship with Jesus Christ, right? Otherwise you have doctrine, but it won't hold you, right?

And it's amazing how many biblical scholars there are and it seems that maybe some of them never quite get this, do they? I reflect on a conversation I had with a person that several people in this room know quite well in terms of this whole identification thing when I departed from a former church. It was funny that my late wife and I went to a service there when we were thinking about putting our children in that school and ultimately the first service he saw us in before we made the final decision He preached the Jacob before and after story, as if this is the new man Jacob versus the old man Jacob. Of course that's Old Testament stuff, right? You have to look forward to the cross to think that Jacob somehow was co-crucified and risen in newness of life, all that stuff.

And then ultimately as things matured there, I'll make a long story short, we were called in by the pastor because of something that I had said in a Bible study by one of the members who was a member of that church. And we discussed this and we got to the identification truths and ultimately the issue came up is this. And by the way, I was just learning then. I wasn't schooled in this whole doctrine well enough at that point, but I knew it well enough to defend it. And it came to the point, I said, you preached that sermon on Jacob, by the way, which Sharon and I really appreciated.

And although it was old testament, I understood the message you were trying to get across, but do you have ownership for the fact that I'm a new creation in Christ Jesus and I live by faith rather than trying to please God through everything I'm doing? He said, absolutely not. I have no ownership for that. So to him, this biblical scholar, full of knowledge and truth, I mean, you know, and I think concerned about his fellow man, clearly a saved man, had no ownership for the fact that we live in Christ. by the power of the Spirit, even though he knows the Bible well. The thing I was thinking about is the four One Minds, which in the New ASV, the first two is One Mind, One Love, One Spirit, and One Purpose. That describes us in Christ. It ties us all into Him.

There's not a lot of variance there. So my final question to the class, and I have a verse that exemplifies this, but what does this look like anyway, this one-mindedness? Again, if you were, let's say you invite the body into your living room, and maybe it's even a bunch of unsaved people into your living room, and you're trying to describe what the one-mindedness looks like. How would you describe it? By the way, I don't have the answer here. This is a question that I'd ask myself. What's this look like?

Harmony is a word. Fellowship, definitely. Because there is fellowship and one-mindedness. We're on the same page. You know, and that's so true because you can have a relationship with other believers, but when they don't have the like mind of who they are in Christ and they don't understand that doctrine, it's very difficult to have a really good fellowship with them and that camaraderie that you do have with other believers. I like the way the conversation goes when you're together with a group.

How long does it take to go towards spiritual things? And sometimes you never reach that. But other times, I know with a lot of us, it's just boom, right there. You know, the neat thing is that when each of us falls short, which we always do, I look at myself, and Jeremy looks at something I've done that's really of the flesh and not of the spirit.

I need to be spirit-led to immediately recognize this, but he's saying, look, that's old man, I understand for what it's worth. I mean, that's one-minded. We're all very forgiving and understand the sin nature for all it's worth. And we all see one another in Christ. We've got to be able to see one another in Christ Jesus, positioned about And that takes the pressure off, because then we can't be disappointed by any act of the flesh, because we're all founded in righteousness and glory in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I think of, particularly the epistle of John, how much emphasis he places on the love amongst the brethren, which is of course Christ's love that's shared among us. I mean, of course, that seems to speak more to the world than anything else. I mean, it's like what we're talking about. You know, the famous quote by Gandhi, that I would have been a Christian if it wasn't for all the Christians, and the fact that the world, and so much of that comes from the victory, and the infighting, and the lack of compassion.

I mean, if people see us as a community of people where there's unquestioning love and acceptance, and looking at each other like you're saying, one mind, as Christ looks on us. I mean, if Christ treated us like we treat each other, there wouldn't be much to this whole Christian faith. It would be pretty pointless. And we're supposed to have that mind of Christ where, look how much God accepts us, and what happens when we sin? As I like how Vern points out, it's not that, oh, you one another. It's not like that sin puts them back on the cross again, right?

Yeah, exactly. I mean, doctrinal truth is who we are in Christ. And again, I said to them the other night, I said, it's not just that my sins are forgiven, I have an eternal life, but I've got to walk on this earth for a while. And this process of continuing to be saved is an uplifting experience based on positional truth. I mean, I didn't quite show it exactly like that. But I mean, the point is, it's so true. And that's why There's no second place prize. This is not a consolation. This is comfort to be lifted up under all circumstances.

Special text. And if I am teaching next week, I can't wait for three and four. Jim's on the schedule, but again, I need to switch to May 6th. I'm hopeful to be able to come back and be teaching you next week. Although Jim, I'm sure, did a great job. Let's close in prayer. Jeremy, you want to close us with prayer? truth and to walk by faith in that truth. I thank you that we have a body of believers here that understand how important your work in our lives is. We just thank you so much for that, for what you've done for us. We pray this in your name, Jesus. Amen.