Thursday, January 05, 2017

Make my joy complete - Philippians 2:1-2

"Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose." (Philippians 2:1-2)
Paul is asking the Philippians to stop and consider the benefits they have found in Christ. While Paul's words are stated as a question, the implied answer to each question is "Yes". In response to Paul's questions, here is what he is hoping we will realize.

There is encouragement in Christ. The Greek word for encouragement is a form of the same word that Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit as our comforter, "And I will beg the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever." (John 14:16 Darby) In Christ, there is comfort, encouragement, and consolation, even in times of trouble and loss. Our encouragement comes not from our own power of will, but because the one who is our comforter lives within us. We have comfort and encouragement because of our relationship with Christ and His very presence in our lives.

In Christ we have received the love of the Father and, through the Holy Spirit, our lives have been filled full with the love of God. "The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5) This Greek word for consolation is translated by Vine as "to speak closely to anyone." Through the love of God, we experience not only His nearness but we also hear his expressions of love and feel His breath upon our spirit as He speaks His love to us.

In Christ, we have fellowship with His Spirit. Not only do we live in social intercourse with the Spirit, but we also participate with Him in His work in our lives and upon this Earth. Our fellowship with the Spirit goes beyond simply knowing Him, we also participate with Him in a purpose that is greater than ourselves. Through the Spirit, we become partners with God and partners in a mission that is extending His Kingdom throughout the whole Earth.

In Christ, our hard hearts have been made soft again; where there was once coldness there is now the ardent warmth of love. Instead of indifference towards others, our heart now burns with love, compassion, mercy, and empathy. Instead of self-love, we find a new motivating force within us that draws us to others, that causes us to take notice and consider other people, and that motivates us to share with them the same love of Christ that has been shared with us. Our love, that was once selfish, has been turned outward towards God and towards others.

In all of this, Paul is trying to get us to see all we have received in Christ and, in seeing this, to motivate us towards love and community with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Message bible puts it this way, "If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ... then do me a favor..." (Philippians 2:1-2 The Message) We have been given so much in Christ that we ought not to keep it to ourselves or to use it only for our own purposes, interests, and benefit but we ought to share those benefits with others.

Paul's joy was the joy of a father; the joy a father feels when his children grow up to become mature, well constituted, men and women of character, fidelity, courage, and godliness. Paul's judgment of their maturity was based upon how they lived and interacted with others. It is not only an inward maturity that Paul was looking for but also an outward maturity that affects every aspect of our lives, speech, and conduct.

Paul's joy was not only for the individual but also for the whole church. Paul not only loved and cared for the individual but he also loved and cared for the church. To this end, Paul encourages the Philippians in how they should relate to one another. Specifically, he asks that they would live in unity with each other. That that they would have the same mind and that being the mind of Christ. That they would have the same love, the same love for each other with which God had loved them. That they would be co-spirited or to of kindred spirit, meaning that, though they differ outwardly, there would be a commonality in their souls that would draw them togther as one. Finally, that they would be intent on one purpose, meaning to be of one mind, to think the same, or to exercise their thoughts and intentions towards a common purpose. This common purpose is more than a common mission or activity but is our common purpose to be more like Christ and together to represent and reflect Christ to the world.

David Robison

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