Unity - Ron

On July 1st, 1776, men gathered together in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress. Over the next three days, these men voted for and penned our Declaration of Independence. Officially, it was adopted on July 4th, 1776. It has been said that in response to a statement about needing a unanimous signing, Benjamin Franklin remarked, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” With the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War in 1783, there was much in between these dates to tear these founding fathers apart. Truly, weak things united become strong, and united they had to be. This idea of unity is brought home whenever we think of our great nation: one group of United States. 

And yet, long before the birth of our oldest England-born forefather, or any of the other estimated 2.5 million people living in the colonies in 1776, the Bible had much to say about unity. King David penned these words in Psalms 133:1 - Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Having many sons by different wives, imagine how much turmoil in his family could have been prevented if his sons had practiced this verse. In Solomon’s writing, we see that one of David’s sons may have gotten the point: Ecclesiastes 4:12 – “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” There is strength in unity. The old Yiddish proverb is true, then: If a link is broken, the whole chain breaks.

When I first moved to Mississippi, I worked for an excavation company out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They were putting in sewer and water lines in Gulfport, near the coast. The crew that I was on was in charge of getting the finished product ready for asphalt. One crew would tear up the road in trenches, or sometimes entire sections, a second crew would follow behind, lay the pipe and back fill, and we could come along to tidy up. This involved cutting asphalt away that had broken, and to do this, we had a big walk-behind saw. To move it distances, we would chain the saw to the bucket of a bobcat. One day, I was walking alongside of the saw, holding it from swaying, while another guy drove the bobcat down the street. All at once, the chain broke, sending the saw crashing to ground, and nearly yanking my arm off in the process.

You see, when one link of a chain breaks, the entire chain fails. There is no merit or benefit to say, “Yes, but look at all of the links that are still intact!” The simple rebuff is, “Intact or no, they cease to function.” As much as it was necessary for our forefathers to be united, it is as important now. As important as it is for a country to be united, it is even more important for a body of believers. The church must be unified.

In Philippians chapter 2, Paul appeals to the Christians in the Roman colony of Philippi to hold together. Paul does this by exhorting them to embrace the attitude of humility. He presents to them the greatest example of all to follow in Christ Jesus leading us to one main idea: The people of Christ must have the mind of Christ.

Paul begins in earnest by creating a question in the mind of the reader. We are all familiar with if/then statements. Paul is here laying the foundation upon which we will either stand upon, or stumble over. Simply, it is this: If these next few things are true, then there ought to be a specific result. So what are the ingredients of Paul’s if?

First, Paul says, IF there is any consolation in Christ. Immediately, our minds, maybe without consciously knowing what consolation means, cry out, “Of course there is consolation in Christ!” We think of hurting parents who watch their children suffer from cancer, or the widow burying her lifetime love, and we say, “Yes…truly we have our consolation in Christ.” We don’t have to know or look up the Greek word and usage. Each and every Christian can point to a time when their only consolation was in Christ Jesus. And yet, if we were to look into the Greek, we would find that this word translated consolation is the Greek word paraklesis. It is translated elsewhere as comfort or exhortation. In Luke 6:24, Jesus even used this word to speak of how people who find their solace (paraklesis) in riches, do so at the expense of true joy.  We see, then, that the first IF has been met in resounding fashion. Of course there is consolation in Christ. Of course there is solace in Christ. In fact, there is no more sure consolation in all the world.

Second, Paul says, IF any comfort of love. This word love has a deep meaning, like a love feast. Imagine this with me: A hungry traveler arrives at a large house. He has been wandering for days, and is cold, tired, and starving. The host, filled with compassion, invites him in, saying, “Rest by the fire and warm yourself while I fix you something to eat.” The man has no difficulty in getting warm, but he cannot rest due to the pangs of hunger. After what seems like forever, the host returns, inviting the stranger to join him in the other room. Spread out before the two men is more food than the two of them could possibly need in this moment. No matter how famished the traveler is, he could not consume even a fraction of what is offered. He could fill himself to satisfaction, rest, and fill himself again. And this is the idea that Paul has in mind. For the brokenhearted, downtrodden, unloved, and lonely soul, is there any comfort in a banquet hall with table after table full of love enough to have their fill and more than enough? Can you think of a time in your own life when someone has been that banquet of love to you? Of course, we would say to Paul, of course there is comfort in this godly love.

Thirdly, Paul says, IF there is any fellowship of the Spirit. Do you have the Holy Spirit living within you? This is a redundant question for the Philippian Christians. Of course they have. But Paul adds this because there are, naturally, some difficulties and conflicts that cannot be solved, appeased, or conquered by natural means. However, if we truly do have the Holy Spirit, Paul reminds us that fellowship is possible and expected.

Fourthly, Paul says. IF any bowels and mercies. This is, simply stated, if there is any heart and compassion. In this last IF statement, Paul appeals to the natural sympathy and tenderness found in humanity. He says, “Do you have a heart? Do you care at all?

And so, with four resounding affirmations in the IF category, Paul lays down the THEN:

Fulfil ye my joy by being likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Paul reminds the Christians that part of his joy is found in their living for Christ. Let us never forget that those in spiritual leadership over us yearn zealously for our success. They pray for our Christlikeness. On more than one occasion, and especially with the Galatians, Paul wondered if he had labored in vain. I had a professor in college who would shake his head and say, “I’m wasting my life.” Paul is saying what any leader in the faith would say: It adds to my joy, or it completes my joy, to see you doing what you ought to be doing! If you are a parent, you can absolutely relate to this. It brings you joy to see your children succeed.

Paul says, where unity in Christ is concerned, success looks like us all striving for the same thing. Paul encourages them to be likeminded in what they thought. He encouraged them to have a “meeting of the minds” if you will. Certainly, logic and sense can more easily rule the day when men sit down together. In fact, the Bible even says, “Come, let us reason together”

Paul also encourages them to be likeminded in what they wrought. The love that had been worked out in Paul’s life so effectively, is the same love that he wanted to, and should see in their life. Agreement with another person does not last long if love is not involved in the binding. Think of a marriage. If you were to ask the couple: are you married? The mind says yes, obviously. They would agree on that. But when even one heart begins to say no, eventually divorce separates them – outside of godly intervention. Agreement factually may not stand long without the backing and persuasion of love.

He then encourages them to be likeminded in what they sought. Handley Moule suggests a proper rendering of the phrase “of one accord, of one mind,” to be: “possessed with the idea of sentiment of unity.” It speaks of purpose. Agreeing together mentally and factually and lovingly pressing forward in that toward one purpose.

Paul says, hey, IF the aforementioned things are true (and we discovered that they are) THEN unity ought to be the result. A unified church may be one of the most counter-cultural witnesses that we can conjure in a country that seems to be tearing at the seams. Be encouraged by the rhetorical questions Paul asks. From the comfort of the obvious answers, press forward together in unity.