Thank you again, Mark and Diane. Appreciate that. I just wanted to make one additional announcement about the Thanksgiving dinner. If anybody would like to give a testimony or if you wanted to share a song, we're just going to kind of do in-house entertainment. So please feel free, if you want to share that evening, just let us know so we can schedule that in. Yeah, sign up. There's a sign-up sheet for that as well. OK.

All righty, well, we're continuing in the book of Philippians in chapter 2 this morning. I'd like to ask you to begin by turning to 2 Corinthians 5 at verse 14. 2 Corinthians 5, 14. Paul writes, for the love of Christ compels us because we judge thus, that if one died for all, then all died. And he died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again.

Paul's writing now at the end of the last chapter, in chapter 1 of Philippians and into chapter 2, concerning unity in the church. So our text this morning is about unity, about the motives for unity, about the ways that we can maintain unity in the body, the church, as well as the dangers that can cause divisions. 

It's been my observation that there are primarily two views of the Christian life among believers, two ways of understanding our relationship with God and Christ and our relationship with one another in the local body of believers. And they divide more or less along a law-centered or grace-centered perspective of the Christian life. This ranges in degree, but I believe this is the basic dividing line. 

And Paul asked the Galatian church, having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? And he calls them foolish. Every believer, true born-again Christian, understands that salvation, justification, is by grace through faith alone in Jesus alone. But it seems that we struggle after justification to understand sanctification is just as much by grace through faith alone. 

And we have a great tendency to go back to some law as a rule of life, some creed to recite, confession to make, external standard to live by and define ourselves according to. And when we do this, it changes our motives. It changes our perspective concerning our relationship with God and with other believers and with the lost. Our relationship with God and our view of who God is changes. 

And I believe living by law not only ends in defeat and a lack of fruit-bearing because it is not God's means or method for conforming us to the likeness of Christ, but it also causes us to judge ourselves and others according to the standard that we establish. And this kind of perspective, this definition of the Christian life, ends up in a situation that I believe Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 10 at verse 12, where he writes, for we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves, but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise.

The greatest desire of our heart is to glorify God, is to live for Him, to become more and more conformed to the likeness of Christ. God has planted that desire in our hearts, and He has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. But He has also explained to us why it is that we can now live a new life and how it is that He intends to produce the fruit of holiness in our lives. And it's solely by His grace, His strength, His power as we walk by faith in Him. 

It's not by setting any external law as the motivator or the means of holy living. It's not evaluating our relationship with God based on our performance. And it certainly is not evaluating our brothers and sisters based on their performance, particularly when we do not know their heart or even the details and circumstances of their lives.

Just to illustrate, I remember years ago, Chuck Swindoll told a story about when he was preaching. And he noticed at the beginning of the service, a couple came in early and sat near the front. And when he began to preach, he noticed the man nodding off a bit. And throughout the sermon, the man kept falling asleep. And Chuck said, I was thinking in my heart, look at this bum sleeping through my sermon. And he was judging that man.

After the service, the couple came up to meet him. And the woman explained how much they loved him and his preaching and they'd listened to him for years and how her husband was dying with stage 4 cancer. And his final desire for his life was to hear Chuck preach in person. So they had driven four hours that morning to come and hear him preach. Chuck said, I realized who the real bum was. 

It's often this way. We do not know each other's hearts or circumstances or what's going on. We all need grace. And Galatians 6 tells us that even when we're taken in sin, even when we're fallen into a trespass, we are to restore one another in a spirit of gentleness, not in judgment and condemnation. 

What we're going to see in our text this morning is that a proper perspective or understanding of our relationship with God and with the church body, with believers, is one of love and grace and unselfish service and building one another up and encouraging and correcting in love when necessary. Our motive is thankfulness, is love and appreciation because of what Christ has done for us, in us, and who he is to us. 

And our motive for our brethren is only good, is only grace, is only love and desire for us all to come to the unity of the faith, to a mature man, to the fullness of the knowledge of Christ. And the means for living this kind of life is the grace of God, the power of the Spirit, the life of Christ in us as we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, as we walk by faith.

Paul wants us to understand the Christian life, our salvation in Christ. And he wants this understanding to bring unity in the church so that we might be fruitful and multiply and bring glory to God. Ours is not a creedal or confessional faith. Our life is not defined and motivated by law and performance. And our relationship with God is not a legal one. 

We stand in grace. We trust in God. We believe his word. And the love of God is poured out through us because of the Holy Spirit who was given to us. I have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. In the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. 

My brothers and sisters, it is the love of Christ that compels us, that constrains us. And our desire is to live for the one who died for us and for his people, the church. Our life is thank you. Thank you, Jesus, for your grace and mercy and salvation in life and in hope for today and for eternity. 

Let's look at our text in Philippians 2.1. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 

I've given you five points this morning because of his love, one spirit, one mind, unselfish service, the interest of others, and the mind of Christ. 

Well, first in our text we see because of his love. And you'll notice in verse 1 the words if, if, if. And this is what we call the first class condition in the Greek. And it's assuming something to be true. I think the best way to translate this in our verse is because of. You could say since or. But Paul is saying if there's any mercy, and there is. 

So we should understand it this way. Therefore, because there is consolation in Christ, because there is comfort of love, because there's fellowship of the Spirit, because there's affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded and having the same love, being of one accord and one mind. 

What we see here is the motive for the Christian life, for Christian unity. Why do I live the way I do? Why do I do this or not do that? What is it that motivates me, that compels me to live for Jesus and love one another? What Paul is saying to the believers in order to promote unity is look at what you have and who you are in Christ, who Jesus is to you. Freely you have received. Freely give. This is a grace relationship based on the free gift of salvation in Christ, the unmerited favor that God has bestowed on us at the cross in regeneration, in sustaining grace, and confident promises for life today and for eternity. 

Back in chapter 1 at verse 27, Paul introduced his desire for unity in the body. He said, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. 

He's going to reiterate this in verse 2 of our text, but in verse 1, he gives us the proper motive, the proper perspective on the Christian life. And the four things before us in verse 1 are not hypothetical or possible. They are established truths and facts. The first word we see is consolation. And this word speaks of exhortation or encouragement, comfort. 

Because of the fact that there is consolation in Christ, that you have experienced great encouragement from Jesus so many times in so many ways. This has been the experience of your life, that Jesus is faithful, that he is sufficient, that he is dependable and always there, never leaves or forsakes us, and is the only real truth and love found in this life, be like-minded. Weiss translated it this way. He says, in view of the fact, therefore, that there is a certain ground of appeal in Christ which exhorts us, be like-minded. 

There are so many truths, so much grace in this life, in the hope of his coming, of eternity with him. The foundation of this, the fountain springing forth into all aspects of our life and hope, the greatest consolation in Christ is the gospel, is the salvation we have experienced by God's grace through faith in Christ. 

Listen to these wonderful words in Ephesians 4. He says, let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. 

As Christ forgave you. This is our motivation, my friends. When we were still sinners against Christ, blaspheming his name, he came and died for us, gave himself for our salvation, grace upon grace. We have been forgiven a great and unpayable debt because of Christ. How shall we not forgive one another much lesser offenses? 

The principle is found in the parable Jesus told in Matthew 18. If you turn to Matthew 18 at verse 21, Peter comes to Jesus and says, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Should I extend it that far, Lord, that I would forgive him seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say up to seven times, but up to 70 times seven. 

Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents, an insurmountable debt. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 

The servant, therefore, fell down before him saying, master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 denarii, and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, pay me what you owe. 

So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved and came and told their master all that had been done. 

Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you? My brothers and sisters, having been forgiven so much, having been united in heart and spirit with one another in Christ, having the same mind, the same goal, the same passion to glorify God, to live for Jesus, to bring others to him, how can we not forgive one another? 

Because there is consolation, comfort in Christ. Be of one mind and one spirit. The word comfort next is the translation of a Greek word which means literally a word which comes to the side of one to stimulate or comfort him. It's similar to the first word, consolation, but carries the idea of gentleness, comfort, because there is the comforting love of Jesus. 

Love is agape, speaking of the love of God demonstrated at the cross, His unfailing, unending love for us. He loves us so much so that He gave His only begotten Son to save us and He sustains us faithfully by His grace and He will accomplish His will in us and through us for His glory. His unconditional love is an ever-present comfort. And so we should love one another in this way. Come alongside and stimulate and encourage in love. 

The Greek word translated fellowship speaks of a common interest and a mutual and active participation in the things of God in which the believer and the Holy Spirit are joint participants. Romans 8 tells us that the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit. We are in agreement. 

The lack of unity was not a question of being indwelt with the Holy Spirit, which is true for every believer, but a matter of being controlled by the Holy Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit, walking by the Spirit. And we could define this as setting our mind on the things of the Spirit, eternal things, the grace of God so abundantly poured out into our hearts and lives. 

We see this theme replete throughout the New Testament. Colossians 8 tells us that those who are Christ set their mind on spiritual things and not on fleshly things. Colossians 3 exhorts us on the basis of the fact of our death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus to set our mind on things above, to set our hope on His coming, to think heavenly thoughts, not earthly things. 

In this section, Paul is not concerned with doctrine. I would note that we see no doctrinal corrections in this entire epistle. Doctrine was not an issue. Doctrine is the basis for unity; it underlies it. We must be united in truth and the Word of God, but here Paul is concerned with attitude, with perspective, motive, and means. 

It's been my observation that conflict and division is generally not doctrinal. In fact, even when we within the body of believers here at Living Hope have doctrinal disagreements, those interactions and conversations are always based in love for one another and are very amiable and driven by good motives. We have sometimes had to do very hard things based on doctrine, and things have not always worked out the way we would have liked, but I can't remember a time when a doctrinal difference was filled with animosity or contention, but rather love for one another and passion for the truth, even though we may disagree.

What Paul is concerned with and the much greater threat to unity in the church is a selfish attitude filled with selfish ambition or unforgiveness. When one wants to exalt himself or condemn another, an attitude of self-righteousness or judgment toward our brothers or sisters. This is something that I have rarely or ever seen here in our fellowship, praise the Lord. But it is a danger, and it certainly exists in small ways and in personal attitudes and hearts at times, and we must nip that in the bud. 

We must take those thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ and set our mind on things above, be immersed in His Word and filling our hearts and minds with the truth of His amazing grace toward us, so that we might extend that love and grace toward one another. 

The fourth reason we should live in unity, have the same heart and mind, is because in Christ there is affection and mercy. And this extends to our relationships within the body. Paul used this word back in chapter 1 when he said, I affectionately long for you. He loved them, he missed them, he's sitting in prison. In Christ there is a great bond, a unity of the Spirit, a common love, and we greatly long with affection for believers, for brothers and sisters in Christ, there's a tenderheartedness toward one another and a fellowship that the world can never know.

Listen to this translation, it says, in view of the fact that there's a certain ground of appeal in Christ which exhorts, comforts, since there's a certain tender persuasion that comes from divine love, in view of the fact that there's a certain joint participation with the Spirit in a common interest and activity, since there are certain tenderheartednesses and compassionate yearnings and actions, be unified. 

Have the same mind. Seek after the same things. These are the things which should motivate unity in our lives and our relationships with God and one another. It's not a legal matter, nor a law or a creed or some external standard that moves us to live for Jesus, but it's His grace, His work, His person, the fact that we have been forgiven so much and changed so drastically in the very essence of who we are, a change in our destiny, a change in our passion, a change in our purpose for living. 

We must think on these things, and on the basis of these things, Paul says in verse 2, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. One spirit, one mind. Like-minded is the word phreno; we see the same word used in those passages in Romans 8 and Colossians 3 that we considered earlier, and also in Romans 12, where Paul says in verse 3, for I say through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 

Think. We are to think the same thoughts, we are to set our minds, we are to think God's thoughts according to His word, for we have the mind of Christ. And in thinking the same thoughts, we come to the unity of the Spirit. Love here again is agape, the self-sacrificial love demonstrated at the cross. 

One accord is an interesting word, sum suco, from the word suce, referring to the mind, the thinking part of us. It could be translated soul to soul. The focus is clearly here on how we think, the action of the mind, the suce. It's not telling us to unite our spirit, pneuma, with the Holy Spirit or with the spirits of our brothers. There is unity in the Spirit; the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit. 

It's so important because the battle is never spirit against spirit. It's always spirit against flesh. And flesh, listen now, flesh is defined in the Bible in its negative connotation as this body controlled by indwelling sin. So the deep desire of our hearts because of God's love being poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit because of the regenerative work of God giving us a new spirit, we are all in tune to the Spirit of God in our spirits, and this is the deep passion of our spirits to live for Him, to be united in purpose and passion. 

I was thinking about passion and desire as a prime motive for how we live, what we do, and how we need to remember, reckon the truth of who we are in Christ and what we most want in order to control our mind and thinking. When I was in high school, I played on the golf team for four years. By the way, when I left Indiana, I left golf and politics there. But I was on the golf team for four years and had a modicum of talent, nothing special really, but my real problem was I had no passion, no desire to be better. Golf was not my life as it was for some. I was good enough to play varsity for four years, but I really didn't care. 

In my senior year, our old coach retired, and the new coach was bound and determined to teach us the fundamentals of golf and to install the necessary discipline in us to be better golfers. Instead of going and playing nine holes for practice, we were required to hit 109 irons and then 100 wedges in the next club, and he had us run from tee to green through the whole course in order to get in better shape, so I quit. 

You see, I had no passion, no desire to do what it took to do better and to contribute to my team. I'd rather be hunting or fishing or trapping. I watched an interview with Kobe Bryant not too long ago, and he talked about his drive and desire to be a champion. He was quite over the top. Remind me of Larry Bird, who'd shoot 500 free throws before breakfast every morning. The discipline, hours of commitment. He talked about how Shaquille O'Neal lacked this drive and was lazy, and if Shaquille had had Kobe's work ethic, they would have won 10 championships, he said. 

Let me ask you, my brother, my sister in Christ, what is your passion? What is your greatest desire? What really matters in your life? Paul is telling these believers that they need to understand the salvation they have been given. They need to understand that they have a new heart and a new spirit and a new life and a new purpose, and all that they have is in Christ, as we saw in verse 1. And I want to go back to that familiar passage in 2 Corinthians 5, but I want to read it in its full context, so turn to 2 Corinthians 5 and read along with me, beginning in verse 1, and just notice the full context here. 

Paul says, for we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven. If indeed having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent, in this body, on this earth, groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 

Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes well-pleased rather, to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to Him. 

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or useless, is that word there. Verse 11, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men that we are well-known to God and I also trust are well-known in your consciences. For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 

For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God, and if we are of sound mind, it is for you. Look at verse 14, for the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus, that if one died for all, then all died, and he died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again. 

Therefore from now on we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Behold things have passed away, behold all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 

That is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 

Here we find the truths of our salvation. He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, to stand in our place, to take the wrath we deserved. Now we are ambassadors for Christ. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation, the word of the gospel, to go out into this world and to preach, and we have confident hope that we shall be glorified. He says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and we will take on a new heavenly body. 

We also see a new perspective. Once things were of the flesh, worldly, carnal. Now as new creations in Christ, all things are of God. Everything we look at, everything we see, is now of God. We see men as spiritual beings, either alienated from God, or as brothers and sisters in Christ, and we seek their spiritual good. And we see in this passage our motive, the love of Christ is what compels us. 

We now have a deep desire to live for Him because He died for us. These are the truths that are to dwell in us richly. These are the things we are to set our minds on, become consumed with, and seek with passion to fulfill. This is the one mind. This is thinking the same things. This is unity in the faith. Our spiritual perspective, passion and purpose. 

As we go back to Philippians 2, we see in the next verses unselfish service for the interest of others. Verse 3, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 

Selfish ambition and division comes when we think according to the flesh, when we seek our own, when we have selfish ambitions and are looking out for our own interests. Unity is the converse of this, seeking the well-being of others, encouraging, strengthening, esteeming others better than myself. 

I was thinking about how all of the politicians now are talking about unity, bringing America together, unifying the country. My friends, in a carnal sense, earthly sense, among lost men, unity is an impossibility. Not killing each other is maybe achievable, but not unity, because everyone is looking out for number one. Ultimately, even in philanthropy or acts of service, lost men are seeking their own gain, their own glorification, their own selfish ambition. 

And nowhere is this more evident than in politics, the scheming, conniving, treachery, betrayal. They lie and they steal and they cheat, why? To get their own way and their own power. There's no unity in the world of men. But in the church, among the believers, by the grace of God, as we set our mind on things above, as we let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly, as we walk in the Spirit, we see unity. 

We see agape love. We see self-sacrifice. We see genuine people who want the genuine good of others, particularly the salvation and sanctification for the glory of God. We must remember who we are. We are here, why we are here, what God has done for us in Christ and what He has in store for us in this life and eternity. We must reckon these things to be so and set our mind on them and depend on the power of the Spirit and the life of Christ in us to produce unity, love, service, and growth in the body. 

As Ephesians 4 says, growing together where every part does its share and causes growth of the body, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Pressing toward that mark, reaching toward that goal is how we come into unity in the church and maintain love and fellowship and this can only come when we have the same mind, the same attitude as Christ, the mind of Christ. 

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. What is this mind? The mind that was willing to lay aside the glory that He already had and take on flesh and become a man and to always do what pleased the Father and submit to His will, even to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Jesus gave Himself for you and for me so that we might live, that we might have eternal life. This is the greatest gift, the grace of God. 

And what can we say? What can we say? Can we say, I've done this and this and this, I had a good day today because I kept this law and this law and this law, you're really bad because you went and saw that movie, right? No, what can we say if we understand the gospel, if we understand grace? We can say, thank you. 

Thank you with our lips in praise and worship. Thank you in witness to the lost and encouragement to the brethren. Thank you for security and eternal promises. Thank you for the privilege of being an ambassador for Christ and participating in the salvation of souls. Thank you for the sufficient grace. Thank you for the fellowship of the believers. Thank you for this place. 

Our life is a life of thank you because of what God has done in Christ and the salvation we have in Him by grace alone. Thank you, Jesus. Now may we serve you and experience the unity that you desire in the church so that you may be glorified. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful for your grace, your mercy. Help us to understand that it's your power, your provision, your life in us that accomplishes everything good. We just need to look to you, to trust you, to believe you, to think your thoughts. Help there to be unity in our church and our attitude and heart and mind so that we might serve you, the one who died for us, that we might be encouraged by one another, that we might be witnesses in our communities, that we might love men as you love men and do all things for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.