“If therefore 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).

I read this verse and wonder if there is anyone that is encouraged in Christ. I wonder if anyone senses the love of Christ or anyone who enjoys the presence of the Spirit. Is there anyone who experiences the affection and compassion of God? I wonder this because I see such division in the church. We do not think the same way. We do not have the same love. We are not united in spirit and we do not share the same purpose. Why?

What are we up to as a church? We are doing a lot of stuff, but nothing is happening. Our society is not changing. There are some churches that are seeing thousands of people attending their services. Do those people understand the truth of God’s word? Do they truly know Christ? Are they living righteously? Are they witnessing? Are they spreading justice and righteousness in society? We are being nice to people. We are singing some good songs. Again, people are going to church. However, are we living truly Christian lives? Are we doing this in a united effort? Please tell me where you see this happening in our country. Read the book of Acts and see how the church operated in biblical days. Where is that?

We are told in the above verse that we are supposed to have the same mind. What does that mean? It means that we are supposed to think the same way. It is that we as believers have “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). We are able to think the same because our thoughts are to be in line with one individual, Jesus Christ. Remember that Christ is “the Word [that] became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The mind of Christ is revealed in the word of God. In order to think like Christ, we must think like the Bible. In order to be “like minded,” we must all line up with the Bible. I do not mean that we never disagree, but that there is one thing we never disagree on. If we are going to hold an opinion or live out an action, it must be based on a biblical foundation. The reason why we do not unite in our beliefs is because we do not base things simply on the Bible. We may disagree, but can we debate about it using the Scriptures and not other sources? So many people say these same things, but then you never hear them mention a verse for their beliefs. Can we unite?

We can only do so if we begin to think biblically and to share “the same love.” Our love is that we “shall love the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul and with all [our] might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). We are also told to “love the brotherhood” (1 Peter 2:17) and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). Our passion is supposed to be for the Lord, the believers, and then people in general. If our love for these keeps our ambition in check, we will always be united. With the Bible as our guide and the love of God and people in our hearts unity should not be far behind.

We should desire to be “united in spirit.” We should desire unity. Now that does not mean that we accept every person as a believer nor do we embrace every lifestyle or doctrine. It is simple though. We just unite around the Bible and the love for the Lord and people. All those who share the same mind and love should unite. Yet how often are individual churches uniting together. In some instances you have churches right next to each other, do they ever fellowship with one another, do they ever minister together? I can’t tell you how many times I have sought to get a church involved in my ministry and the response was “why don’t you come to our church or find a church to serve in?” The response indicated that you should only minister within the confines of a church that you are a member of. Are we not all the body of Christ! Why is it that we have to be a member of a church to receive any cooperation? Can we stop trying to build our own little kingdoms and focus on advancing the biblical body of Christ? Will we unite?

Finally, if we come together with a biblical mind; have a love for the Lord, believers, and all people; focus on uniting around such; and become “intent on one purpose” we will see great things happen. Jesus gave us our purpose. He said “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Paul also expressed that “I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23). Our purpose is to “attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man…no longer…tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by the craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him…from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:13-16). Can you imagine if we began to see this happen?

Again, I don’t mean that we unite with those who disagree with biblical truths, this verse opposes that as well. However, we should not divide over what type of curriculum should be used or opinions about the gifts of the Spirit or end times. By all means let’s debate them, but in the end let’s unite around things that are clearly biblical. Imagine if there was an individual who studied the Bible thoroughly and began to believe what it says and live out what it commands, a life completely according to the Bible. Now imagine if a group of people studied the Bible and as the body of Christ decided to believe what the Bible says to believe and fulfill the mission that the Bible says the Church should be fulfilling. Can we unite by thinking biblically, motivated by love for God and people, desiring to be united with biblically minded believers, and focused on advancing the kingdom of God? I want to see this happen. Do you? In August, some friends of mine are going to begin a discussion class centered around seeing this happen. Will you join us? Please email me if you will at dannyleveck@gmail.com.