One with Christ
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“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose” (Philippians 2:1, 2).
The benefits of being one with Christ are laid out in these verses as a rhetorical question.
There is a sense of encouragement, solid and unshakeable, that can only come from being united with Christ. We experience comfort from Christ’s love. When we are one with Christ, we know what it is to have fellowship with His Holy Spirit. Through this unity we feel God’s tenderness and compassion poured directly on us.
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Exhale your sin: Find hope in the Holy Spirit
In these verses, Paul is communicating that since we have received encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness and compassion from being one with Christ, we should offer those same things to our fellow believers.
Unity with Christ spawns unity within the church.
It is a blueprint for the church: be like minded, have the same love, be one in spirit and purpose.
Be Like-Minded
To be like-minded is to agree together or to have the same perspective. We need to bring our thoughts into alignment with Christ’s, whose sole purpose on earth was to glorify God and do His work.
Have the Same Love
Imagine having the same love as Jesus – an unconditional, unrelenting, and uncompromising love. This is the love we need to demonstrate within the church. When we do, God’s name will be glorified. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35) .
Be One in Spirit and Purpose
Being one in spirit and purpose doesn’t mean everyone thinks alike, but rather they are united in a common goal. There is no room for selfish ambition or vain conceit. Instead, it requires a humble heart and a desire to consider others needs or interests above our own.
God, teach me humility that I might be like-minded with Christ, love the way He loves and be unified with my fellow believers in His Spirit and His purpose.
Questions: Why are these traits so difficult to live? Why are they so essential?
About the Author Suzanne Benner
Tags: Christ, comfort, common goal, encouragement, fellowship, Holy Spirit, like-minded, love, Spirit, Suzanne Benner, tenderness and compassion, unity
4 Responses to “One with Christ”
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[...] When we are one with Christ, we know what it is to have fellowship with His Holy Spirit. Through this unity we feel God’s tenderness and compassion poured directly on us. (read the rest of the devotional) [...]
We do live in a fallen world ! I like the verse As long as it depends on you live in harmony with one another I find it helps to pray at the first of the day for the unexpected incidents that can happen. I often pray that I will be a good representative of Jessus.
Thank you for this humbling message.
This is difficult mainly because we live in a fallen world, but also because people are so hard to love unconditionally, and that sometimes includes me. The word of God also talks about people being lovers of themselves in the last days. These are all excuses in my opinion (that I have used)Because we are to love with the love of God not our own love anyway we are suppose to have a Christ-like mind. The only way I have been able to accomplish (the few times that I have)this ever is to seek God for direction at all times praying for His will to be done.