Unity of Mind
I Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
What is unity? Unity is the state of being united or joined as a whole. As Christians we must have unity around our core doctrinal beliefs such as the Trinity, Deity of Christ, Inerrancy of Scripture, and others. This is the unity of faith that Paul describes in Philippians 4. But there is another type of unity I want us to consider this morning. Namely, unity of mind.
Paul writing to the Philippians in chapter 2 verse 2 says: complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
The unity Paul is exhorting the Philippian church to have is the same mindset, disposition and attitude toward one another. Same mind…same love…full accord…one mind. You may be asking yourself, how? How in the world can two people, much less an entire church have the same mind? How long would it take for all of us to come to a unified mind of the one place we should all go to eat lunch after church? Not going to happen. But I bet after service we could all come to a unified mindset of being ready to eat. This is the type of unity Peter and Paul are writing about; a unified disposition, attitude, mindset.
What should this unity look like? A unified mindset to humbly serve and love the church and God. Where do we see humble service of the church:
Phil 2:3-4 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Where do we see humble service of God: Phil 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
So we see that Peter and Paul both exhort the church to have unity of mind. To have the same disposition of mind, namely a humble mind bent toward serving God and the church. And praise God for his gracious character, because what he commands he also provides a means to obey.
Namely, we can have a unified mind because it was a gift given to all of us through our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ: Phil 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, Brothers & sisters we have all been given the same gift of a unified mindset that is committed to loving God and the church above ourselves.
One note. We can have a unified mindset but still live different lives. One example is in matters of conscience as Paul describes in Romans 14. But even in this chapter describing how Christians can disagree, Paul points out how unity should still be pursued. Romans 14:9 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Ok, so you may be asking, what is our exhortation this morning: Have unity of mind. We are all called to have this same mind: A humble posture toward God that drives us toward loving God and the church. But guess what, Peter and Paul are exhorting the church to Have unity of mind…to have this mind among yourselves because left to ourselves we will not pursue this type of unity of mind. Even though God has gifted us, through Christ, a unified mindset we have to put it on! We have to pursue it! Even though we are new creations, our old mindset, our selfish, prideful, hateful mind can still reign in our mortal bodies. We have to put off our selfish mind and put on our Christ-like mind.
Brothers & sisters, pursue a posture of humility that inclines your mind and heart to be so God centered that the way you respond to brothers and sisters in the church is love, sympathy and tenderness. Center your thinking so much on who God is that your mind is a mirror of his mind and heart. A mind and heart that loves the church and makes much of God!