The Marks of Spiritual Unity B

You can either think with love with this Spirit. You can either think with the Spirit, or you can think with the flesh. If we are to think the same, then we must all think in harmony with the Holy Spirit. So the first principle is that if we are to be of the same mind, we must think on the things of the Spirit of God. We must have spiritual thoughts. In verse 3 of chapter 12, through the grace given to me, I say to every man among you, please note this, not to think, same term, more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound judgment as God has allotted.

Now stop at that point. Second thing, we're to think with sound divine judgment. That means objectivity.

Where we get into trouble is when we think subjectively. Look at Romans chapter 15, verse 5. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you, here's the same term, to be of the same mind, think the same, have the same disposition and attitude and concern with one another. Here it comes, according to whom?

Christ Jesus. Now we have Christ in the picture. We think the things of the Spirit.

We think the things of God, which gives sound judgment, and we think the things of Christ. Pretty simple, isn't it? You see, what we have to do is get lifted out of ourselves.

Let me say it again. We are to have the mind of Christ. You say, is that possible?

Yes, absolutely possible. In 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 16, it says, For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. You have the mind of Christ. You can think the thoughts of Christ. You can have a Christ-like attitude. You can know the will of Christ, the will of God, the will of the Spirit. You can mind spiritual things. But Paul says in the very next verse, chapter 3, verse 1, I can't speak to you as spiritual because you're so fleshy.

How does it come out? By your divisions and jealousy and strife, and you're walking like mere humans. What does that mean? You have the mind of man, not the mind of God, not the mind of the Spirit, not the mind of Christ.

You're fleshy. The end of 2 Corinthians, chapter 13 and verse 11, Paul adds a further plea to the Corinthian church in his last shot in the second epistle to them. He says, Finally, brethren, rejoice. Then he says, Be made complete or mature, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace, be like-minded, think the same things. And here he reflects on the fact that it's part of being mature. He says, Be made mature and think the same things. It's part of spiritual maturity. If you're fleshy, spiritually immature, you're going to collide with the mind of the Trinity.

No question. Colossians, chapter 3. Colossians, chapter 3.

This sums it up for us. It says in verse 2, Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Think heavenly, folks. Think the Spirit's thoughts. Think the Father's thoughts. Think the Son's thoughts.

Think mature thoughts. Think spiritual thoughts. Think heavenly thoughts. You say, But John, how can I know that I'll have those spiritual thoughts? How can I think like the Spirit, think like the Father, think like the Son, make sound judgment? How can I not be victimized by my flesh? How can I think with maturity, objectivity? How can I think heavenly thoughts, be concerned about the kingdom, be concerned about the Trinity, be concerned about them and not me?

How do I get translated up into that level? And the answer comes while you're in Colossians 3, if you please would look down into verse 16. Go back to verse 12, and we'll move into this one. So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion.

Listen, every one of these things here talks about relationships in the church. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And then let the peace of Christ rule in all your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. That's all about unity, every bit of it. Every bit of it.

All the right attitudes for unity are there. You say, well, how do you get to that? Verse 16, let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. Now, listen carefully. What is the word of Christ? It's the Scripture. Oh, you say, I know the Scripture.

Yeah, right. That's not what it said. It didn't say, know the Scripture. It said, let the Scripture what?

Richly what? Dwell in you. Let it be the residing presence, the dominant occupant, the energizing force of thought.

That's the idea. He didn't just say, know the Scripture. He said, let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. You can think the thoughts of the Spirit, and you can have the sound judgment of divine wisdom from God, and you can express the mind of Christ, and you can think mature thoughts, and you can think spiritual thoughts, and you can think heavenly thoughts if your thinking processes are energized by the dominant and richly dwelling word of Christ. And I said this to you many times, so that your instincts are spiritual, so that your involuntary reactions are right because you are dominated by the word of Christ. It isn't just that you know it. It's that it occupies the reigning and compelling area of your life. So there's no mystical thing here.

There's no sort of esoteric approach to this. It's a matter of letting the word of Christ dominate you, and it becomes the controlling force in your life that pushes you ever upward and out of this earth and out of yourself. In Ephesians, he says, do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. Filled with the Spirit.

By the way, in both of those passages, the results are the same. If you're filled with the Spirit, you'll speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. You'll sing, make melody in your heart, and you'll give thanks. Well, in Colossians 3, it says the same thing. If the word of Christ dwells in you richly, what happens? All wisdom, teaching, admonishing one another, psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Same exact result, therefore they must be the same thing. So on the one hand, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, on the other hand be filled with the Spirit. Controlling influence in your life is the word of God by the Spirit of God. Okay, now you understand that? That's back to the basics, isn't it?

Back to the basics. God is not in conflict with Christ, and Christ is not in conflict with God, and Christ is not in conflict with the Spirit, and the Spirit is not in conflict with Christ. They have one will and one design, and we have to see conflict for what it is. It is an attitude problem. It is a failure to think on a divine level. It is a rushing into the process of relationships with your own agenda. It is quick to speak, slow to think, and slower to pray, and slower to meditate, and slower to search the mind of God. And it is compelled by the flesh, which longs for what it has established as its priority agenda.

See it for what it is. Second principle. The first one is to be of the same mind. The second one flows out of it, maintaining the same love, maintaining the same love. The main verb in the verse is to be of the same mind.

This is a participle that in a sense flows out of that main verb. If you are of the same mind, you will maintain the same love. That is also a mark of spiritual unity. What does it mean to maintain the same love? It means to love everybody the same, and that tells me right away that we're not talking about emotion because I can't emotionally be attracted to everybody.

Not that at all. It's a mutual sacrificial service. That's how the New Testament defines love. In Romans 12, 10, it puts it this way, be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Be devoted to one another means to meet one another's needs. Greater love hath no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends. First John 3 says that if you look on your friend and he has needs and you close up your compassion to him, it's questionable whether the love of God even dwells in you. Love acts in behalf of someone else's need. God so loved the world that He gave what man so desperately needed. This is an element of unity, loving everyone the same.

Now let me make it as clear as I can. When you think the things of the Spirit, when you have the sound spiritual objective judgment of God, when you think with the mind of Christ, when you think with maturity, and when you think spiritually, and when you think heavenly, you will maintain the same love because Christ and the Spirit will be loving through you. And love for one another will be the outflow.

And I'm back to the same point I'm trying to get across to you. The problem is attitude. I would venture to say that when there is a collision of attitudes, it rises out of a failure to maintain love. And conflict comes, and I say it again, because of attitudinal problems. And the collision very often comes because someone has a grudge against someone else. I don't care whether it's at the level of lay people in the church or at the level of leadership in the church, it comes because somebody feels in their heart something other than love for someone else. Bitterness, envy, jealousy, personal ambition, protectionism, possessiveness, sometimes hostility. And it is out of that attitude, that loveless attitude, that the conflicts come.

That's what grieves me. And I have asked the Spirit of God to fill my heart with a surpassing spiritual love for all who are a part of the body of Christ. I can't do that in my flesh. My flesh refuses to do that. The Spirit refuses not to do that.

So, it's easy for me to tell where I am by getting in touch with my attitudes. That's where the collision and conflict comes. Third principle, united in spirit. This is an interesting word, assumed, used only one time in the whole New Testament. Paul probably made it up. It means one-souled, s-o-u-l-e-d, one-souled. And he said back in verse 27 that, I want you to have one spirit. Now he says, I want you to be one-souled. What does that mean? I love the word soul, brother.

And that's this idea. Knit deeply down in the harmony of the soul. What does that mean? Well, you're talking about passion here. You're talking about desire. You're talking about ambition and it's all the same. You see, if we all have the same passion, same desire, same ambition, we're going to be united in spirit. It's when one person's got a desire and a passion and an ambition for the Spirit of God to control the work of God and somebody else got a passion and a desire and an ambition to be prominent, that you have collision. That's collision. When somebody has a desire and a passion and a heartfelt hunger to see Jesus Christ Church united and somebody else wants the whole world to know that they've been offended, you have collision.

And man, they're going to spread that everywhere they can. And you ask them what the offense was and they probably couldn't even tell you, but it's basically, it's giving way to the flesh and the flesh is a liar and the flesh will deceive you and it will conjure in your minds things that aren't even true and destroy the unity of the church with a lot of stuff that isn't even related to reality. If there is one driving passion for the glory of the church, then there is one driving passion for the unity of the church. Is that true?

Has to be true. If there is one driving passion for the exaltation of Christ, there is one driving passion for unity. If there is one driving passion for the unity of the Spirit, that's what will happen. If there is one driving passion for the glory of God, that's exactly what will bring about the unity of the church. It's when somebody in the mix is driven by another agenda, protectionism, possessiveness, personal ambition, envy, jealousy, pride, illegitimate offense, morbid feelings of persecution, or whatever else. We need to be one spirit, one soul.

There's a fourth principle. He says, intent on one purpose, and this is where the passion fleshes out. If we have one passion, we're going to have one purpose.

Have you ever asked what's your purpose? People in conflict all have their own purpose. You get a whole lot of people together having all different purposes. You've got a lot of problems. A lot of problems. This, by the way, is the second part of the simple modifying being of the same mind and uses the same word.

For now, it uses it in a different way. It literally means minding one thing. That's the literal translation. So we went in a full circle. Be of the same mind, minding one thing. Okay, we're all together and we've got our focus together and we're all with the same intent, advancing the kingdom, starting with one mind. That one mind is released in one great love. That one great love is wonderfully accompanied by a single passion for unity with no personal agenda, which results in one great group of people moving toward one eternal glorious purpose.

That's what he says. And that purpose is the glory of God, the glory of God, the advancement of the kingdom. Really, Paul's saying the same thing in four ways. I told you there was overlap, but he says it in four ways to bury it deeply in our minds and our hearts. Unity is evidenced in a group of people who think alike. What do you mean they think alike? They all like the same furniture? No. They all have the same hobbies? No.

Not that. But they all are controlled by a deep knowledge of the Word of Christ that is energized in them by the power of the Spirit because they walk in the Spirit. They maintain the same spiritual attitude.

There can't be any collision there. Secondly, unity is evidenced in a group of people when they love each other equally, when they don't have grudges and they're not angry at someone because of something that they think was an offense against them. Unity is evidenced in a group of people who feel the same passion in their heart for the same holy principles, for the same holy goals, for the same divine ends, and they are driven and compelled from the inside to accomplish things that are utterly unrelated to themselves. These are the marks of unity.

Pretty simple, I think. Let me close with a personal comment. I am deeply concerned about the church because I believe that our society, the culture in which we live, has created monsters, selfish, self-indulgent, egotistical, introverted, consumptive, materialistic people who can think only of their own things. And the spillover of this is literally devastating to churches. We are hostile.

We are angry. We have had so much of this do your own thing philosophy embedded so deeply into us that we know very little of what it is to seek oneness and to give ourselves away for one another. And the legacy of this warped, pagan, godless culture is to produce monsters of self-indulgence. It's very difficult to stay separated from that, and the threat that it is to the church is frightening, frightening. I can only pray that somehow God will put a halt to it for the sake of His own name and the purity of His own church.

But there is no excuse no matter what the culture does, right? This isn't the first culture like ours, and it won't be the last if Jesus tarries. And the Word of God still binds us to responsibility to the truths that He has given us there. Let's bow together in prayer. Father, we know that You have granted us Your Spirit and Your Word, and You have given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, and that we have no excuse. No excuse for our pettiness, no excuse for our selfishness, no excuse for our pride, envy, personal ambition, jealousies. We have no excuse for the discord we cause, no excuse for a bitter attitude, grudge, no excuse. It's just our ugly, sinful flesh.

Forgive us. Give to us all that one mind, that common attitude that only can be produced by the Word and the Spirit. Give us that love. Give us that harmony of soul that drives us with one passion to one goal, the glory of God.

Lord, help us to be counter-culture. Help us to be radically different from the society around us. This we ask in the name of Christ, we know consistent with His own desire for us. Amen. This is Grace to You with John MacArthur.

Thanks for being with us. John's been our featured speaker for 53 years now. He's also Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary.

His current series is making a plea for unity. Now the book of Philippians, Paul's epistle to the Philippians, is the basis for our current study, but it's a relatively short portion of Scripture, just four chapters and 104 verses total. And I looked it up, John, when you originally taught through Philippians verse by verse, it took you 46 sermons to do it. That's an average of just slightly more than two verses per sermon, which says something about how rich this epistle is. Yeah, and that's exactly right. That is the conclusion that I would draw as well.

I would like to have moved faster, but I couldn't because there was just too much there. I think that many people don't probably know what value Bible commentaries have. And part of the reason that I would preach 46 sermons on a short book is because in the process of preparing those sermons like I do with all books, I'm reading many commentaries. I'm reading theological works, but I probably would read 10, 12, 14 commentaries on every passage that I've preached on.

And I am so profoundly enriched by all the insights, sort of the accumulated illumination of the Spirit over the years that these commentators have been writing, that all the potential riches just keep bubbling up out of the text. So you may read the Bible and you may have some devotional thoughts about it, and you may listen to me preach a sermon and say, that's exhaustive, but that's not all there is, believe me. And I would just encourage you to maybe take a first look at the commentary I wrote on the book of Philippians, because you're going to find in the commentary even more than you heard in the sermon. There was a lot in the sermon, but there's even more in the commentary on the book of Philippians. It'd be a good introduction to reading commentaries, and I've written commentaries on the entire New Testament.

I think it's 34 volumes. The book of Philippians would be a great way to begin. Order a copy from Grace To You of the commentary on Philippians and start going deeper into the Word of God. The price is very reasonable, and you could even order the whole commentary if you want, but it may be good to start with this one on the book of Philippians.

Very, very deep way to dig into the Word of God, which will produce all the good things that God wants to see in your life. Yes, and friend, if you are passionate about the Word of God, if you want to understand better what it teaches and how to apply what you've learned, the MacArthur New Testament commentary series can help. To get your copy of the Philippians commentary, contact us today. You can order by calling us toll-free, 800-55-GRACE, or by visiting our website, gty.org. Just ask for the MacArthur New Testament commentary on Philippians.

Or remember, if you order the whole series, you'll enjoy a steep discount. The number again, 800-55-GRACE, or the website, gty.org. And if you're looking for another helpful and easy-to-use resource for Bible students, check out the MacArthur Study Bible. It has 25,000 footnotes that give you historical and cultural background for each text, taking you back into the Bible's original setting and making the meaning and application clear. The Study Bible comes in hardcover and leather, and you can choose the New American Standard Version, the New King James Version, or the English Standard Version. To pick up a copy of the MacArthur Study Bible, dial 800-55-GRACE, or log on to gty.org.

That's our website one more time, gty.org. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for starting your week off with Grace to You, and be here tomorrow when John looks at the greatest pitfall to unity in the church and how you can avoid it. It's another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time, on Grace to You.