One Spirit
Philippians 1:27
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…
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One Spirit
St. Paul encourages the church in Philippi to be of “one spirit, with one mind.” In this day of division inside and outside of the church, this may seem like a tall order. How are we to be of one mind when we disagree on so many different subjects? Many are tempted to go the route of least resistance and appeal to the least common denominator… “Let’s agree to disagree” and “As long as you think Jesus is real, that’s good enough.” But these attitudes betray St. Paul’s words to the church. We are not to water down the Gospel or be milquetoast in our proclamation of who Christ is. Doctrine does matter, God’s Word does matter.
We are called to be the salt and the light in this world. To preserve the faith and enlighten a fallen and broken world with the truth of Christ crucified for all. So how do we become one spirit and one mind? Well, we don’t do anything, but the Holy Spirit makes us new through the Word and Sacraments. We are regenerated in Christ’s image. And it is only in the image of Christ that we become of one mind and one spirit. Being made new through the Gospel, our faith clings to the Truth, to Jesus, guiding our manner of life so as to be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…
+
One Spirit
St. Paul encourages the church in Philippi to be of “one spirit, with one mind.” In this day of division inside and outside of the church, this may seem like a tall order. How are we to be of one mind when we disagree on so many different subjects? Many are tempted to go the route of least resistance and appeal to the least common denominator… “Let’s agree to disagree” and “As long as you think Jesus is real, that’s good enough.” But these attitudes betray St. Paul’s words to the church. We are not to water down the Gospel or be milquetoast in our proclamation of who Christ is. Doctrine does matter, God’s Word does matter.
We are called to be the salt and the light in this world. To preserve the faith and enlighten a fallen and broken world with the truth of Christ crucified for all. So how do we become one spirit and one mind? Well, we don’t do anything, but the Holy Spirit makes us new through the Word and Sacraments. We are regenerated in Christ’s image. And it is only in the image of Christ that we become of one mind and one spirit. Being made new through the Gospel, our faith clings to the Truth, to Jesus, guiding our manner of life so as to be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
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