Philippians 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind
One morning a month ago my dad and I had a meeting together, and as we saw each other, I laughed, my dad laughed, and my entire family laughed because my dad and I were wearing essentially the same outfit, the same trousers, same shirt, same shoes. They weren’t exactly alike of course, but they were close enough that it looked like we intended to dress alike. Did we intend that? No, we did not. I’m sure my dad would try to avoid looking like me at all costs. A lot of times as we look at a church, we think, “Wow, these people are all the same. They all look exactly alike.” Yet, if you look just under the surface, there is so much going on, so many different kinds of personalities.
Are you like anyone else in this world? Are you just like everyone else in your church? The truth is, there is enough difference for there to be a lot of contention in any given church, yet in Philippians 2 the Apostle Paul tells us that we are to be likeminded. In Philippians 1:27 he says that we are to “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” In Philippians 2:2 he continues this by saying, “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” So, it is one, one, one. We are to have one mind, be in one accord, have the same love one of another. We are to be likeminded.
Is this some kind of mandate imposing that we are to look, think, and act exactly the same way? Are we to find some person in the church who is to set the tone and we are to be a bunch of robots? The answer is clearly no. But God does insist that we be likeminded.
How do you do that? Well, Philippians is a book about the mind. If you go through the book of Philippians and note all the times that “mind,” “likeminded,” or “think” are mentioned, the mind is definitely a governing theme throughout the entire book. But, the way to be likeminded is to be like Christ. Verse 5 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” He goes on to say that Jesus is God in flesh, but He became a servant, was “made in the likeness of men,” “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Now, if God in a body would humble Himself and become obedient to the Father, who am I to be arrogant, lifted up, self-willed, and disobedient? No, I am to be likeminded.
The only way to be likeminded with other believers is to be like Christ. There is so much variety in any given church, more than you would think. In the last couple of churches that I have been privileged to preach in I have noticed just how many age groups, family sizes, and kinds of people there are. A lot of variety, yet I have also noticed that to the superficial observation of an outsider these same churches seem to be of a like mind. How is that? To be likeminded is to be like Christ.
We have two examples of men who were likeminded because they were like Christ. One is Timothy and the other is Epaphroditus. In verse 19 Paul said that he wanted to send Timothy to them because he would be a good help and comfort. Verse 25 says, “Yet I supposed it necessary to send Epaphroditus” He calls him a brother, a companion, a fellowsoldier, a messenger, and a minister. He was all of those things. These were two men who were probably very different but were alike in one regard, they were like Christ.
What do we mean by like Christ? They had the same mind, the same spirit, the same attitude to follow Christ. In verse 20 Paul says regarding Timothy, “For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.” Timothy did. He was likeminded with Paul. There is a difference between natural care and supernatural care. Naturally I only care about myself. Even if I care about other people, it is only to the extent that they affect me. That is natural care. What God wants is not natural, it is supernatural. Timothy was a man who was more concerned about others than he was about himself. That wasn’t natural; it was supernatural. That was Christ. “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s,” verse 21 says, but Timothy had proof that he had something different. He was a man who cared about others because he was like Christ.
The Bible says that Epaphroditus had been sick nearly to death but he was more concerned about the people in Philippi than he was about himself. Verse 30 says, “Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.” So, he was for the work and cause of Christ with the mind of Christ not regarding his life. The Bible says that Jesus “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death.” That is the example that Epaphroditus was following when he exhibited the attitude he had toward these people in Philippi.
Today, you are a unique creation of God. You are different than other people. You have gifts, abilities, and inclinations which God has given you for a reason, but you are to be likeminded when it comes to the heart attitude you are to have in life. To be likeminded is to be like Christ.