Romans 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.
To be Likeminded is to be Like Christ
Are you a patient person? If you need several minutes to answer that question, then you probably are. If the question irritates you, then probably you are not patient. Do you think God is patient? Romans 15:5 says, “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.” How can a group of people who are so different in temperament, perspective, background, and so on work together and be likeminded? Must they all have the same personality, temperament, and perspective in order to work together? The answer is “no.” They must be “likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.”
Verses 6 and 7 go on to say, “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” The only way for a group of believers to be likeminded is to be like Christ.
Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” It goes on to describe how God the Son was both humble and obedient to the Father even to the point of death. If God the Son exhibited humility and obedience, who am I to be a rebel and to be arrogant?
Romans 15:13 says, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Notice what the Bible is teaching us here. I am not the one who has patience, God is. I am not the one who is naturally filled with hope, but God gives hope. I am not the one who is naturally full of comfort, but God gives comfort. These are the virtues of the Father.
We also read of the example of the Son. The example we look to when we wish to be like God the Father is God the Son, because in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. So, the God of patience, consolation, and hope is exemplified in the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son.
The power is of the Holy Spirit of God. The last part of verse 13 says, “through the power of the Holy Ghost.” So we have the virtues of the Father, the example of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit. The way to be likeminded today is to be like Christ.