The Church - Part 3

Philippians 2v1-5

Following on from the section we've been looking at for the last two weeks, Paul writes:

Philippians 2v1-5
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

So, do you have:

• any encouragement from being united with Christ?
• any comfort from his love?
• any fellowship with the Spirit?
• any tenderness and compassion?

I really hope so.

If not, then you're probably in that category of person who thinks they're a Christian, and who may well behave much like a Christian, but who's never actually become a Christian. I promise you, in God's name, that you can know these things, if you will give your life to Christ, believing in his redeeming sacrifice on the cross.

And there are some genuine Christians going through what is commonly known as "the long dark night of the soul". If you're one of them, then I don't mean to belittle the anguish you're going through, but I know that Christ is with you, and you can still derive some encouragement from remembering that you're united with Christ, even though you don't feel like it right now. You can still have some comfort from knowing that He loves you, even if you can't feel His love at the moment. I hope you can still experience some fellowship with His Spirit, even though it's nothing like it used to be. And it will be restored to you some day. I hope you know that God is tender and compassionate to you, and that what you're going through is part of His loving formation of your character, even if you can't feel it in this stage of your life. The long dark night of your soul will come to an end. There will be daylight. You will feel His love in your heart again.

But most Christians, no matter how much we complain to and about our Saviour about what He hasn't done for us, no matter how dissatisfied we are with His provision, must admit that we do know something of God's encouragement, comfort, love, fellowship, tenderness and compassion. We don't deserve these things; they're God's gifts to us.

How does God want us to express our gratitude to Him for these things? The answer Paul gives is: live in unity with our local church. He says we should express our gratitude to God by:

Philippians 2v2-5
... being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

We can get very self-obsessed in our relationship with God, as if all that matters is our union with Him. But God wants us to be united with Him and with his church. It's not enough to read the Bible and sing lots of worship songs, and obey our own conscience. God requires us to love His people. And that love can't be condescending, as if we're putting up with our weaker brothers and sisters. It can't be an "I know best" kind of love. No, we are to be:

Philippians 2v2-5
... like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

A Christian's love for God must be expressed in agreeing with his local church, loving his local church, being one in Spirit with his local church, having the same vision and purpose as his local church.

I know that some churches do some things that we cannot agree with, so I suggest:

• If your church does something so unconscionable that you cannot agree, then find another church;
• If you disagree with your church about non-essentials, then choose to agree, rather than be the cause of dissension.

But this is not just about doctrine and practice; it's about pride:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

And Paul gives us a very high standard to follow:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

That should kill our pride. We are failing as Christians. We do not conform to God's requirements for us. My attitude is not (yet) the same as that of Christ Jesus. And nor is yours. Is it? So, perhaps, we can understand the need to be humble, and to love our church as Christ deserves.