Philippians 2:1,2
“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose”.
I love the phrasing here. “If any”, “if any” and “if any”. Is there any? Of course. That’s his point. It’s not like we need to take readings to see if there is any. This is God’s church. He empowers it with His Spirit. If things ebb and flow, it’s not that He surprised and can’t do it. He’s doing something.
I look back on church history and think of the dark ages. He was working then. Things exploded when he planted the printing press in people’s minds. Now the Word of God could be in anyone’s hands. The renaissance was born and millions deepened their faith.
We need never worry if God is working. We can pray for the furtherance of it. God puts people in our lives and ministry thoughts in our minds and we pray for them. That’s part of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done”. He wants us to pray those prayers.
The first condition is “if there is any encouragement in Christ”. Yes there is. He came and lived a life as an example for us. God in human form complete with all the weaknesses that we have. That is encouraging. The past five years of my 40 some odd years of being in Christ and I’m just getting His humility. It’s amazing. God humbled Himself to be born in a manger by poor parents to be raised in a poor area. Jesus lived His life that way. So, we should be humble and live humbly. That takes off a burden.
Christ is also encouraging by the work He did on the cross along with the resurrection. Have gave us power over sin and death. That’s freedom in this life and heaven in the next life. That is quite a bargain. God gets us and we get Him and all His blessings. He’s also the best life coach. His will for our lives is amazing. By Him working in us, He helps us bring others encouragement and faith. He honors us in the process. Psalm 25:3 says, “Indeed none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.”
Paul’s second condition is “if there is any consolation of love”. Yes there is. I Corinthians 13 speaks of the wonders of love. Verses 4-8b says, “Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails”. Look at that. Amazing character and amazing results. Love can disarm the hardest of hearts. It’s God’s super power. People and their kingdoms will fail. God’s love will prevail.
The next condition is “if there is any fellowship of the Spirit”. This comes from the shared message of Jesus, but also because of the love the Spirit gives. Many teachers have given guidelines or commands. Jesus’ are different because the gospel gives the power to keep His commands. He gives us His love.
His love creates a fellowship that is great. It gives power to turn one’s cheek or to go the second mile. In fact God’s love in a believer is one of the greatest appeals of a christian. Many come to Christ because of it. Paul’s last condition is “if any affection or compassion”. Those are manifestations of love.
These conditions are great questions to pose. They are rhetorical, as we all know the answers. They are obvious. Lord, thank You for making it so. The church is the greatest club of all time. The message is the strongest with the greatest hope. Thank You for it and for calling us to be a part of it.
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