The road to becoming one
Contents
The way to become one (Philippians 2:1~11)
1 Therefore, if there is any admonition in Christ, if there is any comfort in love, if there is any fellowship of the Holy Spirit, if any mercy or mercy,
2 Be of the same mind, of the same love, of one accord, of one mind,
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vanity, but in lowliness of mind let each one consider others better than himself.
4 Let each one look at his own work, but also look at the work of others, so that my joy may be full.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
6 Although he was in the form of God, he did not consider equality with God to be robbery.
7 Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and became like men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of a cross.
9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name.
10 At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, both in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
11 Every tongue has confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
way to become one
To become one means two or more come together to become one. When this happens, its power is great. For example, one plus one is numerically two, and two plus one is three. But when two or three match, the effect is enormous. Therefore, when we become one, we exert great power. Since I received grace through the revival meeting, I believe that from now on, wherever the saints gather in the church, we must become one. So today, we would like to learn the way of becoming one through the Philippian church. As the saying goes that if you are Jifijigi, you will find a way to become one. In the text, the obstacles to unity are explained in detail in four ways.
First, we cannot become one because of our pride.
There are times when people fall for pride. Self-pride leads to unbelief, and unbelief leads to pride. Pride sometimes exalts itself and tries to be like God. When you have a proud heart, divisions arise from within. Only humility is the secret to unity.
Second, we cannot become one because of our sense of superiority.
Simply put, a sense of superiority is a sense of privilege and the idea that one is good. The problem in today's Korean society and the Korean church is right here. Leaders do not obey the law with a sense of privilege. In the church, the positions of elders, priests, and deacons are recognized as privileged classes. But in reality it is not. The church is nothing special. They are equal sinners who deserve to be saved in the same way before God. We hope that our Seongsan Church faith community will become an equal church before God until the Lord comes. In verse 3 of the main text, “Do nothing through strife or vanity.” Quarrels are competitive spirits and come from relative evaluation. We must always live according to the absolute evaluation of God and me. What kind of relationship do I have with God? Absolute evaluation is important, and relative evaluation is meaningless whether or not I am better than others.
All of us only God knows. Paul told us not to do anything with a competitive spirit. He also told me not to do it in vain. Vanity leads to the loss of truth and the complete loss of one's existence. The second half of verse 3 says, “In lowliness of mind, let each one consider others better than himself.” As long as you have a sense of superiority, you have no choice but to argue. Conflicts between generations can become one when they say, "I'm not good enough, but you guys are great", and when the children have the mindset, "I'm not good enough, but your parents are great." If there are people with this kind of heart, it is not difficult to become one.
Third, we cannot become one because of our self-obsession.
This means being trapped in the fa ade of self-subjection. So, in verse 4 of the text, “Each one should look after his own business, and each one should look after the things of others.” Of course, you should do your own work diligently, but you should also consider the situation of others. I am very sorry that there is no dialogue between the older generation and the younger generation. What is the cause? How can only young people be blamed? Don't be self-centered about everything. It makes sense when you think about it from the other person's point of view. That way you become one. If you really want to be one, don't expect other people to be like me. If you try to be like other people, you become one. I pray in the name of the Lord that we may strive to become one.
Fourth, the secret of unity was "Let my joy be full."
Summarize and close the statement.
Paul teaches the principle of unity. First, you need to let go of your pride. Second, you must let go of your sense of superiority. All humans are equal before God. Third, you must let go of self-obsession. Finally, Paul's words, "Let my joy be full," are the secret of unity, which is the joy of unity. In a word, the work of unity will only be realized when we return to the heart of Jesus Christ. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become one family, one nation and one nation, and one faith community at Seongsan Church.