I. Recap & Intro.
A. Recap from Part I.
1. Unity is a gift, but we have to maintain it. (Division is natural, unity is supernatural. Only
God can take such a diverse group of people and join them together into one body.)
2. The anointing flows to us when we remain connected to our place in the body. (Ps 133)
3. Four closing points:
a. Unity is among the first works. (Doesn’t happen by accident, it must be worked.)
b. We must learn to speak the truth (and listen) in love.
c. Never be divided by offense.
d. Never be divided by ambition.
B. Intro to Part II.
1. Today, we’ll look more closely at being of one mind. Several verses command us to be of
one mind.
a. Rom 12:16 “Be of the same mind toward one another.”
b. 1 Cor 1:10 “be perfectly joined together in the same mind & the same judgment.”
c. 1 Peter 3:8 “Finally, all of you be of one mind…”
d. Phil 2:2 “…fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
2. How is this even possible? Is this an unrealistic command from our Father? No, if the Holy Spirit has written this into scripture then it is possible to obey.
a. I do not believe that scripture is just idealistic, I believe that it is also practical.
b. In other words, scripture does not simply give us divine principles of how things should be, it shows us how things can be if we obey the Lord and follow His ways.
c. God shows us what is possible and gives us the principles to follow to but we must choose to obey them.
3. We’ll look into the scriptures to see how we can be of the same mind and where there is room for honorable disagreement. And we’ll look at how we can begin to practice this in our own families.
II. Being of one mind.
A. Being of the same mind starts with having a common purpose.
1. Unity doesn’t begin when everyone agrees on everything. Unity begins when everyone agrees on what matters most.
2. Analogy: The Bus Ride. (Are you a back seat driver?)
Imagine a group of people taking a charter bus to a beautiful mountain park. The destination is spectacular—cool air, breathtaking views, waterfalls, and fellowship with friends. Everyone agrees they want to go there, so they all get on the bus.
Some passengers sit back, enjoy the ride, talk with their friends, look out the window and enjoy the scenery. They trust the bus driver. But others spend the entire trip second-guessing the route.
‘Why did he turn left there?’ ‘Wouldn’t the interstate be faster?’ ‘My GPS says there’s another way.’ ‘Why are we stopping here?’ Eventually they become so focused on critiquing the route that they stop enjoying the journey, they miss the fellowship and the scenery along the way.
The irony is that everyone on the bus wants to reach the same place. The problem isn’t the bus driver, the directions or the destination. The problem is that some people have decided they want to drive.
3. Application: The Lord is not looking for a church full of backseat drivers. He’s looking for a church who trusts Him enough to stay on the bus and enjoy the ride as He brings us to the place He has for us.
4. A common destination creates unity, but personal agenda creates division.
B. Being of the same mind starts when put God’s purpose over our personal preference.
1. Phil 2:2-4
2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (NKJV)
2. Look at Vs 2 in the NASB “…make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”
3. There are four key points of unity in this passage:
a. the same mind
b. the same love
c. the same Spirit
d. the same purpose
4. We will be of the same mind when we are united in purpose.
5. The mind of Christ is a shared commitment to God’s purpose that is greater than our personal preference.
a. God has already joined us together in Christ, but we have to adopt His purpose for us and for His body.
b. We will still have our opinions, but we must learn to submit them to the Lord and be led by the Spirit.
c. In the bus analogy, it wasn’t wrong for some people to have different opinions about the route, it was how that personal preference drove their behavior.
d. All they could see was what they wanted.
6. So what is our shared purpose? Jesus gives it to us in John 17:22&23
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
7. This is not random, this is not from our own best ideas, etc. this is God’s purpose for us. This is the destination He is driving us to. We just need to get on the bus and let Him drive.
C. The same attitude, not the same opinion.
1. The Lord doesn’t require everyone on the bus to have the same opinion, but He does require everyone to have the same attitude.
2. Let’s look at Phil 2:3-5
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…
3. Unity is forged on a common purpose and maintained by godly character. In these verses we see the essential components of this character.
a. self-denial
b. a humble self-image and outlook on life
c. caring for others as much as we care for ourselves
d. the mind of Christ
4. Having the same mind doesn’t begin with thinking the same thoughts, it starts by sharing the same attitude. The mind begins in the heart. How we feel determines what we think.
5. The scriptures do teach us that we should all speak the same thing and be in perfect agreement, but that can only happen when we first have the same attitude and the same approach in love.
a. Otherwise, we argue and debate trying to convince one another.
b. It becomes about proving that we are right rather than seeking common ground in the Word by the Spirit.
6. The heart is the key to unity, the mind will follow. We can be united in heart before we are united in opinion.
D. There is a place for honorable disagreement.
1. Honorable disagreement is the ability to disagree with an attitude that is loving, humble and gracious to the other person or people.
2. Examples:
a. Baptism: infant or adult? Sprinkling or dunking?
b. Tongues: for all believers are some? Always an earthly language or Spirit?
3. We can have different opinions on these doctrines but still be on the same bus, enjoyingthe fellowship as we ride to the Lord’s destination.
4. This is an important skill for us to develop because we live at a time when people are easily and quickly offended. This is one of the clearest ways for us to be different and shine God’s light in the world.
a. The world divides over differences but the church learns to love through them.
5. Maturity is disagreement without dishonor.
III. Taking it a step further: The Mind of Christ.
A. Phil 2:5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
1. 1 Cor 2:16 “We have the mind of Christ.”
a. Not will have or could have, but do have. Why? How?
b. We are the body and Jesus is our head, so we are connected to His mind.
c. This is a biblical fact, it doesn’t matter how we feel, our education, etc.
2. What does this mean, the mind of Christ? Mind is nous, the faculties of perceiving, understanding, knowing and judging, able to consider something soberly, rationally, calmly and impartially
3. We start thinking with the mind of Christ when we stop trying to make Jesus agree with us and start agreeing with Him instead.
4. How do we think with the mind of Christ? How can we start doing this & grow in it?
B. First, we submit our thoughts to His thoughts.
1. We must train our mind to think His thoughts and the way He thinks.
a. Learn to defer to it.
b. Learn to recognize God’s thoughts and differentiate them from our own, from others and from the evil one.
2. The mind must be trained. It will run wild like a child in a toy store unless it is trained and disciplined. This is a lifelong discipline.
C. Second, we must fellowship with God in the Spirit.
1. We have the mind of Christ, but only to the degree that we are in fellowship with Him. We cannot have God’s thoughts if we deny His presence. We see this process worked out in the life of the disciples.
2. The disciples had the mind of Christ because they walked with Him. They asked Him questions and He expounded to them the mysteries kept hidden from eternity past. He spoke to them frequently and taught them as He was with them, and so by virtue of being with Him, staying close to Him and dialoguing with Him, they had access to the mind of Christ.
3. This is the same pattern for us. We access the mind of Christ by staying in fellowship with Jesus. In the Word and in the Spirit, by quieting our mind and listening for Him.
4. It is only by regular fellowship with the Lord that we share in His mind and increase our unity of mind.
5. It is only by regular fellowship with the Lord that we can avoid being a back seat driver.
D. Third, we must accept God’s Word and submit to it.
1. We often read the Word as divine suggestions. We often think it gives us divine ideals that aren’t really going to be fulfilled in this life.
2. But Jesus said “The words that I give you are spirit and life.”
3. When the bible says:
a. “Don’t be drunk” then don’t be drunk or intoxicated by any other substance.
b. “Do not look at someone in lust” don’t take that second look.
4. To think with the mind of Christ, we have to take His Word seriously and obey it. This is not legalism, this is life.
E. But in all of these things, the heart is still the issue to being of the same mind with Christ.
1. Just like our heart attitude is the key to unity, our heart attitude is the key to receiving the thoughts of Christ. Again, we see this in the lives of the disciples.
a. Judas: accessed the mind of Christ for 3.5 years, look what happened
b. James & John: “Let us sit on Your right & left.” (ambition)
c. Peter: “No, Lord, You will not be crucified.” (presumption)
2. What we see in the gospels is that our fears, ambitions, political leanings and a host of other human tendencies will actively resist the mind of Christ.
3. Jesus would often make the connection between a lack of understanding the ways of God to what He called ‘hardness of heart’.
a. Mark 8:17&18 After feeding the multitudes, “Do you still not see? Is your heart still hard?”
b. Luke 24:25 On the road to Emmaus “Foolish and slow of heart to believe…”
c. Mark 16:14 After appearing to the disciples He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart.
4. A hard heart can walk with the truth and still not see it.
5. The greatest obstacle to understanding God is rarely a lack of intelligence. It is a lack of surrender.
F. Recap.
1. So we start being of the same mind when we choose God’s purpose over our personal preference. We continue in this unity of mind by staying humble and serving one another.
2. We develop our ability to think with the mind of Christ by…
a. Training our mind to submit to Him
b. Spending time in fellowship with the Lord
c. Reading His Word, accepting it and submitting to it.
IV. Let’s start putting this into practice at home.
A. The importance of family.
1. The family is the most important and fundamental building block of community. It is
God’s idea and design for human society to begin in the family.
a. If you are not in a family, God will place you in one.
b. We are born into a family and born again into a family.
2. The family is where we are loved and affirmed. When a family is of the same mind, they
will love well and be a witness for God just by who they are and how they treat one another.
B. Steps to unity in the home.
1. Husbands and wives affect the atmosphere of the home like the sun and the moon affect the atmosphere of the earth. It takes two.
a. If you’re a single parent, it can be done by one.
2. Parents, understand that children will learn unity before they learn theology. The first place your children should see the mind of Christ is in the home, in the unit between parents.
3. The atmosphere of a home is often set by the strongest attitude in the room. God calls fathers to make sure that attitude reflects Christ.
a. By being humble, gentle and kind.
b. By being patient and laying down your life.
c. By listening to your wife and children.
d. The heart attitude starts with Dad’s attitude and what he allows in the home.
4. Mother’s also set the atmosphere in the home, by doing the same things.
a. Be humble, gentle and patient, etc.
b. Understand that Dad is trying to establish an atmosphere of unity and do whatever you can to establish that.
C. Remember the Lord’s purpose for us in John 17.
1. To be in such unity that the world knows we belong to God.
2. What would the church look like if every family put this purpose over our personal preferences?
a. If we spoke with humility instead of frustration.
b. If we set the tone with gentleness, patience and humility.
c. If we all stopped keeping score.
3. Can we practice honorable disagreement right in our own homes? Where we grow through disagreement instead of being embittered by it?
4. Imagine an atmosphere in the home and the church where even though we’re not perfect people, we’re committed to staying on the bus and enjoying the ride because we trust God for where He is taking us.
5. When the family does this, the church will do this and the world will God’s love in action. Unity won’t just be a gift, it will be a blessing.
6. So let’s practice being of one mind—not by demanding our own way, but by laying it down. Not by insisting on our preference, but by pursuing God’s purpose. Let’s get on the bus, trust the Driver, and enjoy the journey together