Free Bible Commentary
“Philippians 2:1-4”
Categories: Philippians“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is 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. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
---End of Scripture verses---
If we find encouragement in Christ and are consoled by His love, if we appreciate the affection, compassion and fellowship that God blesses us with through His Holy Spirit (verse 1), then we should share that love and unity with our Christian brethren (verse 2). Brothers and sisters in Christ should set their minds on the same spiritual purposes and goals. We should strive to have the “same love” for one another.
So often brethren have their best friends and only associate with a small group within their larger church network. It is very difficult to love everybody exactly the “same” way since we all have our unique interests, personalities and temperaments. But we should make the effort to branch out and extend our “affection and compassion” to people outside of our comfortable little circles. There are people in our spiritual family that feel left out, overlooked and unimportant. That is not a good feeling.
It takes a great deal of selflessness and humility to regard other people and their “interests” as more important than ourselves and our own “personal interests” (verses 3-4). But if you think about it, that’s the best way to behave in our own nuclear families. When we put the interests and needs of our spouses and children before our own, our households are more loving and enriching and peaceful. The same principles hold true with our spiritual family.
We will see in tomorrow’s reading that the best (if not the only) way to pull this off is to look to Jesus and follow His perfect example of humility, love and selflessness to the best of our abilities.
Please read Philippians 2:5-8 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
- Louie Taylor
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