The Mind of Christ – Cheerful Unity
The Mind of Christ – Cheerful Unity.
“Who is able to understand the mind of Lord Yahweh? Who is able to be His teacher? We, however, have the mind of Christ!” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
“We have…” (Greek, “echomen”), which means ‘are having,’ ‘are keeping,’ or ‘are holding;’ to have and to keep on having, an action in progress; a process that is now taking place; the present state is a continuing state. So the literal translation is, “We, however, are having the mind of Christ.” Through the Holy Spirit, we now are new creatures who were given the capacity to learn how to think like Jesus.
… the mind of Christ.” (Greek for mind is “nous,” which means the highest knowing faculty of the soul; the spirit and understanding behind all we think and do). Through the Holy Spirit, then…
We are being given the capacity to think the thoughts of the Anointed One;
We have the growing ability to reason, to be logical, and to think things through like Jesus;
We are being infused with the ability to understand God’s wisdom;
We are being equipped with the moral intelligence of the Lord;
We are being given access to the reasoning behind the actions of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit;
We are in the process of perceiving spiritual matters as Christ perceives them;
We have an increasing ability to understand life from God’s perspective;
We will be continually inspired to develop the divine common sense and street-smart shrewdness that Jesus was known for;
We are gaining insight into what truly matters according to the thinking of God;
We have a growing ability to reflect and ponder according to the will of Christ;
We enjoy an ongoing co-mingling of our mind with Christ’s mind, until the end, when the new will have completely replaced the old, and those two minds will be indistinguishable.
“Finally, my friends, I have this to say to you… Rejoice! Be strengthened as you keep maturing into full maturity. Comfort and encourage each other. Be of one mind in your attitude. Live in peace with each other, without division or strife. Do all this and the God of agape love and blessed peace will be with you. And be sure to give each other a holy kiss.” (2 Corinthians 13:11-12).
To be like-minded, to be of one mind, means that followers of Jesus are intended to find our unity in the mind of Christ that is at home within each of us. To be ‘one-minded’ with each other is to live into the very mind of Christ that all believers share. Since all believers are gaining Christ’s mind, we will develop the same attitude as that of Jesus, an attitude of peace, harmony, joy and love.
Those Corinthians! Evidently the believers in the Corinthian church had a besetting sin: Division! The Christians there were quarrelsome and stubborn and contentious. In fact, Paul ended his second letter to them exactly the same way he started off his first letter to them, by addressing this ongoing divisiveness throughout their church. “I beg of you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be agreeable, and there be no dissensions or divisions among you. Instead by perfectly united in the same mind, in your common understanding and in your various opinions. For I have heard there are many quarrels and contentions among you.” (1 Corinthians 1:10-11). Paul is driving home the importance of unity, of being literally one-minded.
In other Words. Paul’s closing instructions to the Corinthians in his second letter are quite dense and deserve to be unpacked. We could understand his closing comments this way:
“So that’s it then, my dear friends in Christ. I leave you with these words…
Rejoice! Be cheerful! Delight in God’s grace! Be glad as you celebrate God’s favor over you!
Keep on growing to spiritual maturity. Continue moving towards completion in your life of faith. Aim for your full restoration to perfect wholeness as you put ourselves in spiritual order.
Come alongside each other in order to encourage, comfort, and advocate for one another. The Holy Spirit is a ‘paraclete’ for you, and so you be ‘paracletes’ for each other.
Be of one mind together, a unified body that is like-minded and of one accord. Share the same mindset, and be unified in your attitude. Be literally ‘one-minded,’ and seek common agreement in your thinking.
Be peaceable with each other, live in sweet peacefulness. Practice harmony with one another, without contention, division or strife.
Do all this, and the God of agape love and blessed peace will certainly be with you.
Oh, and don’t forget to give each other a holy kiss on the cheek when you meet together.”
Why Unity is So Important. If the writers of the Epistles said it once, they said it a hundred times… Be of one mind; Be of the same mind; Be like-minded; Share the same mindset. (eg, 1 Peter 3:8-9; Philippians 2:2-4; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Romans 12:16; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16; Philippians 1:27; 1 Peter 3:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Romans 15:5-7). The Book of Acts alone mentions the importance of being “of one accord” ten different times. In fact, Jesus specifically pointed to unity and oneness as a top priority in His prayer to the Father in John 17. “Holy Father, guard them by the power of your name, which you have given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are…. I pray not only for these disciples, but also for those who will trust in me because of their teaching, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are united with me and I with you. I pray that they may be united with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are one – I united with them and you with me, so that they may be completely one, and the world thus realize that you sent me, and that you have loved them just as you have loved me.” (vs. 11, 20-23). So there we have it… unity among believers reflects the unity we have in Christ and the unity we also enjoy with the Father. Being of one mind is a witness to the world that there is unity between the Son and the Father and oneness between God and those who believe in Him.
The Trinitarian Image. Jesus hinted at this in His High Priestly prayer in John 17, but let’s explore this idea a bit more. Every human being is made in the image of God, which means we are created in the image of the Trinity, the intimate community of the Three-Personed God. Being made in His image, there is fulfillment of our deep purpose when we experience oneness in Him. We were made for oneness, and we will be fulfilled only when we live into oneness with each other as believers. God in His essence is a community of love in a profound like-mindedness of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So we are fully human only to the extent we reflect the oneness of God, in union with each other in the Spirit of Jesus. Oneness among those who believe in God reflects a oneness in God. The unity in the Godhead only has credibility in the eyes of the world when others witness a unity in His name. Living in a one-minded manner truly reflects the image of God in which we are made.
Yokefellows. In the Hebrew Bible, the Hebrew words for being “of one accord” literally mean “with one shoulder.” So to be of one mind was compared to the yoking of oxen together, shoulder to shoulder, for their common task. We are yoked together with each other as we live the Jesus life in the world. That means we need to fit into the same yoke-shape, which is the form of a servant; we move together at the same pace in full cooperation with each other; we go in the same direction as we listen to the leader of the oxen team. As yokefellows, we are like-minded as we labor in the trenches with each other, we feel each other’s pain and celebrate together when tasks are accomplished. Yokefellows for Christ are such intimate companions that they can sense when the other is faltering and share whatever burdens there might be. Yokefellows are ‘one-minded’ and share the same attitude. Paul adopts this idea in Philippians 4:3, “I urge you too, my genuine yokefellow, to help these two women to keep on cooperating, for they have toiled along with me in the spreading of the Gospel, as have Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers whose names are in the Book of Life.”
A God of Agape. Paul promises believers who live in unity that surely the “God of love” will be with them. The word used for love is “agape,” and this word deserves a special look.
“Agape love does no wrong to others, therefore agape love fulfills all that God demands.” (Romans 13:10).
In other words, it is impossible for agape love to do wrong to others, so then agape love fulfills all of God’s commands; we can’t go wrong when we agape-love others, so when we add together all of God’s law, we find that the sum total is agape love; since agape love does no wrong to other people, then all of God’s commands are summed up in agape love; demonstrating agape love to others fulfills all the teachings of God in Scripture; agape love does no harm to others, so when we show agape love we have completely obeyed all of God’s commandments; agape love does no wrong to others, so when we show agape love, we are actually fulfilling the whole point of God’s law. All of God’s instructions in the Scripture are summed up in agape love.
Agape Love – Agape love is the supreme of all the loves, and desires the highest good of someone else. Agape is “the highest level of love known to humanity,” (C. S. Lewis), and thus can only come from above with God as its source. Agape love is the ultimate expression of God’s nature, the essence of His character (see Exodus 34). Agape love is not Eros, which is romantic love. It is not Phileo, which is brotherly love. It is not Storge, which is family love. Agape love is the divine love that can only come to us from the heart of God. Agape love is the love shared between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is truly the source of all these other loves, but it is only agape love that is poured into our hearts from the Holy Spirit, to those who believe in Christ. Agape love is an eternal virtue outlasting all the other virtues (1 Corinthians 13:8). Agape love is the primary fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) Agape love, the sacred love of God, is universal, it is a gift, it is highly active, it is sacrificial, and it is unconditional.
UNIVERSAL: “For God so agape-loved the world that He gave His only and unique Son, so that everyone who faithfully trusts into Him may have eternal life instead of being utterly destroyed.” (John 3:16). This seems too good to be true. But actually, because of God’s love, it is so good it has to be true. Creator God has an eternal love for all people. He didn’t send his Son for the sake of the privileged or elite. He doesn’t love just those who are religious or pious. God truly loves everyone in His creation, past, present and future; the righteous and the unrighteous; the worthy and the unworthy; the broken and the whole; those who have a lot to offer and those who don’t. He sent His Son for those who would love Him, and those who would hate Him; those who might accept Christ and those who might reject Him; those who would worship Jesus and those who would shout “Crucify Him!” Not one person in the history of the world has had to qualify for God’s love, to somehow earn God’s love, to be considered worthy of His love. “For God so loved the world…” God took the initiative, God started the whole process of agape love. That kind of universal love is agape love, and is intended to spill out into the world through believers in Him.
A GIFT: “For we know how dearly God agape-loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with agape love; God has poured out His agape love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us; We can now experience the endless agape love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!” (Romans 5:5) The most virtuous person on the planet cannot manufacture agape love as if it’s merely a highly esteemed trait. We don’t have it in us. We aren’t born with the ability to show agape love. It is impossible for us to demonstrate agape love on our own, because it can only derive from God, and not from human nature. Agape love is an undeserved gift. Faith in God comes first, even a microscopic faith. And then agape is poured into our hearts as believers, and it then spreads to the world. This divine love being poured into our hearts is meant to be demonstrated to others through acts of mercy, kindness and compassion. This love, this affectionate yearning that others are blessed, spills over from our hearts only after being poured into our hearts through a faithful submission to the Lord. Through the Holy Spirit, agape love can realistically become second nature to us and in us, displacing the old lesser loves in a Christian’s life. Agape love is the means by which God’s divine love may reach the world. Agape love is an eternal virtue, and it lasts forever (1 Cor. 13:8). Agape love is the primary fruit of the Spirit, the divine love offered to us to spread God’s love to others. Love poured into us, love splashed out to others… God’s gift to us that we would offer that gift to others.
UNCONDITIONAL: God’s agape has always been offered to the world unconditionally, so that same divine love is offered to others in the same way. Our love for others is fleshed out by desiring the highest good for someone else. Our love doesn’t expect anything in return, it is a love that gives but doesn’t take. Our love does not seek out those who would somehow be worthy of love, or could earn God’s love. Agape love is that love which is offered to hateful enemies (Matthew 5:43-46), to those who love nothing better than to hurt you and disrespect you. Agape love even desires what’s best for those who hate God. Agape is offered freely, no strings attached, to all made in the image of God. When we love an image-bearer, we are honoring our Creator. Agape love tends to involve, sooner or later, forgiveness.
SACRIFICIAL: Agape love is the ultimate demonstration of unselfishness, of self-denial for the benefit of others. Agape develops the habit of forgetting yourself on purpose. It is the willingness to remain a daily martyr of goodwill, picking up one’s cross so others are blessed. Agape love sometimes is demonstrated at great personal cost. It could even mean giving up something that is rightfully ours so that someone else can receive something he probably hasn’t earned. The clearest and most profound example of sacrificial agape love was the death of the Innocent One, Jesus Christ, on the Cross. He gave up His life for those who didn’t deserve it, which includes all of humanity. “No one has greater agape love than a person who is willing to lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13).
ACTIVE: Agape love is not theoretical, it is not abstract. It is not just a great idea ripe for discussion. Agape love actually does things, it acts out and demonstrates love. Agape doesn’t merely think about loving others with God’s love, agape fleshes out the love and makes it visible. Agape is filled with genuine empathy and not mere sentimentality. Feelings and emotions have nothing to do with agape love. Agape is an act of the will, a deliberate decision to demonstrate God’s love to others whether they deserve it or not, whether we “feel like it” or not. Agape loves what is best for someone else, which could mean accountability and a proper justice. It could mean mercy, too. That’s why agape love depends on the wisdom of God to discern what is best for someone else. Sometimes agape love is inactive, in the sense of not intervening, and stepping back if it is appropriate. Agape love is literally practical that way, and wants to put into play an imitation of Jesus as He knew when and what to say, what to do. Sometimes agape love appears to be rather inconsistent. We know that the Son of God was completely filled with agape love, and that He went around doing good, touching the untouchable, loving the unlovable, embracing the unclean, accepting those who were rejected, serving those who were unlovely and broken. If one wonders what agape love looks like in action, read the gospels and imitate Jesus. When we need to be reminded of what marks the life a true believer, we fix our eyes on Jesus and witness agape love in the flesh.
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Agape-Love each other. Just as I have agape-loved you, you should agape-love each other.” (John 13:34-35).
The Holy Kiss. In the early church it was also known as the Kiss of Peace, which is a brotherly/sisterly kiss on each cheek. This kiss was a traditional greeting in the Middle East, and the Christian Church continued that tradition. The church-kiss continues to this day in the Eastern Orthodox Church. When someone offers a kiss of peace, that person is saying that she or he has a clear conscience with that other person, that any division has been healed, any wrong has been forgiven, any bitterness is in the past. When Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss of peace, his betrayal was grotesque and doubly hurtful (Luke 22:48). The kiss of peace in the Orthodox liturgy is done just before the Eucharist, for Jesus clearly stated that peace with others takes priority over the duties of worship (Matt. 5:23-24). Paul believed that this genuine kiss of peace was a part of the church’s effort to “keep the unity of Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:2-3).
A Gift of Grace. Unity and peace among believers in Jesus isn’t even remotely possible without the gift of God’s favor and mercy from the very beginning. Of course, believers need to cooperate with God’s Spirit as we work hard at cultivating the attitude of Christ. We are called to participate in the like-mindedness of the Spirit, but only by God’s grace, in the Person of Christ.
“Jesus Christ is our unity. Through Him alone do we have access to one another, joy in one another, fellowship with one another.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together).