7  The Formula  for Spiritual Unity  (Philippians 2:1–4)

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. (2:1–4)

Perhaps the greatest danger facing the church is an attack on its source of authority, namely, the Word of God. Spiritual apathy and a general coldness and indifference to biblical truth and God’s standards of righteousness also pose serious risks. Such indifference is usually denied, often with an aura of self-deceptive sincerity, but it attacks the spirituality of the church. Equally to be feared is whatever attacks the unity of the church. All of these can disrupt, weaken, and destroy a church by causing discord, disharmony, conflict, and division. When Paul closed his last letter to the Corinthians, he expressed his fear of sins that destroy unity: “For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances” (2 Cor. 12:20). He also feared sins that destroyed the purity of the church: “I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced” (v. 21).

Apparently the Philippian church faced the danger of discord and division from the personal conflict between Euodia and Syntyche (4:2). Disunity is a potential danger for every church, a danger Paul addressed to some extent in every one of his letters to churches. To the church at Rome he wrote, “Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God” (Rom. 15:5–7; cf. 12:5,16). To the Corinthians he wrote, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10), and “Brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11). He warned the Galatians, “Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another” (Gal. 5:26; cf. 6:2–3). He implored the believers in Ephesus,

Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph. 4:1–6)

True spiritual unity is grounded in the unfathomable unity of the Trinity itself.

To the Colossians Paul wrote,

Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Col. 3:12–15)

He commended the Thessalonians, saying, “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; . . . But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more” (1 Thess. 4:9–10; cf. 2 Thess. 1:3).

The foundation for believers’ oneness is the unity God granted in answer to Jesus’ prayer that His people “may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). That prayer was answered when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and afterward to indwell all believers, bringing to them the eternal life in which all believers are partakers (cf. 1 Cor. 6:17, 19; 12:12–14). That essential unity of all believers in the body of Christ should be lived out in practice.

Disunity among His people deeply grieves the Lord. It should be every pastor’s, church leader’s, and church member’s prayer that men will not tear asunder what God has divinely joined together in the body of Christ. Because fracturing Christ’s church is one of Satan’s major objectives, the challenge to preserve the unity of the spirit is constant. A divided, factious, and bickering church is spiritually weak. It therefore offers little threat to the devil’s work and has little power for advancing the gospel of Christ. Endeavoring to maintain, or to restore, the spiritual unity of a congregation is easily the most pressing, difficult, and constant challenge for its leaders.

Although sound doctrine, moral purity, and passionate commitment to the Lord and to His work are essential to a church’s effective ministry, they alone cannot guarantee protection from discord. William Barclay perceptively observed that

the one danger which threatened the Philippian church was that of disunity. There is a sense in which that is the danger of every healthy church. It is when people are really in earnest, when their beliefs really matter to them, that they are apt to get up against each other. The greater their enthusiasm, the greater the danger that they may collide. It is against that danger Paul wished to safeguard his friends. (The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. Rev. ed., [Louisville, Ky.: Westminster, 1975], 31)

Paul’s concern here is not about doctrines, ideas, or practices that are clearly unbiblical. It is about interpretations, standards, interests, preferences, and the like that are largely matters of personal choice. Such issues should never be allowed to foment controversy within the body of Christ. To insist on one’s own way in such things is sinful, because it senselessly divides believers. It reflects a prideful desire to promote one’s personal views, style, or agenda. Believers must never, of course, compromise doctrines or principles that are clearly biblical. But to humbly defer to one another on secondary issues is a mark of spiritual strength, not weakness (cf. Rom. 14:1–15:7). It is a mark of maturity and love that God highly honors, because it promotes and preserves harmony in His church.

This unity that the Word so highly exalts is inward, not outward; it is internally desired, not externally compelled. It is spiritual, not ecclesiastical; more heartfelt than creedal. It is not grounded in sentimentalism but in careful, thoughtful, and determined obedience to God’s will. It is the Spirit-motivated and Spirit-empowered bonding of the hearts, minds, and souls of God’s children to each other. And preserving unity in the church is not an option (cf. Eph. 4:3).

As an analogy, consider a bag filled with marbles. There are many marbles of various colors, sizes, and composition packed closely together. But they are bound together exclusively by the container. If the bag is opened or ripped, the marbles spill out in all directions, because there is nothing internal that binds them to each other. In contrast, consider a magnet placed into a pile of iron shavings. By their nature, the shavings respond to the power of the magnet and are drawn together. If some outside force causes them to be pulled apart, the attractive force remains and they will reunite as soon as the separating cause is removed. In the same way, faithful Christians who are separated by circumstances beyond their control will maintain their mutual attraction through the “magnetic” power of the Spirit working within them. Like a close human family that is tragically divided by war or natural disaster, they will continually seek to be reunited as the spiritual family they are. That divinely empowered internal unity of spirit is essential to the church’s joy and effectiveness.

That unity was manifested in the infant church following Pentecost. The thousands of new believers (most of them previously strangers and some perhaps even former enemies) “were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship. . . . And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common. . . . Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart” (Acts 2:42, 44, 46).

Although their oneness in Christ is permanent, the human frailty that believers are still subject to makes their unity fragile. It is for that reason that Paul counseled the Ephesians to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). “Diligent” is from spoudaz, which describes making a persistent effort. Spiritual unity must be constantly cultivated and preserved with selfless devotion and energy. As already noted, it is easily the greatest challenge of spiritual oversight and leadership in a church.

The church at Philippi was for the most part theologically sound, devoted, moral, loving, zealous, courageous, prayerful, and generous. Yet it faced the danger of discord that often is generated by only a few people. Such troublemakers can stir up the contention and strife that fractures an entire congregation. And because disunity is so tragically debilitating, Paul gently but firmly pleads with believers to be constantly and diligently on guard against it. He had just expressed to the Philippians his hope to “hear of [them] that [they] are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (1:27).

In 2:1–4 Paul gives what is perhaps the most concise and practical teaching about unity in the New Testament. In these four powerful verses, he outlines a formula for spiritual unity that includes three necessary elements on which that unity must be built: the right motives (vv. 1–2a), the right marks (v. 2b), and the right means (vv. 3–4). Through them, he clarifies why believers should be of one mind and spirit, what is meant by one mind and spirit, and how they can truly become of one mind and spirit.

THE RIGHT MOTIVES FOR SPIRITUAL UNITY

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 (2:1–2a)

The updated (1995) edition of the New American Standard Bible used here reverses the order of the previous rendering of “If therefore.” The new order more clearly connects therefore to what Paul has just said, which many scholars believe was his intent. The meaning, then, is that what he is about to say is grounded, at least in part, on what he has just said. The point is that, “Because we have the divine injunction to be of one mind and spirit (1:27), we must therefore . . .”

There are four “ifs” in verse 1. The Greek particle ei (if) is always conditional when used with an indicative verb. In Paul’s writings, however, the related verb often is only implied and needs to be supplied in the translation, as it is here (there is). Ei here introduces a first-class conditional clause, which expresses the idea, “If this condition is true, and it is, then . . .” Consequently, the word may better be rendered “because,” “since,” or “so” in order to give a more complete idea of its meaning.

In the present context, therefore and if refer to two closely related conditions. As already noted, therefore looks back to the principle that, because they have the divine injunction to be of one mind and spirit (1:27), believers must . . . If looks forward to the divinely bestowed realities of encouragement in Christ, . . . consolation of love, . . . fellowship of the Spirit, . . . [and] affection and compassion. Both principles should motivate believers to desire and actively seek the unity of mind, love, spirit, and purpose mentioned in the following verse (2:2). Paul is not speaking of theological abstractions but of personal relationships between Christians. To reinforce his point, he repeats the ei (if) before each of the four marvelous realities. The first two relate primarily to Christ, the first one explicitly and the second implicitly. The second two relate primarily to the Holy Spirit, again the first one explicitly and the second implicitly.

The first reality that motivates unity is encouragement in Christ. Paraklsis (encouragement) has the root meaning of coming alongside someone to give assistance by offering comfort, counsel, or exhortation. It is precisely the kind of assistance exemplified by the Good Samaritan, who, after doing everything he could for the robbed and beaten stranger, “took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you’” (Luke 10:35; cf. vv. 30–34).

Using a closely related word, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “another Helper [paraklton],” whom He would ask the Father to send to all who would believe in Him, so “that He may be with [them] forever” (John 14:16). The most important and powerful encouragement in Christ comes directly from the indwelling Spirit. Paul’s admonition here is that, in light of that encouragement, the Philippians should “conduct [themselves] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27) by endeavoring to be of one mind and spirit with each other. This profound spiritual principle demands pursuing unity as a grateful response to the believer’s union with Christ. Paul asks, in effect, “Shouldn’t the divine influence of Christ in your life compel you to preserve the unity that is so precious to Him?”

The second reality that motivates unity is the consolation of love. Paramuthion (consolation) has the literal meaning of speaking closely with someone, and with the added idea of giving comfort and solace. Its basic meaning is close to that of paraklsis (encouragement); both words involve a close relationship marked by genuine concern, helpfulness, and love. The consoling love is that which the Lord grants to unworthy sinners in the grace of salvation. He continuously bestows that love on believers (Rom. 5:5), who in turn show love for fellow believers. That demonstrates gratitude for God’s love for them. Paul told the Corinthians that it was Christ’s love for him that made him to be so devoted to the Lord and the truth as to appear insane (2 Cor. 5:13–14).

The third reality that motivates unity is the fellowship of the Spirit. koinnia (fellowship) describes partnership and mutual sharing. This fellowship is intimate because every believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). He is the seal and guarantor of believers’ eternal inheritance (Eph. 1:13–14; 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:22), the source of spiritual power (Acts 1:8; cf. Rom. 15:19), spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:4–11; Rom. 12:6–8), and spiritual fruit (Gal. 5:22–23). The Spirit “helps [us in] our weakness,” and because “we do not know how to pray as we should, . . . the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). Believers are to be continually filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). To inhibit or be indifferent to spiritual unity is to both grieve the Spirit (Eph. 4:30) and quench His work (1 Thess. 5:19). The new believers after Pentecost give the most vivid illustration in the New Testament of Spirit-led unity (Acts 2:41–47). Paul closes 2 Corinthians with the beautiful benediction, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). Earlier he had reminded the same congregation that “by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). The proper response of believers should be a compelling motivation to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit” by always pursuing peace (Eph. 4:3).

The fourth reality that motivates unity is that of affection and compassion. Those qualities characterize Christ, who tenderly comforts and encourages the weak and oppressed (cf. Isa. 42:3; Matt. 12:18–20). Such graces are also blessings of the Spirit of Christ. Affection is from splanchna, which refers literally to the bowels, or viscera, but was commonly used metaphorically of the emotions. Paul commended the church in Corinth for their gracious treatment of Titus and assured them that “his affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling” (2 Cor. 7:13,15). The word sometimes was used in connection with deep, personal longing, especially for those who are dearly loved. Near the beginning of the present letter, the apostle specifically used the word in that way, assuring the Philippians: “I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus” (1:8). Compassion is from oiktirmos, which Paul uses twice of the compassion (“mercies”) of God. He pleads with believers, “by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Rom. 12:1), and he speaks of God as “the Father of mercies” (2 Cor. 1:3). “As those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved,” believers should reflect His own compassion by putting “on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col. 3:12).

There is an implied negative side to all four of these positive admonitions, namely, that failing to seek and preserve spiritual unity weakens Christ’s church. Even more significantly, such failure to pursue unity is a sin. It is the ultimate act of ingratitude to God. It is to be willing and eager to receive every blessing that the Lord offers, but unwilling to offer Him anything in return. Like every other sin, that indifference is a violation of God’s revealed Word. It also despises the glorious truth that the “Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father . . . has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace” (2 Thess. 2:16).

The apostle bases his plea primarily on the grace and goodness of the Lord, as evidenced in the four realities just mentioned. But at the beginning of verse 2 he adds a personal desire: make my joy complete. To so reward a faithful servant of the Lord is a legitimate goal for believers to have. The New Testament makes it clear that churches are to love, honor, respect, and appreciate their human leaders. Paul admonished the Thessalonians, “We request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:12–13). The writer of Hebrews commands: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17). To love, honor, and appreciate pastors and other church leaders is perfectly consonant with loving, honoring, and being grateful to the Lord. Because both are divinely commanded, the former is one way of expressing the latter.

THE RIGHT MARKS OF SPIRITUAL UNITY

by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. (2:2b)

The spiritual blessings Paul has enumerated demand a proper response. In this single verse Paul gives four essential marks of spiritual unity.

The first is being of the same mind. That phrase translates to auto phronte, which literally means “to think the same thing,” or “to be like-minded.” Thinking right is essential to the spiritual unity that is a major theme of Philippians—of the twenty-six occurrences of the verb phrone in the New Testament, ten are found in this letter.

Paul is not talking here about doctrine or moral standards. In this context, being of the same mind means to actively strive to achieve common understanding and genuine agreement. A few verses later, the apostle declares that the only way to have such harmony is to “have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus” (2:5). Through God’s Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit, believers can know the very “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). After declaring his determination to “press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus . . . [and to] press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (3:12, 14), he admonishes the Philippian believers to have that same attitude (Phil. 3:15). Those who have a contrary attitude prove that they have “set their minds on earthly things” (3:19). Paul later gives practical advice for being of the same mind: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (4:8).

In Romans Paul gives added insights regarding being of the same mind. The first is that believers must “not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4–5). As Paul reminded the Colossian believers, conflict in the church always comes from believers’ setting their minds “on the things that are on earth” rather than “on the things above” (Col. 3:2). Paul further notes in Romans that a believer is “not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think,” which is a subjective and erroneous opinion, “but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3). Obeying the commands to have a mind set on the things of the Spirit and to think with sound judgment results in “the God who gives perseverance and encouragement” granting believers the ability “to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus” (15:5). Paul could therefore confidently admonish even the immature, divided church at Corinth to “rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11).

A second mark of spiritual unity is maintaining the same love, which flows out of and augments “being of the same mind.” To have the same love is to love others equally. On a purely emotional level, having equal love for others is impossible, because people are not equally attractive. Agap (love), however, is the love of will, not of preference or attraction. It is based on an intentional, conscious choice to seek the welfare of its object. It is because agap (love) is based on the will that it can be commanded.

To have the same love is to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love; [giving] preference to one another in honor,” and includes the desire to serve others by such things as “contributing to the needs of the saints, [and] practicing hospitality” (Rom. 12:10, 13). As Paul goes on to say in that passage, agap love embraces unbelievers—even those who persecute are to be blessed rather than cursed (v. 14). But in the present text, Paul is focusing on the same special and mutual love that believers are to have for each other, the love he speaks of in another letter as “the love of each one of you toward one another [that] grows ever greater” (2 Thess. 1:3).

In his first letter, John makes it unequivocally clear that love for other believers characterizes a genuine Christian: “We know that we have passed out of death into life,” he says, “because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14). In other words, a lack of at least some measure of genuine agap (love) for other Christians exposes a lack of salvation. Genuine love is not merely sentimental affection but sacrificial services. “Whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” John asks rhetorically (v. 17). Believers are not to love merely “with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (v. 18), which may even require “lay[ing] down our lives for the brethren,” just as Christ “laid down His life for us” (v. 16).

Minds governed by selfless humility (Phil. 2:3) produce lives that overflow with genuine, practical love for fellow believers. On the other hand, sinful, self-centered thinking inhibits love and unity. Dissension and lack of unity in the church inevitably stem from lack of love.

A third mark of spiritual unity is being united in spirit, which is inextricably related to having the same mind and maintaining the same love. Sumpsuchos (united) literally means “one-souled” and is used only here in the New Testament. It has the same emphasis as the “one spirit” spoken of in 1:27. To be united in spirit is to live in selfless harmony with fellow believers. By definition, it excludes personal ambition, selfishness, hatred, envy, jealously, and the countless other evils that are the fruit of self-love.

Like every other Christian virtue, unity of spirit must be grounded in the objective truth of God’s Word. But it also has a subjective aspect. Such unity involves a deep and passionate concern for God, His Word, His work, His gospel, and His people. No two Christians—no matter what their level of spiritual maturity and knowledge of Scripture—will understand everything exactly alike. But if they are controlled by humility and love, they will be genuinely united in spirit. They will not allow inconsequential differences to divide them or to hinder their service for the Lord.

A fourth mark of spiritual unity is being intent on one purpose, which is the natural companion of the preceding three. Intent on one purpose translates a participial form of phrone, which Paul used earlier in this verse (“being of the . . . mind”) and uses again in verse 5 (“have . . . attitude”). The phrase to en phronountes (intent on one purpose) literally means “thinking one thing” and is therefore virtually synonymous with having “the same mind.”

In this one verse the apostle presents a full circle of unity—from one mind, to one love, to one spirit, to one purpose, which, as just noted, basically refers again to the mind. These four principles are complementary, overlapping, and inseparable. The same basic idea is expressed in four ways, each with a somewhat different but important emphasis.

In Colossians, Paul beautifully summarizes these marks of spiritual unity:

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (3:12–16)

THE RIGHT MEANS FOR SPIRITUAL UNITY

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. (2:3–4)

In presenting these five means, Paul answers the question of how genuine spiritual unity is achieved. After what he has just said in verses 1–2, these means require little explanation or comment. Like the four marks of spiritual unity, these five means are interrelated and inseparable. Three are negative and two are positive.

It is not surprising that rejecting selfishness is listed first, since it is the root of every other sin. It was by placing his will above God’s that Satan fell (cf. Isa. 14:12–17), and it was by placing their own wills above God’s that Adam and Eve first brought sin into the world (Gen. 3). Self-will has been at the heart of every subsequent sin. There is no verb (do) in the Greek text, but the grammatical form (mden kat eritheia, lit., “nothing by way of selfishness”) expresses a negative command. That prohibition goes far beyond mere action; selfishness is also to be totally excluded from the innermost thoughts of the heart.

Paul used eritheia (selfishness) earlier in this letter, where it was rendered “selfish ambition” (1:17). As noted in the discussion of that text, the term did not originally have a negative connotation and merely referred to a day laborer. But it came to be used metaphorically, and almost exclusively, of a person who persistently seeks personal advantage and gain, regardless of the effect on others. It often was used of the unfair pursuit and self-serving preservation of political office. By New Testament times, it had come to mean unbridled, selfish ambition in any field of endeavor. For obvious reasons, eritheia was often associated with personal and party rivalry, quarreling, infighting, and strife (as the King James Version renders it here). It usually carried the idea of building oneself up by tearing someone else down, as in gambling, where one person’s gain is derived from others’ losses. The word accurately describes someone who strives to advance himself by using flattery, deceit, false accusation, contentiousness, and any other tactic that seems advantageous. It is hardly surprising, then, that Paul lists eritheia (“disputes”) as one of the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:20).

Selfishness is a consuming and destructive sin. The first and inevitable casualty is the person who manifests it, even if no one else is harmed. Because this sin, like every other, begins in a sinful heart, anyone can commit it—regardless of whether there is an opportunity for it to be outwardly expressed. Even when not outwardly manifested, selfishness breeds anger, resentment, and jealousy. No church, even the most doctrinally sound and spiritually mature, is immune from the threat of this sin, and nothing can more quickly divide and weaken a church. Selfish ambition is often clothed in pious rhetoric by those who are convinced of their own superior abilities in promoting the cause of Christ.

Judging from the New Testament record, no church had a greater problem with this sin than the one in Corinth. Paul implored them: “I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you” (1 Cor. 1:10–11). Various factions in the church followed Apollos, Peter, or Paul. One group, probably the most self-righteous, claimed to follow only “Christ.” But “has Christ been divided?” the apostle asked with astonishment. “Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (vv. 12–13; cf. 3:4–6). In a strong rebuke, he later told them,

I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? (3:1–3)

The objects of personal loyalty in the Corinthian church (Apollos, Peter, and Paul) were faithful leaders who were entirely worthy of the congregation’s respect and admiration. Two of them were leading apostles. But the real loyalty of those factious Corinthians, even that of the “Christ” faction, was to themselves. The factions sought not so much to honor those favored leaders as to create exclusive cliques for their own personal elevation. Each of the groups was self-serving. Promoting the cause of Christ and the unity of His church were far from their primary purposes. Rather than serving Christ and others in His name, they were serving themselves while using His name. Selfish ambition is produced by and is a clear mark of the “deeds of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19–20). It poisons even work done on behalf of clearly biblical causes. Hypocritically presuming to serve God while actually serving self marked the scribes and Pharisees (cf. Matt. 15:1–9).

Discord and division are inevitable when people focus on their agendas to the exclusion of others in the church. Often such a narrow focus arises out of genuine passion for an important ministry. But disregard of fellow believers, no matter how unintentional, is a mark of loveless, sinful indifference that produces jealousy, contention, strife, and the other enemies of spiritual unity. Wherever “jealousy and selfish ambition exist,” whatever the cause, “there is disorder and every evil thing” (James 3:16).

A second means for promoting spiritual unity is forsaking empty conceit. Empty conceit translates the compound Greek word kenodoxia, which appears only here in the New Testament. It is formed by the adjective kenos (“empty”) and the noun doxa (“glory”), hence the King James Version rendering “vainglory.” It refers to a highly exaggerated self-view, which is nothing but empty conceit. Whereas selfish ambition pursues personal goals, empty conceit seeks personal glory and acclaim. The former pertains to personal accomplishments; the latter to an overinflated self-image. Understandably, a person with such conceit considers himself always to be right and expects others to agree with him. The only unity he seeks or values is centered on himself.

Empty conceit is arrogant pride, being “wise in your own estimation” (Rom. 11:25). The ancient Greeks did not admire humility, thinking it was a mark of weakness. But even they recognized that a person’s view of himself could become so exaggerated as to be presumptuous and contemptible. Their term for such exalted pride, a word still used in English and many other modern languages, was hubris. In his long list of sins that characterize unbelieving, rebellious mankind, Paul uses a word derived from hubris, which is rendered “insolent” (Rom. 1:30). In his letter to the Galatian churches, he warned, “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal. 6:3). Because empty conceit is, by nature, self-deceptive, believers must be on constant guard against it. It is an implacable enemy of spiritual unity.

The third means of promoting spiritual unity Paul mentions here is positive: humility of mind. It is the very opposite of selfish ambition and empty conceit and is the corrective for them. Humility of mind is the bedrock of Christian character and of spiritual unity. It is not incidental that the first and foundational Beatitude refers to being “poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3), which is synonymous with humility of mind.

Humility of mind translates the Greek word tapeinophrosun, which literally means “lowliness of mind.” In Acts 20:19 and Ephesians 4:2 it is rendered “humility.” In secular Greek literature, the adjective tapeinos (“lowly”) was used exclusively in a derisive way, most commonly of a slave. It described what was considered base, common, unfit, and having little value. Thus, it is not surprising that the noun tapeinophrosun has not been found in any extra-biblical Greek literature before the second century. It seems, therefore, to have originated in the New Testament, where, along with its synonyms, it always has a positive connotation. Humility of mind is the opposite of pride, the sin that has always separated fallen men from God, making them, in effect, their own gods.

Humility is also a dominant virtue in the Old Testament. “When pride comes, then comes dishonor,” warns Solomon, “but with the humble is wisdom” (Prov. 11:2). Later he declares, “It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud” (16:19). Zechariah describes the coming messianic King as “just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9), a prophecy Matthew specifically applies to Jesus’triumphal, yet humble, entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matt. 21:5).

Moses was “very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). David said, “For though the Lord is exalted, yet He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar” (Ps. 138:6). In another psalm, he wrote, “The humble will inherit the land” (Ps. 37:11), a passage Jesus quoted in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the gentle [meek], for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5). Jesus described Himself as “gentle and humble in heart” (11:29). Without pride or hypocrisy, Paul could testify honestly of himself to the elders from Ephesus, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility” (Acts 20:18–19). Three times in two verses in his first letter Peter calls for humility: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” (1 Peter 5:5–6).

Genuine humility involves believers’ not thinking too highly of themselves and requires that they regard one another as more important than themselves. Regard is from a verb that means more than just having an opinion. It refers to a carefully thought-out conclusion based on the truth. It does not mean to pretend that others are more important, but to believe that others actually are more important.

More important translates a participial form of huperech, which incorporates the Greek word from which the English word hyper is taken. It intensifies and elevates what is in view, so that it means “to excel, surpass, or be superior to.” In Romans, Paul uses the word in speaking of the “governing [lit.‘supreme’] authorities” to which “every person is to be in subjection” (Rom. 13:1). Similarly, Peter uses the word in commanding believers to “submit [themselves] . . . to a king as the one in authority [lit., ‘as being supreme’]” (1 Peter 2:13). Later in the present letter, Paul uses the word to describe “the surpassing [supreme, unexcelled] value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8), and to proclaim that “the peace of God, which surpasses [far exceeds, is superior to] all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (4:7).

It is clear that Paul has in mind a view of others that is not natural to man and is extremely difficult even for believers to achieve. Perhaps the best way to approach that seemingly unrealistic and impossible challenge is for believers to consider their own sins. Believers know far more about their own hearts than about the heart of anyone else. Recognizing the sinfulness of their hearts should exclude any boastful self-exaltation. If Paul viewed himself as “the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle” (1 Cor. 15:9), “the very least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8), and even the foremost of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), how could any believers honestly think of themselves in any higher way?

A fourth means for promoting spiritual unity is the negative admonition, do not merely look out for your own personal interests. Skope (look out for) means to observe something. But, as in this context, it often carried the additional ideas of giving close attention and special consideration. By including merely (as well as also in the following phrase), the apostle excludes the unbiblical idea that asceticism reflects a deeper level of spirituality and earns special divine approval. On the contrary, it is a subtle and deceptive manifestation of legalistic pride.

Paul carefully disciplined his body to make it his slave, to avoid becoming its slave and thereby disqualifying himself for ministry (1 Cor. 9:27). He experienced “labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure” (2 Cor. 11:27). But he never purposely starved himself or caused any self-inflicted harm to his body. During His earthly ministry, Jesus neither practiced nor approved of ascetic self-denial. He ate and slept regularly, took care of His body, and expected His followers to do the same. It should be noted that biblical fasting (Matt. 6:16–17; 9:14–15) is not to be equated with harsh, self-destructive asceticism.

Christians who do not take reasonable care of their bodies cannot live or minister effectively. Nor are they required to forsake all personal interests in other regards. Paul’s point here relates primarily, though certainly not exclusively, to personal interests in serving the Lord. As already noted, many quarrels and divisions in churches concern programs or policies that may be equally biblical and important. Problems arise when people seek to promote their own ministry priorities at the expense of others. Some may consider youth ministry more important than adult ministry. Others may view personal evangelism as a higher priority than group Bible study. The possibilities for conflicts are almost endless. But division in the church is destructive. In every instance, the best interests of the Lord and other believers are sacrificed.

Honest discussion that seeks a biblical understanding of doctrinal and moral issues is perfectly legitimate and of great importance. But even the most serious debate over those critical matters should be carried on in a spirit of humility and mutual respect. Problems arise when defense of God’s Word becomes clouded by self-defense.

It is an immeasurable tragedy that modern culture (including much of the church) has, largely through the influence of secular psychology, rejected the divinely commanded principles of humility and selflessness. When the supreme virtue is self-love and the supreme purpose in life is self-fulfillment, mutual respect is replaced by disrespect, mutual service by apathy and indifference, and mutual love by enmity and hatred.

The fifth and final means Paul mentions here for promoting spiritual unity is that of looking out also for the interests of others. It is the positive side of the preceding principle of not merely looking out for one’s own personal interests. Like the others, this principle is related primarily to relationships between believers, especially those working together in ministry. It is broad and general, not mentioning any particular interests or suggesting who is included by others.

Like the other principles mentioned here, looking out for the interests of others is indispensable for spiritual unity. Also like them, it requires deliberate and persistent effort to apply sincerely and unconditionally. And although the meaning is obvious and easy to understand, it is difficult to apply. It is the practical outcome of the exceedingly difficult command to regard others as more important than ourselves.

Among other things, looking out for the interests of others requires believers to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15), to continually “pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another,” to not “eat meat or . . . drink wine, or . . . do anything by which [a] brother stumbles” (14:19,21), and to “bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves” (15:1). It is to “bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).