If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
The saints in Philippi were called upon to suffer for Christ in a manner similar to Paul.[1] Paul gave them two helps to bear up in this conflict and do so with a joy similar to Paul’s.
The big “if’s”
There are four of these “if” statements in verse one. They are rhetorical and not conditional.
- There is consolation in Christ
- There is comfort of love
- There is fellowship of the Spirit
- There is bowels and mercies
The mind of Christ
What follows from verse five is the example of the incarnate Christ. If we would have but a bit of Christlikeness, we would have all we need to continue on despite the conflict.
Sandwiched between the two is the tactic of the conflict:
- Joy
- Likemindedness
- Lowliness of mind and
- Care for others
[1] Philippians 1:29-30 (KJV)
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824
For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.
For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.
My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org
No comments:
Post a Comment