Fellowship of The Spirit

[Christsfreeservant]

“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.” (Philippians 2:1-4 NASB1995)​

What should “encouragement in Christ” look like to us? Well, first of all we must know that biblical encouragement is not just the feel good stuff, and it is definitely not telling people lies just to make them feel good, either. For this word is not just about our comfort, but it also is an appeal, a holy urging, an entreaty, and an exhortation which must align with God and with his word, for the purpose to motivate believers in Christ to follow his plan.

And this word “consolation” has the same meaning as “encouragement.” And this “love” is agape love which centers in moral preference and which means to prefer, in this case to prefer what God prefers, choosing his choices, and obeying them in his power. It means to prefer, too, all that is holy, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands. And our behaviors are proof of what we really prefer, too.

And if we are in fellowship with Christ, by God-honoring and God-gifted faith in him, then we are in a covenant relationship with him, which is a spiritual marriage to Christ whereby we are in partnership with him in contributory participation and help much like a bride would be toward her husband. For if we claim to be in fellowship with Christ, but we walk in sin, then we are liars who do not live by the truth. We must work with Christ in obedience to him.

And all affection we have for one another, unless we are married to the person, must be conducted with the most proper stipulations for ways in which we can express this affection for one another. For many people in the gatherings of churches end up in immoral relationships with one another because they had no specific guidelines and stipulations set in motion for how to conduct themselves with other Christians in church gatherings.

And for us to be of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose with one another, we must first of all be of the same mind with Christ, maintaining this agape love, united in spirit with the Lord, and intent on one purpose, which is the purpose that God has for our lives. And then we can be united in this way with other believers in Christ who are also united with the Lord in the same respect, going his way.

And what is that one purpose? Well it is the purpose for which Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross, that we might now die with him to sin and be raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, in his power, by his grace. So the purpose is that we all might live holy lives, pleasing to our Lord.

Therefore, we should not be selfish people, wanting our own way. But our desire should be for the Lord to obey him, and to do his will. And we should desire his will for all people, that they would all come to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ, to make him Lord and Master of their lives, to submit to his Lordship over their lives, and to deny self and to put sin to death daily, by the Spirit, so that they can now live holy lives, pleasing to God.

For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not walks of obedience to our Lord, in practice, the Scriptures teach us that we will not have salvation from sin, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. So we should be those who are speaking the truth of the gospel to all people so that many will deny self, die to sin daily, by the Spirit, and walk with the Lord in obedience to his commands, doing his will that he has for us all.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

Fellowship of The Spirit
An Original Work / April 28, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love