"Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." (Philippians 1:27NAS)
When I read this verse, I am drawn to the phrase "standing firm in one spirit." I thought immediately of faithfulness and decided to look up the definitions of faithfulness, stand, and firm to see if they connect. Stand has several definitions, in Webster, but among my favorites were "to remain unchanged" and "to endure." Webster defined firm as, "securely fixed or determined." The word faithful is defined as "trustworthy, honest, reliable or loyal." Can I make up a definition from these words? A faithful person is trustworthy, honest, reliable, loyal and determined to remain unchanged.
Paul is asking the Philippians to be unified in spirit and mind and to work together to spread the gospel. He wants them to stand firm, to endure and be determined. Now, the reason for the definition is to help us realize that with a church or organization full of faithful people we can be of "one spirit, one mind." We can "strive together for the faith of the gospel."
Philippians 4:1 says, "stand firm in the Lord," and 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, "stand firm in the faith." The only way we, as humans, can become the faithful people Jesus needs, to spread the gospel, is through belief in the Lord and faith in what He can do through us. Could you describe me as a faithful person according to my own definition? Not always. But I am trying. I have some of the qualities down and I am really working on the determination part.
Join me in saying with Paul, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (Philippians 3:12NIV)
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