Like-minded When We Suffer – Phil 2:2

In verse 2 Paul says “fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” In other words, if there is any of that “stuff,” any of those heavenly resources in Christ, and there is, here is what I want you to do when suffering comes your way. Be like Christ. Respond to suffering like He did. Think like He did, love like He does, and do it all together, all of you (be of one accord and one mind).

I can type that so fast and you can read it so fast, but that is a mouthful. That is a tall order. Yet that is the “order.” So how do we do that? How do we act in a Christlike manner when we are suffering? How can we possibly respond to suffering like He did? How can we think like He did? We can do that, we can only do that by accessing those heavenly resources that he talks about it verse 1.

We draw near and receive an impartation from Him. We receive encouragement from Him.

We draw near and receive the comfort that flows from His unending, unconditional love.

We fellowship with Him and with others through and by the Holy Spirit.

We draw near and draw on His tenderness and compassion.

Then and only then will we be able to be Christlike in the face of suffering, respond to suffering like He did, think like He did, love like He does, and do it all together.

Heavenly Resources – Philippians 2:1

Exhortation, instruction, encouragement, comfort, solace, refreshment, fellowship, communion, affection, mercy, tenderness, compassion. Those are the heavenly resources that we have at our disposal when we go through suffering and they all depend on or are available to us as we draw near to God and hopefully other believers. We can experience the encouragement and comfort and a closeness and genuine, heart-felt concern for our needs and situations that only God can give. If we find ourselves in a body of believers, we can draw near to other believers and draw from their experiences with God. And, we can also share our encouragement and the comfort that we have received and fellowship and tenderness and compassion with others who are going through suffering. That really is a main point, a theme in this passage.Those are the heavenly resources that we have at our disposal when we go through suffering and they all depend on or are available to us as we draw near to God and hopefully other believers. We can experience the encouragement and comfort and a closeness and genuine, heart-felt concern for our needs and situations that only God can give. If we find ourselves in a body of believers, we can draw near to other believers and draw from their experiences with God. And, we can also share our encouragement and the comfort that we have received and fellowship and tenderness and compassion with others who are going through suffering. That really is a main point, a theme in this passage.

The Affection and Mercy of the Savior – Phil 2:1

The last two things that Paul mentions in this wonderful list of heavenly assets that we can access in Christ are affection and mercy. What is affection and why do we need it when we are suffering? It seems that most translations and most commentators put the last two items in this list together and I will use the words tenderness and compassion to translate the “affection and mercy” of the NKJ version. So when you are going through suffering, there is a tenderness and a compassion that comes from Christ. We must needs draw on that tenderness and mercy if we are going to “make it.” What does it mean that Christ has tenderness and compassion toward us? I like the way Gill says it. He says that having or showing tenderness and compassion is to “express the most hearty, inward, tender, and compassionate concern for another’s welfare, be that temporal or spiritual.” When we are going through suffering we can be 100% confident that God is ready, willing, and able to demonstrate His heart-felt, inward, tender and compassionate concern for our welfare and for us. God cares about us and He cares about us deeply. He cares about us all the time, not just when we are suffering. But when we are suffering, our perceived need for that care and concern is more urgent and more desperate than when things are going well. If we will draw near to Him in the midst of the suffering that we must endure, we can and will experience His tenderness and compassion and we will make it through to the other side.
Again, there is another facet of this truth. When we, as believers and brothers and sisters see others who are suffering, we should respond to them with that same heart-felt, inward, tender and compassionate concern for their welfare and well-being.