Be of the Same Mind

As members of Christ’s body, we ought to be of the same mind, maintain the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. The Apostle Paul writes that, if only the church at Philippi would do these things, his joy would be perfected (Philippians 2:2). This unity is the unity of one body, the Church. The Church ought to be one, as a body is one. This concept implies twofold: first, Christ is the head of the body of the Church, so the Church ought to be unified in its pursuit of His will; in the same way, a marriage is the unification of two persons into one flesh, so a husband and wife ought also to exemplify this unity.

Not only ought the church at Philippi act as one body, united in spirit, intent on one purpose, but that purpose ought to be the design of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the Head of the Church, and the Bridegroom of the holy wedding of Christ and His Church, He is the One in charge. His will is, and ought always to be, our driving force, our guiding influence, our pillar of fire in the darkness of the world. It is not enough for a group of people to have the same goals; to be part of the Church, those goals must not be our own, but they must be the goals of Christ.

The Apostle Paul also writes that Jesus Christ “is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:3, NASB). And again, “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body” (Ephesians 5:23, NASB). Christ is the head of the Church, His body. That Church brings glory to Christ, for this is its purpose (Revelation 19:7, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Philippians 1:9-11, et al), and so man gives glory to God, but woman – wives, in particular – gives glory to man – that is, their husbands (1 Corinthians 11:7).

How does all of this tie together? Consider this: If Christ is the Head of the Church, and in so being, He is the Will of the Church and decides her path to His glory, then He must act in the same way for each household, of which the man is the head and Christ is the Head of the man. A household, then, is a microcosm of the Church. Christ is to the Church as a Man is to his Wife (and, subsequently, his children). The Man makes decisions and ought to lead the household in the Will of God to the glory of God, that God may, in turn, be glorified.

Let me take a moment to diverge from the topic at hand. What is glory? What does it mean to glorify something or someone? In Greek culture – which, even though the Romans ruled in Jesus’ time, was the predominant cultural perspective during the early church – glory was, simply put, what was said about you. The Greeks, especially the ancient Greeks of Homer’s time and on back to the time of those Homer wrote about, the heroes of the battle for Troy, greatly desired good glory, or kleos. Of course, glory to the Hebrews was more than that; it was also the beauty and majesty of the LORD. So when a person is brought into the glory of God (Philippians 3:21, Colossians 3:4, 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, et al), they not only attain the good things people say of God, but also the very qualities of His majesty and beauty, and in exhibiting these qualities and directing the attention back to God, instead of taking pride in themselves, they glorify God – not by increasing His majesty, but by adding more to the good things people say of God. Does that make sense?

So a man glorifies God and a woman glorifies her husband. That’s not to say that a woman can’t glorify God; any member of the Church can glorify God, and even the opponents of the Church can inadvertently glorify God with their actions. But a wife, in particular, ought to bring glory to her husband, not shame. And all of this is tied together in unity.

Let us examine Philippians 2:2 once more: “Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (NASB). What does it mean to be of the same mind? It means to pursue a singular goal, that is, the Will of God. What does it mean to maintain the same love? To treat each other with equal love, not taking advantage of one another, but giving up ourselves to serve the other wholly and honestly. What does it mean to be united in spirit, intent on one purpose? Again, to pursue the Will of Christ, the Head of the Church and of our household; and further, not to divide against ourselves, attempting to tear asunder what God has joined together (Matthew 19:6, Mark 10:9).

So men, love your wives; lead them to the glory of Christ according to His will. They will advise and direct, and you must be able to accept that advice without injury, but you are the head, and you must lead as God leads you. Women, respect your husbands; give them glory, and do not shame or demean them by speaking poorly of them. Nothing is more constructive for a man than for his wife to speak well of him to others – but nothing is more destructive than for her to speak ill of him in the presence of another.