Young People's Group

The Practice of Oneness

by Mitchell Tan
September 20, 2018

THE CHALLENGE TO HAVE ONENESS

One of the most important features of a church is the need for oneness. Without it, the church would end up with strife and division. They could cause it to falter and fail. Oneness was something that the apostle Paul recognised as vital to the existence and progress of a Church.

“Fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
Philippians 2:2

Paul put himself as a recipient of the “flow through”. The blessings of God were meant to flow to him and to others. The Philippians were meant to be like-minded, having the same heart of love, being joined together in soul and thinking about the same things. They were meant to abound in love with all knowledge and discernment for each other, seeking to be one in all things.

THINGS IN CONTRAST TO ONENESS

There will always be the danger of those trying to create strife and division among fellow brethren. The things that they feel and do very often is in contrast to oneness.

1. ENVY AND STRIFE

“Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife”
Philippians 1:15

There were those who were preaching Christ for the wrong reasons. They imagined that they were serving God even though there was envy of the apostle Paul. They must have had a grudge against him and sought to do things to spite him. They had a contentious spirit and they did the work of God for the wrong reasons.

2. SELFISH AMBITION OR CONCEIT

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit”
Philippians 2:3

The word “be done through” comes from the Greek word “kata”. It means “according to”. There were those who did things with the focus on self. They were doing things according to their selfish ways. Paul had earlier written of how there were those who preached Christ out of their selfish ambition (Philippians 1:16). They were putting their self-interest first. Furthermore, they were also doing things for their own vainglory. They were conceited in their approach and thought highly of themselves. This was totally wrong.

PRACTISING ONENESS AS WE RELATE TO EACH OTHER

Paul challenged the Philippians to express their oneness in definite ways.

1. HUMILITY IN ESTEEMING OTHERS

“But in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself”
Philippians 2:3

There should be a deep sense of humility among the Philippians. One way to best practise oneness is when we seek to have lowliness of heart and mind in regarding each other. We should regard others better than ourselves. We should seek to have a deep humble spirit before others.

2. LOOKING OUT FOR OTHERS

“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:4

The challenge is also not just to look out for ourselves. Yes, we still need to look at our own interests. And yet, we also need to consider the interests of others. We should not focus on ourselves only. We should look at the interests and needs of others.

PERSONAL APPLICATION:

Young people, this is exam time for many of us. This is a good time to not just look out for ourselves but for others too. Yes, we still need to study hard. But it is also good to care for others too with love and concern for them. Let’s learn to pray for each other. Let’s learn to cultivate this sense of oneness by looking out for each other.

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