One Part of The Whole

Phl 2:1-8 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!

The Lord has been showing me about this scripture this week. He really showed me a lot last night as I watched many of the churches form One Voice in the Temecula Valley. The whole is amazing when we allow the Lord to use us as one part of a bigger body to share in the encouragement and fellowship of His love.

Jhn 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

In all relationships there are hurts. Some people are wrong and others are just wronged. The best thing about Christ is that He allows us forgiveness for our brothers and sisters. His grace and love covers all our sins. He tells us to pray for those that persecute us and lift up those who do wrong against us. Let the Lord shine in our lives, help us to forgive and let go of the bitterness that holds us back from FULLY serving and experiencing Him in the whole of His body. The scripture says if there is ANY, that means if there’s even just a little bit of love and fellowship, that we should be able to share this with and in his body. Trust Him that He knows this is extremely difficult for all of us. Why else would he state that He, a supernatural perfect person, was obedient to the point of death. He knows our acting this out feels like we’re going to die or else He wouldn’t have left such an example for us on the cross.

Rom 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

What this does not mean is that we are to be void of inner worth. Though outwardly the Lord is abused in every way (physically, spiritually, verbally, financially, emotionally), but He never loses sight of who He is, that being God. The example is set for us as well. That we should walk humbly with our managers, friends and families, but never forget that we are in and of Christ who is the Most High God!

Mat 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.…”

We can also understand that our needs and wants are important and that we have all authority to express them to others in a humble manner. Therefore if your needs, wants or expectations are not being met, please do not expect to receive honor and glory for this type of false humility. You can most likely expect to receive a hard heart for not expressing what your expectations are. Should you express your needs and wants in the proper manner this will not be in contradiction to humility, but an encouragement in a healthy understanding of who you are in Christ. This manner of behavior will surely allow all bitterness and resentment to fade away as all of your needs, wants and expectations will be expressed to others that can either confirm or deny the ability to meet your needs, wants and expectations.

Pro 20:5 The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.

This expression of deep inner needs and wants does not come easily for many. It requires thoughtfulness, prayer and the ability to articulate your inner most needs, of which many people are not in touch with. At times a good friend or counselor in the Lord might facilitate pulling this out when they completely listen to you. This listening means being present in the moment, but not necessarily hearing every word. The visualization of the entire picture of what the person is intending to say is more important than each word. Of course, before making any type of judgment, make sure to check in with the person about your understanding of their intended comment.

1Ti 1:9 We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,...

An example of this type of listening could be when someone says, “It’s alright for me to have close intimate friends of the opposite sex while engaged in an intimate dating relationship,” a gut reaction might be, “No you can’t, that’s not right!” A good listener would be able to look at this comment objectively and comment back to the person, “Wow, it sounds like your friends are really important to you.” At this time the situation that could have escalated into a power session becomes a time of validation and understanding of the bigger picture, leaving this person feeling that his/her needs and wants are at least acknowledged, even if they cannot be met. Now, if this person that feels intimate friends are alright, was able to instantly dig deeper into his/ her needs and wants he would be able to articulate to others that the comment is in direct opposition to his/her comment and that it was stated in a legalistic manner, which was not meeting his/her emotional need for understanding and worth in Christ.


Eph 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Therefore, if we’re always thinking of others as better than ourselves we will first listen to them and second we will be able to express ourselves clearly to them as an act of humble dependence, i.e., one part of the whole. How pleasing this is to the Lord when we can encourage and lift up His body in ANY little thing that we might be able to hear from another believer that resembles His love, comfort and compassion. He says that His joy will be complete if we do this. Can you imagine our God full of completed joy?

Blue letter bible. (2008). Scripture. Retrieved August 16, 2008, from
http://www.blueletterbible.org