Phil. 1:27 Only, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, that whether coming and seeing you or being absent, I may hear of the things concerning you, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving together along with the faith of the gospel,. 2 Cor. 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds.
Standing firm in one spirit, however, is a defensive measure, not an offensive one. As we have indicated, without an offense we shall not be able to maintain a proper defense. Thus, in order to stand firm in our spirit, we also need to strive, to fight together, with one soul. Whereas the preposition "in" denotes a realm, the preposition "with" denotes an instrument. The realm is our spirit, but the instrument is our soul. The faculties of our soul may be likened to weapons used in warfare. We need to strive together with these weapons of the soul. Do not think that it is sufficient only to be in spirit. No, we also need to be exercised in our mind, emotion, and will. We should be thoughtful in our mind, full of feeling in our emotion, and strong in our will. Then we shall have powerful weapons with which to fight. Some seemingly spiritual people are like jellyfish in the soul. They are very wishy-washy. They never want to fight or strive. This indicates that they do not have the needed weapons. They are very different from the Apostle Paul. When Paul stood, he stood in spirit. But when he strove, he strove with a very strong soul. Our problem is that either we are wishy-washy and do not use the faculties of our soul, or we become dissenting and fight each other instead of fighting the enemy. Those who are wishy-washy are like jellyfish. Such ones not only lack backbone, but do not seem to have any bones whatever. Wanting to be "spiritual," they always act nice, kind, and humble, never striving with their soul in the faith of the gospel. Others, however, may fight and strive, using the mind, emotion, and will. But in fighting they become dissenting. Instead of fighting the enemy, they fight against other saints. This is the reason Paul tells us to strive with one soul. With one soul we should fight against the enemy.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Philippians, pp. 69-70. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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