Speak the Same Thing, Pt. 1

How do you do that?

1 Corinthians 1:10

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Paul is invoking his authority as the apostle.) that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

How can many speak the same thing?  Answer: You come to an agreement that there is one authority and everything is directed to it.  You can believe one thing and I can believe another; but we should ask, “What authority are we going to trust?”  We will see that authority is the apostle Paul and what he has to say about God.

“The same” is what our apostle Paul tells us.  He is talking about Godly wisdom.  Paul inserts himself into the equation.

Philippians 1:27

Only let your conversation [everything you do] be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent [still in prison or somewhere else], I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

It is when saints strive and work together for the faith of the gospel—the dispensation of grace message, Pauline truth—that we speak the same thing.  We are of one mind and one spirit.  Paul is going to give a practical example of this:

Philippians 4:2

I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.

There was a little tension between two ladies in the assembly.

Philippians 4:1-2

Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

This is not you trying to stand fast on your own.  Standing fast in the Lord has to do with having some understanding about the mind of Christ, his will, where he wants you.  It is understanding the grace message given to Paul and not being under the law (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James) and being confused; but it is being in the Lord where God has you today in Paul’s epistles.  Watch what he says to these two women.

I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.

They had two different personalities.  One was a little harder; the other was softer.  There was a personality conflict and, truthfully, some cattiness.  Paul hears about it and tells them that is not who they are in Christ.  So when Paul says to be of the same mind in the Lord, he is saying that one may believe one thing and the other may believe something else, but here is what God believes.  He is telling them, “Here is the truth.”  When there is a disagreement we need to sit down and ask what Paul has to say about the situation.  That is how we should handle it.

To be continued…