Thinking the Same Thing, the Subjective Experience of Christ for the Church Life

For us to have the same mind and the same love toward one another in the Lord, we need to think the same thing, that is, we need to think and consider the enjoyment and experience of Christ, and have the subjective knowledge and experience of Christ.

The book of Philippians is not only on the matter of the experience of Christ but also on the enjoyment of Christ; on one hand, we need to experience Christ (and this takes place in our spirit), and on the other, we need to enjoy Him (this takes place in our soul).

However, many times our soul does not delight in the Lord, in His word, in the meetings, and in the fellowship with the Lord. Because of many things and situations that we go through, and because many times we do not cooperate with the Lord to deal with our soul and be transformed, we lose our enjoyment of the Lord.

We still meet with the saints, we still read the Bible, and we still participate in spiritual activities and church meetings, but we do not enjoy the Lord.

The Lord Jesus called us to follow Him and deny the self, lose the soul-life, and take up our cross.

To lose our soul-life has to do with not enjoying the things of this world and not allowing the soul to have its enjoyment in this age, and at the same time it involves delighting ourselves in the Lord, in His word, in the fellowship with the saints, and in experiencing the Lord.

But the more we grow in the human life and live in this world, the more we can backslide into enjoying the things of the world and losing the enjoyment of the Lord. Oh Lord Jesus!

Christianity in general and even among us in the church life there may be something like a low-grade depression, a state of mind and a condition of our soul in which we do not enjoy the Lord but we still go through the motions in the church life.

And the result is that we are not joined in soul, we do not have the same mind, and we have different levels of love toward others.

We may love some saints with a fervent love, while others are not our favorite; this is a result of having dissension in our thinking, which causes us not to have the same mind. Oh Lord Jesus!

May we come to the Lord again and again to be fresh, new, living, and loving toward Him, and may we have a fervent love toward Him and keep short accounts with Him, so that we may be transformed in our soul, adjusted in our mind, tempered in our emotion, and subdued in our will, and we would think the same thing and have the same love toward others.

Thinking the Same Thing, the Subjective Experience and Enjoyment of Christ, to have the same Mind

Among the Philippians there was dissension in their thinking, and this troubled the apostle Paul (Phil. 4:2); hence, he asked them to think the same thing, even the same one thing, so that his joy may be made full (2:2).

Nothing made the apostle Paul except for the believers in Philippi to think the one thing, which is the subjective experience of Christ for the church life. According to the context of this book, the one thing here must refer to the subjective knowledge and experience of Christ (see v. 2; 1:20-21; 2:5; 3:7-9; 4:13).

Christ – and Him alone – should be the centrality and universality of our entire being, and we should care for one thing, which is the subjective experience and enjoyment of Christ.

For example, we may be burdened for the gospel in our neighbourhood or on the campus, but we need to primarily care for one thing, which is the subjective experience and enjoyment of Christ.

Even such a good thing as the gospel preaching can bring in dissension, difference of opinions, and different ways of doing things, and even rivalry can come in.

Unless we think the one thing, the same thing, which is the subjective knowledge and experience of Christ, we are not joined in soul, neither do we have the same mind.

Let us pursue the one thing, the same thing, which is the subjective experience of Christ, and we will gain Christ and have the same mind, being joined in soul. This one thing should occupy our mind all the time, and if we think the one thing, immediately the enjoyment of Christ will be our portion.

Our thinking should be focused on the excellency of the knowledge and experience of Christ (Phil. 3:8, 10); if we focus on anything else, we will think differently, thus having dissensions among us.

Focusing on anything else beside the subjective knowledge, experience, and enjoyment of Christ, will cause us to think differently, this creating dissensions among us.

Actually, to think something other than the one thing is to rebel against God’s economy; God’s economy, which is in faith, is that we think the one thing. Oh Lord Jesus!

We should think not only of the objective knowledge of Christ but the subjective experience of Christ as our enjoyment for the church life. This is the one thing we should occupy our mind all the time.

What we should think is not merely practical things or how to do this or that, but how to experience Christ as our rich enjoyment so that we can have the proper church life. The Body life is the issue of our experience and enjoyment of Christ.

When we all think the one thing, the same thing, the subjective experience and enjoyment of Christ, we will have the same mind, we will be joined in soul, and we will experience Christ and enjoy Him for the church life.

When we enjoy Christ, the church life spontaneously issues forth; the church life comes out of our experience and enjoyment of Christ.

Lord Jesus, we want to think the same thing, the one thing, which is the subjective knowledge, experience, and enjoyment of Christ. May our mind be fully occupied with the subjective experience of Christ as our enjoyment for the church life. Amen, Lord, may all the saints be fully occupied and considering this one thing: how to experience Christ as our rich enjoyment so that we can have the proper church life! Amen, Lord, may we have a rich and enjoyable church life as an issue of our enjoying and experiencing Christ!

Being Joined in Soul to have the same Love for all the Saints and have the Enjoyment of Christ

If we are not joined in soul, that is, if we don’t think the same thing and love others with the same love, we do not have the enjoyment of Christ but rather, we murmur and complain in the church life.

Whenever we think other things besides the subjective experience of Christ, we are disobedient and rebellious. When we think of other things besides God’s economy, we rebel against God’s economy.

It will be then easy for us to be offended by someone, and then complain about it and murmur against the Lord and against the church. When we murmur, we are rebellious and disobedient; by disposition, however, we are accustomed to murmuring, reasoning, and complaining.

When the Lord’s light shines on us, however, and we are enlightened concerning our reasoning and murmuring, we will repent before the Lord concerning it, and we will come to Him to enjoy and experience Him.

If we are not thinking the same thing, we are not joined in soul, and our emotion will also be affected.

In Phil. 2:2 Paul asks the Philippians to have the same love; this means that they were not only to think the same thing but also have the same love in their emotion.

Having the same love is something weighty and important in the church life, for many times we have a love on different levels. Many times we love some of the saints with a fervent love, while toward the other saints we are quite cold.

When some contact us and when we contact them, we are so warm toward them and we show affection, but when we see other saints, we even avoid them.

Sometimes others tell us that they love us, but we don’t feel any love from them – they just pay lip-service; others, however, may not tell us that they love us, but you can feel how much they care for us in love.

Having a love that fluctuates and is hot toward some while cold toward others is something that issues from our natura life, from a love that is not dealt with.

How can we live in the church life in this way, loving some saints and avoiding others? We need to have the same kind of love toward others, that is, we need to enjoy the Lord as love toward the saints.

Whether our love is proper or not depends on whether or not we enjoy Christ in our loving of others. If we love others from our natural love, this love will run out, and it will be spoiled; but if we love others by enjoying Christ and experiencing Him, we will have the enjoyment of Christ in our love, and we will love them with the same love.

If our love toward the saints has been regulated and dealt with, then we will enjoy Christ as we love the saints. Being one in soul, joined in soul, is not only for the experience of Christ but even more for the enjoyment of Christ; our experience of Christ should also be an enjoyment of Christ.

To experience Christ with enjoyment we need to be one in spirit with one soul; for us to enjoy Christ, we need to have a proper soul, that is, a co-soul that is one with the souls of the other saints.

The most important thing for us to do is to experience Christ as our enjoyment today so that the church may be built up for His glory; this is the way for us to be preserved in the Lord’s recovery until He comes back.

Lord Jesus, we want to be joined in soul with the saints, thinking the same thing, so that we may love the saints with the same love in the enjoyment of Christ. Amen, Lord Jesus, may we experience Christ with enjoyment by being one spirit with one soul with the saints, having a proper soul, a co-soul that is one with the souls of the saints. May we experience Christ as our enjoyment today so that the church may be built up for His glory. Lord, keep us in Your enjoyment as we experience You so that we may think the same thing, being joined in soul, and love the saints with the same love!

Read this article / this sharing in the Romanian language – citiți acest articol / această împărtășire și în limba română via, Să gândim același lucru, experimentarea subiectivă a lui Cristos pentru viața de biserică.

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, The Experience of Christ, ch. 5 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Experience of Christ (2019 Memorial Day Conference), week 1, The Intrinsic Significance of the Experience of Christ.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # May all our lives be worthy the gospel / Whatever may betide, / All standing fast in oneness of spirit, / All striving side by side. / Let us proclaim the gospel in fullness / To satisfy the Lord: / Christ is the life, the church His expression, / Sound everywhere abroad. (Hymns #1295)
  # We have found that Christ the Spirit is / Who within our spirit dwells; / How available, how near He is, / And His sweetness all excels. (Hymns #1153)
  # True followers of the Lamb), / They’re one in heart and mind, / They think and speak the same; / When all in love together dwell; / The comfort is unspeakable! (Hymns #1244)