Tonight’s passage completes Paul’s first command in the letter to the Philippians. In 1:27 he began the passage by commanding them “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ . . .” The rest of the passage gave the tools necessary to complete that command. Paul equates living worthy of the gospel as living in unity with each other by choosing the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, a mind of humility, servanthood, community and loving obedience. Paul laid out for the Philippians a path of how to live with each other; to stand fast with one spirit, choose to have the same mind, work with each other for the purpose of extending the influence of the gospel. He encouraged them not to be afraid of their struggles or those that caused them but instead to be confident of God’s care and to realize that they had not only been called to be saved by a belief in Christ, they were called to be used for the building of Christ’s kingdom by suffering with Christ. Paul then, dove into addressing issues they were suffering with and solutions to those issues: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit”, on the contrary, empty yourselves, think of others more highly than you think of yourselves and look out for the interests of others don’t be blinded by your own wants, needs or desires. Paul then raised the stakes to an entirely different level by commanding them “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”. This statement means that Jesus is not only our ransom He is now our master; He is not only our Savior He is our example; He is not only the One with give thanks for He is the One we answer to. This entire passage was Paul’s way of explaining what Jesus had said in Mark 8 when He told His disciples, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Our verses tonight wrap the passage up by Paul telling us what following Jesus’ example will mean for us as a community of believers, as the church rather than individual Christians. Paul calls our attention back to the fact that being in Christ requires that I think about us rather than about me, that because the Father, the Son and the Spirit are One we must choose to be one with each other. The final command of the passage continues as it often does, with the word “therefore” that will point us back so that it can thrust us forward.