We need to Stand Firm in one Spirit with one Soul Striving Together for the Gospel

We need to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, that is, we need to stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving together along with the faith of the gospel (Phil. 1:27); this is to experience Christ.

When we enjoy Christ and experience Him in our daily life, we will live a life in the furtherance of the gospel – a gospel-preaching life.

Such a life will not be individualistic but corporate, that is, we will enter into the fellowship unto the gospel with all the saints, and together we will stand in one spirit with one soul for the gospel.

We need to live a gospel-preaching life in the church life, for beginning with the time we’re saved until the time the Lord comes back, our Christian life is a gospel-preaching life.

Preaching the gospel shouldn’t be some activity we do from the time to time; preaching the gospel should be our life and our living.

When we enter into the fellowship unto the gospel, we will put ourselves aside, we will deny our preference and choice, and the self will be killed, for we learn to do things in a corporate way in the Body for the gospel, not in an individualistic way.

Living a life of gospel-preaching means that whether we speak or remain silent, our life with our living and being – even our entire person – is a preaching of Christ.

For example, the apostle Paul was in prison; he was in one of the worst situations outwardly, but he magnified Christ and preached the gospel, so much so that even those in the house of Cesar heard the gospel.

Similarly, brother Watchman Nee was in prison for twenty years, not being allowed to preach the gospel, but at least one of his cell mates has testified that he saw Christ in him, and he was saved. When we are restricted from speaking, we can live the gospel.

Whether we speak or not, whether we can utter words or be silent, our life should be a gospel-preaching life, and even more, we should stand firm in one spirit with one soul striving together along with the faith of the gospel.

May the Lord open our eyes and cause us to realise that one of the first ways we can experience Christ in our daily life is by preaching the gospel in a corporate way, that is, by having fellowship unto the gospel and striving together with the saints.

We need to Stand Firm in one Spirit with one Soul Striving together along with the Faith of the Gospel

In Col. 1:27 Paul charges us to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

We may think that this refers to us living a perfect life in which we love our spouse, are obedient to others, and do good deeds, but it actually refers to standing firm in one spirit with one soul striving together along with the faith of the gospel.

The emphasis is not just on fellowship unto the gospel or gospel-preaching per say but that we may be one – we may stand firm in one spirit and with one soul.

We need to stand firm in one spirit with one soul striving along the faith of the personified gospel, which is Christ.

When we, the brothers and sisters in the local churches, are one in spirit and even one in our soul, standing together and striving together for the faith of the gospel by preaching it and living it, we will have entered a Christ-experiencing and Christ-enjoying life.

But if don’t do this, if we are diversely minded, we will have different opinions, we fight, and we have different ways of preaching the gospel…then we are through with the experience of Christ.

How can we have one spirit with one soul? Many times we may be one in spirit when we exercise our spirit, but our soul may not be one with the soul of the saints; we may be in rivalry with others to try to take the lead, and we may be jealous, in discord, and not having the same mind.

We need to exercise our spirit and experience the Spirit of Jesus; in this Spirit there’s no envy, strife, or rivalry, and for us to be one in spirit and in soul is possible only in the Spirit of Jesus.

To be one in soul involves mainly having one mind; many times it is not easy for us to be with one soul because we all want to be first and no one wants to be last. But if we experience the Spirit of Jesus, we will stand firm in one spirit with one soul, and we will strive together with the saints for the gospel.

To be one soul and even like-souled for the gospel work is more difficult than to be in one spirit for the experience of Christ (see Phil. 2:20-21, 30).

The book of Philippians emphasizes the one soul more than the spirit; it is easy to be one in spirit simply by exercising our spirit, but our soul has many problems.

The concern of the apostle was that we would be one in soul, that is, we would be like-souled, co-souled, together; this means that our mind, emotion, and will need to be adjusted and harmonized with the saints soul so that we may be in one spirit with one soul.

Our enjoyment of Christ and experience of Him is very much in our soul; we touch the Lord in our spirit, but we enjoy Him in the soul, and we express and magnify Him in the soul. May we open to the Lord and tell Him,

Lord Jesus, we want to stand firm in one spirit with one soul striving together with the saints along with the faith of the gospel so that we may experience Christ. Save us from being diversely minded and having different opinions from the saints; adjust us and harmonize us in our soul, Lord, so that You may gain the oneness that You desire among us. Lord, we want to experience the Spirit of Jesus and be filled with this Spirit so that we would be in one spirit with one soul with the saints, striving together along with the faith of the gospel!

Being Transformed in our Soul to be in one Spirit with one Soul Experiencing Christ and Expressing Him

To be with one soul – not just in one spirit but also with one soul – requires that, after having been regenerated in our spirit, we go further to be transformed in our soul.

For us to experience Christ being in our spirit is not enough; we need to cooperate with Him to deal with our soul so that we may have a transformed soul.

We need to deal with our mind, emotion, and will, for that’s where the troubles are; we cannot be one in soul with the saints mainly because we have problems in our soul.

We need to behold Christ with an unveiled face so that we would be transformed (2 Cor. 3:18) and our mind needs to be renewed so that our soul may be transformed (Rom. 12:2).

The transformation of our soul will cause us to have increased experiences of Christ; when we are transformed in our soul, we will have a much greater enjoyment of this Christ.

In our church life, in our coordination, and in our meetings, when we the saints are one not only in spirit but also in soul, in feeling, in our thinking, in our willing, we are full of Christ, full of the sweet experiences of Christ and the wonderful enjoyment of Christ!

But when we are not one in soul but there are is fighting, disagreements, cold shoulders, there are offenses, rivalry, competition, and the experience of Christ is gone.

Oneness in soul is crucial; not just oneness in spirit but also the oneness in soul, so we need to move on and advance to the oneness in soul.

If we are not one in our affections, thoughts, and decisions, then we are not with one soul; as long as we are not one in soul, we are not in the fellowship unto the furtherance of the gospel, and our conduct is not worthy of the gospel.

To have a conduct that is worthy of the gospel is to be in one spirit with one soul, striving together for the faith of the gospel.

We need to deny our soul-life, put it aside, and let our soul be transformed, so that our soul may be one with the souls of the saints.

No matter how many or how few we are in our area and locality, we need to be impressed with the fact that we should be only one in spirit but also with one soul.

When we are one in spirit and with one soul, our oneness will be convincing, subduing, and attractive; such a oneness will be our testimony, and we will experience and enjoy Christ.

When we preach the gospel we express our oneness in spirit and in soul, and we have the enjoyment and experience of Christ.

The more we preach the gospel in this way, the more we will be kept in the enjoyment and experience of Christ, and our preaching of the gospel will be a feast.

If we do not have the sense that we enjoy and experience Christ in our preaching of the gospel, if we don’t sense that we are feasting on Christ, then something is wrong; we may lack the oneness in spirit and in soul. Oh Lord Jesus!

When we are one in spirit with one soul, the number of people saved through our preaching of the gospel will be secondary – what’s most important is that we feast on Christ and enjoy Him, and we experience Christ together.

Lord Jesus, we turn our heart to You to behold You without any veil so that we may reflect You and be transformed into the same image. May our mind be renewed so that our soul may be transformed. Amen, Lord, may our gospel preaching be with one spirit with one soul, and may we strive together with the saints for the faith of the gospel. May we be kept in the oneness in spirit and in soul, and may our preaching of the gospel be a feasting on Christ, an enjoyment of Christ, and a genuine experience of Christ!

This article can also be read in the Romanian language / Citiți acest articol în limba română vizitând următorul link, Să rămânem fermi într-un singur duh cu un singur suflet luptând împreună pentru evanghelie.

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. 3 (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:
  # Lord, transform us to Thine image / In emotion, mind, and will; / Saturate us with Thy Spirit, / All our being wholly fill. / God hath us regenerated / In our spirit with His life; / But He must transform us further- / In our soul by His own life. (Hymns #750)
  # I would cease completely / From my efforts vain, / Let Thy life transform me, / Full release to gain; / Build me up with others / Till in us Thou see / Thy complete expression / Glorifying Thee. (Hymns #841)
  # 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)