Although Paul was a prisoner, his concern
Although Paul was a prisoner, his concern was not for his imprisonment. Instead, he was concerned about the attitude of the believers and for the kind of spirit they had toward him. Nothing hurt the apostle as much as a negative attitude of the believers toward him. In other words, Paul was not troubled by his imprison ment, but he was troubled by the situation among the believers in Philippi. He was very concerned about their spiritual condition. Therefore, Paul appealed to the Philippians to make him happy to the uttermost. Paul needed their encourage ment, consolation, and fellowship to be a sup port to him. If the Philippians would render him such support, they would make his joy full.
THINKING THE ONE THING
The way the Philippians could make Paul's joy full was to think the same thing, even the one thing (2:2). According to the context of the entire book, the one thing must refer to the subjective knowledge of Christ and experience of Christ (1:20-21; 2:5; 3:7-9; 4:13). Christ, and Christ alone, should be the centrality and uni versality of our entire being. Our thinking should be focused on the excellency of the knowledge of Christ and the experience of Christ. Anything