---

I. "BE OF ONE MIND." Let there be no division among us in regard to Bible doctrine, Christian experience, or religious duty.

1. Doctrines are the glory of revelation.

2. Again, unity in regard to views of Christian experience is of the utmost consequence to the Church.

3. "Be ye of one mind" in view of Christian duty; be unanimous in advancing the kingdom of our Lord Jesus.

II. "LIVE IN PEACE." This is the second injunction of the text. Living in peace is a true correlative of being of one mind. Spiritual congeniality of feeling sweetly accompanies agreement in sentiment, Religion is "first pure, then peaceable."

1. The nature of the peace recommended includes love to our brethren in Christ, and good will toward all men.

2. The obligations to peace are manifest and manifold.

(1) Peace is the fruit of the Spirit. "We have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.

(2) The good of the Church is another of the obligations to live in peace.

(3) The happiness of the individual is an obligation to live peaceably.

(4) A regard for the salvation of others is an obligation to live a life of peace.

(5) The heavenly state shows the obligations to a life of peace. No angel in glory disturbs the harmony of the heavenly abode.

3. The manifestations of peace in our lives may be briefly illustrated in reference to our own Church, and in its relation to other churches.

(1) In our own Church, the manifestations of peace consist, in part, in a kind and conciliatory treatment of all sectional questions.

(2) Another mode in which peace may be exhibited, consists in avoiding the dangers arising from parties formed in admiration of men.

(3) A life of peace may be further manifested in the Church in our personal intercourse with our brethren. Let us all "pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

III. First unity; then peace; then BLESSEDNESS. "The God of love and peace shall be with you." What a hopeful indication of the blessings that follow unity and peace is found in the very names here claimed by God! "And the God of love and peace shall be with you."

1. He will bless His Church with the indwelling of His Holy Spirit."

2. Again, "the God of love and peace will be with you," to enlarge the prosperity of the Church in His providence.

3. The God of love and peace will be with His loving disciples, to crown them with salvation in His glory. "The meek will He beautify with salvation."

(C. V. Rensselaer, D. D.)

---

---

KJV: Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

WEB: Finally, brothers, rejoice. Be perfected, be comforted, be of the same mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.