In the first message we saw that Philippians is a book on the experience of Christ. Chapter one reveals that the way to experience Christ is through keeping ourselves in the fellowship in the gospel by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. If we would remain in the fellowship in the gospel by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we need to be in one spirit with one soul. In Philippians the special point regarding the experience of Christ is this matter of being with one soul. Being one in soul is not only for the experience of Christ, but even the more for the enjoyment of Christ. Our experience of Christ should also be an enjoyment of Christ. For example, children may eat food under the threat of being disciplined if they do not eat, but they may not enjoy what they are eating. Likewise, if we are merely in one spirit, we may experience Christ and yet not enjoy Him. To experience Christ with enjoyment we need to be in one spirit with one soul.
According to the Bible, the soul is for enjoyment. To have enjoyment, we need desires, emotions, and feelings. The more emotional we are, the more we shall long for enjoyment. Enjoyment is mainly related to the soul. In order to enjoy Christ, we need to have a proper soul, a soul that is one with the souls of other saints. We need to ask ourselves whether we are many souls or just one soul.
Every soul has an opinion. If in one place there are five hundred souls, then there will be five hundred opinions. However, if we all have different opinions, we shall lose our enjoyment. If everyone in a family, for example, has the same opinion, that family will have a wonderful time of enjoyment. But if the father, the mother, and the children have different opinions, there will be no enjoyment in that family. When we all have one opinion, the situation among us will be heavenly.
If we do not have any opinions, we are not human. To be human is to be opinionated. Opinion, however, is not a bad word. In the Bible, a human being is not called a spirit or a body, but a soul. For example, the Bible says that seventy souls of the family of Jacob went down to Egypt (Gen. 46:27). Furthermore, the New Testament says that three thousand souls were added (Acts 2:41). Thus, a person is a soul. The basic element of the soul is opinion. Therefore, if you had no opinions, you would not be a soul. The strongest person is the one who has the strongest opinions. By a person's opinions you can know how strong he is psychologically.