By putting all these verses together we can see that there is no hint that a position was assigned to the sisters to take the lead, to do a great work, or to teach. There was no such position assigned to the sisters. Rather, the sisters should bring the Lord Jesus to people by the principle of incarnation, love Him, follow Him, minister to Him, experience His death, make Him so sweet and lovely to all the people, see His resurrected life, know the ascension, and then in the church always bear the burden of prayer and labor.

Philippians 4:2-3 says, “I exhort Euodias, and I exhort Syntyche, to think the same thing in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, genuine yokefellow, assist them, since they contended with me in the gospel, as well as with both Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” These were two wonderful, lovely, even spiritual sisters, but they had a problem between them. They were not of the same mind. They were good sisters; they were spiritual, contending with Paul in the gospel; yet they were not of the same mind. This was of great concern to the apostle Paul. In such a short letter as Philippians, he mentioned these two names. Not only did Paul have this experience, but I also have had this experience. Although the sisters may have discovered the resurrection, I have discovered something concerning the sisters. The biggest problem for the sisters in the church life is that they are not of the same mind. It is very easy for the sisters not to be of one mind. Because of this, many of the divisions in Christianity were caused by the sisters. They have often been the source of division. This is a very serious matter. On the one hand the sisters are greatly needed. Without the sisters the church is barren. But although the sisters are greatly needed and very useful, it is also very difficult for them to be of one mind.

You must realize that if you are not of the same mind, it means you are staying in your mind. The way for you to be of one mind is not to try to change your mind but to turn yourself from your troublesome mind to your spirit. If you will turn to your spirit, you will be of one mind with others. Then you will tell your poor, ugly mind that you just hate it. You won’t hate another sister’s mind, but you will hate your own mind. I am afraid that all of the sisters appreciate their minds too much.

When Eve was questioned by the serpent, she was the first to exercise her mind. When Adam fell, he didn’t exercise his mind that much; he just followed his wife. The Bible tells us that Eve, after eating of the fruit of knowledge, passed it on to Adam and he ate. The same principle applies in the church life today. Perhaps a sister says she just cannot go along with that brother who is an elder. She eats of the fruit of knowledge during the day and when her husband comes home, she also gives him some of the fruit. Soon he also has a problem with the elder. Many of the husbands are good followers, following the mind of the wives. One of the biggest problems in the church life is the dissenting minds among the sisters.

For the sake of the church life, both the sisters and the brothers must learn to experience the principle of incarnation. We must learn to bring forth the Lord Jesus in a practical and living way to other people. We also have to experience the real death of Christ. We must see it, watch over it, and experience it. After this, we need to discover and experience the resurrection life of Christ. Finally, we all must experience the ascension of Christ. If all the sisters could be like this, the Lord will have the way to carry out His economy. This is the goal the Lord is working toward. He is desiring to have a group of people represented by the sisters who can bring forth Christ, who can enjoy His death and resurrection, and who can serve in a proper way in the church life. The way to reach the goal is for all the sisters to be the Marys and the Phoebes.

One further word: all the sisters must learn to say, “I don’t mind; I just don’t mind.” If the sisters would learn to say, “I don’t mind,” it would be wonderful. This means they would never make an issue of anything. If the sisters could take such an attitude that they do not mind and would not make an issue of anything, the church will be at peace. There will be the real oneness to express Christ in the principle of incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and even descension. This will be of much benefit to the church. Learn to say, “I don’t mind, and I don’t want to make an issue.” No matter what you hear, no matter what others do to you, don’t make an issue of it. If you will practice this, the Lord will bless and build up the church life.
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