Philippians 2:1-4 Unity through Humility
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When we started Philippians … this book full of joy
we saw Paul have joy over remembering when they first got saved
and he has joy over the fact that they are continuing in the faith
then Paul shares his joys while in prison
and how God has been using him there
however he is aware that his days are numbered
and he may be close to the end of his ministry
so
take a peak at chapter 1:27
because it gives context
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
So Paul is focusing his attention on the Philippians
because he wants them to press on!
and thats going to come through humility.
so Now
Here in Philippians we get a call for Unity
it would appear that according to Phil 4:2 there may have been
some disagreement or some discord between two sisters in the church.
this is a big deal because
we cant do the work
if we cant work together
One of the greatest dangers of the church is
disunity because it
can disrupt, weaken,
and destroy a church
by causing discord, disharmony,
conflict, and division.
and a divided disunited church
cant or is limited in what it can do.
These issues present themselves
through selfish behaviors
and so here Paul
encourages unity through humility
Let Pray then Read the section then we will dive right in
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
So here
Paul says that his joy will be fulfilled
if they remain being one in Christ.
Paul wanted to know that whether he visited them or is
in a better place in Heaven with Jesus
that
as Phil 1:27 says that they are standing fast in one spirit with one mind
striving together for the faith of gospel
today Paul narrows in on this
he says in verse 2 that he wants
to see them like minded, with the same love,
of one accord, and of one mind
Their oneness, their unity means that
it wouldn't matter if Paul was dead or alive
the church would continue and press forward
you cant strive together for the faith of the gospel
if you are not working together
So Paul is going to encourage unity by doing 3 things.
He is going to remind them of what they share in common
Then he is going to show them what unity looks like
Then he is going to show them how to be unified.
What we share in common (Philippians 2:1)
What we share in common (Philippians 2:1)
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
There is 4 “if any heres”
that show what we share in common
These are not ifs like maybe
these are more like “since”
These speak to what Paul knows
the Philippians church has experienced
These are also for us 4 blessings God has for us that
we also share in common
so lets look at them.
the first if any is
1. “If there is any consolation in Christ”
1. “If there is any consolation in Christ”
This word consolation is “parakleisis”
it refers to calling to one's side or one's aid
also defined as encouragement
this word is often understood as the work of the Holy Spirit
and while the does Holy Spirit come to ones side and provides
encouragement, and comfort
Jesus is the source of it
but I love the picture here
in order to be called to ones side or to ones aid
gives the implication
that I am hurt, or wounded
that I am in need of assistance
That i am in a situation where I cant help myself
In Christ there is consolation
He is consolation
For the forgiveness of sins
and also as
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Why do so often when in hard times,
do we run everywhere but to Him?
He should be the first we run to
but
we often run to
everything else but Him
(distractions, friends, nature, hobbies, music, art, etc.)
I think of how when my boys get hurt
I want them to go to me
I dont think son just go watch a tv show, go tell a friend, go tell some one else
Tell me son, I love you
Let me help you make it better.
Jesus is the greatest we have!
He is great in wisdom
He is great in knowledge
He is great in love
He is great in mercy and compassion
May we run into the loving arms of Jesus
because He cares so much for us
We share in the truth that Jesus
has come to our aid!
the second if any that we share in common is:
2. “If any comfort of love”
2. “If any comfort of love”
Have we been comforted by His love?
Allow me to read you verses about God’s love
for us to be comforted by:
****NO SLIDE for JOHN 3:16.......SLIDE AT ROMANS
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
HIT BLANK SLIDE
There is no denying His love!
1 John 4:8 says He is love
What a great comfort to us
who deserve God’s wrath and judgement
to know God loves us
and so we are given grace and mercy!
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
So to answer Paul
yes we share in
the comfort of His love
the third “if any"that we share in common is:
3. “If any fellowship of the Spirit”
3. “If any fellowship of the Spirit”
This is the Greek word translated “fellowship” (koinonia)
means to have in common
and so we have in common
the Spirit of God
this is not just a beautiful idea
this is a blessed reality
Eph 4:30 tells us that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
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So God’s love that as we just saw
is poured into our hearts
by the Holy Spirit that was given to each of us
What a great thing for us to share in common
the fourth “if any” that we share in common is:
4. “If any affection and mercy”
4. “If any affection and mercy”
the word for affection normally
refers to inward parts
which in the times of this being written
regarded the stomach area as the seat of
intense emotions
So this is a deep deep deep feeling.
it really shows us that God truly cares for us
which is why He has given us mercy through Jesus
so is there any affection and mercy?
Yes of course
So here we see
this beautiful reminder of what is shared in common with the believer.
Its easy for us to spot the differences in people
and often times we can allow those differences to divide us
and keep us from getting to know someone
The point Paul brings out here is
look at what makes you all in common
Church, yes we may be different in personality, and gifts
but what we share in common it brings us together
We share in the comfort in Christ, the comfort of His love,
the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives
and the affection and mercy God has given to us.
so we looked at what we have in common
now lets see what our unity looks like
What unity looks like (Philippians 2:2)
What unity looks like (Philippians 2:2)
2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
here we see a description of unity what unity looks like
that word for being like minded, and one mind here,
share the same greek word.
its meaning refers to
our thoughts
and so its about sharing the same thoughts
and obviously this important because he said it twice
so
because we share in the same experiences
(consolation in Christs, comfort of love, fellowship in Spirit, affection and mercy)
we also get to share in the same thoughts
thoughts that are the result
of salvation
and tranformation
results from the blessings
and graces that God has given to us.
thoughts from a renewed mind
because we have the hope of eternal life
as Col 3:2 says
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
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Lets not let our minds be suck here on earth
with its selfishness
and corruption
when our minds are set on things above
we become a part of something much bigger
much greater
much more important
with much more meaning!
and purpose
and
at church we get to be around other people
also setting their mind on things above
who also get to have these thoughts
because of the same grace, and love we received.
may we take the opportunity we have
here to
to talk about & be about
God and His will
because to be Spiritually minded is life and peace
and Romans 8:5-6
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
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Because of Jesus we can have better thoughts
together
as we have shared in the same experiences
we get to share in these same thoughts
that Paul describes in Phil 4:8
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
FORWARD
Then going back to Phil 2 if we look at verse 5 it says
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
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and he then describes the humility of Christ
as Jesus did God’s will
So here in Philippians the call to our unity of mind
that we are gathered together to have these better thoughts
that humbly does the will of God.
Paul knew if the church is one in mind
they are going to accomplish the work of God!
the will of God
the next thing Paul says in verse 2 is to have the same love
and this clearly points us Jesus word’s in Matthew 22:37-39
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
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So a great question to ask ourselves is
How am I unified with the church in loving God
How am I unified with the church in loving others?
I also think we can continue the thought of having the same love
with our love of the Word,
with our love for the lost
with showing love to the hurting, and sick
Do we love what God loves
Are we showing love together
and toward each other?
The 3rd part of what unity looks like
is being of one accord
the greek word here means
united in spirit
the idea here is that we are knitted together
it is about knowing and believing that
WE are the church
WE are a church family
Together!
We are to be together
loving… loving God, and one another....
with a mind that as we see in verse 5
that is humble and focused on
the will God has for us
that is set above
how to do we do this?
Well Paul leads us to how we can be unified in verses 3-4
How to be unified (Philippians 2:3-4)
How to be unified (Philippians 2:3-4)
Lets read verse 3
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
How many things can done with selfish ambition?
So to be unified there is to be NO selfish ambition
this speaks towards our tendency to do what we want.
When we come to church its not about what I want
its about what does God want
We can quickly and easily fall into the trap to
have a selfish ambition that may appear as a good thing
but its not what God wants… its what self wants.
The church is not the place to build our own kingdoms
its a place to serve the King
.....
How many things can be done with conceit?
Conceit here means to have an empty pride, or vain glory
so to be unified there is be no conceit
Jesus washed feet
so no one is above cleaning toilets
or working slides
or praying for people
our pride can kill unity
because it is about self preservation
about what seems more honorable
its about whats in it for me
its about how will I look
its about our own image
As the NKJV chapter title says in this section
we need: unity through humility.
Now check out this last part of verse 3:
“but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself”
what a hardcore verse
that word for lowliness
is mostly translated to mean humility
this doesn't mean to think less of your self
it means to think of yourself less
....
I think John the Baptist nailed
it when he said in John 3:30
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
to have Humility
Its not saying beat yourself up
speak terrible of yourself
act like your not good enough
or smart enough
Its not thinking less of ourselves
its thinking of ourselves less
It is about being about others.
Just like Jesus
He is the Servant
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In our pride this is a hard pill to swallow
but if we think about it
aren't the most selfish people some of the most miserable people
Its funny because........ doesnt selfisness look ugly on other people?
Selfishness and self centeredness
is an ugly trait because
God created us to love
and so serving, and giving to others is fulfilling.
There is so many angry, upset, hurt people
focused on what they can GET
thinking that will fix their problems
When if they just loved others, and gave, and served
they would find so much joy, and life, and meaning
I know I have found so much of who I am and what I am about
in Christ
by serving others
It is an amazing how being less about ourselves
is exactly what we need
and gives us the joy and meaning we crave
In our last verse for today
we see an example of how we can live
esteeming other better
Lets look at verse 4
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
this doesn't mean give them everything they want
we need to be discerning
“is this brining someone closer
or further from Jesus”
its just getting our mind off of what do i want
and looking out for someone else.
Our unity,
is not going to come from
selfish, asserting self, seeking to be served, and trying to take
for if we
we share in comfort of Christ
we share in the comfort of His love
we share in the fellowship of the Spirit
we share in our affection and mercy.
we are to be
like minded,
having same love
one accord
one mind
Esteeming others better
looking out for the interests of others.
As Worship team comes forward: ...
CLOSER SLIDE
We will be unified because as
We belong to Christ
He has given to us what we all need
We have His comfort
His Love
His Spirit
His affection and Mercy
Who am i to not show love, or mercy, or comfort?
We love and care for others
because He has has loved and cared for us
There is no place for entitlement, or pride, or selfish ambitions
amongst us
because God was never that way toward us!
He served and gave!
May we come together
and do the same!
I encourage us all to walk out of these doors
thinking how can I look out for someone else...
and show them the selfless love
Jesus has given us all.