Philippians 2:1-11 - Taking on the Attitude of Christ
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[Intro]
Today we are going to be going through Philippians 2:1-11. Last time we went through Philippians 1:27-30, and the main topic was “Living as Citizens of Heaven”. We have dual citizenship, one where we live and one in Heaven. The way we live our life on this earth should align with our heavenly citizenship above all. Not an easy task, but that’s why God gave us a helper, the Holy Spirit to live inside of us.
As we hop into the next chapter today, there will be some similarities from last time. So remember keep that context in mind as we go through this next section.
[Body]
1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
As we read this first verse in chapter 2, you might be wondering, why is Paul asking these questions? I like how it’s phrased in the NIV
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,”
These “if” questions might make it sound like Paul is saying we might not receive encouragement or comfort from being united with Christ or no unity in Spirit. But that’s not at all what Paul is implying here. These are rhetorical questions. He’s making a statement. The Greek word here can be used interchangeable between “if” or “since”. Paul is reminding them of what they’ve received from Christ. So you should think of this as, since you have encouragement from being united with Christ, comfort from his love, common sharing in the Spirit, tenderness and compassion. Since you have received all these blessings from the Lord, verse 2, “Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.” Because of what we’ve received from being united with Christ, Paul says, function as one body in Christ. Paul wanted unity among the believers.
If you made a list of all the things that cause a church or a body of believers to divide, there’s likely two sins that reside at the root of the issues. They can destroy and damage any relationship between people. In verses 3 and 4, Paul explains them by giving the do’s and don’ts in order for everyone to work in unity. Paul writes “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.” The two sins that cause so much damage in relationships is Selfishness and Pride.
Pride is not something to take lightheartedly.
2 Pride leads to disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
again about pride in proverbs 16:5
5 The Lord detests the proud;
they will surely be punished.
I was reading the New Living Translation, but the King James Version emphasizes things a little better here.
5 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
I think we already knew before this morning that Pride and selfishness are dangerous sins, but the world is all about self-promotion, pride, and me-me-me, so it can be easy to grow numb to it and fall into the same trap. But do you want to partake in something that leads to disgrace and something that God hates, something He looks at as an abomination? It’s a dangerous trap. It certainly got Lucifer into trouble. Nobody likes to be around a prideful person, someone who thinks they are so much better than everyone else. Likewise, selfishness has no part in the body of Christ. And these two sins sort-of go hand-in-hand. If you think you’re better than another, then you probably think your desires should be met before their’s. Why would you put their needs above yours? They’re just a lowly human being who God clearly doesn’t love as much as you. Otherwise he would given them the great gifts, talents, and intellect that you have. These sins feed into each other.
On the opposite side of it, you have humility and selflessness. Likewise these will often feed into each other. And when it comes to being humble, Paul didn’t say just think of them at least equal with you. He said “Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” Not just equal, but better than yourself. And with that, keep their interests in mind, not just your own. Humility here is pretty strong verbiage when you think about the context of what that word meant in these ancient times. Before the time of the New Testament, the word “humility” had a negative connotation. The adjective was used typically to describe the mentality of a slave. It would have been tough to understand this, especially to the pagan world in this time. It would be so backwards. Think of others as better than yourselves. You can see how Paul lives this out from his greetings in his letters. He typically refers to himself as a slave or bond servant of Christ Jesus. He lived a life of serving others by bringing them the Good News because of his submission to God and His will.
As I was thinking about this, one thing I thought was interesting is we can struggle to be humble and selfless at times towards people we know and love, but yet it feels so easy to commit idolatry by elevating strangers, people we’ll probably never meet, to a place of high praise in our lives. Which is obviously sinful in itself. I’ve been guilty of this many times, whether it’s a band I enjoy listening to or a player on a sports team I enjoy watching. Now there’s nothing wrong with enjoying watching sports or music or whatever entertainment you like. I think we know when we’ve gone past the point of watching something as entertainment and really made it an idol in our lives. If I met some of the people I’ve enjoyed watching I’d probably put all their interests before mine, not because I would be acting selflessly but because of idolatry. But then to the one’s I know and love, often times I’m like take the back seat. I’m busy. I don’t care. Sometimes it’s important to reflect on our thoughts and actions and evaluate where our hearts at. Even though Idolatry is not the focus of today, I think there’s something to think about with it in how Christians will treat others in the body of Christ which is the the main topic of today, compared to how they may perceive someone else that they might never meet. This is a big challenge and pitfall of mine, personally. So that’s probably why it really came across my mind.
Alright, so Paul is saying a big part of unity is achieved through humility and selflessness. And When it comes it comes to living humbly and selfless, we’ve been given the greatest example which is of course Jesus Christ. And this where Paul shifts the focus of the letter to in verses 5-11.
The life of Christ is the greatest example because not only did he do it perfectly, but being God he also had the most to give up. Not implying that he was not God while on earth, Jesus was fully man and fully God. But he didn’t tell people what to do for his own pleasure and say c’mon I’m God, like you gotta listen to me. And he didn’t even have to lower himself to living as a human, in the flesh. But he did. He took a humble position, living as a human, was obedient to the Father God in following His will, which eventually led to His horrific death all for our benefit. All so we could have hope. Not for any benefit to God. He doesn’t need us. This was all for our benefit. And He is our example of how we should live and treat others.
45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
In the letter to the Colossians, Paul puts it like this:
9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
As followers of Christ, we are to follow his example and teachings. Be humble, obey God above all, seeking to do His will.
And after Christ paid the cost he didn’t owe in his death, 9-11 again reads:
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
On our day of glorification we’ll also be honored.
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.
In life we must humble ourselves for God’s will and live for him and he’ll raise you up in honor when you leave this life.
Now I don’t want to lose sight of the purpose for Paul encouraging them to be humble and selfless. It’s the ingredients to live together and function in unity. It wasn’t a minor thing to him, he said “make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.“ And he knows they can do this not because he’s putting faith in how mankind can care for each other, but he knows that the Holy Spirit is living inside of them.
He knows they’ll all serve in different ways bringing different abilities, but they need to be like-minded, striving for the same goal. To exalt the name of Christ. And that should be the same goal for all who are in the body of Christ. So it doesn’t matter where any Christian gathers with others to worship, because ultimately they’re serving the same master. One congregation should not only function in unity with each other, but also with other congregations. That’s probably where things can get more challenging, but again we all have the same Spirit inside of us driving us towards the same goal. Take on the attitude of Christ, which is the biggest challenge there is, but rely on the Holy Spirit to strive towards a more humble and selfless life. Do this for the glory of God.