Ingredients in the Church (Humility & Unity)

Philippians 2:1-5

a. Unity (통일) (2:1-2)

b. Humility(겸손) (2:3-5)

2. INTRODUCTION

a. Unity is one of many important characteristics of the church. Why? Because division (분별) is so common in the church. There are many reasons as to why the church is divided. It can be over things that happen, or because people just don’t get along. It’s because we don’t agree with everyone on things so division creeps into the church. However, Jesus wants us to have unity in the life and purpose of the church. So how do we obtain unity? Well I want to focus on the importance of unity and how we can obtain unity. Unity is only achievable when we are humble. Paul, through this passage lays out how the church is called to be unified through humility.

3. BODY

a. Unity (2:1-2)

i. Paul starts with therefore. Paul just summarized Chapter 1 speaking of suffering for the cause of Christ. Paul was speaking about 1:29-30 where he speaks of the fact that just as Christ has granted that they not only believe in Him, but also suffer for His sake. Suffering on behalf of Christ, just as much as believing in Christ, is a gift of God’s grace.

ii. Paul’s statement rests on the idea that being with Christ, to know Him and to be known by Him surpassed that of anything in this life. This is why Paul raises 4 statements. If there is any encouragement in Christ is the first phrase we want to work on. What is Paul referring to here? Paul is asking the question, if there is anything in Jesus that we can be encouraged from.

iii. Paul is telling his listeners that he understands the suffering the church was facing. Paul was not minimizing their suffering. Rather, he was acknowledging their suffering and asking them, if there is any encouragement from being united with Christ. That is the hardest part to answer, but the question is, Is Jesus sufficient enough for you that you are willing to suffer because you know who He is and what He has done for you?

iv. Is there any comfort from His love that when you face hardship, you are willing to stick it out? Is there any common sharing of the Spirit? Do we recognize that we have all been all baptized together in Christ? If there is any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

v. Paul’s opening verse reminds us a simple question. How are we united? The context is found in verse 29-30. The thing that binds our unity is to be united in Christ in our sufferings. If you are a Christian, what is the promise? The promise is you will suffer. Again, suffering on behalf of Christ, just as much as believing in Christ is a gift of God’s grace.

vi. Believing in Jesus Christ is hard. This is why Paul writes, if there is any joy or encouragement in Christ, if there is any comfort from His love, if you truly share the Holy Spirit because you were baptized in the Holy Spirit and if you truly received His grace and compassion, do this. What does Paul tell us to do?

vii. Paul calls for unity in verse 2. Paul’s question to us in verse 1 is, If you truly are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, exercise your unity with each other. Paul is answering Jesus’s statement in John 13:34-35, that a true follower of Jesus Christ is someone who loves each other. Jesus says that the world will know you are my disciples by the way you love one another.

viii. This is Paul’s statement that is echoing Jesus’s statement. If there is anything to be encouraged throughout your suffering, if Christ is truly your all, if you receive any comfort from His love, and if you truly share in the sharing of the Holy Spirit, if you truly know the grace of God in your life, then do this. Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, being one in spirit and being of one mind. This is Paul’s way of saying, if you are a Christian, then it will be expressed in the way you have unity with one another.

ix. One thing we must note is that our unity with each other is derived from our unity with Jesus Christ. This is Paul’s main point. If you truly say you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then the evidence of your unity with Christ, is revealed in the way you have unity with each other.

x. So that begs the question, what is unity in the Church? Unity is when people actively fight to be on the same page. It is to have the same mind, the same love, the same spirit and the same purpose. The only way this can be achieved is if everyone fights or pulls the same direction. Everyone must be willing to move the same direction.

xi. What happens if we all get into a boat, and half the people row one direction and the other half row the opposite direction? The boat won’t go straight. When we think about this illustration, it’s not about how much strength you put into rowing. You can put all your strength to rowing the boat but if the boat is rowing in opposite directions, you won’t go very far. It’s not about effort. Paul’s point here is telling us about unity in the Church. Everyone must have the same purpose. Everyone must have the same goal. And not only should everyone have the same goal and purpose, but everyone must also be actively working and fighting together to achieve this goal.

xii. This is the role and job of every believer in the church. The pastor is not the only member in the body of Christ. Everyone here, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, if you have been blood washed into the family of God, then you are a member of the body of Christ. Then this is your responsibility just as it is mine. We must all work hard to build the body of Christ.

xiii. This was Paul’s point in this section. Paul is reminding the church at Phillippi, based on verse 28 to not be afraid of your opponents. What we see from this context is that there were people who were trying to divide the church. Satan tries to divide the church. But Paul’s encouragement to the church was, don’t be frightened by those who oppose you. Stand firm by striving together. Paul was telling them of the people who were persecuting the church and making it hard for Christians to stay in the church. This goes back to 1:12-13 where Paul was talking about his imprisonment. Paul even goes on to say in 1:20, that even if he were to die, that he hopes that Christ is proclaimed with boldness.

xiv. We see clearly what Paul’s focus was. It was always on the preaching of the Gospel for the salvation of souls. We keep talking about how people are the church and we forget the importance of people in the church. The love of Christ is displayed through the love of the church. People can know the love of Christ by the way we love each other. Without love for each other, we can’t say we know the love of Christ or have experienced it.

xv. When I read this section, it gives me a picture of a healthy and unhealthy church. A healthy church is a church that has a unified purpose, because it is unified in Christ. Remember, Paul’s question here in verse 1 is, if there is anything to be encouraged at all when you are suffering, it is to know that there are other brothers and sisters who love you and are here to support you. Paul is reminding us, this is how important the church is. This is why it’s important to come to church and grow with each other.

xvi. A question was asked to me, “Why do we come to VBC? I mean, why can’t you go to any church? Why do I have to come to VBC?” Well, I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. But my answer is, because God has placed me with this family for whatever reason, to grow me, to teach me how to love Him more by loving others here. One thing I have learned in my Christian walk is, people are not easy to love. I am not easy to love. But God placed me in a family so I can see and learn how God loves me and how I am called to love others. Being loved by God is not about just knowing God loves me. It is me striving to love others, to maintain the same love for one another and fighting for unity.

xvii. I’ve come to the realization that it’s easy to give excuses. But one thing I want to do, and I will work harder to do, is to make sure that I am involved in the lives of my people. I believe I have failed in that. I apologize to all of you for my failure. Please hold me accountable to this. Please remind me that I need to be more involved in your life. Please pray that I can do this.

xviii. Why am I saying this? Because the greatest damage to the church is isolation. It’s easy to go to a church and feel isolated. It’s easy to give reasons. We can say “well so and so are not involved. So and so need to come out and spend more time at church.” But the same truth can be applied. How hard do I strive to seek for unity? How hard do I seek to reach out to these people? How hard am I working to show my love and desire to seek unity with these people? But if everyone has this purpose in mind, we can accomplish this. If everyone seeks the value and importance of each and every member, then we can achieve this. We must recognize the purpose and vision of the church. It is to strive for doctrinal unity, but also, unity as one people, one family of God. There must be love for one another. There must be a desire to build other people. We must fight to achieve this purpose. This is not an easy task, but that’s why Paul reminds us, we must seek single mindedness. We must make it our mission to work towards the same purpose. What is the purpose of the church? To love God and love His people.

b. Humility (2:3-5)

i. So how do we fulfill the purpose of the church? We see the answer in verse 5. It is to have this attitude which was also in Christ Jesus. It is to be like Jesus Christ. But how was the Lord Jesus Christ? We see the answer in verse 3-4.

ii. Remember the context leading up to 4:1-2. Paul was speaking about this idea of being suffering and the way to overcome suffering is to be one in Christ Jesus. It was to be involved in each other’s lives and build each other. Be to others what Christ was to you. What does that mean?

iii. Paul tells us in verse 3. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. Whatever we do in this life, we should not do it out of selfishness, or empty arrogance. Why? Because this goes against the idea of being of one mind. To be of one mind believers must stop setting their minds on their own ambitions and their own glory. As long as Christians have the attitude that what matters most is self-fulfillment and self-advancement, they will never experience the unity of one mind.

iv. The perfect example of this is the Lord Jesus Christ. Humility was the essence of Jesus’s life. Jesus never did anything for His own gain. Jesus makes this clear in John 6:38 where He says I didn’t come to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Jesus was intent on fulfilling the ministry that God had called Him to do. When we look to Jesus’s example, it makes it clear on what the life of the believer looks like. The believer must live a life that reflects the beauty of Christ through our own humility. We must seek to live a life that displays the humility of Christ, the ability to put aside our own desires but the desire to regard others as more important than ourselves.

v. The answer to this comes to us in verse 1, where Paul writes, if there is any encouragement in Christ. That’s the phrase that gives it all away. If we have any encouragement looking at the person and work of Jesus Christ, then we are to do this. It must begin with the Lord Jesus Christ. We must behold the person and work of Christ. But not just looking at Him, we must experience that in our own lives. We must know who He is and what He has done for me. I must grow in fervor to love Him more and more, to put aside my own thoughts when it goes against what He wants for me. The more I practice this, the more I grow in love with Him, the more I can share that with others. We will never regard ourselves as less important than others if we consider ourselves more important than God. If we don’t want to do the things that God wants us to do, why would we do what others want us to do? Why would I want to share my time with other people, if I don’t want to share my time with God?

vi. But Paul tells us, if we do have this relationship with Jesus, then this is how we should live. This is the fruit of our relationship with Jesus. It is a humility before God which leads to a humility in our relations with other people.

vii. We understand what these things mean, but how are we to be humble? How do we actually practice humility in our own lives and with others? Now we can make this to mean a variety of things, but when we focus with this idea of being one mind and practicing humility, one of the best ways to show appreciation and love for others is through our presence. We need to be involved. How does this happen? When we put on humility of mind, when we regard one another as more important than myself, then I can display humility in my life.

viii. Now this obviously means, being involved at church. Being here at church is one of the best ways to show that you are involved and want to be involved in the lives of others. But as we know, being involved with other people can’t be minimized to just Sundays. Real life happens Sunday-Monday. Being involved in the lives of others, means to be there in times when people need us. How do we know when people need us? When we are actively engaged and involved in the lives of others. It means we are constantly following up with each other. It means we are constantly talking with each other. It means we are constantly praying for each other.

ix. When we don’t do these things, it means one thing. We think life in isolation is the Christian life and we think that I can live and succeed in this life alone. But the Church can’t thrive when people are not involved. Why? Because the church is the people. It’s like any other relationship. I keep talking about this, but what constitutes a good friend? It can be a friend that we are honest with, a friend that is involved in our lives, but the most important thing is, it is a friend who is/was with us through the hard times of our lives. It is a friend who loves me despite my failures. It is a friend that accepts me despite the fact that sometimes, I am not the best friend.

x. This is the picture of Jesus to me. Jesus loved me even when I was unlovable and I didn’t want the things of God. Jesus loved me when I was at war with Him and I was seeking my righteousness and not seeking His righteousness. Jesus loved me when I loved my sin more than Him. But even then, Jesus came to earth to die for the sins of the world, more specifically, He came to die for my sins. Jesus came to redeem us because there was no other means in which the debt of sin could be paid. So He laid down His life for me, to cleanse me of my sin, so that I would no longer be dead to my sins. He died to give me a new heart so that now, I could respond to Him in love by living my life for Him.

xi. How do I live my life for Him? I learn to love Him more and more, and through that, I learn to love His church. Just as Jesus was involved in my life, I seek to involve myself in the lives of others. I seek to invest my time and efforts to encourage and build others. I don’t seek to invest in myself, but for the lives of others who God has sent into my life. I learn to be thankful for these people, to cherish these people, to love these people because these people are the means in which I am called to grow. That is to have the attitude of Jesus. It is to empty myself, to put aside my own personal interests for the purposes of God. It is to live for the purpose in which God has called me.

4. CONCLUSION