Unity Through Humility | Philippians 1:29-2:4

Unity Through Humility | Philippians 1:29-2:4

Opening Remarks:

This past Sunday night, we looked at an important message from Philippians 1 about the importance of striving together for the faith of the Gospel.

Paul made it clear that unity of spirit means we have nothing to be terrified when it comes to our outward adversaries.

A unified church, one mind, one spirit, has nothing to be afraid of from the outside.

God has already promised to deliver His people and destroy His enemies. That gives us confidence.

The only time the enemy has the ability to affect us is when we stop striving together and start striving against each other.

That’s what a church ought to be afraid of. Disunity that weakens us and makes us vulnerable against the enemy’s attacks.

Our greatest is not the culture or Satan. Our greatest comes from within.

And that idea carries Paul from chapter 1 into chapter 2.

We’re going to start by reading chapter 1:29 and go into chapter 2 because the thought carries past the chapter break.

READ Philippians 1:29-2:4

Introduction:

As I was preparing for this message tonight, the verse that kept coming to my mind was Proverbs 13:10, “Only by pride cometh contention: But with the well advised is wisdom.”

Only by pride cometh contention.

Think about that truth:

Pride is an elevated view of oneself.

Contention is strife or fighting.

So strife comes when people have too much pride.

And the first word of the verse tells us as much. It says, “ONLY” by pride cometh contention.

Which means, when people are at odds, it’s always because of pride.

Two people have a road rage interaction. Is it because one cut the other off? No, it’s because of pride.

If people are at odds serving together in a ministry, is it because one person is right and the other is wrong? No, it’s because of pride.

If people are heaving words or talking about others, it’s not because of an offense strife happens when pride happens

If strife is visible, pride lurks below the surface.

Contention always sits on the shoulders of pride.

So let’s consider the opposite of that statement:

What’s the opposite of contention? Unity

What’s the opposite of pride? Humility

So, if the only reason that contention exists is due to pride, then we can safely and biblically conclude that the only way unity will exist is when humility is present.

And that is Paul’s message.

He says, “If you want unity, you must have humility.”

Let’s take it one step further, remember, the theme of Philippians and this series is “JOY.”

When there is tension between believers, joy is an impossibility.

Illustration: Friend in college, “Merry Christmas sir!” Turned what should have been a joyful occasion (food) into a tension filled moment.

A church should be full of joy. But pride will turn a church into a tension filled place.

Philippians was a fine check, no doubt, but even they weren’t above pride impacting their unity and joy.

Paul received news from Epaphroditus that strife existed in the church.

Based on what he wrote, there were two sources of strife addressed in Paul’s letter.

1) False teachers troubled the unity of the church by promoting false doctrine. We’ll address that later in the series.

2) The other source of strife and disruption of unity that was caused by friction between members.

Based on what Paul wrote, what do you think was the cause of the friction?

Weirsbe said, “There can be no joy in the life of the Christian who puts himself above others.”

So all of these things come together in one place:

Pride leads to strife. Strife erases Joy.

So humility leads to unity. And unity enables Joy.

So much of what matters in the Christian life is dependent on humility.

Paul Exhorts Them To Have Humility By Telling Them First To…

I. Remember The Cause Of Christ - Vs. 27

We already looked on Sunday at vs. 27 when Paul wrote, “One spirit, one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

Paul says, “Humility is practiced when you remember the cause.”

There is too important of a task to settle for strife and pride and disunity.

A church with disunity will render its Gospel impact ineffective.

It doesn’t matter how much we knock doors or invite folks to church if we can’t get along.

Why would someone who is invited to Eastside want what we have if we’re full of contention?

They can find contention anywhere: On the roads, in the drive through, at work, on TV, in politics, in sports - you name it, contention and strife define our culture.

A church shouldn’t be defined by strife like the rest of the world. It limits our Gospel witness if we have strife like they do.

So Paul says,

“When you’re tempted to clap back, remember the cause and walk away. Pride tells you to have the last word. The cause will keep you from it.”

“When you don’t like someone else’s tone, remember that you’re striving for the faith of the Gospel.”

“When you have an issue with someones words or actions, remember the cause of Christ.”

I’ve used this illustration before, but it’s so good that I can’t think of a better one: When the British rowing team failed so badly in the Atlanta olympics in 1996, they adopted a mantra leading up to the Sydney olympics in 2000. That mantra turned into a Gold Medal. This was it: Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? They subjected every decision they made to that thought.

Will eating this make the boat go faster? If not, then I won’t eat it.

Will taking this shortcut make the boat go faster? If not, then I won’t take it.

Will clapping back at someone’s attitude make the boat go faster? If not, then I won’t say it.

They subjected every decision to that one mantra, and won a gold medal because of it.

If we would remember that the Cause of Christ is dependent on our unity, it will make so many decisions for us.

Will this comment help the Gospel be more effective? If not, then I won’t say it.

Will this bit of gossip help our church be a better witness? If not, then I won’t pass it along.

Will this action on a Friday help or hurt Eastside’s testimony? If not, then I won’t do it.

Humility will help us submit to a Cause, even when we don’t feel like it.

Humility means we subject ourselves to something bigger than ourselves. The Cause Of Christ.

And we ought to be so submitted to the cause that we even accept the hardships. That’s what he refers to in Vs. 29-30. To submit to the cause of Christ will not only help you be humble with others, but it will help you to accept whatever suffering you face.

You talk about humility. No one likes to be treated unfairly.

No one likes to do right and be persecuted for it.

But Paul says, “You ought to be so submitted to the Cause of Christ that you’re willing to suffer terrible things and maintain a right spirit about it.”

I don’t think we understand how important it is that we daily remember that we are fighting for a great cause.

Knowing that the souls of the lost should hang in the balance should humble God’s people to the point that we say, “I won’t make an issue out of this. I will accept whatever suffering comes my way. Because there’s a cause that is bigger than me.”

So Paul starts by telling them to be Humble by remembering the Cause Of Christ.

Then Paul exhorts them to have humility by telling them to:

II. Embrace The Mind Of Christ - Vs. 1-5

Paul says, “The Mind of Christ should guide your responses and interactions.”

Vs. 1 - He starts by reminding them of their position in Jesus Christ. He says, “You can be humble about difficulties because of what Christ has done for you.”

Here’s another way to say it, “Given all the resources we have in Christ, there is no reason for strife to exist between believers.”

A. Resources in Christ:

1. Consolation - Even when suffering. Even when things are hard. You have a built in encouragement simply because you know Jesus Christ. Consolation means encouragement.

I think about David encouraging himself in the Lord. That means, if you know Jesus Christ, you have enough between Him and your Bible to encourage yourself.

Now, does that mean we shouldn’t encourage each other? Not at all. God gives us each other to lift up each other.

But when no one is around, you have enough in Jesus Christ to encourage yourself in the Lord.

Don’t be consolation-dependent. That you have to have a friend or cheerleader to remain happy and content. Does it help? Sure. But if all you have is Jesus Christ and your Bible, that ought to be enough.

2. Comfort of Love - Isn’t there something comforting just being around someone who shows you love? It makes you feel secure and safe.

Love is comforting. Someone who you are confident in always having your best in mind is a source of comfort. We have that in Jesus Christ. If He loved us enough to die for us, we can be comforted in what He’ll do for us today.

3. Fellowship of the Spirit - That means we have communion with the Holy Spirit. And in having fellowship with the Spirit, His fruits are produced in us. Love, Joy, Peace, Gentleness, etc. We have that, if we know Jesus Christ.

4. Bowels and Mercies - Bowels is the Bible word for affection. For feeling. For emotion. Like having a soft spot in your heart for someone. Mercies simply means compassion. Christ loves us. He has compassion on us.

So this verse becomes an IF / THEN verse.

Paul says, “IF these resources are available to you through Jesus Christ, THEN fulfill my joy and show these same kinds of graces that you have from Jesus Christ toward each other.”

If we gladly accept these gifts from the Lord, how shameful that we won’t do the same to other people in our lives.

Paul says, “Have the same love to each other that Jesus has toward you.”

“Have the same fellowship or accord with others that you get to enjoy with the Holy Spirit.”

And he says, “As your spiritual leader, nothing brings me joy like watching you treat each other like Christ treats you.”

Illustration: My wife and I say it all the time. The most satisfying thing for us is when our children are laughing and talking and having fun together. It’s so rewarding.

It takes humility to treat someone else like you’ve enjoyed being treated.

You don’t have to. But humility says, “But I ought to.”

So the first way we embrace the mind of Christ is to remember what resources He provides us and pass them along.

He continues that thought in vs. 3.

Paul says that a church striving for unity has to deliberately avoid strife and choose service.

They were to avoid “strife” (selfish ambition) and vainglory. “Vainglory” is empty pride or groundless boasting.

Here we see the connection between strife and pride again.

And by calling it vainglory, Paul says, “It’s all empty.”

It means nothing.

Illustration: Like kids bragging about their dads being strongest. Unless they’re going to have a weightlifting contest, it means absolutely nothing.

I saw a video a while back of these little girls sitting at a picnic table eating ice cream. One of them says, very proudly, “My daddy has a gold tooth.” And you see the other little girls processing that like, “Wow, gold! That’s amazing!” Then another little girl, not to be outdone, says very convincingly, “Well, my daddy has diabetes.”

Probably not the flex she thought it was.

But that’s how empty and silly and foolish it is when God’s people have strife because of pride.

It’s shameful when it’s Christian vs. Christian or Ministry vs. Ministry.

He says, “Trade that pride for lowliness of mind.”

Esteem others better than yourselves. That means, “Consider others to be more important than you.”

One way to do that is vs. 4. Instead of being consumed with your own concerns, seek to be a help to each other.

There may not be a more obvious way to express humility than to put your needs aside and pick up the needs of someone else.

Someone needs a ride to church, so you leave early to get them even if it’s inconvenient.

Someone needs help moving, so you give up a Saturday afternoon to do it.

Someone is clearly feeling down, so you stop what you’re doing to listen and encourage and pray for them.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

We’ll get more into the mind of Christ next time, but there may not be a verse that more clearly captures the mind of Christ than Philippians 2:4.

Jesus considered the needs of others to be greater than His own.

He went to a cross to meet the needs of others.

He left His Father’s throne to meet the needs of others.

He humbled Himself like no one ever has to meet the needs of others.

Conclusion

When’s the last time you went out of your way to sacrificially meet the needs of someone else?

When’s the last time you ministered to someone in a way that it cost you?

When’s the last time you gave something up in order to be a blessing?

If its been a while, it could be that you’ve been operating without a level of humility.

And that’s scary, because unity is dependent on humility.

And if we get to the place as a church that we don’t have humility toward each other, then you can guarantee strife is soon to follow.

And if strife is present, then joy is limited and the Gospel is rendered ineffective.

l don’ know about you, but that seems like a cause worthy of my humility.

So let’s be humble. How?

Submit every interaction to the Cause and Mind of Christ.

Humility is present when God’s people remember the Cause of Christ and embrace the Mind of Christ.