The Christ-Centered Community

What does it mean to be part of a local church? Why should anyone join a church? We have previously stated that part of the church’s responsibility is to certify passports from people who claim to be Christian, and therefore part of the church. There is a testing of one’s confession that is necessary and a test for determining whether one who would join his life with ours is intent to really follow Jesus or not. But when we join the church and integrate ourselves into the life of the body, we also sign up for an appropriate level of submission and accountability.

I know those two words can sound scary and our tendency is to tense up and lean away from that when we hear it. Submission and accountability? Is that what I signed up for? Who am I submitting to? Who am I accountable to? The simple answer is each other. The reason we react so negatively to these words is because this has been abused. Legalism is the opposite of liberty. Often times when somebody steps out of bounds the church will crucify them or the opposite extreme is the church ignores it. We are going to discuss that more next week. But the reality is that in many cases church hurt is a real thing. Either someone did not get the love and support they needed or when they were vulnerable, they received judgment and attacks instead of grace, mercy, support and a path for restoration.

To live in a Christ-centered community we are going to need two things: unity and humility. One feeds the other.

Main idea: Because Christ humbled Himself for us, we must live as His people by serving one another in unity.

Today we will examine three things we must do if we desire to live in an authentic Christ-centered community.

Live as citizens of Christ’s kingdom.

Paul was writing out loud an internal struggle he had. He had a desire to pass on from this life knowing it would mean that he would be with Christ. But he also wanted to remain for the sake of the Philippian church and their well-being. All the while, he is writing from incarceration in Rome. He is not a free man, his life has been unbelievably difficult since his conversion to Christianity, and there was a part of him that was ready for it all to end. But he also knew that if it did, he could do no more for the people he has led, trained, and equipped.

Philippians 1:27–30 NASB95

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

His desire for the church is that they conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. In Greek this translates more literally to “behave as citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ.” This letter is an encouraging one as it is not written to address a specific issue that threatened the church. Instead, Paul is convinced of his impending release but no matter what happens to him, he wants the church to continue living in a manner worthy of the gospel. What does that mean?

So many times church membership is about being listed on the church roster and kind of secretly hoping that is enough. All God wants of me is to believe in him, go to church, and be a good person. Except that isn’t the gospel. The gospel is that we are so rebellious against God’s standards that we deserve to be destroyed and eternally separated from him. But God loves us so much that he sent his son to be our substitute. He offered himself as a sacrifice to pay the penalty of our rebelliousness, rose from the dead three days later and promises radical transformation from your previous rebellious state to one of righteous living through the power of the Holy Spirit who takes up residence in you and begins refining you day by day.

With that we are automatically given citizenship in his kingdom, in which we join the royal family as sons and daughters of God himself. We enjoy a relationship with him and through that relationship we experience a transformation of character. Paul is telling his audience to live a life worthy of the sacrifice Christ made to make them free.

Our identity shapes our conduct. The thing you find your identity in will drive your behavior. We belong to Christ’s kingdom. We are called to represent him accurately. Being part of a local church means we strive to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel.

If someone paid for you to take a vacation to Universal Studios in Orlando, would you take it? All expenses paid. All you have to do is book it, get on a plane, and go. Would you do it? You bet I would! I don’t know that there would be anything I wouldn’t do or try because someone paid a significant amount of money for me to experience that. In 2022, you sent me to Israel, to walk in the land where Jesus walked. It was a fantastic experience. I wanted to take in everything and appreciate the generosity the church showed me.

How much more significant is the sacrifice Jesus made? We can never repay that. He doesn’t expect us to. But what is obedience worth to you? Is his sacrifice enough that you would surrender your life to his control and live your life in a manner that is worthy of the gospel? We are citizens and we are expected to live like that.

So how do we do that? The answer lies in the verses that follow.

Pursue unity through humble service.

Take a look at the end of chapter one again. Paul wants the church walking in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. He may come, or he may not, but his desire is that no matter what he hears the church is doing these things: standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, and striving together for the faith of the gospel. To conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, we must pursue unity in the body. We pursue unity through humble service toward one another.

Let’s jump down to chapter 2:

Philippians 2:1–4 NASB95

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Verse one again is this plea to live out a life of authenticity. Paul would have no greater joy than to know the people he once ministered to in person are living their lives this way. Be of the same mind. Maintain the same love. Be united in spirit. Intent on one purpose (we could call that mission). Don’t act selfishly. Regard others more important than yourself. These are powerful statements.

When you join a local church, you are saying to us that you want to be looked out for and that you want to look out for us. There is this idea of mutual submission and accountability that sounds scary, but isn’t when we understand it. We cringe at words like submission and accountability today. Our hyper-individualism as a society says, “I’m the boss of me. I don’t need to tell you my sins. That’s between me and God. I don’t need to be held accountable. I’m doing fine on my own.” We exist in the same space, but we are not actually watching out for one another like we should.

When was the last time you came to church and someone asked you, “How is your walk with the Lord? What are you reading in scripture lately? What did the Lord teach you this week? Is there a way I can pray for you? What are you struggling to gain victory in?” What if that was the case? What if we were so concerned about our brother’s or sister’s wellbeing that we made time to ask each other those deeper questions? We can’t just flip the switch and start doing that next week. A level of trust has to be developed first.

Therefore, humble service toward one another is essential to that becoming a reality. Do nothing out of selfishness or empty conceit. Regard one another as more important than yourselves. You are not the most important person in the room. I am not the most important person in the room. Humility drives us to realize that without Christ we are nothing! Nobody here runs the church. Christ runs the church through the giftedness of those he calls and has gifted for such a purpose. As we humbly serve one another, love one another, and look out for one another’s spiritual well-being, we can build the kind of community that is truly Christ-centered as we seek to build each other up to be better representatives of Christ and his kingdom.

Imitate the humility of Christ.

This is the ultimate call and the foundation for the verses we just talked about. Jesus is our inspiration and our model for how we are to now operate in the church and in the community around us. Look at what he says starting in verse 5:

Philippians 2:5–11 NASB95

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus, the second person of the Godhead, stepped out of heaven, and emptied himself. This means that he laid aside all his privileges as God, became dependent on his father for everything, and became a human being. For the duration of his life, he was born like us, had to learn to walk and talk like us, work like us, and endure evil people like us. He was human in every way while also God.

Christ humbled himself for us. He became obedient to the point of death. Now he is exalted and seated at the right hand of the Father. The future reality is that because of the victory Christ has accomplished, everyone on the globe will one day confess Jesus as Lord.

Jesus humbled himself for us. Therefore we must live as his people by serving one another in unity.

Are you prepared to serve your fellow brother or sister humbly out of radical love for them? Do you need to experience that kind of love? This is the church we need to be. We need to be the kind of church that will call on one another when we need each other. Is that the kind of church we have? How would you feel if you came to church next week and someone asked, “Hey, how is your walk with the Lord? What are you struggling with? How can I pray for you?” Would you be honest enough or would you come up with some surface level question hoping they would mind their own business?

A Christ-centered community commits to living as citizens in Christ’s kingdom. We pursue unity through humble service. We imitate the humility of Christ. How is your attitude toward fellow church members? Do you think of anybody as “less than?” Is there an attitude you need to confess and change? May it be that we never think too highly of ourselves, but regard one another as more important than ourselves. Are you acting selfishly in any way? Whose walk with the Lord are you looking out for?

As we close, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the answer to one of these questions and commit to taking action on the next right step.