Philippians 2:2

Introduction

Last week, I focused on the graces that every Christian experiences. We experience consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, and bowels and mercies from God. Paul’s point in introducing this section in that way was to remind them of all God has done for them so that they would use these blessings from God’s grace to fulfill his joy in being united as an assembly.

Another way to see Paul’s point is as God has selflessly loved us in a dramatic fashion by providing underserved experiences of divine love, let us become conduits so that our assembly is blessed by God’s divine love through us.

To complete this mission is naturally impossible but supernaturally possible because of our consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit and bowels and mercies from God. If we have not been given these graces then we could never be able to be conduits of God’s grace and mercy to others. However, by receiving these graces, we are supernaturally gifted to do so.

This means, if we are going to be a unified body then we must be counter-culture and go against the grain of our society that is so bent on self-love. Paul writes about the pandemic of self-love in the last days to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1–2 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.”

Self-love is a cancer that destroys families, communities, and churches. I read recently an article written by Murielle Marie entitled “What it really means to love yourself.” In the article she defines what self-love as “Loving yourself means putting yourself first, even being selfish at times, and making sure you are well taken care of by you, yourself... before you even think about taking care of others. It is putting yourself at the heart of everything you do.Loving yourself also means accepting yourself with all your flaws, all the negative aspects of you, and all the things you don’t really like about yourself.”

Though this attitude is prevailing in our current culture and church experience, and is becoming more and more popular, it is the epitome of absolute rebellion towards God. Self-love turns upside-down what real joy means. If a person wants to have real and sustainable joy then they must put Jesus first, others second and themselves last. Self-love puts you first, others second, and a higher power last. Jesus said to His disciples in Mark 9:35, who were disputing amongst themselves who was more important “…If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.”

Later in the same Gospel, Jesus answered a lawyer who wanted to know what the most importnat of all of God;’s commandments in Mark 12:29–31: “…The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

If we are going to fight through seasons of assault from Satan, who desires to drive a wedge between us, then we must put the acronym for ‘JOY” in its proper order: Jesus first, others second, and ourselves third. To help us achieve this mission, Paul givers steps in chapter 2. The first step is to be reminded of God’s goodness and grace towards us in v.1. For the Christian, everything starts with God and His grace and goodness, and builds from there. Timothy Keller wrote: “The only sufficient motivation for the Christian life is gratitude for grace.”

For example, Paul writes in Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” The foundation upon which we present our “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable, unto God, which is our reasonable service” is God’s mercies. Paul chronicled God’s mercies in the first 11 chapters of Romans:  “Justified, dead to sin and alive in Christ, adopted into God's family, under the power of grace not law, possessors of the indwelling Holy Spirit, peace and reconciliation with God, no condemnation in Christ, promise of future glory, no separation from God, and confidence in God's faithfulness based upon His faithfulness to Israel.

The hymn writer Isaac Watts wrote: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” The last verse is:

Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an offering far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. Isaac Watts

It is because of God’s so amazing and divine love that we are to give Him our life. William Newell wrote: “We must believe that these Divine mercies have persuasive powers over our wills.” Therefore, v.1 sets the stage for the Philippians to give their lives to Jesus so that the assembly in Philippi could enjoy theological, operational and relational unity.

The Exhortation of Grace

Philippians 2:2: “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”

As a result of God’s graces being experienced by members of the Philippians church, they should be likeminded. The word “likeminded” means “thinking the same thing.” The verb is in the “The present tense (which) calls for this to be their habitual mindset, continually living in unity—oneness of mind, common cause, common purpose, common love.” John MacArthur wrote:"Paul is not talking here about doctrine or moral standards. In this context, being of the same mind means to actively strive to achieve common understanding and genuine agreement.”

Being of one mind was so importnat for Paul that he consistently exhorted churches to share the same mind. In Romans 15:6, he wrote: “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In 1 Corinthians 1:10 he wrote: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” In 2 Corinthians 13:11 he wrote: “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” It was not just Paul who wrote about having the same mind, Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:8: “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:”

Even though we do not know the extent of their disunity, Paul does mention two ladies in Philippians 4:2 who were not “of the same mind in the Lord.” If all the disunity in the church was between these two ladies, it is still one too many. Paul writes in Galatians 5:9: “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” and in 1 Corinthians 5:6 “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” All that is needed for a large amount of dough to rise and become bread is a little yeast. Likewise, all that is needed for a church to become dysfunctional is little disunity.

I hated business meetings. We would spend two hours discussing big ticket items that need to get done, but hardly any time discussing how these items would get done. For example, we would talk ad nauseam about the importance of route density to the overall profitability of the company but have no time to discuss action items that brings about route density. Actions items bring “clarity and direction…increased accountability…enhanced productivity…better time management…improved communication…tracking and reflection.”

Paul gives the goal of being likeminded to the Philippian church, but he did not close the meeting without action items. Wuest’s Word Studies calls these action items “three constituent elements.” These action items or “constituent elements” provide clarity, direction, accountability, productivity, improved communication, tracking and reflection. Each member of the church is responsible to fulfill these action items for being a likeminded church.

“Having the same love.” The word “having” means to hold onto something. It is in the present tense, which means to continue holding onto the same love for one another. Do not allow Satan, our cultural philosophy, or our operational or relational differences to cause us to lose our grip on “having the same love.” Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7, which is known as the love chapter that we should bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.”

We must have an equal amount of love for each person in the assembly. If we have more love for one person than another person in the church, then we are creating an environment of disunity between us and the person or people that we love to a lesser degree. Not only does this create disunity but the expression of lesser love often appears optically as if they are not loved. Optics are importnat. Jesus taught His disciples in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Jesus’ words are convicting and challenging. What do everyday people need to see from us? Our words and actions declaring that we love equally, the disciples of Jesus.

I have been in churches where love is the trademark of the assembly. You know there is love between people. Sadly, I have been in churches where the tension was palpable between members of a church. if we are going to fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus gave to His church is Matthew 28:19–20 (“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”) and withstand the ferocious attacks from Satan, then we must have the same love for one another.

“Being of one accord.” A. T Robertson defines this word as “harmonious in soul, souls that beat together.” William Macdonald writes that “being of one accord” “means to work together in harmony toward a common goal.” The common goals that should knit our souls together as a church are worship and evangelizing; worship being preeminent to evangelizing. The key to worshipping and praising Christ is valuing Him above everything else. Paul wrote in Philippians 1:20–21 “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Therefore, we should put aside our operational or relational differences and come together in unity for the great cause of worship.

We need to be soul brothers and sisters in Christ to be effective evangelizers of Christ. John MacArthur wrote: “Such unity involves a deep and passionate concern for God, His word, His work, His gospel, and His people. No two Christians-no matter what their spiritual maturity and knowledge of scripture-will understand everything exactly alike. But if they are controlled by humility and love, they will be genuinely unified in the spirit.”

One mind. The word for “mind” is the same word for “likeminded” earlier in the verse. Effectively, Paul says the same truth in two different ways. He begins with having the same mind; closes with having one mind. Our mind is important. Satan does attack the mind and heart of Christians. In Acts 5:3, Luke records: “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” In the Old testament Satan provoked David to sin in 1 Chronicles 21:1 “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul was concerned that Satan would deceive the church in Corinth. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

How do we protect our minds from being deceived by Satan so that we can be likeminded and have one mind as a congregation of believers? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 6:14–17 “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” We need the belt of truth, shoes of the gospel of Jesus, Shield of faith, which is God’s word (Paul writes in Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” And Proverbs says in Proverbs 30:5 “Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him”), and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. How do we defend ourselves against Satan? God’s word.

We need to understand what Paul is calling for in the Philippian church. He is not arguing how the Philippian church should be intellectuals, but exercising their minds to have the same thought process. He is not calling for uniformity but unity. It is not everyone repeating after me, wearing the same kind of clothes or singing the same tune; rather, allowing our beautiful diversity to unite us so that we come together like an orchestra with all our different talents, and instruments to produce a masterpiece of harmonious music. What allows an orchestra to sound amazing is the sheet music, and what allows Christians to have one mind is God’s word.

The Attitude of grace

Philippians 2:3–4 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

Paul just exhorted them in grace to achieve likemindedness. To help them achieve this goal, Paul lays out the attitude each member should have towards another. In v.3-4, he provides the blueprint that should govern their pursuit for unity: no strife or vain glory, have lowliness of mind, esteem others as better, and look to care for others. Basically, the opposite of what Satan wants us to pursue. He wants us to be about ourselves, fighting with one another, be high-minded, esteem ourselves as better then others, and look out for me, first.

We cannot have the same love or be of one accord if we have to high of an opinion of ourselves and too low of an opinion of others. Thinking to highly of ourselves clouds our judgment. Paul wrote in Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” B. W. Johnson wrote: “To be puffed up in one's own conceits is the end of progress.” B. H. Carrol wrote: “Not to think more highly of oneself in view of the other members of the church. Here are a lot of people in one church; now let not one member put himself too high in view of the other members of that church.” Paul’s point is if you think you are this amazing hotshot kind of a person and that you are simply superior to everyone else, then the reason is faith or God’s gifts He has given you. It is not about lifting yourself up but lifting God up.

Thus, the attitude or disposition that must prevail in our church if we are going to “be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” is to “(l)et nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

“Let nothing be done in strife or vain glory.” It is impossible to have the same mind and love if you are driven by strife. Strife is a person who is seeks their own. A death knell to an assembly that strives for the same mind and love is someone within the congregation that is seeking their own at the expense of the church. The same word is translated as “contention” in Philippians 1:16: “The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:” A person who seeks their own will be contentious to having the same mind and love. Many New Testament dictionaries defines this word as selfishness.

The Greek word for “Strife” “is found outside the NT uses only in a writing by Aristotle where he uses it to denote a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means. It represents a motive of self–interest and is sometimes rendered “strife” (KJV) because it refers to factionalism, rivalry, and partisanship & speaks of the pride that prompts people to push for their own way.” Even though I have seen this many times, a church family should never view members as rivals but team players. The point is nothing should be done in the church that is the result of strife. If you see people in the church as rivals then you should not do anything in the church until you remove the strife in your own heart.

Nothing should “be done in strife or vain glory.” “Vain glory” means “empty conceit.” In the early 90’s there was an underarm deodorant commercial that had the famous tennis player Jimmy Conner saying: “I’m vain, of course I’m vain.” The word “vain” means “empty.” He was confessing in the commercial that he was an empty person, whose pursuit was his own glory. If he is an empty person than his own glory is empty as well. A person who has empty conceit will have a very high view of themself. Nothing should be done seeking your own priorities, or thinking to highly of yourself.

“Lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” This part opens with the word “but.” Instead of “strife and vain glory” you should have “lowliness of mind.” “Lowliness” means “humble.” The same word is translated four times as “humility” and once as “humbleness.” David Guzik writes: “The ancient Greeks considered lowliness of mind to be a fault, not a virtue.” However, for the Christian, “lowliness of mind” is a paramount virtue. Humility and humbleness should come supernaturally to the Christian because of grace. Grace is the ultimate event that should humble a person. Grace says that no one deserves God’s love or mercy. Regardless of how “innocent” our sins are, they make us incapable of being good in God’s sight. In fact, Paul says in Romans 3:12 that sinners “…are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” The word “unprofitable” means “useless” or “spoil.” The only way a useless person can become useful is grace. It is not that the useful deserves grace, but grace is given in spite of their uselessness through Jesus Christ. John the Baptist said in John 1:17: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Our ability to do anything favorable or pleasing before God is grace and not our own engineering of good works. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:7 “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” As instrumental as grace is to the Christian, we still struggle with humbleness of mind, which prevents us from considering others better than ourselves.

“Look not everyman on his own things, but everyman also on the things of others.” Today, mothers and fathers look to their needs before their children’s needs. Pastors care more for their ambitions than their flocks need. Politicians are pursuing their opportunities, but not the opportunities of their constituents. Children want what is theres to the detriment of the family unity. Employers want to be richer instead of paying a good salary to their employees. Employees want more money without considering the risks employers have taken. Christianity is counter-culture in every respect. Before looking to your needs, solve the needs of the church. Henry Morris wrote: “A modern psychological ploy is to attribute many personal and social problems to individual lack of self-esteem. The Scriptures, however, urge each of us to have other-esteem, not self-esteem. Our real problem is self-centeredness and too much self-esteem. However, Paul urges us to be lowly-minded, not high-minded, seeking the good of others, not concerned with ourselves.”

The Puritan Thomas Watson wrote:

CONTRASTS BETWEEN A HELPER AND A SERVANT

A HELPER A SERVANT

A helper helps others when it is convenient. A servant serves others even when it is inconvenient.

A helper helps people that he or she likes. A servant serves even people that he or she dislikes.

A helper helps when he or she enjoys the work. A servant serves even when he or she dislikes the work.

A helper helps when the circumstances are convenient. A servant serves even when the circumstances are inconvenient.

A helper helps with a view to obtaining personal satisfaction. A servant serves even when he or she receives no personal satisfaction.

A helper helps with an attitude of assisting another. A servant serves with an attitude of enabling another.

Conclusion

Each of the verbs following “fulfill” in v.2-4 are in the present tense. This means that these actions should be a habitual activity or attitude for the Christian.

“Adrian Rogers description of UNITY - – ‘You know, there are three words that sound alike: one is unity; one is union; and one is uniformity. Now, it's unity that we're looking for, not union. Somebody has well said, "You can take two tomcats, tie their tails together, and hang them over a clothesline, and you have union, but you don't have unity." And, you can kind of conjure up that picture in your mind. We want more than union. We want to be more than wired together, or rusted together, or frozen together—that's union. And then, uniformity. What is uniformity? Uniformity comes from without—everybody saying the same thing, looking alike, and doing the same things. That uniformity comes by pressure from without. Unity comes from within, where we have the same Spirit and the same Lord. We're not brought together by rules. We're not brought together by threats. We are bound together by love of the Lord Jesus. And so, there's to be harmony.’”