Sermon Tone Analysis

Whenever there is a ‘therefore’ find out what it’s there for.

So, we have to look at the previous passage and what this one is reminding us of.

Here is the translation again by Gordon Fee of

Philippians 1:27 Only worthy of the gospel of Christ, live out your “citizenship” that you stand firm in the one Spirit, as one person contending together for the faith of the gospel.

Last week we heard that as citizens walking worthy of the Gospel in Christ we to be standing firm against opposition in the one Spirit together as one.

So, last week we looked especially at external pressures and attacks but this week the link is that the Philippians must be united not only against outside enemies but also from internal pressures.

a story from a Welsh newspaper about a church that was looking for a new pastor.

Yesterday the two opposition groups both sent ministers to the pulpit.

Both spoke simultaneously, each trying to shout above the other.

Both called for hymns, and the congregation sang two—each side trying to drown out the other.

Then the groups began shouting at each other.

Bibles were raised in anger.

The Sunday morning service turned into a bedlam.

Through it all, the two preachers continued to outshout each other with their sermons.

Eventually a deacon called a policeman.

Two came in and began shouting for the congregation to be quiet.

They advised the 40 persons in the church to return home.

The rivals filed out, still arguing.

Last night one of the group called a “let’s-be-friends” meeting.

It broke up in argument.

This is quite extreme but the letter Paul wrote was not written in a vacuum, he was addressing issues in the fellowship, though, on the whole they were doing very well but if they fulfilled Paul’s instruction here he will be more than happy.

If we have had consolation, comfort, fellowship, affection, mercy from Christ and in Christ, in love and in the Spirit… If we have had… there is no doubt here.

If and it is so is plainly meant here.

The first clause says if there is any consolation in Christ.

This is closely tied to the suffering in the previous chapter.

If we have known suffering for Christ we will also experience his comfort and encouragement in Christ.

Suffering for Christ probably makes us more aware and perceptive of the comfort that we have in Christ and the reward that comes as a result.

The second of these clauses says: if any comfort of love.

But of whose love are we talking of here?

Well, seeing the first clause mentions Christ, and the third the Spirit, we can easily see that it is the Father’s love.

And this is proven in another place where in it says in:

We are in Christ (by grace we have been saved), love comes from God (the Father), and fellowship or communion comes through the Spirit.

Love comes from God through Christ and the Spirit is given to those who are in Christ.

The whole Trinity is at work to save us and to make us useful for the Kingdom of which we are citizens.

Because God’s love lavished upon the Philippians and we can conclude that this love is lavished upon us too as clearly stated in:

The knowledge of God’s love for us brings great comfort and encouragement and consolation and solace.

It is, quoting the hymn, the “love that wilt not let me go”.

The third clause says if there is any fellowship of the Spirit.

As we have seen before when looking at chapter 1:5 fellowship means sharing.

This clause easily follows the previous two since it is the Spirit who puts us in Christ and it is by the Spirit that God’s love is shed abroad in our hearts.

We now have a share in God by the Spirit and with each other who also have the Spirit.

After this there is a fourth clause: if any affection and mercy: since the last three clauses are true of what God has done for you then the result is affection and mercy to one another.

a merciful heart is a sign of having received mercy

The word we have translated ‘affection’ really means the ‘inward parts’.

Paul is saying that he has feelings for them and expects the same from them and to each other: In other words Paul is saying

Paul is really bound up in the lives of the Philippian Church in wanting to see them be fruitful; in wanting them to persevere; and in the end, rejoice with Paul in Heaven.

And Paul will rejoice to the full, even more than he has already, if they can get to a place of unity.

It is hard enough for the Gospel to go forward if there is a lack of unity, a lack of direction, a lack of love.

Get on the same page is what Paul is saying walking as worthy citizens of the Kingdom of God.

So in verse 2 we see Paul saying basically the same thing three times in a personal appeal:

being like-minded,

having the same love,

being of one accord, of one mind.

Why?

For the sake of the Gospel

We are to:

maintain unity and mutual care in the church

It is plain that in Philippi Paul had to emphasise this being of the same mind because of murmuring and bickering as we will see when we get to chapter 4:

Murmuring, according to the dictionary is a low continuous sound normally in the background.

So, we can clearly infer that there was complaining, discontentedness and dissatisfaction going on behind the scenes as it were.

This is hardly fellowship but disfellowship.

Disunity seems to be moving though the fellowship.

It does not take much for there to be a complete breakdown in relationships leading to a split and then where is the Gospel?

You can see why Paul had to emphasise being of one mind because it is all too easy to be complainers sowing the seeds of destruction.

Jesus Himself makes clear in a passage we have looked at recently in:

Division makes an end to the work whether it is of God or of Satan or of man.

Let us be clear: for the sake of the Kingdom of God and the Gospel and the glory of Christ we are to be of the same mindset as Christ which is set out in the very next verses.

This does not mean we necessarily have the same opinion on everything but for the sake of the Gospel we get on together for the higher calling that we have as citizens of Heaven.

Our unified goal is the Gospel.

And we are to do this with everything within us both in thought and feeling.

The overarching theme is unity in love though never at the expense of truth.

Unity should not break down because of the fabric of the building in which we meet but only on essential doctrinal matters.

Not on some egocentric, “I can do it better than you” in running a Church attitude.

And this is what is addressed in the next two verses.

Self-ambition is at the heart of the fallenness of humankind.

We want to do things for ourselves and not for others.

This unfortunately puts us on opposing sides to that of God’s people and God Himself.

Humility though is not something that comes easy.

In fact, it is only with Christianity that this concept comes.

Humility only comes when we truly know both what kind of failures and what kind of achievers we are and not make out we are better or worse than we actually are, But that does not allow for us to be egocentric or self-focused for this is something God hates.

In humility count others as being more significant than yourself.

look out not [rather than ‘not only’] for your own rights

This only comes with the help of God.

We are to be more focused upon the care of others more than the care of ourselves though it does not mean we should neglect ourselves either.

It is to think of one another as being more important than ourselves.

Note that it is not saying that we are to think of others as better than ourselves in a moral sense because this may not be true and who is going to be the judge of that anyway?

We may be better or they may be better morally, after all Christ is better than all of us and at no time did He think that we were better morally than Him.

Yet He still was humble.

We are to be humble as Christ is humble and count others as being more important.

The basis of caring for others is not based on worthiness but upon need.

We are to count other people’s needs as surpassing our own.

And it is in this way that Christ humbled Himself – our need is what sent Him to the cross to purchase our salvation as those who would otherwise be lost.

Paul speaks of one another continually throughout his letters.

We are to take note that we are to be for one another who are in Christ.

What does Paul say about one another?

Believers are members of one another (Rom 12:5; Eph 4:25), who are to build up one another (1 Thess 5:11; Rom 14:19), to care for one another (1 Cor 12:25), to love one another (1 Thess 3:12; 4:9; 2 Thess 1:3; Rom 13:8), to pursue one another’s good (1 Thess 5:15), to bear with one another in love (Eph 4:2); to bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2); to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another (Eph 4:32; cf.

Col 3:13), to submit to one another (Eph 5:21), to be devoted to one another in love (Rom 12:10), to live in harmony with one another (Rom 12:16), and (here) to consider one another more important than themselves (Phil 2:3; cf.

Rom 12:10).

A good illustration of considering one another is in a story told by Harry Mabry:

A man had just arrived in Heaven, told Peter how grateful he was to be in such a glorious place, and asked Peter to give him one glimpse into Hades in order that he might appreciate his good fortune even more.