Bound by Christ, in Christ

Prayer

Would you please pray with me…

Father,

We come to you humbly because you came to us in full humility. Your Son laid aside His due glory for a moment so that we may one day be fully immersed in it. Even now, God, you reveal yourself to us, and for that, we can never be grateful enough. So, Father, we pray that you would further bind us together as a family, to be of one mind and one love so that we can live in your name before a world that most desperately needs you. God, we thank you for Jesus, for the price that has been paid so that we can be your people, for a Gospel that can take an egregious persecutor like Paul and make him cherished son and that means that you can take an egregious sinner like me, and do the same. Continue to purify us so that we might pursue holiness. It is in your holy and matchless name we pray…

We come before you as a messy people, and that's putting it so kindly. So often we shield ourselves with these veneers and perceptions in hopes of portraying that we are decent, good, and put together better than the next guy. But if we are truly honest with ourselves we are all too aware of our brokenness and sin. So, Lord, we pray for honest hearts, that we might deal honestly with ourselves, yes individually, but more importantly as a body of believers who come together in your name.

Introduction/Prodding Question

Please open your Bibles to , and as you do, I want to ask you a question.  Where do you see dysfunction? For some of you, you might recall a particular project, you might think of an occurrence with friends where y’all just couldn’t get right, or some of you might think of Thanksgiving dinner.

I was a Communications Studies major at The University of Tennessee, and as such a lot of my major grades revolved around group projects. So to say that I witnessed dysfunction at a premium would be putting it softly. Numerous was the occasion we had to coordinate, cancel, reschedule based on work schedules, class schedules, other tests and more. Several times I was assigned to a group where I would see a particular group member once on the day the project was assigned, only to witness the most amazing disappearing act as I was not able to reach them until the night before our presentation.

Yes, we often have ample representations of dysfunction, but how are we to be characterized as a people of God?

Friends the reality is that we are a body of broken people, marked by dysfunction trying to slug our way out of such messiness. That is why we strive towards Paul’s encouragement in his letter to the Philippians when he addresses this beloved church.

Hear the Word of the Lord...

Text

"So, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, through he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Speaker: This is God’s Word

Audience: Thanks be to God

Transition

So again I ask, have you ever been a part of something so divisive? Chaotic? Dysfunctional?

There are some of you out there... middle children probably... that relish at the opportunity to instigate some mess. My brother is one such figure. Some of you may say, “Eric, that’s not fair.” Well I say, I went to seminary and that means that I get a microphone and Brett doesn’t so, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah...

Illustration

I remember being young and witnessing my oldest brother breaking a ceiling fan with a beach ball and in a frantic hurry he repaired the fan blade with some Elmer’s glue and masking tape, only for my maniacal brother Brett to wait for the blade to rest just so, with Ryan thinking that he had attained victory, only to flip the fan switch, starting the fan and sending the blade to the ground. Ryan got disciplined and Brett laughed his sick little head off.

But for the most part, I’d like to think that we all strive to make the best out of our situations and to work peacefully and in step with those around us and to strive towards unity.  That's somewhat the virtue that Paul explains in our text today but of course we see that the unity he touches on is much more profound than overcoming a silly sibling rivalry. 

This world is not short of its tips and tricks to achieve unity, but Paul expounds upon a much more life-giving, gospel-driven reasoning why we are to strive for unity as God’s people.

With that in mind I propose to you this central idea of the text, “In light of , we, as God’s people, are to humble ourselves as Christ, Himself, was humbled.

And we see

Exposition vv.1-4

As we unfold the Scriptures here I encourage you to key in on the example of humility set forth by Paul, perfectly set forth by Christ, and the repercussions of such humility.

Exposition vv.1-4

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy… complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind

vv.1-2

vv.1-2

“So if…” This isn't Paul debating whether or not these things are true; with this conjunction he is linking to his previous writing where he famously resounds, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” He is setting up his argument here as if to say because there is encouragement in Christ, because there is comfort and love and VICTORY, be bound together, in step with one another, of same love and mind. 

Is this not the truth of the gospel? That the reality of the cross brings us together and keeps us together because of what Jesus accomplished at calvary. It's not a question of whether or not these things exist in Christ but rather a rhetorical arrangement to slam home the knowledge that in Christ these beautiful things abound fully, or what he would later exclaim in , “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

31 What then shall we say to these things? pIf God is for us, who can be9 against us?

31 What then shall we say to these things? pIf God is for us, who can be9 against us?

p Num. 14:9; 2 Kgs. 6:16; Ps. 118:6; 1 John 4:4

p ; ; ;

This is a truth that resounds in the lives of the Philippians and it should be our cry today. Consider the foundation of the church at Philippi…

9 Or who is

9 Or who is

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 8:31.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Yes, unity and synergy are admirable characteristics in a number of ways but unity as a body of believers is where we find a truly full and robust understanding of what it means to be one, united, together.

I am so thankful for the churches that are represented across this room. My church (Imago Dei), Summit, Fairview, wherever you may call your church home, we are definitely spoiled in this area from an abounding number of churches who passionately seek and desire to make disciples of Jesus far and wide. And what we should carry with us on this Great Commission is the knowledge that God calls his children unto Himself regardless of background, upbringing, or status.

If anyone could testify to such qualities and characteristics of the gospel, it was Paul. A man who was the self-proclaimed "chief of sinners," as he described in .  In we receive the account of the first Christian martyr in Stephen, which is to say that he stood firm in the faith even when standing toe to toe with death itself.  The one who carried the sentence… Paul’s himself.  The very next chapter in chapter 8, the apostle Luke details that the first-century church wasn't just preached against, wasn't just legislated against or inconvenienced like we might experience today in our culture, but that Paul once ravaged the church.  

If anyone could testify to such qualities and characteristics of the God-man, Jesus, it was Paul. A man who was the self-proclaimed "chief of sinners," as he described in .  In we receive the account of the first Christian martyr in Stephen, which is to say that he stood firm in the faith even when standing toe to toe with death itself.  The one who carried the sentence… Paul’s former self, then known as Saul.  The very next chapter in chapter 8, the apostle Luke details that the first-century church wasn't just preached against, wasn't just legislated against or inconvenienced like we might experience today in our culture, but that Paul ravaged the church.  

Illustration

This was no small persecution. It was quite different from what we might know today. But Luke paints a picture of exactly what kind of man Paul once was when He says in that Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

When I was a senior in high school, the drama department put on a production of The Diary of Anne Frank, and I was truly am captivated by this story. The entire play consists of these Jewish families, secluded to hiding out of fear of capture, imprisonment, and imminent death.

Several times throughout her account we hear of the Gestapo closing in.  A paralyzing hush falls over the families in hiding and eventually they are arrested and drug off to prison camps where they eventually meet their end. This genuinely is the hideousness by which Paul once hunted down and murdered the very people he would soon join. 

He ravaged the church and yet not but one chapter later, in , we receive the conversion of Saul, made new after an encounter with the risen Christ.  Because that is the power of the gospel.  He makes the wicked—holy.  He turns the hateful—gentle. He is a savior that can soften the hardest of hearts.  Paul continued on to become arguably the prototypical church planter, and that is never more exemplified than in the letter that we study today.

Explanation

Excerpt From: Matt Chandler & Jared C. Wilson. “To Live Is Christ to Die Is Gain.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/to-live-is-christ-to-die-is-gain/id673495567?mt=11

Explanation

As stated earlier this was a beloved church in the eyes of Paul.  So many of his epistles are filled with rebuke and correction.  He denounces immoral practice and false teachings, but here in Philippians Paul’s words are much softer and the tone of encouragement is undeniable. 

There is something different about these people to whom Paul is writing.  Matt Chandler in his book To Die is Gain elaborates on the seemingly rough and tumble foundation of the Philippian Church as recorded in .  You have Lydia who seems to be doing alright for herself, a virtuous tradeswoman of fine purple goods, as she is known? But we see further that at its very foundation the Philippian church for all intents and purposes was started by a demon possessed gird  and then the town jailor.  Not exactly a cast of all-stars we're dealing with here.  But the same Gospel that ransomed a heart like Paul flourishes a church the church in Philippi.

Matt Chandler puts it this way, “We see in the backstory of the beautiful reconciliation that the gospel achieves, not just of unholy individuals to a holy God but superficially incompatible people to each other! Jesus takes strangers and makes them a family.”

Transition

These are the people that we are dealing with.  These are the people that motivate Paul’s hand as he writes this impassioned letter to his beloved rag-tag bunch of brothers and sisters. 

We can’t miss this, guys, because I myself, as well as many of you I’m sure, am at risk of separating the theology of Paul's words from the pastoral and loving intent from which they were written. 

What was he dying to communicate? Be unified in Christ. Be of one mind. Count others more significant than yourselves.  Because to be in Christ is to be bound to one another.

vv.3-4

vv.3-4

Exposition

Paul goes on in verse 3 to explain that the result of such a gifts, the result of being recipients of this affection and love from Christ is to be bound together, unified unto one another and to lay ourselves down for one another. 

Christ’s love unites it makes the individual a part of the whole.  It brings the far off into the fold.  It leads us all into the same mind and same love. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves" After pleading his desire for unity amongst the Philippians, Paul then makes this more actionable command unto the church.  But we also see our great challenge.

Argumentation

How many of you are selfie people? Fatima? Will? Definitely Will… There is nothing wrong with a good selfie. You may have discerned earlier that I am a youngest child, which is to say that I am the favorite child, but nonetheless my upbringing and experience as a child is the closest I’ll get to truly knowing young people deeply. But I’ve worked a good bit with high schoolers in the past and I discovered what I thought was a pretty unhealthy practice amongst young people.

Kids will post pictures of themselves with a certain standard of acceptance. They’ll post something and if it doesn't get at least 100 likes, they’ll immediately take the picture down. They think they’re saving face but planting subliminal seeds in their heads and in their hearts that this is what I am worth.

We live in a society that preaches a cutthroat gospel and bids you to look out for number 1. We live in a selfie-culture that both explicitly and implicitly says, “look at me, look at me.” But that is not the message of the gospel and that is not the message that Paul communicates to the church.

Transition/Application

Paul speaks of a body that casts the self down so that your neighbor can be brought up. This message contrasts worldly wisdom that is self-seeking and immediate and implores us to seek a humility and unity that is counter-intuitive to the culture of the day.  And the sweetest part of it all is that while this humility and unity all may seem other-worldly, we are not without the most profound showing of it in the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Exposition vv.5-11

Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed upon him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Explanation

These verses sure do pack a punch.  I read these words, and there seems to be this natural rise and fall and rhythm.  It's almost lyrical. This is often simply referred to as Christ's hymn. Now some of you aren't that musical.  You can't carry a tune in a bucket, and you are devoid of anything resembling musical talent. But that doesn’t stop you from trying…

Many of you will likely get in your car at some point, driving with your young one, and you will hear the adorable attempts/butchering of the songs that you sang in worship this past Sunday. Music has that effect on people.

We catch ourselves humming those sweet melodies throughout our days because they incite something down deep.  And that is what is what happens here as Paul is likely citing one of the first hymns or creeds of the first-century church.

Illustration

In and 2 we receive an account of a Creator God who spills out majesty all over the canvas of creation.  He forms the mountains as if they were clay and He speaks forth the existence of every living creature on this earth.  And then the creation narrative culminates in the making of man.  Again, it's all rhythmic. It’s Shalom , which is Hebrew for peace.  And it's more than just this good feelin' notion of peace that we might admire today, but the connotations of this word mean complete and total harmony with everything. Once again I'll reference Matt Chandler, because I'm a millennial, and that's just what we do.  In a sermon of his, he describes this sort of escalating nature of creation.  It builds on top of one another, and the way that they text falls out it unfolds like song.

C.S. Lewis allegorizes the creation narrative in His work, The Magician’s Nephew, when explaining the foundations of Narnia.  Aslan, this radiant and shaggy-maned lion, strolls forth with his mouth broad and what bellows forward is a song that explodes creation across the world.  The children are amazed and humbled to their very core, hearing such a powerful and splendid tune, but everyone in attendance, both evil and good, became terrified with the weight of power behind the singer. 

Exposition

vv.5-8

Paul implores us to consider Christ, the God-man who laid all his privilege aside though he had every reason to hold it dear.  He was in the form of God and this particular word used here, morphe, leaves no room for ambiguity.  Paul did not say that Christ was a type of god or one of many, but that his very makeup, his very essence is that of The God. Right from the beginning of this hymn, Paul is making his case before the Philippians of why they should pursue unity with such fervor, because this is the same unity shown in the Godhead. In reference to this text, Tony Merida states, "There is no rivalry in the Godhead, only delight and honor.” If there is such fellowship and unity amongst the Father, Son, and Spirit, would it not compel us to pursue unity with one another?  

This is fascinating.  That a God, most high, would condescend. He would come down to a people that He has been making and reigning in for Himself for right relationship since the dawn of time, and to do so, He peeled back the sky to dwell with us in the person of His Son.  That is what Paul is saying here in these few verses, that though He was in the form of God, He took on the likeness of man, laying aside everything He was due for a sinner's cross.  He was obedient to the point of death, even. Death. On a cross.  

Explanation

Often you will hear many preachers appeal to God’s love in the incarnation.  You will hear a sentiment close to, “Well, God just loved you so much that he couldn’t bear the thought of being without for all eternity.” God, indeed, is love, and He does indeed love us, but the motivation for his taking on flesh is not because you and I are just so incredibly lovely.  God dwelled among us chiefly because He is good and He is holy. 

God is not in need of our relationship.  He is desperate for nothing.  is not about a God how steps into this sinful world because He is lonely.  He does so because His very essence is holy and He is sure to redeem what it is that He has made. It is just who He is. 

In and 2 we receive an account of a Creator God who spills out majesty all over the canvas of creation.  He forms the mountains as if they were clay and He speaks forth the existence of every living creature on this earth.  And then the creation narrative culminates in the making of man.  Again, it's all rhythmic. It’s Shalom , which is Hebrew for peace.  And it's more than just this good feelin' notion of peace that we might admire today, but the connotations of this word mean complete and total harmony with everything. Once again I'll reference Matt Chandler, because I'm a millennial, and that's just what we do.  In a sermon of his, he describes this sort of escalating nature of creation.  It builds on top of one another, and the way that they text falls out it unfolds like song.

C.S. Lewis allegorizes the creation narrative in His work, The Magician’s Nephew, when explaining the foundations of Narnia.  Aslan, this radiant and shaggy-maned lion, strolls forth with his mouth broad and what bellows forward is a song that explodes creation across the world.  The children are amazed and humbled to their very core, hearing such a powerful and splendid tune, but everyone in attendance, both evil and good, became terrified with the weight of power behind the singer. 

If you're like me, you often wait for the other shoe to drop. But that's just it, there is no catch, and God's action on our behalf is purely out of grace. John says it like this, “In this love, not that we have loved God, but that God loved us in that he sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.” ()  It is not that we have done anything to merit love from our Savior, but it is His perfect nature that pleads our case. 

You say to yourself, "yeah but what is the catch?"  But that's just it, there is no catch, and God's action on our behalf is purely out of grace.  We grow skeptical because other than Christ, we know no such notion of goodness and true love as this.  The Apostle John says it like this, “In this love, not that we have loved God, but that God loved us in that he sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.” ()  It is not that we have done anything to merit love from our Savior, but it is His perfect nature that pleads our case. 

Explanation

God is not in need of our relationship.  He is desperate for nothing.  is not about a God how steps into this sinful world because He is lonely.  He does so because He is so naturally good and He is the Creator, and He is sure to redeem what it is that He has made. It is just who He is.  If you're like me, you often wait for the other shoe to drop.  You say to yourself, "yeah but what is the catch?"  But that's just it, there is no catch, and God's action on our behalf is purely out of grace.  We grow skeptical because other than Christ, we know no such notion of goodness and true love as this.  The Apostle John says it like this, “In this love, not that we have loved God, but that God loved us in that he sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.” ()  It is not that we have done anything to merit love from our Savior, but it is His perfect nature that pleads our case. 

Exposition

vv.9-11

What is the result of such an act?  What happens after such a display of selflessness and humility?  Verse 9 speaks to the exaltation of Christ and the giving of the "name above every name."  Merida speaks of the progression like this, "His incomparable humiliation leads to his super-exaltation." And we are to follow suit. Paul employs similar notions as those of Matthew.  “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” Christ’s model of humility is life-giving, not merely self-deprecating.  And exaltation and eternal presence with the Father is the result.

We will know a day when we see Christ in all His glory, because Christ has been given the name that is above every name. Paul is speaking of the personal name of God used throughout the Old Testament, Yahweh. So when Paul is saying that Christ is given the name that is above every name, Yahweh, he is shouting loud and clear that Christ is God. 

Illustration/Argumentation

This is an entirely silly comparison but once again I'm a millennial, so I'm bound to do this a time or two, for you Harry Potter fans out there, what was the moniker that people used for the villain?  "He who must not be named?"  Instead of simply using his name the people of Harry Potter's day would not even utter his name out of a fear for the power that he wielded.  Not to compare Christ to a villain because he is the antithesis of anything of the sort but the idea relates a bit here.  Orthodox Jews to this day will not even write the name Yahweh out of a fearful reverence of God; they come up with almost nicknames and symbols to reference God.  So when Paul is saying that Christ is given the name that is above every name, Yahweh, he is shouting loud and clear that Christ is God.  If there was every any doubt in your mind, Paul is doing all that he can to dispel it here saying; He is holy.  He is mighty. And He laid it all out so that His people can be with Him.

Illustration/Application

We could go on and on speaking of the supremacy of Christ, but what I hope for you today is that you hear the shout of John the Baptist from off in the distance.  "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Some of you may know the name Charles Spurgeon. He’s a very popular reference in this day and age. He preached like it was his last day, every day. But one of my favorite stories of his displays both the simplicity and the profundity of the gospel. He enters a chapel to test the acoustics of a room that he will preach in the following day, no microphones, no sound system, just the boom of his voice and the almost magical architecture of this room.  What does he say?  , “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world .” Without knowing there was a janitor in the rear of the building who heard this simple verse and returned home to surrender his life to Jesus. Why? Because Christ unites His people at the mere proclamation of His name.

Summation

This is Paul’s plea. Be of one mind, one love.  Count others more significant for yourself.  Not just to “Pay it Forward,” but because to be in Christ is to be in this community of God and to obey His will.

Challenge

Friends its no secret that we’ve seen dysfunction and disarray both in churches across our state and in our denomination at large. So I pray that when we hear of a most loving God who would humble Himself in such a way that we would be quick to follow suit. Let us link arms for the gospel and charge forth into a watching world who is in desperate need of a life-changing news of Jesus.

But there is also some of you who have not quite heard this story, or at least not this way and to you, I say that you will never know unity, solidarity, and peace like there is in Christ.  I don't mean that to sound harsh because the sweet news of the Gospel is that even as you may be encumbered with a broken and painful reality, the free gift of Christ and His Salvation is available to you here and now.  And if that is something that you wish to speak more about let's talk about that today.  Myself and a team of elders will remain after the service, and we would love to tell you about the Jesus who radically changed our lives and bound us together as brothers and sisters in His name and bids you to come join the family.

Today, count others more significant than yourself. Tomorrow… do the same. Over and over, here in our workplace, definitely in our churches, and most importantly to the countless people we desire to see come to saving faith in Jesus.

And if you are sitting there and you’ve made a profession for Christ but you’ve found yourself in a world of doubt, uncertainty, and questions, hear me now we still call you brother and sister and plead with you to come be with family.  We would love to counsel you and have you be with us just as you will be with us for all eternity, fellowshipping in heaven in the presence of our Savior.

Wherever you are today, we will wait for you as you come, but Jesus has come for you, just as you are. Let’s pray.

In the spirit of unity in Christ, I would love to open up the floor for prayer requests, Trent, would you pray for us after requests have been made?

Closing Prayer

Father,

We come to you humbly because you came to us in full humility. Your Son laid aside His due glory for a moment so that we may one day be fully immersed in it. Even now, God, you reveal yourself to us, and for that, we can never be grateful enough. So, Father, we pray that you would further bind us together as a family, to be of one mind and one love so that we can live in your name before a world that most desperately needs you. God, we thank you for Jesus, for the price that has been paid so that we can be the church, for a Gospel that can take an egregious persecutor like Paul and make him cherished son. We thank you for a Gospel that can take an egregious sinner like us, and Lord you bring us in with a spirit of adoption. There is no more wonderful new than that. Father, be with us so that we might be your Church, your most precious bride, and continue to purify us so that we might join you in holiness. It is in your holy and matchless name we pray…