2018-06-10 Philippians 2:1 UNITY THROUGH HUMILITY (1): THE MOTIVE

UNITY THROUGH HUMILITY (1): THE MOTIVE (Philippians 2:1) June 10, 2018 Read Phil 2:1-2 – A deer and a lion enter a café. The deer says, “I’ll have a bowl of hay and a side of corn.” Waiter says, “Okay, what will your friend have?” The deer replies, “Nothing.” “Isn’t he hungry?” The deer replies, “Are you kidding? If he were hungry, would I be sitting here?” The church has the opposite problem – too many hungry people. What do I mean? Gal 5:15: “But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.” Christians eating one another! Bad menu! The theme of Phil 1 is “Christ first.” The theme of Phil 2 is “Others second.” Two major problems face any church – lack of unity, and departure from the Word. Both were starting in Philippi, and Paul wants to nip them in the bud. Phil 2:1-11 deals with unity. It’s one of the greatest passages in the Bible occasioned bc 2 otherwise stalwart women, faithful co-laborers with Paul were fighting. Thus 4:2) I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.” That’s where Paul is heading. But before he gets there, he sets their small struggle against the Big Picture, so that when he calls them out specifically they’ll respond positively– just as I hope we will. The theme here is easy, involving 2 commands. 2) complete my joy by being of the same mind.” So – be of one mind. What mind? 5) Have this mind in yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” The message is unity – “have one mind, the mind of Christ.” Not the mind of Euodia or of Syntyche. Not the mind of Clement or Lydia or anyone else in Philippi. Not even the mind of Paul, but the mind of Christ. True unity is exactly that – the mind of Christ. But Paul adds a twist. There are many roads to unity. A tyrant might impose unity. That happens in a lot of churches where the pastor is dictator. Others negotiate unity. You give on this, I’ll give on that. But Paul’s got another way – a harder way. V. 3: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Unity thru humility – deferring to the interests and opinions of others. You may think you have the mind of Christ. But so does the other person. So humbly defer. If they are wrong, God is perfectly capable of producing needed change. That’s a tough assignment. So Paul goes deep. Great theology leading to great submission leading to great doxology -- praise to God instead of us. How do we get to unity through humility? Paul’s tells us: The Motive (1): The 1 Mission (2): The Means (3-4): and The Model (5-11). This passage is so rich. Today we look at the motive. Unity will never come out of a sense of duty. Unity comes when we treasure the gifts we’ve received from God – Consolation, Comfort, Companionship and Compassion. When we truly understand those, we will be on our way to unity thru humility! I. Consolation in Christ 1) So if there is any encouragement [or consolation] in Christ.” In English this reads like maybe we’ve had encouragement in Christ, maybe not. Not in Greek. It’s a first class “if” condition which assumes the fact. It could be translated, “Since there is encouragement in Christ.” All four items in this verse are assumed by Paul to be true. You’ve received this – so act like this. “Encouragement” -- παρακλησις – a word Jesus uses elsewhere to describe the HS – παράκλητος – helper or comforter. One who comes alongside. So Paul is saying, “Here’s your first motivation – the consolation of Christ coming alongside you to comfort and help.” Paul never thought of Jesus as merely a historical figure. To him, Jesus was as real and immediate as the hand in front of his face. Jesus is a real presence in the life of any true follower of Christ. We get Christ’s consolation the moment we accept Him as Lord. That answers life’s biggest question -- where will I spend eternity and with whom? There’s not greater consolation than knowing heaven is in your future! Jesus told the thief on the cross? “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lu 23:43). What consolation for a man who minutes before had no hope whatsoever. He must have been staggered by that promise and the realization that his eternal future was assured. Completely dazzled! Every believer has that promise. “Heaven is yours!” Compared to that, the little things we fight over are small potatoes. We need to revel in what we have in Him. If we trust Him for our eternal future, can’t we trust Him by giving way to another on an issue of minor importance? Really? And it’s not just what He did in that moment of conversion. When Jesus came alongside us to save us, He came alongside for good! Heb 13:5c: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” His “alongsidedness” is not for an hour or a day or a year; it’s forever. Through thick and thin, there He is. Whether you feel Him or not, there He is. The one constant in a believer’s life is Jesus – felt or not! Prov 18:24b: “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” That’s pretty close, Friends. 2 A little boy was afraid of the dark. So when Mom asked him to sweep the porch one dark night, he voiced his fear. Mom said, “Billy, don’t be afraid of the dark. Jesus is there. He’ll look after you.” Billy said, “Are you sure He’s out there?” “Yes, I’m sure. Here’s everywhere, always protecting you.” Billy thought for a minute, then cracking the door, he called out, “Jesus, if you’re out there, would you mind handing me the broom?” His faith wasn’t quite up to his knowledge. But Paul wants ours to be. Take encouragement in Christ, not in having to be right; He’ll take it from there. II. Comfort From God’s Love Next Paul says, “If there is any comfort from love, and I assume there is, you Philippians have experienced it.” This is the love of God – not the love of one believer for another, nor even Paul’s love for them. Notice that Christ is in the first phrase and the Spirit in the third. So, here, Paul is reminding them of what an overwhelming experience the Father’s love has been in their lives. God did not love us because we were loveable. We weren’t, and we’re not! But God does not love for what He finds in us; He loves for what He finds in Himself. Thus the wonderful verse: Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were yet sinners – still reeking of selfish ambition and rebellion God still determined to love us. It’s the cross where love finds its fullest expression in human history. In the movie Taken, Liam Neeson plays Brian Mills, retired CIA, whose daughter, Kim, is kidnapped while vacationing in Paris. On a phone call he promises to come for her. He becomes a sleepless force of nature as he singlemindedly devotes himself to finding and rescuing her – dispatching numerous thugs and degenerates along the way. Finally, almost dead from injury and exhaustion, he finds and rescues his daughter, after which she says, “Daddy, you came for me.” He replies simply, “I told you I would.” That’s the cross, except the rescuer actually does die – and listen carefully – the one rescued is not a beloved daughter, but the evil rebels the father fought all along. That’s who He is and that’s who we were – brought together only by infinite love! And Paul’s saying, “If you’ve been loved like that, how could you possibly withhold love to a brother or sister in Christ over some petty detail? How could you destroy unity for the sake of a selfish desire to be right? How could you?” II Cor 5:14, “For the love of Christ controls us.” Be controlled by the love of Christ, not the love of being right! Paul never got over God 3 choosing a horribly misguided murderer like himself. Never got over the love of God. Have we gotten over the love of God? Has it become passe? I must tell you that if you are breaking the unity of the church on other than moral or theologically blasphemous grounds, then it is not the love of God controlling you. The love of God would never go there. Let the love of God overwhelm you again. Take comfort there. Let it drive your existence. This is exactly why Paul prayed for the Ephesians in 3:19 “and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” If God’s love is our motivation for living, unity will be a non-issue. III. Companionship in the Spirit If there is any “participation in the Spirit”, and I assume there is. Participation translates κοινωνια – fellowship. We fellowship with the HS! That’s high company! Paul says in II Cor 13:14: “The grace (or encouragement) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Why can believers be one with each other as with no one else? Because we have a common bond – the indwelling HS. Paul assumes this always. He asks the confused Galatians (3:2): “2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” They may have been confused about how they got the HS, but that they had Him there was no doubt. To the hopelessly carnal Corinthians: I Cor 12:13: “13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” Believers have this in common. They all have the HS – all of Him. He is not divided and you get half now and half later. He is all there indwelling every believer. Rom 8:9: “If anyone have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” You cannot be a Christian without having the HS. So Paul can say, “If there is any participation in the Spirit, and I assume there is, be of one mind!” The logic is clear. If we all have the HS, and are submissive to His will, there can be no infighting. The HS will not be fighting against Himself. If there is strife and dissension, someone’s fighting the indwelling HS to whom they have sworn loyalty as a believer. Self has assumed the throne again and the HS has been pushed aside. He will not be giving mixed messages. Paul’s point here is that true Spirit-filled believers will not be at odds with each other. They have the unifying internal pull of the HS. Think of a bag of 4 marbles. They are different sizes and colors and composition but all packed together in the bag – bound together by the container. But if the bag is opened or ripped apart, marbles spill everywhere. External bonds can break. But now think of a magnet placed in a pile of iron shavings. By their very nature, the shavings respond to the power of the magnet and are drawn together. That’s Paul’s picture. Christians fellowshipping in the HS rather than resisting Him will be drawn together -- seeking His program, not theirs. God Himself will lead them to be of one mind. Our fellowship in the Spirit will bring us together as we seek His will, not our own. IV. Compassion Overall “Affection and sympathy” – Affection – bowels or viscera, seat of emotions to ancients – much like we would use the word “heart”. “Sympathy” – Elsewhere translated the “mercies of God” (Rom 12:1; II Cor 1:3). These are summary words, intended to remind the Philippians of God’s great care for them. The consolation in Christ, love of the Father, fellowship in the Spirit all culminate in the heartfelt love of God for them. Paul is replaying on the inner screens of their hearts the compassion that God has shown them – and then asking them to show the same to others. He’s urging their hearts to synchronize with the heartbeat of God. If they’ll do that, the infighting will be at an end. God’s compassion. We’ve largely lost our sense of that. Modern writers suggest Christ’s death for us demonstrates our self-worth. One writer says, "Of course, the greatest demonstration of the person's worth to God was shown in giving us his Son." That’s an incredibly self-serving statement. God loved us, yes. But Jesus didn’t die for us because we were worthy; He died for us to make us worthy. The cross was a demonstration of God’s love, compassion, mercy and goodness – not ours. Our condition in God’s eyes is defined in Rom 3:12: “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Jesus didn’t die in denial of that condition; He died to fix that condition for all who would believe. A recent newscast reported the arraignment of a serial killer who has admitted to at least 15 murders. Bail was set at $6 million. So, does that make him the $6 million man? He’d be worth a lot more to society than most of us, right? The bail doesn’t reflect the value of the murderer, but the severity of his crime. And Jesus’ death is not a statement of our worth but of the depth of our guilt. God loved us yes, but not because we earned it! We are saved because of something good in God, not something good in us. Once we get 5 how far we’ve fallen, and how high He has lifted us, our lives will be driven by a whole new motivation – greater than any other in the world. Conc – Years ago the czar of Russia had a friend who died and left his son in the care of the czar. The czar raised this young man – clothed him, fed him, educated him, and loved him. He became an accountant and joined the army. But he began to gamble and soon had large debts he could not repay. In desperation he began to embezzle army funds. But his actions soon caught up with him. He was staring at the books one night, but seeing now way out, he pulled his gun to kill himself. Lacking nerve, he began to drink to overcome his fear. But before he could take his life, he drank himself to sleep. Well, the czar was a bit paranoid, so he used to go about in a corporal’s uniform to check on morale and hear what people thought of him. This night, he found the young man asleep over his books. It didn’t take long to determine what was happening. He added up the debt, then wrote a note: “I will make good this entire debt.” He signed his name, sealed it with his signet ring and left. When the young man awoke and found the note he couldn’t believe it. He the czar had seen everything, knew the absolute worst about him, and yet had paid his entire debt. Well, that’s the gospel, Beloved. And Paul is saying, “Remember, dear friends? Remember what God has done for you? Remember His grace and compassion and love? How He knows the worst about you, but sent his own Son to pay your debt? Remember? Good. I want you to revel in it – and then I want you to go out and treat others likewise. The gospel wasn’t just for then; it’s for all time. Live it out.” Let’s pray. 6