The Fulfillment of Joy in a Unified Church

Philippians 2:1–4 ESV

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.

Ingredients for a Unified Church

Philippians 2:1 ESV

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

The “if” here is a positive if. It expects the clauses to be true. So, “IF” these four statements are true! Well, what are the four statements?

First three clauses could have trinitarian backgrounds -Fee

Encouragement in Jesus Christ - This is likely tied to what we talked about last week. The fact that Christ’s suffering preceded that of the Philippians…

Comfort from love (of The Father) - a little explanation here… All throughout Scripture, it is the love of the Father that drives His actions toward His people.

Nehemiah 9:17 (ESV)

They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

Isaiah 54:10 (ESV)

For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

3. The Spirit - Participation in…

Philippians 1:27 (ESV)

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

4. Any affection and sympathy - I believe this points to the interrelationships within the church.

You put the four of these together, and you have what it takes to have a healthy and unified church body. The love, guidance, comfort and support from Almighty God, and a people who love and sympathize with one another… These are base-level ingredients of a healthy church. It’s like when you’re baking cookies, right? See baking cookies for me means getting the tollhouse refrigerated cookies and throwing them in the oven. That’s just me. But there are some people who still do it the real way. Flour, eggs, butter, sugar, or something like that.

But it’s not enough to just have the ingredients, right? You have to do something with those ingredients. You gotta put em in the oven! Now, depending on the end result that you desire, you do something different with those ingredients. If you want a chewy cookie, you bake it less. If you want a fluffier cookie, use more flour, different sugars will produce different cookies, et. al.

So we have to look at what kind of church we wish to be. And this is where it can get kind of tricky, because we have to recognize our wants and God’s plans for the church body. I believe God has a plan for every church that ought to be the same, but He gives grace in other areas in which we choose to leverage the unique, collective personality He’s given our church. That’s why different churches who believe the same thing may look a little different across the nations. The urban church plant in Philadelphia will look different from Cassville. The backcountry 20-person church will look different from First Baptist Atlanta. And that’s okay!

So, moving forward, what IS important? What SHOULD Our Church look like?

What Should Our Church Look Like?

Philippians 2:2 ESV

complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Notice, first off, the Paul talks about being of the same mind TWICE. And he’s mentioned it earlier in his letter, too. Unity, unity, unity. Paul really wants this church at Philippi to stay unified! This is the baking to the ingredients. Same mind. Same love. Full accord.

For a people to be of the same mind, it requires a common and agreed-upon goal. You might say in football, the team is all of one mind. That offense has one mind to get that ball into that endzone. But it doesn’t stop there, much like different churches have one common goal: To make Jesus Christ known across the world. That one mind can’t stop at the goal, however. The church ought to be of the same mind in their approach to their end goal. An offense where the base commitment is, “Hey, let’s just do what we can to get the ball in the endzone” would be a very inefficient offense. No, the team has to go a step further. The team has to be on the same play, every one of them in their minds and actions.

The same is true for the church. We cannot just say, “Okay everyone, let’s win people to Jesus” and not have solid action steps to follow that. That’s not a church that goes about “of the same mind.” That’s chaos.

Now, the football team has many positions. You have the line. You have the running back. You have the wide receiver. You have the quarterback, the halfback, the kicker, the placeholder, and so on. And not everyone has to touch the ball to make the play happen. As a matter of fact, there are those who never touch the ball! But that doesn’t make them any less important to the cause.

Being of one accord doesn’t just mean having the same end goal. It means having an established and agreed-upon plan. It means everyone on the team working toward that goal in their own way according to their gifting and context.

So who are we, Cassville? Having experienced our church for the last year, I know there are a bunch of people hungry for our church to have an identity, a mission, and a purpose. If you don’t see that truth, it may be for a few reasons. Maybe you’ve been here a while and you see the purpose in the relationships, or perhaps you know your purpose in the church. This is the established church member.

Perhaps it’s because you’re pursuing what you believe the church’s purpose is. You could be a maverick, going out and just doing what you think we ought to be doing. Maybe nobody’s really following. That could be because you haven’t included anyone in the journey, or maybe you’re not headed in the same direction as the church body at large.

Simply put, whatever our church looks like, it’s going to have to be because we have an agreed-upon mission and vision. Who can Cassville be? What can Cassville accomplish?

Next Sunday, at our church conference, I’m going to offer a first-glance at our church’s mission and vision. And then we’re going to task the nominating committee to appoint a group of people to discern together what our church’s mission and vision statement will be. And that’s not going to be something a group of people just puts together by-fiat. It’s going to be a process by which we hear from the church body and develop a sense of who we are what we are to do!

What Do I Bring to the Table?

Philippians 2:3–4 ESV

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.

Are we resolved to follow God together? To the point that we are of the same mind and in full accord? When the scriptures speak of being in full accord, it’s again, this sense of being resolved to all be part of the same movement.

If you have authority problems, you’re going to have problems with this.

If you have a rebellious attitude, you’re going to have problems with this.

If you can’t be a team player, you’re going to have problems with this.

If you can’t make decisions based on what’s best for everyone around you instead of just yourself, you’re going to have problems with this.

Anyone who seeks their own gain from the church will have great difficulty with the sense of being “of one accord.”

Why is that?

Simply put, it’s this way: If you are the type of person with selfish ambition, you will inevitably be at odds with the church. If you are the type that has to have control, you will never be at peace with the church, because the church does not answer to you. If you are the type of person who has to be the center of attention, your good relationship with the church will wear thin when the next big personality walks in the room.

The self-centered will not last in a healthy church… Not without putting to death their selfish ambition, and putting on the humility that counts others more significant than our own selves.

Galatians 6:2 (ESV)

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Communal command, but individual responses make up communal obedience.

See, what Paul is asking of Christ-followers is that they follow Christ! Instead of taking on the command to love one another and lift one another up in our times of need, we buy a nice little cross-shaped piece of wood that says, “faith” on it. Nothing against those things, I just think we can mask some really important commands of Jesus with wall decor.

It works something like this…

VISUAL ILLUSTRATION OF SELFLESSNESS SPREADING THROUGH THE CHURCH.

ON THE FLIP SIDE, SELFLESSNESS MEETING DEAD-ENDS.

“It’s not done my way.” “No one noticed me.” “I’ve been here for this many years!”

Those who choose to resist selflessness find themselves self-selecting outside of the fellowship.

This is the fate that befalls those who choose not to engage in the work of selflessness. The work of counting one another more significant than themselves. It’s not about our estimation of them… We shouldn’t put others on a pedestal. We note that all are fallen and in need of a savior.

So, notice the word, “humility.” What is humility? It’s a proper orientation of oneself in a setting. C.S. Lewis has a famous quote… “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”

So, too, in this passage, we can understand what it means to consider others as more significant than ourselves. Namely, that we look to the needs of others and ask FIRST, “How can I meet their needs? How can I care for them?” Then we go about our business.

Isn’t that what Christ did for us on the Cross? What does Christ deserve? Glory and praise. What did He get here on this earth? People who would follow Him one moment, then turn on Him and put Him on a cross. In one of my favorite hymns, In Christ Alone, this verse is sung:

This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save: Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied – For every sin on Him was laid; Here in the death of Christ I live.

It was out of humility He did that. It was out of considering our need more than what He deserved. God looked down on His earth and He saw His people scattered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. You ever feel that way? Feel harassed? Helpless? Can’t seem to get your feet up under you? The hits just keep coming? The Lord sees that. And He sent His Son, Jesus for you.

Even on your worst day, God still chooses you.