The Christian Model

We are continuing the study of Philippians and we will be in Chapter 2 tonight. There is a continuation from last week about being unification. The church is unified through Christ and the model for which we live is the model that Paul lays out in his letter. We as followers of Christ should have unity, Humility, Christianity.

Let us begin to look at the plan for the Model Christian: The first action is Unity:

1. Unity

Philippians 2:1–2 NLT

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Remember last week what we studied… Suffering is a privilege for those who are saved. That is a difficult pill to swallow but Paul doesn’t stop there. He now goes into questions to ponder and remember their salvation.

Paul starts off with a number of questions but the questions are there to prove a point.

We believe and know there is encouragement in Christ.

The encouragement in Christ is that anyone can be saved regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, past life, or current life.

We believe and know there is comfort in his love!

The comfort from His love is the love we recieve through us giving our lives to Christ and the reason we can be saved. God loved us in spite of us and sent his son as a sacrifice for us! What a comforting love that is!

We believe and know there is fellowship in his spirit.

This fellowship in His Spirit is the source of unity within the church. This fellowship is us being likeminded and worshipping the only True God.

Since we believe and know that these things why are we so divided in a church?

That is the question that Paul is asking. Because he wants the church to ponder their own lives in order to point them to Christ.

These questions point us to our faith in Christ because we know that all of these answers are yes except possibly the last question.

The Philippian Church has experience his comfort, they have experienced his fellowship, they have experienced his encouragement.

This things are not abstract concepts but realities that they hold onto which lead to Paul to encouraging them to remain unified since they have seen that God is true.

When we realize that we are all saved in the same way and we are all worshipping the same God we then achieve unity. The unity that Paul is writing about is unity in the fact that the church is fighting for the same goal.

Which is to make Christ Known.

Christianity is not a single person life style but a lifelong endeavor with the church. This is the reason that CHUCH is so important.

The crazy thing about the church though and the reason that the church can remain unified through difficulty is through the humility that the church embodies.

The Christian Model begins with Unity and the following action is Humility

2. Humility

Philippians 2:3–5 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

Humility is something absolutely everyone struggles with! This is due to all of us being selfish people who only want what benefits ourselves. This is not a new thing that we struggle with but selfishness is the original sin that caused the entire world to fall.

Adam and Eve selfishly wanted to be like God and partook of the fruit. Their selfishness doomed all of creation.

Paul states DON’T BE SELFISH!

This selfishness happens when we place ourselves higher than we ought to be. This selfishness happens when we think we deserve more due to who we are.

This happens when we have to have a new car because our friend got the new car. OR when I have to have a the newest IPhone because Aiden has the newest IPhone. This is trying to keep up the appearance in order to look better than we truly are. We become selfish when we want something that we don’t need in order to appear better.

The problem is that we are obtaining something that only benefits us!

Paul also states DON’T TRY TO IMPRESS OTHERS.

This happens when we put others down in order to build ourselves up or when we become conceited.

We put people down in order to build our selves up or we boast about ourselves.

Selfishness and conceit are halted when we begin thinking of other more than ourselves. This can only be done through our love for Christ.

When we fall in love with God we develop an awe in which we fear him through respect.

Let’s look at this awe in a way we understand. If you have our cat Elliott you may play with him and fight with him with your hand. He’s a cat. But lets take another cat.. a lion at a zoo. You are not going to go in that cage and start fighting with the lion because you know that lion will tear you up if you fight with it.

C.S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia makes the most accurate depiction of God in the character Aslan.

Mr. Beaver is describing Aslan to the kids and they are talking about Aslan being a lion and here is the conversation.

“Ooh! said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake.” Said Mrs. Beaver; “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Our idea of God is a skewed idea of God in which we look a God who we can play with rather than fall down and worship out of Awe for him!

There is an awe that comes over a person when they meet someone or something so much more powerful than themselves. That awe can be seen as fear. Aslan in Narnia is brings about fear to the people in his presence.

God is more Powerful than a lion and we are living for him. This awe should surround us constantly.

This awe brings about humility because of the questions that he brought up at the beginning of this chapter. If we believe that God brings comforting, encouragement, and fellowship then we are in aww of him!

This awe brings about a humility because we realize we do nothing on our own. We are not able to do anything on our own because God creates and controls all things. This should humble us completely

The Christian Model begins with Unity followed by humility but the final action is Christianity.

3. Christianity

Philippians 2:6–11 NLT

6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The reason behind the awe is that Christ demonstrated his humility and unity for all to see.

This is the key factor in the entire book of Philippians. This section in Philippians is considered to be the Christiological Hymn. The entirety of Christ is summed up in this song.

Jesus who is fully God came down as human while still fully being God.

By doing so he did not use him being God to take the world by storm but rather he being God humbly entered into the world. He entered the world to a poor family but in reality he was the King of the Cosmos.

Jesus came not to rule the world with an iron fist but to serve all. The comparison that Paul was making is that we should not live a life to exalt ourselves but be like Christ serve others.

Jesus came to this earth being God but veiled his divine attributes to take on humanity.

Bryan Chapell illustrates the idea of Jesus “emptying Himself” by relaying a story from an African missionary. Let me paraphrase it. In this particular part of Africa the chief is the strongest man in the village. As the chief, he also wears a very large headdress and ceremonial robes. One day a man carrying water out of the shaft of a deep well fell and broke his leg, and lay helpless at the bottom of the well. To get down to the bottom, one would have to climb down, using the alternating slits that go all the way down the deep well, and then climb back up. Because no one could carry the helpless man up like this, the chief was summoned. When he saw the plight of the man, he laid aside his headdress and his robe, climbed all the way to the bottom, put the injured man on himself, and brought him to safety. He did what no other man could do. That’s what Jesus has done for us. He came to rescue us. And He laid aside His heavenly glory, like the chief did with his headdress, in order to save us. Now, did the chief cease being the chief when he laid aside his headdress? Of course not. Did Jesus cease being God when He came to rescue us? Of course not (Chapell, Using Illustrations, 11–12).

Jesus gave up his rights as God and humbled himself to the point that he sacrificed his life for the world. Jesus humbled himself to die on the cross. Nobody could humble Jesus.

When we look at Jesus it is us who gets humbled. We are not to look at Jesus and think poor little Jesus died through force.

NOOOOOO! Jesus humbled himself to give his life for us. It is now us who must humbly come to Jesus and live for Him!

Through him humbly entering this world and dying the death he didn’t deserve he is exalted above all!

Jesus is exalted to the highest place and given the name only reserved for Him. The name that is reserved only for him is Lord. Jesus Christ is the LORD of all.

Jesus descended to the Earth and ascend above all. There is no other name above the name of Jesus. There are no equals there are no rivals. Jesus is God and Jesus is above all!

Jesus not only humbled himself to the cross but Jesus also united the entirety of creation to the point where everyone in heaven earth and hell will bow to Jesus proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord.

All people will proclaim that Jesus is Lord whether that be humbly worshipping Him as Lord now or eternally worshipping Him Face to Face.

OR angrily and in despair proclaiming him as LORD.

Every knee will bow to worship Him because he is exalted.

Do you believe that Jesus is LORD you either will now or you will later?