Preached Sunday, April 22, 2012
from
Philippians 2:1-5
Theme: The strength of our unity depends on keeping Christ at the center of our fellowship.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
We return this morning to our study of the book of Philippians—the New Testament ‘handbook’ on joy. Specifically, we come to the first few verses of chapter 2. It describes a wonderful reality for us concerning the body of Christ. But before we look at it, I’d like to share with you—in quick, ‘snap-shot’ form—some of the ways that I have personally experienced that reality over the past week.
The first thing I’d like to share with you sounds a little self-focused; and I’m sorry for that. But I think it really serves as a great illustration. It has to do with the care that several of you have shown to my wife and me during a difficult time in her illness. Word apparently got out that I wasn’t doing a very good job of making meals for myself. Most of them had been microwave ‘steamer’ dinners—easy to make, but hardly much more nutritional value than the box they come in. And so, over the past few weeks, several of the wonderful cooks in our church have lovingly prepared meals and brought them by. It’s been a big help not having to worry about dinner. The food has been absolutely wonderful. And what’s more, someone pulled me aside the other day to say, “You know; you’re starting to look a little better.”
I was especially blessed by one very precious mom-type in our church who told me that dinner was in the church refrigerator and said, “Now don’t forget it, Dear.” Then she seemed a little embarrassed at calling her pastor “Dear”; but she shrugged and said that she thought of me as one of her kids anyway. The food was certainly nice; but it was made even more wonderful by the love that came with it. (And at my age, being thought of as someone’s “kid” is pretty cool too.)
Later on in the week, I had an opportunity to attend a memorial service. It was for the very young wife of a very young friend of mine from the seminary who had died very unexpectedly. I watched as people within the body of Christ at large gather around this remarkable young man and love him through this unspeakably difficult trial. He was so sufficiently buoyed-up by the prayers of others that he was able to give a wonderful and Christ-honoring eulogy for his wife. As I watched, I became convinced that he was in the very best place to be cared for in one of the most difficult trials imaginable. I truly saw the Body of Christ in action that evening.
The pastor who gave the sermon at this memorial is also a friend of mine. He had only recently graduated from seminary to become the pastor of his church. And he had only recently begun to work in partnership with this young man in ministry, before this tragedy struck. Unless you’ve been a pastor, you couldn’t possibly know how difficult it can be to stand up and give a message at a time like that. But God’s hand was on him; and he spoke comfort from God’s word to a group of around three hundred people with the bold confidence of a seasoned preacher. He truly ministered to every grieving family member and friend in that auditorium. Everyone came away with God’s perspective in the midst of a time of deep sorrow—and were truly fed God’s word.
During the reception time afterward, I had a chance to talk to some missionary friends. They are members of this young man’s church; and not long ago, this older missionary was pastoring the church. He had graciously stepped-down from his position so that this younger man could become the pastor. But again, you have to have been a pastor to know how hard it is for one pastor to pass the baton on to another—and still remain in the church without letting go of that role. There’s always a little unspoken tension between the former pastor and the new pastor. But after that wonderful sermon, the older pastor pulled the new pastor aside and told him that he is now absolutely convinced that he is the man God has called to minister to that church family; and that this new pastor can count on the older man’s full support. I heard about this conversation later—after I had watched as the two men embraced and wept together. That older brother gave the younger brother a renewed sense of liberty in his ministry; and the younger minster told me later that it was a day that he will never forget.
The next day, I had lunch with a dear friend. We laughed together, talked about theology together, shared stories together, and then went out to his car together to pray for his battle with cancer. He and his wife have to face a lot of uncertainties in the weeks and months ahead. There’s no real certainty just how the cancer treatments might affect his ability to work; or even how effective they will be. But I am so very blessed by his confidence in the Lord—and in his complete readiness to accept whatever the Lord has in store for him. I was hoping to be an encouragement to him; but he greatly encouraged me instead.
And then, the very next day, I had lunch with a group of church leaders. (You may notice that a lot of these stories involve food.) There were six of us from a variety of different churches and denominational backgrounds. Some of us were pastors, others of us were worship leaders. Most members of the group were Arminian in their theology, some of us were Calvinists. (Well; actually, I’m the only Calvinist in the group. But I like to tell the rest of them that God decreed from before time that I would be their friend.) Some of us grew up in Christian homes; others of us had come to Christ from out of a dark life of sin. Many in the group felt the freedom to drink beer during our lunch; others of us were only having a soft-drink. (Well; actually, I was the only one having a soft-drink. But I believe that God decreed from before time that I would only have a soft-drink.) Most of the members of the group are Pentecostal. One is not; but the others seem to put up with him anyway. But with all the differences between us, there was a wonderful unity of love in Christ. We talked together of the difference that knowing Jesus makes in our lives during deep times of trial; and how we can encourage each other to follow Him faithfully. We talked together about how we have found that many Christians around the world, and in many different cultures, are united by the truths declared in the Apostolic Creed.
One member of our group shared a story of a trip he took to Mexico some years ago. Apparently he and a group of others were strolling nearby a church. The doors of churches in Mexico, he said, are almost always opened; and from one of the open doors, he and his companions could hear music playing. Even though the music was strange to my friend, he could tell—unmistakably—that it was worship music. Encouraging the others, they all went inside and found that it was a healing service. The others in this group were sort of standing back and watching; but this pastor friend of mine felt drawn to come up closer to were the people in the church were participating in the service. He said that the pastor of this church looked up at him; and at that instant—without a single word being shared between them—there was an immediate bond of unity established between them in the Holy Spirit. They both recognized it. And the pastor of this church beckoned my pastor friend to come forward, lay hands on some of the people, and participate with him in ministering to them.
I called my friend and asked if I may share this story; and he enthusiastically gave me permission. But he called me back again just a few minutes later to tell me one more very important part of the story. That group of friend that were with him—that stood back and watched—were not believers. And when he came back them again after ministering for fifteen minutes or so with this other pastor, he found that they were all weeping. God had been touching their hearts through all this; and they were seeing His hand at work.
And now, after that amazing week, here I am again in my own precious church home—joining in the worship with my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. The Body of Christ is amazing. And the bond of unity we enjoy in Christ is truly precious.
* * * * * * * * * *
Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians about that unity. It was something very precious to him too. The book of Philippians, as you recall, is a book about joy. And in this morning’s passage, Paul speaks of his own experience of joy. He shows repeatedly in this letter that he was a man characterized by this joy. But he lets the Philippians know that his joy is deeply connected to their experience of unity in Christ; and seeing his brothers and sisters in a state of unity was what would complete his own experience of joy. And so, he writes to them and says;
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (2:1-4).
Look at how that passage begins. In the translation I’m using, it starts off with the word “Therefore”. Not all translations of the Bible that are being used here this morning have the word “Therefore”; but it’s truly there in the original language. And it points our attention backwards to what Paul had just said.
In Chapter 1:27-30, Paul had written about how these Philippian believers were to be careful to show forth the reality of their Christian faith in a way testifies to the outside world of the truth of the gospel. He told them;
Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me (1:27-30).
And in this morning’s passage, he is talking about how they need to minister to one another during those times when they undergo conflicts in this world and suffer for the cause of Christ. They need to be a comfort and support to one another. “Therefore”, he says, “fulfill my joy”; as he goes on to explain to them what their mutual love for one another is to look like.
In other words, as the last passage had to do with how they were to conduct themselves in a way that testified to the truth of the gospel to this world, this passage has to do with how they bear that testimony in their relationship with one another.
This is so very important, dear brothers and sisters! I know personally some people who have a very difficult time setting foot inside a church—and perhaps feel that they will never set foot in a church again—because of the way they saw professing Christians treating each other. If we’re not treating each other with love—if we’re not truly expressing a bond of unity in Christ that is genuine and enduring—then even people within our own ranks could be tempted to wonder if the whole thing is real or not.
And look especially at verse 5. After speaking of the unity we should display in our fellowship with each other, Paul stresses the Person who stands at the very center of that unity. He writes, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus . . .” (v. 5). Our unity is humanly impossible to maintain—and even more impossible to bring about—unless Jesus Christ Himself, and His example of sacrificial love for us—stands at the very center of it all.
This passage shows us that the strength of our unity depends on keeping Christ at the center of our fellowship.
* * * * * * * * * *
Let’s look at it a little closer. And let’s begin by looking at the first verse and at . . .
1. THE SPIRITUAL PROVISIONS THAT UNITE US (v. 1).
Paul mentions these great spiritual provisions when he writes; “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy . . .”
Now; the way he expresses them is as if he were asking a question—”If there are any of these things . . .” But it seems pretty plain that he means for us to go on and say, “. . . And there most certainly are!” They constitute some of the deep spiritual treasures we have received individually from God through our relationship with Jesus Christ by faith.
Consider, for example, our consolation in Christ. The word that Paul uses can be translated “comfort” or “encouragement”. It’s the very same word that Paul used in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5;
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
Have you ever received comfort and consolation from Christ? Have you been comforted by the fact that your sins are forgiven in Him? In some of your deepest trials and darkest moments, have you felt Him near you—to encourage and uplift you? I have too. In fact, I’ll bet several of us can say that we have experienced “abundant consolation” through Jesus Christ. We certainly have that in common!
Consider also that another thing we have in common is our comfort of love. What a wonderful thing it is to know that God the Father loves us as His own children—and will never cease loving us! Did you know that Jesus once told His disciples that they didn’t have to ask Him to pray to the Father for them and ask anything for them on their behalf? He told them that, because of what He was about to do for them on the cross, they could go to the Father directly;
“. . . for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God” (John 16:27).
And just think; if I am someone who is deeply loved by God the Father through Jesus His Son, and you also are someone who is deeply loved by God the Father through Jesus His Son, then we have something very wonderful in common! We share together in the comfort of love!
Another thing we share together is our fellowship of the Spirit. I have the Holy Spirit indwelling me; and He enjoys that fellowships with me constantly. And if you are in Christ by faith, then He dwells in you and enjoys constant fellowship with you too! I don’t have more of Him living in me than you do, and you do not have more of Him living in you than I do. And if I am yielded to His influence in me, and if you are yielded to His influence in you, then we are both yielded to the influence of the same divine Person! As Paul wrote in Galatians 5:22-26;
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another (Galaitians 5:22-26).
If we both are walking in the Spirit—“keeping in step” with Him, as it is in the original language—we’d never fight, or be envious, or provoke one another, or boast arrogantly against one another. We’d be united because He would be ruling us both. What a wonderful unity of fellowship we share in common with the Holy Spirit!
Now; it might be that there are times when you might be tempted to think that you are better than me. And if you are, don’t worry—I’m sometimes tempted to think that I’m better than you. But when we both remember the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us—a sacrifice made possible by the love of the Father for unworthy sinners like us; and that is applied to us by the wonderful Holy Spirit who indwells us, then we remember that another thing we have in common is God’s display of affection and mercy. We are both broken sinners who are in need of God’s grace—and we have both received of of that grace fully. We are two people who have been looked upon by God with tender pity, and who have been shown mercy because of our sins and failures. What Romans 5:8 says applies equally to us both:
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
I have no right to think that I’m better than you; and you have no right to think that you are better than me. We are both utterly unworthy sinners, who have both have received God’s affection and mercy through Jesus Christ.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Those are the great spiritual provisions that unite us together. And we share them with every other Christian in this world—no matter what their race, or culture, or background. “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy . . .”, Paul writes; and we would have to agree that there most certainly is! I think that we do much for our bond of love together in Christ when we think often of these things that we have in common.
And because of these wonderful things that we already share in common, Paul could go on to urge us to ‘fulfill his joy’; and to pursue . . .
2. THE PRACTICES THAT ARE TO CHARACTERIZE SUCH UNITY (vv. 2-4).
These practices are the logical outflow of the spiritual provisions that we share in common. One of the first practices he mentions is that there is to be a oneness of mind toward each other. He writes, “[F]ulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (v. 2). It’s as if Paul is urging us—because of our “oneness” of experience in God’s grace—to be one in the way we think. We’re to be “like” each other in our beliefs, because we base those beliefs on the same promises from God’s word. We’re to be “like” each other in our love, because we all love the same Lord Jesus first of all. We’re to be “like” each other in our sense of purpose, because we don’t have any different agenda for each other than what God wants for us. We’re to be “of one mind” in that we see ourselves as a body—and think in terms of “us”.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t, at times, have disagreements in some of the ways we understand what the Bible teaches. God’s word allows for legitimate ranges of differences in interpretation and in our understanding of how we are to put its commands into practice. Nor does this mean that we lose our individual identities and become a bunch of clones of one another. It simply means that we’re willing to put up with the trivial differences between each other; because in the most fundamental basics—in the things that truly matter—we are of one mind. As Paul wrote a few verses back;
Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel . . . (1:27).
Second, Paul says that we’re to be relating to one another with humility. He writes, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (v. 3). He gives us a negative aspect to this command—to let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. We’re to have no selfish agendas with each other, or separate ourselves from one another on the basis of some ‘partisan’ spirit. And of course, that’s hard to do; but it can be done if you just choose to do absolutely nothing at all. But the next part of the command requires a positive action—that we, in lowliness of mind, esteem each other as better than ourselves. And that’s contrary to our nature.
But isn’t it exactly what our Lord commanded us to do? He told His disciples;
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28).
And third, he notes that we should practice mutual care for one another. He writes, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (v. 4). I appreciate that Paul doesn’t say that we’re to look out for each other’s interests instead of our own. He assumes that we will take responsibility for our own concerns. But we’re not do be thinking about our own concerns only! We’re to also have one another’s concerns in mind, and to take each other into account by serving one another.
I have to admit, I need a lot of growth in that. All to often, I’m just not thinking about other people’s needs. It’s not that I am deliberately choosing to disregard them. It’s just that I sometimes get so focused on my own needs that I don’t notice the needs of others. And that’s why I am so grateful for others in the Body of Christ who have “the gift of mercy”; and who can point out to me the needs of others in ways that I wouldn’t otherwise see. That way, we can all do together what Paul says elsewhere;
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
* * * * * * * * * *
So; because of the spiritual provisions that we enjoy in Christ—the wonderful things we have in common—we are to behave accordingly. We are to put “unity” into practice by pursing a oneness of mind with each other, relating to each other in a spirit of humility, and by serving each other with a sense of mutual care for one another’s needs.
And once again, note that—in this context—Paul says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus . . .” This reminds us that Jesus Christ is . . .
3. THE PERSON WHO MUST BE KEPT AT THE CENTER OF OUR UNITY (v. 5).
What was “this mind” that we are to make sure is in us “which was also in Christ Jesus”? How did Jesus Himself exemplify the things that we’re to do in order to put our unity into practice? Paul goes on—in one of the most majestic passages in the New Testament—to tell us that Jesus was the one
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (vv. 6-11).
If Jesus would love us so much—and humble Himself to that degree in order to serve us—how can we not humble ourselves in love and service to one another? Truly; the more He is kept at the center of our relationship with one another, the stronger our unity in Him will be!