Philippians 2:1-2 - Striving For Christian Unity

July 8, 1995 Philippians 2:1-2

- so far we've studied five major sections in this book.
- I only want to take a minute to review this morning, but as we've
saying all along---we hope that everyone of us is seeking to have a
good understanding of the basic "flow of thought" in this great book
of the Bible.
- on the white board, I've listed a brief summary of the five major
sections----however, I've purposely put them out of order.
- let me ask you to work with someone next to you, and try to
"unscramble the argument."

(in order)

#1 - v. 1-7 - Introduction, their fellowship in the gospel, Paul's belief
that God would continue to work in them.

#2 - v. 8-11 - Paul's prayer that they would continue to grow in
discerning love.

#3 - v. 12-18 - The ways Christ was being manifested and preached because
of Paul's bonds.

#4 - v. 19-26 - Paul's concern that he would testify faithfully before
Nero, and his consideration of the 2 options that lay
before him.

#5 - v. 27-30 - Exhortation to unity, so they would not be afraid of
their enemies, and not be overwhelmed by trial.

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- we said that verses 27-30 were about church unity.

- that’s exactly what the beginning verses in chapter 2 are about.

- in fact, the chapter break in chapter two is an unfortunate one.
- Paul completed one major thought at the end of 1:26.
- that would have been the more natural place to break the
chapter.

- the verses we're going to study now are a natural extension of what
Pastor Goode studied with us last week.

- we're talking this morning about "Striving For Christian Unity"

- Read Phil. 2:1-2 (that’s as far as we'll get this morning)

- so we're talking about striving for Christian unity.
- please notice that is different than trying to "make unity"
- an important parallel passage is Eph. 4:3 -- read and develop

- in the time we have left, let's study:

I. The Problem of Disunity in the Philippian Church
II. The Basis of Christian Unity
III. The Characteristics of Christian Unity

I. The Problem of Disunity in the Philippian Church

- now, we've already said that:

A. In many ways, this was a good church

INPUT - how was that true?

1:5 - their fellowship with Paul in the gospel
2:25, 4:10 - the financial gift they had sent through
Epaphroditus, and the good report he brought
- so it was a good church in many ways---but there's a big difference
between a good church and a perfect church.
- and of course there is no such thing as a perfect church, and the
Philippians were no exception.

- so it was a good church...

B. But there were problems/challenges.

1) possibly a lack of discernment on the part of some

- Paul said he was praying that they would be growing in
discerning love in 1:9
- that's probably because there were some in the church that
were weak in that area.

2) the apparent misunderstanding on the part of some about Paul's
imprisonment.

- we've studied the whole "but rather" issue in verse 12
- apparently some were all agitated because the conditions of
Paul's imprisonment had gotten worse

3) pressure from false teachers

- we'll study this in chapter 3, but just like in practically
every other NT letter, there is an exhortation to beware of
false teachers (an idea that seems to be foreign/offensive
to some today)

4) (the most important one for our purposes today) disunity

- let me ask you to glance over the book, and look for
references to unity//disunity
(assign different chapters to different sections of the
class--tell what verse, and what words from the verse)

cf. 1:27, 2:2, 2:3, 2:4, 2:12, 2:14, 2:21 (?), 3:15,
3:17-19, 4:1-3

- so, yes, this was a good church in many ways--but there were still
problems---especially the problem of disunity.

- and we could move this one step further and say:

C. Disunity is a formidable foe!

- If a church that was operating historically this close to the
time of Christ (within 30 years) was having trouble with unity
-- think about how big an issue that could be today.

- Prov. 6 tells us that there are certain things that the Lord
especially hates---and one of the items on that list is "he
that sows discord among the brethren."

- INPUT - many of us have either been involved in situations in
other places, or heard stories from other places about
disunity.
- what kind of things often divide churches, or become
issues over which division occurs (not so much the
heart issue at this point -- as the "flash point"//the
issue over which the lack of unity was manifested?
- I hope everyone of us would react to what we've been studying so far
with thoughts like:
1) Lack of unity is a terrible thing
2) I would never want to be the cause of ungodly division in a
church
(ungodly division in the sense that there might be an
occasion when a person should be the source of division, if
the church is clearing going in a liberal direction)

- The Lord has helped us greatly in verses 1-2 of chapter 2 by giving us
principles of how to "strive for unity in the church"

- verse 1 gives us the:

II. Basis for Christian Unity

- before we talk about the individual phrases in the verse, let's
"fly over the whole verse" for a moment

- Warren Wiersbe said of this verse:

"Paul knew what some church workers today do not know, that there
is a difference between unity and uniformity. True spiritual
unity comes from within; it is a matter of the heart. Uniformity
is the result of pressure from without. This is why Paul opens
this section appealing to the highest spiritual motives. Since
the believers in Philippi are `in Christ,' this ought to
encourage them toward unity and love, not division and rivalry.
In a gracious way, Paul is saying to the church, 'Your
disagreements reveal that there is a spiritual problem in your
fellowship. It isn't going to be solved by rules and threats;
it's going to be solved when your hearts are right with Christ
and with each other."

- with that in mind, let's look more specifically at the verse.
- INPUT - there are four items that are given as the "basis of unity"
What are they?

A. Exhortation in Christ

- the word "consolation," or "comfort" can also be translated as
"exhortation." (paraklasis)
- cf. Acts 13:15, Heb. 13:22 (note connection with the "Word")

- Paul's point here is -- "because there is exhortation in
Christ"
- because you and I trusted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord,
in our hearts we were submitting ourselves to His
guidance, His leadership, His Lordship mediated through
His Word.

- INPUT - what does that have to do with divisiveness?
(have forgotten who the Lord is, and what the
Lord has said in His Word about this matter---
there's something wrong with the heart of the
divisive person)

B. Comfort of love

- the point there is -- think how comforted we have been by
the love of God.

- when a person recognizes that God loves him/her--so much
that He sent His Son.
- and when that person trusts Christ---the turmoil and the
guilt are gone.

- that’s why unity in relationships is possible because the
wrestling and the turmoil are gone.
- in that sense, we've been comforted by His love.

C. Fellowship of the Spirit

- the same Holy Spirit that convicted us of our sin before we
were saved begins to produce peace (Gal. 5:22) in us after
we're saved.

- having fellowship with God is a wonderful blessing of the
Christian life. (cf. I John 1:3)

D. Affection and compassion

- in Christ we have experienced the wonderful grace and mercy of
God.

- Lam. 3:22-23

- I John 4:19 - We love Him because He first loved us.

- the overall point of these verses is that a person who is striving
for unity in the church is a person who's heart has been moved by
what Christ has done for them.

- they are so in love with Him, and so in love with His people, and
so in love with His church -- that they wouldn't possibly want to
be a source of disunity.

- I think that’s a big problem for many of us---our hearts have not be
impacted//moved//softened near to the degree that they should have
been by what God has done for us in Christ
- as a result -- perhaps we haven't been motivated like we
should have to discard:
1) our ideas
2) our agenda
3) our preferences

- there's too much harsh, "my way or the highway" living in
Christian churches and in Christian homes.

- we could ask ourselves -- why hasn't God's grace impacted us as
much as it should have?
- I wonder if for some of us, our baseline of expectation has
been so high that we don't recognize God's grace even when
it's staring us in the face.
(develop the idea of setting the baseline of expectation
so high -- that we become unthankful, and bitter--saying
words like "unfair")
- instead of recognizing that every day is an
outpouring God's grace---we've never even
experienced "fair," much less "unfair" treatment
from the hand of God.

- Paul is appealing to the Philippians sense of how wonderful God has
been to them in Christ---and then asking -- Has it moved you?
INPUT - how can you and I develop a more thankful heart and attitude
toward the kinds of blessings mentioned in verse 1?