Encouraging Unity by Growing in Humility

Good morning. This morning, we are continuing our study in the book of Philippians with a particular look at chapter 2:1-11 today.

We are continuing our series in the book of Philippians as we discuss Growing in Gospel

Gratitude by looking for

3 Ways to Develop Gospel Unity as we follow the example of Jesus Christ.

I. Grow in Unity by Understanding the Work of the Gospel in Your Life (vv. 1-2)

Philippians 2:1 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,”

I want to give you a bit of background so that you know where to plant the feet of your mind

Recall that Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians in a Roman prison. He was in prison for approximately 2 years for the sake of the Gospel, and he was expressing his thanks for them because when the Philippian church learned of Paul’s imprisonment at Rome, they generously supported him (4:10, 15-16).

Take note of what Paul said to them…

Philippians 4:10 “…I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.”

In other words, it had been a number of years since they had served him last – they wanted to find ways to serve him in the ministry, but there was no opportunity to do so, that’s what Paul was saying…Now, that Paul was in prison – now this church now had an opportunity to serve him in his imprisonment…and they did.

Then in verses 15-16 Paul called attention to how they had helped him in the past.

Philippians 4:15-16 “You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.”

So the Apostle expresses his thanks in chapter 1 – grateful, in fact, that they are united together with Paul for the cause of the Gospel in their lives.

Now, let’s look back at verse 1…

Philippians 2:1 “Therefore…”

Whenever you see “therefore” the Apostle wants us to know what it’s “there for”, yes?

I want you to see that Paul is like a brick mason – building on what he had previously said in chapter 1 – Pastor Rod served us a piece of that theological pie last week. “Therefore” refers back to what Paul had said in chapter 1:27.

In other words,

Philippians 1:27 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

Because we have this divine order to be united together in “one spirit, with one mind” (1:27) it’s only then that Paul writes 4 realities that accompany unity in the church, again – now let’s look at Paul’s thought by adding verse 2…

Verses 1b-2 “…if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”

In other words, church. Paul is assuming realities that are true of the Philippians, and by extension, all believers in Christ. Now, I think I need to reinforce this point more – I mean, why would Paul say “if there’s any encouragement…” or “if there’s any consolation”…I mean, right off the bat he doesn’t seem so sure of himself, right?

Well, it’s normal in our language, particularly in the Greek language, to make “If…,then” statements. That is to say, “if this happens, then this will happen.” If you slam on the breaks of your car, then the car will come to a stop”, right? If this is true…then it follows that this is true, you follow me so far?

When Jesus was tempted by the Satan in the wilderness – what did Satan say to Jesus – do you remember? He said, “if you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matt. 4:3) “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down…” Now, we know for a fact that Satan knew precisely who Jesus was! In other words, if this is true of you, and it is…then this will happen. In other words, “if you are the Son of God (and you are) then turn this rock into food so that you can eat it” – after all, you’re the Creator of the universe, this is not a problem for you”

That’s why some of your translations will often use the word “since” or “because” because it assumes a reality about someone or something. You see this in a number of places in Scripture and time would fail me to show you the number of places this can be seen in the Bible.

But to Paul’s point, he explained 4 realities that should motivate God’s people toward Gospel unity.^[1]

A. The motivators for gospel unity (v.1)

a. Is there any encouragement in Christ? From the Greek word,

Paraklésis. “a calling to one's aid, i.e. encouragement, comfort.”

John 14:16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever…”

In other words, believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And if they are indwelt by the Spirit of grace (and they are) then it follows that you will be able to encourage other followers of Christ in their walk of grace in much the same way that the Apostle was encouraged with the help of the Philippians while he was in prison.

b. Is there any consolation from love? From the Greek word,

Paramuthion. “exhortation, encouragement” The idea pertains to words that carry comfort

and solace to trembling hearts.

That is to say, believers not only come alongside other believers to encourage them with their presence, they also carry words of solace with them that are like a balm in Gilead – they are the kind of words that offer comfort to the believer’s soul.

Ultimately, this is what Christ has done for you through the instrument of His special revelation, the Word of God

Romans 5:6-8 - For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

John MacArthur “The consoling love is that which the Lord grants to unworthy sinners in the grace of salvation. He continuously bestows that love on believers (Rom. 5:5), who in turn show love for them. Paul told the Corinthians that it was Christ’s love for him that made him to be so devoted to the Lord and the truth as to appear insane (2 Cor. 5:13-14).”

c. Is there any fellowship of the Spirit? Again, from the Greek word,

Koinōnía “what is shared in common as the basis of fellowship (partnership, community)”

In other words, believers in Christ have a celestial kind of fellowship – a unique spiritual union that the unbelieving world will never understand. The center of this fellowship lies in the lap of the Holy Spirit of Promise who unites you and the rest of believers in Christ in this fellowship.

That’s why the Apostle can give a benediction, such as what he gave to the Corinthian church in 13:14 of his letter to them, saying…

2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”

d. Is there any affection and compassion?

Paul uses two words here: (1) affection – from the Greek word

Splágxnon “the inward parts (heart, liver, lungs, etc.), fig. the emotions”

Paul has in mind deep seated emotions inside of a person, but specifically refers to the deep feelings God has for all of us, and powerfully shows and shares in those following Him.^[2]

All of us in this room are over 2000 years removed from Paul’s jailhouse experiences. So perhaps it can be difficult to associate the seat of our emotions to Paul’s circumstances. But the Philippian church shared in Paul’s sufferings and they were so deeply stirred inside that they were moved to aid him.

And if you are still having difficulty connecting your seat of emotions to Paul’s experience, perhaps I can help you with that with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Last Tuesday, Pastor Rob Green from Faith East shared with us an email in which he said the following:

Rob Green “I got a message from Sergey (one of our Ukrainian friends). Yesterday he was able to send his family across the Romanian border. His wife and two children (17 and 11) are now safe. He was informed (if I understood him correctly) that he was drafted and reports for military duty tomorrow. Last night on the news I saw an event like this happen in real time … there was a man, his wife, and at least one child in the camera shot, all of them visibly crying, and she and the kids were about to board a train for Poland. The reporter caught her saying these words in broken English, “I love my husband. I am not ready to say goodbye.” I could not help but think that was the scene when Sergey kissed his wife and children and then walked away. 12 days ago I was eating lunch with him at Texas Roadhouse. All the more reason why sharing the gospel is so important.”

How are your deep seated emotions now? This is precisely the deep seated emotions the church had for the Apostle Paul in suffering for the sake of the Gospel.

And as a result of a believers affection toward one another, what immediately follows church? The answer is simple: Compassion.

Oiktirmos – “properly, compassion (pity), i.e. deep feeling about someone's difficulty or misfortune” How much more than does God feel about our difficulties and misfortunes?

Now are you able share in the misfortunes of these fellow believers in Christ? Are your emotions so stirred that you feel the need to act with compassion? That’s why Faith Church was moved to act develop a means to help and support the people of God in Ukraine such that they can, in turn, help other fellow believers in the midst of their suffering as they continue to share the love of Christ with them by helping them and giving them the Gospel of grace.

And if you’re unable to help financially, surely you can be moved to prayer, yes? This was Paul’s experience with the Philippian church such that they were united in helping the Apostle Paul such that he could say to them that “…if there is any encouragement in Christ [and there is] if there is any consolation of love[and there is], if there is any fellowship of the Spirit [and there is], if any affection and compassion [and there is]…”

Then verse 2 are the

B. The indicators of gospel unity (v. 2)

Philippians 2:2 “…make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

This was the desire of the Apostle. He has in mind,

a. Being of the same mind

Pastor Steve Lawson said it well,

Steve Lawson “Christians should be one-souled, welded together with a common acceptance of each other.”

When it comes to Gospel unity, Christians ought to be a one-souled people. You could say that this was the clarion call of the Apostle Paul (and it should be for all believers) because he knew that the one danger that is a threat to any church is that of disunity.

If there’s unity in the Body of Christ, it’s because the church is, by and large, walking in the Spirit. But if there’s disunity…well, that will be obvious too.

James 3:16 “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”

In order to foster unity, Paul would say to the Philippians in 4:8

Philippians 4:8 “Brethren, whatever is true [as apposed to falsehood], whatever is honorable [as apposed to whatever is dishonorable], whatever is right [as apposed to what is wrong] , whatever is pure [as apposed to what is impure], whatever is lovely [as apposed to what is hateful, whatever is of good repute [as apposed to what is disgraceful], if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

When our minds are soaked in these things, the door to disunity is sealed because we demonstrate that we are a one-souled people led by the Spirit of grace.

As Paul said to the church at Rome, believers in Christ are not to…

Romans 8:4-5 “walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

And to the Colossian church he said that disunity in a church arises when a believer’s course of life lacking in the things pertaining to God. That’s why he said to them to

Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”

In other words,

b. Maintaining the same love

c. United in Spirit

d. Intent on one purpose

Transition: In order to do that we must learn to,

II. Grow in Humility to Strengthen Our Unity (vv. 3-4)

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

In these verses, the Apostle gives two great causes for disunity: (1) selfish ambition (2) empty conceit. Selfish ambition refers to building oneself up while tearing another person down. It brings with it a spirit of disunity that produces strife between people. Empty conceit refers to a prideful exaggeration of who you are. So in the spirit of unity, Paul says to do,

A. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit (v. 3)

That is to say, don’t try to build your own self seeking enterprise in the church.

B. With humility of mind regard others as more important than yourself

To put it simply, set the trajectory of your mind to regard others in the church as more important that you are – ouch! That doesn’t come naturally to us at all. How do I do that?

Steve Lawson: “The believer must take the same concern that they have for themselves and apply it to others….If believers are primarily focused upon God and his glory, we will automatically be concerned for serving the needs of others, especially those in his family.”

Then, finally – Paul points to our greatest example of humility, our Lord and Savior

III. Follow the Example of Christ (vv. 5-11)

Philippians 2:5-11 - Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

A. Christ the humble servant (vv. 6-8)

1. He existed in the form of God – the form of God is a reference to His nature. In other words, Jesus is the very nature of God Himself.

John 1:1-2 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

Hebrews 1:3 - And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.

2. He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped

In other words, Christ didn’t cling to his equality with God. He didn’t grasp on to it because he wasn’t self-seeking. So what does Jesus do

3. He emptied Himself – Meaning, he set aside the use of His position as God and became a man. This does not mean that Jesus stopped being God, because he is God by nature. It means that in the divine plan, Christ would voluntarily submit to the will of the Father and under the Spirit’s direction.

Christ left his throne and his eternal riches – became a man and to redeem a people for himself and to make an actual atonement for His people whom he purchased out of the world.

Hebrews 2:17-18. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Matthew 20:28. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

4. He became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

Do any of things I have described define you? Just how do you use the position that God has given to you in your employer/employee relationship, anyway? I mean, you know whether or not you are self-seeking, taking advantage of other people while building your ow self-inflated view of yourself.

How about in the church? I can only hope you are not trying to seek your own self-seeking enterprise. Because if you are, you’re playing with fire – You do know who is Lord of the Church, right? You do understand that it’s not you, right?

May I set before you our exalted example, that is Christ?

B. Christ the exalted Lord (vv. 9-11)

Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In other words, because Christ humbled himself by becoming a man, God exalted him. And if you humble yourself today and pray to follow the example, that is Christ, the by product of that we will be a one-souled people under the influence of the Spirit of Grace.

But for the unbeliever who may be listening to this message right now, may I set before the Savior of your soul, that is Christ? He is the only Savior this world has – the only Savior you will ever know. Humble yourself by repenting of your sins and following after Christ. Stop running. Humble yourself. Get on your knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father

[1]

[2]“oiktirmos,” Bible Hub, last modified, https://biblehub.com/greek/3628.htm.