PHILIPPIANS
Chapter 2
2:1If therefore 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,
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
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.
Colossians 3:12
And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
2:1-5 Many people—even Christians—live only to make a good impression on others or to please themselves. But “selfish ambition or vain conceit” brings discord. Paul therefore stressed spiritual unity, asking the Philippians to love one another and to be one in spirit and purpose. When we work together, caring for the problems of others as if they were our problems, we demonstrate Christ’s example of putting others first, and we experience unity. Don’t be so concerned about making a good impression or meeting your own needs that you strain relationships in God’s family.
TODAY IN THE WORD
The story of Bob and Marjorie White poignantly illustrates sacrificial love. Marjorie was in critical condition with kidney failure, and the prospect of losing her was very real. As they waited for a possible kidney donor, Bob asked to be tested for tissue compatibility with his wife. The tests showed a perfect match, which rarely happens between people who are not related. Bob White gladly donated a kidney to his wife, saving her life and giving new meaning to their one-flesh relationship.
Love like this also gives new meaning to the concept of putting other people’s interests ahead of our own. If you know your Bible, you know where Paul was going with his plea for humility on the part of believers. Even though verses 5-11 are not part of our reading, we need to keep in mind that Jesus is the perfect example of self-sacrifice instead of self-interest.
The apostle’s call for selfless living was prefaced by a plea for unity among believers based on the blessings that are ours as Christians. The “if” statements in verse 1 don’t suggest doubt, but certainty. There is encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, and compassion in Christ.
Take another look at this list in light of God’s plan for marriage, and you’ll see that these are also qualities which should characterize a loving, strong, and growing one-flesh relationship. These blessings are a basis for unity in a marriage as well as unity in the church, which makes sense because marriage is an earthly picture of Christ’s heavenly relationship with His bride, the church.
We would have to be hard-hearted, and soft-headed, to accept the love and sacrifice of our spouses, and then insist on fulfilling our own desires no matter what. But that’s what happens in all too many marriages, Christian and otherwise.
R.C. Sproul
He who is King of all creation humbled Himself, submitted to the will of His Father, served sinful, rebellious human beings, washed their dirty feet, and ultimately died the death of a criminal to bring glory to God. Here we have an exalted portrait of how Christ maintained His rank and station, His equality with God, and yet subordinated Himself to a role of submission and service. Can a wife do any less? Is she too grand, too self-reliant, too noble to submit to the authority of her husband? Does she lose her character, her personality, her equality, her status as a human being when she submits to her husband? Did Christ lose His dignity, His worth, His nobility, His divinity when He humbled Himself and became obedient even to death on a cross? No, quite the contrary. His submission to the will of His Father brought Him even greater glory. And in like manner, the wife who submits to the authority of her husband brings honor not only to herself but to the man she loves and the God she adores.
God created Eve out of the side of Adam. There was a never a time when the woman existed alone, separate from her husband, just as the church has never existed outside of Christ as its head. Like the vine that has its own root, but wraps itself around the sturdy oak, the wife is a distinct person with an identity all her own, but she is dependent on her husband for support and strength. This arrangement of the husband-wife relationship does not dishonor the woman any more than Christ's role as our Redeemer dishonors Him. Through her submission, the wife brings honor to her husband. Through her submission, she instructs her children by way of example on how to respect those in authority. Through her submission, she shows a rebellious world the honor, peace, and dignity that come through willing obedience to God.
Through her submission, the wife conforms to the image of her Redeemer "who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation. . . . humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." As B.M. Palmer writes, "It is enough for her, if she, like Him is exalted through submission to a station of privilege and glory."
C. H. Spurgeon
He knew that these saints at Philippi loved him. They had sent once andagain to relieve his necessities, so he pleaded with them, by their love tohim, to love each other. He does as much as say, “If you really do love me,if it is not a sham, if you have any sympathy with me, and with my laborsand sufferings, if you really have the same spirit that burns in my breast,make my heart full of joy by clinging to one another, by being like-minded,‘having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.’”
Paul's exhortation:
External threats (1:27-30) to the church have always proven less dangerous than internal. Shared
union with Christ, love for one another, and mutual participation in the Spirit should encourage all Christians to draw together in a supportive fellowship.
Comfort in Christ
Matthew 9:22
But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” And at once the woman was made well.
Luke 7:13
And when the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, "Do not weep."
John 14:1
Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
John 14:18
I will not leave your as orphans; I will come to you.
John 16:33
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.
C. H. Spurgeon
Paul did not mean to doubt that there is “any consolation in Christ, anycomfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit, any bowels and mercies,” forno one knew better than he did how those blessings abound to them thatare in Christ Jesus. He put it by way of argument. If there be consolation inChrist, since there is consolation in Christ, since there is comfort of love,since there is fellowship of the Spirit, be one in Christ; be not divided; loveone another: “be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, ofone mind.”
TODAY IN THE WORD
You may know that the planet’s best-selling book is the Bible. But do you know which book is the second most widely read worldwide? The answer is The Imitation of Christ,ascribed to Thomas à Kempis. Written in the late 1300s, this devotional classic has been translated into more than fifty languages and enjoyed by millions of readers.
The title of the book sums up its purpose--Christlikeness. Chapter headings include “Imitating Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth,” “The Intimate Friendship of Jesus,” and “Few Love the Cross of Jesus.”
No doubt one reason the book has endured so long is that it addresses what should be every Christian’s consuming priority. Specifically, “imitating Christ” is the underlying idea in today’s reading.
The passage begins with an overview of the riches we have in Christ (v. 1). “If” should be read as “since” because these spiritual facts are a certainty--we do have encouragement from being united with Christ, comfort from His love, and fellowship with the Spirit. These are not conditional “ifs” but truths rooted in our relationship with Christ that are stated rhetorically for emphasis.
As a result of these truths, believers are to exhibit unity and love (v. 2). We don’t have to achieve these on our own--they don’t flow from human striving but from divine enablement. God has already done the work. Because we have been already united with Christ, we should be “one in spirit and purpose.” We should act toward one another with Christ’s sacrificial love. If the Philippians could do that, Paul would feel even more joy!
Humility is both the means and motive for obeying this command, and is defined as considering others better than ourselves (vv. 3-4; cf. Rom. 12:10; 1 Peter 5:5). This principle is reinforced by the “golden rule,” Christ’s guideline to “do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).
2:2make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
A Plea for Unity
The apostle Paul was a great theologian, which meant he often addressed important doctrinal issues. He opposed the legalism of the Judaizers (Phil. 3:2) and the libertine views of other false teachers (vv. 18–19). He knew such teachings perverted the doctrine of salvation and threatened the church’s life. Yet he also realized that discord in the church was an equal threat to its life. That’s because conflict robs the church of its power and destroys its testimony. Enemies of Christ are eager to find ways to discredit the church.
Apparently, disunity in the Philippian church was about to destroy the integrity of its testimony. So Paul said to 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” (1:27). We have one Spirit within us, so there’s no reason for disunity.
Devotional
At the end of this verse, Paul says something very unique: "thinking the one thing." Although some versions translate this phrase as "having the same mind," the Greek construction is properly translated as "thinking the one thing." Thus, from the supply of the encouragement in Christ in verse 1, something happens to us. There is the harmony of the Spirit between us to the extent that we think the same thing, have the same love, are joined in soul, and think the one thing. We are thinking the one thing. It does not simply say, "thinking one thing." There is a definite article before the word "one." Thus, it is translated properly "thinking the one thing." That means there is one unique thing to think. This is the burden Paul opens up in Philippians. It is that in the supply of the Spirit we are reduced to being saints who have a common factor between us - we think the one thing.
What is this one thing that we are thinking? To answer this we must understand something about the Greek word for "thinking," phroneo. This word, used primarily in Philippians and Romans, is one of the most spiritually rich words in the New Testament. First, this word means a supplied kind of thinking. It is not something we come up with on our own. It is a thinking supplied to us by the Spirit (Rom. 8:5-6). To think the one thing is something that God enables us to do. He dispenses into our being an inclination to think the one thing.
Tug-Of-War
Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. —Philippians 2:2
A college in our area has an interesting annual rite—a tug-of-war. Two teams train and prepare to pull together on their end of the rope to win the competition, hoping to avoid the mud-pit between the teams and gain campus bragging rights for another year. For a fun competition, it can become intense.
As believers in Jesus, we often face the challenge of learning how to pull together. Self-interest, personal agendas, and power struggles get in the way of genuine ministry and hinder the work of Christ.
Such was the case in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, where he had to plead with Euodia and Syntyche to “be of the same mind” (4:2). Their personal friction created a roadblock to their spiritual service, and their “tug-of-war” was harming the life of the church.
Paul’s appeal was for them to pull together and work for the honor of the Master. It is an appeal that serves us well today. When we feel distanced from our fellow believers, we must look for the common ground we have in the Savior.
Church is no place for a tug-of-war. It’s imperative that we work together for the advancement of God’s kingdom. He can use us in wonderful ways when we lay aside our personal differences and pull together on the rope.
A believer at war with another Christian cannot be at peace with the Father.
Devotional
The way you can tell that you have applied the cross is that others are happy with you. You may ask what this means. To fulfill my joy means to make me happy. And how are you going to make me happy? It is by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. This kind of oneness in the Body requires the cross.
In Philippians 2:6-8 Paul speaks of the Lord Jesus taking the way of the cross. Then he applies this cross-taking mind to the believers in the verses that follow. He speaks of God operating in us both the willing and the working for His good pleasure. This operation has to do with the inward application of the cross. And the way Paul would know that the saints at Philippi had inwardly applied the cross is that harmony would be among them, the flow of fellowship would be between them. This would make his joy full. This would make him happy.
Sometimes in the church life we have not made the Body happy because we have been so "crossless" in our experience. So the joy in the church is not full. The Body is a barometer. Are we making the Body happy? Are the saints full of joy because of us? When the saints think about us, when the saints consider us, when they see our face, do they get happy, full of joy? This is a good way to tell whether we have applied the cross inwardly - do we make the saints full of joy? Paul was saying, "Make my joy full. Encourage me. Fellowship with me. Bring some consolation to me. Make me happy." Such an atmosphere comes from the inward application of the cross. Make your wife happy. Make your husband happy. Make the brothers happy. How do you do it? By inwardly applying the cross to murmurings, to reasonings, to right and wrong. Get out of the realm of the self and into the spirit. Be constituted with Christ, and the joy in the church will be full.
2:3Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Galatians 5:26
Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.
1 Peter 5:5
You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.
2:3 Selfish ambition can ruin a church, but genuine humility can build it. Being humble involves having a true perspective about ourselves (see Romans 12:3). It does not mean that we should put ourselves down. Before God, we are sinners, saved only by God’s grace, but we are saved and therefore have great worth in God’s kingdom. We are to lay aside selfishness and treat others with respect and common courtesy. Considering others’ interests as more important than our own links us with Christ, who was a true example of humility.