Phiippians 2
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning rivertree church. It is a real joy to be with you this morning. Whether you are here downtown, watching at cove or watching online I am so thankful we got to open the word together.
We’ve just finished up the healthy church series and next week Ross will kick off our 1st peter series.
This morning f you have your bibles go ahead and open up to Philippines 2 and we are going to be reading verses 1-11 this morning.
Let’s read
English Standard Version Chapter 2
2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 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, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Paul is writing to this young church in Philippi. and he is writing them about the Christian idea of unity. He is most likley writing from a prison cell as he pens some of the most profound words about unity, humilty and Jesus in scripture.
in most of our Bibles we are to see paul saying “if” there is any enoucragment in Christ
If there is any comfor in love
any participation in the spirty
any affection and sympathy
what the trasnlation really leans towards is the reality there is encouragment in Christ
There is comfort from his love
there is participation in the spirit
there is affection of sympathy
This are not conditinal realitys for the early church. these are present realities for any of them who are in Christ.
Paul is reminding them of what the posses becasue of the work of Jesus on their behalf.
The first reminder is there is encouragement in Christ! This is great news. There really is nothing quite as wonderful as amazing as encouraging as the reality of knowing we ARE IN CHRIST.
This changes everything. Friends we have the blessing of Knowing Christ and being found in him
we have been given the gift of faith!
and when we think of these things we can’t help but be encouraged.
I’d love to wake up tomorrow morning and see the pandemic is over. The economy is booming. wars are ceasing, justice is coming up all over the world, and the knicks have won the NBA championship
but the reality is none of those things are as profound as knowing I am in Christ.
Before paul address the idea of Christian unity and humilty he points the church back to the encrougment we find in Jesus.
then he points them again to Gods love.
He reminds them of the comfort they find in the love of CHrist. d
That Jesus is ours and we are his.
and when we realize we are loved by him it brings a true sense of saftey, security and comfort
I’ll illustrate it this way. We have these white boards in our kitchen. Our kids write different things on them. Someimtes today list. Sometiems there name
but this past week we noticed ellie was writing something on there
Let me show you(picture)
I am so loved
Elizabeth and I thought this was really sweet. When I asked her about it she said it’s hard to explain. So I asked her what did she mean....Did she mean by the dog, by her toys
She Laughed
she said no by my family. And I realized the thought just popped in her head so she wrtoe it as a reminder.
She told me it made her feel comfort and safety.
I think this is what Paul is doing for the church. Before he reminds them of the unity they should have among one anthor he reminds them of the inexhaustable love which is thiers in Christ.
Next he reminds them of the fellowship they have with Gods spirit. It’s the Spirit that unitys them. It’s the spirt that helps them advance the gospel. It’s the spirit that helps them in their weakness
It’s the spirit that allows them to worship
and the final reminder was the affection and mercy they share in.
The word affection could be translated tenderness which comes from being unityhed with Christ.
In Dane ortulunds book Deeper he describes the tenderness of Jesus in this way.
“Jesus is the most open and accesible, the most peaceful and accoumadating person in the universe. He is the gentlest, least abrasive person you will ever expierence. Infinite strength, infinite meakness, dazzlinigly resplendent; enless calm;”
Dane reminds us Jesus describes himself as Gentle and lowly in heart. He is so tender and ready to be tender with us.
something really beatufiful and really amazing for those of us in Christ in this room today, online or at hampton cove is the thing we have in common is we are now objects of Gods compassion
Ephesias 2 tells us before we were in christ we were by nature children of wrath.
Not so anymore for Gods children. This is transformational to live as an object of Gods compassion.
I wonder how our weak might changed if we truly walked in these realities
If we allowed the encouragment of Christ to encouragee us
if we mediated and rested in the Love of Christ for us
if we walked in the freedom of being an object of Gods compoassion this week.
I know my monday would look differnt.
and if you aren’t in Christ maybe today would be the day you would recive his compassion, expierence his love, and allow him to encourgage the new person he wants to make you.
Today coudl be your day of transfomration a day where you go from an object of wrath to an object of the compassion.
and the way those things change is by turning form your sin and coming to belief in Jesus as Lord.
Sometimes we focus on what we are suppose to be doing all the time. This can lead to burn out.
I’d encourage you this morning to remind yourself and the people in your circles of influnce of this good news paul starts this section of the letter with.
as we begin to walk in these truths the way we live and the ethic we live by is changed.
After Paul reminds the churdch of these things he writes about how they would live among one another
He says
you will have the same mind
you will have the same love and you will be in full accord
not only this but no longer will you do things out of selfinishhes or conciet
but you will start to count others more signifcant then yourself.
Let’s be honest. That is hard.
This unity Paul begins to write about isn’t just unity for the sake of unity. Unity by itself can’t be the final aim.
Plently of people have been unified in the history of the world and it has lead to tradgey at times.
Jesus must be our final aim
It’s unity becasue of the gospel.
NT wright illustrates it this way
“On stage, the actors were not out for their own individual glory at each other’s expense; if one single actor had tried to steal the limelight from the others, the whole thing would have fallen apart.
I expirenced this when I was in high school at grissom. I was in a theater production. I was the director and lead in the one play we were doing.
It was our final grade my senior year in high school
I can’t even tell you what the play was about today but when I can tell you is we didn’t work very hard on our parts.
there is a moment I will never forget. There I am in the middle of the play and we are doing a great job. The audience loves it. Everyone is exucting there lines
and I turn stage left and a girl delivers her lines and it is the last line of the play. but the problem is we are in the middle of it.
In shock and horry I just look at her and say “what are you doing on stage, and in a rare moment I start laughing uncontrollably.
and if you have ever expierenced me doing this I can’t get it back together for like 10 mins.
SO I am laughing. The play has fallen appart all becasue one person isn’t in unity with the rest of us.
we final did recover. Only to have the fire alarm at the school go off 5 minutes later and then it was over
a well exucated play
only works because everyone was working together with the same object. That’s how the church should be too.”
Paul is saying here is how you live in light of the reality you now walk.
There is a chance to complete his joy. by being together
and that togetherness is flowing from a people who are deeply formed by the gospel of Jesus christ.
Instead of just telling people what they are suppose to be doing and what they shouldn’t do Paul is turing the early churches gaze upon the blessings they have recived.
If all we ever consider when thinking about spitural growth is what we should or shouln’dt be doing we will burn out.
But if we reflect on the mystery we hold is Jesus things really change.
Paul is looking at the early church and saying do these things becasue they are actaully good for yourown sould and good for those around you.
Don’t just seek your own forturne or blessing. Don’t live for your glory
know seek the glory of Jesus.
Its what Jesus gets at in the gospels
English Standard Version Chapter 6
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
In the midst of anxiety and worry Jesus is pushing back agaist trying to take matters into our own hands and fix things. Instead he says seek me. Seek my kingdom. Seek my glory and then these things will be added to you
what a beautiful promise
Instead of living in a concieted way paul is encouraging the church to put others before themselves in an act of humilty here.
The word concited comes from this idea of vain glory.
In others words when you are concieted it’s over nothing.
It’s empty. It’s not fulfilling and it’s the very oppostie of the person of Jesus.
The person who had all glory made himself nothing for oursake
yet when we live for our sake we are living for nothing. This is one of the many upside down natures of the gospel.
Here are some great questions to know where we might be at in this from the exalting Jesus commentarty I read this week to identify who we are really living for
Am I competing for people’s attention and approval? Do I find it difficult or easy to rejoice in the success of others?
Am I conceited?
Do I think I’m superior to people?
Am I concerned with the needs of others?
and the list could go on
but the reason Paul rights that we should consider the intrestt of others more important then our own is because this is what true humilty is like and how Jesus lived his life
His encouraging us to love the way Jesus loved people and reminds us This love is one that the gospel generates and sustains.
it’s a love birthed out of humilty
C.s Lewis siad it this way in mere Christianity
“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all”
everything Paul has wrote in the 4 verses really is a picture of true what true humility looks like. In the time of the Bible humilty wasn’t something to be celbrated and in some ways in our day it isn’t celbrated either
but if you are a christian hearing my words this morning know humilty is weighty and important to God.
All you have to do is look at James and 1 Peter to see how important our humilty is in our walk with Christ.
James
1 Peter
Did you catch this? There is a way we can live and appartly a way people in the church have lived thorughout history which puts them in direct oppostion with God.
and the beuty of scripture is how it does a fantastic job of turing our eyes from ourselves to Christ.
It’s what Paul begings to do in the rest of Philipians 2
some have said v 5:11 of this passage were an early hymn in the church.
They would sing these words to remind themselves of who Jesus was.
and as our eyes move from ourselves to the cross any form of arragance, pride and conciet begin to fall away.
Left to only looking within or without there is no way we would natural put others before ourselves and walk out in humilty.
but as our eyes our fixed on Jesus the author and perfector of ourselves
our pride, our arragoance, ourrights begin to loosen.
As we reflect on the cross of Christ we are going to grow in humilty.
There is no room for pride at teh cross.
Becasue on the cross we are reminded of Just how holy God is
at the cross we are reminded of how sinful we are. That it was our sin which truly did hold Jesus on the cross.
but it’s at the cross we realize how loved we are and it’s the grace of the cross which helps us grow in humilty
but this early hymn doesn’t just remind us to reflect on the cross
it also reminds us to reflect on the glory of Christ
We see this in the incarnation in v 6-8
and his exaltation in v 9-11
we grow in humilty
by reading Gods word and prayer
and we grow in humilty by serving others
it’s what david Platt suggest in his commentary on this section
If you are anything like me I can overcomplact things.
but Jesus makes things simpler
which is really an amazing thought. If Jesus really who the Bible says he is yet is profoundly simple in the way he lives his life I can really be encouraged to do the same in me through his power.
Philipians 2:5-11 has been debated, its’ been written about, it’s been preached on
but in a most meangiful way it’s really meant to birth and adoration of emulation of Jesus
Who Showed us what God is really like
Because he
existed in the form of God
He was preexistent and is divine
and as astonishing as the nature of Jesus is we see he didn’t see being God to be used for getting but instead he used it for given
He laid down his rights, his benefist as the king of Glory
and GAVE
He showed us how to pursued this mentality of downward mobilty.
He emptied himself not of his diety.
and became a slave
which means
what mark reminds us in Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
and as we read the gospel acccounts we see how Jesus really lived this out.
Just think about the illustartion in John 13:3-5
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
I mean. I am not sure at my last meal if this is what I would be doing.
I’d want others to comfort me
I’d want others to serve me
I’d want others to was my feet
Yet Jesus shows us something better. He shows us how even at the end of the life we can count others more signficant then oursleves, and love them well to the very end.
He shows us what it means to be really serve
and he was able to serve becasue he took on the likness of men
This doesn’t mean he just became like a human being
and at first blush that’s how we coudl read it. But its something even better. Jesus, who alwasy was God became what he was not.
A human being
This thought has been so special to me this week. remind me many times humilty looks like become what I am not. entering into someone else space and reality to love them the way Jesus loved them.
I wonder if this is why when people expierenced Jesus they would ask “what Kind of man is this?”
He is one who did all these things and then died on the cross and know is Exalted to the glory of God the father.
His life, death, resurrection, accession are all to bring glorty to God the father
and as I reflect on this truth I had to ask myself and I’ll ask you the same questions
what if all of my life
what if my death
was all for the glory of the father?
what if I lived in such a way where I expierenced the deep working of God the father, God the son and God the holy spirit in such a profound way
I would be truly humble like humble Jesus?
that would be enough I think.
John the Bapitst
He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Influence grows Jesus Grows
but really following Jesus is the opposite