God Himself declared that unity is not only possible but most of all powerful. Looking down at the Tower of Babel, He said: “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”[1] Of course, God scattered those who built the tower all over the earth by confusing their language. But that’s only because they united for the wrong reason, that is, “so that [they] may make a name for [themselves].”[2] But imagine how powerful it could be if we unite for the right reason!
Last week, when looked at Philippians 2:1-4, we saw that we were united with Christ in order to unite with each other. Let us read our passage again: “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, then make my joy complete by being likeminded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” From verse 1, we saw that Christ made unity possible. We saw the grounds for our unity, namely, that we are encouraged by our union with Christ, we experience comfort through the Father’s love, we enjoy fellowship with the Spirit and we exude tender compassion. In verses 2 to 4, we will see that since Christ made unity possible, we are to pursue unity. This morning, we will talk about “How To Be One.”
I already pointed out that verses 1 to 4 are actually one long sentence in Greek and that the only command and the main point of the passage is in verse 2: “make my joy complete by being likeminded”. Now there are five participles in verses 2b to 4 that explains the means on how we can fulfill the command to be united.
First, we are to DEVOTE ourselves to others. Verse 2b reads, “…having the same love”. Note that in verse 1 it says that we experience “comfort from his [or the Father’s] love”. This is the same love we are to have for each other. We cannot say that we can’t love the same way that God loved us for Romans 5:5 say that “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Someone wrote, “…people ought to love each other equally and not give preferential treatment to some over others.”[3] Love is one of the keys to unity. The Contemporary English Version goes like this: “Live in harmony by showing love for each other.”
The participle “having” is in the present tense. That’s why the New American Standard Bible translated it as “maintaining the same love”. It is also in the active sense. That means we do it continuously and intentionally because being devoted to each other is never accidental and temporary. Dr. John MacArthur, Jr. wrote, “On a purely emotional level, having equal love for others is impossible, because people are not equally attractive. ...however, [it] is the love of the will, not of preference or attraction. It is based on an intentional, conscious choice to seek the welfare of its object.”[4] We decide to love and to keep on loving each other. Romans 12:10 also says, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.”
Second, we are to DEDICATE towards the same purpose together. Verse 2c continues with the next participle: “…being one in spirit and purpose.” The Contemporary English Version translated the clause this way: “Be united in what you think, as if you were only one person.” Again, let me remind you that unity is not uniformity. That doesn’t mean, for example, that to express our unity we ought to practice bloc voting like some religious groups in the Philippines. It’s like playing only the drums or the bass guitar. At first, it sounds good. But later it gets monotonous.
Always remember our mission statement as a church: “Glorify God by multiplying Biblical, Committed and Loving Followers of Jesus Christ.” It is okay if we have different ideas and methods in fulfilling this mission as long as we pursue the same mission.
The New American Standard Bible goes like this: “united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” In another translation it says, “…being in full accord and of one mind.”[5] There can be unity in diversity and diversity in unity. It’s like the band playing all its instruments in harmony. We are one body though each part of the body fulfills a different role. “No two Christians—no matter what their level of spiritual maturity and knowledge of Scripture—will understand everything exactly alike… [But they] will not allow inconsequential differences to divide them or hinder their service for the Lord.”[6]
Third, we are to DENOUNCE selfishness. Selfishness is contrary to unity. That’s why Paul said, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit”.[7] Paul combined two interesting words here. The phrase “selfish ambition” came from a word that “denoted a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means. It then came to be used of party squabbles, of the jockeying for position and the intrigue behind place and power. Finally, it meant selfish ambition, the ambition which has no conception of service but only aimed at profit and power”.[8] The phrase “vain conceit” came from a word that “refers to personal vanity; it is the person who is conceited without reason, deluded, ambitious for his own reputation, challenging others to rivalry, jealous himself and willing to fight to prove his idea is right”.[9] The New Living Translation goes like this: “don’t live to make a good impression on others.”
Basically, it is being “me-centered” rather than being “other-centered.” Ambitious and conceited people bring themselves up by bringing others down. I like how The Message translated this clause: “Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top.” If we think of ourselves only, we will never achieve anything significant in life. Someone wrote, “It is amazing how much we can accomplish if we don’t care who gets the credit.” Like our Lord, we must come to serve, not to be served.
The antidote to selfishness is humility. That’s why we are to DEEM others better than ourselves. Verse 3 continues, “…but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” The conjunction “but” gives a strong contrast. Just as we cannot mix oil with water, so also you cannot blend humility with selfishness. There can be no unity without humility. Humility “indicates the recognition of one’s insufficiency but the powerful sufficiency of God”.[10] The Message reads like this: “Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.”
Selfishness is bringing people down in order to bring ourselves up. Humility is lifting people up. Now, humility does not mean you have to bring yourself down in order to bring others up. Humility is knowing where you stand before the Lord. Romans 12:3 says, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” In The Message, we read this: “The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.” Yes, we know we are good “but in humility [we] consider others better than [ourselves].” We don’t compare or compete with each other. But we consider others more important or more significant than ourselves.
Lastly, we are to DESIRE the interest of others more than our own. Verse 4 reads, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Note the words “only” and “also.” That doesn’t mean we neglect our own needs. But it means that we care more about the needs of others rather than our needs only. The word “look” means “to consider, to regard as one’s aim.” In short, we are to take their interests as our interests.
Note also the phrase “each of you”. This is for each and every one of us, not just a few elite believers. It is our responsibility. I read this somewhere, “Once upon a time there were four men named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. But Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it. But Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about it, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, and Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody and Nobody did the job that Anybody could have done in the first place.” I hope that doesn’t happen with us. We are responsible for each other and to meet one another’s interests.
Brothers and sisters, we must pursue unity. We are to…
DEVOTE ourselves to others.
DEDICATE towards the same purpose together.
DENOUNCE selfishness.
DEEM others better than ourselves.
DESIRE the interest of others more than our own.
In closing let me share the story of the bridge builder. There were two brothers, Tomas and Kulas, who were fighting against each other for a long time. Their properties were divided by a creek. Tomas hired a carpenter to build an 8-foot fence so he won’t see his brother’s face anymore. The carpenter said he could do it in a day.
Tomas had to go to town so he left the carpenter to do his work. About sunset, he returned. He was so shocked to see a bridge across the two properties rather than a fence between it. He was about to scold the carpenter. But then he saw Kulas crossing the bridge with tears in his eyes and with outstretched arms. Kulas said, “After all I said and done, you built this bridge. I am humbled by your love. Let us reconcile.”
The two brothers, now reconciled, invited the carpenter over for dinner. But he politely declined. “I’d love to stay, but I have many more bridges to build.” May we build bridges rather than fences! Since Christ made unity possible, let us pursue unity. Let us be one in the Lord.[11]
Let us pray…
[1]Genesis 11:6. All Bible verses are from the New International Version, unless otherwise noted.
[2]Genesis 11:4.
[3]J. Hampton Keathley, III, “Exhortations to Unity—Part II” (Emphasis in the original). http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=1435.
[4]The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Philippians.
[5]English Standard Version.
[6]MacArthur.
[7]Philippians 2:3a.
[8]Cleon Rogers, Jr. and Cleon Rogers, III, New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament.
[9]Ibid.
[10]Rogers.
[11]From the illustration database of Sermon Central
