Forsaking Ourselves For The Sake of Others
Philippians 2:1-8
January 15, 2017
I’m not sure how it starts, but I know where it starts - - - we all like to think we know what’s best. We like to think we have most, if not all of the answers. We’re pretty free to give out advice and tell people what’s wrong with them. We like to think we are doing it to help other people better . . . but how dare someone come at us and give us a few pointers about ways we can grow and develop into better people . . . at least in their opinion.
How’s that for starters!? And I’m not in a bad mood! I’m actually feeling pretty good. But . . . isn’t that pretty true? We like to give advice, or what we would like to call “constructive criticism” but don’t like to be on the receiving end of it. And generally speaking we like to mask our opinions and thoughts by the phrase, “we are doing this in Christian love.” Or we say, “God told me to tell you this.”
Last week I started talking about Community. We looked at the early church and how they were formed and the fact that they sought to work together, to be together, to serve together, to have all things in common. Worship together, eat together, pray together. On paper - - it really sounds like a great place to be. It’s hard to imagine there were any problems.
But alas, people were involved and when people are involved, problems arise. It doesn’t happen intentionally. Generally, it never does, because we don’t recognize it and for the most part, we seek to do good and not harm others. But can we learn from the early church and can we learn from the current church from what God wants us to learn about church and community?
You know the answer to that one!?!?! Of course . . .
I believe we are to have the mindset and heart of Jesus. Now, that’s a pretty difficult task! Jesus was and is God . . . we are not. So, we start out at a disadvantage . . . or do we?
I believe one of the hardest-to-get, most-difficult-to-live-into, toughest-to-hold- onto ideas is this ~ A Christian lives for the sake of others. We don’t always want to hear that, but I did not make this up. This is central to a biblical understanding of what it means to really be a Christian — which literally means "a little Christ."
Listen to the emphasis the Apostle Paul puts on this idea, when he wrote to the Christians at Philippi. And remember, Paul is in prison as he wrote these words. I’m going to read 8 verses, then break it down a little ~
1 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. – Philiippians 2:1-8
These are such powerful words from Paul about how we are to live our lives. Paul starts out in verse 1 saying ~
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
The NIV Says if you are united in Christ. What Paul is getting at is this ~ If you’ve been encouraged because of your relationship with Jesus, if you have comfort because of the love of Christ, if you have experienced the fellowship and community of the Holy Spirit, if you’ve experienced the deep compassion, mercy and grace of God through the Spirit of God - - - - then I want you to do something.
How’s that for what 1 verse means? This is what Paul is now asking the believers to do. If Jesus has made any real dent on you … if being His follower has had any real effect on you … if the Spirit of God has impacted your life, then I need you to do this - - -
2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
With whom? With everybody around you? With all the people who are like you? With all the folks you naturally like or who like you? Nope! Have the same love, spirit, and mind as Christ.
In fact, when Paul tells us to complete his joy, the word complete in Greek literally means ‘to fill to capacity.’ It’s like going to the buffet and getting full to your limit. Filling a water jug to capacity. That’s the image Paul wants us to have.
Be of the same mind! That doesn’t mean we all have to think the same about every issue, instead it means we need to have the same basis for our thinking. And that same basis comes from Christ. Not only do we have approach to thinking, using the power of the Spirit, we use the same power of the Spirit through Christ to have the same type of love, the love of Christ. We have the same identity, which is our identity in Christ. Not our identity that we are individuals, this is a shared relationship.
Remember last week I said this ~
Think about what would happen if the church really became the church God intended it to become? We think it’s about me and my wants, my likes and my dislikes. We’ve come to believe that what I do is private and personal and confidential. And yes it is! BUT . . . No it’s not! Yes, everything is confidential.
Church is not all about you! It’s about Christ! It’s about how we can give ourselves to Christ and experience His power, His grace, His mercy, His peace, His strength and courage!
Well, I’m still not getting too deep into it, but here is an example of the personal and private aspect being false. Too many Christ followers talk about their relationship with Christ being personal, it’s private, but if we dismiss the public nature, the corporate aspect of having the same Christ, the shared relationship, then we are all on our own. Then there is no basis for unity. Then we can go and do whatever floats our boats. We can act in any way we want, we don’t have to be of the same mind, we don’t have to have the same love.
While we don’t lose our individuality, or our uniqueness, we can’t ever say my relationship is personal and private and I can do what I want. That’s false! It’s a lie that satan wants you to buy into, because when you do, you’ve hurt the community of the church. You’ve weakened what we are supposed to be about, and when you weaken the church, we are less effective, less caring, less loving, less powerful. It has a domino effect. When we’re good, it has a positive domino effect, when we’re bad, it has that negative effect.
This is so powerful folks. And we really need to take this in with our heart, spirit, mind and body! You do not have to agree with your neighbor, you do not have to agree with your spouse . . . (did I say that)? Nah, you have to agree with your spouse!
Paul’s point is that everything is based on Christ! PERIOD! There are no if and’s or but’s. We can’t speak too much about the personal and the private without talking about the public and corporate as well.
So, with all of this in mind, Paul now says,
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,
In other words, don't be self-focused. Don’t be self absorbed. Don’t make like all about you. We don’t like that in other people, do we? When people act like "I'm the best, me-first, who's-taking-care-of-me, what's-in-it-for-me,” it bothers us.
The fifth-century bishop, Augustine, said “the essence of sin is this incurvatus in se. That’s Latin and it means "curving in upon oneself." It means our focus is centered on ourselves, the world is focused on us and our opinions, wants and likes.
As a Christ follower, you don't need to do that anymore. We need to believe and accept that we are holy and dearly loved. We are children of the Almighty God of the universe. We believe that the most brilliant and beautiful being, greater than the universe itself, proclaims you and I as His beloved. That God would suffer and die for us. We believe our inheritance is heaven. We claim everlasting life with Christ, where there is no pain, no ice storms, beautiful weather, an endless buffet, no tears and healed bodies and relationships.
We need to know we’ve won the Paradise Powerball. Our identity and security can never be tarnished, spoiled and thrown away.
And while it takes a lifetime to fully live into that reality, if you get this, it’s liberating you from a self-focus toward an other-focus. Some one once said, "Because of Christ, I've retired from myself. I've gotten off the ego ladder. Now I'm just a servant." In other words, now I'm curving out. No longer self - focused, but other - focused.
The apostle Paul understood that this shift takes time for all of us. I think it's why he writes this letter to the Christians at Philippi. He knows we're always being tempted to go back to the natural, sinful, human way of looking at things. We're feeling the pull to make our school days, our job, our marriage, our politics, our church life a lot about us.
But, Paul reminds us ~ . . . 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.
Isn’t that tough to do sometimes? Humility occurs when we compare ourselves not to others, but to Christ. Doesn’t that change the dynamics of humility. I may puff myself up when I compare myself to someone, but I can never measure up to God. So, I put aside my pride and ego and I count others, I esteem others as more significant then myself.
I’m not saying you and your interests don’t matter. You are heaven’s royal children. You have an identity, gifts, and wisdom that are needed in this world. Don't think less of yourselves. Think of yourselves less . . . as Jesus models.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, being in very nature God …" (Phil. 2:5-6)
Jesus could have properly and rightfully chosen to have had everything be about Him. Jesus is royalty! He is the King, the Lord, the Messiah! He is the Creator and Redeemer of the world! He could have asked for angels to take Him off the cross. He could have refused His assignment from God. It was all there! So, Paul concludes this Christ hymn telling us ~
6 though Jesus was in the form of God, He 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.
Jesus didn’t view His position, privilege or power as something to be used to secure more benefits for Himself. Instead, He became like a servant and humbled Himself. Why? For the sake of others. For you and I! That’s a servant. That’s what we are called to do and called to be.
