“THE JOY OF UNITY” Phil. 2:1-11
FBCF – 8/9/20
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together.
Today, we are going to talk about sticking together. We are going to talk about the joy of unity as we continue our “Joy in the Journey” series from the book of Philippians.
Let’s be clear: We are talking about unity, not uniformity. Uniformity is the result of pressure from the outside. True spiritual unity comes from within. It’s a matter of the heart, a heart that has been changed by Jesus Christ.
Has YOUR heart been changed by Jesus? If not, why not now? (Share Gospel)
EXPLANATION – Open Bibles to Phil. 2:1-11
The 1st 26 verses of chapter 1 are personal words from Paul about himself & his feelings & experiences w/ the Philippians believers. In 1:27, he shifts his focus from himself to them. He begins to address some issues that had arisen in the church that threatened to do damage to the church & their witness for Christ, & that’s serious business! They were facing some conflict inside the church due to some ladies who were fussing w/ each other, & some opposition outside the church, due to the threat of false teachers & due to the Philippians unwillingness to worship the emperor. Both the internal conflict & the external opposition & persecution are serious issues that must be addressed. And one of the main reasons that they need to be addressed is b/c they have the potential to do serious damage to the UNITY of the church.
Verse 27 in the NIV reads, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” Paul challenged the Church to remember that “whatever happens,” they needed to stay in close fellowship w/ the Lord & in close fellowship w/ one another – “…in one spirit, w/ one mind striving side by side…”
When we move to Ch. 2, we see Paul beginning to masterfully & lovingly guide his brothers & sister in Christ toward the necessary ingredients for healing the internal wounds that were festering in the Church. He lets them know that if they are going to make progress in dealing w/ this conflict, they had to be unified in mind, love, & soul, & must humbly place the interests of their fellow believers above their own interests. He connects the outside conflict w/ the inside conflict w/ the word “therefore” which starts the new paragraph in ch. 2. You don’t that actual word there in v. 1, but the word “So” can be translated “therefore.”
- Bible study rule: When you see word “therefore” ask, “What’s the ‘therefore’ there for?’”
- Here, it’s there b/c Paul is saying to them, “You are in this battle w/ me against the opponents outside the Church, & we are still in it. Therefore, you need to make sure that you’re in unity w/ one another inside the Church. We’ve got enough to deal w/ outside the Church – Let’s make sure we are getting it right inside the Church!”
APPLICATION – Unity within the Church gives us great joy & glorifies God.
I love how 2:1-4 reads in The Message: “If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if His love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”
When you see the word “if” in v. 1, you can translate it “since” or “because.” Paul is saying, “Since God has worked in your life & has given you the encouragement & comfort & fellowship in the Spirit & tender, compassionate hearts…” – In other words, since you’ve experienced God’s GRACE in your life, then respond by being in unity w/ each other in the Body of Christ.
As we look at these 4 verses, we see 4 key components to experience the joy of unity w/ our brothers & sisters in Christ:
HAVE THE SAME MIND – v. 2, 5
This doesn’t necessarily mean being in total agreement w/ each other on every subject. We all know that there can be disagreements in the church.
- Reminds me of a story of Navy captain in the South Pacific. Saw smoke rising from a hut on an uncharted island. When they got to the shore, met by a shipwreck survivor. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been alone on this island for more than 5 yrs.” Captain – “Well, if you’re alone on this island, why do I see 3 huts?” “I live in one & go to church in the other.” “What’s the 3rd one?” “Oh, that’s where I USED to go to church!”
Having the same mind doesn’t mean blind agreement on every subject & issue. It means to be united in our purpose & motivation within the church.
What is our purpose? Here at FBCF, our purpose is to make much of Jesus by fulfilling the Great Commission & the Great Commandment.
- Great Commission – Matt. 28:19-20
- Great Commandment – Matt. 22:37-39 – “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
What is our motivation? We are motivated by:
- Our love for God & our desire to glorify Him through our obedience.
- Our love for others & our desire for all people to come to know Jesus as their Savior & Lord.
We can have differing opinions about how to accomplish our purpose & motivation. But we have to be united in our desire to fulfill our purpose & motivation.
HAVE THE SAME LOVE – v. 2
Paul mentions love throughout this letter.
- 1:9 – “It is my prayer that your love may abound more & more…”
- 1:15-16 – “Some, of course, are preaching the Good News because they are jealous of the way God has used me. They want reputations as fearless preachers! But others have purer motives, 16-17 preaching because they love me, for they know that the Lord has brought me here to use me to defend the Truth.” (TLB)
- 2:1 – “…any comfort from love…”
- 4:1 – “Therefore, my brothers, whom I love & long for, my joy & crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”
What does it mean for us to have the “same love”? Let’s compare the love that Christians have w/ the love that the world has.
- World’s love – all about what I can take or what I can get. “I will love you IF you’ll do something for me, or give me something.” It’s a self-centered, “what’s in it for me” kind of love – which is really no love at all.
- Christian love – agape’ – all about what I can give to you or for you. It’s selfless & sacrificial, full of goodness & giving. It models itself after Jesus & His unconditional, unending, unmerited love.
- World’s love is based on feelings, which can change in an instant, based on circumstances – “I don’t FEEL any love for you anymore.”
- Christian love is based on God’s unchanging nature. 1 John 4:19 – “We love b/c He first loved us.”
- World’s love is shown toward those whom we deem worthy of our love.
- Christian love is shown toward everyone, even our enemies.
You & I can have this same love only when our lives have been changed by Jesus. Apart from Him, we are incapable of having & showing this kind of love to anyone. If we are to love as God loves, that love – that agape’ love – can only come from its Source, which is God Himself. That’s how we have unity in the same love.
HAVE A HUMBLE HEART – v. 3
This is really the key verse in understanding the joy of unity in the Body of Christ. Most of the strife & difficulty that we experience in our lives – both inside & outside the Church – comes from hearts that are not in the right place. When our hearts are not right w/ Jesus & w/ each other, we are going to have disunity.
- It’s a spiritual problem – We’ve taken our eyes off of Jesus & aren’t walking w/ Him.
- It’s a selfishness problem – We are more concerned about OUR wants & desires rather than the needs of others.
- It’s a pride problem – Spell the word “prIde” w/ a capital “I”.
- It’s a position problem – We’ve positioned ourselves above others.
Remember – JOY is “Jesus, Others, then YOU!”
A humble person is not one who thinks lowly of themselves – it’s the person who doesn’t think of himself or herself at all. It’s the person who has willingly & completely surrendered himself/herself to Christ to be used however & whenever the Lord wants to use them, in whosever’s life He needs to use them. They just simply are not worried or concerned about themselves at all. Their eyes are turned away from themselves & focused on others.
HAVE A HELPING HAND – v. 4
Unity is lived out when we put it into action. We don’t just SAY that we are putting others’ needs ahead of our own – we live it out by helping others in their times of need.
- Church excels at this.
- Times of disaster. Many times, the Church is on the scene helping before government officials show up.
- We don’t just help our own – We reach out to anyone who is need. Opens doors of opportunity to share Christ w/ those who are lost.
AND REMEMBER THIS: JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE – v. 6-11
