The Manual for the Mindset
Philippians 2:1-11
Introduction
Tom Johnson’s job is writing technical manuals and though it is an exhaustive process that takes a lot of time, his comment about his own work is: “I don't expect anyone will ever read it.” How many of us have a drawer in our house full of manuals we’ve never read? Gadget Helpline that found 64% of men and 24% of women don't read the manual before calling support. Companies have had to establish help lines you can call only because people do not want to read the manuals that come with their products. (Mayer) Alfredo Rego writes, “You should read manuals like you read love letters. In a love letter, everything counts. You read between the lines, above the lines, below the lines, and in the margins….You wonder what significance the stamp has. You smell the envelope for any special fragrance. … In a manual, everything counts as well. Your heart may not pound as strongly when you read a manual. But you will certainly have more time for love if you do not have to spend endless hours at the computer doing things that you would not have to do at all had you read the manual lovingly to begin with!”
Gordon Fee brought this to my mind when he described this section of Philippians as the “manual” - the ultimate example of the character of God, which God wants to reproduce in His people. And that ultimate example is Jesus.
In Philippians 2:1-11 we have such a vivid and specific instruction of the mindset of a disciple of Jesus. This serves as the manual of the mindset - and we do not dare stick it in a drawer and forget it! We certainly do not dare to try to imitate Christ without His help!
1. Be Unity-Minded! (2:1-2)
Paul begins with a picture of the finished project: (2:1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,) The “ifs” here do not express doubt. More like “since there is” (Craddock).
ERV Think about what we have in Christ: the ecouragement he has brought us, the comfort of his love, our sharing in his Spirit, and the mercy and kindness he has shown us.
These are conditions of unity - necessary. (Barclay)
-That fact that we are all in Christ.
-The power of Christian love.
-The fact that we share in the Holy Spirit.
-The existence of human compassion.
Three appeals to unity that say essential the same thing (2:2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.)
Can we ever think exactly alike? Be like-minded? N. T. Wright: There’s an old Jewish joke that says if you’ve got two rabbis you’ve probably got three opinions, and often the church seems like that as well.
Ironside via Swindoll “We are so largely influenced by habits, by environment, by education, by the measure of intellectual and spiritual apprehension to which we have attained, that it is an impossibility to find any number of people who look at everything from the same standpoint. How then can such be of one mind? … The “mind of Christ” is the lowly mind. And if we are all of this mind, we shall walk together in love, considering one another, and seeking rather to be helpers of one another’s faith, than challenging each other’s convictions.”
“Being of like mind means be like Jesus who never met a sinner he didn’t love to death.” - Phillip Heinze
2. Be Others-Minded (2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.)
Are we more “There you are!” or “Here I am!”?
Outlooks that destroy unity: Selfish Ambition, Vain Conceit, Looking to your own interests. These “are the mindset exactly the opposite of Christ’s…” (Fee)
To be Others-Minded is to be Humble. Humility in the ancient world was descriptive of a slave mentality and therefore to be avoided. To be humble meant to be base, of no account, unfit. But for Christians humility was a virtue. (Mercer). Humility is not focused on self but tends to forget self as it is concerned with the needs of others. That doesn’t mean we look down on ourselves or hate ourselves - it is a proper estimation of ourselves. We are a creature before our Creator, dependent and trusting.
“Love begins when someone else’s needs are more important than my own.”- unattributed
3. Be Christ-Minded (2:5-11)
From Sovereign to Servant (2:5-7 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.)
Have we considered what Jesus gave up to come to rescue. Matthew 20:28. What an example for us as Christians. We need to learn that we can serve others with joy. How do you know if you’re a servant? There’s a very simple test: You’ll know if you’re a servant by how you react when people treat you like one. (Courson via Erwin)
Fee: Christ was a person without advantages, rights or privileges, but in servanthood to all. This is to be our
mindset.
From Servant to Criminal (8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!)
He even died the death reserved for slaves and criminals. Fee: The cross was God’s…scandal, God’s contradiction to human wisdom and power: that the One they worshiped as Lord should have been crucified as a state criminal … that the Almighty should appear in human dress, and that he should do so in this way, as a messiah who died by crucifixion.”
From Lowest to Highest (9-11)
-Highest name (9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,)
-Highest Power (10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,)
*In heaven - spiritual beings … angels and demons
*On earth - those living on earth when Christ comes
*Under the earth - probably refers to the dead who shall be raised to acknowledge his Lordship over all.
-Highest Glory (11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.)
The ultimate triumph - “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36)
“There is no place in the universe, no created being, beyond the reach of the redeeming act of the servant Christ.” (Craddock)
Conclusion
When we are Unity Minded, Others Minded, and Christ Minded we are following the Manual for the Mindset!
This is FUEL FOR YOUR FAITH!
-Focus on the Finish Line
-Advance through the Challenges of Life
-Live the Jesus Life
-Adopt the Mindset (Read the Manual!)
Gospel music singer Guy Penrod's lyric:
He came down to my level,
When I couldn't get up to His
With a strong arm He lifted me up,
To show me what livin' is
He'll come down to your level if you'll open up the door
He wants to make your life worth livin’
That's what he came down for.
(via McKenzie)
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR PHILIPPIANS 2:1-11
1. The community of faith is described in terms of attitudes in 2:1-4. How do we respond when others hurt? How do these statements describe the church as a community of recovery?
2. Fred Craddock wrote, ““Being of the same mind (the phrase does not refer to agreeing on everything, but to having a common attitude or orientation) …” How do we balance conviction with having the same mind? How do we keep conflicting opinions from becoming division in the church?
3. Part of embracing humility is to be able to look at our own lives honestly and humble ourselves before God in obedience. How does that impact the way we treat others in the faith Family? Our own family or close friends? When have you seen humility make a positive impact?
4. Does it seem that humility means feeling worthless or inferior? Why is it difficult for most of us to consider others better than ourselves? Is it wrong to ever think of your own interests (2:4)? Why or why not?
5. Gordon Fee described the cross as a scandal: “The cross was God’s…scandal, God’s contradiction to human wisdom and power: that the One they worshiped as Lord should have been crucified as a state criminal…” What is scandalous about the cross? How could that be an unsettling term?
6. Though we do not know, it seems Paul may be addressing a divisive problem in the Philippian church. What one phrase stands out to you as the one that gives you strength to avoid division from brothers and sisters?
7. What else did you want to talk about today?
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Resources
Christian Standard Bible, Life Connections Study Bible, Holman Bible Publishers, 2019.
Craddock, Fred B. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Philippians. Knox, 1985.
Eastman, Susan. Working Preacher Commentary
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26/commentary-on-philippians-21-13-2
Erwin, Jim. Having the Right Attitude.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jimerwin/2014/04/14/philippians-25-11-having-the-right-attitude
Fee, Gordon D. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Philippians. IVPress, 1999.
Heinze, Phillip. Living the Lectionary.
https://livingthelectionary.blogspot.com/2020/09/lectionary-26-philippians-21-13.html
Holladay, Tom. Philippians: The Eight Places Joy is Won or Lost. Pastors.com, 2015.
Johnson, Tom. If No One Reads The Manual That’s Okay
https://idratherbewriting.com/2009/12/27/if-no-one-reads-the-manual-thats-okay/
Mayer, Caroline E. Why Won’t We Read the Manual?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/05/26/why-wont-we-read-the-manual/b7f08098-1d08-4d67-9e3e-8f3814f4d90a
Mercer, Jerry L. The Mind of Christ.
https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/2843/the-mind-of-christ-philippians-21-11
McKenzie, Alice. Level With Me.
https://www.patheos.com/progressive-christian/level-with-me-alyce-mckenzie-09-19-2014
Rego, Alfredo. How to Read a Manual.
http://www.robelle.com/smugbook/manual.html
Roper, David and Jay Lockhart. Truth for Today Commentary: Ephesians and Philippians. Resource Publications, 2009.
Swindoll, Charles R. Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, Volume 9. Tyndale, 2017.
Wright, Tom. Paul For Everyone: The Prison Letters. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004.
