Complete My Joy
- Philippians 2:1-11 -
[Introduction]
Today’s text is Philippians chapter 2:1-11. Turn there in your Bibles if you would.
As you are turning there I would like to ask the question: what makes a good church? One person responds to that question this way:
In a good church:
All the lazy folks will get up,
And all the sleeping folks will wake up,
And all the discouraged folks will cheer up, And all gossiping folks will shut up,
And all the dishonest folks will ‘fess up,
And all the estranged folks will make up,
And all the disgusted folks will sweeten up,
And all the lukewarm folks will fire up,
And all the dry bones will shape up,
And all the sanctified folks will show up,
And all the leading folks will pay up,
And all the true soldiers will stand up,
According to this person, a good church will wake up, pray up, sing up, teach up, stay up, and never give up, back up, or shut up until the cause of Christ is built up.
That’s a humorous way of describing a good church. And you know, if we asked 10 different people that same question we are likely to get 10 different responses. And I want to answer the question, ‘what makes a good church?’ from our text this morning. And you might say, ‘Pastor, the last time I checked, the word “church” isn’t in Philippians 2:1-11.’ And you’d be right. But Paul here is addressing the individuals of the church at Philippi. And as we will see he is going to give them instruction on how to be Christ-like. Now a good church is a Christ-like church. And in order for a church to be Christ-like, it has to be filled with Christ-like people. And so I want us to see from our text this morning that a Christ-like body of believers will be unified, loving, and humble. A Christ-like body of believers will be unified, loving, and humble. Follow along as I read Philippians chapter 2:1-11.
[Read Philippians 2:1-11]
Here we have the Apostle Paul giving instruction as to how to have the same mind as Christ. He’s telling the Philippians how to be Christ-like. And he tells them several things. First, Paul encouraged unity within the body.
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[Paul encouraged unity within the body.]
Look again at verses 1-2.
[Read v.1]
In other words, ‘If all of these things are true; if Christ has come alongside you, and is your comfort and your reason for comforting others in love, and if you have fellowship with God by the Spirit of God, and if you have true genuine affection for the body and for me [me being Paul]; if these things are true, then complete my joy by being of the same mind.’
You see Paul’s personal joy was linked to whether or not the believers in Philippi were unified. He exhorts them to ‘be of the same mind’ and to be ‘in full accord and of one mind.’ And the two phrases convey similar ideas but they do have different nuances. The phrase ‘be of the same mind’ simply means to ‘think in the same way’. And to be ‘in full accord and of one mind’ conveys the idea of being ‘intent on the same purpose.’ So we get the idea here that we are not just talking about looking like we’re one on the outside. It’s an inward state of mind. We are focused around one purpose and that is the unity of the body for the sake of the gospel.
One person pointed out that there can be union without unity. If you tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline, then you will have union, but certainly not unity! They will be together physically, but definitely not on the same page. And so it is with the body, the unity that Paul speaks of here is a unity of mind. It is a deep, genuine unity based upon a common purpose; and is not superficial or artificial. And that leads us to our next point, that Christ demonstrated unity within the Godhead.
[Christ demonstrated unity within the Godhead.]
If Paul encouraged unity based upon a common purpose within the body, Christ exemplified such unity within the Godhead. Turn your attention to verses 5-6.
[Read vv. 5-6]
The text says that though Christ was in the form of God, he did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped. One scholar notes that the phrase ‘a thing to be grasped’ originally meant ‘something to be seized by robbery’ and it has the idea of holding on to something tightly or clinging to something. And so the idea is that even though Christ is and always has been God; and even though Christ has every right to claim and cling to his position within the Godhead, he did not do so because he was united in purpose with the Father. It was the Father’s purpose that Christ voluntarily lay aside his heavenly position for a season in order to accomplish the redemption of humanity and so it was Christ’s purpose as well. There is in this case, and there is always in every case, perfect unity within the counsels of the triune God.
And so a Christ-like church will mirror that same unity. Paul encouraged it within the body, and Christ demonstrated it within the Godhead.
Well as we move along in our text we see also that Paul encouraged love within the body.
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[Paul encouraged love within the body]
Look again at verse 2. Paul writes, be ‘of the same mind, having the same love’. And the word ‘love’ here is a form of the familiar Greek word ‘agape’. You see, it’s very difficult if not impossible to have unity within the church if its members do not love each other. Now you’ve probably heard it mentioned before, but it’s worth mentioning again; that of the several different Greek words for love, ‘agape’ love stands out as a love of choice. There is a word for sexual love, ‘eros’. There is a word for brotherly, friendship love, ‘phileo’. But ‘agape’ love; the love that Christ is said to have for his church, and the love that husbands and wives are told to have for one another, is a matter of the will. It is not based upon emotion. It is love of the mind. And this is so noteworthy because loving people within the body in this way is not always a simple matter.
You’ve probably heard it said, ‘To dwell above with the saints we love, that will be glory. But to dwell below with the saints we know, well that is a different story.’
Loving one another with selfless, intentional love is not always easy. But again we have the example of Christ, who demonstrated love for mankind. Christ demonstrated love for mankind.
[Christ demonstrated love for mankind.]
Turn your attention to verse 7.
[Read v.7]
The text says that Christ, ‘made himself nothing’. We call the concept in this verse, and really in this entire passage, the kenosis of Christ. Or, the self-emptying of Christ. And we mean by that the voluntary laying aside of his glorious position within the Godhead. Christ did not empty himself of deity in part or in totality; in other words, he did not cease to be God in any way. He simply veiled his glory for the purpose of the incarnation. It is here that we see his love for humanity. Christ’s love for mankind motivated his coming to earth for the work of redemption. We all know that John 3:16 says that God loved the world; and this is how he loved the world: he sent his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
The text says that Christ was ‘born in the likeness of men.’ He stepped out of heaven and into a fleshly body, combining perfectly the divine and human nature; fully God and fully man. And he did this because of his love for mankind.
And so the Christ-like church will also mirror that same love.
Now notice lastly that Paul encouraged humility within the body.
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[Paul encouraged humility within the body.]
[Read vv.3-4]
Paul tells them to consider one another before themselves. And that’s really the basic definition of humility as it relates to other people. Humility before God is surrendering to his sovereignty and power; and it is similar with humility before other people. The humble person submits to the wishes and will of another. He or she looks to the interests of others before his or her own.
It’s been said that, ‘They that know God will be humble, and they that know themselves cannot be proud.’ And there is certainly truth to that. You see you cannot have unity if you do not have love and you cannot have either of those two if you do not have humility. A person who is not humble cannot love selflessly because he is selfish. And a person who cannot love selflessly cannot promote true unity around a common purpose. And so Paul tells them not to do anything from rivalry or conceit.
And once again, we look to Christ as our example; because Christ demonstrated humility on the cross. Christ demonstrated humility on the cross.
[Christ demonstrated humility on the cross.]
[Read v. 8]
Christ endured the most shameful death penalty in the ancient world for the sake of those who would trust in him. Even after humbling himself by laying aside his glory and coming to earth, he humbled himself more by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
And so, a Christ-like church will mirror that humility.
Christ-like believers will not cling to their positions of power. They will not be conceited or selfish. They will not have a ‘my way or the highway’ mentality. They will be humble, and therefore loving, and therefore united; even as their model was and is: Jesus Christ.
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[Conclusion]
Well, then the text says:
[Read vv.9-11]
Because Christ had the same purpose as the Father, and because he accomplished that purpose with love and humility; the Father has exalted him and given to him the name that is above every name. And one day all men will bow before him when he returns in glory. And we as believers are promised that we will share in that glory.
So let us live as those who follow the humble King. Let us develop Christ-like character and thereby contribute to a Christ-like church. And let us do that by being unified, loving, and humble.
