STUDIES IN PHILIPPIANS (#4) THE MIND OF CHRIST (HE OUR GREAT EXAMPLE IS; 2:1-11) B. In Philippians 2, Paul discusses how Christians are to stay unified (2:1-4). A. There is a difference between unity & uniformity. 1. Today, we are here doing the same thing, that s uniformity! 2. But unity takes place when each one has submitted to the word of God. a. Unity will lead to the kind of uniformity that the Lord will accept. b. It is unity that defines the church, there is one body (Eph 4:4; Col 1:24). c. Every member of THAT church has completely submitted to God s word in every aspect of his or her life. Phil 2:1-4 Therefore [see 1:27-30] if there is any consolation [exhortation] in Christ, if any comfort [consolation] of love, if any fellowship [partnership] of the Spirit, if any affection [sympathy] & mercy [compassion], 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. [How?] 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition [faction, strife] or conceit [a cry of incitement], but in lowliness of mind [humility] let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out [take aim, regard] not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 1. Exhortation, comfort, fellowship, affection & mercy are an outgrowth of UNITY, & UNITY occurs when we submit to one another. 2. When each one yields his will, as a servant, to the things (kjv) interests (nkjv) of others. 3. But just HOW do we put that into practice? [Paul gives 4 examples of what it means to have the submissive mind. Each example is from Christ. Think of it, the Creator submitting to the creature is the example of how we are to submit to one another.] 1
I. HE THOUGHT OF OTHERS (2:5-6) Phil 2:5-6 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, [The submissive mind will do what is best for others even when it must give away privileges.] II. HE SERVED OTHERS (2:7) A. Before Jesus came to earth He was equal with God (Jn 1:1-4; Col 1:15; Heb 1:1-3). 1. However, He did not selfishly hold on to His equality with God. 2. Jesus did NOT think of Himself when He came to this earth, He thought of us, & the terrible fate that awaited us because of sin. 3. {Would you enter a burning house to save a baby if you knew for certain that it would cost you your life?} That s what Jesus did for us. 4. That s how far we should be willing to take our submission to each other (Rom 15:2-3; 1 Pet 5:5). Phil 2:7 but made Himself of no reputation, [how? by] taking the form of a bondservant, & coming in the likeness of men. Matt 20:27-28 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, & to give His life a ransom for many. A. By tracing the steps of Jesus service we learn how to serve one another. 1. He gave up recognition, honor, peace, & comfort control. 2. He became like the ones He served. 3. He used His ability to help them & to guide them toward the kingdom. 4. He served them to the point of His death. 2
[The submissive mind will serve others in ways that will point them to salvation.] III. HE SACRIFICED FOR OTHERS (2:8) Phil 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself & became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. A. Jesus demonstrated the highest quality of love for us (John 15:13). 1. But to do it He had to humble himself: to depress, to humiliate. 2. He had to do many things that were actually far beneath His dignity as the Son of God. 1. The more we sacrifice in our service of others, the more we are blessed by our Father to continue making the sacrifice for them. 2 Cor 9:6-10 6 he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 9 As it is written {Psa 112:9}: He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. 10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, & bread for food, supply & multiply the seed you have sown & increase the fruits of your righteousness Deut 33:25 As your days, so shall your strength be. #128 Take My Life, And Let It Be: It takes courage to sing that song! [The submissive mind is willing to make a personal sacrifice to serve others.] IV. HE GLORIFIED GOD (2:9-11) 3 3. What does that tell us? B. There is an upside to this point however, & it is a paradox of the Christian life: Phil 2:9-11 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him & given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, & of those on earth, & of those under the earth, 11 & that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
A. The purpose of Jesus suffering was to glorify His Father (Jn 17:1-5). 1. The purpose God had in the resurrection was to glorify His Son. 1. The ultimate purpose is to bring glory to God (Eph 1:6, 12, 14), & one day God will exalt us as He did His Son. 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, a. Men had done their worst to Jesus, but God exalted & honored Him. b. Men slandered the name of Jesus, but the Father declared Jesus to be Lord of all & Christ. CLOSING A. Every faithful Christian follows the same pattern in life that Jesus followed in His life. B. But even before the cross glorifying God was uppermost in Jesus mind. Jn 17:1-5 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 1. Each one will be honored or glorified by God (but not in this life). 2. Men of the world, & many in the church, seek honor & glory NOW, but NOW is NOT the time to seek those things. 4 C. The plan of salvation is not just about OUR salvation. 3. Now is the time to do what we have talked about today so that God may be glorified through His people.
Matt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works & glorify YOUR FATHER in heaven. [For the good works see the beatitudes: poor in spirit, mourn, meek, hunger & thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, persecuted for righteousness sake.] OUR GLORY & HONOR COMES LATER Dan 12:2-3 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame & everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, & those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever & ever {John 5:28-29}. 5 The Man & the Birds by Paul Harvey [He tells of] a kind decent, mostly good man, generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn t believe [that God became flesh]. [So while his wife went off to church services, he stayed at home.] Shortly after [she] drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier & heavier & then went back to his fireside chair & began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound...then another, & then another. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window. Well, he couldn t let the poor creatures lie there & freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide & turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched breadcrumbs sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide-open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the breadcrumbs, & continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them...he tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms...instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn. And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange & terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me...that I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.
If only I could be a bird, he thought to himself, and mingle with them & speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them {Pause} so they could see, & hear & understand. At that moment he sank to his knees in the snow realizing WHY JESUS HAD TO COME HERE. 6