Bible Study Series: The Book of Philippians
Bible Study Philippians 1.27-2.5 Unity through Humility in Christ Jesus
By Fraser Gordon
Paul said these great words in Philippians 1.21 for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain’. He had a difficult decision, saying in verse 23, ‘I'm hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, 24 nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you’. That kicks us off into the next passage from verse 27 through to Chapter 2 which is all about others and about our conduct as believers.
Walk worthy
Php 1:27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ…
Paul addresses the believers in Philippi and says their conduct as Christians needed to be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Philippi was a Roman city, 1000 miles from Rome yet there was a certain level of conduct and behaviour expected of them because they were Roman citizens. Paul reminded the believers that they were also citizens of a country - heaven. They were a long way from heaven too, but there was a certain conduct and behaviour that should befit them as citizens of heaven.
In Ephesians chapter 4 we get similar words.
Eph 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
In the first few chapters of Ephesians Paul wrote of all the great things God has done - the great riches and inheritance we've been called into which Christ has bought for us through His death on the cross. Then Paul writes, in light of that your behaviour should be, ‘to walk worthy of the calling’. Paul is saying the very same thing in Philippians. He writes ‘let your conduct be worthy’. In other words, live and act as though you're worthy of the gospel. We are to live with integrity and honesty, and our conduct should be in line with the salvation we've received.
Striving together
Php 1.27 …so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel
This message today is about oneness; that we are to be of one mind, one spirit and one body, ‘striving together’, as Paul writes ‘for the faith of the gospel’. I remember reading an example of what happened to the church in China. The believers were persecuted but they were one. They met in secret because they weren't allowed to meet openly. Then missionaries came in from different denominations who all had little pet doctrines that they brought with them. The churches began to focus on these different doctrines and it divided them. Instead of being one under persecution the churches in China ended up with different denominational doctrines which brought disunity among the believers. They weren't of one mind and one spirit anymore.
External conflict
Adversaries and suffering
Php 1:28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.
Fear is something that shouldn't dominate us. One of Satan's greatest methods is to use fear to cripple us, to shut our mouths and keep us quiet. Paul writes, don't be terrified by your adversaries. Don't be afraid that they oppose you. The fear of man is a real crippler. Fear of people's opinion, of ridicule, persecution, hatred, and the fear of being unpopular. One of Satan's main objectives is to keep our mouths shut through fear. We are not in any way to be terrified by our adversaries, those that oppose us, disagree with us, ridicule and persecute us. Don't be afraid of their perspective. The only way for us to handle fear is to face it and step forward in dependence on God. Open our mouths, don't let fear rule and cripple you. I've had it in my own life many times. Go forward in dependence on God, trusting Him. He's the only one that can bring forth life anyway. Paul encouraged the believers in Philippi and remember, he is in prison for the gospel, chained to a guard while writing this letter. He's suffering because of his boldness.
Php 1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
We are called not only to believe but also to suffer for Christ. It is the gift of God for us to believe in Him, but oddly it is also the gift of God to at times suffer. It's not something we like, but it's part of the Christian life. Christ suffered and because we are His body, we also will at times undergo suffering. We should not think we don't deserve it, or that it's of the enemy. Remember Paul was in prison. God will allow suffering to come into our lives for His benefit and purpose.
This verse is about the external conflicts which you and I face as believers. Things that come to us from the outside. There will be suffering and adversaries, there will be people that persecute you. We should conduct our lives in such a way that we are worthy of the gospel, and be one with other believers standing fast in one spirit and in one mind.
Internal conflict
The flesh
Philippians Chapter 2 is more about the internal conflict we suffer. The first few verses are about unity and how to get along with one another when there's internal conflict. It’s about the flesh in us that works against us and the flesh we see in others that annoys us.
One of Satan's methods to cripple us and shut our mouths is to bring persecution and adversaries against us. Another one of his methods is to get us preoccupied with fleshly trouble. Satan wants us preoccupied by these things instead of having our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are no longer striving together as one for the gospel's sake.
If we are to get along in unity with the body of believers our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ starts first.
Five bonds of union
Php 2:1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
There are five bonds of union and fellowship in this passage. The first one is our consolation in Christ. The word consolation means comfort meaning the comfort we give someone when they have lost a loved one. We can share the grief of others and we can console them. That means giving, just as we all experience the comfort of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can show His consolation to others.
The second one is the comfort of love. The love that we experience from Christ we should share with one another. Jesus even said that the world would know you are His if you have love for one another. Now this love is a smile, a grasp of a hand and a kind word. It draws us together because of the love that the Lord Jesus Christ has shown us.
The third one is fellowship of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to each and every one of us who believes. He is our comforter and helper. It's His role to abide with us, to draw near so that He can comfort us. He is with us always in each and every situation we face. We are never alone. As born again believers we always have fellowship with Him. Therefore other Christians also have this fellowship and Paul writes if we've got any fellowship of the Spirit, if you have been born again, the Holy Spirit is near. It's the same for all, so let us be one in the Spirit.
The fourth and fifth are the bonds of affection and mercy. We all deserve judgement from our sinful actions, every single one of us, but mercy has been poured on us from the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, in light of that, we are to be merciful to all those that are weak and struggling.
This is what Paul addresses. Being one together is always in light of the mercy, love, comfort, and the drawing near of the Spirit of God toward us. So if God has acted in that way toward you and I we should show the same to our brothers and sisters who also experience these things. Unfortunately what happens is we get caught up in fleshly behaviour. The actions of other believers gets our back up, there isn't any unity and we divide and separate. First and foremost, these five bonds should be the basis for unity among believers.
Romans 15.1 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbour for his good, leading to edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me."
It's not about us, it's actually about others and we're to live and act for our neighbour and their well-being. Bearing with those that are weak, we're not to live to please ourselves. This Romans passage is similar to Philippians and the basis for it all is the five bonds of unity.
A magnet
Php 2:2 fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Remember Paul is chained to a prison wall and yet he's rejoicing in Christ. He says, fulfil my joy. In other words, top it off. Like a kid in a sand pit, he says my joy is going to overflow. He's chained to a prison wall but inwardly he's as free as a bird. He's already got joy but if there's oneness in the spirit among the believers that'll top it off for him. Paul is asking for unity. He stresses it a lot in his prison epistles.
If you have a bag of marbles the bag holds all of them together but if you tear the bag the marbles drop out and go in different directions. Sometimes churches are like that they can hold all believers together but if something happens, a rift or there’s strife within the church fellowship, it's torn and just like the marbles believers drop out and separate, all going in different directions. On the other hand, just like metal shavings to a magnet, believers can draw together and become one. We need an external force that draws us together. Sometimes churches are like a bag of marbles. The container holds them all and they are together. But when something happens and it's torn, they all separate and go their own way. We need an external force - the Lord Jesus Christ in our churches, drawing us together like metal shavings to a magnet. The power is from outside ourselves and draws us together unifying us as one.
Edith
Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
In verse 3 Paul starts to address some of the issues going on in the Philippian church. Remember earlier in Chapter 1 there were people preaching from selfish ambition, envy and strife. Believers were hoping to afflict Paul with some pain while he was chained in prison. He starts to address it here.
We love to elevate and promote ourselves, however selfish ambition is something that should be put aside. Do not advance yourself at the expense of others. A good example of this is in Genesis 13 between Lot and Abraham. When they came out of Egypt there was strife between their herdsmen because there wasn’t enough room for both of them and all their livestock. Abraham asked Lot to choose the land and go wherever he wanted. Lot chose the best, most fertile and prosperous part of the land and pitched his tent toward the gates of Sodom, where he ended up living (there was a cost in that for Lot). Abraham would have known which was the best land but he wasn’t trying to get it. He allowed Lot to choose first and then he went somewhere else. Abraham is a picture of someone who did not seek self first. He didn't elevate, promote or try to advance himself over his nephew.
Conceit means to have an excessively high opinion of oneself, your own ability and importance. Another word for that is narcissism. Because of the fall of man we all have a bit of that; promoting self and an excessively high opinion of ourselves. It is the self life we inherited from Adam. If there was a photo of your fellowship printed in the church newsletter, who is the first person you would look for in that photo? Yourself of course. Your response is either gosh, that's not a good picture of me, my eyes are closed, my head's down, I'm looking the other way. That's a terrible photo of me. Look at my hair. I look terrible. Or, that's a good photo of me, I'm looking good there. My smile is great! It's either one reaction or the other, but it's both self. This is what conceit and selfish ambition is like. The little saying about Edith always makes me laugh. Edith lived in a little world bounded on the north, the south, the east and the west by Edith. Self is consumed with itself.
Perspective
Another word for lowliness of mind is humility. Take stock and humble yourself before God. Scripture says that we are to humble ourselves. We don't want God to humble us because we might not enjoy His method. We are to lower and humble ourselves and take stock of our true condition before God.
There was an American pastor who was voted by the fellowship to be the best pastor they had ever had. They gave him a badge and a medallion. About two months later they had to take it off him because he kept wearing it to church. Isn't that just what we're like? We love to promote ourselves. Imagine a world where others are placed first. Where the benefit of others is consistently looked out for. I remember reading something titled ‘Perspective’. It said, “If you can start the day without caffeine, if you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains. If you can resist complaining and boring people with your own troubles. If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it. If you can understand that your loved ones are too busy to give you any time. If you can take criticism and blame without resentment. If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend. If you can face the world without lies and deceit and can conquer tension without medical help. If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, colour, religion, or politics. Then my friend, you are almost as good as your dog!
Let us each esteem others better than ourselves.
For the benefit of others
Php 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
I remember Watchman Nee gave a really good example of this. He talked about a rice farmer who got up every morning to flood his rice paddies with water, only to find that his neighbour at the bottom of the valley would open his own floodgates and take his water to fill his paddocks. This went on and on and the man didn't know what to do about it. In the end, this christian believer decided he would get up even earlier and fill his neighbours rice paddocks first before he filled his own. The unbeliever at the bottom of the valley was so struck that his neighbour had looked out for the interests of others that he in turn became a believer. His actions brought his neighbour into the fellowship of God.
This passage talks about us lowering ourselves. It's about being there for others and humbling yourself. Martin Luther gave another example of two mountain goats he saw on a narrow mountain path. They came along a ridge where there was only enough room for one goat. If this had been two Christians they would have started butting heads until both of them fell off to their peril. These two goats were going in opposite directions so one mountain goat lay down on the path while the other one walked over the top of them. So they could both go their own way, one goat was willing to lower himself so that the other could walk over the top. Therefore they were both safe. Paul writes that just like these goats we need to lay down for the benefit of others. Don't promote yourself. It's not all about you.
Being one
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus
So what is this mind? Well it's one of lowering yourself for the benefit of others just as Christ lowered himself.
Joh 17:20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
This was Jesus' prayer, that there would be oneness amongst believers. Satan's plan is to divide us and bring disunity among the body of Christ so that we cannot be one and will not strive together for the sake of the gospel. Paul addressed it in the church in Philippi and it's the same in our churches today. We have this disunity because the flesh in us becomes dominant. Paul writes in this chapter that we need to come back to the consolation we receive in Christ, the comfort of His love, the fellowship that all believers have in the Spirit, and be merciful. The only way that we can be one with other believers is to humble ourselves and realise that we have been saved from the state of our own heart by God. Lower yourselves and be there for others. This is really important and it starts first of all with our relationship with God.
Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for Paul and for the wonderful man that he was. Chained to a prison wall yet rejoicing. And Father we thank you that our conduct as believers is to be worthy of the calling by which you have come into our life and saved us. Let us not be afraid of adversaries, let us not see suffering as something that isn't from the hand of God. But let us embrace it, and let us learn what you have for us in it. And Father, we do pray that we may be one. Teach us to lower ourselves, to humble ourselves, and realise that all believers have been saved by the grace of God. We ask that you would apply these things to our life for Jesus' sake. Amen.