SERIES: Philippians: Cheerful Sounds from a Jail Cell
The Great Exchange Applied
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
Introduction: Wasn’t it Charlie Brown who said, “I love mankind. It’s people I can’t stand”? I think so. He put his finger on a problem for a lot of us, didn’t he? There are some other versions of his profound insight that we might want to consider: “I love the family; it’s my wife and kids I can’t stand.” “I love the Church; it’s the pastor, the elders and the other members I can’t stand.” When you get right down to it, people are more trouble than anybody. (I’ll let that sink in just a minute).
Well, human nature has not changed a lot in the past 2,000 years. Paul, too, loved the church at Philippi and experienced great joy in it, but he struggled with some hard-to-get-along-with people inthe church. We don’t know all the details, but there were evidently some people in the church there who were selfish, ambitious, and proud, and by their behavior they were creating division in the Body. Rather than just let the problem lie, as is often our temptation, and rather than blasting the perpetrators out of the saddle, Paul chose to exhort the entire church to get its act together in regard to the all-important matter of Christian unity.
As most of you know, I started this passage last Sunday. It’s both one of the most theologically profound portions of the NT and one of the most practical. Since the practical is based upon the theological, we chose to examine verses 6-11 first. You can see the principal points made last Lord’s Day in your outline. I will not preach them again this morning, but I do want to review them very briefly:
He was in very nature God from all eternity.
He did not regard His eminent position as unrelinquishable.
He emptied Himself of the independent use of some of His divine attributes
and prerogatives.
He took upon Himself the very nature of mankind.
He humbled Himself to the point of absolute obedience and submission.
His acceptance of humiliation resulted in exaltation to the highest place.
Now those six points represent some real heavy theology; in fact, it is the foundation for all that we know about the person and work of Christ. But it was not written just to enhance our knowledge or secure our doctrinal orthodoxy. It was written to change our behavior. It is intended as a motivation for unity in the Body of Christ.
Let’s read the text together once again, Philippians 2:1-11:
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, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 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.
5 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.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
What Jesus did in exchanging His position as sovereign of the universe for that of a humble servant is offered to us as a pattern for our behavior in the church. “Your attitude,” says verse 5, “should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Where everyone is a servant, there is no unity problem. I want us to begin at verse one, where we will see …
The fourfold basis for Christian unity (1)
The first verse of our text contains four phrases introduced by the word “if.” This little word is often used in English to indicate some degree of doubt. One might say, “If it rains, the meeting will be postponed.” There is some doubt that it will rain; you are simply indicating what will happen if it does.
In the original Greek, however, the grammar in verse one does not admit any doubt. It should probably be translated “since.” Or, perhaps even this way: “Now if your experience of Christ’s encouragement means anything at all to you (and surely it must), then make my joy complete by …” and he goes on to tell them how.
To get hold of this argument let’s use a parallel illustration. Suppose you attended a Christian college that meant a great deal to you. In fact, you came to know Christ there. The Christian professors helped you learn to live for Christ in a mature way. You met a wonderful person there who later became your lifelong partner. You were also given the necessary training to prepare you for your life’s vocation.
Now you are graduating! As you do, I as the Director of Development approach you and say, “If you have been encouraged at all in this school, if you appreciate what you’ve learned, if you are grateful for the environment that enabled you to meet a fine Christian person to become your mate, if you are grateful for the preparation for your life’s work, then how about giving to the new library fund?”
It’s a pretty strong argument, isn’t it? Well, that’s essentially the same kind of argument Paul is offering here. There are four bases for his appeal for Christian unity. The first is the experience of …
Encouragement from being united with Christ. What is the greatest thing about being a Christian? Many might be inclined to answer, “I’ll go to Heaven when I die,” and that would surely be in the running for the greatest. But in terms of our lives today, I think it has to be the encouragement and support we get from knowing that we are inseparably and eternally united with Christ. He lives in me; I don’t have to go it alone; even if everyone else abandons me, He’s there! When I lose my job; when my spouse walks out; when my health fails; when my child is rebellious; when my world crumbles around me and I am totally discouraged—there is still encouragement available from the fact that Jesus is mine.
The hymnwriter has said it well:
“Fade, fade, each earthly joy; Jesus is mine.
Break every tender tie; Jesus is mine.
Dark is the wilderness,
Earth has no resting-place,
Jesus alone can bless;
Jesus is mine.”
Hard to beat that, isn’t it? Secondly, he mentions the experience of …
Comfort from His unconditional love. He loves me when I perform well. He loves me when I don’t perform at all. He loves me when I’m lovely. He loves me when I’m unlovely. He loves me when I can offer service to Him; he loves me when I have nothing to offer. He loves me when my doctrine is straight; He loves me when I’ve got some things screwed up. There is enormous comfort in knowing I am unconditionally loved.
Third, Paul appeals to the experience of …
Fellowship that results from the Spirit’s indwelling. The Bible teaches that the Spirit of God indwells the believer and that He also indwells the believing church. The first truth is taught in 1 Cor. 6 and the second in 1 Cor. 3. Both passages say essentially the same thing: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, and you do not belong to yourself?” But in 1 Cor. 6 the “body” is obviously our physical body; in I Cor. 3 the context makes clear that the body is the church.
That indwelling of the Holy Spirit provides the basis for a fellowship or sharing among believers that is otherwise impossible. I’ve never been in a perfect church, but I can tell almost instantaneously if I’m in a church that is indwelt by the Spirit of God. And it doesn’t matter what language they’re speaking or even whether I understand it. I’ve been in churches in Mexico, South America, and Europe where I didn’t have the foggiest idea of what was being said, but I enjoyed immediate and intimate fellowship with those people because the same Spirit indwelt me as indwelt them.
The final experience to which Paul appeals as the basis for his call for Christian unity is …
Mercy and compassion from God. Now Paul doesn’t explicitly state that the tenderness and compassion he is referring to is God’s rather than their own, but I think the context demands that. The first three items we looked at—the encouragement, the comfort, and the fellowship—are all specifically identified as from the Son and the Spirit; it’s only natural that he would speak also of the tenderness and compassion that comes from God.
Furthermore, the word translated “tenderness” is usually translated, “mercy,” and it is a word that is never used in the NT of anyone but God. So Paul is appealing to the believer’s experience of mercy from God. Are you a believer in Christ? If so, then you have experienced God’s mercy. He has given you what you don’t deserve—eternal life—and He has promised not to give you what you do deserve—namely eternal punishment for your sins. In that, He is merciful and compassionate.
Now if that constitutes the fourfold basis for Paul’s appeal, what is his goal in bringing these things to our minds? He would like to see four goals achieved. Because of the believer’s experience of divine encouragement, comfort, fellowship, and mercy, the following four aspects of Christian unity are expected: the first is like-mindedness.
The fourfold goal of Christian unity (2)
Like-mindedness. One thing we need to establish immediately is that being likeminded does not mean “thinking alike.” I can’t find anywhere in the Bible the notion that groupthink is Christian or that Christians should always agree. There are some churches that seem to think that unanimous votes are automatically spiritual votes. In fact, when some churches vote on a pastor, if he gets the 2/3 vote needed, they then revote to “make it unanimous,” I guess so they can tell him that everyone wants him, even though 33% can’t stand him. Look, if two people always agree, one of them isn’t needed. And that goes for a church, too. It bothers me if we get too many unanimous votes in our Board meetings; it indicates to me that somebody’s not thinking, maybe nobody.
But while unanimity is not necessarily spiritual, unity is. And that is what is meant by being likeminded. I think our potential for unity of mind comes principally from the fact that we have a common source for truth. Jesus prayed for His disciples, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17) We may not always agree, but we have an arbiter for truth that is capable of solving every major disagreement, namely the Scriptures.
The second goal the Apostle expects, based upon the privileges we all have, is …
Love for one another. The verse says, “Make my joy complete by being likeminded, having the same love.” Same as what? Well, back in verse one we were reminded of the comfort that comes from His love, which is unconditional; now he says, have the same love for one another. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34).
You see, it’s not enough just to have a common source of truth. In fact, there are denominations where so much agreement on doctrine is demanded that if you don’t dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s the way the founders did, you’re toast. But Paul is as much concerned about love as about truth. Not more concerned, but as concerned. It’s amazing, friends, how often in the Bible the subjects of truth and love are addressed simultaneously. “Speak the truth in love,” we are exhorted in Eph. 4:15.
Now when Paul exhorts us to have the same love for one another that Christ had for us, he is not oblivious to the fact that Christians are sometimes hard to get along with. But to the extent possible we should live peaceably with all men. Granted, sometimes that is impossible, for once in a while you’ll find someone who rejects all olive branches you try to offer. But our goal should not be to separate ourselves from a fellow believer who is cantankerous, or holds a doctrine that is different from ours, or has some idiosyncrasy that irritates us. Rather we should seek to know him better, to learn from him, and to help him move ahead spiritually as we both together advance in the Christian life.
The third goal the Apostle mentions is “being one in spirit,” which I have expressed as …
Harmony in attitude. It is clear from the Greek that “spirit” here is not a reference to the Holy Spirit, for the whole phrase is one word in the original—sumpsuchoi. It means “together in spirit” or “harmonious in attitude.” Far more important than agreement on issues is agreement in attitude.
I saw this played out at our National Conference in California two weeks ago. As I mentioned we had a vigorous discussion on the issue of credentialing women for ministry. The decision was made to offer women a ministerial license if they are full-time vocational workers in the local church, perhaps as a women’s ministry coordinator, Christian Education director, or children’s ministry director.
There was agreement in attitude—everyone wanted to honor God’s Word and to affirm women in their very significant ministries in our churches. But there was strong disagreement on how to accomplish that. Some were very fearful of licensing women because they saw that as a step toward ordination. A few believed women should be ordained now, just as male ministers are ordained, but not for preaching ministry. But we were able to have a vigorous discussion of some two hours without anyone getting angry and without losing our unity, because there was harmony of attitude.
The fourth goal is mentioned also at the end of verse 2, “being one in purpose.” I have referred to it as …
Singleness of purpose. If a church is agreed that their greatest purpose is to honor Christ, they can work together, even though the people come from very different backgrounds, espouse very different philosophies of ministry, and practice very different methodologies. Some may think that honoring Christ is best accomplished through a strongly evangelistic ministry, while others think it is best done through a strong teaching ministry, and still others think the way to go is a strong mission program. As long as the overall purpose of everyone is to honor Christ, such differences can be tolerated. But if some of the people in a church are seeking their own honor rather than Christ’s, then there is no basis for unity.
Now the Apostle follows his discussion of the goal of Christian unity with …
The practical steps to Christian unity (3-4)
He doesn’t want any of us to get lost in the lofty terminology of love and fellowship and unity, words which, if we’re not careful, can almost lose their meaning for us. So, in verse 3 he speaks in very down-to-earth terms that all of us need to hear: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” I think he is asking us here to make an exchange of our own. In light of the great exchange Christ made, we are asked to …
Exchange selfish ambition and pride for humility and elevation of others. We need a wardrobe change. One of the garments we need to take off is selfish ambition; not ambition, but selfish ambition. Ambition is the desire to do well, and people who lack it rarely accomplish much of value. But why do we want to do well? That’s the question. Paul wrote in another place, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Unfortunately, it’s very easy for us to mix selfish motives with godly ones. We may do something because it’s right, but an even stronger motivation may be that we’ll profit from it.
You know the old saying, “Honesty is the best policy.” As the world thinks, that means, “Being honest will help your reputation and, in the long run, make you more successful.” But the Christian should not be honest because he’ll be better thought of or more successful. He shouldn’t be honest because it’s the best policy, but rather because it’s the right thing to do, because God has commanded it. Don’t do anything for selfish ambition.
And don’t do anything out of vain conceit. Several years ago there was a well-known advertisement for a brand of underwear called BVDs. The advertisement read: “Next to myself I like BVD’s best.” Naturally the advertisement was based on the fact that underwear is worn next to the skin. But the humor came from the equally well-known fact that no one is better liked by anyone than the individual himself. Looking out for Number One is perhaps the favorite American pastime.[i]
But that’s not the Christian way. We are to exchange the garments of selfish ambition and pride for two others that are much more attractive on the well-dressed Christian: humility and elevation of others. The verse says, “in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Now I think we need to think very soberly and carefully about these words. There is a veritable plague of selfishness in our society today, and it reaches into the Christian world as well. At the same time, however, there is a plague also of low self-esteem. We need to understand and accept what the Apostle is saying here without contributing to the deprecation of human beings created in the image of God in the process.
There are millions of people, and many Christians are among them, who have a very poor self-image and who are unable to reach out to others and establish meaningful relationships because of it. They are so consumed by their own feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and insignificance that a counselor has to start by rebuilding the basic foundation of their being before he can even begin to help them with their marriage problems or career problems, or general relationships.
I want to make it clear that I do not think Paul is here trying to encourage poor self-concepts. He’s not suggesting that one must consider every fellow-believer to be in every respect wiser, abler, and better than himself. All of us know that isn’t true. But he is asking us to take a realistic view of our own worth rather than an inflated view. In the book of Romans he put it this way: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.” (Romans 12:3)
He is also asking us to choose to see the best in other people, to notice their gifts and talents and encourage their development, to find their strengths and emphasize them. Surely in every person we can find something at which they are better than we are. The humble Christian who is striving for unity will focus on that rather than upon those things which they lack.
So, that’s the first step—exchange selfish ambition and pride for humility and elevation of others. The second is like unto it:
Exchange selfishness for interest in others. “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also the interests of others.” I heard about the teenager who quoted this verse in the KJV as a justification for cheating on an exam: “Look not everyone on his own things but also on the things of others.” I don’t think that’s very good exegesis.
Paul here is talking about the terrible tendency in every human heart toward selfishness. We thrive on it. But preoccupation with oneself is sin. In its place God desires that we be preoccupied with meeting other people’s needs.
Watchman Nee, the Chinese evangelist, tells of a Christian he once knew in China. He was a poor rice farmer, and his fields lay high on a mountain. Every day he pumped water into the paddies of new rice. And every morning he returned to find that an unbelieving neighbor who lived down the hill had opened the dikes surrounding the Christian’s field to let the water fill his own. For a while the Christian ignored the injustice, but at last he became desperate. What should he do? His own rice would die if this continued.
Well, if he lived in the U.S. the answer would be obvious—sue him! But that wasn’t possible in china. The man and his Christian friends met, prayed, and came up with this solution: the next day the Christian farmer rose early in the morning and first filled his neighbor’s fields; then he attended to his own. Watchman Nee tells how the neighbor subsequently became a Christian, his unbelief overcome by a genuine demonstration of a Christian’s love for others.[ii]
If such an attitude will reach an unbeliever for Christ, imagine what it could do for unity in the family of God? Imagine what it could do for your home? By the way, friends, these two steps are as desperately needed in the home as in the church. Exchange selfish ambition and pride for humility and elevation of others. And exchange selfishness for interest in others.
Do you have a Christian brother with whom you are not speaking or a member of your household who is a Christian but with whom you are on very bad terms? Are there Christians of another denomination who are anathema to you and with whom you will not have fellowship? If that is so, then I can assure you that God is not pleased. He desires His family to experience true unity.
The pattern for Christian unity: Jesus Christ (5-11)
Friends, the pattern for Christian unity is, very simply, the person of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 5:“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” What was it that Jesus did to demonstrate a godly attitude? We examined it last week:
He was in very nature God from all eternity.
He did not regard His eminent position as unrelinquishable.
He emptied Himself of the independent use of some of His divine attributes
and prerogatives.
He took upon Himself the very nature of mankind.
He humbled Himself to the point of absolute obedience and submission.
His acceptance of humiliation resulted in exaltation to the highest place.
If the theology is difficult; if the exhortations we have drawn from it seem vague and unpractical; if everything that has been said so far has failed to reach you, this should reach you: be like Jesus. He exchanged His position as Sovereign of the universe for that of a humble servant, and He offers His life as an example to us, a pattern for godly behavior in the Church.
Conclusion: This week I read a story about how monkeys are sometimes caught by animal dealers. They take a number of narrow-mouthed jars, place some shiny beads in them, and then anchor them firmly to the ground by means of a length of rope. The monkeys come upon the jars, see the shiny beads, and immediately stick their hands through the narrow mouths to grab a fistful of beads. Of course, when they grasp the beads, it is necessary for them to make a fist. And because a fist is of greater diameter than the unclenched hand, it is impossible for the monkeys to withdraw their hands again.
Does this mean that they drop the beads and try to figure out another way to get them? Not at all! The monkeys cling until their captors come, place them in cages, and then release them by breaking the bottles.
Jesus was not like this. The Bible says that Jesus let go. He relaxed his hand. He became a human being, lived among us, and then died on the cross for our salvation. And because He did, the Father exalted Him to the highest place.
We, too, have two choices, and for many of us those choices constitute an internal war. We can selfishly cling to our own interests and our own ambitions. Or we can relax, trust God to meet our needs, and start viewing the rest of the Body of Christ as our family and as those we are called to serve. May God help us to do so.
DATE: July 10, 1988
Tags:
Unity
Fellowship
Love
Humility
Selfishness
[i] Illustration borrowed from James Montgomery Boice, Philippians, 118.
[ii] Story told without citation by Boice, 123-134.