Verses 1-2
When we read that statement, “if there is any encouragement in Christ” Paul is not asking as if they doubt that there could be encouragement in Christ. Paul is asking a question knowing the answer. And he knows that his audience knows the answer.
Paul is saying, “you have found encouragement in belonging to Christ, right?” And they would responded, ‘Yes!” You have found comfort in his love, right? “Yes!” You have enjoyed the fellowship you have with each other that is rooted in the Spirit of God, right? “Yes!” Do you have affection for others and compassion for others? “Yes!”
Paul was affirming what Philippians held true. And so he is saying, If this is true (and you know it is true and I have seen it to be true in their lives) then the result should be that you are living life together with the same mind and the same love.
Unity in the church isn’t when we have the same preferences or opinions or even the same personal convictions, unity in a church is when have the same mind of Christ and the same love of Christ. Unity occurs when we recognize that as believers in Christ, we are the body of Christ living out the mission of Christ together.
And so when we are in Christ individually and we are connected with each other through the body of Christ, that should change how we are in relationship with other.
That means that disunity or division in a body should never happen because of a disagreement about a preference no matter how strongly we feel about that preference. Our unity is rooted in Christ therefore we should have one mind and one love as a church family.
And the reason Paul was encouraging them to have the the mind of Christ and the love of Christ is because each local church family has been called to stand firm with each other, we are called to strive side by side laboring for the work of the Gospel.
If the mission of Christ is going to be accomplished in a local church it requires unity, it requires oneness, it requires togetherness. It requires that we see ourselves not as individuals standing our ground, fighting for our preferences but that we lay those things down for the body as we accomplish the work of Christ together.
Verses 3-4
The phrase ‘selfish ambition’ comes from the idea of being a ‘rival.’ Paul is saying, ‘Do not do something so that you gain a victory over someone at someone else’s expense. Don’t interact with each other within the body of Christ as if they are rivals; as if they are your competitor; as if they are your opponent.’
The idea of ‘conceit’ or your translation says ‘vain conceit’ is that I build myself up over others. Paul is saying don’t enter into relationships within the body of Christ so that you are elevated, so that you are honored over others.
Do you see the theme here with Paul? When we see the body as Christ as rivals, as opponents, as people that I am trying to get an advantage over then it destroys what we are called to be: people standing firm with each other, striving together with each other for the sake of Christ and the mission of Christ.
When a church family enters into a disagreement over an issue, one of the dangers is that we can become more concerned about winning the debate then being concerned for our brothers and sisters in the debate. We can become more concerned about the battle then how it impacts the family of God in the battle. We can become more concerned over whatever that issue is then actually accomplishing the work of Christ.
Too many churches have won the war on some debate within that church but they lose their mission. The debate distracts them. There are casualties of that war and people leave that church family and they are spiritually wounded and spiritually disheartened.
And Paul says there is a way to avoid this and it is our attitude with each other.
Verses 3-4
Paul does not just warn us about what our attitude should not be but also tells us what our attitude should be. Humility is the opposite of selfish ambition and conceit. While selfishness is inward focused (how I can build myself up), humility is outward (how can I build YOU up). When Paul says count others more significant it is not a complete disregarding of yourself but it is living with an others mindset. If I am a hand that is a part of the body, I don’t just think about maintaining me as a hand.
Which is why Paul goes on to say, ‘Do not just consider your own interest. But also the interest of others.’ It is just another way of saying don’t just live inward lives but also live outward lives. Don’t just stop when your needs are met, but continue to say, ‘Do people around me have needs to be met.” What are the needs of the body as we accomplish the work of Christ?
And to live outward lives requires something that is not always easy: humility.
I think a lot of times when we think of the word or act of humility it can feel passive maybe even weak. It can feel like the person who is constantly not wanting people to give them praise. But humility is not just deflecting attention from yourself because that in itself can become a form of pride. Biblical humility isn’t passive and inward but proactive and outward.
A church family that lives out biblical humility is a church family that is not simply one that is not seeking their own gain or interest. But one that is actively seeking to build others up. I can be humble and inward. Paul is saying, in humility, consider others more significant. Live an outward life.
There are plenty of churches that have their ‘needs’ met but at the same time aren’t living out their mission. We meet needs not just for the sake of meeting needs but for the sake of the Gospel.
For us to be on mission together as a church requires not just an effort, not just work on our part but it requires a humility. And Paul recognizes that humility is not something that our own human nature does naturally. In fact, the idea of humbling ourselves is counter to our nature.
Which is why Paul gives us Christ as the ultimately example of humility.
Verses 5-8
Paul encourages us to have the mind of Christ. And the mind of Christ is very different from the natural mind of man. The mind of Christ requires a laying down of our own life for the ultimately benefit of God and the benefit of others. The mind of Christ is an outward-focused mind.
And as Paul, being led by the Holy Spirit, describes the mind and attitude of Christ, he gives us one of the great passages on the deity and nature of Jesus Christ. And it is interesting that a passage that ultimately ends with Christ being exalted above all begins with Christ lowering himself.
Verse 6
When Paul say, “though he was in the form of God…” He is saying even though he had the full nature of God, even though he was (and is) God. He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped.
This a statement doesn’t lower Christ as one who was less than God.
When the Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ. He remained fully God. But he chose to limit himself as he took on Human Flesh, bound by human time, human hunger, human pain. He experienced physical suffering. He lived out the emotions and trials and wants of a human baby and human child and human teenager and human adult. Even though he was God, for chose to limit himself for our sake.
Verse 7
To describe this idea of emptying himself the King James uses the phrase, “made himself of no reputation.” Isaiah described the appearance of Jesus as one who had “no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”
Jesus could walk down the street of his hometown of Nazareth and people would simply see an ordinary teenager or ordinary young man not knowing that the very one who just passed them was the very one who created them and holds all things together.
If God in all of His glory would walk down that street, people would instantly fall down with their faces toward the ground in awe and trembling before a Holy God. They might have uttered the words of Isaiah who said, “”Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
And yet Jesus being fully God gave up some of the privileges of God so that he could actually walk among his own creation and people wouldn’t give it a second thought.
In fact, he so hid his glory that when he was arrested and tried, the leaders of Israel began to slap him in the face and spit at him and mock him. He so limited himself before humanity that he would actually allow wicked men to treat him as a criminal. He humbled himself for our sake.
In fact, he humbled himself even to the point of death.
Verse 8
This is the incredible act of humility that the Creator would allow His own creation to murder him, to crucify him.
This very act is unthinkable. Unimaginable. There is no act in humanity that this can be compared to this. Other men have been crucified. But this wasn’t any other man, this was the very Creator of all things.
Now in verses 9-11, Paul is going to transition to the humility of Christ, to the greatness of Christ. And it would be easy to want to quickly get to this wonderful passage of Christ being lifted high.
But before we get there we need to understand that the very reason that Paul is even talking about the humility of Christ is that he is making a significant point about church unity.
Just as the mission of Christ required humility, our task as a church in living out the mission of Christ requires humility. And if we ever ask, ”how much” humility then we just have to look at the example of Christ. And we will never be able to surpass the humility of the Creator becoming creation and being crucified by His own creation.
For us as a church to accomplish the mission and work of Christ, it requires that you and I empty ourselves and take on the form of servants so that this church family can maintain unity for the sake of the body standing firm together. For the sake of us striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel.
If we are ever in a place where the cost of church unity for sake of Gospel hurts, we can say we have a Savior who understands it. If we are ever in a place where the cost of church unity for sake of Gospel requires a great sacrifice on our part, we can say we have a Savior who understands.
Verses 9-11
Jesus will go from the cross, a symbol of shame and defeat to the exalted position crowned as Lord. Jesus does not exalt himself, it is the Father who exalts Him and gives him the name that is above all names and at his name every knee will bow.
For Old Testament Jews, the Name that was above all Names was the name Yahweh. It was the unspeakable name. Yahweh was the name that described God as the one true God who is above all, he is the Self-Existent, Eternal God.
In Isaiah 45, God is declaring himself, LORD, Yahweh. Isaiah 45:5 says “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.” In this passage, God declares himself and himself alone to be the creator of light and darkness, heaven and earth.” It is a passage that declares that he and he alone has power and authority over all things. And its this passage that Paul most likely had in mind when he wrote his words in Philippians 2.
Listen to Isaiah 45 verse 22-25 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
Only at the name of Yahweh, the one true God, will every knee bow and every tongue declare their allegiance.
And so the Father has lifted up Jesus and declared to all the nations, he is God. He is Yahweh, He is Salvation. He has power and authority over all things. And so when we declare Jesus is Lord we are not just saying he is a great prophet or one who has supernatural powers or one who is “a” god—but when we say Jesus is Lord we are saying He is Yahweh—The one true God—who was and is and is to come—He is forever GOD.
He is our mission, He is purpose—to make Him known and lead people into the salvation that is only found in Him.