Encouragement to Unity and Faithful Service to One Another (Phil. 2:1-4)

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Encouragement to Unity and Faithful Service to One Another (Phil 2:1-4) NOTE: Phil 2:5-11 flows from this and that should be explained.

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on July 30, 2023

We have been walking through Philippians.

Swindoll writes:

“What’s the secret to a great life?” People have pondered this question for millennia—since long before there was a self-help section at a bookstore … or twinkle-eyed preachers trading in shallow “believe in yourself” platitudes … or cabinets full of supplements and drugs to increase our energy or enhance our effectiveness.

The Bible’s answer to that question isn’t long, convoluted, or complex. As already indicated, we can sum it up in two words: selfless humility. Not the kind we conjure through mantras or summon through meditation or instill through methods of behavior modification. This is a supernatural kind of selfless humility that has its source in our identification with and imitation of Christ. It results in love, fellowship, affection, compassion, unity, service, and joy. Of all the virtues Christ embodied, selfless humility seems to sum up well His overall character.[1]

This is what we will get into today.

A flight attendant one day wanted to go on a trip and she received a seat that was available in first class. At no cost to her, she was able to fly to Europe. An emergency occurred on the airplane that made it so that they were in need of another flight attendant. She raised her hand and let them know she was a fight attendant, and even though she was on vacation taking a trip to Europe, she would be glad to serve as the additional help that was needed. She was not serving to get to Europe; that had already been taken care of. It was part of the package of being a flight attendant for the airline. But she had no problem serving on the airplane either, because she was just so grateful for the benefit to be able to ride to Europe at no cost to her. That service was a joy and not a complaint.

It is unfortunate today that many people are serving Christ in order to earn brownie points to make sure they’re saved, rather than serving Christ out of the overwhelming joy of the free ride. God wants your service not as validation for your salvation. He wants your service out of your joy for the assurance of your salvation.829[2]

Now Paul continues the theme of unity.

My theme today is:

Paul urges the Philippians to be united, thinking of others as more important than ourselves, and serving one another.

  1. The experiences that lead to unity (Phil. 2:1).
    1. 2:1: So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy…
    2. Paul begins with “so” or “therefore.” He is continuing from what he had written about. The “so” or “therefore” points back to what he has already written.
    3. In the previous verses, Paul was writing about suffering. Paul wrote about how it was granted to them to suffer for Christ. In Phil. 1:27 Paul wrote about their life being worthy of the Gospel. In that same verse, Paul wrote exhorting them to be of the same mind. Paul was encouraging unity.
    4. This could begin with “since” or “because of.”
    5. Jesus changes us. Jesus changes the way we act toward one another.
    6. Jesus changes our responses.
    7. That is what Paul is getting into now.
    8. “Because of the encouragement in Christ…”
    9. “Since” or “because” there is encouragement in Christ…
    10. “Since” or “because” there is comfort from love…
    11. “Since” or “because” there is participation in the Spirit…
    12. “Since” or “because” there is affection…
    13. “Since” or “because” there is sympathy…
    14. Jesus changes us.
    15. In Christ we can have encouragement. This means that we are emboldened. “Encourage” means an act of emboldening another in belief or course of action, encouragement, exhortation.[3]
    16. “Encouragement” is from the Gr. word that means “to come alongside and help, counsel, exhort.”[4]
    17. Jesus does that for us through the Holy Spirit.
    18. Are we leaning on Jesus through the Holy Spirit?
    19. Remember that in the previous verses Paul was writing about suffering for Jesus. Paul is in prison.
    20. Listen, we cannot live the Christian life on our own. Sure, we can if we stay complacent, but if we are to grow up in Him it only happens through Jesus.
    21. We must spend time with the Lord. We must stay connected to the Vine. Jesus is the true Vine (John 15:1-5).
    22. We also have comfort in Christ. “comfort” means to be “consoled” or “encouraged.” Actually, it is translated as “consolation” in the NASB. MacArthur shares: The Gr. word translated “consolation” portrays the Lord coming close and whispering words of gentle cheer or tender counsel in a believer’s ear.[5]
    23. We have participation in the Spirit. This is translated “fellowship” with the Spirit in the NASB. I like that. This means that as Christians we all have a partnership because we have the same eternal life provided by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
    24. That is powerful. We are all connected with one another as Christians. The Holy Spirit networks the church together (Eph 4:25).
    25. Affection is a word that means “bowels” or “intestines.” It is like we say, “I love you with my whole heart.”
    26. God has given us all deep affection. Because of Jesus, we can love like that.
    27. We also have sympathy, or the NASB says “compassion.” The word means to have concern for one another, pity, or sympathy.
    28. In Christ, we have compassion, sympathy, and pity for one another. This compels us to be united.
  2. Be of the same mind (Phil. 2:2)
    1. 2:2: …complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
    2. So, Paul has written about the conditionals, and now he picks up on that.
    3. Hopefully, they have encouragement from Christ. Hopefully, they have comfort from His love, fellowship in the Spirit, affection, and sympathy. Now, complete Paul’s joy by being of the same mind. Paul goes through great detail to show what this means.
    4. Have the same mind and the same love.
    5. Notice then he says to be in full accord and of one mind. The NASB says “united in Spirit” instead of “full accord.” So, he repeats the idea of having the same mind.
    6. Paul says this will complete his joy. In other words, this will make him smile. This is not uniformity but is unity.
    7. In the book, The Divine Conspiracy Dallas Willard asks, “Why are Christians so mean?” He answers because they always have to be right. Listen, we do not always need to be right. Sure, there are critical issues of doctrine that we must separate over, but other times, actually most of the time, we must let things go.
    8. The content of his exhortation is that they be “like-minded.” The verb used here occurs ten times in Philippians (of twenty-three times in the Pauline corpus). It speaks to the intellect (i.e., a way of thinking), but it goes beyond that. It incorporates the will and emotions into a comprehensive outlook which affects the attitude.[6]
  3. Be of self-sacrificial mind and actions (Phil. 2:3-4).
    1. 2:3-4: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
    2. So, he has exhorted them to be united and have the same mind. He has exhorted them about their encouragement in Christ, the affection, and the unity of the Spirit, and now he gives real concrete actions.
    3. These will lead directly to Phil. 2:5-11. In Phil. 2:5-11 he gives the ultimate example of Jesus and later the example of Timothy and Epaphroditus as well.
    4. Do nothing from “selfish ambition.”
    5. We don’t want our ambition to be selfish.
    6. Do nothing from conceit. “Conceit” means “empty pride” and is only used here in the Greek.
    7. No empty conceit is one word in the Greek that really means to have a highly exaggerated view of oneself. This is hard to translate because Romans and Greeks put nothing on humility. It is possible that Paul coined this word.[7]
    8. This is the opposite of Paul’s opponents in Phil. 1:15-17. They were sharing the gospel for selfish reasons.
    9. Instead of selfishness and conceit we should have humility of mind.
    10. Can we have humility in our thinking?
    11. This begins with our thinking.
    12. Count others more significant than yourselves.
    13. Look at verse 4 (Phil. 2:4): Look not only to your own interests but also the interests of others.
    14. First, we change our mindset (Phil. 2:3), and then we look out for others in deeds. We do have to look out for our own needs. Notice how he says, look “not only” to your own interests… We must look out for our own needs, but he is urging us to look out for the needs of others.
    15. Psychiatrist Dr. Carl Menninger was reportedly asked what he would do if he knew that he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. His reply: “I’d go out, find somebody in need, and help him.”[8]
Contrasts between a Helper and a Servant 
A Helper  A Servant 
A helper helps others when it is convenient.  A servant serves others even when it is inconvenient. 
A helper helps people that he or she likes.  A servant serves even people that he or she dislikes. 
A helper helps when he or she enjoys the work.  A servant serves even when he or she dislikes the work. 
A helper helps with a view to obtaining personal satisfaction.  A servant serves even when he or she receives no personal satisfaction. 
A helper helps with an attitude of assisting another.  A servant serves with an attitude of enabling another.[9] 
  1. Applications:
    1. Jesus comes alongside and helps us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). Are we allowing Him to help us (Phil. 2:1)?
      1. Are we leaning on Jesus through the Holy Spirit?
      2. Remember that in the previous verses Paul was writing about suffering for Jesus. Paul is in prison.
      3. Listen, we cannot live the Christian life on our own. Sure, we can if we stay complacent, but if we are to grow up in Him it only happens through Jesus.
      4. We must spend time with the Lord. We must stay connected to the Vine. Jesus is the true Vine (John 15:1-5).
    2. Are we allowing the Lord to comfort/console us (Phil. 2:1)?
    3. Do we have the love, the affection, that comes from our inner being, from our gut (Phil. 2:1)? Do we love with our whole heart (Phil. 2:1)?
    4. Can we be united (Phil. 2:2)?
    5. Can we disagree, agreeably (Phil. 2:2)?
    6. Is our ambition selfish (Phil. 2:3)?
    7. Do we have ambitions that exalt others? Do we have ambitions that make others look better? Or, are all of our ambitions things that make us look better and others look worse (Phil. 2:3)?
    8. How is our mindset (Phil. 2:3)?
    9. Do we have humility of mind (Phil. 2:3)?
  • Do we consider others more significant than ourselves (Phil. 2:3)?
  • Do we look out for the interests of others?
  • Do we allow margin in our day so that we have time to help others?

Close:

It was a cold, blustery January night in 1973. Senator John Stennis, the venerable hawkish Democrat from Mississippi, drove from Capitol Hill to his northwest Washington home. Although older (71), he was still the powerful chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. At precisely 7:40 p.m., Stennis parked his car and started toward his house 50 feet away.

Out of the darkness jumped two young robbers—little more than kids, really. One nervously waved a .22 caliber pistol as the other relieved the senator of his personal possessions. “Now we’re going to shoot you anyway,” one told Stennis. He did, firing twice.

For six-and-a-half hours, surgeons at Walter Reed Medical Center labored feverishly to repair the damage and save his life.

At 9:15 that same night another politician was driving home from the Senate . . . a man on the opposite end of the political spectrum, a Republican “dove” who had clashed often and sharply with Stennis. His name? Senator Mark Hatfield. The tragedy was reported over Hatfield’s car radio that wintry night. Disregarding the strong differences in their convictions and pulled by a deep admiration for the elderly statesman plus a compassion for his plight, Hatfield later admitted:

“I had no skills to offer. But I knew there was something I must do—and that was to go to that hospital and be nearby where I could be helpful, if possible, to the family.”

There was untold confusion at the hospital as fellow senators, colleagues, and curious friends and reporters overwhelmed the hospital’s telephone operators. Understaffed and disorganized, the hospital crew tried their best but were unable to handle the calls and answer the questions.

Hatfield quickly scoped out the situation, spotted an unattended switchboard, sat down, and voluntarily went to work. Much later—after recovering—Stennis related what he heard happened next: “He told the girls, ‘I know how to work one of these; let me help you out.’ He continued taking calls until daylight.” An exceedingly significant detail is that he never gave anyone his name because someone would surely suspect some political connection, some ulterior motive. Hatfield finally stood up around daylight, stretched, put on his overcoat, and quietly introduced himself to the other operators. “My name is Hatfield . . . happy to help out on behalf of a man I deeply respect,” he said as he walked away.

The press couldn’t handle that story when it leaked out. It boggled their minds! No way did it make sense for a Republican to give a Democrat the time of day, not to mention several long hours of personal assistance in some anonymous, menial task. I mean, that kind of character went out with the horse and buggy and silent movies and saying “ma’am” and “sir” to teachers. Or did it?

Politics and personal preferences and opinions on things like military involvement may vary among members of the body of Christ . . . but there is a bond deep within that binds us to one another. It is the glue of authentic love, expressing itself in compassion, fairness, willingness to support, and (when possible) coming to the aid of another. Personally. Without strings attached. Committed to the protection and dignity of human life . . . regardless of how somebody votes.

And what does it take? Bigness. Being free of grudges, pettiness, vengeance, and prejudice. Seeing another in need—regardless of differences of opinion—and reaching out in solid Christian maturity. Just because you care.

That’s bigness. It’s living above labels . . . it’s seeing beyond hurts . . . it’s caring unconditionally, helping unassumingly.

And therefore it’s rare. As rare as a hawk and a dove in the same nest on a cold winter’s night.[10]

Prayer

[1] Charles R. Swindoll, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, vol. 9, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2017), 39.

[2] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 278.

[3] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 766.

[4] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Php 2:1.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Richard R. Melick, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 93–94.

[7] Dr Steven Lawson; Renewing Your Mind; 09.23.2022

[8] Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Php 2:4.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Excerpt taken from Come before Winter and Share My Hope by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 1985, 1988, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/bigness1

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