HOW TO LIVE MORE HARMONIOUSLY

Philippians 2:1-4
Bob Bonner
March 30, 2008

A few years ago, researchers from Duke, Harvard, and Northwestern Universities asked investors how their mutual funds had performed the previous year in comparison to the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. A third claimed their funds outperformed the market by at least 5 percent. One in six said their funds fared better by more than 10 percent. However, a check of the portfolios belonging to those claiming to have beaten the market showed that 88 percent had overestimated their earnings. The study discovered that some “market beaters” lagged between 5 to 15 percent behind the S&P. Said Don Moore of Northwestern, “Everybody wants to believe they’re better than average.”

Unfortunately, the same thing is true in the way we see ourselves or our ideas. Our fallen human nature, our pride and arrogance, tends to cause us to look at our neighbors and our fellow Christians and conclude that we are more righteous and more spiritually mature than they. We believe our ideas, values, and manners deserve more weight or consideration than those of others. Hence, when conflicts among us or differences of opinion arise, our very arrogance makes it difficult to work through them to a loving resolve. We put up ourselves and our views as being most important to defend at all cost, quickly forgetting that there are often times other issues of greater priority that ought to be the focus of our attention. There are times when we need to allow for differences and move forward with that which is most important.

So it is today and so it was in the day of the first century church. Specifically, this was true for the church at the city of Philippi only twelve years after it had begun a ministry that had significantly impacted the known world. As we read through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we can’t help but see his overriding concern for the advancement of the gospel, whether it was in Rome or in Philippi. Paul demonstrates throughout this letter to the church at Philippi that by the gospel, he means not just the telling of others how they can know Christ and be saved but also the instructing of fellow Christians how they can experience the enabling, life-transforming power of Jesus Christ in their lives. This power enables us to live and work together for the glory of God in the ongoing spread of the gospel.

This passion for the advancement of the gospel was the number one priority that drove the Apostle Paul’s life. Furthermore, he had been excited to find disciples in Philippi, people he had personally introduced to Christ, who shared this same passion for the gospel. 

However, recently the Christians in Philippi had stumbled as a church. Personal conflicts from within had slowed down if not totally stopped their advancing the gospel. As he sat chained in prison, this news broke the Apostle’s heart. Hence not only this letter, but these verses in particular that we are going to look at this morning give us a very clear, nuts and bolts description of what prevents the advancement of the gospel and what enhances the spreading of the gospel.

As one reads through this letter, there is a tone of warmth and love coming from the Apostle’s pen to these believers. They were probably one of the most mature fellowship of Christians we read about in the New Testament. However, they were still human, and they had run into difficulties and conflicts with one another. At the time of this writing, they had found themselves at one or more impasses with one another. So Paul prayed in Philippians 1:9-11 that their love for one another would grow even more mature as they learned how to live righteously and unselfishly with one another, always keeping the gospel the main thing. Paul modeled this for them in Philippians 1:12-26. He had just told them in verses 27-30, that should they choose to make the gospel their priority in life, they would find people opposing them. That’s part of the spiritual warfare that we can expect today as well. Sometimes opponents will be non-Christians and, sadly, sometimes opponents will even be from others they love within the church. Even opponents within the church will bring about distress  Being a Christian doesn’t prevent you from being a burr under somebody else’s saddle, nor they yours. Paul was trying to help these Christians resolve their differences.

Chapter 2:1-4 makes up one long sentence in the original Greek language. In these verses, Paul made just one appeal. In verse 1, he set the foundation upon which he felt confident that he could make this appeal to his dear friends in the faith. In verse 2a, he made his appeal. In the rest of verses 2-4, Paul explains how they could make his appeal a reality. In those last three verses, he first spoke positively, telling them what they could do and where their focus should be to fulfill his request. Then he challenged them to stop doing things that would keep them from making his request a reality. 

With that, let’s read this long sentence together and then break it down. Paul writes, “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

It is obvious from these words and others that come later that the Christians in this small church were struggling with some differences. What they were specifically, we don’t know. But I agree with John MacArthur that Paul’s concern here is not about doctrines, ideas, or practices that are clearly unbiblical. If they had been, Paul would have spoken to those directly, as he did with his letters to the church at Corinth. But he didn’t do that anywhere in this letter. We can rightly conclude that the issues that were dividing the church at Philippi were about such things as differences of interpretations, personalities, approaches to ministry, standards, interests, and the like that are largely matters of personal choice. MacArthur instructs, “Such issues should never be allowed to foment controversy within the body of Christ. To insist on one’s way in such things is sinful, because it senselessly divides believers. It reflects a prideful desire to promote and make a priority one’s personal views, style, or agenda over the oneness or unity of fellowship.”

This unity that the Word of God so highly exalts is inward, not outward; it is internally desired, not externally compelled. It is spiritual, not ecclesiastical; more heartfelt than creedal. It is not grounded in sentimentalism but in careful, thoughtful, and determined obedience to God’s will.”

Although these godly and loving Christians were some of the most mature Christians in the first century, MacArthur goes on to state that “they faced the danger of discord that often is generated by only a few people. Such troublemakers can stir up the contention and strife that fractures an entire congregation.” And because disunity is so tragically debilitating, Paul gently but firmly pleaded with these believers to be constantly and diligently on guard against it. He had just expressed to the Philippians in verse 27 his hope to “hear of [them] that [they] are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

In light of their struggles, Paul spelled out the present urgency of unity in the multiplication of synonymous phrases throughout the next four verses. They together urge one thing-- “that you have the same mindset”, that is, that they get along together in their struggle for the gospel. As we work through these verses together, see if you can’t see ways in which we are told how we can get along together in love and harmony, even though very real differences will exist among us.

Now, let’s break down these four verses, beginning with verse 1, in which Paul sets the foundation for his appeal. In this verse, you will find four “ifs”. In the Greek language, there are several different types of “if” clauses. Some express different types of scenarios based on possible, impossible, or unknown circumstances. These particular four “if” clauses are not of those types. These “if” clauses point to a situation that is known to be true and to exist. Therefore, the best way to translate these verses more clearly would be to read verse 1 as saying, “Therefore since there is a certain or sure encouragement in Christ, since there is a sure consolation of love, since there is a sure fellowship of the Spirit, since there is a sure affection and compassion,...”   In other words, there was no question in Paul’s mind that these things are true and exist among Christians. Hence, these four “ifs” build the foundation upon which he made an appeal. Let’s consider each of these four “if” clauses:

The first one states, “Since there is encouragement (or comfort) in Christ.”  How do we know there is comfort in Christ that comes when we need it? Paul had just modeled in chapter one that through his own suffering he was comforted by God directly and by the Philippians’ ministry in his life. Further, Paul implied in verses 29-30 that it would be there for them as they suffered for Christ. When we are suffering and look to the Lord, He brings us comfort, either directly or through other people. In the case of Paul and the Philippians, they were there for each other in the past to bring encouragement when tough times came. 

Secondly, Paul pointed to the reality of their “consolation in love.” I must admit to you that after much research of many Greek scholars, I found none of them to definitively explain the difference between the word for “consolation” here and the word previously used for “encouragement.” They are both words that describe bringing comfort to someone or finding comfort from the outside. The only possible or slight difference I might suggest is that “encouragement” can be by both words and deeds, whereas it appears to me that “consolation” is comfort that comes mostly from words based in the truth of Christ’s surrounding love for the individual. Hence, Paul may have been emphasizing encouragement or comfort that comes by deeds in the first “if” and in the second “if” of consolation pointing to the comfort which comes from loving words in the word of God. But that is simply a guess on my part. Whatever the true or accurate meanings of both these expressions, what we do know is that both together and apart, the Philippians and Paul had experienced personally the comfort of God’s love, and in turn had expressed this loving comfort to one another.

Thirdly, Paul pointed to the reality of their shared fellowship in the things of God, as the Holy Spirit has directed. They shared in persecution as well as in the joys and struggles of ministry. The main thing that had knit their fellowship together was their common bond in reaching out to others for Christ. In addition to their fellowship, their mutual dependence upon one another was what had been building them up in the faith during hard times.

If you have time, read the following reference when you get home. 1John 1:3-7 tells us that because you have been brought into a vertical fellowship with God by grace there must also be a horizontal fellowship that extends outward to embrace other Christians. Moreover, you cannot even claim fellowship with one another unless you have the vertical fellowship with God.

Allow me to make this just a little more practical for you by asking you a few pertinent questions: Do you have a Christian brother or sister with whom you are not speaking or one with whom you are on very bad terms and you have not tried to reconcile that relationship?  If that is so, then I tell you on the authority of the word of God, that there is something lacking in your own relationship to God. Your lack of fellowship with another Christian is not of God’s doing. It is your doing, and it indicates a lack of fellowship with Him. And if you find yourself in that situation right now, you can be sure that it is His Spirit that is convicting you and seeking to draw you together.

Paul’s final “if” is based on deep feelings. He pointed to the emotional experience of knowing God’s “affection and compassion.” The word “affection” refers to the inner organs of the body, thus indicating the seat of one’s emotions.  The word “compassion” points to outward deeds of mercy caused by inner concerns. The opposite of compassion is indifference or out-right rejection of other believers. On the other hand, the tenderness and acts of mercy spoken of here are ours first from God, and then we share them with others. 

If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have experienced God’s compassion. You deserved hell, yet He loved you and died for you. He leads you now in this life, and will yet lead you to heaven. You have known great mercy. How then can you fail to show compassion to those who also confess Christ’s name, even though they might have offended you or disagreed with your ministry idea or manner of procedure? Are there divisions that ought not to exist? Are there hard feelings? Are there rationalizations for divisive, non-Christian conduct? 

There should be none. That is why, based on this foundation, Paul made his one overall appeal in the first few words of verse 2. He said, based on this reality, “Make my joy compete!”  And I believe the previous verses and the immediate verses that follow tell us what Paul needed for his joy to be made complete and how they could do it. He told them, “You can make my joy complete by being one united family, living for the sole purpose of advancing the Gospel.” In short, he wanted them to be united for the advancement of the gospel.

Reread verse 2, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if you have experienced any tenderness and compassion from the Lord, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and united in purpose.” 

In the balance of verse 2 and in verses 3-4, Paul clearly explained how his dear friends could fulfill his wish of being united. In verse 2 he told them what they could do in a rather positive manner. Then in verses 3-4, he told them what they need to stop doing. Let’s first look at the four positive directives.

First, Paul them to make his joy full by being of the same mind concerning the getting out of the gospel and the living out of the Gospel among them. This expression “like-minded” or “being of the same mind” is used ten times in Philippians, indicating that this is where they as a church are struggling. Being “like minded” speaks to the intellect side of things, what you mentally need to keep focused.  The focus he wanted them to have was to reach out to the lost and to grow up believers.

Secondly, he told them to “maintain the same love.” This directive encourages emotional bonding. Love was not lacking in the church at Philippi. At issue was not a lack of love, but a danger of its erosion by internal friction.  When your car is allowed to go too long without an oil change, unnecessary internal friction of engine parts can kill the engine. Hence it requires “ongoing maintenance”. It requires a continual vigilance to make sure that what is necessary to keep it in top running condition is done. So it is with relationships. You have to continually check your spiritual dipstick as it concerns your relationships with others. How’s your bitterness level, resentment level, or rejection level? And then, do what’s necessary to change the “spiritual oil” or the situation so that the grit and grime of bitterness, hatred, resentment, and rejection don’t break down relationships.

If Christians today are going to be of this same mind and get the gospel out, then we must get our acts together and continuously work at keeping our acts together. God was telling the Philippians that murmuring and bickering must cease, and their showing of mutual love for one another must begin. Thus, when the Philippians would do this, they would return to filling Paul’s cup with joy, unitedly and lovingly getting out the gospel.

Paul’s third directive was that they be “united in spirit”, literally “same souled.” This expression is used only here in the New Testament. To be united in spirit is to live in selfless harmony with fellow believers.

Lastly, Paul told them to be “intent on one purpose.” This injunction focuses on the will. Hence, these directives cover one’s thinking, emotional development, and willful and practical action of working together toward one goal. Once again, the purpose that Paul was moving them toward ever since the beginning of this letter was the advancement of the Gospel.

Now, what can clearly become a road block to the advancement of the Gospel? What can we do to make ourselves inept at advancing the Gospel? Paul tells us in verses 3-4. He writes, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

With these verses, Paul let us and the Philippians know that he knew what was going on among them. And what broke his heart was that it was the same “selfish ambition” or “rivalry” described in 1:17 concerning the Christians in Rome. It was now raising its ugly head among his best friends back home. 

“Selfishness” is where self-interest and self-aggrandizement is made the priority at the expense of others. It primarily dictates values and behavior. Often, a Christian’s selfishness is cloaked in a type of spiritual superiority or self righteousness. John MacArthur states that, “Selfish ambition is often clothed in pious rhetoric by those who are convinced of their own superior abilities or character or moral standards in promoting the cause of Christ. It’s about promoting themselves or their ideas.”

The second term “vain conceit” or “empty conceit” denotes a kind of “empty glory” that only the self-blessed can bestow on themselves. Vain conceit is like a balloon--the larger it stretches on the outside, the larger the emptiness on the inside. It’s a word that describes those who think too highly of themselves and are easily offended by others who may be different in culture, personality, or manners. By its very nature, vain or empty conceit is self-deceptive, and hence we need others to help us see it in ourselves when it raises its ugly head.

Both “selfishness and vain conceit” are the banners held up by pride and arrogance. Paul’s point was that if these two arrogant attitudes were allowed to continue unchecked and to be acted out, the believing community in Philippi was headed for serious trouble, far more serious than the current trouble.

Interestingly, the passage we want to begin looking at next time, verses 5-11, puts forth an example of the very opposites of these negative attitudes as seen in Christ. It is his “mindset” that we are to take on. There was no selfish ambition, but a “pouring out of Himself”. There was no vain conceit, but only a humbling of Himself to the point of dying on the cross.

“Humility”, Paul tells us here, is the key. It has to do with a proper estimation of oneself, and the stance of the creature before the Creator. We are utterly dependent upon Him and must trust Him. Humility births the proper awareness of both one’s human weaknesses and one’s glorious standing in Christ, making neither too much nor too little of both. Humility is not self-focused but concerns itself with the needs of others. This does not mean that one should falsely consider others “better” and thus ignore your personal needs. In 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, Paul clearly stated that Christians must take care of their own affairs as an act of love for the congregation rather than look to others to always bail them out. In the end, Paul’s sense here is that the way you function needs to take into consideration your needs and the needs of those around you. Sometimes, this will mean that you are to put the needs of others ahead of your own. 

Earlier, I challenged you to look for hints as to how we can get along together in love and harmony, even though very real differences will exist among us. Did you see any hints? Here are three I found:

 First, you must admit that in you do not care for others, and left to yourself, your choice will always be about your desires rather than those of Jesus Christ or what’s best for others. Your way will be the way of self-aggrandizement and pride, and it will in turn, left unchecked, lead to the harm of others. Hence, the first step to living and working in harmony with others is to admit to your own issues with pride. You cannot be a healthy member of a harmonious church family until you recognize that you are a flawed person.

The second step is to humble yourself before God, asking Him to breakdown or remove your pride. Ask Him to train you so that you think and care more about others. Ask Him to make you more like Christ. But be careful of what you ask for. From experience, I can tell you that as soon as I began praying for this in my own life, God began His work of loving discipline, revealing to me areas of arrogance and pride that I had never seen before. In addition, He began His spiritual surgery to remove it from my life. He has begun to teach me more about what it means to honor others above myself. And all I can tell you is that it has been painful, but worth it!

Shortly after Peter had met Jesus, but had yet to be called as a disciple, Peter was standing at the edge of the waters of the Sea of Galilee, having just spent the whole night fishing and coming up empty handed. Luke tells us in 5:1-11 that Jesus came by, stepped into one of Peter’s fishing boats, and asked to be pushed out a little ways to teach a multitude that had followed him there. We don’t know what Jesus preached that day, but we do know that when He finished teaching he got out of the boat and told Peter to send it back out and throw the nets over the other side. Peter proudly hesitated, having just come in from fishing all night and feeling bad about having caught nothing. However, he tells his crew to take the boat back out and do what Jesus says. They did, and they almost sank the boat with the catch. Peter, standing on the shore, saw this and realized from Christ’s teaching and from the miracle catch that he was a prideful sinner. He fell down before Jesus and said, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” After humbling himself in this way, Peter was then called to be a disciple, and he gladly followed Christ from that day forward. But if you have studied Peter’s life closely, you will note it was one painful lesson of humility being learned after another. But his growing up spiritually all began with admitting his pride and humbling himself before the Lord.

I wish I could tell you that this routine would only have to be followed once in your life, but it won’t. Daily, you will need to admit your pride and humble yourself before the Lord. Hence, the final step of learning how to live with others involves a daily fellowship with Christ. Daily, as you begin your day and fellowship with Christ, remind yourself of these truths. 

Well, are you ready to live more harmoniously with one another, bringing glory to Christ through the advancement and practice of the Gospel in our own lives and reaching others with Christ? If so, I welcome your company along this rough road to spiritual maturity. Looking out for the interests of others can be challenging.  Read Romans 12:10-18. These verses speak to how we can love and honor each other.  As you read these verses, what would be some practical ways that you could honor others when you sense tension over differences of opinion, procedure, values, manners, and what is appropriate?  What if you are offended by something that is not clearly Biblically wrong or you offend someone in an area where the Bible doesn’t say that your actions were wrong?

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