Old Testament: Exodus 17:1-7 or Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32
Epistle: Philippians 2:1-13
Philippians 2:1-13 has become one of these key passages for
me that helps me to understand who Jesus Christ is, and since Jesus reveals God’s
nature, it helps me to understand who God is as well. These verses, particularly vs.
5-11, have been discussed on this blog numerous times and I even used them to
interpret the events of Good Friday earlier this year. To summarize, I see in
these verses the whole life story of Christ from his Temptation all the way to
the Cross-- how he continually stepped lower and lower in obedience to the
Father and was thus able to be glorified above all else. So, this week I want
to discuss the 4 verses that lead into this great Christological hymn.
We first have to look back to chapter 1 where Paul was just previously talking about the suffering he and the Philippians faced. He said the suffering of the church at Philippi had been granted, or “graciously given” to them. These are not words we typically associate with suffering and persecution. Now, we jump into his words from Phil. 2, “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ…” I can image those who first heard this letter thinking, I sure hope there is some encouragement because being beat and abused isn’t very fun. But, Paul doesn’t give them the hope they might have wanted to hear. He doesn’t tell them that Jesus was going to give the abusers what they deserve. He doesn’t declare a new kingdom where the Christians will dominate their enemies. Rather, he tells them to make his “joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” The key to his, and their, joy is found in their unity. In the midst of suffering, the body of Christ can provide the joy needed to persevere and remain faithful.
In verse 3 Paul continues to tell them
(and us) how this unity in the Body looks. “Do nothing from selfishness ambition or vain
conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than
yourselves.” The principle is simple, we are to not just be concerned with our
own needs or how we look. The word for vain conceit in Greek is interesting and comes up
later in the chapter in another form. In Greek the word is kenodoxia, keno=
empty and doxia= glory. (where we get words like doxology) In contrast to
Christ, who willingly empties (kenoo) himself to be glorified above all else, a
life in sin seeks mere selfish glory.
Verse 4 basically says the same things as verse 3 but in a
different way: “do not merely look out for your own
personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” We do the
opposite of this in so many ways every day. We cut people off in traffic
because our timeline is more important than others. We gossip about our
coworkers so others will look better at us since were not like them. We buy
expensive things so we have something better than our neighbors. We pull into
our garages without a thought of how our neighbor is doing. A fact of our
fallen sinful nature is that we are wired to think of our needs first. But, in Christ,
Paul calls us to be a new creature, reverse the paradigm, and think of others
first.
Finally Paul gets to the clincher in verse
5, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” It is as
if Paul can hear the reader saying, “How on earth is this type of behavior and attitude
possible?” It is possible because Christ Jesus had it first and he is living in
us through his Spirit. We can’t do this self-sacrificing, cross-bearing,
others-before-self lifestyle without Christ living in us.
We have already discussed the following
verses in this chapter and what it says about Christ. But Paul is calling us to
follow Christ’s example. Christ emptied himself and so should we. Christ was obedient
even unto death, and so we must be willing to be obedient no matter the cost.
Finally, Christ was glorified and redeemed, and so we too will participate in
his glorification at the Resurrection.
Two themes emerge this week for me. The first
is that Christianity cannot be done alone. When suffering, persecution, and
even just the normal pain and sorrows from life come, we need the Body of Christ
to have any hope of finding Christ’s joy. Also, if we are to put others first
and follow Christ in humility, it follows that there are other people in our
life whom we love and care for. These verses only make sense in the context of
community. Second, God, through Paul’s words, is calling us to a community that
is radically different than any other earthly community. It is a community where
the needs of the least important in the eyes of the world are of most
importance. It is a community where if one person has a struggle with alcohol
we all abstain to help them. It is a community where no one goes hungry, or
naked, homeless, or unloved, because if we have what others need, we gladly give
it away. God is calling us to a community so radically different that even in writing it,
it sounds scary and makes we wonder if I have ever truly seen this type of
community in action first hand.
Through God’s grace and the power of his
Spirit, let us continue to strive and grow into the type of community that he
wants. Let us learn to emulate Christ and have his attitude in ourselves.
Grace and peace this week on your
community, wherever that may be.
**Sorry we didn't have time to discuss any of the other passages, but read them on your own and let me know your thoughts.
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