Passage: Philippians 2:1-6 | Message By: Josh Bondoc | Series: PhilippiansFor those of you who are new or visiting and don’t know me, my name is Josh—I’m one of the members of this church, and I serve as one of the pastors here as well. And today, I get to serve you by starting a two-part sermon series from Philippians 2. Every summer, we take a few weeks (usually in the back end of August) to focus on specific topics or themes that would be helpful for us as we continue to pursue life together as a church.
And a few months ago, one of our pastors suggested that we do a series on serving one another. Then another one suggested focusing on loving one another. Then, we all looked at each other and quickly realized, “why don’t we hit two birds with one stone?!”
So for the next two weeks, we will be looking at the book of Philippians (and there will be a lot more application points than usual, so feel free to take notes). Specifically, we will look at chp. 2 and doing verses 1-6 today, And next week, we will look at verses 7-11, which Josh will preach for us—the other Josh (L, which stands for lighter skin tone, to give you a helpful distinction).
And the reason why we broke up the text this way is because there are actually two big ideas in this passage. While this text exhorts Christians to serve others like Jesus served them, it doesn’t start with the acts of service. Instead, this chapter starts by calling for a certain way of thinking that drives the doing.
Thinking, then Doing
If you look at verse 2, the apostle Paul says “complete my joy by being of the same mind.” Then, in verse 5, he says: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” He commands a way of Thinking Like Jesus (which is what I titled this sermon). In fact, this was Paul’s train of thought leading up to chapter 2.
In 1:27, Paul tells the Philippians to stand firm in one spirit and one mind as they strive side by side together for the faith of the gospel. He’s talking about having a unified mindset in the faith and thinking in line with their togetherness in the gospel that is able to overcome any hardship or opposition (1:28-30), like Paul was doing from his prison cell while writing this letter.
In other words, Paul is telling Christians here to have a Christian mindset. But where does this start? By first finding our common ground in Christ. Look at chapter 2 starting with verses 1 and 2, which is an “if-then” statement:
I. Finding Our Common Ground in Christ (2:1-2)
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ… comfort from love… participation in the Spirit… affection and sympathy, [then] complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (2:1).
So here, Paul states the obvious and asks rhetorical questions to make them think and evaluate! Are you Christians? Do you find any encouragement or comfort or love from being in Christ? Is the Spirit of God in your hearts that stirs you towards affection and sympathy towards others?
If there’s any of that in you, then be of the same mind. Have the same love you’ve received from Christ with each other, since his Spirit is in each one of you. Be in full accord and one mind. Paul basically says the same thing in four different ways. If you experienced these realities vertically, then it only makes sense to experience these horizontally with one another.
But Paul isn’t assuming that this is happening yet. He tells the Philippians to “complete my joy” by doing this. As in, don’t let me lack any of this or miss out on fullness of joy because nothing else would me happier than to see you loving one another in Christ. Make my imprisonment worth it by being of one mind.
But what does being of the same mind look like? This phrase is repeated in chapter 4 when Paul entreats two Christian women in Philippi who are in conflict with each other to “agree in the Lord” (Phil. 4:2). This is what was likely happening with Christians in Philippi. They were in tension over their disagreements. A bunch of them weren’t on the same page.
In the NASB, “agree" is also translated as “live in harmony with one another.” Think of a choir singing a harmony line together—different people singing different notes, yet together to make a more beautiful sound than what they could produce individually apart from one another. So Paul, back in chp. 2, is calling for a like-mindedness that unites them through their disagreements or differences!
But why is Paul emphasizing like-mindedness? Well, think of who he’s talking to. People. You might think, “well duh, Josh, he’s not talking to animals.” But think about it: He’s talking to a whole room of people—with different looks, tastes, backgrounds, opinions, personalities, preferences, you name it. I mean, didn’t I just describe this whole room this morning?
And Paul tells Christians, in Philippi and here today, that being of the same mind (like-mindedness in the Lord) and having the same love (having Christ as our common ground) brings us together through our differences. Here is what we have in common with one another.
Better yet, He is who we have in common with one another. Different people who would not otherwise spend time or share life with one another are brought together into fellowship because of Christ. These people are called Christians! Christ is the core of our identity. If that’s not you today, I hope you’re appealed by the vision of this kind of relationship.
a) Navigating Our Differences
But if that’s you today, there are many lessons for us to learn here in light of our relationships with one another. First, let’s think about what this has to say to us in regard to all of our differences. Because by default, even in a room this size, we tend to gravitate towards people who we have the most in common with (whether you share the same interests or hobbies or sense of humour, or maybe you’re in the same age range or season of life, single, married, parents, grandparents, etc).
Now, I’m encouraged because many of you in this room (who are able to do this) intentionally think about switching seats each Sunday to connect with other people and avoid sitting in the same spot each time. And I want to commend that mindset. But we all know that it’s easy to default backwards when we’re not on guard (maybe you’ll see that when you line up for the potluck today).
And that’s not necessarily bad! We can enjoy being with people who are like us. I really love spending time with people who I have lots in common with! Don’t we all have those people who we can just put our feet up with, or laugh out loud with, and even when you accidentally let out a fart you’re not scared of being judged (like I fear some of you are probably doing right now—I meant the judging part). Our families and close, comfort friends are a gift from the Lord.
But think about it: don’t we have the most conflict and tension with our family members? Don’t our close friends get on our nerves faster than “other” people?
Why is that? Because your blood ties with your family members only bind you in harmony until your blood boils against each other. And your close friends are only close when you’re doing the same things that you like doing together, but butt heads once your different agendas start clashing with each other. And in some cases (which I know a number of you here have unfortunately experienced), didn’t some of these best friends ironically become your worst enemies?
Why? Because all relationships that do not have Christ as their foundation do not last (not even blood, because those part at death)! But if the risen Christ is your common ground with people, then these relationships last beyond death. This is why, in chapter 4 when Paul tells the two women to settle their differences and disagreements in the Lord, Paul’s motivation was the fact that “their names are [written] in the book of life” (Phil. 4:3).
This tells us that disagreements between Christians on matters outside of gospel fundamentals can (and should) be resolved through our eternal fellowship in Christ. One of my concerns today (and I’ve noticed this with both young and old) is how Christians have tended to handle disagreements with one another with little to no concern or regard for preserving unity (like we can just throw it away).
On one end, some lack tactfulness when offering their differing opinions. Some Christians feel very comfortable (often too much) in expressing their disagreements with people’s opinions (and usually these are the kinds of people who are very happy to blurt out opinions of their own).
And if this is where you tend to land, the question for you is this: though there are times when it is fitting to offer your thoughts, could there also be times to consider if it’s worth holding yourself back from expressing disagreement—simply for the sake of preserving Christian fellowship and unity? “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion” (Prov. 18:2).
On the other end, there’s a lack of emotional maturity and stability in responding to any sort of disagreement. For some, any differing opinion or disagreement is instantly met with defensiveness. As in, “they disagreed with me so they must dislike me.”
What can so easily sap Christian` love and unity is when affection is replaced by assumption, and when sympathy is replaced by suspicion. Sound familiar? Then from there, any joke or comment from that person now rubs us the wrong way. We receive each word with utter suspicion and thus interpret it in the worst possible way, which quickly harbours quiet resentment in our hearts towards that brother or sister.
If this is you, could it be that you feel such defensiveness when people offer any disagreement because you hold your opinions on trivial matters as facts, and that you feel the need to be right?...
