Riches to Rags

Philippians 2:1–11

March 24, 2019

 

LeBron James is left–handed. For those of you who’ve watched him play basketball, this might be news. Because at the free–throw line or from beyond the arc, LeBron clearly shoots the ball with his right hand. A couple years ago at a press–conference he explained why: “I have no idea how I became a right–handed basketball player. I think it was probably Michael Jordan, Penny Hardaway, guys that I looked up to growing up. Seeing those guys shooting righty, I was like, ‘I guess I’ll shoot righty.’ Yeah, I’m pretty much a left–hand guy.”[1]

Though the poster board in Middle School attempted to inspire, “You were born original. Don’t die a copy,” to some degree we can do no other than learn from the example of others. After mom smiling for weeks, the little baby smiles back. The toddler plays with her dolls like she saw big sister do it. The 40–year–old, though this might’ve been his teenage nightmare, realizes one Saturday afternoon, “I’m turning into my dad.”

Example is effective. And example is instructive. There’s almost no DIY project you can think of that YouTube doesn’t have an unshaved guy in a ratty t-shirt happy to demonstrate. From what I hear, the ladies in DIY videos actually brush their hair before filming. Either way, though you might love reading instructions, someone doing something correctly in front of you often proves to be even more instructive.

But example cuts both ways, doesn’t it? It’s not just smiles that get replicated, it’s anger. It’s not just putting dolls to sleep that little sisters emulate, it’s what she saw big sister do when she was 17. And it’s not just the positive ways sons start acting like their fathers. Example is effective, in multiple ways.

Chris mentioned this again last week, but it’s helpful to think of Philippi in terms of a Rome in miniature.[2] That doesn’t merely mean that it had a particular architecture; it also means they had a particular Roman culture and ethos. During March Madness, we’re watching 18–21–year–olds sprint to block shots, dive for loose balls, and jump back up to do it again. They do it to advance in a tournament. In this Roman honor culture, males competed for acclaim.[3] They obsessed over rank and titles, as “prizes to be competitively sought.”[4] The victors of titles displayed them, “in ‘résumé form’ on inscriptions erected throughout the colony.”[5] They hung their pedigree and degrees for all to see, chiseled in the town square.[6]

Their thoughts orbited around self and personal glory. As much as believers in Philippi might’ve attempted to cordon themselves off from the influence of the unbelieving, example is effective and instructive, for both good and ill. This selfish ambition crept into the Philippian Church. In this context, Paul redirects their eyes.

 

What God’s Done for His People

 

Verse 1: So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy

            Note first the word, “so.” The NASB translates it, “therefore.” That reminds us that we must, like every other passage in the Scriptures, not separate what follows in the text from what precedes it. 1:27 functions as something of a heading for everything in our passage today (and next week),[7] Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. In our text today, Paul will take that language and apply it to the specifics of the Philippian church. How might their manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ?

Now, note the next word, “if”.[8] When we use the word “if,” the matter’s generally up in the air.[9] The language of the New Testament, however, had conditional statements that were assumed to be true, as something of a rhetorical device. This is one of those.[10] As we look as these clauses, it will be helpful to think of “if” as “since.”

So, “since” there is encouragement in Christ, comfort from love, participation in the Spirit, affectio[...]