Our lesson point this week is:
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
I went into a convenience store to grab a bottle of water. The cashier asked, “Where are you from? You don’t look like you’re from around here.” I replied, “I live in North Carolina.”
He then said, “You look like [pop icon] Pitbull. Do you know him?” I said, “Not personally, but I know who he is.”
Then the pushy cashier asked, “Are you married?” I responded, “Yes, happily.” To which he asked: “Why are you married? How old are you?” “I’m thirty-seven,” I answered. He said: “You’re too young to be married. A man needs many women.” I smiled and replied: “You need Jesus. And you need a wife.”
Looking back, I wish I’d told him to read Philippians 2. In this passage, we find the right outlook on life. Specifically, life isn’t about satisfying our lusts; it’s about joyfully following Christ and glorifying the One who willingly gave His life for us.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Philippians 2:1-2
1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.
Following Jesus isn’t a solo act. We grow in Christ as we live connected to other Christ followers. In these verses, Paul gave us a four-fold motivation for unity among believers. We see these as a series of “if” statements, which we may better understand as “since” or “because” statements. The “if” in these cases refers to certainties, not possibilities.
These four motivations for Christian unity are:
- The encouragement in Christ. We have the blessing of being found in Christ and knowing Christ (see 3:9-10). In the midst of trials and suffering, we find encouragement in our relationship with Him.
- The consolation of love. Believers have experienced Christ’s love, and this shared experience leads us to love each other.
- The fellowship with the Spirit. The Spirit unites us as brothers and sisters (see 1:27), partners with us in the gospel (see John 16:13-15), leads us in our service and worship (see Phil. 3:3), and helps in our weaknesses (see Rom. 8:26). Disunity threatened the Philippian congregation (see Phil. 4:2-3), so Paul reminded them of the Spirit-produced fellowship they shared.
- Shared affection and mercy. Christians share a common experience of being the objects of God’s compassion. This tender care should cause us to look out for the interests of others (see Phil. 2:4).
Since the Philippian believers were motivated in these four ways, the church could carry out Paul’s command to “fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.” Paul wanted the church to be like-minded in order to complete his joy.
Paul’s own well-being was tied to the unity and growth of the church, a group of people he loved so much he called them “my children” (Gal. 4:19). A parent’s well-being is tied to the maturity and growth of his or her kids, and church leaders feel the same way about the church families they are called to lead.
Paul encouraged the Philippians to get their heads on straight and remember their identity and common mission as followers of Jesus Christ. His words likewise encourage us today.
We have joy as we grow together in purpose and love.
Philippians 2:3-4
3 Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
In order for the church to experience unity, we must pursue humility. More precisely, we must pursue Christ-like humility.
The humble person will avoid “rivalry and conceit.” Paul wrote earlier about the preachers who were wrongly motivated to “preach Christ out of envy and strife” or to “proclaim Christ out of rivalry” (1:15,17). Now he told the whole church it was necessary to avoid these attitudes. Every church member should be aware of the presence of rivalry and seek to put it to death immediately.
The word “conceit” is translated as “vainglory” in some Bible versions. It’s an empty glory, a glory that doesn’t exist. People are literally conceited over nothing! Jesus Christ demonstrates the very opposite of this. Nothing is empty about His glory. To practice humility, we must lay aside conceit and seek the glory of Jesus.
Paul told the church not just to consider their own interests, but to look out “also for the interests of others.” In this age of obsessively taking and posting “selfies,” a lifestyle of thinking about others seems to be rare. How can we cultivate a life of humility?
- Reflect on the cross of Christ. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul gave us a compelling picture of ultimate humility: Jesus coming to earth as a man and willingly giving His life on the cross.
- Reflect on the glory of Christ. Verses 5-11 also point to Christ’s exaltation and humanity’s climactic confession and worship of Jesus. Allow Christ’s all-sovereign lordship to inspire you to humbly bow and adore Him.
- Reflect on God’s Word. The Bible reveals Christ. Studying the Bible can be an act of humility in itself—if you read it with an attitude that says, “I hunger for Your Word.”
- Look to God in prayer. We must humble ourselves regularly before God’s mighty hand and cast our cares upon Him (see 1 Pet. 5:6-7). When we pray, we humbly recognize our inability to meet our own needs.
- Serve. We grow in humility when we serve others and put the needs of others ahead of our own.
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Want to know what humility and selflessness looks like? Beginning with verse 5, Paul pointed to Jesus as the perfect example of the mindset we need and the humility we should pursue.
Philippians 2:5-11 highlights key doctrinal truths and provides a foundation for Christian living—all within the setting of a hymn. The song draws us to both adoration and imitation. That’s helpful, because the more we behold Jesus’ glory and imitate His character, the more we’ll be unified as a church.
This hymn not only teaches us the pattern God gave us to follow, which is Christ; it also reminds us of the power we have through the Spirit to emulate Christ. As human beings, we fail to serve God and others perfectly, but Christ died for self-absorbed, self-glorifying people like us. He rose from the dead on our behalf, and He empowers us to follow His example.
Christ’s humility is stunning. As Jesus Himself said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). That’s the mindset we need.
Still, don’t let Jesus’ humility overshadow His authority. As Paul wrote, Jesus is exalted “far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1:21). In other words, Jesus reigns over all—and everyone must give an account to Him.
LIVE IT OUT
What steps can you take to reflect the humility of Jesus? Consider the following suggestions:
- Ask for help. Ask God each day to help you be more others oriented. Pray for help to be a more joyful servant.
- Memorize Philippians 2:5-11. Paul’s hymn was memorized and recited by the early Christians. We should follow their example. Write it. Meditate on it. Memorize it.
- Meet a need. Find someone in your church who needs to experience the blessing of Christian service, and humbly serve him or her this week. Remember to serve privately, and remember to choose someone who can’t pay you back.
There are plenty of people in this world who will tell you how should behave. Don’t listen. Instead, concentrate on developing your relationship with Christ and let Him show you the best way to live.
Why is the farmer a good example of living with the right attitude?
Teacher Notes
When have you really needed an attitude adjustment?
It was Feb. 3, 2013. The year that a power outage suspended play for over 30 minutes. The year the Ravens beat the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. That was also the year that Dodge debuted their powerful So God Made a Farmer to an estimated 108 million viewers and brought America to a Silence.
Click Here to Watch
Why is the farmer a good example of living with the right attitude?
Too often we encounter someone who needs an attitude adjustment. Too often that someone is us.
1. Our first lesson was on prayer – are you praying with joy for what God has done in your life, is doing right now, and will do?
2. Last week Paul asked, Are you Sharing Christ with Joy regardless of your circumstances – every circumstance is an opportunity to Share.
3. This week, Paul’s concerned that the church isn’t following Christ with Joy because they have the wrong attitude. They need an attitude adjustment. They need the attitude of the farmer.
Where's your Head today? What's your Attitude? Who are you Following?
Following with Joy
Philippians 2:1-11
I. The Right Mindset Philippians 2:1-2
1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.
Following Jesus isn’t a solo act. We grow in Christ by how we live connected to other followers.
As Christians, Paul says we are united in 4 ways here, we share in the:
1. Encouragement in Christ. In the midst of trials and suffering, we find encouragement in our relationship with Him.
2. Consolation of love. Believers having experienced the comfort of Christ’s love, should love each other.
3. Fellowship with the Spirit. The Spirit unites us as brothers and sisters, partners with us in the gospel, leads us in our service and worship, and helps in our weaknesses. Paul wanted to remind the Philippian congregation of the Spirit-produced fellowship they shared.
4. Affection and mercy. Christians share a common experience of being the objects of God’s compassion. This tender care should cause us to look out for the interests of others.
Why is unity so essential to the church?
- Jesus prayed for unity in the church. John 17:23a “I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.
- Unity is necessary for the most effective presentation of the gospel. John 17:23b “Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” Notice how this kind of unity is tied to the spreading of the gospel. “Then the world will know…” Satan knows the best way to keep a church from fulfilling its mission is to get people arguing over non-essentials. This kind of disharmony causes the church to become inward-focused and to lose its evangelistic passion.
- Unity keeps the church body growing, maturing, and working at its fullest potential. While some Christians think that spiritual maturity is achieved through amassing knowledge about the Bible the Bible actually shows us that spiritual maturity is achieved through obeying what the Bible says and fulfilling the mission of telling everyone everywhere about the gospel.
- Unity flows from love and love unites the church in its mission. Colossians 3:14 “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Without love, there is no unity whatsoever. This love must be focused on and received from Jesus Christ. There is no other way to keep harmony and stay on mission.
- Unity keeps Christ at the center instead of us. Ephesians 1:10b “…to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” It is not about you but it is about Christ! My plans, my desires, my preferences, my agenda, and my feelings are nothing compared to the gospel. When we become unified around that mission it changes everything and makes our churches more effective in fulfilling God’s mission for our lives. The Psalmist said it well when he wrote, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 131:1
- When we willingly obey God by serving others instead of ourselves, we glorify God, we model Christlikeness, and we invest in something of eternal value.
What are some obstacles to unity in a local church today?
- Selfish attitudes, desires for personal importance, unwilling to compromise, lack of personal submission to the Lord, and personal rebellion with God.
How do petty quarrels hold an individual back in his or her Christian walk?
- Distracted from God’s goals for you, people don’t keep the main thing the main thing … serving the Lord, evangelizing the lost, get caught up in competition, waste emotional and spiritual energy on things that don’t matter, and attention focused on useless issues.
- Being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit, being united in purpose.
- Like-mindedness with Christ and like-mindedness with our fellow believers. Our example is Christ, who “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45).
Point: Joy comes when we focus more on the purpose and love that unites us over the differences that divide us.
How are we to love? Upward – Inward – Outward
- Love God completely – Upward
- Love yourself correctly – Inward
- Love others compassionately - Outward
Christian unity is based on and builds on spiritual experience. Christians are to maintain a healthy respect for and genuine interest in one another. Living together with love and for a holy purpose leads to a fellowship of joy. Since the Philippian believers were motivated in these four ways, the church could carry out Paul’s command to “fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.” Paul wanted the church to be like-minded in order to complete his joy.
II. The Right Motive Philippians 2:3-4
3 Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
In order for a church to experience unity, they must pursue humility. More precisely, they must pursue a Christ-like humility. The humble person will avoid “rivalry and conceit.” Paul said the whole church should avoid these attitudes. Paul told the church not just to consider their own interests, but to look out “also for the interests of others.”
What happens when people only look out for their own interests?
- Paul reveals what keeps so many of us from taking on the mind of Christ and that is pride. He writes, “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit.” Pride is an empty pursuit because it glorifies ourselves and not the Father. As followers of Christ, we should work toward advancing His Kingdom and not our own. He taught His followers to pray “thy will be done,” not my will be done. And yet, many times the disease of pride, the desire of self-promotion, and the demand for retribution destroys the work of Christ in churches throughout the world. When will it stop? It will stop when God’s people learn the value of humility, practice placing more value on others than they do upon themselves, and exchange self-promotion for the favor of almighty God!
- The Bible says that many people – even Christians – live only to make a good impression on others or to please themselves. Paul says not to do anything out of selfish ambition or conceit. The Message says it like this: “Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet talk your way to the top.”
What does Paul say we should do instead? (self-centeredness)
- Instead, act in humility and consider others better than yourselves.
How can we cultivate a life of humility?
- Reflect on the cross of Christ. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul gave us a compelling picture of ultimate humility: Jesus coming to earth as a man and willingly giving His life on the cross.
- Reflect on the glory of Christ. Verses 5-11 also point to Christ’s exaltation and humanity’s climactic confession and worship of Jesus. Allow Christ’s all-sovereign lordship to inspire you to humbly bow and adore Him.
- Reflect on God’s Word. The Bible reveals Christ. Studying the Bible can be an act of humility in itself—if you read it with an attitude that says, “I hunger for Your Word.”
- Look to God in prayer. We must humble ourselves regularly before God’s mighty hand and cast our cares upon Him (see 1 Pet. 5:6-7). When we pray, we humbly recognize our inability to meet our own needs.
- Serve. We grow in humility when we serve others and put the needs of others ahead of our own.
What are the benefits when people look out for one another’s interests in the church?
- Helping one another fosters the unity relationship, then people are not trying to trample on others to have their own way, they are helping one another. The church does not degenerate itself with infighting.
Point: True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. – C.S. Lewis
The motive driving what we do as believers is to be something greater than self-adulation or ambition. Biblical humility requires each believer to set aside self to focus attention on others.
III. The Right Model Philippians 2:5-11
5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What is the attitude adjustment here?
- To follow Jesus as the perfect example of the mindset we need and the humility we should pursue. Make your attitude like that of Christ - Jesus is the ultimate model of humility and selflessness.
How is Jesus the perfect example of humility? What did Christ set aside when He became a man?
- Equality with God not something to be grasped, made Himself nothing, took on nature of a servant, made in human likeness, humbled Himself, was obedient to death.
- Christ displayed ultimate humility by stepping down from glory, by surrendering exercise of His divine attributes, by taking on human flesh, and by being obedient to the Father’s will of giving His life for you and me. As a result, Jesus Christ has received through humility unsurpassable glory.
In what ways did Jesus limit Himself?
- He limited Himself of many of His divine characteristics (omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotent). Jesus chose not to independently exercise His attributes. This includes His ability to be all-knowing and all-powerful. His moral attributes, such as love, holiness, and truth were not set aside in any sense. He did not give up His perfect morality but He did give up any independent use of His mighty power.
How does Christ’s example of humility challenge our natural self-centeredness?
- He gave up infinitely much to be our Savior
- He suffered infinitely what we deserved to suffer
- Paul said our attitude should be the same … to give of ourselves for the good of others … by contrast it is a very small thing.
How did God exalt Jesus? (2:9)
- Gave Him highest honor, highest place of authority.
- Gave Him name above every name – LORD.
- Name/title of power and authority.
How will Christ’s sovereignty over all people and over everything be one day demonstrated?
- At that Name, every knee will bow, all angels in heaven bow before Him, all people on earth from all of history will bow before His authority, and even the evil spirits must bow and humble themselves to declare His authority.
- On a yet future day, every knee will be made to bow before Him and every tongue will confess that He is Lord to the glory of God. And, in that moment, the One who was humiliated and laid low for our transgressions will now be lifted up and exalted. Like Christ, the way up is down. Allow yourself to learn and adapt to this mindset and you will be exalted in due time.
What confession will every person make?
- Every individual will declare that Jesus is Lord and all will give glory to God the Father.
How can we demonstrate that confession daily in our lives?
- Daily surrender to Jesus as Lord in your life, tell Him you want Him to be in charge of every area of your life, thank and praise Him all throughout every day, thank Him for what He does for you, and praise Him for who He is, for His power, authority, and love for you.
Why is humility a necessary characteristic for those who follow Christ?
Point: “As long as you are proud you cannot know God…As long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.” – C.S. Lewis
Christians, individually and corporately, are to imitate Christ in His attitude, thinking, and action. Followers of Jesus are to set aside their aspirations for the greater good of serving God. Though Jesus’ lordship is true now, the day will come when all peoples of the earth and all beings of every sphere will acknowledge Jesus is Lord. We bring glory to God the Father by our worship of His Son, who is our Savior.
LIVE IT OUT
We live in a power-grabbing world where the person with great honors, the highest attainments, and the most prestige have the most influence and tend to be valued above others. Jesus long ago turned that worldview upside down.
What steps can you take to reflect the humility of Jesus? Consider the following suggestions:
- Ask for help. Ask God each day to help you be more others oriented. Pray for help to be a more joyful servant.
- Memorize Philippians 2:5-11. Paul’s hymn was memorized and recited by the early Christians. We should follow their example. Write it. Meditate on it. Memorize it.
- Meet a need. Find someone in your church who needs to experience the blessing of Christian service, and humbly serve him or her this week. Remember to serve privately, and remember to choose someone who can’t pay you back.
There are plenty of people in this world who will tell you how should behave. Don’t listen. Instead, concentrate on developing your relationship with Christ and let Him show you the best way to live.
Hope to see you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
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