In Christ, United We Stand!
Philippians 1:27-2:4
Introduction: The party
conventions have passed, the candidates are officially named, and we again are going to have a contentious campaign
during the coming months before the general election. It seems our country is as
divided as ever. In such a time as this, the church should stand out as an example, as
a beacon of hope to the world. We are living letters, seen and read of
men. Our lives are a testimony to the world… Are we willing to let our
commitment to Christ and the gospel take priority over our politics? We may not
agree about everything. But the most important questions of life have eternal
significance, and we can agree on the greatest problem the world faces, and the
only sure answer: The problem is sin, the answer is Jesus.
God’s plan for bringing
the Good News of the Gospel to the world is the church, unified and focused
on His mission (cf. Rom 12; I Cor 12; Eph 4). Even the church in Philippi
needed to be on guard against divisions or the admonitions in this context
would not have been necessary [see 4:2,3]. One of the challenges the founding fathers
of our country faced was convincing the colonies to stand together against
England. The phrase “United we stand, divided we fall” was not original to
them, but it was used to rally the colonies to stand together. One of the problems
that arise in churches is allowing little things to divide us – sometimes
between individuals – sometimes factions
in the church. We’ll see in this passage that unity in the church is a
testimony to the world, it shows the worth of the Gospel, and it brings glory
to God.
The BIG Idea: Christ-centered
thinking will lead to Gospel-shaped living, which will be evident in the unity
of the church.
I. Live in Unity in Light of the Gospel (27)! We’ll see Paul begins and ends this section with the theme
of unity…
Only let your
manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I
come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in
one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…
We should live as
Kingdom citizens, showing by our life the worth of the Gospel of
Christ! (1:27a). “Only let your manner of life be worthy
of the gospel of Christ…” Paul begins underscoring the importance of the
admonition he is about to give, he begins with the word “only.” Only do this,
this one thing, this will be the kind of faithful Christian living that will
please God, magnify Jesus, and also bring joy to Paul’s heart: Conduct worthy
of the Gospel, literally, “Only worthy of the Gospel of Christ live your
life as a citizen…” This idea of the conduct of a citizen would
have resonated with the Philippians. Philippi was a Roman colony, so they had
the rights of citizens. Paul used his rights as a Roman citizen on occasion, as
should we. But he had another Passport, another kind of citizenship in mind in
this letter. Philippi had the privileges of being a Roman colony, its
inhabitants enjoyed Roman citizenship. But Paul uses the verb here to
anticipate what he will affirm in 3:20… believers in Christ have a
dual citizenship. We look ahead to the place that has been prepared for
us: Our real home is heaven, and ultimately, the New Heaven and the
New Earth! He says… “But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Phil 3:20). We have two Passports! I am glad to be an American. We have a
great history and in many ways are the envy of the world. Everyone wants to
come here! I salute the flag and cherish our freedom, but first and
foremost I am a Christian, a citizen of Heaven. That should make a difference
in how we live.
By the grace of God
we belong to Jesus. Paul is calling his readers (and us!) to live
worthy of that name. How? Here he points to the unity of the body.
Politics may divide, there may be social issues that we are struggling with,
but we are one in Christ. The Olympics just passed, and as Americans we may
take pride in seeing the U.S. at the top of the medal count. As Kingdom
citizens, our shared faith and common mission should motivate us to strive together
for the Truth (27b-28a).
…so that
whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are
standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith…
Paul says to his
brothers and sisters in Philippi, that He prays for them to live
Gospel-centered lives that bring glory to Christ, “so that whether I come to
see you or am absent…” – however his situation is resolved, by life or by
death, whether he comes to them or remains absent, the news of their faithful
living as Kingdom citizens would come to him. What would that look like?
“…one spirit, with
one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…” Verse 27
started by saying, “Only do this one thing, let your life as citizens be
worthy of the Gospel of Christ!” (my paraphrase). Now he gets to the heart
of what that will look like and he gives us a clue as to an area in which the
Philippians struggled a bit: UNITY. When the church began at Pentecost,
thousands were coming to faith, and they were united (cf. Acts 2:46-47). Tests
came, but their common faith made them one (see Acts 4-7). Jesus had prayed for them and for us, in John
17:20-21…
20 "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who
will believe in me through their word, 21 that they
may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also
may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
Jesus prayed for us to be “one” – and notice the end, or the
result of that prayer: “…so that the world may believe that you have sent
me…” We won’t always agree with each other about situations we face in
life, but because we’re brothers and sisters, we must be gracious to each
other, patient, guided by love. That’s what Jesus prayed: “…that they may
all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also
may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent
me.”
The verb here in
Philippians 1:27 translated “strive together” gives the image of a team,
each one doing his part as we strive toward the goal. Teamwork is God’s
design for the church. In the Olympics, the U.S. basketball teams, both the
men and the women, are almost always at the top. They have the most talented
players in the world. The men had a couple of close calls because their biggest
struggle with a team full of stars is becoming a team, playing
together! Look around… God has brought together this motley crew!
And He loves every one of us more than we can possibly imagine. How can we not
love one another? Our love for one another is a testimony to the world (cf. Ps
133). That is the BIG Idea: Christ-centered thinking will lead
to Gospel-shaped living, which will be evident in the unity of the church.
II. Trials will come, but God is in Control (28-30).
…and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear
sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only
believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now
hear that I still have.
“Fear not!” How often
God says that to His people! If God is for us, who can stand against us!
As they resist the truth, “This is a clear sign to them…” He
is talking about them living a gospel-centered life, in unity with the
brethren, marked by love, and yet facing opposition from the world. The NT warns
believers repeatedly that they will face
persecution. That final week Jesus told the disciples, “In the world you will
have tribulation…” (Jn 16:33). The Gospel brings division because fallen
humans are in rebellion against God and men love darkness rather than light.
How people respond to the message exposes their heart. The opposition of the
world is a “clear sign,” “public evidence,” that they are on the road to
destruction.
The other half of that
sentence is saying that the unity of believers of which Paul is speaking, their
faithfulness even when things get hard, is a “clear sign,” a public
testimony, a witness, that they, the believers, are on the narrow road that
leads to life. What is the most obvious sign that we belong to Jesus? The Lord
himself said, “By this men will know that we are His disciples, if we love
one another.” We’ve had it pretty easy in America, but things seem to be
changing. Let’s pray for those in authority, let’s use the right to vote, let’s
be a voice for righteousness. But fear not. We are Citizens of Heaven –
that is our most precious Passport! And we are not only citizens, but
children of the King! God is sovereign, He is in control. Read 29-30…
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of
Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his
sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I
had and now hear that I still have.
Paul starts by talking
of a gift, a Divine Grant. “It has been granted onto you not
only to believe…” The first implication, the assumption of the
main point that is coming, is that faith is a gift of God. It has been
granted to you to believe. The “believing” Paul describes here is a
gift from God, it is the faith that saves, the belief that God’s Word is true
and that Jesus is who he said he was, and trusting that He did for us what we
could not do for ourselves. It implies entrusting ourselves to
him as the Savior and Lord of our lives… Jesus said in John 10, “My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…” In
that context to “hear” implies hearing with faith, believing what Jesus says,
recognizing Him as the Shepherd of our souls. Eph 2:8 says “By
grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God…” Here Paul reminds the Philippians that it was granted to
them to believe, that is, God opened their hearts to hear the word and
receive it. We can read about that in the life of Lydia, perhaps the first
Philippian convert, in Acts 16:14, “The Lord opened her heart to respond
to Paul’s message.” It was granted to her to believe. That is true for
each of us who know Christ. “By grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” And so, with the hymn
writer we have to say, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to His cross I
cling!” But…
Not only to believe, but also
“…to suffer for His sake…”! We are here as witnesses – we are
to tell the world that Jesus is the only way to life and forgiveness. That
means we must tell them the bad news: they are sinners, by birth and by choice,
separated from God, objects of wrath. Jesus said don’t be surprised if the
world hates you, it hated Him first! How we respond to the trials of life is a
testimony to the power of the Gospel. God can use it to grow our faith and our
longing for home.
The church has survived periods of persecution – and even
thrived. Even here the enemy is working against us, the battle is real –
and if we don’t stand together, we are susceptible to his attacks. We are
stronger together than alone. The huge redwood trees in California are
considered the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are over 300 feet high
and are estimated to be over 2,500 years old. So how do they get so big and
stand so long? Apparently, though they have a relatively shallow root system for
their size, they all intertwine and are locked into each other. So, when the
winds blow or the ground shakes, the redwoods stand, the trees support and
protect each other. They hold each other up. God designed us to stand
together, side by side. Alone we would be vulnerable. We are stronger together
than any of us could be alone. Paul
desired the Philippians to strive for unity, God desires the same for us
(1:27b). The BIG Idea: Christ-centered thinking will lead to
Gospel-shaped living, which will be evident in the unity of the church.
III. The shared blessings of grace should draw us together to the
glory of God (2:1-4).
Unity comes from grateful hearts: Since God has so blessed
us in Christ we should strive for unity for His glory (1-2). We are “…living
letters, seen and read of men…” (2 Cor 3:2). Unity is a sign to the world
that there is something real in this place.
So, if there
is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the
Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2
complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full
accord and of one mind.
God has
abundantly blessed us in Christ (v.1). Paul rhetorically asked the Philippians,
“…if…” these blessings are part of the experience of true believers. He
assumes they will agree! He is saying that since
we have been so abundantly blessed in these ways, we should live differently,
joyfully, united in our common faith. This is not intended as a logical
argument. He is pleading from his heart, repeating these truths that every
believer should recognize as blessings of the Christian life…
“…encouragement
in Christ…” “Encouragement” is the same root word that is used of the Holy Spirit
as our “comforter,” and of Jesus as our “advocate.” We have a new position “in
Christ,” and in Him we can have true encouragement and joy.
“…comfort
of love…” Everyone wants to be loved – that is what we are made for and
long for. In Christ we have the truest, deepest form of love (Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8;
I Jn 4:9).
“…participation of the Spirit…”
“koinonia”, fellowship, or sharing. We are connected with God,
and each other, through the Spirit. Because that is true, God is with us always.
“…affection and sympathy…”
Heartfelt compassion, we have a High Priest who can sympathize with our
weakness, one who was tested in all points as we are, yet without sin. One
outcome of suffering is that we can empathize with others who are going through
struggles. In Christ we have one who understands and has compassion.
God’s abundant
blessing toward us demands a response (v. 2). Paul says, “…complete my joy…” (2:2). Paul is saying this one truth will
complete his joy in the Lord, is unity in the church. God’s blessings toward us
should elicit a response. Because all of those things described in v.1 are
true for those in Christ, Paul, the apostle-prisoner, he will have full joy, by
thme “…being of the same mind… having the same love… being
of full accord, of one mind…”
Notice the context:
Paul started with a call to unity in 1:27, and here he repeats that idea. And the repetition of “like-minded”
and “one-mind” here will be clarified in 2:5, “Let this mind be in
you which has also in Christ Jesus…” As we follow Christ’s example of humble
service, we will experience unity that glorifies God.
Unity flows from a humble
attitude (2:3) - “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count
others more significant than yourselves.” Moises Silva said, “The true obstacle to unity is not the presence of
legitimate differences of opinion but self-centeredness. Shifting attention
away from ourselves becomes the challenge…” God's solution for pride is
the cure, the acrostic J.O.Y. – Jesus
first, Others second, Yourself last! Consider others as more
significant than ourselves. Paul says in Phil 2:4, “Let each of you look not
only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” This is the church as it should be! Our
love for one another testifies to the world that we are His disciples. We
watch, we encourage, we comfort, we bear each other’s burdens, and so fulfill
the law of Christ. Humility in action: standing together, for the good of each
other, and for the glory of God. Fixing our eyes on Jesus and following His
example of serving we’ll experience the unity that God intends for the church.
What is God saying to me in this passage? Christ-centered thinking will lead to Gospel-shaped living, which
will be evident in the unity of the church.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
1. I encourage you to read through the
opening of Philippians, or even better, the entire letter, and allow the Spirit
of God to lead you deeper in your love of God, and the sure hope we have in Jesus.
The joy of the Lord will begin to well up in your heart!
2. Why are we here? Not simply
to build a company or a club or a secular organization of any kind that we can
pass on to our children. We are here serving the God who is, an outpost in God’s
Mission as Jesus is building His church. That will take us all, side by side,
united, looking ahead together, for the glory of God!
3. Unity in that mission
will require humility, putting others before self, willing to let go of
preferences and the things that would divide our hearts. Center your heart on
the Gospel, on Jesus, and consider, how can I best live my life worthy of the Gospel
(cf. Eph 4:1-3, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a
manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…” ). AMEN.
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