Living to the Glory of God

The passage for May is Philippians 2:1-11:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)

If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.

Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...

Living to the Glory of God

In an earlier article, we saw that Paul was going to flesh out one idea in several different ways. That idea was “To Live Is Christ”, which we said could also be thought of as To Live AS Christ.

Paul showed how he tried to live Christ-like as a leader in the early church (Phil. 2:22-26). Then Paul encouraged us as individual believers to live in the broken world in a Christ-like manner (Phil. 2:27). And Paul applied the idea into how we Christians are to live as the local church and the church worldwide in a Christ-like way toward each other and to the not-yet-believers around us (Phil. 2:27-3:4).

Now, Paul continues the theme, by driving home WHAT exactly Jesus did for us and WHY Jesus did it. He does this to clarify what example we should ultimately follow.   

WHAT Jesus Did for Us and WHY

WHAT?

Though he was in the form of God - Jesus had eternally enjoyed perfect fellowship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. And, from the time of the creation of the angels, Jesus had received all of the praise and honor and love that was due to Him in the Heavenly realm. 

(HE) did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. - Jesus did not cling tightly to what was due to Him as God the Son, but in a way let loose of His equal position with God the Father and emptied Himself of His right to praise and honor from everyone he encountered, and came to the broken, wicked earth. Jesus emptied Himself and took on the form of man.

WHY?

There was a problem. Sin had entered the world and with it death. And not simply death, but the eternal death of Hell.

Jesus had a bride and she was in trouble. If Jesus did not sacrificially love her, she would be doomed to perish like the rest of the sinful human race. 

Jesus became fully man, because only the perfect life of a human could be credited to our imperfect human account.

WHAT?

In human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. - Not only did Jesus sink to our level, He allowed Himself to serve us, even though we were created to serve Him. He served us ultimately, not by healing a person here and there, not by washing His disciples’ feet. Ultimately He served all of us who will believe, by giving His life in our place at the cross. 

WHY?

Jesus not only had to live a perfect life in our place He also had to die the death we deserved for our sin. The wrath of God is set to be unleashed to EVERY sinner. IF Jesus had not absorbed the Wrath of God for us at the cross, we would still have to take it ourselves. 

For generations past, animals were sacrificed to cover the sins of God’s people. Now, Jesus has offered Himself as the once-and-for-all sacrifice. The blood of bulls and goats could never fully pay the sin debt for humanity. Only a human could pay the human debt. And only a perfect human at that. 

If Jesus had sinned - even once - then His death would have simply been what was due for His sin. 

However, since Jesus was sinless, His death could be credited to our account. We were born into sin because of our spiritual and biological lineage back to Adam. But we can be born again into a new sinlessness through our faith in Jesus Christ. 

As the Apostle Paul says, “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

WHAT is the RESULT of what Jesus Did for Us and WHY

WHAT?

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord - Jesus was able to do this hard and shameful work because He was able to look past the shame and see the result of His efforts (Hebrews 12:2; Ephesians 5:25-27). The prize at the end of the suffering included Jesus’ authority over all creation, as well as the guarantee that His bride - The Church - would be safely delivered to Him at the end of this age. Also, not only would Christ’s Church honor Him as Lord, but EVERY person who ever lived will bow their knee and confess Jesus is Lord.

WHY?

To the glory of God the Father - Jesus’ ultimate reason for everything He has done was to bring Glory to the Father. It is a difficult concept to understand, but it is true. Everything, including your decision to put your faith in Jesus or your decision not to do so - EVERYTHING and everyone brings glory to God. 

God will be glorified in His perfect mercy given to everyone who places their faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. On that day, when all of us bow, we will bow and confess with gratitude and joy that our King has returned for us as promised. We will joyously  declare, “Jesus Christ is LORD!”  

God will also be glorified in His perfect justice given to everyone who denied Him in their lifetimes or tried to escape Hell by their own merit. On that day, when all of us bow, the unbeliever will bow and confess with terror and complete understanding that they have committed treason against our perfectly righteous King who came back to defeat sin and cast the unforgiven away. They will wail and woefully confess, “Jesus Christ IS Lord!”

Today, while there is still time, do not mistake Jesus’ kindness as a weakness. Do not mistake His patience as slowness. Thank Him for His humble saving grace and turn to Him as your savior and Lord today, all for your good and to the Glory of God.

Living For Others Is NOT The Same As Being A Doormat

The passage for May is Philippians 2:1-11:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)

If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.

Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...

Living For Others Is NOT The Same As Being A Doormat

Since denying SELF and living for the good of others is a staple theme in the Christian life, I often advise people to move into that direction when working with married couples, or couples who are soon-to-be-married, or people struggling with parent/child conflict, or workplace personality disputes, or inner-church arguments or really, just about every other area into which I am asked to speak.  

This is because, except for cases of abuse, nearly all other conflict that I encounter as a pastor involves both sides fighting for their place on the top of the hill. Fighting for their rights instead of the other’s good. Striving for recognition, respect or (sometimes) revenge.

Good words of advise are summed up in what we’ve already covered this month: 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. 

And Paul is not covering new ground in this teaching. Jesus taught the pharisees not to jockey for the first place at the table, but to take a humble posture (better to be elevated to a better seat latter, than asked to step down from a place you don’t belong {Luke 14}).

And Jesus had to correct His disciples who weren’t listening to His teaching about the cross, but instead were arguing over whom would be His right hand man, who would be greatest in His Kingdom (Luke 9:44-48).

But, with all of that said, at least once a year, someone scoffs or yells and says, “You are just asking me to be a doormat and to let people walk all over me!” 

That is NOT what I'm saying. That is NOT the biblical call on your life. Living For Others Is NOT The Same As Being A Doormat. 

The call in this scripture is to give the same baseline of love, respect and patience that you would hope for from others if things were reversed. 

Oftentimes we think the worst of other people's intentions and then we get mad if they misinterpret our motivations. 

We hold a grudge when we are hurt, but wonder why people can’t just “let it go” or “get over it” when we’ve been the one in the wrong. 

Our patience quickly runs out for someone else who just can’t get right in an area of behavior or understanding, but we expect others to hold their horses while we try to modify our behavior or wrap our minds around a new concept.  

And on and on.

Paul isn’t teaching us to neglect our needs and sacrifice everything for others. No, he starts with us taking care of us, but then simply adds - don’t forget about others: 

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

So what does this look like in real life? 

This may seem too simple. You may want something deeper and more meaty. You might want a much longer article, but it is just this: 

“…in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” ~ Jesus (Matthew 7:12)

P.S. - There may be some who read this and thought, “What about ‘Turn the other cheek’? Isn’t Jesus calling us to be Doormats in that teaching?” If you were wondering that, please read these two helpful articles about that passage in relationship to War and in relationship to domestic violence:

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/did-jesus-teach-pacifism

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/clarifying-words-on-wife-abuse

Nothing, Not One Thing

The passage for May is Philippians 2:1-11:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(ESV)

If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.

Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...

Nothing, Not One Thing

Tracking with the rest of the chapter so far, Paul writes IF you are in Christ, then..."Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves" 

Spoiler: in a later article, we are going to look at how JESUS is the perfect model of this. Today we are really going to drive home One Word. 

NOTHING.

Why hammer on this one word? Because as people, we LOVE to apply ethics and commands differently based on the situation. In this case, though, Paul writes that IF you are in Christ there is NO situation, NOT ONE situation in which you should see selfish ambition or conceit as acceptable.  

And there is hardly any command that flies in the face of our western and American ideas as this one. 

Depending on which historians you read, you could argue that the industrial revolution was mainly fueled by the selfish ambition and conceit of titans like John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan. Surely the same could be true about the people behind the advancements in military might and of computer and internet technologies.
Without the stubborn passion to personally be more powerful, more wealthy, more admired and more influential than their competitors we may not have advanced industrially and technologically as we have to this point.   

So, some may ask, "It can't ALWAYS be bad to be driven by selfish ambition or conceit, can it?"

The answer is an easy one if you start with a goal in mind. What is the "Win" for you? 

Paul is assuming that you and I care MOST about the Great Commission lived out through the spirit of the Great Commandment. 

He doesn't assume that your "win" will be more ease and comfort for you or me or for our world. He assumes that our "win" will be to make Jesus and His marching orders for us, our number one priority.

He assumes that a "win" for us will be:

Go and make disciples of all nations. 

To Baptize the disciples in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

To Teach disciples to observe and obey all that Jesus commanded us, which is summed up in Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and Love others as yourself (Matthew 22 and Matthew 28).

If that's our win - than "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit..." makes perfect sense. WE can not fight the good fight of Love and Restoration while at the same time fighting for OUR WAY or OUR RIGHTS. 

You cannot glorify yourself and glorify God at the same time. 

It's like trying to travel East and West at the same time. Something has to give.  

That's why Jesus said that if ANYONE wants to follow him, they must die to themselves, pick up their cross and follow him (Mark 8 and Luke 9).

So, Christian. Do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or conceit.

Not One Thing.

Don't parent to be the "Best" parent or better that some other parent(s) — Just parent in a way that disciples your children to Love God and Love others (Deuteronomy 6).

Don't work hard for the next raise or the next promotion or a pat on the back from the boss — Just work hard and do everything with excellence as though you are working for Jesus himself as your boss (Colossians 3). 

Don't serve in the Church in order to make a name for yourself, or to be a guru, or to put down another church or denomination and steal their sheep for your church — Just serve others where you are and help them grow in their ability to increasingly submit all of their lives to the Lordship Jesus and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  

We could go on and on. 

Today, before you close this page, stop and pray and ask God to show you where you might be falling into a trap of doing things for selfish or conceited reasons. Then, as He shows you, repent. Turn back to the truth that you are here to glorify God in your thoughts, words and deeds and begin living in the truth by, in humility count(ing) others as more significant than yourself. 

But, please don't just think about it. Don't just agree that it is a good idea. Do it. Put the words into practice. 

Don't be like the Churchianity types that A.W. Tozer called "Plastic Saints" who — contrary to Jesus' call for us to deny ourselves in Mark 8 and Luke 9 — they think that "Jesus has to do all the dying, and all we want to hear is another sermon about his dying."

Harmony in the Gospel

The passage for May is Philippians 2:1-11:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(ESV)

If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.

Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...

Harmony in the Gospel

There is a BIG difference between most kindergarten music recitals and a professional concert. If you get right down to the root the difference is all about unity - or a lack of unity. 

Most kindergartners are not unified in their musical understanding, the words they are singing, their timing, pitch - or even whom they are singing to. 

It's cute and if they are related to you, it's beautiful. 

But it is undeniably different than what you hear from trained musicians who have all of their professional focus centered on unity of the work. They are unified in the music, unified toward the audience, unified under the direction of the conductor. 

In the last article we saw Paul's Big IF's as reminders to help fuel us to move in a direction that makes for a healthy, unified church family that can be effective in reaching the not-yet-believers around us. The things he tells the church to do and not to do are hard to follow UNLESS we are truly Christians. But IF, or SINCE we are...

Since we are in Christ; since we have been saved by His perfect life and sacrificial death in our place; since we are ever comforted by His love; since we are empowered by the Holy Spirit - since all of that is true of us Paul expects us to be able to complete his joy (and bring joy to your local church leaders today) "by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." 

Being of the same mind is mentioned at the beginning and the end of this list. The only difference between the two in the original language is that the first command to be of the same mind means to be in agreement together and the second time it means to literally be ONE (1) mind. 

Some non-Christians charge that a problem with us is that we don't think for ourselves. Is that what Paul is getting at - Everybody just forget your own thoughts, step in line and conform? No. At least, no, not the way our detractors would say it. 

We are made to each - as individuals - reflect the glory of God. We are not clones. God Himself made each of us unique in our character, our way of thinking and responding to the world around us. Ask any parent of multiple children and they will tell you that the parenting techniques that worked for the first child, don't work the same for the next child, or the next. 

However, children in a family are a good picture of what Paul is getting at here. All three of my children have different strengths and weaknesses, different interests and different ways of being motivated. They are all passionate about different things in their lives. 

This is the same for any church family - spiritual siblings all came into the family from different backgrounds. We all have different areas of life that really rev us up and that really turn us off. 

Whether we are different because of generational gaps, different sin backgrounds, different upbringing, what ever else, we are different. We do not think or respond in the same way. 

But my children, no matter how different they may be from one another, are taught and unified from an early age that family is a core part of their identity, that we protect one another and are committed to each other's betterment throughout our lives. We teach that in word and in deed. 

In the same way there is a unifying factor in the life of a healthy church family. Like we discussed in Chapter One with the idea of partnership in the Gospel, we come from many different places, but our minds are fixed on ONE COMMON GOAL: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever, and to lead others to do the same. 

That is the idea of single-mindedness that Paul is getting at here. We should be in such agreement on the Main thing - JESUS - that it is as if we have One (1) Mind. 

But, Paul knows that we can't stay single-minded on the goal if we are not of the same heart. Our thoughts, words and actions are all lead by the heart, like a cart is led by a horse. 

Our heart is controlled and guarded with the truths that we have in the Bible.

If we know WHO GOD IS: that God is Glorious, Great, Good and Gracious; and if we know WHAT GOD HAS DONE; that He has showered His love for us in the finished saving work of Jesus Christ; and if we know WHO WE ARE: a family of disciples living as servants on mission, then we will have a heart-centered on living for Him which will allow us to DO what we need to do: live with one mind, unified on the main thing. 

It is with all of that understood that we can grasp the idea of "being in full accord". 

Being in accord with one another is the opposite of discord, or lack of unity - a lack of Harmony.

To understand what Paul is hoping for here, think again about a great choir or a really impressive orchestra. It is only when all of the different instruments and voices are harmonized that the music works. 

If every singer or musician goes off and does their own thing it is unsettling. But, when all of them are in agreement, have the same purpose of putting on a great concert with a heart for the composer's music and a heart for the good of the audience, then it is as if they group is one unified entity. 

That's what Paul wants when he says his joy will be complete when we are in such agreement on the Main thing - JESUS - that it is as if we have One (1) Mind. A unified Church, centered on Jesus and His Mission is a beautiful and attractive thing to behold. 

How are we doing? What is the next thing YOU can do to help harmonize the church in the Gospel?

The Big IF

The passage for May is Philippians 2:1-11:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)

If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.
Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...

The Big IF

The Apostle Paul has a lot of love for the church in Philippi. In chapter one he calls them Saints, Brothers, Partners and Partakers of Grace.

He wrote - with confidence - to BELIEVERS because he was so sure of the evidence of the grace of the Gospel that he believed was rooted in their hearts. 

And with all of that confidence, Paul begins this next section with the word IF as a starting point for all that he is going to encourage the Philippians to do and as a starting point for everything he is going to tell them NOT to do. 

And it's not, "if you get a chance to do these things..." or, "if it's not too much trouble, you might consider..."
No, the idea of what Paul is about to say is, "If You Are Christians..."

Is Paul saying that some of the people in the Philippians church might NOT be Christians? Is he questioning the truth of their confession of faith?

Maybe. There are other Bible passages that would cause any serious reader to investigate their heart after reading. For example, Paul writes to a church in 2 Corinthians 13:5 and directs them to:

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (ESV)

And Peter, writing to whom he assumes are the elect gives them a command, but then reminds them that the command can really only be for genuine believers:

"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." (1 Peter 2:1-3 ESV)

And even our Lord Jesus warned against false assurance, saying that to enter the Kingdom of God, our righteousness must be greater than the most outwardly righteous people of that day (Matthew 5:20). That only happens by faith in Jesus as our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). We cannot bring enough good into the equation on our own, not even with a bunch of religious activity. That's why Jesus warns:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" (Matthew 7:21-23 ESV)

So, it is not unusual for the Scriptures to give us those kind of heart-checks. And while I do think it is good for every person to examine their heart and assure that they are placing their faith in Jesus' work on their behalf, I don't see this passage in Philippians to be that kind of warning text. 

Instead, I think Paul is giving us a reminder of Jesus as fuel to keep us going before giving a command that is IMPOSSIBLE to fully follow without Jesus.

We'll examine the commands more throughout the month, but let's list them here and then just honestly ask how easy any of these are for you to consistently follow through with everyone in the church, and (where it applies) in the community you are a part of (this would also be a helpful topic to discuss with another Christian)...

— be like minded

— have Christ-like love for others

— live in agreement and unity

— don't do anything because of selfishness

— don't do anything out of pride

— consider others as more significant than yourself

— don't only look out for your own interests, but the interests of others

If you could place these commands upon any marriage, any church family or any community or nation's daily life, you could single-handedly bring peace and flourishing. However, when you look at any marriage, church family, community or nation, you see that we don't follow these commands. 

Why, because they are impossible. 

Impossible IF we do not keep Jesus as our central focus and motivation. 

But, if IF! 

IF there is any encouragement that you can hold onto because of Jesus' sacrificial life and death for you... 

IF you have been comforted by the love of Christ for YOU... 

IF you are submitting to and being guided by (participating in) the Holy Spirit's work in YOU...

IF the affection that Jesus demonstrated for you is spilling out as affection FROM YOU to others...

IF you can sympathetically look on other lost people like Jesus sympathetically looks at YOU...

IF all of that, then the commands will not be so hard.

Can you imagine your marriage, your church, your community, or your nation IF you simply tried to reflect Jesus' love for YOU unto others and if they did the same in response?

The truth is, in this broken world, we cannot expect a Christ-like response from non-believers. But we should be able to expect it from the church - and from our spouse (if we are married to a believer). Paul thought it was possible, by God, in Philippi. It is possible, by God, in Warsaw.

And as far as the not-yet-believers around us (in our home, in our community, in our workplaces, and in our nation)... as far as it is up to us, we can treat them with love, Christian encouragement, affection and sympathy as we are guided by the Holy Spirit.

IF Jesus is in You, Then take Him into every relationship He places you in today.