[0:00] Well, now we come to the preaching of God's Word, and we continue our series walking through the book of Philippians. We'll be looking at chapter 2 today, verses 1 through 4.
[0:13] So if you have a Bible, you can turn there with me, or it'll be on the screen behind me. My family and I have lived in Scotland now for almost two years. And during our time here, I've come to recognize various cultural differences between the Scottish and Americans.
[0:28] And one of those that probably has been most obvious is the fact that Americans are much more direct in their form of communication, much more likely to speak their mind than most Scottish are.
[0:40] And I experienced this firsthand probably about a year ago. I went on a daddy-daughter date with my oldest, Mary Catherine, and she said, well, let's find a place to get a cheeseburger that we haven't been before.
[0:50] So we look up, find this restaurant, and go get a cheeseburger, just the two of us, and have this meal. And when you're on a daddy-daughter date, it's a necessity that you order dessert after your meal. And so it was her choice to order a strawberry milkshake.
[1:04] That milkshake came to the table, and she tasted it, and she just, you could tell on her face something wasn't quite right. She kind of slid it to me. I take a taste, and it was really, really a horrible milkshake.
[1:15] And it was just, it was barely frozen at all. It was thin like you're just drinking strawberry milk. It was really sweet, as if they hadn't used real strawberries, maybe some sort of syrup. And it was really kind of disappointing.
[1:27] But we, so we didn't end up getting consumed, but the meal came to a close. Our staff waitress came to the table with a credit card machine to pay, and she had that obligatory question, how was everything?
[1:40] And me, in my American ways, figured I'd tell her what I thought. And I wasn't rude about it, but I said, you know, that burgers were great, but the milkshake just, it wasn't that great. It was kind of, it wasn't really frozen, it was kind of runny.
[1:52] And immediately you could tell she had no context for responding to what I said. She probably never heard anyone actually answer that question honestly before. And she didn't say, I'm sorry. She didn't say, well, let me make you another one.
[2:04] She didn't say, well, let me take that off the bill. Not that I was asking for any of those things to be done, but she just said, oh. And she took the credit card machine, and she walked away. And Mary Catherine and I were like just looking at each other, thinking how awkward of a conversation that was.
[2:19] And like I said, it was probably because no one was ever so direct or honest with her before. You know, Scottish, for the most part, I find you to be very kind and honest and reserved.
[2:30] But maybe if you were placed in my situation, you would have never said anything at all. Yeah, the meal was great, thank you, in my American ways. And partially because of my personality, too. If someone asked me a question like that in that setting, I have no problem, in all politeness, sharing what I thought.
[2:46] And so I recognized when I did that, there was this kind of cultural landmine that kind of exploded in front of me there. And so in our passage today, as we look at Paul giving, continue to give instruction to the church at Philippi, he's being very honest and very direct with him today in a way that he hasn't been so far in this letter.
[3:03] And he's addressing an issue that he sees arising within the church. It's an issue of disunity. And so it's a call to the church to be united with one another and for that unity to be based in humility.
[3:18] And so it's my hope today, as we go through this passage, that we can receive this message joyfully and eagerly. Maybe perhaps not quite like that waitress, just kind of dumbfounded with what do we do with this, but that through the leading of the Spirit that we can recognize how this is good for the body of Christ and how we can apply this to our lives individually.
[3:38] So let's turn to our passage then. Philippians chapter 2, verses 1 through 4. 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.
[4:03] Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
[4:15] This is the Word of God. Will you pray with me? Lord, we thank you that you have given us your Word as a lamp into our feet and a light into our path.
[4:27] And so we ask now, Lord, for your grace and your faithfulness as we desire to use your Word appropriately. God, we ask that you open our eyes and our hearts by your Spirit that we may understand and be able to apply your Word this morning.
[4:44] Lord, we ask for the blessing of the speaking and the listening of your Word. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as you know, we finally stepped into chapter 2 of Philippians.
[4:57] But our passage today, even though it's divided by a chapter, is really a continuation of what Paul has given as instruction in chapter 1. You may remember last week we saw Paul's instruction to let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.
[5:13] And we considered the practical implications of that. Paul mentions that we need to stand firm, that we need to strive side by side with one another. And as we thought about it last week, the application was really thinking about attacks from outside the church.
[5:29] Well, here Paul's focus shifts a little bit. So we're not thinking about attacks that happen outside the church, but attacks that can occur within the church. Issues that we face that can disrupt the unity of the body.
[5:41] And so if we were to jump ahead to chapter 4, we know that Paul actually calls out two women within the church and tells them to be of the same mind in the Lord. So we're not really given any more detail than that to know what's really going on in the church.
[5:54] Is it this conflict that's been started between two women that's kind of blown up in the church? Are there other issues that are going on? All that we really know is that Paul has this earnest call for unity.
[6:06] And so that's going to be our focus today when we think about the unity of the church. Really three things that I want us to focus on that I think we see in this passage. The first is the source of our unity. The second, the nature of our unity.
[6:19] And the third, the means of our unity. So let's consider the first one, the source of our unity. Now, if there's some parents in the room, you realize that, especially with young children, a lot of part of your life is taken up with providing instruction and correction to your children.
[6:36] And sometimes this can happen so much that we may lose sight of why we're really trying to do this. It may turn into simply we're trying to modify their behavior more than anything because we just want some peace and quiet at home.
[6:49] We just want to not be embarrassed when we take our family in public. We just want them to try harder or to be obedient or follow our instructions. And we kind of leave it at that because it's about our lives and making our lives easier.
[7:02] I'd probably admit that I'm guilty of that more often than I'd like to admit. But there's another reason why we give instruction as a parent, too, not just to make our lives easier. That really shouldn't be our main motivation.
[7:14] But it's really in order to bring our children closer to Christ. We want them to have the right behavior because this is what the Bible instructs.
[7:25] We want them to recognize that obedience to us is not just honoring to us but is ultimately honoring to God. And so this is what we see in this passage today that Paul gives us is he really focusing on that second motivation.
[7:39] He doesn't come to the church with instruction in this letter and say, hey, this is what you ought to do. He doesn't begin there. He begins by, as we'll see in just a moment, thinking about the work of the Trinity in our lives.
[7:54] And so if we remember, again, what we talked about last week, to let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel. How do we do this? We stand firm. We strive side by side. He could have very easily just transitioned into chapter or to verse 2 where it says to be of one mind, the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord with one mind.
[8:13] That would have been a really pretty seamless transition from one thought to the other. But we see these other verses in here, particularly how he starts chapter 2, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy.
[8:33] So, again, Paul is not just concerned with the behavior of the church, but he's concerned also about the motivation for their behavior. He wants to remind the church of the power and presence of God in their lives.
[8:46] He wants the church to know what really is the basis for our true unity within the church. Is it just based on our own efforts for our good intentions, or is it based on something more significant than that?
[8:59] And so as we look at this first phrase, we recognize that he puts this word, if, in here, kind of as if it's a conditional statement. If you are encouraged in Christ, then you can have unity in the church.
[9:09] But we see here that Paul is really not questioning whether the church actually has this encouragement from Christ, whether there actually is comfort in love. He's actually laying a factual foundation for the church.
[9:22] And so this if can actually be easily translated as since rather than just if. So if we read it that way, since we have encouragement in Christ, since we have comfort from love, since we have participation in the Spirit.
[9:36] And so we see that Paul, there's no question whether Paul thinks the church has these good gifts. He's confident of that fact. But he wants to highlight to the church where these good gifts come from.
[9:48] We know that a part of the reason that Paul writes this letter to the church in Philippi is because he wants to be an encouragement to them. He wants to motivate them in their faith by allowing them to see what his ministry looks like.
[10:02] We see he's very, very clear about the affection that he has for the church in Philippi. But even though he has those feelings and that affection for the church, he points out here that these feelings don't start with him.
[10:15] They originate in Christ. And so if we consider Paul's benediction at the very end of 2 Corinthians, he says this. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
[10:29] Now it sounds almost identical to what Paul is talking about here. It's because Paul is highlighting the work of the Trinity in the lives of believers. And so if we think about these one at a time, how the Trinity is working in our lives and continuing to do so, what encouragement do we have in Christ?
[10:46] Well, over the past weeks, we've seen this encouragement over and over again, just in the first chapter of Philippians. He says, he who began a good work in you will bring it to the completion, will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.
[11:00] And so we know that it is Christ's initial work in our lives that brings us to salvation. It is Christ's ongoing work in our lives that leads us in sanctification. We can be confident that Christ will complete his work in our lives at his return.
[11:14] And so we see the fruit of righteousness comes from Christ. If we look at the passage we looked at last week in verse 29, it says that it has been granted to you for the sake of Christ that you should not only believe in him, but that you should also suffer for his sake.
[11:34] And so Jesus is the one who has given us the good gifts of faith and suffering. And as a result, we see what Paul has talked about in chapter one, the advancement of the gospel, the saints emboldened in the spread of the gospel, the enemies of the cross facing destruction.
[11:52] We see fear replaced by joy that allows the church, that allows us to profess as Paul does, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
[12:03] To know that no matter what happens to us in life and in death, we have Christ. Is there any greater encouragement than that? But Paul doesn't just stop there thinking about encouragement.
[12:18] He goes on to talk about the love and the comfort that we have in the Father. And we know that this love is love that Paul has expressed to the church already.
[12:31] He says, I hold you in my heart. But again, consider, if we go back to 2 Corinthians, actually at the beginning of the letter this time, something else that Paul says in verse three, he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction.
[12:52] So again, Paul's pointing out that his love for the church does not originate with him. It's an outworking of the love that he has experienced from the Father. And so we have here a picture of the God of all comfort, the God who is the embodiment of love itself.
[13:10] A God who loved the world so much that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. And so in our hardship, in our suffering, that we know is coming because Paul says so in this passage.
[13:25] Even in that hardship and suffering, we can have comfort in knowing that we have the undeserved, unconditional, never failing love of Christ.
[13:35] So then to go on to think about the work of the Spirit then, we have this participation in the Spirit. This word participation, it's a word that we saw in chapter one that can be translated as fellowship.
[13:47] We go back to chapter one, verse seven, it says, For you are all partakers with me of grace. And so we saw in that passage that to literally translate that is you are fellow fellowshippers with me of grace.
[14:00] And so we know that through the grace of God, we can experience communion with one another, the communion of the saints through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
[14:11] But that authentic community among the saints, it must be grounded in community that we have with Christ. This connection with Christ is what's required for us to see unity within the church.
[14:23] And so we know that if you've been around this church or many other churches, there's something helpful that we can see in catechisms. We know that catechisms are used to help in our understanding the faith, to help us summarize proper doctrine.
[14:39] And so if we turn to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question number 30, we see this mentioned of the Holy Spirit. It says, And so we see that it's the work of the Holy Spirit that leads us to faith.
[15:03] It's the work of the Holy Spirit who allows us to be in fellowship with Christ. It is the Spirit who binds us to Christ. And so we are encouraged by Christ.
[15:16] We are comforted by the Father. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And as evidence of that, we see God's divine affection and sympathy for us.
[15:27] It's this deep kindness. It's this endless mercy that is given to us freely. And so as we experience this affection and sympathy, it really should be something that overflows from us.
[15:39] Paul gives us this example himself when in chapter 1 he talks about, For God is my witness. I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And so we see this affection is rooted in Christ.
[15:51] And this affection should be on display throughout the church. And so for Paul then, it's not a matter of if the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of believers. But since the Trinity is at work in the lives of believers.
[16:07] It is the Trinity's work that is the source of our unity. And so that should be our motivation as we think of this instruction that he gives the church. To remember that is the Trinity that is working in us.
[16:20] And so that allows us to move to our second point then. That's the source of our unity. What then is the nature of our unity? Look in verse 2. Complete my joy by being of the same mind.
[16:33] Having the same love. Being in full accord. And of one mind. So here we get a description of what unity looks like in the church. What is the nature of this unity?
[16:45] What is the quality of it that we should see within the church? Well, many of you know that here at Buclue we run an international ministry on Mondays called Connect. And this is for those who may need help improving their English.
[16:58] Both their oral skills. Their listening skills. Also a great opportunity to develop relationships with those in the south side neighborhood. And one thing that we try to do. Because most people have some sort of English education in the back.
[17:11] But it's usually in a very formal educational setting. So it's kind of. They learn from a textbook. They learn the kind of structure. Answers and responses to questions. And how to communicate. So for instance, when someone gives you a compliment.
[17:24] You know, everyone knows how to say yes. Thank you. But what we try to do some weeks is to think. How can we introduce a variety of words and phrases. That allows us to sound and speak more like a native speaker.
[17:37] And so rather than just saying thank you. We can say, oh, I appreciate that very much. That's very kind of you to say that. That really means a lot to me. I'm so glad you mentioned that.
[17:47] All those words, they really mean the same thing. But when we kind of combine them together in such a way. When we use a variety of phrases. It goes to show our sincerity. And our appreciation for the comments that have been said to us.
[18:00] And so here we see Paul really use a similar strategy. All these phrases that he used here in verse 2. The same mind. The same love. Full accord. One mind. There's very little difference in meaning between all these phrases.
[18:13] But it does go to show his emphasis. And it strengthens his plea and his call for unity within the church. And so he begins by saying to be of one mind.
[18:24] He wants the church to be united in how we think. Not just in an intellectual sense. But our wills. Our hearts. That we can be of one mind in pursuing unity as we pursue Christ.
[18:41] He mentions the same love. Not only are we united with our heads. But we are united with our hearts. We desire to serve and love one another the same way that Christ has loved us. He says being of full accord.
[18:53] That literally means with one soul. It describes the harmony that we should feel. This shared passion for the unity of the church. For the spread of the gospel.
[19:05] And then he goes on and he repeats that mind again. Being of one mind. And he's not only talking here about right doctrine. We know that we want to think correctly about the scriptures.
[19:17] And if we were to poll everyone here and just ask questions. Well are you evangelical? Are you reformed? Are you confessional? Are you covenantal? Probably I think we'd have a great unity of response there.
[19:29] But it's not just correct doctrine that unifies us as a church. That's a great foundation. But there are plenty of churches out there. I'm sure we may know some. Where the doctrine is strong but the unity within the church is weak.
[19:41] And so when we think about the mind. It's more than just doctrine. It's being able to build and live in accordance with that doctrine. How does that play out in our lives as believers? And so we see how these ideas overlap with one another.
[19:56] They illustrate the earnestness of Paul's plea to be united with one another. But I want to point out that there's an important distinction to make. Because when we talk about the unity that Paul calls for in the church.
[20:08] He's not calling for uniformity. And I think within society around us we can often get these two confused. Or we equate them in one way. Because it's natural for us to want to be around.
[20:22] And get to know those people that are like us. And so maybe it's someone who shares the same interest with us. Naturally we're going to gravitate toward that person. Or maybe someone of the same socioeconomic status.
[20:35] Maybe someone who has that looks like us. Or dresses like us. Or sounds like us. People that hold the same political views as us. People that like the same sports teams as us.
[20:45] Whatever it may be. It's a natural thing to gravitate to those people that are like you. I mean it doesn't take much. You can walk outside this church building. Especially around the university setting. And see that it's the artists who hang out with the artists.
[20:58] It's the athletes who hang out with the athletes. It's the hipsters who hang out with the hipsters. But on the flip side of that coin. I think often times in our society we see conflict arise.
[21:10] Because there's this thought that if we don't share opinions and interests with one another. Then we can't have community with one another. We see. I see this most glaringly probably in political issues.
[21:21] Or social issues. May hear people say look. If you don't hold the same social opinion that I have. Then you must hate me. Or if you don't hold the same political view that I have.
[21:32] Then you're my enemy. And I think the reason for this is because. The outside world. They don't have any grounding in the gospel. The common denominator for them is simply these opinions.
[21:45] And interests that they have. And so when you take those away. You also take away the potential for community. And so unfortunately I think this.
[21:56] Tendency can often invade the church. Because naturally we want to hang out with people that we are like us. It's easy to like people that are like you. It's easy to serve people that you know.
[22:08] And are comfortable around. I think it's kind of fitting to be able to talk about this today. With my pastor here from the states. Because this is something that was always emphasized in our church in the states.
[22:18] Especially regarding community groups. Because the natural tendency is. For any church that has community groups. For members of the church who want to join a community group. Is to find a group. Or to form a group.
[22:29] With a bunch of your friends. And so that can lead to great fellowship with one another. But it can also have the unintended consequences. Or maybe intentional consequences. Of excluding other people.
[22:42] It can also have the consequence of. When it's time to multiply. When it's time to form new community groups. There's this natural resistance to do that. Because we're so comfortable. In our insular little circle of friends that we've created.
[22:56] And so we need to recognize. Even though there may be appearance of fellowship within a church. We need to ask. Is this fellowship truly grounded. In the unity of the gospel. Or are we simply seeing.
[23:07] Fellowship that's grounded in uniformity. Of opinions. Of interests. Of likes. And dislikes. We see here that Paul is not calling for the church.
[23:20] To be the same. To look the same. To hold the same opinions. He's not trying to form a cult here. He's emphasizing that we are the body of Christ. We've been created in the image of God.
[23:32] Each of us different and unique. With different skills and abilities. And interests. There's a great little book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Who's a German minister and theologian in the early 20th century.
[23:46] He's called Life Together. And in that book he talks about authentic Christian community. And what that should look like. And he says. I want to read an excerpt from one passage of his. It says.
[23:56] God did not make a person as I would have made him. God does not will that I should fashion the other person. According to the image that seems good to me. That is in my own image.
[24:09] Rather in his very freedom from me. God made this person in his image. I can never know beforehand how God's image should appear in others. That image always manifests a completely new and unique form.
[24:21] That comes solely from God's free and sovereign creation. To me the sight may seem strange. Even ungodly. But God creates every man in the likeness of his son.
[24:33] The crucified. Strong and weak. Wise and foolish. Gifted and ungifted. Pious and impious. The diverse individuals in the community.
[24:43] Are cause for rejoicing in one another. And serving one another. And so again we see. Emphasize. As Paul says here. He's not calling for uniformity within church.
[24:54] He's calling for unity. In the midst. Of diversity. And so this is what he says. Completes. His joy. When he sees this outworking of the gospel. In the lives of the saints.
[25:06] That they can be unified with one another. Despite their differences. Knowing that they serve. A creative God. Who has designed each one of us different. And so we should want to have.
[25:18] A diverse church. There's. There's reason for us to praise the Lord. For the diversity in our church. To have young. And old. To have people of different races. And nationalities. To have people of different backgrounds. And professions.
[25:28] And interests. We want to see that in the church. And we want to make sure that those differences. Don't isolate us. That they don't hinder the growth of the gospel. That they don't prevent us. From loving and serving one another.
[25:40] Effectively. And so then finally. That is the nature of our unity. What then is the means. Of our unity. When I was in. Uni back in the states.
[25:52] One year. At the beginning of the school year. There was a rather. Controversial. Issue. That was. That was circling around. There was this one student group. Who was advocating. That some of the tuition fees.
[26:02] That students paid. Should be redirected. To purchase wind energy credits. From this company. And while there's some. A lot of students that were on board about this. There were others that. Thought this was a bad idea.
[26:13] Not all from a. From an environmental perspective. But they thought the principle of it. Our student fees. Our tuition fees. Should go toward our education. Not to pay another company.
[26:23] For wind energy credits. And so while the. The. Administrators in school. They rejected this proposal. There was another group. Who. Who decided. They were going to. Kind of take more action.
[26:34] In order to. Expose the hypocrisy. Of the other group. Because they thought. They were just kind of. Virtue signaling. And so what they did. Was in the university center. In the middle of school. They set up this booth.
[26:45] This table. For a number of weeks. Two or three weeks. Where people could come. And donate their personal money. To buy these wind energy credits. And after the course of two or three weeks. These students had raised.
[26:57] It was less than a hundred dollars. For this wind energy credit. Which is exactly what they thought. These students would do. They didn't expect anything different. And so to kind of. Rather in a tongue-cheek method.
[27:08] They. They actually made a big check. And they put this kind of. Measly amount of money. In the check line. And they pretended. They were going to present this. To the wind energy farm. And it was their way of it.
[27:19] It's showing that. Even though there may be. This desire. Of group think. Of this desire to see. A common goal achieved. It must begin. With the individual.
[27:31] And they point. And they showed. Obviously. That there's no. Individual responsibility. There was no individual initiative. Toward this endeavor. Even though they wanted the group. To achieve it as a whole. And so Paul.
[27:43] He recognizes that tendency. Within the church. And so in these latter. Verses. He. There's this shift. Away from talking to the church. As a whole. To focusing on. The individual.
[27:54] Look at verse three and four. Do nothing from selfish. Ambition or conceit. But in humility. Count others more significant. Than yourselves. Let each of you. Not only. Look not only to his own interest.
[28:05] But also to the interest of others. And so Paul. Is making the point here. That in order to grow. In unity. As a church. That must begin. By growing. In humility.
[28:16] As individuals. And it's important. To note here. That during Paul's time. During Roman reign. When he wrote this letter. Humility was not a virtue. That was.
[28:28] Praised within the culture. Within the Roman culture. Is a very. Very. Well-ordered society. There were different. Classes of people. It would have made no sense.
[28:38] For someone. Who is of higher class. To humble themselves. To someone of a lower class. Why in the world. Would you. Let go of your authority. And power. And influence. In order to be subservient. To someone. Who is obviously.
[28:48] Lesser than you. And so in Paul. In calling for. And advocating for humility. He's really. Telling the church. That we need to be. Radically different. Than the society around us.
[28:59] We've looked at this already. But. But further on. In chapter three. Paul says. That we are citizens. Of heaven. And as a result. We should have a different value system. Than those around us. And so we do nothing.
[29:10] Out of selfish ambition. Or conceit. This word conceit. It literally means. Vain glory. And empty pride. In our own works.
[29:21] In our own abilities. That word. Selfish ambition. It's actually the same word. That we saw in chapter one. Verses fifteen. When Paul is describing. These other. Ministers of the gospel.
[29:31] Who are preaching. Out of envy. And rivalry. And so we see that. Even though. It may have the appearance. Of doing something good. Even though we may. May think we're doing something.
[29:42] For the benefit of others. Or for the benefit of the church. We can still do so. With the wrong intentions. We can still do so. Out of a prideful heart. And so that's something. We need to make sure.
[29:52] We guard against. You may have heard of. Saint Augustine. Who's a church father. From centuries ago. From the three and four hundreds. We have a lot of his. His writings preserved.
[30:03] And in one letter. He wrote to another. Leader in the church. He's emphasizing. The need for. Or the importance. Of humility. And he explains. That the only way. For holding on to truth.
[30:14] Is first humility. Second humility. And third. Humility. And he goes on to say. However. Often. You should ask me. I will say the same thing.
[30:26] Not because. There are any other precepts. To be explained. But if humility. Does not precede. And accompany. And follow. Every good work we do. And if it is not set.
[30:37] Before us. To look upon. And beside us. To lean on. And behind us. To fence us in. Pride will rest. From our hands. Any good deed. We do. While we are in the very act.
[30:48] Of taking pleasure in it. And so we see. Just how. Foundational. How. How fundamental. Humility is. To the life of Christians. When Paul says.
[30:59] To count others. More significant. Than yourselves. He is literally saying. To see. And view others. As worthy. Of your service. We need to think. And we need to act.
[31:10] In such a way. That is not for our own benefit. But also for. The benefit. Of others. And so as we think about. How to apply this text. Certainly we need to ask.
[31:20] The question. Well what does unity. Look like. For us. As a church. For us. As a body of Christ. Here in Edinburgh. Who worship at Beclew. But there is also.
[31:32] And first and foremost. A much more important. Personal question. That we need to ask. One that is much more difficult. To ask. Because. It exposes. Our own sin. Questions like. Where do I need to root out.
[31:43] Pride. In my own life. How can I act. And think. And serve. With humility. Where am I. Am I working. And am I serving.
[31:53] With the wrong motive. Of trying to receive praise. From others. Rather than truly caring. For those. Who I serve. Because it's really easy. To identify. The problems.
[32:04] In a group. That are outside of us. Right. Oh we don't have union. In the church. Because that person. Won't stand in line. Because that person. Has this opinion. That's always different. From everybody else's. It's easy to identify that.
[32:15] But what about us? We need. The Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit. To convict us. And to correct us. And to guide us. Towards humility. So that we can see. Unity within the church.
[32:27] And so the wonderful thing is. Is that we have a model. For this humility. We're going to look at this. In the next time we meet together. In verses five through seven. But Paul continues. By pointing to Christ.
[32:39] He's not saying. Be humble. By your own power. And on your own efforts. Period. No. He's pointing. To Christ. As our perfect example. As Christ. Who's our suffering.
[32:49] Servant. Servant. Who not only. Upheld. This ethic of humility. He is the source. Of this ethic. It says that. It was he. Though he was in the form of God.
[33:00] Did not count quality 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.
[33:11] He humbled himself. By becoming obedient. To the point of death. Even death. On a cross. Yes. So I don't want to jump ahead. To what we're going to look at. In the future.
[33:21] But I don't want to. Neglect. That point. Today. Either. To recognize. That though. Paul's instruction. Though it's clear. And direct. To us. As a church. His command.
[33:33] Is not simply. Be humble. Be united. No. We see. His instruction. Is centralized. On the cross. Of Christ. Christ. Because it is.
[33:44] Christ. Who. Has saved us. It's the. Life of Christ. Who serves. As an example. For us. It is the spirit. Of Christ. Who enables us. To become more like Christ. As a result.
[33:56] It is the body. Of Christ. Who can stand united. With one another. And so this joy. That Paul has. That we see throughout the letter. That he says. Will be made complete. When he sees unity in the church.
[34:07] This is our joy. As well. We can find great joy. In our own humility. In the unity. That it brings the church. Because we know. That it is for our good. It is for the spread. Of the gospel.
[34:18] And ultimately. For the glory. Of God. Let's pray. God. We recognize.
[34:28] That sometimes. The easiest commands. Are the hard. Hardest to follow. And so God. We ask. That you work. In our lives.
[34:38] To convict us. To direct us. On a path. Toward humility. May we not only do. What is right. But may we do it. For the right reason. May you strike down.
[34:51] Pride. In our lives. May expose. Blindness. The blind spots. In our lives. Where we are looking. For our own glory. We are looking.
[35:01] For the honor. Of others. God. May it be our desire. To put others. Ahead of us. To follow the example. Of Christ. And to recognize. The unity.
[35:12] That that brings. The body. God. We pray. For the unity. Of our church. Here at Beclue. May we love. And serve. One another well. May there be.
[35:23] Great diversity. Among us. May we rejoice. In that. As we. Remain. In fellowship. With one another. God. We desire this.
[35:34] For your glory. In our joy. In Jesus name. Amen. Will you stand with me. For our last psalm. This is a psalm. One thirteen.
[35:45] Which. Is a psalm. Requesting. And praising God. For the unity. Of his people. So will you stand with me. To sing. Thank you.