Philippians Chapter 2: Living Worthy of the Lord
There is a saying that speaks about the power of bad character or a bad character trait: “What you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you say.” Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever met somebody that has made you feel that way? When Ollie and I first met our foster daughter, she was already 18 years old. We began to find out a little bit about her history. She was born in Mexico of a mixed racial marriage, which ended in divorce when she was three years old.
They broke up the family. Her brothers were all quickly grabbed up as future laborers. What could a female do, especially when she is only three years old? So she was alone. She was adopted by a couple in Los Angeles who could not have children. Previously, the mother had an abortion that wrecked her reproductive organs. That distress led her into erratic emotional outbursts and into alcoholism that had taken her life four years before we met our foster daughter. But this adoptive mother had been brought up in the church. In fact, it was one of the church leaders who had pressured her to have the abortion to avoid a scandal. To these, scandals must be avoided, even if it meant aborting an innocent life. But the consequences on the heart and life of this young lady haunted her the rest of her life.
From time to time, just before she died, this mother did have some tender, caring moments with her daughter. She would always say, “Don’t do as I do (or did). Do as I say.” She was warning her daughter to stay away from the things that damaged her own life but was not willing to give them up in her own life. She was not willing to repent. She was not willing to make that turn to Jesus that would change everything. This is not the teaching of Paul. Paul calls the Christian to be consistent in his or her behavior with who he or she is in Christ. And as we come to the end of chapter one we will see that Paul calls for this consistency in the Christian life.
Read Philippians 1:27. It says, “No matter what happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” This is a challenge for every one of us. Paul uses the same theme in Colossians 1:10 which I have as my life verse. “That I may live a life that is worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.” There is enough in this verse to keep us busy for years. This verse describes the standard for a life worthy of the gospel of Good News. And at the end of Philippians chapter one, verses 27-30, there are descriptions of what I call five “T” words that give us a feel for what it means to follow Christ, what it means to walk in the Spirit. The first is “reliability.” “Whether I come and see you not, I know you will stand firm,” verse 27. And as mature Christians, we ought to be reliable. We ought to be dependable. If you say you will do something, do it and do it well and do it heartily as to the Lord because it is the Lord that you serve. We ought to be dependable, reliable, especially when the one who is trusting us is not present.
The second word is “stability.” “I know that you will stand firm, not tossed back and forth.” Quoting James 1:8, “A double minded man should not expect anything from the Lord.” We are to walk firmly in the ways of the Lord. I know so many who call themselves Christians but who when you talk to them or watch their lives do not look or sound like Christ in any way. Our feet are to be firmly planted in the ways of Christ, not the ways and desires of this fallen, materialistic world.
The third word is unanimity. “Standing firm in one spirit as one man.” Satan renders a church ineffective by causing divisions among Christians. Those who cause discord are under God’s judgment. Proverbs 6:16: “There are six things the Lord hates. Yes, there are seven that are detestable to Him. A proud look, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush to evil, a false witness and lastly, a man who stirs up dissention among brothers.” God hates this sin so much he lists it as one of the seven most destructive, detestable sins. We are to strive, but we are to strive together as one man for the faith of the gospel. Strive as one in the truth and in the spirit of graciousness always looking to Jesus for guidance.
I have been told that there is a significant difference between horses and mules, especially when they are under attack by coyotes or wolves. The horses will all form into a circle, put their heads together and kick their attackers and butt them until they leave, driving them off. On the other hand, donkeys, under the same conditions also form into a circle. But they face the enemy and guess what? They kick each other. Now, I am not saying that as church people we have to be clones of each other, but we ought to have the idea that we are going to work together, using our spiritual gifts and talents for the Lord’s work rather than our own aggrandizement.
The fourth word is tenacity. “Not being scared off by the enemy of God.” Mature Christians will stand strong in the face of adversity, when they are under attack, in one spirit, not being governed by fears but by their commitment to the Lord and His purposes. We are to be fearlessly tenacious. In the 7th and 8th chapters of Acts, read the story about Stephen and Paul. Stephen exemplifies this kind of tenacity. Stephen was stoned to death for his faith in Christ. He told the wicked leaders what they needed to hear. He gave the greatest summary of the connection between the Old Testament and Jesus Christ found in Scripture. If you want to know how it all fits together read what Stephen had to say. While speaking the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit, Stephen convicted the hypocritical Jewish leaders of their sin that in their rage they stoned him to death. As rock upon rock flew Stephen’s way, he never wavered in His faith. And because he did not waver, an agreeing spectator was later converted to Christ and became the greatest apostle of all—Paul.
The fifth and last “T” word is endurability. Verse 29: “As a child of God it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” We do not know what we are going to face in the future. We do not know what is coming down the road as individuals or as a church or as a nation. How are we going to handle the tough times when they come? The Apostle John, in writing to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, exhorts every one of them to endure to the end. Each one of those seven churches had unique challenges, unique temptations they had to face. And for them enduring meant fighting against whatever particular assault came their way. Can God depend on us to be reliable, stable, unanimous in our commitment to the Lord, tenacious and enduring?
Now on to chapter two. Unfortunately, there were within the Philippian church, some factions. Not all was well. This is very obvious because later in chapter four Paul mentions these two parties by name and Paul knows that a divided church will never be strong for the Lord. So he begins in chapter two with the reminder of what our potential is. And there are four “ifs.” Now these “ifs” are not ifs of doubt. I wonder “if” He will come? I wonder “if” we will win? These, rather, are conditional “ifs”. It is more of an assumption. You might use the word “since.” So here is the way it ought to read to get the complete sense of what Paul is saying. “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, (and of course you do, or “since” you do), if there is any comfort from His love (and of course there is) and if we have realized any tenderness and compassion from Christ (and we most certainly have that) and we have any fellowship with the Holy Spirit (we are assured of that), then make my joy complete by being likeminded, having the same love, being one in spirit, not just talking about it but being one in spirit and one in purpose.” Paul is basically saying—“Since these things are true, live this way, act this way.”
He continues: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” Remember back in chapter one, we saw that Paul was willing to be happy that the gospel was being preached even by those with less than pure motives? A word of caution. Paul was rejoicing that the true gospel was being preached, albeit with less than pure motives. He was not calling for tolerance of false teachers who were preaching lies and untruths. However, he would prefer, as he says right here, that there is consistency between what we say and what we do. In other words, instead of saying “Don’t do as I do, do as I say,” Paul would prefer that you be able to say with him as he says in chapter four, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, whatever you have seen in me, put that into practice.” Can I say that? Maybe not always. There is a pattern to be acquired. Point number one--strife and vain glory are not Christian motives. They will not produce Christian conduct nor will they exhibit Christian service and Christian love.
And then in the second part of verse three, Paul contrasts selfish ambition with vain deceit with humility and considering others. “Each one of you look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.” I think we have come across another “T.” Humility. And to teach this lesson most effectively, Paul calls our attention to the supreme example of all time, Jesus Christ Himself. Look at verse five. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ.” That is your role model. The big idea of what I am trying to say is that Jesus Christ is our pattern. There are two things you have to realize about Christ. First, we have to recognize He is our resource and secondly, He is our role model. Verses 6-11 demonstrate both of these ideas. These six verses tell us who Jesus Christ really is, God in the flesh, and at the same time they say He is our role model and that our attitude should be the same as His.
Interestingly, when Jesus was asked by the Pharisees about being greater than their father Abraham, His answer was significant and astonishing. Remember when Moses asked God, “Who is talking to me?” And the answer was, “Say I Am is with you.” And Jesus was asked a similar question and in response gave this answer--“Before Abraham was, I am.” He uses the word of eternalness to describe Himself. Hebrews 1:3: “The Son Jesus Christ is the radiance, the visible evidence, the exact representation of God’s being and God’s essence.” Jesus Christ puts God into focus for you and me. He always existed with God the Father. He is equal to God the Father because He is God in His essence but became unique by actually becoming man at His incarnation. In verse 8, as man, He voluntarily put aside His divine privileges in order to become obedient to His call to make atonement for your sin and mine. God Himself did what God’s laws could not do. The law was weak because of our inclination to sin. No human being ever keeps the entire Word of God. Sin had to be recognized and punished and the punishment was taken by God Himself. Second Corinthians 5:21: “God made him to be sin for us. Him who knew no sin in order that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” Through the resurrection, verse 9, God has exalted Christ to the highest place in heaven and one day in the future, verse 10, every tongue will confess, every knee will bow before Jesus Christ as king of kings and lord of lords to the glory of God the Father. In other words, everything God is, Jesus is also. Jesus was not part God and part man. He was completely God and completely man at the same time. That is the miracle we call the incarnation.
Do you see what the 13th verse is saying? Our lives are to be God’s thing. We are His handiwork--His hands, His feet, His lips and it is the living God who is in charge. He is the one who is doing the working and He is working in me and in you. Verse 13: “… for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” He will help us desire His will as well as enable us to do it. What is our part? Our part is to have a right attitude, to be humble, and submissive to His direction for our lives. Verse 14: “Do all things without complaining and disputing.” That is the Jesus way! First Peter 2:23 describes the Jesus Way further. “When they hurled insults at Christ, He did not retaliate. When He suffered, He made no threats. Instead of doing that, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” What does that mean? It means we are to accept the sovereignty of God and recognize His right to our lives. And I am not talking about some special call to be a pastor or youth pastor or whatever. That call came to me when I was about 33 years old. But before that, I had a call. And that call was to do everything, in word or deed, at school, at the shop, at the office, at home, during the family vacation, you name it, whatever you do, do it all in the name of the Lord, giving glory to Him (Colossians 3:17). That is God’s general call on all of our lives.
There is a purpose to be achieved with our lives. There is a power to be applied to redeem the things that happen so that God’s grace can be seen and felt in this world. We are to live a pure life, a life that is blameless and wholesome. First Peter 3:15 and 16: “Be prepared to give an answer to people who wonder what makes you tick and do this with respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who do not understand you or like you will not be able to shame you.” Our daughter Debra works for British Air and she gave Ollie and I a trip to England and included in that gift were tickets to a play called “An Inspector Calls.” One of the most outstanding and powerful plays I have ever seen in plot and message. It is advertised as a “wake up call for the planet.” And I think that is a good description. The setting is an elaborate dining room of a wealthy industrialist in London. The room is elegantly decorated with fine silver, beautiful china, with expensive art hanging all over the place. The family is celebrating the engagement of their daughter. The dining room is huge and set up in such a way that the floor of the dining room is about 15 feet above the stage floor. There were stairs winding down to the street where the common folk lived. And in the midst of this hilarity and celebration, a police inspector calls. Inspector Goul stands offstage right, below the dining room looking like Columbo. He interrupts their jovial time by announcing that a young, pregnant lady has just committed suicide. She jumped in a river and they just dragged her body out. The family’s unanimous reaction was a callous, “So what! What does that have to do with us? Go away.” But one by one, the inspector reveals how each one of the persons in that dining room has had some influence or impact or relationship to that girl. He implicates every one of them from the father who fired the poor girl from her measly job to the future groom who dated and mistreated her to the mother who was head of the local charity who just yesterday turned the girl down when she came in for help. And of course, you have the other son who is actually the father of the baby. With each accusation, anger and defensiveness erupted in that room. The blame game begins and they all try to excuse themselves. When the reality of the shame hits them that this is going to bring down the family name, how the news media is going to feed on this scandal, terror takes shape over their faces.
And at that point, symbolically, the entire dining room actually falls forward, down, crashing. The front props pull out and all this stuff--china, appointments, art, silverware, everything--go rolling all around the place for about 30 seconds. Ollie leaped six inches out of her chair and grabbed my arm. What is going on? Guilt, guilt, everywhere. And after a few moments, the father, who is of course an influential person in town, calls Scotland Yard and wants to find out about this Inspector Goul. And to his happy surprise, he is told, “There is no Inspector Goul that works with us.” They had never heard of such a guy. “Well, what about this girl dragged from the river?” “We never had a suicide like that in the last 13 years. Something is wrong, a figment of your imagination, a hoax.” After receiving this message, the father hangs up the phone and breaks out into hilarious laughter. He falls on the floor, he is laughing so hard. The mother starts laughing. Everyone starts laughing except the young debutante daughter who has a heart for this kind of thing. Their conscience that was stricken for a few moments is now rock hard again. How quickly and easily we recover when we find out we can cover sin ourselves. Interestingly, David wrote about this topic when he tried to cover up his sin with Bathsheba. But at the final moment of the play the phone does ring and it is Scotland Yard calling. “Yes, we did just a few moments ago pull a girl from the river. And one of our inspectors is on the way to your house and he wants to talk to all of you.” They all look at one another, fear and terror come across their faces and the curtain drops. Conscience. Be prepared to give an answer to people who wonder what makes you tick. Do this with respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who do not understand or like you will not be able to shame you.
“Dare to demonstrate your uniqueness,” verse 15, “in the midst of a depraved and crooked generation.” Shine like stars so that those who are looking to get out of the darkness know where to go. Stars do not fight. Stars do not argue. They just shine. We are here for this moment because God wants us here right now, where we are. Do not fight it. Do not complain. Just excitedly live it. Live it out. Let it shine. Jesus said that we should make our Christian lives public, “[We are to shine] as a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. And if I make you light bearers, you do not think I am going to have you hide your lights under a bucket, do you? Now that I put you where you are, shine.” Be generous with your life, not just your money. Open up to others. If you do, God will be able to use you to prompt others to open up to God.
Do you really understand what happened when Jesus was born? What the incarnation was all about? C.S. Lewis said, “If you want to get the hang of what that must have been like for Jesus to come down and become man, imagine how you would feel if you had to become a cockroach or an ant.” So I am going to try something right now. Try to feel sorry for the ants on your sidewalk. Now that is tough, having to do that. I know they are annoying, they get in your way, and they make a mess. But I care for them. I feel sorry for them. I would like to tell them the good news how they can avoid ever getting stepped on or squirted at. How would I do that? I would have to become an ant myself. That is the only way in order to get them to listen to me, to communicate with them. And that is what Jesus did when He became man. How can Jesus communicate with your neighbors, my neighbors, the guys on the street, across town, or wherever you work, where you spend your daylight hours. He can only do that through you and through me. When Jesus Christ was here, He walked in the ways of God. He willed to do His Father’s will. He spoke the words of God, He did the works of God, and He reveled in the love of God.
My friends, you and I are the only visible evidence of Jesus Christ. As Paul says in his closing words of chapter four, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Jesus Christ is our pattern. As moms and dads, we have a lot of responsibility to be a role model for our kids. But we have an equal responsibility as Christians, to demonstrate what Jesus can do in our lives so the community can see and turn to Christ and His ways.
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