Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
October 16, 2002
Introduction
Paul has just challenged the Philippians concerning the topic of unity in
the church. He’s challenged them by saying that they need to be acting in a manner
worthy of the gospel, namely that they ought to be unified:
(Phil 1:27 KJV) Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see
you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit,
with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Paul now continues with this same idea of unity.
:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love,
if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Paul uses four “if” statements, all of them are what is called the “first
class condition”, meaning that they all assume that the response is “yes”. Is
there any encouragement in Christ? Yes. Is there any comfort of love? Yes…
These are reasons why we ought to have unity in the church.
Lesson
Unity comes from encouragement in
Jesus
consolation – paraklesis – a calling near, summons, (esp. for
help); importation, supplication, entreaty; exhortation, admonition, encouragement;
consolation, comfort, solace; that which affords comfort or refreshment;
persuasive discourse, stirring address
(Phil 2:1 ICB) Does your life in Christ give you strength?
(Phil 2:1 NLT) Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?
Paul is saying that Jesus Himself is an encouragement for them to be in
unity.
The disciples had gone through a time of “disunity”.
(Mark
9:33-37 KJV) And he came to Capernaum: and being in
the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the
way? {34} But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among
themselves, who should be the greatest. {35} And he sat down, and called the
twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be
last of all, and servant of all. {36} And he took a child, and set him in the
midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, {37}
Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth
me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me,
but him that sent me.
They were having “disputes” because they each wanted to be
the top dog.
Jesus encouraged them to take the road of humility, pay
attention to others, especially children.
Lesson
Unity comes from the comfort of love
comfort – paramuthion – persuasive address; from paramuthia – any address, whether made for the
purpose of persuading, or of arousing and stimulating, or of calming and
consoling 1a) consolation, comfort
“to speak to someone, coming close to his side”; “to speak to someone in a
friendly way”
“to admonish”, “to reassure”, “to console”; “tender persuasion”
love – agape – brotherly
love, affection, good will, love, benevolence; love feasts
(Phil 2:1 ICB) …Does his love comfort you?
(Phil 2:1 NLT) …Any comfort from his love?
It is the comfort of God’s love for us that ought to bring us all together
in unity. God’s love for us ought to be
a “tender persuasion” to get along with each other. When we allow God to love us, we learn how to
love one another.
Lesson
Unity comes from the fellowship of
the Spirit
fellowship – koinonia – fellowship, association, community,
communion, joint participation, intercourse
(Phil 2:1 ICB) …Do we share together in the Spirit?
(Phil 2:1 NLT) …Any fellowship together in the Spirit?
We should have unity because we all are sharing in the Holy Spirit. He’s what we have in common.
John writes,
(1 John 1:3 KJV) That which
we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship
with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus
Christ.
Our “fellowship”, the thing that we have in common that draws us together
ought to be our relationship with the Lord.
Yet too often we have other things as a basis for our fellowship.
Sometimes we like to hang out with people who look, dress, and talk like we
do.
Sometimes we hang out with people who have the same interests, people who
like the same ball teams, people who like to play golf.
But our unity ought to be based on the fact that we are all connected to
Jesus.
Lesson
Unity comes from affection and mercy
bowels – splagchnon – bowels, intestines, (the heart,
lungs, liver, etc.); the bowels were regarded as the seat of the more violent
passions, such as anger and love; but by the Hebrews as the seat of the tenderer affections, esp. kindness, benevolence, compassion;
hence our heart (tender mercies, affections, etc.); a heart in which mercy
resides
mercies – oiktirmos – compassion, pity, mercy; bowels in
which compassion resides, a heart of compassion; emotions, longings,
manifestations of pity; compassion for the suffering of others, not the mercy
that a criminal begs from the judge
(Phil 2:1 ICB) …Do you have mercy and kindness?
(Phil 2:1 NLT) …Are your hearts tender and sympathetic?
Unity comes when we have the same kind of affection and compassion upon
each other.
These are both words that have the focus on the other person, being
concerned about the other person. We’ll
see more of this in the next couple of verses.
:2 Fulfil ye my joy,
fulfil ye – pleroo – to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full; to cause to
abound, to furnish or supply liberally; to render full, i.e. to complete. Aorist
imperative. “fill full”
joy – chara – joy, gladness
Paul is saying that it would really make his day if the Philippians could
get a hold of this idea of unity.
:2 that ye be likeminded
like – autos – himself,
herself, themselves, itself; he, she, it; the same
minded – phroneo – to have understanding, be wise; to
feel, to think; to be of the same mind i.e. agreed together, cherish the same
views, be harmonious; to direct one’s mind to a thing, to seek, to strive for;
to seek one’s interest or advantage; to be of one’s party, side with him (in
public affairs). Present active subjunctive.
same – autos – himself,
herself, themselves, itself; he, she, it; the same
We could translate is, “that you be same-minded”, that you “keep on
thinking the same thing”
:2 having the same love
love – agape – brotherly
love, affection, good will, love, benevolence; love feasts
having – echo – to have,
i.e. to hold; to have i.e. own, possess; to hold one’s self to a thing, to lay
hold of a thing, to adhere or cling to
:2 being of one accord
one accord – sumpsuchos (“with” + “soul”) – of one mind, of one
accord; The word refers to being united in spirit or harmonious (A&G).
Robertson – “harmonious in soul, souls that beat together, in tune with
Christ and with each other”
:2 of one mind.
one – heis – one
mind – phroneo – to have understanding, be wise; to
feel, to think; to be of the same mind i.e. agreed together, cherish the same views,
be harmonious; to direct one’s mind to a thing, to seek, to strive for; to seek
one’s interest or advantage; to be of one’s party, side with him (in public
affairs). Present active participle.
This is very similar to “be likeminded”, but here it’s being “one-minded”
"Thinking the one thing." Like clocks that strike at the same
moment. Perfect intellectual telepathy. Identity of ideas and harmony of
feelings (Robertson)
Lesson
We need to be a team
Illustration
Lee Iacocca once asked legendary football coach Vince Lombardi what it took
to make a winning team. The book Iacocca records Lombardi’s answer: There are a
lot of coaches with good ball clubs who know the fundamentals and have plenty
of discipline but still don’t win the game. Then you come to the third
ingredient: if you’re going to play together as a team, you’ve got to care for
one another. You’ve got to love each other. Each player has to be thinking
about the next guy and saying to himself “If I don’t block that man, Paul is
going to get his legs broken. I have to do my job well in order that he can do
his.” The difference between mediocrity and greatness, Lombardi said that
night, is the feeling these guys have for each other.
In the healthy church, each Christian learns to care for others. As we take
seriously Jesus’ command to “love one another,” we contribute to a winning
team.
-- Christopher
Stinnett, Leadership Magazine, Vol. 15:3,Walled Lake, Michigan, Summer 1994, p. 49.
:3 Let nothing be done through strife
nothing – medeis – nobody, no one, nothing
strife – eritheia – electioneering or intriguing for
office; apparently, in the NT a courting distinction, a desire to put one’s
self forward, a partisan and fractious spirit which does not disdain low arts;
partisanship, fractiousness; This word is found before NT times only in
Aristotle where it denotes a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair
means. (A&G)
“selfish ambition” (NIV); “selfishness” (NAS)
When our focus is on ourselves, the result is that we want to just get rid
of each other rather than work things out.
Illustration
Cross-country Drive
Four men are driving cross-country together: one from Idaho,
one from Iowa, one from Florida,
and the last one is from New York.
A bit down the road the man from Idaho
starts to pull potatoes from his bag and throws them out the window. The man
from Iowa turns to him and asks,
“What are you doing?” The man from Idaho
says, “Man, we have so many of these darned things in Idaho.
They’re laying around on the ground, I’m sick of looking at them!” A few miles
down the road, the man from Iowa
begins pulling ears of corn from his bag and throwing them out the window. The
man from Florida asks “What are
you doing that for?” The man from Iowa
replies, “Man, we have so many of these darned things in Iowa.
I’m sick of looking at them!” Inspired by the others, the man from Florida
opens the car door and pushes the New Yorker out.
:3 or vainglory
vainglory – kenodoxia (“empty” + “glory”) – vain glory,
groundless self esteem, empty pride; a vain opinion
“vain conceit” (NIV); “to make a good impression on others” (NLT)
The word is found in one other place in the New Testament:
(Gal 5:24-26 KJV) And
they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
{25} If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. {26} Let us not
be desirous of vain glory, provoking
one another, envying one another.
In this section of Galatians, Paul has been talking about the contrasts
between the flesh and the Spirit.
It seems that verse 26 is a little out of place, but in reality, Paul is
warning of three things that can end up feeding the flesh, including “vain
glory”.
Lesson
Worthless attention
We sure like getting attention.
There is a part of us that loves having attention. There’s a part of us that loves having at
least a little of the spotlight shined on us every once in a while.
This is empty glory
Illustration
Merv Griffin and the body builders – what do they
do with all that muscle?
One afternoon on the Merv Griffin
Show, years ago, Merv interviewed some body builders.
Merv was standing there, looking at those guys who
had muscles on their muscles, and he asked the obvious question, “What do you
use all these muscles for?” One guy
answered by flexing his muscles in a typical body-building pose. Merv, taken back by the response, replied “You don’t
understand me. I asked, what do you use all those muscles for?” The same guy said, “Here, I’ll show you.” And
he posed again for the camera. For the
third time Merv asked the question again. He was
obviously growing irritated. “No, No. You still don’t understand my question.
Read my lips. What do you use those muscles for.” And for a third time the guy posed again.
-- Tim Hansel, Holy
Sweat, p. 26-27.
Be careful when you find yourself seeking attention. Attention really doesn’t do that much for
you. It’s just something to show off.
:3 but in lowliness of mind
lowliness of mind – tapeinophrosune (“not
rising far from the ground” + “mind) – the having a humble opinion of one’s
self; a deep sense of one’s (moral) littleness; modesty, humility, lowliness of
mind;
Not the making of one’s self small when he is really great, but thinking
little of one’s self, because this is in a sense the right estimate for any
human being, however great.
Lesson
Key to unity - humility
Illustration
R.C. Chapman, a pastor and teacher back in 19th century England,
wrote a book called “Agape Leadership”.
He has a couple of great quotes about “unity”:
“Pride nourishes the remembrance of injuries: humility forgets
as well as forgives them.”
“When mutual intercession takes the place of mutual
accusation, then will the differences and difficulties of brethren be
overcome.”
“Humility is the secret of fellowship, and pride the
secret of division”.
:3 let each esteem other better than themselves.
let … esteem – hegeomai – to lead; to consider, deem, account,
think;
A belief resting not on one’s inner feeling or sentiment, but on the due
consideration of external grounds, and the weighing and comparing of facts.
“consider others” (NIV); “regard one another” (NAS)
other – allelon – one another, reciprocally, mutually
better – huperecho – to have or hold over one; to stand
out, rise above, overtop; to be above, be superior in rank, authority, power;
to excel, to be superior, better than, to surpass
Lesson
Honor others
Leave your crown at home.
Illustration
At a reception honoring musician Sir Robert Mayer on his 100th
birthday, elderly British socialite Lady Diana Cooper fell into conversation
with a friendly woman who seemed to know her well. Lady Diana’s failing
eyesight prevented her from recognizing her fellow guest, until she peered more
closely at the magnificent diamonds and realized she was talking to Queen
Elizabeth! Overcome with embarrassment, Lady Diana curtsied and stammered,
“Ma’am, oh, ma’am, I’m sorry ma’am. I didn’t recognize you without your crown!”
“It was so much Sir Robert’s evening,” the queen replied, “that I decided to
leave it behind.”
Illustration
President Reagan used to have a sign on his desk that read: “There is no
limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the
credit.”
:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things
of others.
his own things – heautou – himself,
herself, itself, themselves
every man – hekastos – each, every
look – skopeo – to look at, observe, contemplate; to
mark; to fix one’s eyes upon, direct one’s attention to; to look to; often
meaning “to scrutinize, observe”. When the physical sense recedes, “to fix
one’s (mind’s) eye on, direct one’s attention to” a thing in order to get it,
or owing to interest in it, or a duty towards it. Hence often the same as “to
aim at, care for etc.”
of others – heteros – the other, another, other
every man – hekastos – each, every
also – You aren’t
supposed to completely ignore your own responsibilities, but you are to be
paying attention to what others need around you.
(Phil 2:4 ICB) Do not be interested only in your own life, but be
interested in the lives of others.
(Phil 2:4 NASB) do not merely look out for your own personal
interests, but also for the interests of others.
Lesson
Selfishness kills relationships
It’s what separates marriages.
Illustration
A reader of People Magazine wrote a letter to the editor about actor Kevin
Costner’s plans for divorce from his wife Cindy after 16 years of marriage. She
wrote: Kevin is quoted as saying, “I wish I could stop and raise my family, but
this is my time.” Poor Kevin. When was Cindy’s time? When she helped him form
his career, when she had his three kids, or when she raised them by herself?
-- Sally Wood, People Magazine, November
28, 1994, p. 6.
God wants to stretch our hearts, not shrink them.
Illustration
The widest thing in the universe is not space; it is the potential capacity
of the human heart. Being made in the
image of God, it is capable of almost unlimited extension in all
directions. And one of the world’s
greatest tragedies is that we allow our hearts to shrink until there is room in
them for little besides ourselves.
-- A.W. Tozer in The Root of the Righteous. Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no. 3.
Lesson
Think of others
The greatest illustration of this is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He thought more of our needs than His own.
He saw that we needed someone to deal with our sin, and He stepped in and
paid the price by dying on the cross in our place.
It’s actually a very healthy thing for us.
Illustration
Years ago, Dr. Karl Menninger of
the Menninger Clinic was asked, “If someone felt a
nervous breakdown coming on, what would you suggest that he do?” “If you feel a
nervous breakdown coming on, I would urge you to find somebody else with a
problem—a serious one—and get involved with that individual, helping him solve
his problem.” In helping him to solve his problem, then in reality your own
problem is going to disappear. You’re no longer thinking internally. You’re no
longer letting things gnaw at your stomach. You’re no longer getting disturbed
about yourself because you’re not thinking about yourself. You’re thinking
about others. I don’t know what your objective in life might be, but there is
something each one of us can do.
I think this is one of the keys to a healthy marriage, learning to think
more of the other person’s needs than of your own.
Illustration
Dr. Willard Harley in his book entitled His Needs, Her Needs points out the
priorities of the sexes in the order of importance:
A man desires:
1. Sexual
fulfillment
2. Recreational
companionship
3. An attractive
spouse
4. Domestic support
5. Admiration of
his wife
A woman desires:
1. Affection
2. Conversation
3. Honesty and
Openness
4. Financial
Support
5. Family
Commitment
I find it interesting that none of the “needs” on “his list” are the same
as the “needs” on “her list”.
If these were your spouse’s needs, how well are you doing at meeting
them? What do you think your spouse
would say?
These may not be your spouse’s exact needs, but do you know what your
spouse’s needs are? We must learn to understand each other’s needs and work to
meet those needs.
(1 Pet 3:7 NASB) You
husbands likewise, live with your wives in
an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and
grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may
not be hindered.