Philippians 2:1,2To: Philippians Main MenuTo: Grace Notes Home Page Philippians 2:1"Therefore if there is any consolation in christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy"In Verses 1-4 of chapter 2 Paul continues his call to harmony, but now the emphasis shifts to fellowship. 2:1 deals with motivation for unity. There is a huge difference between union and unity. Two people get married, that is union but not necessarily unity! Two churches can merge but that may not be unity either. That is union, not necessarily unity. If we tie two cats by the tail and throw them over a clothes line, that is union but not unity. Unity has to do with healthy relationships, not structure. Mechanical union is phantom, a counterfeit for unity of the heart. The word "if" occurs four times in verse 1. Each "if" deals with a motivation for unity. In each "if" is an entitlement every believer possesses at the point of salvation. Paul appeals to unity on the basis of four fringe benefits every Christian enjoys at salvation. "Therefore if there is any consolation in christ"The "therefore" harks back to 1:27, "that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." The four "if"s in verse 1 all mean "since." They are statements of fact. All four grounds of appeal are based on some fact that is true of the Christian. The argument is based on our divine provisions. The first appeal to divine certainty is to our "consolation in Christ." There is encouragement in our union with Christ. This is positional truth. When God looks down on us he sees us "in Christ." We hold the same status quo as Jesus Christ in God's eyes. Jesus Christ had eternal life, therefore, we have eternal life. Jesus Christ had perfect righteousness, therefore, we have perfect righteousness. This is a judicial or forensic righteousness. It is true of us regardless of our experience. There is consolation, motivation and encouragement in that! Unity is a by-product of our oneness with Christ. If our status quo in Christ does not make an appeal to us, there may be no life in Christ at all. There may be no genuine contact with Christ at all. Or, a believer may be so spiritually dead that he does not respond to what Christ has done for him/her. PRINCIPLE: The believer has a status quo before God that is equivalent to that of Jesus Christ. There is comfort and motivation in that. APPLICATION: Do you live out your Christian life based on the provisions Christ has made for you? Or, do you live your Christian life to gain the approbation or favour of God? In 2:1 Paul challenges the Philippians toward unity with four incentives. We come to the second catalyst for unity. "if any comfort of love"This second "if" is also a fact and can be translated "since." Since it is true that we are comforted by God's love. "Comfort" means a speaking near or with someone. It comes to mean admonition, encouraging, consolatory exhortation, invitation or entreaty. This is a speaking with someone to show them God's love. This is persuasion that come from an understanding of God's love. God's love in our hearts produces unity. "Comfort" is a greater degree of tenderness than "consolation." There is a tender persuasiveness of love. Paul says in effect, "if the tenderness of God's love has any power to touch you, listen to what I am about to say from verse two and following." There is comfort in being loved. People who feel that they are not wanted are people who do not sense love. There is great comfort in knowing that you are wanted by God. When people feel wanted and loved, they are relaxed. They are not constantly trying to prove themselves. Christians know that they are loved "with an everlasting love." God is not going to stop loving us at some point. Therefore, we have confidence and trust in his infinite, unchanging, undying love. Human love is finite. It can change quickly. It is far more fickle than God's love for us. God's love has stability. We can count on God's love. This kind of love is catalytic to the Christian life. There is great comfort and security in being loved by someone who will not be daunted by anything in us. PRINCIPLE: God loves us with an unconditional love, therefore, we can count on his commitment to us. APPLICATION: Do you employ God's unconditional love as a motivation for your fellowship with fellow believers? "if any fellowship of the Spirit"This third "if" is also a fact and can be translated "since." Since it is true that we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Paul assumes this as a fact. The word "fellowship" means common participation in the same things. Christians commonly participate in the same things as the Holy Spirit. They may refer to the fellowship that comes from the Holy Spirit. If we have a community with the Holy Spirit then we are ready for community with other Christians. It is the Holy Spirit who will bring unity to a local church. He alone can bring cosmos out of chaos, order out of disorder. If the Holy Spirit joins in mutually with us, he will put our hearts right. In radio or television if we are not on the right station, we will not receive the program. If we are not in tune with the Holy Spirit unity will be like a radio wave that passes us by without connection. We fellowship with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is to us what the Lord Jesus was to the twelve when he was with them on earth. Jesus had great fellowship with them. The Holy Spirit should have great fellowship with us. He is closer to us than Jesus with the apostles. He indwells in each believer. PRINCIPLE: The believer has the privilege to fellowship with the Holy Spirit who indwells him. This is motivating to the Christian life. APPLICATION: Do you fellowship with the Holy Spirit? Do you not do some things because it may grieve him (Eph 4:30)? We must not make the Holy Spirit a "partner" in some shady deal or iniquity. We come to the last of the four motivations for unity. "if any affection and mercy,"Once again, this "if" is true. It can be translated "since." "Since it is true that we have affection and mercy."Paul assumes that it is normal for Christians to have concern and love for each other. The word "affection" means tender affection, whether it expresses itself in love, mercy or compassion. This is the term for the seat of our feelings. "Affection" means the seat of compassion, and "mercy" means mercy itself. Paul assumes that we both have a heart for mercy and that we execute mercy. That is normal Christian life. "If you have a heart and if your heart expresses itself in mercy, listen to me." That is a powerful appeal for unity. "Mercy" is subjective compassion. As mercy witnesses the misfortunes of others it has a sense of sorrow for the ills of others. The Lord Jesus when he saves a soul makes a hard, cruel, coarse person different. That person now has a capacity to be kind, gentle and loving. Culture does not do that. Government cannot do that. PRINCIPLE: A person who has come to know Christ has a capacity to extend affection and mercy and, in fact, extends mercy. That is the reality of being a true Christian. APPLICATION: Since you have become a Christian no doubt you have sensed a new capacity to extend mercy. If that is true, to whom is your mercy extended? Philippians 2:2"Fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind"Having appealed to four powerful, poignant motivations in verse one, Paul now makes his challenge. He challenges them to harmony, vv2-4. This challenge is that they would develop four areas of harmony: o like-minded "fulfil my joy by being like-minded""Fulfil" means literally to make full or to fill. It came to mean in usage fulfil, perform fully, complete, accomplish. This verb applies to all four characteristics believers are to form (listed above). The grammar indicates that action upon these four motivations of verse 1 should be done decisively. This is not something that you an ease into. It takes a decisive decision or else we will continue to indulge ourselves in schism. Paul's joy will be completed or accomplished if the Philippians develop these four qualities of unity. They will fulfil Paul's joy. There is great joy to Christian leaders to see their followers manifesting dynamic unanimity. The first earmark of unity is to be "like-minded". Literally it means to think the same thing. This is unity of attitude. Where minds are in tune they are in attitude one. In the last chapter we find the culprits who caused such schism in the Philippian church, "I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord" (4:2). They were bitter in attitude toward each other. The term "same mind" used in chapter four and here is basically the same in the Greek. In what sense are we to have the same mind? Are we all to think like "cookie cutter" Christians? Are we not to have individual opinions about things? Obviously not. The term for "mind" means attitude. We are to be one in attitude, not in actual thoughts. The oneness of attitude comes from knowing the Lord and his revelation (the Word). The closer we are to him the closer we are to one another. PRINCIPLE: Attitude is central to the Christian way of life. Oneness of attitude is the principle here. APPLICATION: An attitude is a habit of thinking, a bearing in life. What is your mental orientation towards others? Is it bitter, resentful? Deal with it decisively. Having looked at the first area of harmony (oneness of attitude) we turn to the second phrase "having the same love." "having the same love"This is unity of affection, two hearts beating as one. It will fulfil Paul's joy if the Philippians have "the same love." The word "having" means to go on having, constantly having. The request is not for an event where Christians state their love for one another. He is asking for a life style of loving each other. We are to constantly apply the principle of loving one another to our experience. This love is probably based on the appeal to love in verse one, "if any comfort of love." We are motivated because of God's unconditional love for us. Because we have been loved by God, we ought to love one another. When we talk about love at the end of the twentieth century we are in danger of reading our cultural view of love back into the Bible. Love is more than maudlin sentiment. Sometimes we love the best when our love is tough, when we do the right thing for a person. Sloppy love with no norms is not biblical love. The expressions of our love may change. A good parent shows pleasure at an accomplishment of their child. When a parent is pleased, he/she needs to show it. When a child steps out of line, not to discipline is to hurt the child. The most loving thing we can do for the child in that situation is to discipline. Our love for other believers may have a number of looks. If a boy breaks the neighbour's window and we say, "that's all right" and pat him on the head. We have taught him not to respect other people's property. That is not love that is maudlin sentimentality. But, if we discipline the child without an attitude of love, that is not love either. The love of the parent needs to be based on norms that are independent from negative attitudes. The word "same" means selfsame. Love should be mutual. If it is mutual there is a much higher likelihood that harmony will exist between people or groups. If we try to discredit someone, a breakdown in mutual love has developed. The momentum of the cycle of mutually operating on the best norms for each other has cracked. If one breaks out of this cycle then the other may be tempted to break out and penalize the other for the hurt they incited. PRINCIPLE: The believer is to have an attitude of mutual (selfsame) love because that will eventually establish a momentum of love. APPLICATION: Are we the one who breaks out of the momentum of love? Do we violate the norms of relationships? In the first part of this verse Paul appealed to unity through like-mindedness and love. He continues his plea with a third characteristic of unity. "being of one accord"This phrase means literally "co-souled", "soul with soul." This is unity of sentiment, a unity of life in love. Christians should have souls that are in harmony. A common disposition will follow from unity of thought and affection. This is a symphony of the soul. If a note is struck, the same note will answer when in key with another instrument. Everything has its note. Musical instruments are sensitive and readily get out of tune. A common tuning instrument is necessary to keep instruments in harmony. PRINCIPLE: Christians should have a harmony of souls with each other. APPLICATION: Our common tuning instrument with each other is God himself. If we each individually keep our lives in tune with God, we can be in tune with each other. The discord will become lost in the orchestra of glorious praise to God. We come to the last result of Paul's fourfold appeal to unity (v1). "of one mind"Literally, this means to think one thing, "thinking the one thing." This does not mean to think the same content from a human point of view. It does not mean that everyone is supposed to hold the same opinion. Nor does it mean that everyone is to interpret everything the same way. This means that we are to think like Christ thinks. We have the mind of Christ, "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ" (I Co 2:16). Note other passages on this subject, "Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion" (Ro 12:16). "Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like- minded toward one another" (Ro 15:5) PRINCIPLE: The content of our thinking should be the same as the Lord Jesus because we have his mind. APPLICATION: Is the reason you do not have a good relationship with someone is that you do not think about the Word of God sufficiently? Literally, this means to think one thing, "thinking the one thing." This does not mean to think the same content from a human point of view. It does not mean that everyone is supposed to hold the same opinion. Nor does it mean that everyone is to interpret everything the same way. This means that we are to think like Christ thinks. We have the mind of Christ, "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ" (I Co 2:16). Note other passages on this subject, "Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion" (Ro 12:16). "Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like- minded toward one another" (Ro 15:5) PRINCIPLE: The content of our thinking should be the same as the Lord Jesus because we have his mind. APPLICATION: Is the reason you do not have a good relationship with someone is that you do not think about the Word of God sufficiently? ---------- Copyright © 1995, Dr. Grant Richison. All rights reserved. There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. 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