The Mind of Christ — Philippians 1-2

0:01 Good morning. Morning. Can you turn in your Bibles please to Philippians chapter two? Familiar passage And I'd like to share some thoughts beginning in verse one and hopefully we'll get to verse 13 but we'll see. So, Paul begins with therefore and whenever you see therefore, you have to ask what is there for.

0:31 What does it go back to? And if you go back to verse 27, this gives you the thought that he's going to elaborate on in chapter two. Chapter one verse 27, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. In no way alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too from God. For to you, it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for for his sake.

1:21 Experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me and now here in saw in me and now here to be in me. Therefore, because of that, he says, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation of love, if there's any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and compassion. Now, when you see ifs, you gotta be careful with ifs. Because in English, we only have one way of saying if. In Greek, there's four ways of saying if.

1:53 And depending on which way you, which way the writer is choosing, it's gonna completely change the meaning. Let me give you an example. Go over to John chapter eight. There's a first class, a second class, a third class, and a fourth class. You don't really need to worry about the fourth class because I don't think there are any in the New Testament but a first class condition assumes the condition to be true.

2:27 So, then, the consequence is going to happen and and in most cases, it's not just an assumption that it's true. It actually is true. A second class condition assumes that the condition is not true and in most cases it isn't true. So let me give you an example of a second class condition. In John eight forty two, Jesus is saying to these religious leaders and he's saying, if God were your father, you would love me.

3:04 That's a second class condition. What he's saying is God isn't your father, which is why you don't love me. But in English, that doesn't come out very well. He's really questioning, if God were your father and he's not, you would love me. A third class condition, the condition isn't true yet, but at some point, it probably will be.

3:36 Still in John chapter eight verse 31, if you continue in my word, which they are not doing yet. That's a third class condition. Then, you're truly disciples of mine and you'll know the truth and the truth will make you free. So, what he's saying in verse 31 is when you continue in my word, then, these three consequences will happen. You'll be truly disciples, you'll know the truth, the truth will make you free.

4:45 What he's done from done for us on the cross encourages us. He encourages us in our walk every day. He even told the disciples, look in the world. You're going to have tribulation in the world but take courage. I've overcome the world.

5:01 Don't worry about what the world's gonna do to you. I've overcome it. Be encouraged. So there is encouragement in Christ. He says, if there's any consolation of love, and again, he's not questioning whether this is true, it is true.

5:19 Since there is this consolation of love, nothing can separate us from the love of god which is in Christ Jesus. We can take consolation in that. There is nothing that this world can do to us. There is nothing that we can do. That will separate us from the love of god in Christ.

5:46 If there is any fellowship of the spirit and again, he's not questioning that. It is true. Since we have fellowship of the spirit and in fact, in second Corinthians thirteen fourteen, Paul's benediction is the grace of the lord Jesus Christ, the love of god, and the fellowship of the spirit be with you all. It's true. We have the fellowship of the spirit.

6:13 We have his permanent indwelling presence. We have his intercession for us when we don't know how to pray. We have the various ministries he works out in our lives, the ceiling, the pledge, the the filling. There is fellowship in the spirit. And if any affection and compassion and again, he's not questioning that.

6:40 It's true. There is affection and compassion. Christ's affection and compassion for us are affection and compassion for one another. Since all of those things are true, he says, make my joy complete by being of the same mind and verses two and three really go back and and four, really go back to what he said at the end of chapter one. There needs to be this this unity, conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel.

7:19 One mind, one spirit, striving together for the faith of the gospel. So, he says, make my joy complete and here's how you can do this. By being of the same mind. Literally, it means thinking the same thing. Now, that doesn't mean we're we're automatons, robots, you know, without minds of our owns or of our own but we should be thinking the same thing regarding the unity of the spirit, regarding our fellowship with one another, Of the same mind.

7:57 Go back to Acts chapter one and I think Paul is is actually perhaps thinking about the early church and and how it began. Acts chapter one verse 14. You've got the apostles and the other disciples in the upper room and he says, these all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer. They all thought the same thought. We need to be doing this.

8:31 Continually devoting themselves to prayer. Acts chapter two verse 46, day by day continuing with one mind in the temple. Breaking bread from house, they were taking their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart. Chapter four, verse 32, the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own.

9:03 There was this unity of thought. And that's what Paul is wanting here with the Philippians. There was there were some problems in the Philippian church. Later on, he's gonna talk about Euodian Syntyche. They need to live in harmony.

9:21 They weren't doing that. So, being of the same mind, maintaining the same love and that's exactly what Jesus commanded. I mean, Paul is simply repeating the things that Christ gave to his disciples several times in in the Gospel of John, love one another even as I have loved you. New commandment. Says that in chapter 13, says that in chapter 15.

9:51 Paul wants the same thing for the Philippians. United in spirit, literally it's one in soul. They need to be joined together in soul, in sentiment, unanimous and a lot of this has to do with unity. Unity of the spirit Paul talks about in in Ephesians four and again, he says, intent on one purpose and and that's almost a repeat of how we began this. Thinking the same thing.

11:02 This essentially says the same thing but beginning in verse 11 of of chapter four, Paul is explaining the reason for spiritual gifts. In fact, certain spiritual gifts, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Why do we have them? Verse 12, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ. Here's the key, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man.

11:41 Christian maturity. That's the goal of discipleship. Christian maturity. Unity of the faith, the knowledge of the son of god, a mature man to the measure of the statue which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the tricker of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming, speaking the truth in love, we're to grow up.

12:09 I'd put the period there but he didn't. Grow up. Unity of the faith. That's the purpose here. So, back in Philippians, how do we do all of this?

12:24 How do we be of the same mind, maintain the same love, be united in spirit, be intent on one purpose? Well, he answers that in verses three and four. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. That's sometimes easier said than done. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit.

12:52 Don't seek your own, don't be contentious, there shouldn't be rivalries within the church, self interests, empty conceit, empty glory, self conceit, and what's amazing is how many times Paul writes these things in his other epistles. The same thing. Romans thirteen thirteen, there shouldn't be any strife or jealousy. First Corinthians three three, jealousy and strife. Second Corinthians twelve twenty, strife, jealousy, and disputes.

13:33 That was the problem and it wasn't just a Philippian problem. It was a Corinthian problem. It was a Roman problem. It was a Galatians problem. It was all over the place.

13:44 It's a problem everywhere. Selfishness, conceit, disputes. And Paul says, we shouldn't be doing anything with those motives. So when we do something or when we consider doing something, those should be the thoughts that come into our mind. Why am I doing this?

14:09 Am I doing it selfishly? Is there some pride involved here? A patting myself on the back? If there is, then we shouldn't be doing it. So he says, don't do anything from selfishness or empty conceit but here's what you should be doing, with humility of mind.

14:37 In Philippians or in Ephesians chapter four, he says, walk in a manner worthy of the calling with you with which you've been called with all humility. And gentleness and patience and forbearance, but it begins with humility. To get rid of the selfishness and the empty conceit, there has to be a humility of mind, humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. We shouldn't be looking out for our own personal interests, he says, verse four, but also for the interests of others. And then he gives us an example and the example he gives is probably one of the more profound doctrinal passages regarding the person of Christ in the New Testament and it's used as an illustration.

15:38 He's not even setting it aside as a doctrinal passage. Here's some good doctrine for it. He's saying, this is an illustration. And he says, have this attitude and the word attitude there is the same word for mind back in verse two. The same mind thinking the same thing.

16:16 Well, he explains that. Who although he existed in the form of god. Unfortunately, that is not a good translation. The word existed should not be past tense. It's a present tense and it should read who in the form of God existing.

16:43 He didn't exist in the past in the form of God and then somehow suddenly stop existing in the form of God. He exists in the form of God. He never stopped existing in the form of God and this word form here, it means in the essence of God, the necessary and fundamental mode of existence. You cannot exist in the form or essence of something without being that something. None of us could exist in the form or essence of God.

17:25 Only God can exist in the form and essence of God. So Paul is saying he exists in the form of God or in the form of God existing, he did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. And I don't like that translation either. I kinda like what the New King James says. He did not consider it robbery to be equal with god or the best way of saying that he didn't consider robbery to be as God.

18:13 So he exists present tense in the form of God and he didn't consider it robbery or something to be seized or stolen that didn't belong to him to be as God. And the thought, what Paul is getting across here is because Jesus exists truly in the form and essence of God, his being God, his claims to being God, being as God, being equal with God were not something that he somehow took because they didn't belong to him, they were his. His being god, his being as god, his being equal with god were his. He didn't have to steal them. He didn't commit robbery and claiming them.

19:10 They're true of him. He exists in the form of God, in the essence of God. This is why He says in John chapter 10, I and the Father are one, we are one essence. I am God, He is God, two persons, one being. Colossians one says, He's the image of the invisible God.

19:40 In order to be the image of the invisible, you have to be that thing. It's the same thing with with the form of God. You can't be the form or essence of something without being that something. Hebrews chapter one verse three, he is the radiance of his glory, the exact representation of his nature. You can't exactly represent something without being something.

20:06 That something. In fact, in that same passage, the father says of the son, your throne, oh god, is forever and ever. So, even the father identifies him as the son. John one one, in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god. He did not regard equality with god, anything to be grasped or didn't think it robbery to make those claims.

21:03 And the answer is, he did not empty himself of anything. He emptied himself by becoming something. Now, there are people who who teach that when Jesus emptied himself, he laid aside his attributes of deity. That is not true. Jesus never laid aside anything.

21:36 He did not lay aside his attributes of deity. To lay aside his attributes of deity would mean that he was no longer God. That he no longer exists present tense in the form of God. He did not lay aside his glory. Some people teach that.

21:59 Now, He veiled His glory, it was still there, it was just covered up. He didn't set it aside. His glory was still there and on occasion that glory peaked through. I think the best example of that is when he's being arrested he says to the soldiers, whom do you seek? And they say, we're seeking Jesus of Nazareth.

22:30 And his words were, I am. What happened the moment he uttered those words? They fell on their faces. Why did they fall in their faces? I think for an instant, he let his glory peek through and they got a dose.

22:54 He did not lay aside his attributes of deity. Now, think about that for a moment. We're talking the omni attributes as well. He was still omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Those were not gone.

23:15 He didn't exercise those attributes, they were veiled, but they were not gone, they were not laid aside, He didn't get rid of them. For Him to remove any attribute of deity would mean He would cease to be God and we would cease to exist. So, he was omniscient. He knew all things and yet he didn't exercise that attribute Which is why when the woman came up behind him and touched him, he could honestly say, who touched me? He chose not to exercise that attribute.

23:59 It's like in Hebrews 10 and and this is part of the new covenant in in Jeremiah 31. Their sins and their lawless deeds, I will remember no more. You've got the god who knows all things choosing not to know some things. He chooses not to remember our sins and our lawless deeds even though he knows all things. So God can choose not to exercise his attributes on occasion.

24:36 So he's omniscient. He's omnipotent but he let sinners beat and mock him, crucify him. He could've stopped that. And yet on other occasions, he simply stands up and says to the wind and the waves hush, be still, and it was perfectly calm. On occasion, those attributes were used.

25:01 Most of the time they weren't. He was omnipresent. You know, that's probably one of the more difficult one. Here's here's Jesus who one of his attributes of deity is being everywhere present at one and the same time. He didn't lay that aside.

25:20 Chose not to use it which is why he could say to the disciples when Lazarus died, I was glad for your sakes I wasn't there. The omnipresent one wasn't there. So he possessed these attributes, so in the emptying he didn't lay aside attributes. He didn't lay aside glory. He still possessed those things.

25:49 He simply chose not to exercise them. So, the emptying Paul is talking about here is not an emptying of something, it's an emptying by becoming something. So what did he become? He emptied himself taking the form of a bond servant and it's the same word that's used the form of God. He took the form and the essence of a bond servant.

26:22 And like I said, you cannot have the form or essence of something without being that something. So he exists present tense in the form and essence of God. He took the form and essence of a bond servant. That was the emptying. It wasn't an emptying of something.

26:48 It was an emptying by becoming something. God becoming a bond servant. Well, never ceasing to be god. And to think that that's a new concept, it really isn't. Especially when you read through Isaiah.

27:09 How many times in Isaiah does the son or is the son referred to as my servant? Isaiah 42, behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one. Isaiah forty nine six, it is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I'm gonna make you this light of the nations and my salvation's gonna reach to the end of the earth. Isaiah 52, Isaiah 53.

27:46 Matthew twenty twenty eight, the son of man did not come to be served but to serve. He became a bond servant. Now what's important here is this is the beginning of his humbling himself. Verse eight is not the beginning of his humbling himself. Verse eight is the consummation of his humbling himself.

28:59 If he's going to be a bond servant, he has to look like a bond servant. He has to look like a man. So, he took the form of a bond servant, was made in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man, so now he looks like a man, he humbled himself and that is the consummation of his humbling. It's not the beginning. The beginning of the humbling of the son of God was when he took the form of a bond servant, It ended when he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

29:44 That's where it ends and he obeyed And this isn't the beginning of his obedience, this is the end. He obeyed everything from the beginning. Take a look at John chapter 12. Verse 49. And John is loaded with statements like this.

30:15 John twelve forty nine, I do not speak on my own initiative but the father himself who sent me has given me a commandment. What to say and what to speak. The end of verse 50, I speak just as the father has told me. He doesn't ad lib. He doesn't improvise.

30:38 He speaks just as the father told him. John chapter 14 verse 31. But so that the world may know that I love the father, I do exactly as the father commanded me. I say exactly what he tells me to say. I do exactly what he tells me to do.

31:06 So, when the son left the throne of the father's right hand took the form of a bond servant being made in the likeness of men, that was obedience. When the son went to the cross, that was obedience and everything he did in between was obedient. Saying exactly what the father wanted said, doing exactly what the father wanted done. And so he was obedient to the point of death and that right there is the reason for the incarnation. When he was made in the likeness of men, the reason for that was so that he could die.

31:57 Take a look at Hebrews chapter two verse nine. We do see him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. If Jesus was just a man and if he managed somehow to be completely perfect and sinless and he was only a man, then he could only die for one other person. But because he was a sinless man who was also god, he could taste death for everyone. Hebrews chapter or verse 14, sorry.

33:05 Since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same. That through death, he might render powerless him who had had the power of death. Hebrews chapter 10. He be... The the writer of Hebrews begins with this discussion of the law.

33:35 The law is a shadow. It's all it is. It's not the very form of things. Can never make perfect those who draw near even though sacrifices, the same sacrifices are offered year by year, day by day. He says in verse two, in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins year by year, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

33:58 Therefore, when he comes into the world, that's when he was made in the likeness of man. What does he say? Sacrifice and offering you have not desired but a body you've prepared for me. Jump down to verse nine. Behold, I have come to do your will, obedience.

34:23 He takes away the first in order to establish the second, the old covenant versus the new covenant. By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. One sacrifice for all sins for all time. He was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, Paul goes on in Philippians.

35:20 Not that he ever lost it. It was unveiled. John chapter 17, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was. I veiled it for these thirty some odd years. Let's unveil it.

35:38 The father gave all judgment to him, gave all authority to him, gave all things to him. God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name. What's the name? Well, next verse, at the name of Jesus. This is why Peter in Acts chapter four can say there is salvation in no one else, there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

36:15 There is no other name. There's lots of religious figures, but they're not gonna save you. They'll usher you to hell, but they're not gonna save you. There is no other name by which we must be saved. So that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow.

36:43 And this is actually a quote from the Old Testament. Go back to Isaiah 45. Isaiah 4five 21, Declare and set forth your case, indeed let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it?

37:12 Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a savior, there is none except me. Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other, I have sworn by myself. The word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness and will not turn back. That to me, every knee will bow and every tongue will swear allegiance.

37:44 Every knee will bow in heaven, on earth, under the earth. So the saints and angels in glory, those living here under the earth, lost souls waiting judgment, imprisoned angels, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is lord. And you have two options. You can either do it willingly or be compelled to do so but every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is lord. So then, he says, verse 12, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.

39:00 But he's saying, work it out. How I began this chapter, how I ended chapter one, work it out. Follow that example of Christ. Selfless humility, he wants unity among believers and the only way to accomplish unity among believers is for believers to be selfless and humble. Just like Christ.

39:31 Follow that example. Work out the salvation you've got. Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. One twenty seven. Flip or Ephesians four, walk in a manner worthy of your calling.

39:45 Walk in a manner worthy of the lord. Colossians one ten. Walk in a manner worthy of the god who calls you. Work it out. Show the evidence of that.

39:56 With fear and trembling and and fear and trembling, it it denotes a profound reverential awe for the god with whom or or to whom we are accountable. It it's it's amazing how many people, how many believers kind of trifle with god or take him lightly. Know, treat him like a buddy. He's not a buddy. He's the one true god.

40:32 There should be a profound reverential awe for him. And then he reminds them, you're not in this alone. Working out your salvation, following the example of Christ, you're not in this alone. It is God who is at work in you. Both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

40:54 Just like he did with his son, so he does with us. Just like the son obeyed the father, speaking what he was supposed to speak, doing what he was supposed to do. The same god, the same father that worked in him is working in us. So, are we going to follow the example of his son? Are we going to go and do our own thing?

41:20 Let's pray. Father, thank you once again for your word. We thank you for the tremendous example and the humility and obedience of the lord Jesus Christ And we pray, Father, that through your spirit working in us, we would walk in that same humility and obedience, that we would walk in a manner worthy of you who have called us and worthy of you who have brought us into your kingdom. We pray in Jesus' name.