Truth That Changes Lives

JP Jones: When we live in unity, when we are actively seeking to serve one another, the payoff is not only do we contribute to one another's life, but we experience joy.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the Senior Pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a Professor in Biblical Studies at Biola University.

Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us a message from a series entitled, Joy. Let's listen in as JP gives us part one of Philippians 2.

JP Jones: Open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 2. We are continuing in our study in the book of Philippians. This is one of the letters that the Apostle Paul wrote from prison. It's known as a prison epistle.

It's a letter about encouragement. It's short, it's only four chapters, but it's filled with practical advice about experiencing joy. Over 16 times, the Apostle Paul uses the terms joy or rejoicing.

It is both explicitly taught and then implicitly implied that when we are in a right relationship with Christ, the joy of the Lord is our strength. And so, we're looking at this book, discovering principles for experiencing joy in our lives. And in Philippians 2:1-11, we come across another principle that is revealed to us by the Apostle Paul.

This passage reads this way: "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. But made himself nothing, and taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God highly exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

This passage, which includes this great Christological statement, this teaching about Jesus, who he is in his deity and who he is in his humanity. This passage gives us another principle about experiencing God's joy in our life.

The key principle is this: We experience joy when we share in a community of like-minded Christ followers who are actively seeking to serve one another. It hinges on verse 2 here where Paul says, "Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and one in purpose." In this entire passage, this is the main verb, it's the imperative statement in it.

Grammatically, this passage breaks down with a lot of descriptive terms and actions that support the main action. And the main action is this, when Paul commands, "Make my joy complete." And he answers the question how it is that his joy could be made complete.

Paul's joy could be made complete when we are of the same mind, the same spirit, and the same purpose. When we live in unity with one another, when we are actively seeking to serve one another, the payoff is not only do we contribute to one another's life, but we experience joy.

The way we can have joy in this life is to give ourselves to serve one another and to be connected in relationship with a community, a church, a body of people who are giving themselves to serve one another. Paul is saying that we don't live the Christian life in isolation. Paul is writing this from a prison cell, but he felt a spiritual bond with this church that had partnered with him in ministry. And so he says, "I'm going to have joy when I know that you all are actively seeking to serve one another."

We experience joy when we live our lives, when we do life together in community with other like-minded Christ followers who are actively seeking to serve one another. Now, this passage is filled with some great teaching about who Jesus is. It's one of the foundational passages for understanding the nature of Jesus, but even in this great teaching about Jesus, it is used as an illustration for how we ought to be in relationship with one another.

Because Paul's point when he teaches about Jesus is that Jesus is fully God and lived in glorious fellowship with the Father and with the Spirit, and yet humbled himself to become a man to serve us. And Jesus is our perfect example of how we ought to live lives as servants.

And when we do, we experience joy. God is glorified, other people are blessed, and we find joy. That's God's great design for us. So, let's look at this passage and pull out some principles that we can put into practice in this church body, in our families, in our marriages, in our personal lives, so that we can have joy.

First of all, we have resources in Christ to help us be unified with other believers. We have resources in Christ. It says in verse 1, "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion," then he says, verse 2, "make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, intent on one purpose."

In the grammar of the New Testament, this is known as a first-class condition. It reads in the NIV version as, "If you have," and it mentions four things. But a first-class condition in Greek grammar is assuming the reality of the condition. So, some translations say, "Since you have," or, "If you have, and indeed you do have." So, there's no doubt as to what we actually have in Christ, it's just a grammatical construction to bring the emphasis upon what we have in Christ. When we read it just in the English, it makes us think, "Well, maybe I don't have these things."

But actually, the exact opposite was the purpose of the Apostle Paul. He wrote it as a conditional statement to bring to reality in our thinking, in our mind, what we actually do have. Since we have encouragement from being united with Christ, and since we have comfort from his love, and since we have fellowship with the Spirit, and since we have tenderness and compassion, let's bring those resources to bear upon pursuing positive relationships with one another.

And when we do, not only do we develop positive relationships with one another, we get joy out of the deal. What do we have in Christ that can help us have the kind of marriages that God wants us to have? What do we have in Christ that can help us to have the kind of families that God wants us to have? What do we have in Christ that can help us to have the kind of Christian friendships that God wants us to have? What do we have in Christ that can help us as a whole church body have the kind of unity that God wants us to have? Well, we have encouragement from being united with Christ.

The Greek word is paraklesis. It's the form of the word Paraclete that Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit in John 14, 15 and 16. Jesus says, "I'm not going to leave you as orphans, I'm going to send the Helper, the Comforter, the Counselor." It's the Greek word Parakletos. The Holy Spirit is identified as our Helper, Comforter, Counselor.

Well, that's what we have in Christ. Because we've been united with Christ, we have encouragement in Christ. We have what we need in Christ to do life. We have what we need in Christ to have unity in our marriages, and unity in our family, and unity in our relationships.

It's got to start at the most basic level and then concentric circles out. It's true in a spiritual sense that we're part of the larger body of Christ, those of us who know Jesus. The moment that you know Jesus, according to 1 Corinthians 12:13, you are baptized by the Spirit into one body. You're placed into the body of Christ, the larger body of Christ.

But the larger body of Christ is only as meaningful as the most immediate body of Christ is. And the most immediate body of Christ is my relationship eyeball to eyeball with another believer. And for me, by God's grace and blessing, that's with my wife and that's with my children. And then with the most immediate people I do life together with. And then this body of believers, this church, and then the larger body of believers.

So, unity has to be brought down to the most basic level, and God has actually given us spiritual resources to pursue that and to have that and to maintain that and to experience that. We have encouragement. Why? Because we're united with Jesus Christ.

We have comfort from his love. This is the Greek word paramuthion. It's the only time it's used in the New Testament. Don't say you never learn anything at church. Because the word for, or the term for, a word that's only used one time is hapax legomena. This is a hapax legomena, only one time. So, you can't draw upon other passages in the New Testament to find out how Paul uses it. You have to look to classical Greek literature to how is this word used in the vocabulary, in the conversation style of people. It's a word very similar to encouragement but has an even more emotional dynamic to it.

That's why it's translated as comfort. So, not only do we have that positive inspirational encouragement, we actually because of Christ's love have an emotional support, an emotional identification. God cares about how we actually feel.

We have encouragement from being united with Christ. We have comfort from his love. We have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. And we have tenderness and compassion. These are two words that are very intense words that describe the inner feeling and heart of Jesus Christ. And we actually have that because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. So, here's what the Apostle Paul is saying: Since we have these resources.

Every believer in Jesus has the encouragement from being united with Christ, has the comfort that comes from his love, has the fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and actually has implanted into their heart the very tenderness and compassion of Christ. I know it might be underneath a bunch of tough layers, but it's there. And since we have these, we ought to use them to pursue unity with one another.

Husbands, we need to draw upon this to pursue our wives, to be one in spirit with our wives. To be united with our wives. Wives, you need to draw upon this to be united with your husbands. Parents, you need to draw upon this to be united with your children. We need to draw upon this to be united with our friends, united with those that we are in small groups with, united with the larger body of Christ, this community here. If you call Crossline home, draw upon it to be united with the even larger body of Christ, everyone who names the name of Jesus.

God wants us to have relationships that are positive, that reflect the very unity of God himself. In John 17, Jesus prayed that we would be one, as he is one with the Father and the Spirit. This is a big deal to God. And because it's a big deal to God, he's given us the resources that we need to execute the call, to put the plan into action.

Here's a second observation: We need to be intentional about pursuing unity. We need to be intentional. Verse 2 says, "Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and in purpose."

So, we've got the resources, and now we have the direction that we're to apply those resources, and we're going to be intentional about doing it. We're not to be haphazard, we're not to be passive, we're not to be, you know, come see, come so. We're to be focused, energized, and intentional about pursuing the kind of relationships that bring God glory, that bless others, and give us joy.

This, as I told you, is the main verb of this passage. It's this command: "Make my joy complete." That's why we understand the key principle of this passage is we find our joy when we are pursuing these kind of like-minded relationships with other Christ followers in a community of faith. Paul tells us how this joy is made complete. We are to use the spiritual resources that we have in Christ to pursue a total unity.

Because just as there are four resources that were described for us: encouragement from being united with Christ, comfort from his love, fellowship with the Spirit, and tenderness and compassion. There are, there's a four-dimensional description of the kind of unity that we're to pursue with one another. It's a unity of being like-minded. Literally, it's same-minded.

In fact, in this whole passage, there are terms for the mind or for the attitude or for the perspective that are used repeatedly. If you back away, that's the big idea of the big idea. We need to cultivate a certain attitude, if we're going to have the kind of relationships that God wants us to have, and that's going to give us joy. We need to have a thought process, a perspective about relationships.

They've got to be important to us, just like they are to God, to move us to kind of act in a way that we have the kind of relationships that will give us joy. We can't be people who devalue relationships. We can't be people who are passive about our relationships. No, we've got to see them from the same perspective that God sees them.

So, the unity that God wants us to pursue and be intentional about is a like-mindedness, and it's having the same love, and it's being united in spirit. The word here is sumpsukos, which literally means joined in soul. It's reminiscent of what the scripture says about marriage. A man shall leave his father and mother, cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. There's a oneness principle in marriage. And you know, in the body of Christ, there's a oneness principle that we have with Jesus. That's why in Ephesians chapter 5, it talks about marriage as the human picture to help us understand Christ and the church. And we actually have a one-soul relationship as fellow believers.

There's a spiritual bond that we have and that we're to pursue. And then it says, "one in spirit and purpose." And the word spirit or excuse me, the word purpose here is from the Greek word phroneto, which really means minded. We need to be one-minded.

There's an intentionality that is necessary if we're going to have these type of relationships. When you see a married couple that is just experiencing a real unity in their lives, and a joy in their lives, and a peace in their lives, and you know, the kids are grown and they're out of the house, and rather than separating and fighting, they're actually have more fun than they've ever had. That didn't just accidentally happen.

It didn't, well, they lived together for 25 years, so now that's what happens when two people live. No. Sometimes people hate each other after 25 years. Sometimes they don't make it to 25 years. If they make it to 25 years and they're loving each other more after 25 years than they did when they first got married, it's because they worked at it, you see.

They were intentional about it. And that's what this idea is. We need to be intentional in pursuing these positive, unified relationships with one another. And it starts at the smallest level. Hey, in our marriages, in our families. And then it goes to the next concentric circle in in terms of our friendships and in small groups, the people that we kind of do life together.

And then it goes to the larger circle, which is this community of faith, this church, this body of believers. And then to the largest circle, which is the universal body of Christ. God wants us to intentionally pursue unity, the payoff of which is our joy is made complete.

So, it's a win-win. Our joy is made complete. Here's a third observation from this passage. We must humble ourselves and actively seek to serve others. We must humble ourselves and actively seek to serve others. You know, I like the quote of Mark Twain. He says, "It's not the parts of the Bible that I don't understand that bother me. It's the parts of the Bible that I do understand that bother me."

Well, this is pretty easy to understand. This is what the passage says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." There's a positive and a negative.

It says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit." The word here for selfish ambition is the same word that Paul used in chapter 1, verses 17 and 18, when he was talking about the people who were preaching in Philippi because of his imprisonment, not out of pure motives, but out of impure motives, out of selfish motives. They were kind of trying to take advantage of Paul's imprisonment and try to make a name for themselves as the, you know, the great evangelist. Paul says, "Don't have those kind of motives. Don't have self-centered, vain-oriented motives for your life and in your relationships. Don't use people. Don't be in relationship with others for what you can get out of it."

It's a paradoxical kingdom that Jesus calls us to. Because Jesus himself said, "If you want to gain your life, you have to do what? Lose your life." If you want to find joy, you got to give joy away. Sounds weird, but it works.

So, if you're in relationships with people for what you get out of it, both of you lose. But if you're in relationship for what you can give, both of you win. So, the passage says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Here's another use of this, this idea of mind. I told you this, the term mind or thinking or perspective or attitude appears in several different ways. This is a word that Paul made up.

Can't even find it anywhere, anywhere other than the Bible. He took the word for mind or thinking about oneself, self-thinking, and then the word for humble, and combined it together. So, it's a humility of mind, a humble kind of thinking. In humility of mind, consider others better than yourselves.

And the word consider is another word that is related to perspective. So, you step away and what this passage is saying is we find our joy when we really pursue a positive unity of like-minded people because we're trying to out-serve one another. And that requires a humble perspective. And before I can even engage in having that kind of a marriage, that kind of a family, that kind of a lifestyle, that kind of a church, I got to, I got to get my mind right.

I need to think in a way that's consistent with being a follower of Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP provides us with great insight. That is why we'd like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We'll send it your way for just $5. Or if you'd like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or give us a call at 949-916-0250. That's 949-916-0250. For your gift of $25 or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book, Facing Goliath. Please join us every Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 AM at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We're going to get to the address and phone number again in a moment, but before we do that, Pastor JP, do you have any insight from today's message?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. We're looking at Philippians chapter 2 and talking about how we can have joy. In these first few verses of Philippians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul says that joy finds its completion in our lives when we are in these positive, encouraging, intimate relationships with other believers. When we put others before ourselves, when we serve one another, we find real joy. You see, God created us to have relationships. It's part of being created in God's image. God is in an eternal relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And we've been created in God's image and part of that image-bearing part of us is that we relate to other people. And Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second like unto it was to love our neighbor as ourselves. We can't love God unless we are loving our neighbor. We can't truly live out an authentic Christian life unless we are in these connected relationships with other believers. Because even Jesus said that by this all men will know that we are his disciples, by the love that we have for one another. It's that one-another dynamic, which is the acid test of authentic Christianity. And it's the fruit of joy. You see, we, we find our real joy when we love each other, we serve one another, we humble ourselves before one another, we seek to make one another successful. Paul says in Philippians chapter 2, though, that that type of relationship begins with a perspective. He uses a word that's based off the mind or the thinking and it, it kind of best translates as being humble-minded. We've got to think in such a way where we really see our role as serving one another and completing one another and blessing one another and helping one another. We've got to choose to humble ourselves before God and enter into relationships where we really try to bless other people. That can only come when Jesus is filling our lives. And when he does, he fills us with joy. Would you commit yourself to that right now? Lord, I pray that you would fill us with joy because we choose to humble ourselves before you and we choose to serve one another and we choose to consider others as more important than ourselves. Help us be able to do that by being filled with the Holy Spirit and by thinking about one another the way you've called us to think about one another. May we be humble servants of Jesus and may we find your joy in Jesus name. Amen.

Guest (Male): We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or call us at 949-916-0250. On the internet, you will find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.