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.

Greg: 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 two of Philippians 2.

JP Jones: 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. 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. 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 two 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 are to apply those resources, and we're to be intentional about doing it.

We're not to be haphazard, we're not to be passive. 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, this command, "Make my joy complete." That's why we can 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're 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's a four-dimensional description of the kind of unity that we're to pursue with one another. It's the 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 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 sumpsuchos, 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. 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. We actually have a one-soul relationship as fellow believers. There's a spiritual bond that we have and that we're to pursue.

Then it says, one in spirit and purpose. The word purpose here is from the Greek word phroneo, 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, the kids are grown and they're out of the house, and rather than separate and fight, they're actually having more fun than they've ever had, that didn't just accidentally happen.

It didn't happen because they lived together for 25 years so now that's what happens when two people live together. 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. 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. It starts at the smallest level, in our marriages, in our families. Then it goes to the next concentric circle in terms of our friendships and small groups, the people that we do life together with. Then it goes to the larger circle, which is this community of faith, this church, this body of believers. 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. 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 interest, but also to the interest 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 trying to take advantage of Paul's imprisonment and try to make a name for themselves as the great evangelists. 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.

See, 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've got to give joy away. It 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 idea of mind. I told you the term mind or thinking or perspective or attitude appears in several different ways. This is a word that Paul made up. You can't even find it 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. That requires a humble perspective. 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've got to get my mind right. I need to think in a way that's consistent with being a follower of Jesus Christ.

So, Paul says here, 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 interest, but also to the interest of others. He doesn't say don't look to your own interest. This isn't some type of weird altruism or some kind of Buddhist philosophy where you empty yourself of any personal desire. No, just don't look to your interests exclusively. Look to others' interests as well. Think about other people. Think about how your actions impact other people.

Parents of teenagers, how many times do we say something like this to our kids: think about what we do, how it impacts other people. God is speaking to us and saying this kind of unity that is going to give you joy has to be intentionally pursued and it has to be intentionally pursued with a humility that is foreign to your DNA. But it's part of what you've got in Christ. So, draw upon your new life in Christ and actually reorient your thinking about how important relationships are and how important this unity is so that you think about it from the right perspective so that you can look out not just for your own interest, but also for the interest of others.

Now, Paul says here's the bottom line. We need to think like Jesus. He is our great example in all of this. So, he says in verse five, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." So, the fourth observation is we need to look to Jesus and embrace his attitude. Paul is going to now launch into this great discussion about the deity and humanity of Christ and the exaltation of Christ. This passage is so full and rich in theology, but don't miss the flow.

Paul is giving an illustration for this exhortation to pursue unity, for this exhortation to be in right relationships with one another as the key to joy. You're going to find joy when you really put people first, other people first, and you love other people and you serve other people and you have a humility about yourself. You don't just look out for your own interest, but you look out for the interest of others. The best example I can think of of who actually did that is Jesus.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. The word attitude here is that word that we saw again, phroneo. Your thinking. We need to think like Jesus. He is the great example for how we are to live our lives, and in living them this way, we find joy. We're freed up from our own selfishness that would rob us of joy.

An obvious example of this is in John chapter 13. John chapter 13 says Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, knowing that he came from the Father, knowing that he was going back to the Father, girded himself with a towel, took a basin with water, and washed the disciples' feet. Here's the Lord of lords, the King of kings washing the feet of his disciples.

But the passage tells us he did that not out of weakness, but out of strength. He did that not out of insecurity, but out of security. He did that out of knowing who he was and knowing that he'd come from the Father, knowing that he was going back to the Father. Out of that spiritual confidence, he gave himself freely and humbly served the disciples. Philippians 2:5 says, "Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus." We're to have the very mind of Jesus, the perspective of Jesus, that God has called us to be servants. When we give ourselves away, that's when we find what we're really searching for.

And then Paul goes on to say this about Jesus, "who being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant and being made in human likeness. And being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself, became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place, 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."

Hallelujah! This is the strongest statement of both the deity and humanity of Jesus. Jesus is the unique God-man. A fifth observation here is that Jesus is the eternal God who emptied himself and became a man so that he might die on the cross on our behalf. Paul's language here is very precise and exact. There have been whole books and dissertations written on just this one passage.

Being in the very nature God, he says. He uses the present tense participle of the verb to be. Being. His state of being, his existence, was in the very nature God. It's a Greek word morphe, and morphe means the outward expression of the inner nature, what's actually true about the inner nature or the essence or the substance. The nature of Jesus, the essence of Jesus, the substance of Jesus is God. He was in eternal existence, beingness of God.

And then he says he didn't regard equality with God something to be grasped. What's the whole point of teaching this about Jesus? Because he's teaching how Jesus is our perfect example of being a servant. So, here's Jesus in glorified union with the Father and the Spirit in the very essence of being God, but he didn't just hold on to that.

He says in verse seven, "He emptied himself." It's the Greek verb kenoo. It says in NIV he made himself nothing. In the New American Standard and King James, it speaks of Jesus's emptying. That's a more literal translation. He divested himself not of deity and not of the attributes of deity, but out of that glorious intimate relationship with the Father and the Spirit so that his outward expression, his morphe, would be clearly seen as deity. Instead, he emptied himself and took on the morphe of a servant so that when people saw Jesus, they didn't go, well, there's God walking around. They said, there's a humble servant walking around.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself even to the point of obedience and death, and Paul highlights death on a cross because crucifixion was just reserved for non-Roman citizens and for the low-life scum. So, here's the point. Our attitude needs to be that of Christ Jesus. Why? Because God calls us to pursue unity and positive relationships with one another. Why? Because that's the only way we're going to have joy.

What's the best example of someone who self-sacrificingly became a servant to others? Jesus Christ. He existed as God, equal with the Father and the Spirit, but didn't just hold on to that. He stepped out of heaven and became a servant and was found in the appearance as a man and he humbled himself even to the point of death on a cross for us.

There's our sixth observation. Jesus is the exalted Lord. Therefore, verses 9 to 11 of Philippians 2, "God exalted him to the highest place, gave him the name that's 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." Jesus has been exalted to the highest place of exaltation.

Whether willingly or unwillingly, every person who has ever lived will bow before Jesus and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now, as his followers, as his disciples, those of us who know him, we do that joyfully, willingly. That privilege is open to anyone who would confess Jesus right now. But there's coming a day when some, against their will, will be forced to bow down before Jesus and confess that he's Lord because he is Lord.

So, there's this great teaching about the deity of Christ, the humility of Christ, the humanity of Christ, the resurrection, exaltation of Christ, the absolute Lordship of Christ. But the whole purpose why Paul threw this in here wasn't to teach us about Jesus as unbelievably important as that is. The whole purpose was to say we need to have the same attitude. What's that? The attitude to willingly humble ourselves and serve others. Why? Because that's the only way to really have the kind of unity that God wants us to have. Why? Because when we do that, we find joy.

So, if this morning what you want is joy, here's what God says. Beginning with those in closest relationship with you—your spouse, your husband, your wife, your kids—and then those close friends that you have, and then people in your small groups, and then people in this whole church, fully commit yourself to be a humble servant and you'll find joy because that's what Jesus did for us.

Greg: 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 a.m. 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. Here in Philippians chapter 2, Paul is continuing this whole discussion about joy, and he once again reinforces that real joy is found in a surrendered relationship with Jesus Christ, abiding in Christ, living in the power of the Holy Spirit, aligning our deepest priorities with the kingdom of God and serving Jesus and making Jesus known to others. That's where joy is found. And what Paul zeroes in on is this attitude of humility and servanthood and commitment to unity with other believers. When we will commit ourselves to having a humble, servant, unified relationship with another believer, that's when we can really have joy. Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 2 that the model of that was Jesus Christ himself.

He existed in eternity in this perfect relationship with the Father and the Spirit, fully God being in this glorified position, but willingly humbled himself and stepped out of eternity and took on the form of man and took on humanity. Jesus Christ, the unique God-man, lived in submission to the will of the Father and put our interests before his own, and even humbled himself to the point of death for us. Therefore God has glorified him and raised him from the dead and given him the name that's above every name.

Well, Jesus did all of that for us. He did what was necessary for our salvation, and Paul says that's an actual example of a humble act of service that if we will follow will yield to not only unified relationships but the fruit of joy being born out in our hearts. We need to think the way Jesus thought. We need to put others before ourselves, and when we do that and act upon that, we find real joy.

Jesus fills our lives when we humble ourselves and serve one another. But that act of humility and that commitment to service can only come when Jesus is filling our lives, when Jesus thinks through our minds and speaks through our mouths and loves through our hearts and lives his resurrection life through us. So again, joy is found when we fully surrender our life to Jesus Christ. Would you be willing to do that this morning? I invite you to pray with me.

Lord Jesus, I want to be a humble servant and put others before myself. I want to follow your example in doing that. Fill me with humility and with a heart to serve. Fill my life with your life, Jesus, and as a result, give me your joy. I pray for that in Jesus' name. Amen.

Greg: 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.