Written ~ 10-01-2024
Read Philippians Chapter Two
Philippians Two
The emotion and the love Paul expressed in this chapter is deeply heartfelt. The love he has for the Philippian believers is obvious. He longs to visit them, but as we know he is in a Roman prison. So, he writes. His letters always give sage advice, and you can feel the loving push he gives to all believers so we will mindfully live for the Lord.
In the last couple of verses from chapter one Paul writes, “For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for Him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am in the midst of it.” Let’s continue this thought as we look at the first few verses of chapter two…
Philippians 2:1-2…
1 “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from His love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.”
When Paul spoke of his suffering, and the suffering we must endure for following Jesus, he points out that “we are in this struggle together.” Paul knows that as believers, we will come against the enemy of God. When we do the will of God, serve Him with love and spread the Gospel message, there will be opposition. So, the questions he asks in verse 2:1 is in response to the suffering we will experience for walking in the truth. Paul wants to make sure we are an encouragement to each another, he is asking if we comfort each other during the struggles that will come along. He asks if our hearts are tender and compassionate. Are we kindhearted? Warmhearted? Softhearted? It is easy to isolate and hide when opposition comes your way, especially if you don’t have a group of believers praying with you and for you. We are the body of Christ; we are to come alongside each other when someone is hurting and struggling. Isn’t it helpful to know that if you are having a tough time, you are under attack from every direction, but you have a group of believers who love you and will help you stand when you fall under the weight of opposition? Paul says in verse 2:2 that we need to agree with each other, to love each other and to work together with one mind and one purpose. We are to agree with each other because we have a like-mindedness through the Spirit of the Lord! We are to help each other because of the love we have for the Lord. We should never allow a fellow believer to fend for themselves when facing any kind of trouble because our purpose is the same, we serve and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verses 2:3-4 Paul gave us a few do’s and don’ts…
- Don’t – be selfish
- Don’t – try to impress others
- Don’t – look out only for your own interests
- Do – humble ourselves
- Do – think of others as better than ourselves
- Do – take an interest in others
When we get caught up in our own daily tasks it might become easy to ignore what others are going through. In verses 2:3-4 Paul is telling us to keep our eyes open, look out for those who need our encouragement. Sometimes, it might be that the Lord is asking you to pray for someone who is coming to your mind. If we are too busy to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, I think it would be wise for each of us stop…seek forgiveness for walking in selfishness and ask for our hearts to be humbled.
After Paul gives us those few things to think about… he hits us with verse 2:5…
Philippians 2:5…
5 “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”
If we were struggling with anything that Paul encouraged us to do from verses 2:1-4, then verse 2:5 can feel especially difficult. How can we have the same attitude of Jesus? Sounds impossible, right? Well… that is why we need to read and study our Bibles, that is why we pray for help and guidance! When we learn about who Jesus is and how He handled different situations, we can begin to see how our attitudes need to line up with His. You might be thinking there is no way you can have the same attitude as Jesus… Well, you might be right, in our own strength it would be impossible! That’s why the Lord has given us His Holy Spirit to help us. That’s why we have been given this incredible instruction manual, that’s why we have a community of believers to encourage us and that’s why we pray to the Father to give us wisdom!
Jesus came to us in great humility, He came from the abundance of Heaven to live among us in humility and in need. He didn’t live a “rich man’s” life while He walked this earth… No, He came to us as a servant, to show us how we must treat each other.
Look at the next set of verses…
Philippians 2:6-11…
6 “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This is the reason we need to have the same attitude as Jesus. He gave up everything for us. And now He is the Name above all names! His example to us while He was on earth is what we need to model our lives after… and that is complete surrender to the Will of God.
Paul continues with more instruction for living a life that models Christ’s attitude…
Philippians 2:12-13…
12 “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”
One thing I found interesting in verse 2:12 was that Paul pointed out how we must continue to follow the instructions given to us even though we think no one is watching. Have you ever noticed if your behavior changes when you are in the company of, let’s say, your pastor or a godly mentor or your favorite Bible teacher? Suddenly you are on your best behavior. Do you clean up your ungodly behaviors just so those people you admire so greatly will see that your “good Christian behaviors” are on point? Paul is saying here that it is “even more important” to follow the instructions given to us in the Word of God when no one is looking, that way we won’t have to change behaviors when someone is looking.
When you have a mentor or wonderful teacher and they are either no longer living near you, or they have passed away, it’s so important not to lose the stride you had while sitting under their guidance or teaching.
Paul was visiting many churches as he taught and spread the gospel, a lot of people sat under his teaching and absorbed everything he said and used him as their guide while he was with them. But Paul didn’t stay in one place for too long, he had a lot of places he needed to visit and people to encourage. So, when he took off to a different church it may be that he saw a decline in their service to the Lord when he wasn’t around. In verse 2:12 Paul is gently disciplining the church.
“… now that I am away, it is even more important to work hard…”
Paul cared so deeply for those he taught and ministered to. Even when he couldn’t be there with them, he wanted them to continue in the work of the LORD. He loved them so much!
We can’t always be with those we love, physically, distance separates us. But the Lord God unites us with His Spirit. God is the one who ignites our joy, and, in that joy, we can be a constant encouragement for one another. It would be wonderful to always have those we love an arms distance away. But Paul couldn’t always do that, he had to encourage those he loved from a distance. Look at us today! Paul has long since been in heaven with the Lord, but he is still reaching out to us today with the words he left behind. He is still pointing us to the One who fuels our desires and ignites the power within us all!
Think about what Paul also says in verse 2:12, “Work hard to show the results of your Salvation.” Has the Salvation you found in Jesus Christ changed you from within? It should! You now have the Holy Spirit living within you and Paul is saying “work hard to show the results!” When we obey God’s Word with deep reverence and fear because we know who He is, it changes our lives! We do and say things differently! And it shouldn’t be something we turn on or off depending on who we are hanging out with. What does it mean to you when Paul says, “God is working in you?” For me it means I have the All-Powerful God showing me the way to pursue a godly life. Paul continues by saying, “God is giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” When we begin to discover that our desires are aligning with Scripture it shows God is working!! In our own strength we do not have the ability to walk in Christ’s footsteps, we need the power of an Almighty God to give us the power to please Him in everything we do.
Whatever we may be facing today – God is with us. Our eyes should be looking to Him. Our guidance comes from Him, so our reverence should always go to Him first.
Show the world the results of your salvation. Obey the Lord’s commands, know where Salvation comes from. Study the Word of God – obey God, our reverence to Him should be deep and unwavering!
The next set of verses we are going to look over give us some continued instruction from Paul… we would be wise to follow his counsel.
Philippians 2:14-18…
14 “Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. 17 But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. 18 Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.”
- Do everything without complaining
- Do everything without arguing
- Live clean, innocent lives
- We are children of God
- Shine like bright lights
- Hold firmly to the Word of Life
- Our faithful service is an offering poured out to God
- Share JOY
- REJOICE
All of the reading and studying through the Scriptures that you and I do, point to Jesus. When we learn of His character, we can easily see that He would not react to any situation with complaining and arguing. Jesus is the Son of God, He lived a pure and innocent life, this is the life that shines through us today! JESUS is the WORD, JESUS is LIFE. We must serve Him with everything we have within us. This will produce a JOY we cannot hold in; we must REJOICE in the things that Christ has done in our lives.
I rejoice with you as we give our praise and honor to the Name of Jesus, the Name above all names.
~AMEN~