TEACHING NOTES Introduction For the last several weeks we have been walking though Paul’s letter to the Philippian Christians. This is Paul’s most positive letter to a first-century church and is filled with joyful encouragement to continue following Christ. While this letter was not written directly to us, it has been preserved for us. Paul instructions to Philippi help us to understand how to live out our faith in Christ. ‌ Main Theme of the Series ‌ Philippians 2:12 ‌“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” ‌ Work out = Grk. katergazesthe - continue to do, bring about, produce. ‌Work out = Keep living out (faithfulness) ‌To have faith is to be faithful. ‌ How to Live Out Your Salvation: ‌Phil. 1:1-11 — Partnership in the Gospel ‌Phil. 1:12-26 — Live Selflessly ‌Phil. 1:27-30 — Work Together as a Family ‌Phil. 2:1-11 — Live Like Jesus ‌ Literary Design of Philippians: Paul’s letter to the Philippians is organized into sections that are centered on the passage we are covering today. The central sections on which all other sections are built is Philippians 2:6-11. This passage is actually written as a song or poem. Many scholars refer to this section as “The Messiah Poem.” This section about the example of Jesus forms the foundation of everything else Paul will write in this letter to the Philippians. ‌ Philippians 2:1–2 1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ‌ Encouragement in Christ = Grk. paraklesis en Christo - being emboldened in our faith in Christ. Encouragement is not merely saying nice things to someone in order to make them feel better. Biblical encouragement is about being called to action and is often a strong appeal to obey Christ. ‌ Comfort from love = Grk. paramythion agape - consolation, alleviation that comes from knowing we are loved by God. Paul says something similar in 2 Thess. 2:16–17 “16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” ‌ Participation in the Spirit = Grk. koinonia pneumatos - sharing the Spirit of God. ‌ Same mind, love, full accord = If all followers of Christ share the same Spirit of God, then we should be in complete unity with one another. The Greek word for “in full accord” here is sympsychoi, which means “united in spirit/soul.” Since the same Spirit of God resides in each believer, we are united at the deepest level. ‌ Philippians 2:3–4 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ‌ Selfish ambition = Grk. eritheia - self-seeking pursuit. This is the root of our individualistic culture, even within the church. We often think that our faith in Christ is an individual pursuit. Individual Christianity is foreign to the Bible. The early Christians were highly communal and functioned as a family. The early Christians knew that they needed each other to live out the faith and grow together in the faith. ‌ Conceit = Grk. kenodxia - vanity, an exaggerated view of oneself. Pride and conceit is a result of having an inflated view of yourself. Jesus taught that the blessed ones are not the prideful, but those who are poor in spirit, mourning, meek/humble, hungry for righteousness, and persecuted (Matt. 5:3-12). Blessing in the kingdom of God is defined as the opposite of being blessed in this kingdoms of this world. ‌ In humility = Grk. tapeinophrosyne - modesty, refusing to elevate oneself above another. Christians are called to live a modest lifestyle, rather than living in excess like our culture encourages us to live. ‌ Count others more significant = Literally, “consider others better than yourself.” This goes against the core values of our culture. Our culture is indoctrinated with self-obsession. The Christian virtue of denying yourself is heresy in America. Perhaps this virtue of humility is at the core of why people reject Christianity. Jesus demands repentance of self-obsession and commands us to love others and consider others more significant than ourselves. ‌ Look to the interests of others = Literally, “not looking out for yourselves, but also for others.” Self-centeredness is the opposite of true Christianity. ‌ Philippians 2:5–8 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ‌ Have this mind = Paul is about to describe the mind of Christ. ‌ Which is yours in Christ Jesus = The mind of Christ is already ours, but we must choose to take on His mindset and leave ours behind. Daily Christianity is a daily practice of taking on the mind of Christ and to live accordingly. ‌ He was in the form of God = Literally, “though he was in nature God.” Hebrews 1:3 tells us of Jesus, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…” If you want to know what God is like, you need to do nothing more than study Jesus. ‌ Equality with God = Even though Jesus is equal with God, He did not use this to His own advantage. The ESV reads, “did not count equality with God a thing to be gasped.” The Greek word for grasped here is harpagmon, which means “robbed or exploited for selfish gain.” Jesus leveraged His authority for others. ‌ Emptied himself = In taking on a human body, Jesus lowered Himself by becoming one of us. He allowed Himself to experience everything we experience. ‌ Form of a servant = It is a great act of humility for the Son of God to lower Himself to the level of a servant. Jesus said in Matthew 20:28 “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ‌ Born in the likeness of men = Jesus is equal in nature with God, but He took on our humanity. Jesus took on human nature, which means that He took on all of our human struggles. Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus was the human we were intended to be but failed to be. Jesus is our High Priest and He understands our struggles and temptations. ‌ Humbled himself = The King of kings came down from His throne to our level in order to serve us and save us from sin and death. This is the exact opposite of what earthly kings would do. Worldly kings want to keep themselves elevated above everyone else and would never become a servant. ‌ Obedient to death on a cross = Dying on a cross was the most painful and shameful way to die. People who were crucified were considered to be cursed by God. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus “endured the cross, despising its shame” but He did this “for the joy that was set before him.” That joy was our salvation. ‌ Philippians 2:9–11 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ‌ Therefore = As a result of Jesus becoming human and being completely obedient, God has honored and rewarded Jesus. As we will see, God has given Jesus the highest honor and the highest authority. ‌ God highly exalted him = Jesus now sits at the right hand of the throne of God. The ascension of Jesus as Son of Man and Son of God was prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14; Psalm 110:1. This prophesy was fulfilled in Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11; Heb. 1:3-4. ‌ The name above every name = In the Old Testament, the name of God is a big deal. One example is when God told Pharoah that the purpose of the Exodus was “to show my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Ex. 9:16). God’s mission of His name being proclaimed in all the earth has been accomplished in Christ over the last 2,000 years. The name of Christ is above every name because Jesus is called “the Lord” which is the title for Yahweh God. ‌ At the name of Jesus = Paul is referring to judgment day when we will all stand before the throne of God. In that moment, we will be introduced to our Lord and Savior and see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). ‌ Every knee should bow = True followers of Jesus should already bow in reverence by living in obedience to our Lord. But in the end, all people will bow to Jesus as Lord. Even unbelievers and the wicked will bow at His feet. ‌ In heaven = Obviously there are humans already in heaven. But there are also other beings God created to be in His presence; angels, cherubim, seraphim, and a group called the sons of God (Job 38:4-7). Every being in heaven bows to Jesus. ‌ On earth = Judgment day occurs at the return of Christ to earth. Therefore, when He appears everyone on earth will bow to Jesus. Even the wicked and unbelievers will bow to Jesus on judgment day. ‌ Under the earth = The spirits/souls of dead wicked humans who rejected God reside in Hades (not hell) until Jesus returns and all people are resurrected for judgment. Also in Hades are the evil spirits who rebelled against God in the days of Noah (1 Pet. 3:18-20; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). On judgment day, even the demons will bow to Jesus who has defeated them. ‌ Every tongue confess = The Greek word for confess here is exomologeo, which means “to agree, profess allegiance, openly acknowledge.” Every created being, both humans and spirits, will openly acknowledge and agree that Jesus is Lord. ‌ Jesus is Lord = The Greek word for Lord is kyrios, which is the same word used for Yahweh in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). In the first century AD, kyrios was also the title of the Roman emperor. Therefore, to call Jesus “Lord” was to call Him God and declare that the Roman emperor is not Lord. ‌ To the glory of God the Father = All of what God has done through Jesus is for His glory. In our culture, we often focus on our own glory. But as Christians we deny ourselves and live for God’s glory. ‌ The Example of Jesus: ‌He leveraged His authority for others. ‌He humbled Himself to serve others. ‌He was obedient to the point of death. ‌He was rewarded with the throne of God. ‌ Conclusion Today we respond to this message with prayer, repentance, worship, and Communion. Our prayer is to repent of all the ways we are not like Jesus. Then we pray for strength to become more like Jesus. We celebrate our forgiveness and the presence of God’s Spirit in us by taking Communion. Our goal is to be united with Christ and be like Christ.