Paul's letter to the Philippian Church is perhaps one the most
personal of all of his letters. There is a certain tone of intimacy
and a tone of familiarity that reveals a very special bond between
the Apostle Paul and the Philippian Church. Throughout this
letter, Paul openly expresses his love and his concern for the church
at Philippi, the first church that he planted on the European
continent. And he openly expresses what he calls his gratitude
for their partnership in the gospel, their partnership in his ministry.
The book of Philippians has been described by many as the book of joy
because in this brief letter, we receive a call to live a life that
is marked by the transforming power of Jesus Christ within every
Christian. And we are reminded that joy, humility, love and
service are the hallmarks of the Christian life.
Like every church family, the Philippians had more than their fair
share of troublemakers within the church. As we read the New
Testament, we are constantly reminded that there has never been a
perfect church. In fact, whenever people suggest to me that the
solution for the church today is that we go back to the church of the
New Testament, I quietly wonder in amusement, "Which
church? Do you mean the church of Corinth, the church that was
guilty of abusing spiritual gifts; or perhaps the church of Laodecia,
the church God admonished for being neither hot nor cold, for always
sitting on the fence; or perhaps the church at Philippi, the church
that was threatened by internal quarreling and discord.
My point is this: There has never been a perfect church. There
has never been a local gathering of perfect Christians. Why? Because
the church is made up of men and women, like you and me, who always
fall short of the mark. As Christians, we know that we have
been saved not by our own merits but by God's grace through faith in
Jesus Christ. As one of my former pastors said every Sunday morning,
"We are the local gathering of sinners anonymous."
As we all know, there is nothing better than discord to threaten the
very health of any church - of any congregation. And although
we don't really know what lies at the root of the discord in the
Philippian Church, we know that the matter was very serious.
The tension may have centered around those individuals who wanted to
enforce Jewish traditions and customs on the Gentile Christians.
Or it may have been focused on those who were proclaiming the Good
News of the Gospel for personal and selfish ambition. But
whatever the issue, it had the potential to rip apart the stability
of the Church.
And so Paul boldly addresses this issue as he confronts his beloved
friends at Philippi. In Verse 3 of Chapter 2, Paul says,
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in
humility consider others better than yourself." Pride and
self self-centered living do not belong in the church. They are
trademarks of the world. They are not trademarks of a community
gathered together in the name of Jesus Christ.
Pride and selfishness have always threatened to destroy God's
intended unity for his people. Even among the disciples we see
how pride and discord had the ability to tear them apart. Among
those who walked most closely with Jesus during his earthly ministry,
there were those who vied for positions of prominence.
You remember James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They wanted
Jesus to give them positions of prominence in heaven. They
probably could not think of anyone better to receive those
sought-after seats at the right and left hand of God. And I can
just here them, can't you? "Now come on Jesus, we've been
with you all the way. We've never deserted you. We've
always been loyal to you." But you remember what happened
next. Not only did Jesus refuse the request, but as soon as the
other disciples heard, they were agitated. Human pride and self-centeredness
will always destroy human relationships. And within the
Kingdom of God, there is no room for self-serving behavior. As
followers of Jesus, we are called to serve others, to demonstrate his
love and his grace.
In verse 5 of our text, Paul writes, "Your attitude should be
the same as that of Christ Jesus. In the words that follow, we
read what many scholars believe to be one of the earliest hymns of
the Christian faith. Verses 5 through 11 represents a
confession of the early church, a confession written in the form of a
hymn. And throughout the history of the church, Christians have
professed their faith in Jesus Christ in these confessions.
These can be thought of as affirmations of our faith. In these
statements, we really do two things: First, we affirm our faith in
Jesus Christ for ourselves, and secondly, we declare our faith in
Jesus Christ to the world. And so the Apostle Paul draws on
this ancient hymn as he exhorts the Christians at Phillipi to follow
the way of Christ, to serve others, and to exercise humility and compassion.
You know, this passage of Scripture is truly one of my favorite
passages in the whole of the New Testament. I've always been
impressed that this hymn is both a statement that declares the model
for our Christian life, and it is a statement that proclaims what
Jesus Christ did for us, for you, and for me. It's as if Paul
is saying, "Look, I know there's some trouble. I know there is
some dissension in the church of Phillipi, so let's look at what we
already know about Jesus Christ. Let's look about what we
believe, and let's allow these truths to penetrate into our minds and
into our hearts so that our actions reflect the love of God."
In this hymn, we are reminded of a profound truth. From time
eternal, Jesus Christ shared equality with God. Jesus is one
with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. And in the opening of
the gospel of John, we read of this unity shared between the Father
and the Son. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God." He was with God in
the beginning. The very essence of Jesus' nature is
divine. Jesus was in the form of God. He shared the very
same divine nature as God the Father.
I remember a discussion we had in a theology class in seminary.
And as one of my professors put it to us, "In contemporary
English, Jesus and God share the same stuff." They're made
of the same stuff. Jesus was in the form of God. He was
not a god, but he is one with the eternal God. Jesus willingly
took on the position of the servant rather than to exploit his own
glory. He didn't grab at it; he didn't hold onto it, but he willingly
stepped down from his place of glory, his place of riches, in order
to give God the Father even greater glory.
If you look at your bulletins in front of you at the words the choir
sang, and then if you drop down to our responsive reading, you catch
a subtle difference in the translation of Verse 6.
In the first one we read, "Who being in the form of God thought
it not robbery to be equal with God." But now if you move
down to our responsive reading from the New International Version,
listen to Verse 6, "Who being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be grasped." At
this point, the translation from the Greek into the English is very
difficult, and so that's why you see these subtle differences in
translation. But the central thought is that Jesus is one with
God, and he was one with God before he took on our human flesh. He
willingly laid down his privileges. He became the submissive
one in order to become the very servant of all humanity.
Now this doesn't mean that when Jesus took on our human flesh that he
stopped being God. What it means is this: Jesus took on all of
our human limitations, and unlike the Greek gods and goddesses that
we read of in ancient mythology, Jesus didn't just look human.
He was fully God and fully human, but he laid aside his rank and he
entered into human history when he was born at that lowly stable in Bethlehem.
Years ago, I learned a lessen that really transformed my Christian
faith. A minister said to me, "If you really want to know
what God's love looks like, then look at the life of Jesus.
Jesus is the most perfect example of God's love to us."
Within the New Testament, we read about God's love as we read of
Jesus' earthly ministry. Jesus divested himself of his riches
and privilege when he took on our human flesh, and in one of Paul's
earlier letters, we read these words: "For you know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he
became poor so that you, through his poverty, might become rich"
(2 Cor. 8:9). Jesus humbled himself; he took on our human
limitations, and he suffered as we suffer. He became the
suffering servant that we read about this morning in Isaiah 53.
And throughout Jesus' ministry, he points the way to the Creator.
Jesus momentarily stepped down from the glory of heaven in order that
he might bring us to eternal life with God.
And in his death, Jesus gave his life on the cross as a sacrifice for
our sins so that we might be reconciled to our Creator.
Now it's natural for us to ask, "How is it that the Son of God
could enter into our human dimension?" And many have written
volumes on this great mystery, the mystery of the Incarnation when
Jesus Christ took on our human flesh. But I think that William
Barclay, the great Scottish theologian of the last century, has very
wise words for us. He says, "It is useless to ask
how. We can only stand in awe at the sight of him who is
Almighty God. It is the mystery of a love so great that we
cannot understand it, but we can blessedly experience it and adore it."
As Barclay understood, we will never be able to fully comprehend the
mystery of the Incarnation. We will never understand how it is
that the Son of God could take on the garment of humanity. But
we can stand in awe of the one who loves us so much that he gave his
life for us. We can stand in awe of the one who did not exploit
his position, but offered his life to pay the debt that we owed - a
debt that you and I could never pay. And as we experience his
amazing love first-hand, as we come to him, we can know the power of
his presence working within our lives.
And so, in response to the discord in the Philippian Church, Paul
encourages his reader to look at Jesus as the model to follow in all
of our human relationships. And Paul's words are just as true
for you and me today as they were for Christians in the first
century. Our attitude should be that of Christ Jesus.
Following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on
September 11th, there has been a lot of talk about how it is that we
should interact with our neighbors. How is it that we should
interact with those of different ethnicities, those of different faiths?
As Americans, I believe that we have the joy of living in a
pluralistic society, a society marked by diversity. And as
Christians, we are told that our attitude should be like that of
Jesus Christ. In John Chapter 4 read the well-known story of
Jesus at the well. And what we learn in that story is that
Jesus breaks with tradition, he breaks with social morays as he talks
to the Samaritan woman. He demonstrates grace and compassion to
people of all ethic backgrounds.
If you want to know the love of God, then look at the life of
Jesus. "Your attitude should be like that of Christ
Jesus." Throughout his life, Jesus portrays for humanity
the very characteristics, the behavior that is consistent with a
genuine faith in God.
On the night of his betrayal, Jesus gathered with the disciples to
celebrate the feast of the Passover, and once again, what we see is
Jesus taking on the form of a servant as he washes the feet of each
one of his disciples. And following this incredible object
lesson of love, Jesus says, "A new command I give you:
Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).
If you want to know what God's love looks like, then look at the life
of Jesus.
In the days following the tragedy of September 11, we have seen so
many images, so many powerful examples of humility and love expressed
toward others. Who of us here this morning could forget the
image of Father Michael Judge, the 68-year-old Franciscan priest, the
chaplain to the New York Firefighters, as rescue workers carried his
lifeless, ash-covered body out from the wreckage of the World Trade
Center. Upon hearing news of the crash, Father Michael rushed from
his home to Ground Zero, to the place of unspeakable damage and human tragedy.
He raced into last Tuesday's carnage of blood and debris to offer
comfort, to pray, to administer the Last Rites. But as he knelt
over a dying officer, as he took off his hat to pray, Michael became
another victim as his body was caught in a sudden crash of rubble and debris.
And Michael will be remembered throughout America as a man who give
his life serving others. What a profound example of love, of
Christian humility, of service. And like Father Michael Judge,
our attitude, our actions, should reflect those of Christ Jesus.
In the Christian life, there is no room for discord. There is
no time for disunity. If humility, service, self-renunciation were
the hallmarks of Christ, then they must also be the hallmarks of the
Christian. The whole aim of Christ's life was not his glory, but the
glory of the Father.
The message of the Bible is this: God loves us. And throughout the
Bible we read of God's love for us. His love for us was settled
on the cross, and there can be no arguing that. And if we know
his love, then our entire life must reflect it. Our actions, our
words, and our desires. If we have been touched by God's love,
then we cannot help but to love others.
In 1962, Princeton Theological Seminary celebrated its 150th
anniversary - and Princeton, being the auspicious academy that it is,
invited speakers from all over the world, some of the greatest
preachers and theological minds of the twentieth century. Among the
list of invited guests was Dr. Carl Barth, the great Swiss theologian
of the last century. His influence on Christian thinking and
scholarship was felt throughout the world. And of the many
guests, Dr. Barth's prominence rose above all others.
To give you an idea of his influence, when he finally published his
theological writings, his Church Dogmatics, in published form,
it spanned over 15 volumes. People came from all over America
for this rare opportunity to hear Dr. Carl Barth. And during
Barth's visit, Princeton decided to hold a press conference.
And as you imagine, the campus center was packed with the news media
as they came to interview this great Christian mind.
During the press conference, a New York Times reporter asked this
question: "Dr. Barth, if you could take your Dogmatics
and distill it down into one sentence, what would that be?"
You can imagine the hush in the room. Students, professors and news
reporters sitting on the edge of their seat as they awaited his
response. How could he encapsulate 15 volumes of material into
one sentence?
But Dr. Barth looked into the gaze of the news reporters and cameras,
and he offered this response: "Jesus loves me, this I
know, for the Bible tells me so." What an incredible
response. A man of deep intellectual gifts, a person of
incredible faith, offering a response that even a child could
understand. Here was one of the great Christian minds of the
last century, articulating his theology, his faith, in words of that
well-known children's hymn, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for
the Bible tells me so."
This is indeed the great message of the Christian faith. Jesus loves
me and you.
Jesus' obedience, his willingness to take on the form of a servant,
to take on humanity with all of its limitations, and his willingness
in the garden to say, "Father, not my will but your will" -
all of this was motivated by God's love for you and for me.
The fact that Jesus loves us and gave his life for us on the cross is
the truth that has the power to penetrate our lives and to transform
us. It is his life and his power at work within us that
transforms our motivations, our desires and our behavior.
The very climax of Jesus' earthy ministry was on the cross.
Jesus said, "When I am lifted up I will draw all men unto
myself." Look with me at Verses 9 through 11 in our text
this morning "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and
give him the name that it 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."
When we profess that Jesus Christ is Lord, we lift our praise and
honor to God. And I am impressed that one day every creature
will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord. Whether we come to a place in this life or not, where we
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, we know that in eternity every
person will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And for some, it
might be an acknowledgment made in pain and remorse; for others, it
will be a profession of incredible joy, as God says, "Well done,
good and faithful servant. Enter the kingdom of heaven."
In the final stanza of that great hymn of the faith, When I Survey
the Wondrous Cross, we sing of the only appropriate response to
what Jesus did for us on the cross. "Love so amazing, so
divine, demands my life, my soul, my all." And so today,
with Christians throughout all of the ages, let us confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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