seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Philippians 1:27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Philippieans 2:1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
This lesson begins in one chapter and ends in another.And not in any way terrified by your adversaries: In the ancient Greek language, terrified “is a vivid term, unique in the Greek Bible and denoting the uncontrollable stampede of startled horses.” (Martin) In the face of this kind of opposition, Paul wanted the Philippian Christians to have the same kind of boldness he had.
Which is to them a proof of perdition: When Christians are not in any way terrified by [their] adversaries, that in itself is proof of perdition — meaning destruction — to their adversaries.
Then in the second chapter...Therefore: This draws back to what Paul has built on in Philippians 1:27-30, telling the Philippians how to stand strong for the Lord against external conflicts. Now he tells them how to act against internal conflicts in the body of Christ.
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition: This is the first step to this kind of unity. In the flesh, we are often motivated by selfish ambition or conceit. Much of what we do is not done out of love for others, but out of our own desire for "advancement" or "promotion" (selfish ambition).
Paul found it important to say selfish ambition. Not all ambition is selfish ambition, and there is a good ambition to glorify God and serve Him with everything we have.
Let nothing be done through … conceit: This is the second step to this kind of unity. Conceit is thinking too highly of one's self, of having an excessive self-interest and self-preoccupation. It could be more literally translated "empty glory."
In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself: This third step to the kind of unity described in Philippians 2:2 is completely contradictory to the attitude of the world, because lowliness of mind is about the least attractive thing to the thinking of this world.
Esteem others better than himself: This rebukes much of the culture's concept of self-esteem. The Bible knows nothing of the idea that we should - and must - carry with us an attitude of confident superiority in every situation, and knows nothing of the idea that this is the foundation for a healthy human personality.
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others: Here the thought is completed. As we put away our selfish ambitions, our conceit, and our tendencies to be high-minded and self-absorbed, we will naturally have a greater concern for the interests and needs of others.
Paul doesn't tell us that it is wrong to look out for our own interests, but that we should not only look out for our own interests.
Every knee should bow … every tongue should confess: The combination of tongues confessing and knees bowing gives evidence that the idea is a complete submission to Jesus, both in word and in action, and one that is required of all.
Sometimes I wish some of those people on Capitol Hill knew what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes I wish some of those people on Capitol Hill knew what it's like to have to visit a food bank.
Sometimes I wish some of those people on Capitol Hill knew what it's like to live through a day as the "average Joe".
It's our job, as "average Joe", to make it through the day without breaking any of the rules the rich cats come up with, when they have no clue what being an "average Joe" requires.
If Jesus had come to earth as God, and terrorized humans into behaving, what good would it be at Judgement. We could all claim God to be a Terrorist and a terrorist has no clue how to make decisions as an "average Joe".
Instead, Jesus came to earth as the bastard son of a good little girl betrothed to a man who made his living as a carpenter. Jesus met bullies. Jesus ate the same food as the "average Joe" of the day.
Christians admire Jesus. It's just like someone with measles getting a rash... It's just the way it goes. When you become a child of God, you admire Jesus. He's our big brother.
We admire Him... and it shows... and it helps spread the Word.
Loving and admiring Jesus is just what we do.
He's our big brother....
