CITIZENS OR SLAVES?
INTRODUCTION
To understand
Paul’s letter to the Philippians, it is helpful to first know a little about
the city of Philippi and the church which was located there. Philippi is referred to in Acts 16:12 as a
“leading city of Macedonia (modern day Greece).
The city was located along the main road which connected Rome to the
Mediterranean so there was a rich economic trade within the city. Added to this was the fact that 8 miles south
of the city was the port of Neapolis (which Paul sails to in Acts 16:11) which
provided additional trade.
Philippi had
been conquered by the Romans and settled by Roman army veterans. Because of this, the city enjoyed a special
status within the Roman Empire. Most
importantly, all freed people born within Philippi were given the status of
Roman citizens. This meant, among many
things, that they had a right to trial and were exempt from certain punishments
such as crucifixion. The residents of
Philippi also enjoyed an immense tax cut from the Roman government. Most people in the Roman empire paid 50-70%
of their monetary income to taxes, Philippians were nearly tax exempt. All this to say, if the Philippians were around
today, they would be called the 1%. We
must keep in mind as we read Philippians that they were privileged people, born
with rights above and beyond those of normal people in the first century. For this reason, it should be very easy for
us to identify with the people of Philippi, for, after all, we Americans are
privileged people born with rights above and beyond those of most people in the
21st century. That is not a
bad thing, but it is our context.
Paul was
immensely close with the church at Philippi.
We can see this in the success of
his ministry there in Acts 16 and even more so in his letter to the
Philippians. It is evident that they
were using their material blessings for kingdom work by supporting Paul. Paul does not express the frustration with
the church in Philippi as he does with other churches(consider Gal 3:1). Paul’s purpose is to encourage and exhort
more than to correct or rebuke. Of all
Paul’s letters, Philippians is the most like the kind of letter you or I might
write. It is personal, covers several
topics, and expresses deep love and affection.
As we pick up
our text this morning, Paul has spent his first chapter informing the
Philippians of his current state, which is in prison. Paul speaks to the church of Philippi of his
longing to be with Christ and his passion for ministry, ultimately concluding
that for him, “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Paul then transitions in 1:27 to speaking of
the Philippian church itself. He says in
vv. 29-30 “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you
should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the
same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” After saying this, Paul enters into the text
we will be examining this morning.
BODY
A. COMFORT IN
CHRIST, NOT ROME (2:1)
It may seem odd
to us that Paul begins this section after speaking of the coming suffering of
the church. If I were to stand here this
morning and warn you, privileged citizens just like the Philippians, that you
would soon be suffering like Jesus, your world would be turned upside
down. So why does Paul begin to speak of
suffering at the close of chapter one and begin to discuss encouragement and
community and love in verse one of chapter two?
I found this very confusing, and over the past two weeks as I prepared
for this message, I read the text over and over trying to understand why Paul
sets it up like this. This is what I
believe; I believe Paul begins chapter two in this way because he knew the
Philippians world was turned upside down because of this promise of coming
suffering. Rome, the superpower in which
the Philippians had long sought comfort would soon begin to persecute the
Christians in their city. Because of
this, Paul begins teaching that their encouragement, comfort, community, and
affection must now come from being identified in Christ, and not from their
citizenship. Therefore, the first point
I wish us to draw out of this text is that we must find comfort in Christ, not
Rome. Understand, we can put in the
place of Rome anything we draw comfort from.
Comfort in Christ not Money, comfort in Christ, not friends, etc.
So, Paul begins
this section challenging the Philippians to abandon their status as citizens
and find all value in Christ. No
encouragement in Rome, but in Christ! No
comfort from financial security, but in love!
No true fellowship in the markets and public places of Philippi, but in
the Spirit! Here in verse one, Paul
clearly states the reaction every Christian must face if he or she suffers for
Christ, they will be comforted by Christ as well. Consider II Corithians 1:5, “For we share
abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in
comfort too.”
This method of
thinking runs directly opposite from what we so often strive to achieve in as
Christians. More often than not, our daily decisions, even
those which concern our faith, are made in ways which show we seek our comfort
in earthly things, not in Christ. We
seek comfort in our privileged citizenship, whether as citizens of our country,
our churches, our economic brackets, etc.
Understand, I am not trying to make us feel guilty to be Americans, I a
merely trying to challenge us based upon Phil 2:1 that finding value in Christ
is so much better.
In Kayla and
mine’s family, we have recently found the truth that finding contentment in
Christ is far sweeter than finding it in any earthly citizenship. Kayla’s parents and her brother Joshua came
to visit us over Christmas break. The
entire visit, Joshua was experiencing terrible pain from swelling in his
shoulder. As soon as they got back,
tests were run and we received word that Josh had leukemia. The doctors told us that Joshua’s chances of
survival were excellent, but he would suffer immensely for the next two years. Instantly, wealth, status, citizenship did
not matter. We visited Josh a month and
a half ago, he looked terrible. Here is
a kid in the prime of his life—a good kid—who is losing his hair, his skin
broken out from medication, his childhood put on hold because of cancer. And yet, Josh has not lost encouragement,
comfort, community, affection, or sympathy.
For Joshua, these things are found in Christ and cancer cannot touch
them.
This is the
promise of the Christian life.
Suffering. . . often. The more I
am encountered with life and with Scripture, the more I am convinced suffering
will be the norm for Christians. So
where is our comfort? In Christ. Encouragement, comfort, community, affection,
these things are untouchable to any outward force if we find such things in
Christ. Our rights and status as healthy
people, as citizens of churches, social classes, yes, even our rights as
citizens of our country may be taken away, but all comfort will still be found
in Christ.
Now this is a
lot about this one verse, but I think it is essential to understand before we
move on. Verse one begins with and “if”
and I think the best translation of v. 2 should begin with a “then” (it does in
the NIV). What Paul is saying in verses
2-4 flow directly out of what he has said in v. 1. If we are living with all comfort found in
Christ, not in any earthly citizenship, then we will live in the manner
described in verses 2-4 and illustrated in verses 5-11.
B. FOCUS ON
OTHERS NOT SELF (2:2-4)
Paul jumps from
speaking of where we place comfort to radically challenging us how we live out
our lives in which comfort is placed in Christ.
Before we start this, let me speak for just a moment of secular theories
concerning what motivates people. If we accept the most popular theory for what
motivates people—that one found within secular psychiatry—then we would be led
to believe that all human emotions are driven by some preservation of
self. This theory is not some radical
thing known only to hardened atheists, this is what our high school students
will be taught when they take psychology.
It is upon this theory that most educational programs are currently run,
and it is a theory that has slowly crept its way into the church.
I believe this
is why we are currently in a church culture which encourages, above all things,
the comfort of its members. The most
comfortable pews, the most comfortable style of preaching and teaching, the
worship style the congregation is most comfortable with, all because we have
accidentally bought into the theory that everything is motivated by what makes
us happy as individuals. Let’s see how
this matches up with Paul’s admonition to the Philippians in verses 2-4: after
saying all value is found in Christ (v.1) Paul states,
“2[Then],
complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full
accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in
humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of
you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of
others.” Paul clearly argues against the
way of thinking we just discussed. Paul
continues his thought from v.1 (Comfort in Christ not Rome) saying that if our
comfort is in Christ, then our focus will be on others, not on ourselves.
Paul begins
making this point in verse 2, encouraging believers to be of the same mind,
have the same love, to be of full accord, and to have one mind. This passage can be mistaken as a command
that all Christians, or at least all Christians within individual church bodies
must “think the same way” that is to have identical thoughts and beliefs, yet
that is not Paul’s point here. What is
translated here in the ESV as “being of one mind” is captured more fully in the
NIV as “being of one purpose.” The Greek
literally emphasizes thinking about one thing.
Based on verse one, it is clear to see that the “one thing” we should be
thinking of or focusing on is Christ. So
what Paul is advocating here is not cult-like conformity, but Christ like
focus, transferring our focus off ourselves and onto Christ.
I am afraid
that Christ-like focus is lacking dearly in our churches. Is it right that we have built an empire in
American Christianity—complete with great buildings, complex leadership
systems, and marketing strategies—and yet we have in many ways failed in
feeding the poor which Jesus commanded in Matthew 25, and bringing the gospel
to all nations which he commanded in Matthew 28? We have failed to focus on the things of Christ,
and have instead wandered off focusing on things that, ultimately, pleased
us. So how do we please Christ? Where does he desire our focus to be? Consider verses 3-4:
The Holy Spirit
working through Paul first makes it clear that nothing done out of selfishness
is focused upon Christ, rather those things which are done in humility. I am ashamed to admit to you that when I read
the command, “do nothing out of rivalry or conceit” (and I think the King James
has this rendered more correctly when it says vainglory. The word comes from the idea of “empty glory”
referring to that glory that a person heaps upon themselves) I am stung,
because so often my actions are so motivated.
Pride has been
the sin which I have found myself most prone to. The beginning of verse 3 makes it clear that
nothing done out of Pride is done from a soul which is focused upon
Christ. The command here is that instead
of acting in pride we are to act in humility.
Paul defines humility for us as “counting others more significant than
yourselves.” The point here is not to
count people more valuable than we are, but to count them as more worthy of
your time and attention than yourself.
Paul completes
this thought in verse 4 saying “Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others.” This is what it means to truly be focused on
the things of Christ, to humbly look to others needs before our own. The tension
here is on “each” and “others.” If we
are to be a church focused on Christ, then it must be obvious that in
obedience to him we are focused on others needs, not our own. I will guarantee you that no one is more
acutely aware of your churches focus on yourselves or on others than the
visitors who encounter you throughout the week, not only in your services (it
is moderately easy to be focused on others in a church service) but throughout
the week. How do you deal with people
outside these four walls? Do you realize
that the way you deal with people out there is an indicator to those in your
community where the focus of your church is?
Now understand,
what Scripture calls for here is not easy to put into practice. This is not a command for everyone to hold
hands and sing “Why can’t we all just get along?” This is a biblical mandate for me to put
aside what I want and look to your good instead. For you to put aside what you want and look
to my good instead. For both of us to do
this because we are focused on Christ, and not ourselves. This is incredibly
difficult for us to do.
I do not agree with modern psychology that all
actions should be motivated by concern for ourselves, but I do believe
that is our default. Sinful nature has
brought us to this point, even original sin comes from a desire to do what is
good for us and not a desire to do what is good for others. When Eve eats from the Tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil Satan helps her corrupt her desires from pleasing God and Adam
to pleasing herself. We have all
likewise been caught up in this same trap.
Sin sets our default to think of Self first, only the spirit of God at
work in us can reset it to think of Others first.
I cannot think
of this principle—putting others first—without thinking of my Grandma,
especially in the recent weeks. My
Grandpa passed away at the beginning of this month. He and I were extremely close, but we thought
very differently. Though he loved my
Grandma dearly, and taught me much about romance and married love—every time I
give Kayla flowers, I am following in my Grandpa’s footsteps—he often seemed
selfish in his relationship with my Grandma.
I want to make it very clear that my Grandpa was not cruel, he never
once physically hurt Grandma, and ultimately, she was the most important human
person in his life. But when there was a
difference of opinion between the two of them, he had no concept of how to
concede to her opinion.
When these points
of disagreement arose, Grandpa often took a stance of almost comic
stubbornness. I remember many times when
Grandma would be trying to fix things—she is excellent at fixing things—and
Grandpa would interfere and insist that she do things a different way. Now understand, my Grandma has a knack for
deductive reasoning. If there is a
problem with a piece of machinery or hardware, she can typically fix it. My Grandpa was well read, an exceptional
speaker, and the best dairyman in Meriwether county, but his technical
capabilities began and ended with milking a cow. These disagreements always ended in the same
fashion, my Grandma would argue for a short period, sigh, and try things
Grandpa’s way.
I was once
asked what love sounded like. After much
thought, I replied, “it sounds like my Grandma’s sigh.” Grandma’s love for my Grandpa manifested
itself in the exact humility that we are to show to one another. When
disagreements occur, our default should not be to insist that we get things our
way, rather, we should default to looking first to the good of others.
I want to
clarify two things about this illustration.
First, my Grandma did not owe my Grandpa this humble
submission. This is not the kind
of submission the Bible speaks of between husband and wife. She had the right to win those arguments, but
she lovingly, humbly, gave up those rights for my Grandpa. Secondly, I do not wish to suggest that
Christians should be spineless. I am speaking
here only of those disagreements which involve our personal interests. There are points at which we must take a firm
stand and defend truth. If someone
disagrees with us on biblical issues, then we have a mandate to lovingly stand
firm in truth.
Let us not miss
the magnitude of Paul’s command to consider others needs more important than
our own. If we do this, we will often
find ourselves in the same situation as my Grandma. We will be wronged, we will be hurt, we will
often not get our way. This sounds
terribly difficult. Perhaps your
reaction this morning might be, “I will ignore this teaching.” After all, these are only four verses. But understand the deep rooted teaching of
this principle in Scripture.
This is the
teaching of Mark 12:31, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
It is Paul’s
point in I Corinthians 10:33, “Just as I try to please everyone in everything I
do, not seeking my advantage, but that of many that they might be saved.”
It is the
essence of Romans 15:2, “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to
build him up.”
It is the
command of I Corinthians 10:24, “Let no one seek his own good but the good of
his neighbor.”
It is the
living out of Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law
of Christ.”
Paul, in his
writings, comes to this principle, putting others ahead of yourself, giving up
your rights for theirs time and time again.
It should communicate to us with particular power here in Philippians,
as these are a group of people like us, people with immense rights of
citizenship, and the Spirit’s message to them through Paul is clear, Give up
your rights! Put others before
yourself! Reject the worldly system
which says, “Me first!” and embrace this principle which says “Others first!”
Why is this such a big deal to Paul? Because he finds the core of the teaching in
the gospel itself. We are going to look
at these next 7 verses—some of the most well known in the Bible—the way Paul
uses them here in Philippians, as the illustration and foundation for counting
others more significant than ourselves.
We know Philippians 2:6-11was a hymn of the early church. When it is preached upon, it is typically a
message concerning who Jesus’ was and the nature of his incarnation, and many
fine sermons are preached from this text concerning Jesus’ incarnation. Paul’s use of the hymn here in chapter 2 is
to give the ultimate foundation and illustration for Christians surrendering
their rights for the sake of others. As
we briefly examine Paul’s use of this hymn, I believe we will find one of the
greatest challenges of the Christian life.
Quickly, let’s look at verses 5-8 and then I will make two observations
concerning 9-11 and we will be done.
BE SLAVES,
SURRENDER CITIZENSHIP
To understand
how Paul is using this ancient hymn, we must understand v. 5. English translations typically use the word
“attitude” or “mind” in verse five. The
Greek here is a command saying literally, “think this way about yourself.” This is the type of thinking that is being
referred to in 2:5 that type of thinking which concerns ourselves. That is why attitude is used in some
translation (NIV) because after all, our attitude is what we think concerning
ourselves. The point of verse five is
literally “Think this way about yourself which Christ Jesus also thought about
himself.” When Paul says think this
way he is referring to his description of considering others needs more
important than our own. He goes on to
say that this putting others first was the way Christ thought concerning
himself. So Paul makes Christ the
example and defense for his position of putting others first. This is why selfless living was such a
big deal to Paul, he rightly understood it as being rooted in the gospel, in
the very life of Christ. So,
understanding the hymn that follows as an example of Jesus’ selfless living,
let’s examine verses 6-8. In these
verses, Paul gives us the ultimate examples of how verse 1-4 are to be
applied. I see three basic actions of
Jesus which Paul emphasizes.
First, Paul points
out that though Jesus existed in “nature” or “form” as God (that is, he was
God) he did not grasp this status. This
has confused me for years. When I first
preached this text 12 years ago, I skipped over this part because I had no clue
what it meant. This is where Greek is
very helpful. The word we translate as
“grasp” (ESV, NIV) comes from a word that means “to hold onto for your own
benefit.” This is why the KJV says uses
the phrase “he thought it not robbery with God.” The point here is that Jesus did not
selfishly hold on to his nature as God.
Understand, this does not mean that Jesus ever stopped being God,
it means that he did not selfishly grasp hold of his divinity. If we are to understand Jesus’ radical
sacrifice for others, we must first get Paul’s point that he was God, but did
not use his “Godness” for his benefit but for ours.
Second, we see
that Jesus “made himself nothing.” (ESV)
The NASB is closer to the Greek here when it says he “emptied
himself.” The picture Paul is painting
is that Jesus, being God, pours himself out for the sake of humanity. Not that
he empties himself of being God, but that he empties himself of himself to
serve others. How does he do this? In the most radical way possible. Look back at verse 6 for a moment. There we saw that Jesus existed in the nature
or form of God. Now come back down to
verse 7. What form does he take when he
pours himself out? The form of a servant. Could there be a more radical contrast!? Jesus who is God pours himself out and
becomes our servant? The word
which is translated in the ESV, NIV, and KJV as servant is more accurately as
slave or bond-servant as in the NASB. A
good definition of the word used here is “a person without advantages, with no
rights or privileges, but in servanthood to all.”[1] What more powerful illustration could we
ask for? Here is a being with rights
that far exceed the citizenship of Rome, or of America, far exceeds the
privileges of being residents of Philippi or Belle Chasse, rather he has all
the rights and privileges of God! And
yet he becomes a slave. This hymn goes
on to remind us that Jesus does what all good slaves must do:
Thirdly, he
humbles himself to the point of death, that is the death of the cross. Here Paul does as he so frequently does
throughout his letter, he points churches to the cross. Much has been said of
the lack of the cross in contemporary Christian preaching and teaching, but
often when we do speak of the cross we miss the point. Yes, there is a sense of glory about the
cross for all who believe, but only this side of the resurrection. This hymn views the cross from the
perspective of the Philippians. They
knew crucifixion. They would have seen
people crucified, known of the blood and the gore and the pain, but every time
a Philippian passed a cross they had the knowledge that they would never have
to hang upon one. But when Paul recites this
hymn in this context, it would have been clear to every Philippian what
he meant; “If Christ who had all the privileges of God gave himself to slavery
and a cross, mustn’t you be willing to as well?” He is encountering the church
at Philippi and, today, the church at Belle Chasse with that same Challenge
Jesus made to his disciples in Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, let
him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” His point is clear, citizens must be willing
to become slaves if they are to put others above themselves.
TWO
OBSERVATIONS OF 9-11
Very quickly,
Paul goes on to tell us that the story of Christ’s slave’s death on a cross
does not end in shame but in glory.
Allow me to make two quick observations of 9-11 and we will close.
First, this
passage along with many others assures believers that sharing in the humility
of the cross leads to sharing in the glory of Jesus’ resurrection. I would simply point you to Romans 6:5 as an
example of this, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we
shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Thus, Paul ends with an encouragement that in
giving up citizenship for slavery, we will ultimately share in the greatest
event of all history, the resurrection.
Second, I do
not want us to miss the model this hymn gives us. Christ’s humility leads to Christ’s
exaltation. In a much lesser way, our
humility—intentional humility for the sake of Christ—will also lead to Christ’s
exaltation. This is why Paul says in
Philippians 1, “it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all
ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my
body, whether by life or by death.”
INVITATION
For these two
reasons, I invite you today to affirm in your lives to live as Slaves rather
than citizens. I know this message is a
hard one for us. We, like the
Philippians, hold tremendous advantage in our citizenship. But in slavery to Christ there is so much more
to be had. Yes, the Word challenges us
to leave our privileges and status, to cast our money, power, and our very
lives to the side for the sake of others.
But, brothers and sisters, there is a resurrection which awaits and a
Savior which will be glorified if we do so.
Let us cast aside our citizenship in this world which is rotting by the
day and instead submit ourselves to be slaves of Christ and, finding all satisfaction
in him, joining with him in the imperishable blessing of new life!
[1] Fee,
Gordon D. Paul’s Letter to the
Philippians. From the New
International Commentary on the New Testament. Ed. Ned B. Stonehouse, F.F. Bruce, and Gordon
D. Fee. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans,
1995), 213.
