* Please leave a comment on what you think. If you read anything you disagree with, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Written for: Prison Epistles
Date Written: 11/11/2009

Biblical Unity, Humility and the Mind of Christ
Ryan Watters
Sunday School Lesson #1
Prison Epistles
Dr. A. Philip Brown II

NAS Philippians 2:1-11 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name with is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Knowledge Objectives: At the end of this lesson the student should know:
1. The importance of unity within the body.
2. A proper understanding of biblical humility.
3. What the “mind of Christ” is (NASB “attitude”, KJV “mind”).

Response Objectives: The student should respond by:
1. Be able to explain the key components of the mind of Christ.
2. Examining their own lives and way of thinking to determine if they are currently practicing the mind of Christ.
3. Understand and explain the difference between biblical humility and effacing self-degradation.

Outline:
I. A Call to Unity.
II. The Mind of Christ as Modeled in the Incarnation.
III. How It Applies to Our Lives Today.

Introduction:
We live in a culture that, on the whole, is largely self-serving, a “me-centered” society, if you will. We are literally inundated with wave after wave of self-promoting ads and slogans such as, “Just do it,” “You deserve it,” “You’ve earned it,” and, “It’s only fair.” But how does this correlate with the Christian? Does it have a place? We’re not the first people to deal with these questions. In fact, it was issues very much like these that Paul was dealing with when he wrote his letter to the Philippians nearly 2,000 years ago in 61 A.D. from his imprisonment in Rome.

The Roman culture of that day placed no emphasis on humility, or self-sacrifice. In fact, it was sharply frowned upon for anyone of any stature or class. If a person were to show humility, they were thought to be weak, or insignificant. It was thought to be proper only for slaves, or lowborn men. And when you stop to think about it, our culture can sometimes do the same thing. They don’t understand why we would humble ourselves before our fellow man.

Paul here in this passage helps us to understand just why we would do such a thing as he tries to explain what the mind of Christ is, and how it relates to our fellowship with our fellow man. He gives us a few details of what this paradigm looks like, and how it should play out in our lives today. We will first look at Paul’s call to unity (vv.1-4), secondly, what the mind of Christ involves, and how it was modeled in the incarnation (vv. 5-11), and, finally, how it applies to our lives today.

I. A Call to Unity.
Paul begins by opening with four conditional phrases set off by the word “if.”
1) if there is any encouragement in Christ
2) if there is any consolation of love
3) if there is any fellowship of the Spirit
4) if any affection and compassion
It’s as if Paul is saying, “If being a Christian means anything at all it means encouragement in Christ, consolation of love, fellowship of the Spirit, and affection and compassion.” It’s sometimes very easy for us to lose sight of the blessings we have in Christ. Because we have chosen to follow Christ, we now have encouragement, love, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and compassion. Let us never lose sight of the wonderful blessings we have in Christ!

But Paul doesn’t stop there, he continues, “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” Paul here, on the basis of the blessings we have in Christ, is calling us to unity within the body. He commands that we be of the same mind, which is almost identical to “being one in purpose” in the Greek. We are further to maintain the same love, which means we are self-sacrificially giving ourselves to each other. We are also to be united in spirit, which essentially means we have the same spiritual goals. And, finally, we are to be intent on the same purpose, or, in other words, we’re working together for the same end. So here Paul gives us an overall picture of a group of people who are fighting for the same cause, and like a well-oiled machine they move ahead boldly, each part working together in harmony, relying on each other as they move ahead toward a set goal.

But just how does this unity occur? We live in a real world with fallen people; doesn’t this seem a little too idealistic or utopian? Paul realized that difficulties would arise, and so he gave the Philippian church several specifics on how to maintain this unity. He stated, “3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

How is unity maintained within the body? First, by not seeking our own interests or desires. How can there be unity if all the members of the body are seeking after their own goals? Further, we are not to seek to lift ourselves up in the eyes of others. That’s essentially what Paul is referring to when he states that we should do nothing from “empty conceit.” Paul then shifts from two negative commands to two positive ones. He states, “but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”

Here is where humility first comes into the picture. Humility has to be one of the most browbeaten terms within the church today, especially within the conservative holiness movement. We often hear that we should be humble, which is true, but what does that mean? As a result of the confusion many people have come to believe that humility is something akin to an inferiority complex. In their way of thinking, to acknowledge ability is equivalent to rank arrogance.

But that is not at all the biblical understanding of humility. Humility is not effacing, self-degradation. It is not low self-esteem. Rather, it is a mindset, a paradigm that regards other people as more important than ourselves. “The humble person does not seek external honor or public esteem but is willing to accept a lower position and lesser regard (TDNT 8:22). Humility enables one to see oneself in one’s rightful condition as a creature of God and to see fellow creatures as equally deserving of respect and honor.” A few key verses that help us define just what humility looks like can be found as follows:

NAS Romans 12:3 For through grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

This verse urges us to think properly (“sound judgment”) about our position. It does not say, “deny that you have a gift” or “ignore the fact that have talent”, rather it says to have a proper perspective of yourself, and your abilities in relation to the body of Christ.

NAS Matthew 23:12 And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

This is a concept seen over and over throughout Scripture. It seems a paradox to our minds, but it is the biblical model. It is only when we have truly set aside our own agendas and accepted our proper position in true humility that the Lord will choose to “exalt” us. It should be noticed that this is not a mathematical formula, “I’m going to be humble so I can get more honor.” Rather, true humility is not self-seeking, it is not self-promoting. That is not the goal of true humility.

NAS James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

This verse accentuates the absolute necessity of maintaining biblical humility. There is a consequence for not obeying the command to be humble, and that’s the outright opposition of God. But on the flip side of that warning is a promise that God will give grace to those who practice humility.

An essential component of humility is found in verse 4, “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” If we adopt an attitude of viewing others as more worthy of honor than ourselves, and properly understand our own position, then the natural outflow of that will be concern for the interests of our fellow man. We will not be self-serving, but rather others-focused.

II. The Mind of Christ as Modeled in the Incarnation.
Paul then shifts gears slightly and delves into a rather hotly debated subject in verses 5-8, which is known as the kenosis passage. Kenosis comes from the Greek word keno,w, and is translated “empty” in v. 7 (NASB). There are two major interpretations for this passage that must first be discussed before we continue further:

1) Christ laid aside (a) the glory He had with the Father, and (b) the rights and privileges he had because of his equality with God (John 17:4-5).
2) The phrase “he emptied himself” is an idiom for humbling oneself (KJV’s view).

In my opinion, I see no reason why it could not be some combination of both. In the incarnation Christ certainly did lay aside the glory He had with the Father, and gave up some of His privileges (John 17:4-5). However, it is true that he showed great humility by wrapping deity in the rags of humanity.

In any case, one thing is very clear, in the incarnation, and in the kenosis, Christ did not divest himself, or lose one ounce of His divine essence, or any of His divine attributes. He was still just as much God post-incarnation and pre-incarnation.

This understanding of kenosis also correlates well with the first half of this passage regarding Paul’s strong call to unity and humility. Paul here is setting Christ up as an example for us to follow. “Let this mind be in you” (KJV), or “Have this attitude in yourselves” (NASB). What mind or attitude is Paul referring to? Verses 6-8 tell us: “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

We are brought back again to the concept that humility is absolutely key. Just as Christ laid aside His self-rights and glory and humbled Himself, so we should emulate His actions with our fellow man.

What was the result of this great humbling of Christ? Verses 9-11 tell us, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name with is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

When Christ humbled Himself, and emptied Himself of His self-rights and privileges, the Father highly exalted Him, and caused Him to be highly honored, and subjugated all things under Him. Was this all for the glory of Christ? No, v. 11 clearly states that all was done for the glory of the Father (“to the glory of God the Father”).

Here again Christ sets up an example for us to emulate. Every action we take should be with the focus and intention that we are doing it all to the glory of God the Father, and not for our own good, self-betterment or praise.


III. How It Applies to Our Lives Today.
So how does this all work down to where we are at today? Examine your life closely. How do you match up to 1) Paul’s call to thankfulness? 2) Paul’s call to unity? 3) Paul’s call to humility? 4) The example of Christ?

First, Paul’s call to thankfulness. Look back over your life the past few months. Have you been consciously aware and thankful for the privileges we have in Christ such as our encouragement in Him, our consolation of love, our fellowship with the Spirit, and our compassion? Do you live each and every day in close fellowship with the Spirit by relying upon His aide for communion with God through prayer? Romans 8:26 reads,

NAS Romans 8:26 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

Second, Paul’s call to unity. Have you been seeking to live your life in unity with your fellow man? As far as it depends on you, have you sought to live at peace with all men (Romans 12:18)? Paul tells us that we are to be united in mind, love, spirit and purpose. Are you in any way overtly or covertly subverting the unity of your family, friends, church or workplace?

Third, Paul’s call to humility. The necessity of humility has been made clear. As you examine your inner motives and intentions, do you find them free from self-seeking promotion? Have you consciously sought to instill within others a better image of yourself than was necessary or expedient? Are you self-focused in your worldview, or are you others-focused? Who is at the center of your world? If Christ, then who is next?

Finally, the example of Christ. Considering all that Christ did in the process of the incarnation, and the great humility He showed for our benefit, how does that purport with how you have lived your life this past week? Have you limited yourself of a self-right or privilege so as to promote humility within yourself, and unity within the body? Have you expressed loved to those around you by self-sacrificially committing to seek their highest good, no matter the personal cost?

Closing Challenge:
Now, I fully realize that this is a rather hard-hitting list of questions, but it was not intended to destroy, but rather to exhort, and urge on to greater Christlikeness. If you find yourself short in some area, do not lose hope, simply turn to the one who is “compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (Psa. 103:8), and ask Him to pour out His strength in your life. The very fact that you want to become more like Him is evidence that His grace is already at work in your life. Remember, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil. 4:13), and His strength and power are perfected in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

Reference

David E. Garland, (2006), Philippians, Zondervan, Grand Rapids: MI.

Class Handout

Biblical Unity, Humility and the Mind of Christ
Ryan Watters
Sunday School Lesson #1
Prison Epistles
Dr. A. Philip Brown II

I. A Call to Unity
1. What are some of the privileges in Christ that we should be thankful for?
__________________________________________________________________

2. What are a few of the components of biblical unity?
__________________________________________________________________

3. What is biblical humility?
__________________________________________________________________

4. What is “empty conceit”?
__________________________________________________________________

II. The Mind of Christ as Modeled in the Incarnation
1. What does it mean that Christ “emptied Himself”?
__________________________________________________________________

2. What does “emptied Himself” not mean?
__________________________________________________________________

3. What is one of the main qualities of Christ’s actions that we should emulate for our lives?
__________________________________________________________________

4. Who receives the ultimate glory?
__________________________________________________________________

III. How It Applies to Our Lives Today
1. Have you been living consciously thankful for the blessings you have in Christ?
__________________________________________________________________

2. As far as it depends on you, have you sought to live your life in unity with your fellow man?
__________________________________________________________________

3. Have you sought to live your life in humility? Have you consciously sought to instill within others a better image of yourself than was necessary or expedient? Are you self-focused in your worldview, or are you others-focused?
__________________________________________________________________

4. Have you sought to emulate the example of Christ by self-sacrificially committing to seek the highest good of those around you?
__________________________________________________________________