Fallen Condition Focus: We sinfully resist the Spirit and crave only what seems best for ourselves, despising, fearing, and sometimes refusing degradation and the cost of humility.

Proposition: God calls us from selfish ambition to selfless service for unity in the body as we imitate the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Intro-Nurses/Parents

The older I get the more and more I appreciate a significant segment of our working population. It’s one worker that many of us would not be able to live without. Can you guess which worker I am thinking of? This is the worker without which, many of us would have lives that would be much more difficult and significantly more disgusting. This valuable segment of the workforce I am referring to is nurses. I’ve had the privilege of knowing several friends as they worked through two intense years of nursing school and even now as they have begun their first year working in the hospital. One thing that many nursing majors realize as they begin their nursing clinicals or even as they start their job, is that their job entails much more than critical care nursing. Yes, they know how to read medical charts, give you shots and specific doses of medication, and prevent you from succumbing to illness. They do a lot.

One of the reasons I know I appreciate nurses is the queasiness I’ve began experiencing at the sight of things that are obviously wrong. Any time I see something that is the medically graphic in the least, I start to feel a little funny in my stomach and my vision gets cloudy, harkening back to an episode in 11^th grade anatomy class. Nurses see different medical anomalies and tragedies day in and day out. More than this though, I was surprised by my friends’ stories of the much more menial tasks they do: they feed patients, bathe patients, and clean up after adult patients use the bathroom. They work with patients who are angry, unappreciative, and sometimes refuse to change a habit in their lives even though holding onto that habit will likely mean certain death to the patient.

Nurses get paid to do their work, but parents give a similar self-sacrificial love without the payback.

-Change diapers

-Feed children

-Clean-up after children.

It’s selfless work that is messy, time-consuming and often underappreciated. The older I become, the more I reflect upon how much my parents did for me from the time I was a young child through my at-times, hard-headed teenage years, and even through college.

Today, in the passage we are going to read, Philippians 2:1–11 (you can go ahead and turn there now), we see how Jesus took the ultimate humility upon himself for our sake and how God calls us from selfish ambition to selfless service for unity in the body as we imitate the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[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. [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. [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. [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.

Participating in the Spirit requires we seek others’ needs above our own.
Jesus Christ’s incarnation and obedience [unto death] provide the model for our humble service.
God’s reward is the result and his glory is the goal of humble service.

1) Participating in the Spirit requires we seek others’ needs above our own.

In this section, Paul has just moved from 1:27 where he exhorts the Philippians to “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side-by-side for the faith of the gospel.” Continuing in 2:1 he says, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord, and of one mind.”

Clearly, Paul is concerned with the unity of the Philippian church. Now, we can’t be all too certain of the exact cause of this disunity. Later in the letter in chapter 4, verse 2, he refers to at least one cause. He says, “I entreat Euodia, and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are written in the book of life.” He exhorts these women to agree. They are fellow believers and have shown it in their work for the gospel. Yet, their disunity grieves him.

I believe it grieves him because it is a sign that they are resisting the Spirit. One thing is clear from 2:1–2 it’s that Paul wants the Philippians to be on the same page. This solidarity that Paul speaks of is made possible because we are joined together with one another by the Holy Spirit. We all know a huge portion of our teaching about the Holy Spirit comes from 1 Corinthians, especially ch. 12–14 where Paul talks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:7–11 Paul says:

[7] To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. [8] For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, [10] to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. [11] All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

The emphasis Paul makes to the Corinthian church torn by division is that though they may have different gifts, they are united in one. Though his emphasis in unity, he highlights their diversity. His language in Philippians is much different. Rather than highlight the beauty of diversity, he exhorts them to “stand firm,” to have the “same love,” and to be of “one mind.” His emphasis is not on their unity despite diversity, but only on their sameness. Actually, he uses the same verb in the Greek two times to emphasize them having the same mind.

What seems to hinder having the same love and sharing the same mind in the Holy Spirit? Doing the things Paul commands us not to do in verse 3, where he says, “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit.” These word for conceit could be translated “vainglory.” Essentially, what it amounts to is building your own interests without regard to others. It is the desire for yourself to advance and have the most opportunity, the incessant desire to always get ahead. This desire is not necessarily bad, but sin can warp and distort this and make it harmful to others. In the end, you are building up a kingdom where you can be the king or queen.

I think this mindset can by epitomized in college students. I don’t say this harshly pointing the finger, but acknowledging my own struggles with this. Whenever an 18-year-old goes to college, he is confronted with so many options of how to spend his time: intramural sports, academic clubs, student government, bible studies galor, fraterneties and sororities and this list goes on. It’s not difficult to have your hands in so many things. Each college student has his or her myopic view of life, where their involvements and activities lie at the center of their lives. The sad result of this mindset is over-commitment. You try managing being a good student who tutors, leads a study group, is an RA over a dorm, who is involved in an academic organization, also involved in many personal discipleship relationships. And then ith your friends, you try to maintain an identity without wanting to miss out on any part of life. Then, when it comes to church, it’s hard to get you to help out so you’ll help in the nursery every once awhile and show up to small group half the time. Life is busy. You can’t control that, right?

With so much going on it’s difficult to let something go, because what if someone needs you and you weren’t there to solve the problem??? You, of course, must be the solution to the problem. The cause is failure to trust God. He can and will take care of others and he can and will taoe care of you. The result of over-commitedness is a world where you are on top and not free to give yourself to others. You have a form of glory, but it is vainglory.

I know this because I was that college student. Most of you here today are not in college, and regardless of whether you went or not, you know that temptation to over-commit does not go away as you get older. You’re always trying to get away from one conversation to the next, and that conversation better not last any longer than you want it too, or else you’ll be impatiently ready to move on to the next one after that. It’s easy to live like you care about others, but your care really is about whether or not they can serve you.

But Paul has an alternative. Rather than acting in selfishness, he calls us to humbly serve others. Rather than look out solely for our own interests, he tells us to look after the interests of others.

I like what Gordon Fee says about the need for humility. He says true humility is not self-abasing false modesty, which actually is quite obvious to those around you. But he says:

Rather, [true humility] has to do with a proper estimation of oneself, the stance of the creature before the Creator, utterly dependant and trusting. Here one is well aware both of one’s weaknesses and of one’s glory (we are in his image, after all) but makes neither too much nor too little of either. True humility is therefore not self-focused at all, but rather, as further defined by Paul in v. 4, “looks not to one’s own concerns but to those of others.”

It is with this type of other-focused love that we can share in the same mind and thereby participate in the Holy Spirit. However, Paul doesn’t leave this open to having the same mind on any subject. Rather, he gives a very concrete example in the person and works of Jesus Christ. He begins 2:5 saying this “Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus.”

Which leads to my second point…

2) Jesus Christ’s incarnation and obedience [unto death] provide the model for our humble service.

Let’s continue reading “[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.”

We serve one another because of our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ, performed the ultimate act of humility. Paul presents Jesus as our example, desiring that we have the same mind among ourselves and then expounds the incredible humility of two things involving who Jesus is and what he did.

The first amazing truth that Paul shares about Jesus is that though he is God, he became a man. But why? It goes all the way back to the garden in Genesis 3, when Adam, stubbornly tried to be like God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Ever since, all humanity has been under the curse of sin, and we receive its penalty, which is death and separation from God. Humanity had proven helpless. And so in the fullness of time, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ to earth to be our substitute. Rather than man trying to become like God, God became a man.

But the scale of his becoming man is cosmic. Jesus, though in the form of God and though equal with God, Colossians 1:15–17 tells us that he created and sustained all creation. He ruled with God as the LORD of the universe with all things subject under him. Yet he became a man. And let me be clear, as a man, he still was God. Paul does not contrast Jesus being God with him being a man. But rather, Jesus, though in the form of God, took the form of a servant and was born as a man. He still retained his divinity, and became fully man. But while he was Lord of the universe, he became a humble servant.

Why? The ESV says here that Jesus did not count equality a thing to be grasped. There are a few ways you could translate this verb translated “grasped,” but it seems most likely to mean that Jesus did not count equality with God “something to be used for his own advantage.” He refused to use the glory he had from the beginning on himself and instead used it to humbly serve us all. Equality with God did not exclude him from the road from the suffering and death on the cross, but uniquely qualified him for it.

This is a life-changing, mind-altering truth. Not in spite of his being God, nor in place of him being God, but because he was God, he became man to save us. His decision to earth was the single greatest act of humility anyone could ever do. And Paul calls us all to have this mind. Now, at this church and in our society in general, we are a people with an abundance of privilege. Many if not most of the adults in this room have a college education, and several people have master’s degrees and Ph.D’s. Several of you have been members of this church for a long time. Most of you all are upwardly mobile people.

My question for is this: “Do you find your status or position in society and in this church as something to be used for your own advantage?” I don’t mean by this that you intentionally harm others with your power or influence (although you might), so as to intentially abuse the priveleges you have. What I am asking is if you use your position of influence for your own advantage, without regard for the needs of others. Do you see your position as something that exempts you from the service of others, especially those with less than you.

The economy of the kingdom of God is different, especially when you consider your local church. I don’t want anyone to feel bad who has people who work under them. But in the body of Christ, we must consider one another’s needs as more significant than ours. You can’t be living high on the hog, while your brother and sister are struggling. They could be struggling with anything.

There may be members of your church struggling with addiction, whether it’s to drugs, alcohol, pornography, their body image, or anything else. Will you give them the time out of your day and out of your week to help them? Meet with them? Counsel them? Pray for them? Or what if someone in your church loses his or her job? Will you sacrifice what you have to make sure they and their family’s needs are taken care of?

If God has given you much, then he has given you much so that you might bless others with what he has given you. It may or may not be a large salary. It may be a home with rooms to share. It may be an extra car to loan or give away. It may be an intelligent brain to teach others with. We must humbly serve one another in this way. It may mean that you spend time with people who aren’t very much like you and sometimes are not very fun to hang around. If some is telling you that they are physically hurting themselves, they probably won’t be fun to hang around with in the moment. They probably won’t be funnier than your favorite TV show, and they probably won’t be quite as exhilarating as the movie you rented from Redbox. But they need you.

Now, we need to remember that gifts are not bad things. However, God wants us to use them to serve one another. Let’s get back to Jesus. He was God and had more privilege and right than anyone, yet he took the form of a servant and became a man. And as a man, he humbled himself in obedience to the point of death on a cross. Our Savior and Lord died for us. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our sins. Upon him was the chastisement that bought us peace and by his wounds we are healed. He died for our sins, yet prior to his death, he also served the needs of his disciples.

Jesus himself taught us to do this: In Luke 22:24–26 it says:

[24] A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. [25] And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. [26] But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. [27] For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

Turn in your Bible’s to John 13:12–17. The context is that at the last supper, Jesus has just washed his disciples feet. This was not merely a symbolic act, but was a physical, tangible need the disciple’s had. I mean, this is the first century: they had stinky feet! Cleaning feet was a task performed by the lowest of servants. And yet Jesus strips off his outer garment, ties it around his waist, and washes their feet. Now read the text with me:

[12] When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? [13] You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. [14] If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. [15] For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. [16] Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. [17] If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

The gospel, the good news, contains all we need to serve one another, all it requires is in humility we die to ourselves and seek others’ needs above our own. Though the sacrifice is hard, let me encourage you: the reward is great. This brings me to my third and final point:

3) God’s reward is the result and his glory is the goal of humble service.

[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.

You see, though Jesus became a human, and became a lowly servant, in no way was he degraded in his status as God. Because he took on the lowly task of dying for us, it in no way devalues his worth but instead makes him infinitely valuable.

God glorifies Jesus because he became a man and obeyed his Father to the point of death. Therefore, all things are now subject to Christ and they will bow to him and this pleases God. This was prophesied by Isaiah in chapter 45:22–23. God says,

[22] “Turn to me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.

[23] By myself I have sworn;

from my mouth has gone out in righteousness

a word that shall not return:

‘To me every knee shall bow,

every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

Because Jesus bled and died, we can have salvation. We can turn to Jesus and be saved. Everyone. The powerful. The weak. The educated and uneducated. The righteous person and the sinner. Every knee will bow to our Lord and God Jesus Christ.

Now, not every knee that bows to Jesus will enjoy that moment. Paul says, every knee will bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Paul here seems to be referring to heavenly beings such as angels and demons, every person living on earth at his return, and those under the earth likely refers to those who have already died.

But when Jesus returns, all will bow the knee to him whether they want to or not. Those who lived their entire lives in rebellion to God will bow the knee, but their end will be destruction. But it doesn’t have to be this way; because Jesus lived as a man and died on the cross, and rose up from the grave, we can have life. If you are rebelling against Christ today, know that he has borne the penalty of sin upon the cross that you might not if you believe in him. So I beg you, please repent of your sin and believe in the Son of God.

If you repent that you too like the rest of us can submit your lives to him now so that when he returns, your will bow down with joyful hearts of praise, glorifying the creator.

There will also be a reward for you too. Jesus promises that the one who exalts himself will be humbled and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. Though in this life we sacrifice, we will be rewarded when our Lord Jesus returns. Only on the last day, we’ll see the full value of our sacrifice. Because of our humble service, more sinners will bow the knee to Jesus on the last day as his children, rather than as his enemies.

Yet while, we await our reward, we have orders. I’ve been bouncing around the gospel of Luke several times in this sermon and I want to finish one more time with a sobering teaching from our Lord Jesus in Luke 17:7–10. When I first came across this parable a few weeks ago I was confused. The tone seemed so different from a lot of the parables and teachings that I easily remember. The ending was much less spectular.

[7] “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? [8] Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’?

The answer is yes, by the way. Continuing.

[9] Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? [10] So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

Our role in this life is to serve God. Thankfully, he is a kind master.

God owes us nothing, but he gives us everything. All that we have is gift from God. Therefore, we ought to use it for God’s purposes and his glory. We don’t have to grab for rewards in our resurrected lives, but God will give them. But your brothers and sisters need you, so serve them.

God calls us from selfish ambition to selfless service for unity in the body as we imitate the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I would like to conclude with one more illustration. Later in Philippians, in chapter 3:25 and following, Paul talks about his co-worker Epaphroditus who he is sending to the Philippian church. He calls Epaphroditus, “my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister need.” In verse 30, Paul says Epaphroditus risked his life to make up what was lacking in the Philippians’ service to Paul. It’s interesting tha Paul calls Epaphroditus a “fellow soldier.” I don’t believe he is endorsing military action for the church, but soldiers often times rescue one another from harm.

Recently, I was reading an article on NPR about 24 men who served in WWII, the Korean, and Vietnam Wars were awarded the Medal of Honor a few weeks ago. After some investigations ordered by Congress to review if men of Hispanic of Jewish ethnicity were passed over for the Medal of Honor due to prejudice. Of the 24 men, only 3 are currently alive. The rest have passed whether in combat or due to old age. As I read some of the stories about these men, I was struck by the bravery and courage these men had, particularly those who were helping their fellow soldiers

— "Pfc. Leonard M. Kravitz is being recognized for his actions in Yangpyong, Korea, March 6-7, 1951. While occupying defensive positions, Kravitz's unit was overrun by enemy combatants and forced to withdraw. Kravitz voluntarily remained at a machine-gun position to provide suppressive fire for the retreating troops. This forced the enemy to concentrate their attack on his own position. Kravitz ultimately did not survive the attack, but his actions saved his entire platoon."

— "Sgt. Alfred B. Nietzel is being recognized for his valorous actions in Heistern, Germany, Nov. 18, 1944. When an enemy assault threatened to overrun his unit's position, Nietzel selflessly covered for the retreating members of his squad, expending all his ammunition and holding his post until he was killed by an enemy hand grenade."

— "Master Sgt. Mike C. Pena is being recognized for his actions on the evening of Sept. 4, 1950, near Waegwan, Korea, when his unit was fiercely attacked. During the course of the counter-attack, Pena realized that their ammunition was running out, and ordered his unit to retreat. Pena then manned a machine-gun to cover their withdrawal. He single-handedly held back the enemy until morning when his position was overrun, and he was killed."

These men had the grit to stare death in the face in order to save their fellow soldiers. They laid down their lives so that other’s might lead. They could have ran with their other soldiers and maybe saved their own lives. Likely, no one would have faulted them for living, even though other men died.

May we be a people who aren’t afraid to take on hardship for one another, placing one another’s needs before our own more and more as we see the day of the Lord draw near.

Imitating the Selfless Service of Jesus Christ