Laboring Together

Could we look at Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1 and we'll begin to verse 27. Philippians 1 and 27, only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, or live your lives in a manner that's worthy of the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which he saw in me, and now here to be in me.

I want to look at chapter 2, but just before we look at that, as you know, Paul is in prison for the sake of the gospel. He's in Rome and he's writing to this assembly that he saw planted many years before, and it wasn't easy for them. They were suffering persecution, and so he encourages them in verse 27, live your lives in a way that's worthy of the gospel of Christ, and he tells them in verse 27 as well, one way this could be done, he says, stand fast, stand firm in one spirit, with one soul, striving together for the faith of the gospel.

They needed to be united in the face of opposition, in the face of difficulty. You know, today we might face a little different kind of opposition. We're not being thrown in prison, and not even eggs and tomatoes like believers in this country faced maybe years ago, but there's the cold shoulder of the world.

We live in a society that is tolerant of everything except the truth, and it's not easy, and it's easy to be intimidated, and that's the thought of the word there in verse 28, and nothing terrified by your adversaries. Don't be intimidated by those who oppose you. Stand firm, stand together, but there was another difficulty that was facing the assembly in Philippi, and we're going to see what that is in chapter two here.

Verse one, if there be therefore any consolation or encouragement in Christ, with any comfort of love, with any fellowship of the spirit, with any bowels and mercies or compassion and mercy, fulfill ye my joy, make my joy complete, that you be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one soul, of one mind, let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but on lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man.

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and tremble, for it is God which worketh in you both the will and to do of his good pleasure.

Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation or generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all, for the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with me. As I mentioned, there was another issue and Paul saw that this issue could seriously impair the spirit of the gospel.

You know, he encourages them back in chapter 1 of verse 27, stand firm in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Striving together, contending together as one man. When you get to chapter 4, we get the same word, only it's translated labored.

And we read about two sisters in the assembly, who at one time labored or strove together with Paul in the spirit of the gospel, but now they're contending with one another. They're not getting along. And Paul saw this as a great danger.

Not only is it not pleasing to God when we don't get along, but it's counterproductive to the spread of the gospel. In verse 1 of chapter 2, we read about all the blessings that we enjoy together in Christ. In verse 2, he appeals to them and God appeals to us today.

He says, be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. He wants us to be on the same page. Now, none of us are going to agree, you know, totally on everything.

We're not talking here about the essentials. We're not talking about, you know, differences of opinion on the deity of Christ or salvation by grace through faith or plurality of leadership in a local church. But, you know, we can get bent out of shape if somebody doesn't dot their I's and cross their T's the way we do.

One of the biggest challenges we face, as far as I can see, these days is getting along. We're all so flawed. We're all so different, different personalities, different backgrounds.

It takes the grace of God for you to get along with me and for me to get along with you. But this is what God wants. So he says in verse 3, basically he's saying, this is what I'm talking about.

Let nothing be done through vain glory, strife, trying to be number one, vain glory, trying to impress. Whether we like to admit it or not, it's in here. It's human nature to try to be number one, be a little better than somebody else in whatever sphere.

We're trying to impress. When these things come in, when this is the way we function and behave with one another, it creates problems. And the antithesis in verse 3, he says, but on lowliness of mind, humility of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves.

Do we do this? Are we trying to be better than others or are we willing to consider others better than themselves? You know, how important it is to realize what we are and have in Christ, what our position is, how God looks at us. So we don't have to try to have gain position and whatever in the eyes of others. You know, down to verse 21.

Well, I'll get to that in a minute. Verse 4, he says, look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. We can be self-centered, selfish.

I see it in my own heart. In verse 21, he says, for all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. I've been reading in Philippians recently and enjoying it, but at the same time, it's so convicting.

And to me, one thing I see in chapter two is what God is really looking for, what's really important. And if there's any doubt about, you know, how he wants us to, what kind of attitude he wants us to have with one another, he says in verse 5, again, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. This is the standard.

This is what God is looking for in you as well as me. This is the attitude he wants us to have. And it is so different than human nature.

And of course, he fleshes us out in the verses to follow. Talks about the Lord Jesus. Although he was God and is God, the verse 7 said he made himself of no reputation.

He emptied himself. He was willing to relinquish his position and his privileges. Why? Because we had a great need.

He thought of others. He thought of you and me. And so he became a servant.

And the end of verse 7 says he was made in the likeness of men. He became like us, of course, sin of part. He became like us.

Am I willing to humble myself because of the needs of others, because of the need of people that are perishing all around us? I remember when I was first saved, the lady that brought the gospel to me gave me a book on Hudson Taylor, God's Man in China. I think it was written by Hudson Taylor's son and his wife. It's been a long time since I read it.

I'd like him to read it again. But I remember being impressed by the fact that Hudson Taylor went to China. And at first, he lived in a compound with other missionaries that were there for some time.

And they would make little forays into the populace. And after a while, Hudson Taylor thought this isn't working. And the missionaries, they had their Western dress and everything.

And what Hudson Taylor did was, I think he was fair-haired, so he dyed his hair like the Chinese with a shoe polish, I think, and attached some kind of a cue, I think he called it, or ponytail. And he adopted Chinese dress. And the other missionaries didn't like it.

But Hudson Taylor, it was the beginning of the China Inland Mission. And he was becoming like them, not behaving like them in their unsafe ways, but he wanted to reach them with the gospel. He was willing to relinquish his position, if you can put it that way, and his privileges of living in the compound.

And he lived with the people. And not just in that area, but inland. And through Hudson Taylor, the gospel went far and wide in China until, of course, communism came in.

In verse 8, we read about the Lord Jesus as a perfect example, how he humbled himself and became obedient. Obedient to God, even to the point of death, even the cross death. This is what God is looking for in his people.

Obedience, submission, not trying to be number one, not trying to impress, but seeing the need of others. And of course, the next couple of verses, 9 and 10, the Lord Jesus humbled himself, God exalted him. And isn't that what the Lord Jesus said when he was here on earth? He that humbles himself shall be exalted.

And the corollary, he that exalts himself shall be based. Verse 12, wherefore, therefore now, in the face of all this, this perfect example of the Lord Jesus, he says, wherefore, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out, that is, live out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Live it out.

Live a life that's worthy of the gospel. Not with strife, not with vain glory, but following the example of the Lord Jesus, having this attitude, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. You say, well, you know, the example is pretty high.

The bar is pretty high. How can I ever be like that? I enjoy verse 13 a lot. For it is God who works in you, both to will, to want to do, and to do of his good pleasure.

It's allowing God to have his way in our lives, to produce this Christ-like character, this Christ-like attitude to help us to get along with one another and to be an effective force in this world as far as the spread of the gospel. And now at the end of this section that I read, we see how the Lord ties these two things together, this getting along and spreading the gospel, how they are linked. He says in verse 14, do all things without murmurings, without grumbling and disputings or arguing.

Does that characterize us? I know it does me at times, not happy about the way somebody does something, grumbling to others, grumbling in my own heart. We can argue. This is what characterized the Israelites in the wilderness, and we can see it in them how wrong it was, and we could do the same thing, and it goes right over our heads.

Do all things without murmurings and disputings. Why? Verse 15, so that you may be blameless and harmless, that is innocent. The sons are children of God, without rebuke, above reproach.

Notice, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life. Notice what goes ahead of holding forth the word of life, its character, its behavior, attitudes to one another, so that in this, really it's a twisted, morally twisted society that we live in. God wants us to shine, and we don't shine too brightly before one another's throats.

When we don't get along, it's counterproductive to the gospel. We can say what we want to say, but if our lives don't back it up, there's not the weight, and the people out in the world, they're watching. They may not believe what we're saying, but they're watching.

But let me just finish by verse 17 and 18. You know, Paul's been talking about the example of the Lord Jesus, perfect example, but what an example he is. In verse 17, he says, if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith.

Paul was suffering. He was in prison in Rome, and that word offered, as many will know, it's if I'm being poured out as a drink offering, he says, upon the sacrifice and service of your faith. He's looking back to the Old Testament sacrifices, but what the Philippians were suffering, what they were going through in the opposition in Philippi, he looks at that as an animal sacrifice, whether it's a bullock or a lamb, and he's just the drink offering that's poured on him.

Esteeming others better than yourself. He looks at what they were doing as greater than what he was doing, but notice his attitude. He could have grumbled and complained.

You know, back in verse 20, he says, there were those who were preaching Christ of envy and strife, preaching of contention, not sincerely. He could have grumbled and complained what other people were doing. What's he doing? He's rejoicing here.

He says, I join and rejoice with you all. And verse 18, for the same cause also do you rejoice and rejoice with me. Paul was willing to humble himself, take that low place, even though he was in prison.

He knew it was for the sake of the gospel. It was for the Lord Jesus, and he was willing to accept that. Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Stand firm in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. May the Lord help us in the face of whatever opposition we encounter. But he says, be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Brother, sister, may the Lord help us by his grace. And really to me, what speaks to me from this section is, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.