Philippians 2:1-11 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,… I. HE APPEALS TO PHILIPPIANS BY FOUR COMMON ELEMENTS IN THEIR COMMON CONFLICT TO FULFIL HIS JOY. 1. By the comfort there is in Christ. "If there is therefore any comfort in Chris . The connecting word has reference to the duty which was enjoined in the twenty-seventh verse of the last chapter, and is again enjoined in the second verse of this chapter. But there is also reference to the circumstances under which unity is enjoined. They were enduring the same conflict at Philippi which Paul had once endured at Philippi, and was then enduring in Rome. Under circumstances of common conflict, what had they to fall back upon, and by which they could appeal to each other? It is this which leads to the introduction of the subject of comfort. Some would substitute exhortation for comfort." But "comfort" is certainly the word appropriate to the occasion, and the following of it up in the second clause by a word of similar import only serves to emphasize the tone of the appeal. The form of the appeal is noticeable. It is under a supposition, being simply, "If any comfort in Christ." He knew that he was touching a chord to which there would be a ready response on the part of the Philippians. Any comfort in Christ? Yes; that was the quarter to which he and they in common looked for comfort. As oppressed by the troubles of this life and the question of our destiny, we need to be comforted. All the comfort that philosophy affords amounts to this - that such is the constitution of things, that we must bear what we cannot mend, that complaining only makes our case worse. In Christ there is this all-sufficient comfort, that, from his own experience of suffering, he can enter sympathetically into the suffering of each soul, and, while for good ends he may see fit to continue it, he undertakes to support under it and to make it productive of good. As Christians they had a right to expect and to ask of each other a conveyance of the Master's sympathy with them in their afflictions. Paul extended loving thought, as from the Master, toward the Philippians in their conflict; and it was his desire that they should extend loving thought as from the Master toward him. 2. By The consolation of love. "If any consolation of love." In the previous clause the idea was that they were to take of what was Christ's and show it to each other. The idea here is that they were to take of their own love and show it to each other for consolation. They had a common hate from the world; the antidote for that was the refreshing influence of mutual love. Paul would have the Philippians in their conflict know, for their consolation, that they were loved by him; and he looks to them to let him know in his conflict, for his consolation, that he was loved by them. 3. By the fellowship of the Spirit. "If any fellowship of the Spirit." They were partakers of a common life of strength, of gladness, of hope in the Spirit. As thus alike favored of the Spirit, they were bound to make it their aim to promote their common life. He was prepared to do his utmost for the Philippians, that in their conflict they should partake more largely of the strong, glad, hopeful life of the Spirit; he locks to them to do their utmost, so that in conflict he shall have reciprocity in the same life. 4. By tender mercies and compassions "If any tender mercies and compassions." The first seems to point to tender feelings confined to the heart; the second to tender feelings going out in compassion to others in their need. Paul was no stranger to tender feeling and compassionate yearning toward the Philippians in their conflict; he wishes to have from them in his conflict reciprocity in the same luxury. "Fulfil ye my joy." What they had a right to ask of him, he, in the exercise of his right, asks of them. They had given him joy in the past; it was not yet made full. Let them from the common source fill up his joy. II. HE ASKS THEM TO FULFIL HIS JOY BY ATTENTION TO TWO DUTIES. 1. Unanimity. "That ye be of the same mind." This has been explained as thinking, willing, and seeking the same thing. (1) Unanimity proceeding from loving and being loved alike. "Having the same love." This points to the condition under which unanimity is to be wrought out - there must be love on both sides. If there is no love, or love only on one side, then there cannot be the same way of thinking, willing, and striving. But let there be reciprocal love, warmed around the cross of Christ, then, whatever differences there may be to begin with, there will come ultimately to be a seeing eye to eye. (2) Unanimity appearing in harmony of soul. "Being of one accord, of one mind." It is better to take the two clauses as one and to translate, "With harmony of soul, being of one mind." The latter expression is just the literal meaning of unanimity. And we are here taught that unanimity must not be mere uniformity - subscribing to the same creed, observing the same forms of worship. It must be something deep down in the nature, wrought out under the influence of love in the feelings and active impulses. It is what may be seen in a couple who have long and deeply loved each other - they come to feel and act alike. It is what can be wrought out without loss of independence. It is like what may be seen in a choir where there are blended many qualities of voice. It is what may be seen in a congregation where there has long been good feeling and harmonious co-operation; there is created an excellent esprit de corps - one soul animates the body and determines its movements. It is what will yet, we hope, be exhibited in the Churches, when they have all received a larger baptism of the spirit of love. Many differences will disappear - no difference will remain to prevent them uniting and co-operating in the work of the Lord. It is what will only be thoroughly wrought out in the Church above, where the same view of Christ's work will take hold of all minds, animate all hearts, and call forth loud and harmonious praise. 2. Humility. (1) Manifestations of self-importance. "Doing nothing through faction or through vain-glory." Faction. It was a false estimate of themselves that threatened to be a dividing element among the Philippians. Controversy may be carried on in a spirit of fairness. Parties may be necessitated by fidelity to principle. Even separations may be justified under certain circumstances: "Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord." But there can be no doubt that self-assertion is the prolific source of controversy, of party, of division. When men are concerned to have their own opinions established rather than the truth, to have their own party advanced rather than the cause of Christ, their own importance added to rather than the peace of the Church preserved, they are factious. And therefore it is that, in the interest of unity, the apostle warned against self-importance. Vain-glory. The Philippians do not seem to have had external advantages of which to be vain. For the apostle testifies elsewhere that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. Nor do we know that their temptation was connected with superior natural endowments. It was rather connected with their spiritual excellences. These the apostle fully acknowledges, he says nothing to their disparagement as a Church, only he seems to evince an anxiety lest disunion should creep in among them through their being vain of their excellences and comparing themselves with one another. (2) Cure for self-importance. "But in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others." We are to have a lowly estimate of ourselves. If we have external advantages to think of, we have also to think of responsibilities connected with them. If we have superior natural gifts to think of, we have also to think of the use we have made of them. If we have spiritual excellences, we are to be thankful to God for them; but we are not to be vain of them. Instead of being vain, we must think that we are not what we should have been, considering the grace that has abounded toward us; that we have come far short in the working out of the plan of our life. The more narrowly we look into ourselves and our work, the more shall we see that we are only keeping to truth. to reality, when we humble ourselves before God as the chief of sinners. But what of our comparing ourselves with others? The apostle teaches that a true looking to the things of others will lead to our counting others better than ourselves. We have to consider this regarding others that, apart from external advantages, from natural gifts, and from moral character, they are of great price before God as created, planned for, suffered for, loved by, God. We have also this to consider regarding others, that we do not know the disadvantageous influences, compared with others, under which they may have been brought up, and it is possible that, when they fail, we should not have done better if we had been in their position. we have also to consider that, even where we may be more excellent than they in some respects, we are not in a position to know all the excellence that may belong to them. If certainly we compare ourselves with others for the sake of self-exaltation, we are showing our own want of excellence. A true spirit of humility will lead us rather to compare ourselves with others, in points in which they are our superiors, and thus all such comparison must be accounting others better than ourselves. "Unto me," says Paul, "who am less than the least of all saints." III. CHRIST THE GREAT EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY. 1. Humiliation. (1) Humiliation to humanity. "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men." It is not said of Christ Jesus that he was in fashion as God, i.e. to appearance, God. Nor is it said that He was in the likeness of God, i.e. in nature resembling God. But it is said absolutely that he was in the form of God, i.e. was God. It is more decisive than image of God and impress of God, elsewhere applied to Christ; though these, being used absolutely, testify to his Divinity. Form points to Christ having the manifestation of Divinity which, as it is a glorious manifestation, is expressed by the word "glory." "The glory which I had with thee before the world was." We are referred to the moment when he contemplated his equality with God, i.e. not in its essence, but in respect of his having the glorious effulgence of Divinity. At that moment, what was the mind that was in him? It was not to clutch at and to retain his glorious prerogatives as a prize. On the contrary, he emptied himself, i.e. of these glorious prerogatives, while not ceasing to be God. Emptying himself, the new form that he took was that of a servant, i.e. he actually became a servant. The particular form of servant is pointed to in its being added that he was made in the likeness of man, i.e. had the human qualities, while not mere man. The descent from the form of God to the form of the human servant was immeasurable. From being infinite (beyond conditions), he became finite (was placed under conditions). From having uncreated perfection, He became subject to a human development. From being eternal, he came under the condition of time. From being omnipresent, he came under the condition of space. From being omniscient, he came to know neither the day nor the hour of the end. From being almighty, he came to need power to help him in his weakness. Such was his emptying himself. (2) Humiliation in humanity. "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross." This part of the humiliation is described as within human observation. He was found in fashion as a man. He was publicly recognized as having the outward marks of a man - "look, dress, mode of living, gesture, mode of speaking and acting." This humiliation did not stop with his descent to humanity, but in humanity He found further opportunity, not now of emptying himself which could only be once, but of humbling himself. This, which human eyes witnessed, was his becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross, i.e. the most shameful of all deaths. And there was more than appeared to human eyes. That death of the cross was really God in humanity suffering wrath on account of sin, and that obedience to the death of the cross was the human will completely and cheerfully given up to the Divine will in the direst extremity. This marks the depth of the humiliation - the possessor of the Divine glory coming down to be the bearer, not merely of all the shame that man could put upon him, but of the Divine wrath against sin. Such, then, is the exhibition of the mind that was in Christ. He went through infinite self-abasement for our salvation, he looked not merely to his own things; he locked beyond to our things. Nay, did he not put us before himself? He clung not to his Divine position as what could never be parted with; but he emptied himself of position, that he might grasp us in his saving love. Let the same mind be in us. Let; us not clutch at position when, by abasement of ourselves, we can advantage men. Oh, how the factious seeking of place and power is exposed in the intense light of the Divine Son not counting his place and power a prize? How is vain-glory - glorying in empty things - exposed in the light of the Divine emptying? 2. Exaltation. (1) His Name. "Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the Name which is above every name." We are here taught that the exaltation of Christ in our nature was the reward of his humiliation. In becoming obedient, even unto death, yea, the death of the cross, he obtained, not only infinite merit for us, but rather for us in himself. And his recompense was that he was exalted, and more than that, highly exalted. This pre-eminent exaltation consisted in there being gifted to him the Name which is above every name, i.e. as appears from the language following, the Name of Jesus. It is a way of honoring men to give them names. This honor does not always correspond to worth. For we are told that what is exalted among men is abomination in the sight of God. And, even when the name represents reality, how confined is it in its import, even at the best! The name of highest import is the Name of Jesus, Savior, as setting forth the great saving work which best illustrates the character of God. Not arbitrarily, then, but righteously, God has surrounded this Name with the highest dignity and with lordship too. (2) Universal recognition of his Name. "That in the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The language, is founded on Isaiah 45:23, "That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." It is here represented that what is to move and animate the worshippers is, not the sovereignty of God so much praised in the forty-fifth of Isaiah, but, what is brought; also into connection there, the glorious significance of the Name of Jesus. The worshippers are here designated by the external symbol of adoration, as bowing the knee. And they are classified exhaustively, and with a certain indefiniteness, as celestial, terrestrial, and sub-terrestrial. Of these classes not one shall have his knees unbent. They are also represented as confessing with their tongues. Of the classes named not one shall have his tongue unused in confession. To think of involuntary adoration on the part of some, is to mar the language. All are to render to Christ the specially Christian confession - they are to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, specially invested with power to complete the work of redemption. They are to render the adoration to Christ to the praise, not of God's justice, but of God's fatherhood Dogmatic inference from this passage cannot be drawn with certainty. All that we have to do is to allow the language, in all its majesty, to have its due weight in our minds alongside of other language that is used in Scripture with regard to the last things. - R.F. Parallel Verses KJV: If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, |
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