Philippians 2:1-11
1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to deathЧ even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 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.

Tonight I would like to pose a question.... What is your deepest motivation, or why do you do the things you do? How is your attitude.... or how is your thought life. This is all the same question really.


Paul says in verse five to have the same attitude that Christ had. the verse is the focal point of the passage. So let me ask you tonight what your attitude is. The word attitude could also be changed to mindset, or thought patterns. It is not so much the individual thoughts as it is the motivation behind the thoughts and of course our thoughts, or our motivations, controls our actions to a great degree. Psychologists say that it is very difficult to act for very long in a way that is inconsistent with what we believe. I would add that our beliefs are a result of our deepest held attitudes, and these deepest held attitudes were a concern of Paul when he wrote the book of Philippians.

SO as we look at this passage lets think about our attitude, and what is shaping our attitudes.

This passage has been talked about for centuries. It is believed to be an ancient hymn or creed. The poetic design of verses 5-11 show the genius of Paul the writer, and is a very strong statement of the deity of Christ. It is one the clearest and most concise statements of the bible about the deity and position of Christ. It tells what the essence of Christ was, and what his most basic motivations were. In addition to being an eloquent statement of the position of Christ, it is a call to think the way Christ thought. It is a call to have the correct attitude towards god, others and our own selves.

The word attitude there comes from a Greek word PHRONEO... which literally means to think, or to be minded in a certain way. It is not just thinking thoughts, but it is more the attitude behind those thoughts. It is a way of thinking. In is a mind-set. Paul is encouraging us to have the same mindset that Christ had and we will get into that shortly.

In our modern culture we have certain mindsets, certain attitudes that are prevalent. They can be seen easily on television. I remember a commercial for cameras where a tennis star , Andre Agassi, is shown playing. The camera takes great photos of the tennis player, and of course the implication is that you too can take great pictures of this tennis star if you just buy this brand of camera.

But at the end of the commercial he says "Image is Everything" That is a nice play on words since he is talking about cameras But it also shows an attitude, or a philosophy, or a way of looking at things Image, it says, is what is important. It is interesting that there is no data in the commercial about the camera's reliability, or the quality of materials used., but only allusions to the correct image.

Later someone else came out with a commercial for a soft drink, which said image is nothing, thirst is everything, ..... obey your thirst. Again this is a nice play on words, but it shows a mindset. or the attitude

The message of the commercial is that you should obey your thirst, your desires.

The commercials show a mindset of our modern culture. Obviously our culture is one that is focused on self gratification, meeting ones own immediate needs regardless of how it might affect anyone else.

It may well be though that this attitude of self satisfaction is not all that new. Perhaps the people on Philippi had the same problem. It may even be that mankind has had this problem since the Garden of Eden. The problem is one of selfishness as opposed to selflessness.

We naturally look after our own needs, but Paul here is suggesting a radical idea.... not looking out for our own needs but looking after the needs of others and he says we can do that by having the same attitude that Christ had

In the KING JAMES VERSION it says have this mind in you which was also in Christ.

The folks at phillipi had a growing church, and Paul was pleased with them. Recall from Acts that this is where Paul and Silas were jailed and set free miraculously. This letter was probably written just a couple of years after that while Paul was in Rome... in jail again for going against the culture. Paul reminds them here of these things and then gives a lesson on what their attitude should be like, or where their priorities should be. He reminds them by perhaps quoting a hymn that they normally sang in their churches. It may have been a hymn, or even just an early church creed. Now Paul had the mind of Christ or the attitude of Christ

It was not possible to intimidate Paul He said to live is Christ and to die is gain in chapter one verse 21. even in jail he rejoiced because that resulted in the furtherance of the gospel... Paul explains all this in the passage we are looking at tonight.

2:1
back in verse one Paul starts the passage with a group of statements starting with the word if. It is as though these were rhetorical questions..... if there is any... encouragement in being united in Christ if you have any of these things, and by the way it is constructed, the implication is that they did have those things.

He is not saying if these things are there as though they may or may not be. Or even, if you happen to have any encouragement in Christ or Love or anything else The assumption is that these are the fruits of the spirit, it could have been said, since you have these things...

Since you have these things then make my joy complete. Paul was a spiritual father to these people, he founded the church there and they had a big place in his heart. their relationship was close, so he is saying to them, since you have these things from Christ, then do this to make my joy complete.

2:2
he is saying if you have these things.... and i know you do.... then in verse 2, being like minded, perhaps being of the same mind or thought as Paul, but more likely of the same thought as that of Christ, who has given them encouragement, comfort, love, fellowship and tenderness and compassion. This word like-minded here is the same Greek Word I mentioned before, PHRONEO.... He is saying since you have these fruits of the Spirit, then have the same attitude with the same love. In a sense he is saying do unto others the same things you have received from Christ, such as love, joy, encouragement and so on. He continues in verse 3

2:3
then as a result of being like minded, or having a Christ like attitude, do nothing out of selfish ambition throughout this passage Paul goes back and forth, between these ideas..... of since you have this in christ, then act this way. So he says don't do things out of selfish ambition, we need to look at our motives at times., and that is what Paul is writing to the Philipians about. When he says don't do things out of selfish ambition or vain glory he is speaking of things like a politician staging an event to get publicity at election time. Think back to my earlier illustration about the television commercials. The Image is everything idea is what Paul is speaking of in saying vainglory the Thirst is everything image is what Paul is speaking of in talking about selfish ambition. Paul is saying don't do those things

Why do you suppose people seek such things as vain glory and conceit. They do it to feel fulfilled, worthwhile. Since their motivation is themselves, they do things that will elevate the self. These things, such as conceit and vain glory, or the desire for attention - vain glory, or the desire for things. physical desires, attempt to fill the emptiness that God is supposed to fill. Of course Paul is saying that if you have these things we mentioned from verse 1, there is no need for these other things

Remember the old Rolling Stones Song. I cant Get no Satisfaction....now those guys im sure often did things out of selfish ambition, and by worldly standards they succeeded, yet the famous rock star, who had bajillions of dollars and all the fame a person could handle, wrote the song.... i cant get no satisfaction. the reason he couldn't is that the kind of satisfaction... a deep feeling of peace... is found only in Christ. This is one reason Paul wrote not to seek after such things., But Paul gives us an alternative. not doing things out of selfishness

BUT
consider others better than yourself


our natural tendency is to put ourselves first, and that is what most people do, but Paul is suggesting something revolutionary here, and that is precisely what Christ did. He considered the needs of others, not just himself. he says, in verse 3, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. This humility is the opposite of selfish ambition. It is looking out for the interests of others. It really is the opposite of what our culture teaches. We are told to get ahead by any means necessary to have our own pleasures and desires met. But what does Paul say. He says consider others more important than yourself

It is like after a ball game, traffic is all tied up because everyone wants to leave at the same time. What if everyone was looking our for others needs to get out of the parking lot.
OR JUST TODAY I HAD THIS COME UP ON MY WAY HOME FROM SCHOOL
TRYING TO GET OFF 20 onto 26 there at malfunction juncition. I couldnt get out off the ramp because another car was blocking me. I started to get upset, but then i remembered what i was speaking about tonight

All i can say is God has a sense of humor sometimes.

You can tell a lot about a person's attitude is such a situation.

He says in verse 4, not only your own interests but the interests of others I think he is saying it is ok to look after your own interests. Probably the implication is that he assumes we will look after our own interest. We clothe ourselves, we feed ourselves, we have jobs and so forth to meet our needs. That's a good thing, He 's not saying don't do that, Its more of a concern for others with the same enthusiasm and interest we show in meeting our own needs that Paul is concerned about.


Then comes verse 5
The first four verses lead up to verse five. He says your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Your mindset, your thought life, your reason for existence.... your satisfaction, should be the same as that of Christ.

Now lets look at just what was Christ's attitude, or mindset. Paul gives us his mindset in verses six through eight.
VERSE 6
Christ was in nature God. The word nature there has the idea of substance. He was of the same substance as god, and therefore equal to God, and indeed God. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, he didn't have to grasp for it because he already possessed it....

But this is where people have gone astray from the beginning. Notice he says he did not consider equality with god something to be grasped. From the beginning of time we have been grasping at equality with God, and the one being, or man, who had the real opportunity.... didn't

Think back to Genesis and the Garden of Eden for a moment. What did Satan say to Eve to get her to eat the forbidden fruit. he said if you eat this fruit (Genesis 3:5) YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD Eve was deceived into thinking she could be like God, and by implication equal to God, so she ate. What she didn't realize was that she could not be like God. but she tried. As a result they were kicked out of EDEN and mankind lost his relationship with God.

Since that time man has tried to be god, to control his own destiny. I would submit that this is the single greatest problem in our culture, our own desire for self fulfillment or gratification.....

We see it all down through the ages. People built empires and religions trying to either be god or get to god. It has never worked. The bottom line is we are not God. True we are created in God's image but that does not make us God does it?

Today we see that deception developed in the New Age Movement, which says all are god, or everything is god. It teaches that we are all god. Of course if everything is god then god is nothing. You get into some pretty strange reasoning with that one. but the thing is, GOD IS GOD, and we are not.

But Jesus was, and even though he was , he did not grasp it, he didn't hang on to his GODNESS if you will. He didn't selfishly seek his own interests, or his own position. He willingly gave up being God, to become a man, and ultimately to die for us, people who were trying to be God.

The deception of Satan is to always pervert the truth of God, to make us think the opposite of what scripture says. Our world, at Satans initiative, says to us that we have to take care of ourselves first in order to get ahead. But this passage is saying, to get ahead you have to try to look out for the needs of others. This was Christ's example. Though he was god, (verse 7) he made himself nothing... taking the very nature of a servant.... The word nature in verse six and seven are the same words. It means nature in the sense of substance. Like the substance of a tree is wood. A tree is made out of wood so to speak. If you had a stick of wood you could say it is in substance , or in nature, a tree. or vice versa

So being in nature, God, he became a servant in nature. He exchanged his substance of godness for the substance of a servant He lowered himself very much. Even to the point of death, This idea seems a bit radical today in our culture, and it created quiet a stir in the Greek world that Jesus and Paul lived in.

According to the Greek philosophers the spirit, and God, were good in nature, while the flesh, or our earthly bodies were evil in nature or substance, In their minds there was no way to mix the two. Yet Paul was saying Jesus was both God and Man at the same time. That is why at one point in another book Paul says the gospel is foolishness to the Greeks.

The church struggled with this for a couple hundred years. The Greeks took verse seven, where it says being made in Human Likeness, to mean that he only appeared human, but was not really human. This was a tremendous controversy at that time. That is why John makes such a big deal out of Jesus coming in the flesh, both in his gospel and in !st. John. John wrote later than anyone else in the New Testament, and the controversy was heating up when he wrote/ In 1 John 4:2 he says that any spirit that acknowledges that Jesus has come in the flesh is from God. The newtestament writers wanted there to be no doubt that Jesus has come in the flesh.

but still today we struggle with having the same attitude Christ had, and to have that attitude is to be quiet counter cultural.

But he says he made himself nothing, which is just the opposite of human nature, which is to elevate the self. And look at how far he went. In verse 8. and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, death on a cross. Not only did Jesus not seek his own interests, he gave up his own interests even to the point of death. This is the idea that Paul is getting at. This is what Paul means when he says to have the same attitude that Christ had. Not selfish ambition or conceit, but humility, a giving up of one's rights.

We can see further in the passage that there were some results to Christ's self giving. As a result, notice the THEREFORE in verse nine. That is always a key word in the New Testament. Whenever you see it look around to see what it is there for It is to show an immediate result of what has just transpired.

Because Christ was obedient even to death, God exalted him, VERSE 9 to the highest place He was given the highest name or title there was to give. You could say he got is deity back. After having given himself up he was fully restored and that beyond measure. and as a result, IN verse 10, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth and under the earth. that means everywhere..... verse 11, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of the father.

So we see as a result of Jesus' obedience he was lifted high. It is the same with us. We don't have deity to give up, but he have our selfishness to give up. We should follow Christs example by giving up ourselves, our identity, to take on Christ's identity. It is through giving ourselves up to Christ, and to have Christ as our mindset or attitude, that we are freed.

People spend millions and go to great efforts to FIND THEMSELVES, but here in the Bible we see that we can truly find ourselves by giving ourselves up to Christ. By adopting Christ's attitude, which was one of humility and submission, and dependence upon God, we find ourselves.

The world says Image is Everything, or Thirst is everything, because it is believed that by meeting our own desires we will be fulfilled, But Paul is saying here that If we surrender that to God, God will lift us up to heaven and we will be like Christ. If we give up ourselves, our own efforts to find significance and peace, then we will find the greatest peace and significance there is.

Turn over to Colossians, chapter 3 verses 1-4 Colossians 3:1-4

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

In verse 2 where he says set your minds, he uses that word PHRONEO again. IT is the same idea as having the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus He is saying have as your mindset things above..the things of God, not on earthly things such as power, vain glory or conceit.

So while the world tells us to GO FOR THE GUSTO,,, or TO JUST DO IT... or YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY the New Testament has quiet a different message. While the world tells us to grab for all we can, to meet all our cravings and desires, the Gospel tells us to let go of those things

So we see two different philosophies at work here, the world's philosophy versus Gods philosophy.

Now there is nothing wrong with having things, liking things and using things. That is not the problem. The problem is when these things become our reason for living. or the focus of our lives. We should have the same mind as Christ. Now Christ enjoyed things while on earth, he went to weddings and banquets. He turned water into wine. He may have even laughed at a good clean joke on occasion.

But he never forgot his mission. He never did things that would hurt people. He always did what God the Father wanted him to do.

Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus being dependant upon God the father for everything. In John 5:30 30 By myself I can do nothing; for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

and later in John, concerning his death on the cross, he says in John 10:18 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.Ф

So we see Jesus attitude, or mind-set as being one who is dependant upon the father. Jesus never sought to please himself, but to only please God. He did this by looking our for the needs of others while on earth, and ultimately by giving up his life to save all of mankind from sin and death in hell.

This is what Paul is saying for us to do when he says to have the same attitude that Christ had. We should then try to cultivate that attitude or mindset in our own lives.

As it is said in Romans, to renew your mind Romans 12:2

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what GodТs will isЧhis good, pleasing and perfect will.

How do you renew your mind?
by bible study and prayer. by allowing the spirit to indwell you. When you renew your mind, you can renew it into the mind of Christ. One way to cultivate this attitude of Christ is to ask What Would Jesus Do. a lot of teenagers are wearing these bracelets and pendants with the letters WWJD, an acronym for what would Jesus do. it is a good question to ask in any situation. If we are to have the mind set, or attitude of Christ, perhaps we should ask that question often. However make sure your answer to the question of what would Jesus do is based on THIS BOOK and not on anything else. If we base the answers on this book, then we will be transformed as Romans says, and we will have the same attitude that Christ had.

And like Christ, if we empty ourselves of our own ambitions and plans, we will be elevated by God. It does sound strange, but it is true, when we quit trying to find significance and peace in the world, and look for it in Christ, we find it with great abundance.

So lets look at our mindsets, our attitudes. Lets try to get past looking only to our own desires, but to the desires of others if we do that, we will be filled its funny how when we try to meet our own desires we never seem to get enough but in Christ, those needs are met to the point of overflowing.

I would ask you this week to think about what Christ would do as you go about your daily life. at work or at home or whatever, ask yourself what would Jesus do and consider your attitudes throughout the day.....

and try to have the same attitude that Christ had.

The same attitude as Christ, would be one of living for God and not for oneself.