Our joy grows as we follow the example of Jesus by placing others first in a community that is marked by gospel-centered unity...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Philippians. We looked on as the Apostle Paul commanded early followers of Jesus to make the joy that he was already experiencing in his life grow by living together as a community of faith in such a way that they were united in their heads, hearts, and hands when it came to living in community with one another and engaging in the kingdom mission that they had been given with one another.

We saw Paul reveal for us the reality that a church does not just experience unity because they want to have unity. A church experiences unity because they are committed to live in community with one another that is centered on and that is committed to the message of the gospel and the kingdom mission that they have been given by Jesus.  And as followers of Jesus live in community with one another that is centered on and that is committed to the message of the gospel and the kingdom mission that we have been given by Jesus, the result is a growing joy.

We looked on as the Apostle Paul commanded followers of Jesus throughout history to do nothing that is motivated by a desire to advance one’s own selfish agenda or to exaggerate one’s status in the eyes of others. Instead of being all about one’s own agenda and one’s own status in the eyes of others, Paul commanded the members of the church at Philippi to with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.

The point behind the Apostle Paul’s command is that, as followers of Jesus, we are to live in such a way that places others before ourselves. Paul revealed for us the reality that our joy grows when we consider others more important than ourselves. A trait of gospel centered unity is that those in gospel centered community consider others moiré important than themselves and place others before themselves.

Wednesday, we saw Paul command the members of the church at Philippi and us here today to have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. If Paul was giving us this command in the language we use today, the command would sound something like this; be dominated by the same kind of thinking that dominated Jesus; have the same focused mindset that Jesus had.

Paul’s point here is that although Jesus existed from all eternity as God, He did not consider and regard His high position as God as something that needed to be held onto or asserted in order to achieve personal advantage or prestige. In other words, Jesus never played the “God card”. Although He had every right to do so as the Creator of the universe, Jesus never played that God card. Jesus never used who He was in order to achieve personal advantage or prestige.

Instead of playing the God card, Paul explains to us in verse seven that Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant. Jesus laid aside His Divine prestige and prerogatives in order to engage and enter into our world.

Paul used a play on words here to reveal the reality that while Jesus could have kept a firm grasp on His Divine status and privilege, Jesus chose to let go of that status and instead chose to enter humanity to grasp and embrace the form of a condemned slave. Jesus entered into humanity and took on human nature so that He could not only be truly Divine; Jesus entered humanity and grasped and embraced the form of a condemned slave so that He could experience the human condition and the most profound and humbling manner. And Jesus purposefully laid aside His Divine status and the divine prerogatives so as to be able to die.

Paul’s point here is that Jesus Christ, as God in a bod, abandoned His entitlement so He could embrace humanity. And Paul’s point here is that as followers of Jesus our joy grows as we follow the example of Jesus. Our joy grows as we follow the example of Jesus who did not consider his personal status as something to be used to achieve an advantage over others. Our joy grows because we follow the mindset of Jesus who set aside His status for the needs of others.

Now you might be wondering “Well Dave, what Jesus did does not sound like it produced joy for Jesus. What Jesus did does not seem like it would produce a growing joy in the life of Jesus? So why would I even think that following the example of Jesus would result in my joy growing?” Great questions. Today, we see Paul provide the answer to those questions in Philippians 2:9-11. Let’s look at it together.

 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Here we see Paul reveal for us the reality that Jesus example of considering others as more important than Himself will provoke a response from the entire universe. First in verse nine, Paul states that Jesus example of considering others as more important than Himself, resulted in God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name. Paul’s point here is that because Jesus willingly chose to consider others as more important than Himself, God responded to Jesus focused mindset by raising Him to the highest of heights.

Paul continued by stating that God did this by giving Jesus the title that is above every other title. In verse ten and eleven Paul then reveals for us the response of the entire universe to the example of Jesus considering others as more important than Himself. Paul explained that our response to the example of Jesus will be that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. At the end of God’s story here on earth, all humanity will respond to example of Jesus considering others as more important than Himself. All of humanity will bow their knee, which is a sign of submission.

Paul is explaining that at the title that God gave Jesus, every being and power will submit to His prestige and preeminence; whether the beings and powers reside in the Heavenly places, whether the beings and powers reside on earth, or whether the beings or powers reside under the earth. There is no place in existence that will not submit to the title that God gives His Son Jesus. 

In verse 11, Paul concludes this section of his letter by stating that not only will every being and power submit to the title that God gives His Son Jesus; Paul states that every tongue will confess the title that Jesus Christ is Lord. The word Lord is given to one who is in the position of authority. Paul’s point is that every being will openly and publically declare and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is large and in charge. This response of submission and acknowledgment of the mindset of Jesus will result in God receiving glory. This glory is the honor that comes from the recognition of the status or performance of someone.

As a result of God’s eternal plan and the focused mindset of Jesus to accomplish God’s plan of rescue, God will receive the maximum honor that He is so worthy of. You see, the reason why following the example of Jesus will result in growing joy is because Jesus had a mindset, an attitude of delight in life that took the long view and was not based, limited, or tied to external circumstances. Jesus is a mind-set that produces a quality of life that recognized the eternal significance and impact that His circumstances would have when it came to the advancement of the kingdom mission that He had been given. Jesus found joy in the midst of the difficult circumstances that He faced because Jesus understood that God was at work through His difficult circumstances in a way that provided the opportunity for the rescue of all humanity. And as a result, as followers of Jesus our joy grows when we follow the example of Jesus.

And it is here that we see that Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless truth when it comes to finding joy in that our joy grows as we follow the example of Jesus by placing others first in a community that is marked by gospel-centered unity. Our joy grows as we are united together in gospel centered community that is based on our mutual encouragement as a result of our faith in Christ, our mutual love for Jesus, and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence that connect us to Jesus and one another.

Our joy grows as we consider others more important than ourselves when we rid ourselves of selfish ambition or exaggerated self examination and when we humbly consider others more important than ourselves. And our joy grows as we follow the example of Jesus, who did not consider His personal status as something to be used to achieve an advantage over others but instead set aside His status for the needs of others.  

You see, that is why the church is the hope of the world. That is why the church is so central to what God want to do in the world and in the lives of His followers. That is why followers of Jesus are called by God to partner with what He is doing in the world by partnering with a local church. Because as we have seen this morning, our joy grows as we follow the example of Jesus by placing others first in a community that is marked by gospel-centered unity.

So here is a question to consider: Where are you trying to find joy? Are you at a place in your life where you are growing in joy?

Because the timeless reality is that our joy grows as we follow the example of Jesus by placing others first in a community that is marked by gospel-centered unity...