Joy in Unity That Glorifies God
Sermon Series: Philippians
Unity in any community is formed around a shared purpose. Often people confuse unity for uniformity of thought or action. Many people are also threatened by differences of opinions, personalities, giftings, and hierarchies. The underlying assumption in these cases is that unity requires uniformity at every level. Still others assume that unity is the absence of conflict. Leaders and members of a church spend their time tiptoeing rather than marching in battle formation for the gospel. They assume the best course of action is to avoid conflict at all costs. The purpose of such communities morphs into ensuring the appearance of peace. The result is that the community loses its original purpose—any outward focus—and begins to exist for itself.
The church, however, does not exist for itself. As the people of God, the church exists for God—to worship him, to magnify him, to expand his kingdom. As the bride of Christ, the church exists for Jesus—honoring him, submitting to him. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, the church exists as a holy community.
The church is not a club. The church cannot be only inward-focused. Church membership does not exist to grant members privileges. Thus, any talk of church unity cannot be about the absence of differences—opinions, cultures, peoples, doctrinal positions, etc.
Our passage, Phil 2:1–11, describes a kind of unity that glorifies God and completes our joy. Hence, the title of my sermon is Joy in Unity that Glorifies God. Our topic is a God-glorifying, joy-producing, Christ-patterned, Spirit-empowered, ecclesial unity.
My sermon will show that joy is completed through humble-minded unity shaped by the self-humiliating Christ to the glory of God. I will show this in four parts. First, I will show us that this unity produces joy. Second, I will show how this unity is preserved in the church. Third, I will show how this unity is patterned after Christ. Finally, I will show that God’s glory is the purpose of the unity. The product of unity; the preservation of unity in the church; the pattern of unity in Christ’s humility; and the purpose of unity.
The Product of Unity
Our first stop today is the product of unity. Unity in the church is not an end in itself. It produces other results. It works in others in a certain way. We will look at the product of unity momentarily. Before that, we will look at what obligates unity. And after looking at the product of unity, we will look at the realm of unity.
The Gospel Obligates Unity
Look at v. 1. Paul says, “if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy…” If there is any is a Greek style of speech that should be read as “If, then, as we assume, comfort and exhortation in Christ amount to something, if consolation and encouragement from love amount to something, if sharing in the Spirit and the fellowship brought about by the Spirit amount to something, if affections and mercies amount to something…”[1] These are motivations. They produce an obligation on the Christian. Each of these is true because these are gospel realities.
It is because of Christ’s work on the cross and his resurrection—the gospel—that there is comfort and exhortation in Christ, consolation from love, fellowship in the Spirit, and affection and mercies. Thus, it is the gospel that obligates unity.
Unity is not Paul’s personal preference for the church. Unity is not one of many preferred states in which the church could glorify God. Unity is obligated by the gospel. And we will see why in a bit.
Unity Completes Joy
Look at v. 2. Paul commands the Philippians to complete his joy through unity. Actually, he uses four descriptors that we would sum up as unity. He calls for like-mindedness, having the same love, united in spirit, and minding one thing. When these are present, Paul says, his joy will be complete.
What then is the product of unity? It is the completion of joy. Unity does not produce joy in Paul; it completes his joy. Paul already rejoices in the gospel. His joy is in Christ. His joy is complete when others are like him, loving and serving God. When God’s people are united, it does not automatically birth joy in others. If that were so, then many who persecute the church shouldn’t be offended by the church and its unity; they should rejoice.
Christian unity does not give birth to joy in others. But it produces, increases, and completes the joy of others who are already happy in God. When a happy Christian hears about good work done by other Christians, they are not jealous or frustrated; they are all the happier. Your ability to rejoice in the work of the gospel is a very good indicator of your joy in God.
When you hear reports of gospel work, how does your heart respond? Joy, indifference, jealousy, or anger? When you see your brother or sister in the church serving the Lord, how does your heart respond? Those who are happy in God are happier still. Let us be a people who are happy in God.
Unity Is Visibly Ecclesial
This joy-producing unity is not an ethereal concept. No Christian can practice unity in isolation. It is absurd to think of a Christian who attends church services through livestream and claims to be united with the church. That statement requires qualification. There are some people who are bedridden or are caring for the ill and cannot go to a church gathering. Others have life-saving jobs that keep them from gathering with the saints at the appointed hour. I am not talking about them. Nor am I talking about a person who, for some reason, is in a remote location without access to a church. I am talking about a person who has no such limitation but, as a practice, is away from the gathered church.
People offer many reasons for staying away from the church. A common one is the claim that they love Jesus, but the church is full of people they cannot stand. They say, “We love Christ, but we do not like Christians.” What they are saying to Jesus is “We love you, Jesus. We hate your bride. We hate the one you died for. We hate the one you intercede for. We hate the one you are washing with your word. We hate the one that you are going to present to the Father spotless and blameless. She is full of wrinkles and spots at present. We cannot stand her.”
There are many commands in the Bible that you cannot obey unless you are in a local church. Like-mindedness, Humble-minded godly concern for one another cannot be practiced in isolation. It is impossible.
Unity, then, is visibly ecclesial. Unity is in the church. It takes place in the everyday life of the members of the church. It cannot be separated from the life of the church body. Hence, it is a joy-producing ecclesial unity.
The Preservation of Unity in the Church
We now turn to how this unity is preserved in the church. This unity has enemies and has a friend.
The Enemies of Unity: Selfish Ambition and Vain Conceit
The enemies of unity are selfish ambition and vain conceit. Look at v. 3. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit. The word selfish ambition is translated in other passages as rivalry or hostility. It therefore has two ideas: self-promoting action or other-destroying action. There is no place in the church for such service. God is not pleased by the service of those who serve to promote themselves or to spite someone else.
The second enemy is vain conceit. The underlying word for ‘conceit’ is not used anywhere else in the NT. It is a word that is a compound of empty and glory. Conceit here means empty glory. Remember, glory has to do with weightiness, the importance of someone. Thus, conceit is a person who has a sense of importance but is really empty. Christian unity cannot be achieved through conceit. Conceit hurts Christian unity. Conceit hurts Christian service. A person who puts on an air of importance in service does not serve others but themselves.
Paul names these two issues and says to do nothing in this fashion. These are enemies of unity.
The Friend of Unity: Humble-minded Concern
Instead of selfish ambition and vain conceit, Christians are exhorted to be humble-minded. He says in v. 3, “but in humility….” The word humility is a compound word again: to think + humble. So, here humility is humble-minded. In v. 8, where it says Jesus humbled himself, it does not use the same word as in v. 3. It only uses the humble part. Jesus did not have to be humble-minded; he actually humbled himself. To humble is to be low. Jesus lowered himself into the human form. Whereas, we Christians are not called to lower ourselves before one another. We cannot change our nature from human to something else. We are human. So we are not asked to become lower. We are called to count others as more significant by being humble-minded.
Being humble-minded, we are called not only to consider others as more significant but also to care for the interests of others, not only ourselves (see v. 4). These interests in others and ourselves are not anything-goes, limitless interests. These interests are the interests of Christ (see v. 21). The humble-minded Christian has Christ’s interests for himself and others.
The Pattern of Unity in Christ’s Humility
But how do we become humble-minded? Paul does not say humble-minded without having a pattern in mind. He gives the Philippians the pattern of Christ’s humility so that they will be humble-minded. Look at v. 5. V. 5 has Paul’s second command. Have this attitude/mind among yourselves, which was also in Christ. I said that the word ‘humility’ means ‘humble-minded.’ In v. 5, you find the word ‘mind.’ The pattern of Jesus explains the kind of humble-mindedness Christians must adopt. In this passage, we see three descriptions of Jesus’s humility: his self-giving, his self-emptying, and his self-humiliating.
Christ’s Self-Giving
Jesus gave himself for our salvation. Look at v. 6. Although he was in the nature of God, he did not consider equality with God as something to be held on to for advantage. He gave himself for us. Jesus is our pattern for caring for others’ interests, not just our own. Remaining what he was, he assumed what he was not. Jesus remained God and took on humanity in his self-giving redemptive work. Jesus alone is one person with two natures, divine and human. As God, he could have left humanity to the destruction we deserved, but he gave himself.
Our pattern is to grasp at recognition, rights, credit, comfort, control, etc. Jesus does not act from self-assertion but self-giving.
Christ’s Self-Emptying
Jesus also emptied himself by taking on the human nature. Jesus moves downward from the glory of heaven to servanthood, to human likeness.
He did not display vain conceit—empty glory. Rather, he emptied himself to the glory of God. Jesus did not pause to wonder how far down is too much. He went all the way down.
Christ’s Self-Humiliating
In going all the way down in lowering himself, Jesus humbled himself to the point of death, death on a cross.
Jesus’s pattern is the pattern God wants us to have. God does not require a polite or tame ego. He calls the church to a cruciform life. Why must we reject selfish ambition and vain conceit? Because Jesus did not live with selfish ambition and vain conceit. Why should we count others as more significant than ourselves? Because Christ stooped down to serve others beneath him. Why look to the interests of others? Because Christ did not please himself but served others.
The Purpose of Unity
But praise be to God that Jesus’s humiliation was not the end of his story. If it were, it would have also been the end of our story. Look at vv. 9–11.
Christ’s Humiliation Led to Exaltation
Jesus lowered himself. God exalted Jesus. God has exalted Jesus. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. He sits enthroned as the fulfillment of Pss 2 and 110. His humiliation was the path to his exaltation.
Christ’s Humiliation Ends in Universal Confession
It does not stop there; God also bestows on him the name above every name. Christ’s humiliation ends in universal confession. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. What a glorious exaltation! Every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. This is universal. There is no realm that is exempt from confessing the lordship of Jesus.
The Ultimate End Is the Glory of God
Look at that last phrase in v. 11. “To the glory of God.” Everything that Jesus did was aimed at the glory of God. Jesus did not redeem mankind for mankind’s glory but for God’s glory. Jesus’s humiliation was not an end in itself. The end is the glory of God.
The Church’s Unity Is Doxological
Therefore, the pattern that the church is to follow… the joy-producing, Christ-patterned, ecclesial unity is primarily and ultimately doxological. Its purpose is god’s glory. To seek unity that is man-centered, and merely to avoid conflict and discomfort, is not to see the pattern of Christ nor the purpose of God in all he does and all he commands.
We are therefore to have a God-glorifying, joy-producing, Christ-patterned, ecclesial unity. In order to have such a unity we need the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who makes us Christlike. The Holy Spirit is the one who glorifies God. The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us deeply cherish Jesus so that we can delightfully imitate him. Therefore, joy is completed through humble-minded unity shaped by the self-humiliating Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to the glory of God. Cross Cultured Church, may you have God-glorifying, joy-producing, Christ-patterned, Spirit-empowered, ecclesial unity.
[1] John H. P. Reumann, Philippians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 33B of AYB (Yale University, 2008), 297.