Have the Attitude of Christ
Introduction:
Philippians
Living the Christian Life
Chapter 2:1-11
Live lives that are united in thought and purpose with other believers and dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another.
Verses 1-4 give us a foundation for living in unity with other believers.
Philippians 2:1-4 NLT
Have the Attitude of Christ
2:1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Examine the scriptures:
Philippians 2:1-4 NLT
Have the Attitude of Christ
2:1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? (Belonging to Christ means to be saved.) Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?
Paul begins by asking “Is there any …”
These are rhetorical questions.
Paul knows that the answer to his questions (for believers) is “YES”.
We know that we can receive encouragement from belonging to Christ.
We know that we can be comforted by the love of Christ.
We know that we can have fellowship with other believers because of the Holy Spirit.
We know that God has given us tender and compassionate hearts.
Do we really understand what it means to be a child of God?
Four incentives.
Verse one could say:
Since you have encouragement from belonging to Christ. (We have been given an Advocate, Comforter, Encourager, or Counselor)
Since you have comfort from His love.
Since you have fellowship together in the Spirit.
Since your hearts are tender and compassionate.
All of this is being offered to us on a daily basis.
2 Then make me truly happy
“make my joy complete” NIV
by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other,
“by being like-minded” NIV
A common purpose
Be one in purpose.
We are to use our different spiritual gifts in a cooperative way, focusing on God’s glory.
We all know that the body has many different parts. (1 Corinthians 12:12-31.)
Look at:
1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT
10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
- Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
Paul continues this theme through verse 4.
loving one another,
John 13:34 NLT (Maundy Thursday)
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
- Love one another.
Mark 12:28-34 NLT
The Most Important Commandment
28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
and working together with one mind and purpose.
Be one in purpose. (Common goals.)
Paul is telling the Philippians that they need to live together with each other in harmony and love.
Romans 15:5 NLT
5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 13:11 NLT
11 Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
- All Christians should live together in harmony and love.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.
- Don’t be selfish.
Concerned chiefly with your own personal profit or pleasure.
- Self-centeredness is a mortal enemy of unity and harmony in the church.
Self-centeredness is a desire of our sinful nature.
Galatians 5:19-21 NLT
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.
Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Romans 12:10 NLT
10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Ephesians 5:21 NLT
21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
1 Peter 5:5 NLT
5 … . And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
- Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Galatians 5:26 NLT
26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
1 Corinthians 10:24 NLT
24 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.
Everyone naturally looks out for his or her own interests.
- The challenge here is for us to look out for the interests of others in the same way we look out for our own interests.
This can only be accomplished when the Holy Spirit is active in our lives. Refer back to verse 1.
Scripture tells us that we have the Holy Spirit living in us.
1 Corinthians 6:19 NLT
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?
Galatians 5:16 NLT
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
Psalm 143:10 NLT
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward
on a firm footing.
Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Ephesians 3:16 NLT
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
- Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
- Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.
