SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON PLAN 3 - Phil. 2:1-11 - LIKE-MINDED BELIEVERS
LAST WEEK: In Phil. 1:19-30, we heard Paul share his dilemma over his uncertain future. Instead of being preoccupied with his miserable situation in the Roman jail, he remained completely focused on the future. He was really divided on the issue of whether it was better to die and be with Christ or better to live so he could continue his work for the cause of Christ in this world. And very noticeably, he maintained a very positive attitude about either option. He looked forward to the possibility of being freed from jail because he knew that a long as he lived God had a purpose and plan for his life. Moving from himself to the Philippians, who were proud of their Roman citizenship, Paul told them that their citizenship in God's kingdom should press them to work for better unity, for meeting the needs of others, and for reaching more people with the gospel. Lastly, with Paul himself as their example, he told them that their sufferings would only serve to make them much stronger.
THIS WEEK: In Phil 2:1-11, we will hear Paul impart some of the most memorable verses of all his writings. In the first five verses, he connects the blessings of being a Christian with the corresponding results in a Christian's life: we experience comfort, encouragement, love, and unity as saved believers in Christ. Because of this, we should express comfort, encouragement, love, and unity to our fellow believers. Here again, Paul emphasizes that how a Christian thinks-how we form our attitudes-is absolutely critical to living the Christian life. This sets up his classic description of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on our behalf, starting in verse 6. In verses 6-11 he gives a poetic description of Jesus' willingness to humble Himself for our sakes. Instead of coming first as God and King, Jesus freely took on the form of a human being. He was humiliated and oppressed, following the will of the Father, in order to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. As a result, ''Jesus'' will be given the ultimate glory and honor. Eventually, all people, whether they want to or not, will admit that Jesus Christ is, in fact, Lord. For some, sadly, this will happen too late.
Read Phil. 2:1-2 - MAKE MY JOY COMPLETE
1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
v. 1: "Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion" - With the word, "Therefore," Paul incorporates what he had just said to the Philippians in the previous chapter about handling external conflicts as a transition to the new theme of taking strong action to deal with the internal conflicts in their church. He's using a little wordplay here. When a speaker begins a statement with the conjunction "if," it can mean something that may be true or not true, and the actual meaning will depend on the context. In Paul's context, he intends the statements to be true, for example: There is encouragement of Christ, consolation of love, fellowship of the Spirit, affection and compassion. It's as if he expected his Philippian audience to nod their heads and say, "Yes, of course!" This sets up the next verse.
v. 2: "make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose" - The term, "my joy," refers to Paul's gospel partnership with the Philippian church, and any partnership requires equal effort on both sides. He's saying you need to "make my joy complete"-i.e., live up to your side of the partnership-by doing four things that all have to do with building and maintaining unity in the church. He issues four commands:
• "Being of the same mind" = this isn't uniformity of thought like robots but sharing the same attitude about the need to work together in the church.
• "Maintaining the same love" = this is agapē love, which is unconditional and unselfish love. It doesn't mean that we enjoy the company of the people we work with or even like them but means we are willing to do practical actions for their benefit without expecting anything in return.
• "United in spirit" = Notice the lower case "s." This means living and working in harmony with one another, which requires good communication, thoughtfulness, and a willingness to give-in to others.
• "intent on one purpose" = the entire church has one goal: to glorify God by serving His kingdom on earth. Together, these ideas create a level of unity that enables church members to draw strength from one another, and a unified church is more powerful than a big church.
APPLICATION 1: All church members are partners in the gospel. This partnership is empowered by (1) being of the same mind, (2) maintaining the same love (agapē love), (3) being united in spirit, and (4) intent on one purpose. These four characteristics create a level of unity that enables church members to draw strength from one another. Unity is key to the gospel partnership because a unified church is more powerful and effective for cause of the gospel than a big church.
Read Phil. 2:3-4 - CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER WITH HUMILITY
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
v. 3a: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit" - This was a contrast to the "envy and strife" Paul encountered from some in the Roman church (1:15, 17). The word for "selfishness" (Gk. eritheia) is the same word used for a mercenary, i.e., totally self-seeking, and "empty conceit" (GK. kenodoxia) describes a person who seeks to glorify (Gk. doxa) self-a baseless opinion of self.
v. 3b: "but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves" - The word for "humility" (Gk. tapeinophrosynē) means making a conscious decision to lower yourself below others. This call runs completely counter to much of the worldly advice we hear today to be "proud and assertive-don't let people use you as a doormat!"
v. 4: "do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" - This defines what it means to make others more important than yourself. The key word is "merely." "Self-interest isn't wrong per se but is wrong when you consider your interests superior to those of others. As Christians, we should be "other-centered"-focused on the needs and successes of others.
APPLICATION 2: Being "other-centered" forms a strong example of unselfishness and humility. Humility is the key, lowering yourself in a conscious desire to put others first. This completely goes against the world's advice to be "proud, assertive, and don't let people use you as a doormat!"
Read Phil. 2:5-8 - HE EMPTIED HIMSELF
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.
v. 5: "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus´- This verse serves as the bridge between vv. 1-4 and vv. 6-8-between what we think and what Christ thought. In it, Paul calls us to emulate Christ Jesus, who committed Himself to serving an undeserving people at great personal cost. Without adopting Christ's attitude, we could never accomplish what Christ wants us to do-i.e., to be united in mind, love, and harmony. Although we could never repeal the "law of self-interest" on our own, it becomes possible for us to do these things once we have an example to follow, to show us how it's done. And that-precisely-is what Jesus Christ has done for us.
APPLICATION 3: The example of Christ enables us to repeal the "law of self-interest." Without adopting Christ's attitude, we could never accomplish what He wants us to do-to be united in mind, love, and harmony. Although we could never do this on our own, it became possible once we had the example of Christ to show us how it's done. An this is what Jesus Christ has done for us.
v. 6a: "who, as He already existed in the form of God" - This introduces the idea of the pre-existent Christ. Christ was in the form of God from the very beginning-before the creation of the world. He gave up being in the form of God in order to become a human baby.
v. 6b: "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped" - The word used here for "grasped" (Gk. harpagmos) means to exploit-use for your own benefit. Thus, Jesus did not count His Godly authority as something to be used for his own advantage. He understood His powers but was willing to sacrifice them in order to serve a higher cause-the salvation of humankind.
v. 7a: "but emptied Himself" - The word used here for "empty" (kenoó [ken-ah-oh]), means to make something void or harmless. To understand the full import of "emptied Himself," we must start with the fact that, before this, Christ was in the form of God and in every way equal to God. Then we must look at what He became as a result of His emptying.
v. 7b: "by taking the form of a bond-servant" - He took the form (Gk. morphe) of a "bond-servant" (Gk. doúlos, lit. one who belongs to another or a slave). So, Jesus came from the highest of the high to the lowest of the low. This was not a demotion forced on Him from on high; He took this upon Himself voluntarily to serve the needs of humankind.
v. 7c: "and being born in the likeness of men" - The "likeness" refers to the outward appearance-what people could see. Yet, Christ was at the same time, both fully human and fully divine-i.e., God in human form. But this ordinary "likeness" did not mean the he was, strictly speaking-ordinary.
v. 8a: "And being found in appearance as a man" - Again, "appearance" merely refers to what people could see; they saw a man who looked to all intents very ordinary.
v. 8b: "He humbled Himself" - The word used for "humbled" (Gk. tapeinoó [tap-i-no-oh], lit. to bring low); in Christ's case, He voluntarily put Himself in a lower place than He might have rightly occupied.
v. 8c: "by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross" - Christ set the ultimate example of humility when He willingly went his death out of obedience to His calling (to be a perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind) and to the Father. By doing this, He submitted to "death on a cross," the most shameful and painful form of death imaginable in His day. This is our example of humility.
APPLICATION 4: Jesus Christ set the ultimate example of humility. Jesus demonstrated this when he willingly went to death out of obedience to His calling (to be the perfect sacrifice for us) and to God. By doing this, He submitted to death on a cross, the most shameful and painful form of death in His day. Our legacy is His example of humility.
Read Phil. 2:9-11 - GOD HIGHLY EXALTED HIM
9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
v. 9a: "For this reason also God highly exalted Him" - The term, "highly exalted" (Gk. hyperupsosen) means to raise up to the very highest point of honor. Christ's exaltation began with His resurrection, which attested to His power over death. This is best understood as God's vindication of Christ's humiliating and shameful death. God effectively reversed the world's judgment of His Son by resurrecting Him from the dead and thereby confirming everything Jesus said and did in His earthly ministry. His exaltation will culminate with His Second Coming, when He will sit on His throne judging all the peoples of the world and separate the sheep (the saved) from the goats (the condemned) (Mt. 25:31-46; 1 Thess. 1:5-10; and Rev. 20:11-15).
v. 9b: "and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name" - God raised Christ even more on His ascension into heaven, where He exalted Him to His own right hand as "Prince and Savior" (Acts 1:9-12; 5:31). This is the exact same authority that Christ exercised at the Great Commission when He declared that, "all authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to Me" (Mt. 28:18).
APPLICATION 5: God exalted Jesus when he resurrected him from the dead and ascended him into heaven to sit on His right hand as Prince and Savior. By doing this, God reversed the world's judgment of His son and affirmed everything that Jesus said and did in His early ministry.
v. 10: "so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth" - This pronouncement is all-inclusive. As a result of His exaltation, all-everyone in heaven and on the earth-are subject to the Lordship of Jesus. Some of these knees will bow with worship and adoration while others will only bow by force, but in the end, all will bow. It remains for the Last Day of Judgment for Christ's exaltation to be made plain to all.
v. 11a: "and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" - This worship of Christ alludes to Isa. 45:23, where the prophet declared that, "The word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance." Even though Jesus is now exalted to the highest place, not all acknowledge Him as divine Lord. This prophecy will not be completely fulfilled until the end of the age.
v. 11b: "to the glory of God the Father" - In conclusion, Paul tells us here that Christ's lordship gives honor to God the Father. Jesus Christ is the manifestation of God, and God the Father and God the Son are so inextricably linked that we can say-with the Holy Spirit-they are one. So, when we honor Jesus Christ, we honor God the Father at the same time.
APPLICATION 6: Everyone is subject to the lordship of Jesus Christ. This includes everyone in heaven and on the earth. Even though Jesus is now exalted to the highest place, not all acknowledge Him as divine Lord; however, on the Day of judgment some knees will bow out of worship and adoration while others will only bow by force, but in the end, all will bow.
