Most Read Bible Verses---#60---Philippians 2:1-4

Philippians 2:1-4 (GWT)

So then, as Christians, do you have any encouragement? Do you have any comfort from love? Do you have any spiritual relationships? Do you have any sympathy and compassion? Then fill me with joy by having the same attitude and the same love, living in harmony, and keeping one purpose in mind.  Don’t act out of selfish ambition or be conceited. Instead, humbly think of others as being better than yourselves.  Don’t be concerned only about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others.

If you wish to live each day of your life as a sincere, authentic Christian, play close attention to the words of these four verses.  The first verse gives four challenges to the Christian:

1.  Are you encouraged by the reality that you are a Christian?  You can tell by how cheerful you are.  A grumpy Christian is an oxymoron.

2.  Are you comforted by the love of Christ in your heart?  You can tell by your sense that the Lord is helping you through whatever life is throwing at you.  Do you have peace of mind and heart?  If not, you might be doing something outside of God’s will for you. 

3.  Do you have a relationship with others through the Spirit of Christ?  You can tell by listing a critical number of Christian brothers and sisters you feel spiritually close to.  Do you have Christians in your life to whom you feel free to share almost anything? 

4.  Do you have sympathy and compassion for others?  You can tell by having recurring thoughts of others, praying for them, and wanting to reach out to them.  Sympathy and compassion for others are indicators of your selflessness.  How selfless are you? 

In each of these four challenges in Phil 4:1 there is a give and take, that you are giving encouragement, comfort, relationship, sympathy, and compassion and also you are receiving these from others.  Of course, you need to do what you have control over and that is your own attitudes and actions.  You cannot fret over what others do or don’t do. 

The second verse list four ways that you should respond because you are a sincere and authentic Christian:

1.  Unity in attitude—you are like-minded with other Christians.  This does not mean that you must think and act like others, but you do need to have the mind of Christ.  You see things, think about things and respond to things the way He would. 

2.  Unity in love—you need to have the same love toward others as Christ had, as He preached and demonstrated.  Remember that He gave His life for the benefit of others (John 15:13).  You are His friend if you do what He commands (John 15:14) and His greatest commands are to love God and to love others as yourself.

3.  Living in harmony—you are willing to work with other Christians toward a common goal and not do things that cause disruption and chaos.

4.  Living with one purpose in mind—what is the one purpose in the mind of a dedicated, faithful, authentic Christian?  I think Matthew 6:33 says it best, to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  Seeking God is best defined as loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind and loving others as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40).  

Verses 3-4 point out the difference between a Christian led by the Holy Spirit and a Christian not led by the Spirit (such a Christian is called casual or carnal Christian).  In fact, you cannot live a life that is unselfish and humble with the desire to serve others first unless you are filled with the Holy Spirit.  Do you realize that the greatest enemies of the Christian faith and unity are selfish ambition and conceit (self-centeredness).  Examine your life, especially as it relates to your involvement in your local church.  Is there anything you are doing that is promoting your own interest(s)? 

You can also ask this question of yourself as a husband/wife, father/mother, son/daughter, and supervisor/ employee/co-worker.  Application of these verses contributes greatly toward highly successful and ever-lasting marriages.

It is a natural human attitude to read/hear encouragement about putting others first and living a life of unselfishness and humility and ask the question that a little boy asked his mother after she lectured him on the need to be unselfish and help others first----“Well, then, what are the others here for?”  A reasonable and logical question, but the more mature you are as a Christian soul, the less you will concern yourself with what others do or don’t do.  We each answer ultimately to God through Christ and we hope someday to hear these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).  Will He say this about you if you were to die today?  If so, you are blessed.  If not, pray over Philippians 2:1-4 and ask the Lord to help you develop these attitudes, actions, and character.