Read Philippians 2:19-30

If you were in jail in a foreign city and had only two close friends there, under what circumstances would you part with one of them? Paul’s two friends were Timothy (read more about him in Acts 16:1-4) and Epaphroditus, who seems to have been a member of the Philippian church. The Philippians sent him to Rome with an offering to help care for Paul’s needs. Paul, in great humility and love, is willing to send both of them back to Philippi to help that church.

While in Rome, Epaphroditus became ill and nearly died. News of his illness, but not of his recovery, got back to Philippi, causing distress. To make things worse, Epaphroditus was homesick. Goodness knows Paul could have used the help in Rome. Prisoners were dependent on someone outside the prison for most personal needs.

It was a mark of Paul’s loving concern for these people that he is willing to send not only Timothy to them, but Epaphroditus as well. Seeing him recovered would be a vast relief to his fellow church members. Paul sends this letter by him, another comfort. Paul says he hopes to be released. Since that was a very uncertain event, he says only that he trusts in the Lord to come to them himself shortly. Paul has already made it clear that whether he lives or dies, it is all right with him.

Are we that unselfish?

Read Philippians 2:12-18

If you ever planted flowers or vegetables, who grew the garden, you or God? If you had not planted the seed, weeded and fertilized, would it have grown? If God’s sun had not shone, rains come, and the seeds germinated, would it have matured? There is no contradiction. You and God worked together to make your garden grow. Paul sees no inconsistency between believers working out salvation and the power to do so coming from God.

Notice that God does two things to help us: makes us willing to obey him and makes us able to do so (v. 13). Can you have one without the other? You surely can. Remember the man who said, “I know I ought to be unselfish, but how do I make myself want to be?” The answer is, you can’t. God’s part is to help us to be both willing to obey him and able to do so. How else could we achieve Paul’s direction to do “everything without complaining or arguing”?

Ask God to help you work with him. Paul says the result will be spectacular. Your life will stand out from the “crooked and depraved generation” around you like stars against the midnight sky.

We are not here just to look pretty. Our task is to offer Christ’s gospel to all we meet. You do that, says Paul, and I’ll be proud of you. He and Jesus both.

Read Philippians 2:5-11

Paul doesn’t ask much of us, does he? Just that our attitude toward life should be the same as that of Jesus. What was that?

Paul’s letter to the Philippians does not have a vast logical structure, like Romans. Yet, suddenly Paul bursts forth into carefully constructed thoughts. The passage is flowing, almost a hymn in honor of Christ.

Jesus was the Christ, Paul makes clear, fully divine with all the power and glory of God his Father. He laid it aside. He looked like any other man. And was scorned.

What did he do when people scorned him? Correct his critics? Become shrill and defensive? Never. He went on with his work, preaching and teaching. He allowed himself to be crucified, dying like a criminal.

The story does not end there. Jesus walked, God in a humble human form, for 33 earth years. God the Father waited. The Son died. Then the Father acted. He exalted his Son, raising him from the dead and taking him back to heaven to sit in glory at the right hand of the Father.

The loudest atheist, the strongest critic, all those who have ignored Jesus through the centuries, some day every last one of them will honor him, forced to admit who he really is (vv. 10-11).

In the meantime, Paul says, imitate Jesus, with the heart of a servant, not demanding all that we think is rightfully ours.

Read Philippians 2:1-4

Have you ever been asked to answer a list of questions? At the end it said, “If your answer to any of the above is ‘no,’ explain fully.” If our answer to any of the circumstances in v. 1 is “no,” then we have some explaining to do.

The first three converts to Christ in Philippi were a wealthy businesswoman (Acts 16:14), a slave girl (Acts 16:16-18), and the jailer at the local prison (Acts 16:29-34). How do you build a strong, unified church from persons of such diverse background?

Notice how Paul goes about answering that question. First he ticks off the qualities the life in Christ imparts to Christ’s followers. Strength and encouragement, comfort, the fellowship of God’s presence through his Spirit in you. Then he indicates the effect upon your relationship with others that God’s presence in you makes possible. Tenderness toward others, compassion, love, unselfishness, a genuine concern for other people’s interests.

Does he say you have to agree on everything? Not at all. What he does say in verses 3-4 is actually a restatement of the Golden Rule—treat others as you would like to be treated.

Paul probably brought this up because divisions were beginning in the Philippian church, a lack of Christian unity. Paul says the life in Christ that binds you together is a lot bigger than petty differences. Any disunity like that in your church or mine?