Philippians 1: 27-30

Philippians1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ...

Recent context

Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again.

Points from the last lesson

l Had an incredible conversion, testimony, and even a vision of Paradise.

l He was powerfully used of the Lord, but also suffered persecution and hardship.

l He was fine to die and be with Christ, but OK to stay and minister to the Philippians.

l The Lord will also give us opportunities to share our clear, concise testimony.

l You don't have to prove anything, and no one can argue with your testimony.

How we'll approach this today

First we'll take an overview of the passage as a whole.

Then we'll double back and focus on a portion of this passage.

Topics of Paul's letters included

l Encouragement to his disciples

l Salvation by grace through faith

l Continued growth of his disciples

l How they should live

l We'll look at that in today's passage.

Today - Philippians 1:27-30

27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 and in no way alarmed by your opponents— which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God. 29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

The Passage phrase by phrase

l 27a “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ...

l 27b “...so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that...

l 27c “...you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Spoiler alert – we'll come back to this verse.

The Passage continued...

l 28a “...and in no way alarmed by your opponents...

l 28b “...which is a sign of destruction (perdition) for them,

l 28c “...but of salvation for you, and this too, from God.

The Passage continued...

l29 “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf,”

l 30 “...experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”

Most of us haven't suffered persecution for Christ, but Paul says it's a privilege.

What is the “conflict” Paul refers to here?

Paul has already told us of his “conflict”

Phil 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.

Think about that – it's Very Heavy

l The Lord has blessed us in many ways...

l But whatever our challenges have been...

l They are small in comparison to those of Paul and the New Testament church.

l Whatever Paul and the Lord ask of us in this life and in this epistle...

l Others have paid a much higher price.

Paul (and the Lord) have the right to ask some things of us.

Paul's ask - he wants them in Unity

l He wanted to hear that they were “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;” (Phil 1:27)

l So simply “striving (individually) for the faith of the gospel” was not enough.

l This was not to be just an individual effort.

l They had to be “striving together in one spirit and one mind for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27c).

In fact Paul mentions Unity often in Philippians and other letters

l This is actually the first of seven times he mentions the subject of unity in this epistle.

l He was not writing letters about random things. l Paul and others wrote them to address specific

needs.

l For all the good things Paul mentions about the the Philippians, they needed to grow in unity.

Paul loved and complimented the Philippians, but later in his letter...

They were not perfect – just as we are not.

l 4:2 “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also, help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel... whose names are in the book of life.”

Two Christian women, who had ministered with Paul were at odds – this is how easy it is....

It was affecting the whole church and Paul wanted it resolved because it can spread.

Unity is Critical – this is why it's also the last word in Paul's epistles

l Philippians 4:21 “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.”

l He's promoting unity and goodwill.

l In fact he does this in almost all of his letters.

l Greetings at the end of Romans (chapter 16) are 14 verses long!

Our Lord Jesus also wants us to be in unity

l John 17:23 “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me.”

l Matthew 5:23 “...if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

l Matthew 7:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Because without unity...

l We are no different than the world around us. l We have a bad attitude and a poor witness.

l We've fallen short of the Lord's will for us.

l We can't do what He wants us to do.

l We forget that we need each other.

l We lack humility and miss God's grace (James

4:6)

l Does anyone want to be a part of a church (or anything else) with no unity?

But what is Unity?

l Do we need to have the same background, or the same ethnicity?

l Do we have to agree on everything?

l Do we have to like everything about the other

person? (Words from Christian speaker, and work)

l Per the Oxford Dictionary: the state of being in agreement (on the mission) and working together; the state of being joined together to form one unit.

But isn't Unity Automatic?

l Is it????

l Is everyone in unity in secular organizations? l Not in my experience – how about yours?

l Is it complete in churches in general?

l How about Baptist churches?

l Did Paul always find it in the churches he ministered to?

Unity usually requires work

l Clay said at the deacon retreat that unity is hard.

l It requires commitment, and work and the Spirit.

l If it was easy, there wouldn't be so many denominations.

l If it was easy, there wouldn't be so many church splits.

We're redeemed, but human, so It's easy to ...

l Misunderstand someone's words

l Fail to appreciate their situation or the

pressures they may be under

l Think I can read their mind and motives

l Get hurt feelings about something and become offended

l But we can't nurse such feelings.

But Paul taught (and God wants us) to get back in unity.

Ephesians 4:1 “I therefore ... urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling ... 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

l l l l

Similar to Philippians 1:27 – walk worthy. Think about those words...

The bar is high for Christians

Does anyone pop into your mind?

We can't hang onto a grudge...

l No, no, no!

l We can't hold a grudge in the Kingdom of God. l It's strictly against the rules.

At times we may need to...

l Talk through an issue with someone l Forgive them

l Grant grace to them

l Say we're sorry

l Make our own changes

l What would your marriage or close friendship

be like if you never did the things above? l The same is true in the Body of Christ.

Thankful to be in this class

l We've loved this class since we first joined Johnson Ferry in 2004.

l It's a class full of mature believers who show a lot of love and unity.

l The members serve the Lord joyfully in many different ways.

l And we've always had a lot of activities that promote fellowship and unity.

l Generally we're a close knit group.

Thankful to be in this church

l We believe in a never changing message, but ever changing methods.

l Easy to say, until my favorite things are affected.

l I think our leaders have good intentions.

l If you have a concern, talk to the leadership.

l But pray first, wait, then discuss without anger, and talk nicely.

l Not an email, text, etc!

We must be doing something right. l While some churches are dying....

l We're bursting at the seams – hard to find a seat if you're late to church.

l The Bible is being preached.

l People are being saved – and are growing. l Missionaries are being sent out.

l Our congregation is giving generously.

l Our staff is loved and appreciated..

l We should count our blessings.

Thoughts or Comments on Unity?

Today's Takeaways

l Unity is vital for any organization.

l We don't have to agree about everything.

l But unity among believers is the Lord's command.

l And it's essential to carrying out our mission. l All believers are one in Christ, and all are

indwelt by the same Holy Spirit.

l But practical unity requires patience, maturity, God's grace, and sometimes self sacrifice.

Let's close with this thought...

Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers (and sisters) to live together in unity!