explore9_21_90803

Posted: 9/5/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Sept. 21

Humility is a key ingredient in good relationships

Philippians 2:1-11

By John Duncan

Lakeside Baptist Church, Granbury

The saying goes, “Pride is like a man's shirt. It is the first thing on and the last thing off.” Augustine, in his Confessions, talked of “men so blind that they take pride in their blindness.” He admitted his own pride, a hard thing to do. This Scripture passage speaks of pride's cure and the most essential element for peace with God and harmony in relationships–humility.

Fred Craddock gives context to humility in Philippi, “What we know for sure, however, is that Paul regarded as inappropriate to the body of Christ the selfish eye, the pompous mind, the ear hungry for compliments and the mouth that spoke none, the heart that had little room for others, and the hand that served only the self.”

Paul's antidote for pride was humility. Paul's prescription for a healthy church was humility. Paul's model for humility was Jesus. Christian service and church unity begin with Jesus. Paul looks at Jesus' eye, mind and heart.

Be like?

Paul never forgets the cross in his own suffering or in encouraging the early church. He encourages the saints, an encouragement flowing from the life of the Holy Spirit in him. Paul invites the Christians to unity, a mind joined to Christ and lives focused on one purpose. To use Rick Warren's phrase, Paul desires the church to be “purpose-driven.”

The church's primary purpose was not to be driven for success, an aim prone to produce pride, but to be driven to service, an aim prone to reproduce the life of Christ in them. Paul yearns for the church to experience joy beyond daily circumstances, a joy which surrounds itself with encouragement, comfort, fellowship, affection and compassion (Philippians 2:1-2).

Paul's purpose of joy led him to deliver two commands: (1) Do nothing out of self-seeking pursuit for honor; (2) humble yourself and focus (Greek, “scope”) upon the interests and needs of others (Philippians 2:3-4).

Paul sounds like Jesus saying go the second mile or give someone the coat off of your back in his Sermon on the Mount. Paul's concept of genuine virtue, of which the world of the day had deep desires, centers not on the development of the self as much as it centered on the development of the soul for service. Paul's idea invites a deliberate decision to Christian virtue that means valueing others before you value yourself. The Bible scholar Moule calls this “self-forgetful cooperation.” Paul's two commands narrow to one practical, action-packed word–humility.

Humility maintains, according to the scholar Vincent, lowliness with “a sense of sinfulness” (Romans 3:23). Martyn-Lloyd Jones acknowledges the tension between vain-glory and humility. He says, vain-glory “is just another term, of course, for pride, man's conceit, and, according to the Bible, that is the ultimate source of discord and all these troubles.” Paul called for unity of heart, mind, soul and purpose individually and corporately as a church. Rather than raise a fist, Paul preached the Christ-like humility of bending the knee.

Example

In Paul's training in the world of philosophy and rhetoric (speech) he learned the classic Roman feature of giving a command (humble yourself) and then presenting a picture or example of what the command calls for.

Here Paul states the charge–humility. Next, he paints a word portrait for individuals and displays a model for the church of genuine humility–Jesus Christ. Paul tells us that the life of Jesus was a life of humility. He expresses that in a hymn (Philippians 2:5-11). Scholars believe these words were sung as a hymn in the first century church. What portrait of Jesus did the apostle Paul paint? What hymn did first century Christians sing?

Paul challenged the followers of Jesus at Philippi to think. Have the mind of Christ. Possess the attitude of Jesus. Think in the way of humility.

Henry Nouwen once challenged Christians, “What needs to be guarded is the life of the Spirit within us.” Paul here calls for Christians to guard the life of Christ's Spirit, to make Christ the example to follow, and to relate to people in the way Christ related to them. You need only to look to the Gospels to view specific examples of Jesus' Spirit, example and relationships. Think like Jesus.

Paul speaks of both the divinity and humanity of Jesus as he invites Jesus' followers to think like Jesus.

Three essential elements flow from this passage on Jesus' humility. These three elements serve as a key to humility in your life and in the church. First, completely empty the soul of self (Philippians 1:7, literally, “kenosis,” that is, to empty). When Christ fills the heart, he empties the old life and fills it with his new. Christ's life in us makes us think of God. It moves us to care for and think of others.

Second, humility pursues the cross (Philippians 1:8). Jesus as the supreme example of humility gave his life on the cross. Pursuing the cross involves sacrificing because Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice.

Third, humility bends the knee (Philippians 2:9-11). The hymn of Philippians sets forth an example of Christ as the mode of maintaining church unity and as the model for church growth–serving with the mind of Christ. Confess Christ now. After all, one day every one will confess Christ.

Questions for discussion

Is humility a trait we cultivate in our culture? Why or why not?