Danger, Will Robinson! Philippians 2.1-4

Be "One" . . . or ‘Danger, Will Robinson…!’  Philippians 2.1-4

I do not really remember much about the television program, but I vividly recall the robot saying, “Danger, Will Robinson…Danger!”  He swung his arms about as he warned the boy.  In a sense, Paul is playing the robot here in Philippians chapter two.  ‘Warning… you may be putting yourselves in jeopardy!’

First, let’s get our bearings--Paul went to great lengths to tell the Philippian church of his love and appreciation for their loyalty to him, and their faithfulness to God (in chapter one).  Then he reminds them what they have in their body of believers:  encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, mercy and compassion.  And then he says, ‘make my joy complete by being of the same mind’—which really served as a passionate way of saying, ‘stay united’.  Take a look:

“If the fact that you are in Christ has any power to influence you, if love has any persuasive power to move you, if you really are sharing in the Holy Spirit, if you can feel compassion and pity, complete my joy, for my desire is that you should be in full agreement, loving the same things, joined together in soul, your minds set on the one thing.  Do nothing in a spirit of selfish ambition, and in a search for empty glory, but in humility let each consider the other better than himself.  Do not be always concentrating each on your own interests, but let each be equally concerned for the interests of others.”  Philippians 2.1-4, NRSV

Yes, word had gotten back to Paul that the Philippian community was in danger—it was being threatened from within—by disunity.  The danger is of course, as old as man, selfish ambition put ahead of the good of the cause; and in this case, the cause had to be preserved, protected, and revered above anything else—the cause of Christ.  But notice with me that at the start, the seeds of disunity often lie in just motives.  See, when people are serious about their faith, and their beliefs or convictions really matter to them, then they are apt to come into conflict with others who may see the living out of those beliefs differently.  The greater the enthusiasm (or depth of conviction), and the stronger the personalities, the greater potential for disunity that may lead to schisms in the community, which may in turn lead to irreparable disrepair.  And then, the cause of Christ is set back, and the Church gets a black eye.

Everyone likes to talk about the ‘fruit of the Spirit’—you know, love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness … oh yeah, and self control…keeping self under control, Friends.1   But we must note that before Paul teaches about these, he mentions the ‘acts of the flesh’, which include, ‘discord, selfish ambitions, dissensions, and factions…’!2   Not only are these not to have any part in the Christian community, but Paul says ‘those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God’!

And Jesus?  What would Jesus say about disunity in the Church?  “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”3  So it would seem that

            >disunity in the Christian community does not show the world love.It does not bring honor to the name of Jesus Christ.  (Now of course, if an individual is departing from Scripture, there must be correction, but we must not divide over ‘non-essentials’…music styles for worship, tattoos…. remember, in the 1960s hair length for men was a huge issue, now time has given us perspective, and we see how silly that was.)

Paul does not disappoint; within this short passage, he lists five considerations, which, if heeded, should maintain harmony.  First, having Christ in common should keep us united.  In our desire to honor him, we do all to maintain the bond of peace. 

Then, the power of our Christian love should rise above individual differences and selfishness, or ‘selfish ambition,’ which is an even more apt term.  Christian love should seek the good of others before its own, right?  True love only comes from God, and it is the highest good we are able to know and realize, this side of Heaven.  Godly love is the currency with which we Christians must trade, and it must be preserved ahead of individuality, ahead of the ‘almighty self,’ which is so esteemed today.

The third unifying truth of Christianity is the presence of the Holy Spirit, which knits believers together, one with another.  Elsewhere, Paul told us to ‘keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit,’4 by refraining from sin, staying in the Word, being prayerful, and being desirous of the Spirit, and the things of the Spirit.  When believers are filled with the Holy Spirit instead of themselves, there is just not much room for disharmony.

Our Savior was the paragon of compassion, and our Christian community must hold this as one of its distinctives—Compassion will be tramped out by disunity.

Finally, Paul appeals to the Philippian believers on a personal note—‘make my joy complete by being of the same mind’.  Paul’s passionate desire for unity to be maintained is the cry of our Lord:  ‘Child, bring honor to my Father, and be worthy of the name ‘Christian’ by maintaining unity with one another in the community of Christ.  Be one.’

Grace and Peace,

Christine

1  Galatians 5.22-23

2  Galatians 5.19-21

3  John 13.35

4  Ephesians 5.18