The
Danger of Disunity
(Philippians 2:1-4)
The
danger, which threatens the Philippian church, was disunity. It is the danger of
every healthy church. All of us interpret life from our own set of values and
customs; in other words we believe we are right about most things. When we
become fanatical about our beliefs, we eventually butt heads with someone who
disagrees with us. The stronger our convictions, the greater the chances that we
will collide with someone. This is the danger Paul addresses!
In
verse 3 Paul gives two causes of disunity.
1.
Selfish ambition.
There
is always the danger that people should work not to advance the work but to
advance themselves.
Prestige
is for many people a greater temptation than wealth. To be admired, to be
respected, to have a platform seat, to have one's opinion sought, to be known by
name, to be flattered, are for many people most desirable. The aim of the
Christian ought not to be self-display, but self-obliteration. (John 3:30-31)
We
should desire to focus men's eyes, not upon ourselves, but on God. (Matthew
5:16)
2.
Vain conceit.
The
concentration on self. If we are forever concerned first and foremost with our
own interests, we are bound to run into trouble. If we live only for ourselves,
then other human beings become our enemies or at least our opponents who must be
pushed out of the way. Concentration on self inevitably means elimination of
others; and the object of life becomes not to help others up but to push them
down. (Romans 12:16)
In
the remanded of these four verses Paul gives the cure for disunity.
1.
We are united in Christ. (verse 1a)
Above
all else, we are united in Christ. He
is the “Author and Perfecter of our faith” Hebrews 12:2. He is the Creator
of the Church, the Savior of the Church, the Sanctifier of the Church, the Fire
and Cleanser of the Church and some day we will be united with Him forever as
bride and bridegroom!
(Ephesians
5:25-27)
We
are united in three ways!
A. In Christ’s love. (verse
1b)
The
power of Christ’s love should keep us in unity. Christ’s love is that
unconquered good will which never knows bitterness and never seeks anything but
the good of others. It is not a mere reaction of the heart...it is a victory of
the will, achieved by the help of Jesus Christ. It does not mean loving only
those who love us, or those whom we like, or those who are lovable. It means
loving those who hate us, loving those who do not like us, loving the unlovely.
This
is the very essence of the Christian life, and it affects us in time and in
eternity. (Matthew 5:43-48)
B. In Christ’s Holy Spirit. (verse
1c)
The
Holy Spirit binds man to God and man to man.
It
is the Holy Spirit who enables us to live the life of Christ, which is the life
of God. If a man lives in disunity with his brother, he shows that the gift of
the Spirit is not his. (I John
4:20)
C. In Christ’s compassion. (verse
1d)
Each
of us has experienced the mercy of having our sins forgiven and our lives filled
with the compassion of Jesus. (Ephesians 2:3-7) We all know the kindness and
tenderness of God through Jesus Christ!
2.
Consider others better than yourselves (verse 3b)
Take the back seat, hold the
door for someone else, wait your turn, let someone else have the last cookie,
let the other car merge into your lane and so on!!
(Titus
3:1-2)
3.
Look to the interests of others. (verse 4b)
The
word “look” is the Greek word Skopeo that means to spy, to watch, to
aim. We get our word “scope”
from this word. We are to “scope
out” opportunities to serve the interests of others around us! (Galatians
5:13)
Imagine
our world where all believers practiced this kind of unity.
Imagine
our country where all believers practiced this kind of unity.
Imagine
our state where all believers practiced this kind of unity.
Imagine
our county where all believers practiced this kind of unity.
Imagine
our community where all believers practiced this kind of unity.
Imagine
our Church where all believers practiced this kind of unity.
Nothing
would stop the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!