Here are the notes from my lesson for G.A.P. (Graduates and Professionals) at Thomas Road Baptist Church. This lesson was presented on August 28 and September 4, 2011. I hope it is a blessing to you! Please feel free to leave a comment or contact me if you have any questions.
Keys to Christian Fellowship
Philippians 2:1-4
Introduction
•A couple of weeks ago we addressed Acts 2:41-47 and asked whether or not we are complacent or committed
•In Acts 2:42, we saw that the early Christians committed or devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles, to fellowship and the breaking of bread, and to worship.
•Last week we talked about devotion to God’s Word, and this week we will look at some keys to fellowship
•The church in Acts spent time with each other and worked diligently to meet each others’ needs
•Today we want to ask how we can develop a similar fellowship
•The church today is a bit more focused on separation than on unity or fellowship
•We focus on minor details that lead to division
•While God calls us to focus on more important things
•Diversity doesn’t have to lead to a lack of unity or fellowship
•We don’t have to try to divide ourselves over minute (and possibly unnecessary) details
•We don’t have to be all alike, but we should strive to have the same mind and be like Jesus
•Our passage today discusses true Christian fellowship
•In Philippians 2:1-4, Paul gives us two keys to Christian fellowship:
1) Solid Resources
2) Right Attitude
Let’s look at our passage
1) The Resources
•Philippians 2:1—True fellowship is founded on what Christ gives. The resources for fellowship are fourfold and are founded on our horizontal relationship with God through Christ
a) Encouragement in Christ
b) Consolation of love
c) Communion of the Spirit
d) Affection and Compassion
•Paul lists these four resources in “if” statements, but these should not be read as hypotheticals. They should be read as “since” statements. Paul thinks that the Christians in Philippi had experienced these
a) Encouragement in Christ: Have you gotten anything out of following Christ?
•Salvation/Abundant Life
•Encouragement
•Empowerment
•The word for “encouragement” here has a similar root to the word Paraklete, which is used to describe the Holy Spirit as one called alongside to help (John 14:16-17)
•The word can mean “exhortation” or “encouragement”
•When life gets unsettling and we are shaken, Jesus is our foundation and stability (1 Cor. 10:4)
•The idea here is that our relationship to Christ is a source for encouragement
•Christ is our sufficiency
•He is our foundation
•His work of grace encourages us to share his love
b) Consolation of love: How has Jesus’ love made a difference in your life?
•His love is an example
•His love comforts us
•His love controls us
•“Consolation” has the idea of comforting someone who has experienced grief or loss
•Strained relationships or lack of fellowship gives a sense of loss to others
•The love of Christ is a means of overcoming loss
•The love of Christ can mend strained relationships
•God does not abandon those who grieve, he intensifies his love and concern for them (Hebrews 13:5-6; Deut. 31:8; Joshua 1:5)
•Love does not depend on the other person’s response (Rom. 5:8)
•Love expresses itself without expectation of recognition or even acceptance
•Love simply loves
•We should abide in and tap into God’s love in our relationships
c) Communion/Fellowship of the Spirit: What does being in communion with God’s Spirit offer to us? What does it mean to you?
•Communion or Fellowship of the Spirit is a two way street
•It has a horizontal part—we receive God’s Spirit and learn to have communion with God through his Paraklete (1 Cor. 12:13)
•It has a vertical part—we share with others as God shares with us (1 John 4:20)
•Being in communion with God’s Spirit should be revealed not only in personal holiness or “spirituality,” but also in how I relate to others God brings in my life
d) Affection and compassion: Since we have the resources above, we should have a heart and care for others (John 15:17)
•Affection and compassion flow from a proper understanding of our foundation in Christ (1 John 4:19-21)
•Jesus loved even when he was offended
•He showed compassion even to those who hated them
•How can I act any differently?
•If I have tasted Christ’s affection and compassion, I should be marked by the same kind of life
•Am I?
•These resources give us the basis or foundation for true fellowship
•But for true fellowship to happen, we need a right attitude
2) The Right Attitude
•Philippians 2:2-4—Paul reminds us that Christian fellowship flows from a proper attitude or mindset. In these verses he offers two basic attitudes we must adapt: 1) an attitude of unity, and 2) an attitude of humility
•In truth, you cannot have one without the other
•True fellowship is revealed in unity, not necessarily uniformity
•We need to be “like minded,” but not mindless drones
•Paul gives us three requirements for unity
a) The first requirement for unity is being like minded or having the same mind
•The idea is that we think on the same important things—our focus is on the same Lord
•The idea here is not that we agree on every little detail of doctrine, but rather that we should approach life with the same biblical or Christ-like worldview
•This is the mindset of loving God and loving others (Remember Acts 2:41-47—they met each others need and worshiped together)
•This is how Christ lived (Matthew 20:26-28; Mark 10:43-45)
•We will never agree completely on doctrinal issues, but we can agree on the importance of Christ
•Major on the major issues, not the minor ones
b) The second requirement is a shared love or a shared heart (1 John 3:11-12; 16-18)
•This speaks of the love of God and love for others that we mentioned above, but more importantly it refers to God’s love for all of us as expressed in Phil. 2:5-8
•Acts 2:44-45 is a great example of this love expressed in real life
•We must have the love of Christ as our central focus as our most heart-felt way of life
•Without the same love, we will never have true fellowship
c) The third requirement is to be one in spirit and purpose
•The Message says it like this: “Be deep-spirited friends”
•The idea is something like being “same souled” or even (to some degree) being “soul mates”
•This is such a deep unity that we are unanimous in our love for God and others—our respect for each other will know no bounds
•A. T. Robertson describes this kind of fellowship as being “like clocks that strike at the same moment.”
•Think of a football team—many positions with one goal
•We need a shared heart, a shared mind, and a shared goal
•This is the attitude Paul wants for the church, but to accomplish it we must learn a bit of humility
•The world in which we live espouses a self centered approach to life: “Assert yourself” or “Build up your own self esteem” and even “Don’t let others take advantage of you” is the primary approach to living a “full life”
•Such an approach is not only self-destructive in many ways, it is also the opposite of the life to which God calls us
•The attitude that Paul espouses here is one of humility
•It is the idea of lowering myself to serve others
•It is the idea of putting someone else before me
•Paul tells us that this attitude of humility will reveal itself in how we see ourselves and how we see others (Ephesians 4:1-3)
•How do we see ourselves?
•Paul calls us to have “lowliness of mind” or to be careful how we think of ourselves
•This was not the typical approach in the first century—Paul turns this negative in his day into a Christian virtue
•We must learn humility
•Augustine: The mark of true religion is humility
•This means we must remove from ourselves any self-seeking or high minded or selfish ideas (Col. 3:13-14)
•We must be humble
•Of course, how we see ourselves affects how we see others
•Serving others requires me to see them as important, and humility helps
•How do we see others?
•Paul calls us to think more highly of others than we do of ourselves
•He encourages us to think about the other person and his needs and interests rather than just think about things from our own perspective (Acts 2:44-45)
•How do we get there?
•First, we must admit our pride
•Second, we must follow Christ’s example
•Finally, we must obey God’s Word
•We must consider others, not just ourselves
•If we want true fellowship, we must put God first and others second
Application
•How then do we respond? What can we do this week to build true fellowship?
•First, we must make sure we are on the right foundation, we must focus on the resources that God has provided us. This requires us to spend time with the One who provides these resources. Make sure this week you are tapping into the Source by spending time with God and his Word.
•Second, we must act on what we have heard. Where can you practice true fellowship this week? In what situations can you show Christ’s humility and grace? Put into practice the right attitude Paul discusses. Put others before yourself. Practice humility. Do not focus on your own interests only, but find creative ways to focus on the needs and interests of others.
•True fellowship is not easy, but what a blessing it will be if we practice what God prescribes!
Thanks for reading!
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