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Live Out the Gospel Obediently in Unity and Humility
Philippians 1:27-2:12
A favorite theme for church conferences is unity. Why? Because many churches find they lack it; instead, experiencing much disunity. There are factions. But consider the irony. For there to be factions, there must be unity. One faction united against another, or even one faction united against one member. So there’s a dangerous unity in church disunity. And that severely weakens the church. Christians do bite and devour one another. And the world exclaims, “Wow, Christians behave so badly.”
But there’s another dangerous unity - churches unite together not to live the gospel; like the seven churches of Revelation. Pergamos was well known for her compromise, blending with the surrounding pagan culture. Members were united in worldliness. Thyatira tolerated false teaching, which let sin into the church. Members were all united to be inclusive. Then there was Laodicea - united in lukewarmness. Rich and self-sufficient, they weren’t excited about spiritual things. Mission trip good. Holiday better. And Sardis was satisfied with a semblance of life - united in having many activities - but actually she was spiritually dead.
But what about the church at Philippi? Was it persecution? No. Yes, the church was persecuted, but Paul wasn’t especially bothered about that. He was persecuted and jailed; in danger of death. But the gospel was spreading. But if he died, it’s gain! He was joyful. No, his great concern was their gospel witness. There was a threat, a weakness. Their problem was disunity. That was a far greater danger than persecution. Unity amidst opposition? They’d get through it! Disunity? Their gospel witness and joy would be weakened! They’d struggle in the world. So he urged them towards true unity by giving 2 truths. Firstly, live out the gospel together. Secondly, cultivate unity by looking to Christ.
Firstly, live out the gospel together. Paul began with a command - “only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.” Your conduct must match the gospel! The Greek word for “let your conversation [or conduct] be” means “to live as a citizen.” Philippi was the first Roman city in Macedonia. They were proud of their citizenship. It granted them rights and privileges. But Paul pointed to a higher citizenship - they were citizens of Christ. So “above all, [they were to] behave as citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ.” You see, the gospel is far more than just a ticket or passport to heaven. It’s heaven’s constitution. So the Christian’s conduct must match it. We’re not saved to live however we want to. We’re saved to live for Jesus, to live out the gospel - that God has reconciled sinners to himself. And those reconciled, must be reconciled to each other. If saved from sin, we must die to self and live victoriously. If forgiven, we must be forgiving. If saved to be in God’s family, we must foster unity. So we can’t profess a Gospel of peace while waging war with our brethren. Your conduct - your thoughts, speech, and actions - must all be “worthy of the Gospel.” Yes, we come with our natural sinful dispositions. We’re products of the Singaporean mindset. But no, not in the church of God, which is the pillar and ground of truth.
And what’s the evidence they were displaying that truth? To Paul, they’d live out the gospel together. Verse 27 - proof of personal spirituality would be seen in corporate spirituality. They’d stand together with one spirit and purpose, striving together for the faith of the gospel! Did you know that? Evidence you’re living the gospel is your united striving for the gospel. They wouldn’t be like those Revelation churches, united in compromise, tolerating false teaching, being lukewarm in spiritual things, and spiritually dead. They’d be actively fighting for the gospel together. Now, Paul used military language to picture that unity. They were to strive side by side - this pictured soldiers in a phalanx. A phalanx was a tightly packed, coordinated group of Macedonian infantryman standing shoulder-to-shoulder with overlapping shields, forming an impenetrable defensive wall. Think of riot police pushing back a crowd. Alexander the Great won many battles this way. But the phalanx would only be effective if the ranks were tight, as one. That’s how Paul described the unity - striving side by side in one spirit and purpose to live and fight for the gospel! That’s their battle cry! The gospel!
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” Lord’s Day 48 asks what it means to pray this. “That Christ would so rule us by his Word and Spirit, that more and more we’d submit to him. That he’d preserve and increase his church; destroy the works of the devil, every power that raises itself against him, every conspiracy against his Word; that he’d do this until his kingdom fully comes, where he’d be all in all.” Is this our heart desire? to submit to him? to be holy, loving, kingdom minded, self-denying, self-abasing, forgiving, Christ exalted, to serve others? that we’d give in less and less to Satan and the flesh? that we’d be bolder to proclaim the word inside the church to those faltering, and outside the church to those rebelling, that the church will increase more and more?
If it is, and all in the church strives towards this, how would such unity affect us? We’d be fearless witnesses. Verse 28 - we won’t be afraid of our opponents, our persecutors. They can kill my body, but not the body and soul. They take away my coat, I’ll give them my cloak. They slander me, I’ll bless them. They revile, I’ll give them a cup of cold water. They hit me, I’ll turn the other cheek. When enemies of the gospel see a church united in living the gospel, even under pressure, it’s a “clear sign to them of their perdition, but our salvation.” It’s a sign they can’t win. When the centurion saw all that Christ had gone through and his words of forgiveness - he cried out - Surely, this was the Son of God. And that’s what they’ll say of us - Surely, these are the sons of God.
Like Paul, we’d say - to live is Christ, to die is gain! Live or die, nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. I know how to abound and to be abased - whether rich or poor, I’m content. The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord! When the Jews and Romans persecuted the early church, it only spread. When the Catholics tried to kill the Protestants, they only flourished. When the Communists tried to suppress the church, it only grew. Every persecutor of Christians discovered that even if you killed them, they kept sprouting up. The Auca Indians who killed Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and 3 others, all became Christians.
For years, scientists have wondered how fire ants, whose bodies were denser than water, could survive floods that should’ve destroy them. How did entire colonies form themselves into life rafts that floated for weeks? Engineers discovered that tiny hairs on the ants’ bodies trapped air bubbles. This enabled thousands of ants, “which floundered and struggled in the water as individuals,” to ride out the flood when they clung together.
Beloved, the church is always under attack. We’re all in a flood of opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Just as Christ suffered, so will we against false teaching, compromise, lukewarmness, spiritual apathy, enemies of the gospel, etc. As verses 29-30 say, we’re called not only to believe in Christ, but to suffer for his sake. Paul suffered. The Philippians were going through similar trials as Paul. That’s why we need to stand together. But the problem is this. Many of us don’t have that personal buoyancy. We need one another to survive. But what prevents that survival? Disunity. That was the problem with the Philippians. Despite the threat from without, the threat from within was worse. It was already hard enough individually to ride through that flood of opposition, but now disunity threatened the togetherness they needed to get through it. We learn in chapter 4 that Euodias and Syntyche were at odds with one another. Two prominent women in the church, in public disagreement. Now, Paul didn’t tell us exactly what their disagreement was. But it was clear they weren’t living out the gospel as individuals. And because they were at odds with one another, they were breaking the unity and fraternity needed to fight against the world. They stopped firing against the enemy, and started to fire on themselves. And this wasn’t even friendly fire. It was unfriendly fire. This undermining of each other, led to the undermining of the church’s witness. Under fire from without, and now under fire from within. Beloved, division must never be an option. But it happens when we don’t live out the gospel; not willing to take wrong, or admit wrong, not willing to back down, wounded but fighting back, wanting to make their point. But how could they survive this?
They’d do it by cultivating gospel unity by looking to Christ. That’s the second point. To stand together, they’d have to cultivate the gospel. How? By having the internal disposition of the gospel. We see how our common experiences should motivate our unity. Paul starts off in verses 1-2 with four experiences of the Christian - “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded…” These four common experiences fuel likemindedness. What are they? The first is the encouragement from being united with Christ. I can be likeminded because Christ, who’s my God, is also your God. We share in his death, resurrection, and righteousness. We’re saved in him and given power to overcome sin. Despite our sin, we’re received by him. What consolation! The second commonality is the comfort of love. All who call on Christ are assured he loves us sacrificially, relentlessly, unconditionally. Despite my sin, he loves me. And this means, he loves the other one in church too. We’re equally loved. He didn’t only die for the super spiritual. He placed his love on failures. The third commonality is our partnership in the Spirit. All Christians are in-dwelt by the same Spirit. He who guides me, guides the other. He gifts me, he gifts the other. He convicts me, he convicts the other. He empowers me for holy living, he empowers the other. I’m not alone special. I don’t have greater insight than others. I’m not a proud gnostic. All gifted. Then fourthly, we have the commonality of bowels and mercy. The Greeks term “bowels” describe tenderness. For us non-Greeks, we can easily understand it by saying, if you have a heart and mercy, then be likeminded. You see, the gospel doesn’t produce cold, distant, or transactional relationships. By the Spirit, all believers have hearts of flesh. We have a common capacity for authentic feelings for others. Christ felt compassion for people. So this commonality removes any excuse for apathy. It also removes any excuse to be a jerk.
Now, since all believers have these four commonalities, we should be motivated to unite in the gospel. We have everything we need to get along. That’s why there’s no room for strife or vain glory - which Paul warned against in verse 3. If you’re truly humbled and consoled by Christ’s death, you won’t see yourself as more spiritual or capable. If you have his comfort, you’d honor the other and not looking down at them. If you have the Spirit, you’d know the Spirit works in other people as well, not just you. And if you have a heart and tenderness, you’d love others enough to hold unity, or at the very least, to disagree without being savage. So it means we’ll put aside selfish ambition and vain conceit. We won’t look to our own self interests. Our idea isn’t always right. God works in others also. We’ll put on humility to honor others. This, Beloved, is the crucifixion of the ego. Sin is fundamentally self-centeredness. Euodias may have said - “Look at the proof of my service. Why doesn’t she respect me!” Or Syntyche could’ve responded - “But my way is the tested way. I’m deeply offended.” When we do this, we shatter the body of Christ. True unity comes when we lay down our rights for the sake of others.
Now, let’s see the opposite ethos, as if Judas and not Paul wrote verses 1-5. Let’s see how to cultivate disunity. If you’re worldly, and identify with the worldliness, and draw satisfaction from the flesh, if you love the world’s ambitious character, if your hearts are indifferent to your brethren, then fulfill Judas’ joy, by being self-willed, love your self, be divided in spirit and purpose. Do all things out of selfish ambition and vain conceit; and in arrogance, consider others beneath you. They don’t know how to do things. Each of you should look only to your own interests, and dismiss the interests of others. Why are churches divided? Because of these things.
There was once an old Methodist church in the deep south of the USA. For 40 years, Mrs Stubbs was the church organist and soloist. She played and sang every Sunday without fail. She lived next door which made it easy to come and practice in church. As the years passed, her voice warbled, her memory, eyesight, and hearing failed her. So she played wrong notes loudly, and played the wrong songs. The church board suggested she let Miss Chambers play the organ and sing some solos. She agreed. And that Sunday Miss Chambers played and sang. But drowning her out from next door, windows all open, was Mrs Stubbs. On her home organ with volume cranked up, she played and warbled that great hymn, To God Be the Glory Great Things He Hath Done. That’s not glory to God - that’s vain glory of self.
You see, to live the gospel in a united way, the heart of the matter is to have Christ’s humility and majesty motivate our unity. Verse 5 onwards - “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Have the mind of Christ Jesus. Now to be clear, Paul didn’t say imitate Jesus. He said - let the mindset that was operating in Jesus operate in you. What mindset? A humble one. He was God himself, but didn’t grasp on or hold on or desperately cling to that position. Yes, he was always God and always glorious - but didn’t cling to those privileges. Instead, he emptied himself of that glory; as God, he became a servant. He took on humanity, yet without sin, limiting himself to a human body, humiliated until the point of death; being slandered, falsely accused, and killed - so he could save many sons to glory. That’s the gospel. He saved by not forcing people to be saved; he saved by dying for them. He looked to the interests of others, not considering himself. And so if the Son of God humbled himself for us, how can we, who are but dust, insist on our own honor and accomplishments? Unity is not a technique of collaboration. Unity is the fruit of Gospel-humility.
But it’s also the fruit of seeing Christ’s majesty. In verses 9-11, because of his humility, God highly exalted him. The Father gave him the Name that is above every name. He’s Son! He’s the king. Now, why did Paul point them to Christ’s exaltation? To motivate their obedience. We don’t cultivate unity merely by looking at Christ’s example, although it’s essential. We cultivate humility by looking at his Lordship. We’re moved by his service, we’re challenged by his kingship. Yes, unity is commanded by the exalted one - to whom every knee shall bow - in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Beloved, the church is not a democracy of opinions, it’s a kingdom ruled by a king according to his gospel.
Now comes the rub. If Christ is so humble and majestic, then how come our lives don’t match the gospel? How come we can be so disunited? Why do we take offense? Why do we speak so roughly? Why is our kingdom and not Christ’s our goal? Verse 12 - “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Because we’re not focusing on our own sanctification. Your misconduct and disunity may indicates something. Examine yourself - your salvation! Your sanctification! Mrs Stubbs should examine with great fear and trembling, her easily offended spirit and her pride. And not play louder, and sing more persistently. How can we do that?
Firstly, consider your loves. Do you compromise with worldliness and sin. They’re your loves. Do you tolerate false teaching - like the LGBT agenda? Are you lukewarm about the gospel and church, and hot for other activities? Are you satisfied with your activity in the church, but aside from that, you’re not very much more alive? Beware, you don’t add to the disunity of the church. You’ll also contribute to your own spiritual weakness.
Secondly, consider your humility. In the ministry of the church, the officers work, pray, and serve together for the glory of Christ and the good of his kingdom. The Lord has given his Spirit to each one of us that we may in humility, work together, honoring each other’s gifts. May we also serve, for the good of the people. But if I may say this in light of the recent ordination and installation of officers, the Lord has called us to shepherd the flock. We took a vow to that effect. Similarly, a charge was given to you, so that you’d obey the Word of Christ from us, to give and to serve as living members of the church. This behooves all of us to keep unity by living holy.
Beloved, our unity around the gospel as a church is proof of our spirituality. The world is watching to see if the gospel actually works. And Christ has done that ultimate work - to humble himself and to change our hearts. How this unity is seen and how this gospel change is seen, is in our ministry. Christ is not a defeated king, he’s the exalted Lord. How shall we bow our knees together to him?
1. Live Out the Gospel Together (27-30)
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- A. Our conduct must match the gospel (27a)
- B. We strive together for the gospel (27b-30)
2. Cultivate Gospel Unity by Looking to Christ (1-12)
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- A. Our commonalities should motivate our unity (1-4)
- B. Christ’s humility and majesty motivate our unity (5-12)
Conversation for Change:
- Consider Matthew 10:38. How does loving others who are different than we are, and being patient with their differences and intolerant of our impatience with them a demonstration of taking up the cross?
- Christ’s greatest humiliation is what a Christian glories in most (Galatians 6:14). Often what the world glories in is retaliation (not forgiveness), tolerance (not evangelism), and selfishness (not selfless love). It glories in sin. What has the example of Christ on the cross taught you about the attitude you should take toward what the world glories in?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2026, Rev. Mark Chen
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