Philippians Chapter Two - Part One

There was division in Corinth. The Thessalonians thought they had missed the second coming. The Judaizers were proselytizing the Galatians.

What then was the problem in Philippi? What was the heresy, the controversy, the internal problem? As far as we know, there was none.

Then why did Paul write? He wrote to thank them for their financial contribution and to warn them of the strife that would destroy them if they were not watchful. But mostly he wrote to tell them what was on his heart. Paul’s letter to the Philippians gives us a better view of what he valued than any other letter, with the possible exception of II Timothy.  He was vulnerable and open with the Philippians because he trusted them.

When Paul writes because of crisis, we discover much about the theology of Paul and his methodology of handling problems. When Paul writes because of friendship, we discover much about the heart of Paul. Because of his relationship to the Philippians, he could afford to be vulnerable – to reveal the deepest concerns of his heart. Therefore, in Philippians we learn what Paul truly valued.

In chapter two, we learn that Paul valued unity. The burden of his heart was for the love of Christ to dominate all their relationships.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”

The context of this passage was the strife that Paul was seeing in the church at Rome. He said,

“Some are preaching Christ from envy and strife and selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.”  “For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ.”

In response to what he was experiencing in Rome, Paul exhorted the Philippians to,

“Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”

In one of my favorite Peanuts cartoons, Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels, and then she threatens him with her fist if he doesn't.

“What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus.

“These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they're not much, but when I curl them together into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.”

“Which channel do you want?” asks Linus.

Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can't you guys get together like that?”

One hundred pianos all tuned to the same tuning fork are automatically tuned to each other. They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually submit. So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. (A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p. 90)

An inquirer once asked the great conductor Leonard Bernstein, “What is the most difficult instrument to play?” “Second fiddle,” he responded. “I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm, now that is a problem. And yet if no one plays second, we have no harmony.”

If Christian unity is so important, what causes relational breakdowns? Paul lists at least three factors that contribute to relational breakdowns in this passage. I call them relational deal breakers. 

Selfish Ambition

The first relational deal breaker is selfish ambition.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition.”

Selfish ambition is conniving to do whatever it takes to promote your own cause. It is the desire to promote yourself, even at the expense of others. People driven by this sin strive for promotion, insist on their own way, and seek after recognition.

Ambition is a strong desire to achieve something, and in itself is not a bad thing. Jesus said,

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”

Jesus appealed to His disciples’ natural ambitions (“whoever desires to be great”) in order to direct them in a godly manner (“must be servant of all”). Ambition is necessary – we should all strongly desire to achieve something. But selfish ambition is the strong desire to achieve something for one’s own sake.

When James and John wanted to get closer to Jesus, it was commendable ambition. But when they desired to sit closest to Jesus, their focus changed. Rather than looking at Jesus, they were looking over their shoulder at the other disciples, wanting their own spiritual accomplishments to overshadow the others.

The apostle Paul was an ambitious man – before and after his conversion. Before his conversion he was “…more extremely zealous for his ancestral traditions”  than most of his contemporaries. As a Christian he, “labored even more than all of them.”

But selfish ambition is “ambition gone bad.” It will quickly disrupt unity and destroy a relationship.

Continued next week...