Bible Study - How Paul wants the Philippians to Live with Each Other - February 11, 2025

Reverend Michael Mwangi

Senior Pastor, Fedha Church, Kenya Assemblies of God 

Philippians 2:1. The basis of Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

a) Therefore: This draws back to what Paul has built on in Philippians 1:27-30, telling the Philippians how to stand strong for the Lord against external conflicts. Now he tells them how to act against internal conflicts in the body of Christ.

b) If there is any: This introduces the basis for Paul’s exhortation to unity, humility and love among believers. The idea is that if the Philippian Christians have received the things he mentions, then they have a responsibility to do what he is about to describe.

c) If there is any consolation in Christ: Paul asked this as a rhetorical question, knowing that there was great consolation in Christ. Every Christian should know the consolation of Christ.

i) Luke 2:25 says that one of the titles for Jesus as the Messiah is the Consolation of Israel. Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 1:5, For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. In 2 Thessalonians 2:16, Paul says that God has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace. Of course, there is consolation in Christ!

iii) The word consolation in this passage is the ancient Greek word paraklesis. The idea behind this word for consolation in the New Testament is always more than soothing sympathy. It has the idea of strengthening, of helping, of making strong. The idea behind this word is communicated by the Latin word for comfort (fortis), which also means “brave.” The love of God in our life makes us strong and makes us brave. Of course there is comfort of love! Paul is  affirming the great comfort of love. Every Christian should know having Jesus gives us  the comfort of love.

2 Corinthians 1:3 says that God is the God of all comfort. There is no way He cannot comfort us and no circumstance beyond His comfort. But this is more than comfort; this is the comfort of love.

If there is any… fellowship of the Spirit: This is Paul’s third rhetorical question in this context. Paul knew and valued the fellowship of the Spirit, and every Christian should know what it is to have the fellowship of the Spirit.

Fellowship is the ancient Greek word koinonia. It means the sharing of things in common. We share life with the Spirit of God that we never knew before. The Holy Spirit fills, guides and moves in our lives in a powerful and precious way. Of course, there is fellowship of the Spirit!
The Lord graces us with heavenly fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

f) If there is any… affection and mercy: Paul’s final rhetorical question assumes that every Christian knows something of the affection of God and of the mercy of God.
Paul mentioned these things in a manner that suggests to us that they should all be obvious parts of the Christian’s experience.

Each of these gifts – consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, affection and mercy – are communicated to us both in a direct, spiritual way from Jesus, and from Jesus through His people. But there isn’t any doubt that these are real gifts for Christians to really experience.

(2-4) The specifics of Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians regarding love and humility among believers.

Fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

a) Fulfill my joy: This speaks of a personal request. Part of the reason Paul wanted the Philippians to take heed of his word was because they should know that it would make the founding apostle of their church happy.

b) By being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind: These together all speak of the same idea: a deep, abiding, internal unity among the Philippians.

i) This unity is the goal. What follows in Philippians 2:3-4 are descriptions of how to achieve and practice the unity mentioned here in Philippians 2:2.

John 17
20. “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
21. that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition: This is the first step to this kind of unity. In the flesh, we are often motivated by selfish ambition or conceit. Much of what we do is not done out of love for others, but out of our own desire for “advancement” or “promotion” (selfish ambition).

Paul found it important to say selfish ambition. Not all ambition is selfish ambition, and there is a good ambition to glorify God and serve Him with everything we have.

Let nothing be done through… conceit: This is the second step to this kind of unity. Conceit is thinking too highly of one’s self, of having an excessive self-interest and self-preoccupation. It could be more literally translated as “empty glory.”

A dictionary definition of conceit is “An excessively favourable opinion of one’s own ability, importance, wit,” and so forth. When we live with the feeling that we are so important, or so able, or so talented, we are out of God’s will. We are working against the unity Paul pleaded with the Philippians and all Christians to have.

Galatians 6
3. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

e) In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself: This third step to the kind of unity described in Philippians 2:2 is completely contradictory to the attitude of the world, because lowliness of mind is about the least attractive thing to the thinking of this world.

The ancient Greeks considered the lowliness of the mind to be a fault, not a virtue.
“The pagan and the secular idea of manhood is self-assertiveness, imposing one’s will on others; when anyone stooped to others he did so only under compulsion, hence his action was ignominious [disgraceful]. The Christian ethical idea of humility could not be reached by the secular mind; it lacked the spiritual soil.” (Lenski)

When you have no (selfish) ambition you have no quarrels.

f) Esteem others better than himself: This rebukes much of the culture’s concept of self-esteem. The Bible knows nothing of the idea that we should – and must – carry with us an attitude of confident superiority in every situation, and knows nothing of the idea that this is the foundation for a healthy human personality.

As much as we need to recognize the intrinsic value of every human life, we can’t deny that the self-esteem of some is justified, and based in reality. When we are in rebellion against God, it is fitting for us to esteem others.

As we esteem others better, we will naturally have a concern for their needs and concerns. This sort of outward-looking mentality naturally leads to unity among the people of God.
If I consider you above me and you consider me above you, then a marvellous thing happens: we have a community where everyone is looked up to, and no one is looked down on.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others: Here the thought is completed. As we put away our selfish ambitions, our conceit, and our tendencies to be high-minded and self-absorbed, we will naturally have a greater concern for the interests and needs of others.

Paul doesn’t tell us that it is wrong to look out for our own interests, but that we should not only look out for our own interests.