Imitating Christ’s Humility
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Shining as Stars
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
My Understanding: “If you have any encouragement…”
To encourage someone means to inspire, cheer, reassure, urge, nurture, persuade, coax, motivate, admonish, advise, exhort, reprove, caution, rebuke, and/or to warn him or her. And, this is exactly how Jesus Christ encourages each and every one of us, too.
We often get a false notion of the word “encouragement,” and we think of it only in terms of saying things to people we think they want to hear, and which will make them feel good. Yet, if we are speaking falsely to them, just to make them feel good, then that is not true encouragement. If we are saying what we think they want to hear, but not what they really need to hear, then that also is not true encouragement. We can be so “nice” to people so that they like us, and so they feel good about themselves, and yet offer words that deceive them into thinking they are ok, when they are not, and we can, in essence, give them a false hope that will end with the realization that Jesus will say, “I never knew you.”
Saying inspiring and reassuring words to cheer one another is only one half of what it means to encourage one another. We also need to speak the truth in love to one another in saying words that help one another to stop going the wrong way with our lives, and to help us to begin to go in the right direction. And, we need a balance of both of these aspects of encouragement in order for us to truly be cheered on and nurtured in the faith.
“…from being united with Christ…”
We are united with Christ by being united with him in his death and in his resurrection, by God’s grace, and through faith. When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we die to sin, and we are raised with Christ to live new lives in Christ Jesus, free from the control of sin over our daily lives. Our old selves are crucified with Christ so that the “body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” So, we are to count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. We are to no longer allow sin to rule our lives so that we obey its evil desires, but rather we are to offer ourselves fully to God, and our bodies to him as living sacrifices, and as instruments of righteousness, holy and pleasing to God. We are to no longer have our lives conformed to the pattern (model; example) of this world, but we are to be transformed by the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives in renewing our minds. Since we are now under grace, sin should no longer be our master. [See Romans 6; 12:1-2]
“…if any comfort from his love…”
To comfort someone means to offer words of consolation, reassurance, cheer, help, and/or support. Psalm 23 offers a great example of how Jesus Christ comforts us with his love. He is our shepherd, i.e. “somebody who is responsible for caring for and guiding a group of people” (Encarta). He guides us through his word (the Bible), and he guides us through his Holy Spirit within us, who serves as our counselor, teacher, guide, and comforter, etc. He restores our souls. To restore something means to return it to its proper owner or place (Encarta). In other words, he brings us back to him when we have gone astray, and he returns us to a right relationship with him. Also, when we are heavy laden with troubles and grief, he gives us new strength and encouragement to keep going.
He guides us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. He shows us the way we should live in holiness and purity and in complete devotion to him and to his will for our lives. Even when we go through difficult and low periods in our lives, we don’t have to be afraid, because his very presence with us gives us the comfort and hope we need to keep going forward. His rod and his staff comfort us. The shepherd’s rod and staff are used to correct, rescue and to guide the sheep. So, Christ Jesus will use his rod (authority) to guide, rescue and protect us, though not necessarily to protect us physically, but to protect us spiritually through our difficulties. He will be our support (represented by his staff), and he will reassure us of his continued presence with us no matter what we may go through.
“…if any fellowship with the Spirit…”
Fellowship is defined as “a group of like-minded people who share common interests, goals, experiences, or views; and/or companionship or friendly association” (Encarta). On a spiritual level, this fellowship with Christ involves sharing with him in his death and resurrection through our death to sin and our resurrection to new life in Christ Jesus, our Lord; sharing in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death; and walking in the light of his truth and love, no longer walking in darkness (sin). The outgrowth of this kind of fellowship with Christ Jesus is that we will also experience true spiritual fellowship with other like-minded believers in Jesus Christ. And, in applying this first definition of fellowship on a spiritual level, this is saying that to have fellowship with Jesus Christ means that we share with him in what is important to him (his interests), his goals, his experiences, and his views, i.e. his judgments and his way of thinking and interpreting life. We experience this kind of fellowship with our Lord through spending time with him each day, in listening to what he has to say, and then in obeying what he teaches us.
“…then make my joy complete by…”
When we truly are in fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ in this manner described above, then we will be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose with other believers in Jesus Christ who are also in fellowship in the Spirit with Jesus Christ, because we will first of all be in the right kind of fellowship with our Lord and Savior. We will, in the Spirit, want to minister to the needs of others, instead of just thinking about our own needs. We will consider others better than ourselves, and we will look out for other people’s interests and not just for our own, i.e. in the sense of what is good, beneficial and advantageous to them on a spiritual and physical need level.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
Jesus Christ set for us the perfect example of humility and servanthood for us to follow. He is God the Son, and he was enthroned in heaven, yet he willingly came to earth, took on human form, became a servant, suffered as we suffer, and he was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin. He was rejected, despised, afflicted, criticized, falsely accused, mocked, spit upon, beaten and put to death on a cross, although he had committed no wrong. When he died on the cross, he took upon himself the sins of the entire world. And, when he was buried, our sins were buried with him. When he was resurrected back to life, our sins remained buried. In his resurrection he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin so that we could go free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternal punishment in hell) and so we could be free from the power and control of sin over our lives on a day-to-day basis. He returned to heaven where he lives to intercede for his saints. And, one day everyone will bow the knee at his name, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
“Therefore …as you have always obeyed…”
Because of all that Jesus Christ did for us, and since we have encouragement from being united with him, we partake in comfort from his love, and we experience fellowship with his Holy Spirit within us, we should obey Jesus Christ in all things. And, we should continue to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” This is not works-based salvation. Continuing in Christ, though, does involve effort on our part. We must consciously choose each and every day to walk in faith, to obey our Lord in all things, to live lives pleasing unto him, and to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, etc. And, yet, we do not do this “work” in our own strength or flesh, for it is God who works in us “to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Our job is simply to cooperate with our Lord in his working in our lives in conforming us into the image of Christ Jesus.
We are to do everything without complaining or arguing. I think that one hits home with most of us, as our flesh often tries to get in the way here. We are to be thankful and praise the Lord and be joyful in all our circumstances. I still have to be reminded of that one now and then, as I have a tendency to forget to be joyful sometimes. But, the Lord is faithful, and he reminds me. We need to replace complaining and arguing with praise and thanksgiving so that we can become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which we shine like stars in the universe, as we hold out the word of life. In other words, we are to be separate from the ways of the world and we are to stand out as those who have been with Jesus, as we live out the Christian life for others to see, and as we share the truths of the gospel for them to hear and to receive.
My Prayer / An Original Work / May 30, 2011
“Fill me with Your Spirit; help me to love others;
Let me know Your power; be an overcomer.
Show me how to follow Jesus Christ, my Savior;
Be His faithful servant to obey Him always.
“Lead me with Your presence; help me know the right way;
Teach me love and kindness, generous compassion.
Give me grace and courage to be Jesus’ witness,
Teaching His salvation to a world who needs Him.”
Won’t you come and follow Jesus Christ, your Savior?
He died so you’d be free of control of your sin;
Free to follow His ways in complete surrender;
Living sacrifices – let His grace transform you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4hFxxfJ8DA
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