Bible Study: "Minding Jesus’ Own Business" ~ Philippians 2:1-11 ~ Part 1

Minding Jesus’ Own Business

A Bible Study on Philippians 2:1-11

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

(Philippians 2 ~ ESV)[1]

God’s stated purpose of the lives of his children is this:[2]

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29)

The people God knew ahead of time as his children he predetermined to a particular destiny. The destiny, the thing God would accomplish through salvation, is our conformity to the image of his Son.

We see this first when God was creating the world and everything in it. He declared:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”          

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1: 26-27)

The gift of salvation we have in Jesus Christ has addressed the sin that ruined us as creatures in the image of our Creator, and provided the perfect remedy. God could not be thwarted in his plan to have a people in his own image and likeness, and his work of redemption was settled prior to him speaking one word of creation.

Now that we have received this glorious salvation, we are on a steady journey of transformation, as Paul described it:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (II Corinthians 3:18)

We are being transformed in order to be conformed. This is God’s continuing work of conforming us to the image of his Son. This finished work will result in an amazing family relationship in which Jesus is “the firstborn among many brothers.” This tells us that we who believe in Jesus Christ are brothers both to him and to each other; and it tells us that Jesus is our firstborn brother, the chief among us, the one responsible for our eternal well-being.[3]

As we enter into this study of Philippians 2:1-11, let us consider ourselves as brothers to our Lord Jesus Christ, with him as both our eternal security and example. He has done for us what we could never do; and now he calls us to set our eyes on him and follow his example, becoming more and more like him every day of our lives.

Although everything God speaks to us in his word can and will help us to grow up in Christ, this passage is distinctively aimed at showing us how to be like our Savior, something we can rejoice in with great expectation since it is God’s work, and he will certainly carry it on to completion.[4]

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

Paul prepares the path for our growth in Christ by identifying what we already have in order to help us move on from there. As we consider these descriptions, don’t begin with what you feel about them, or how well you think you are experiencing them individually, but consider them as the description of the church, with your congregation as a particular expression of Jesus’ body. These are qualities that ARE in Jesus’ church, so consider how they are reflected in your congregation. This is our starting place for growing up.

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ,

A.  What is the difference between using “if there is” as a premise for reasoning things towards a conclusion, or using it as an expression of uncertainty regarding the subject in question? Which meaning is Paul using?

B.  What are some things we know about our salvation that give every believer, and every congregation, reason for “encouragement in Christ”?

C.  How does the adjective “any” give you the same connection to this encouragement in Christ as every other believer?

D.  Where are you starting from in your experience of the encouragement in Christ that is your right as a child of God?

1 (if there is) any comfort from love,

A.  What do we know about the love Paul is writing about?

B.  What is it about this love that would lead us to expect comfort from its expression?

C.  How would you describe your experience of having “any” comfort from the love of God expressed in Jesus Christ our Lord? How is this working in your congregation?

1 (if there is) any participation in the Spirit,

A.  What do we know about the life God wants us to have “in the Spirit”?

B.  What does the word “participation” tell us about our relationship to life in the Spirit?

C.  How does your life demonstrate that you have “any” participation in the ministry of the Spirit? How do you see this in your church?

1 (if there is) any affection and sympathy,

A.  How is “affection” something we ought to expect of life in the body of Christ?

B.  How is “sympathy” something believers would share with one another?

C.  Where are you starting from with your experience of “any” affection and sympathy? How is your church doing at sharing in these things?

2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

2 complete my joy

A.  What does this tell you about the Apostle Paul?

B.  What does this tell you about the influence believers have on one another?

C.  What is your experience of joy in the church, both in experiencing what others do to increase/complete your joy, and what you do to increase/complete the joy of other believers?

2 (complete my joy by) being of the same mind,

A.  Describe the influence of the “mind” in directing how you live as an individual member of the body of Christ, and how your church lives an expression of the corporate body of Christ.

B.  What is the importance of all the believers in Jesus’ body having the “same” mind? Where does this come from?

C.  What are some reasons that a church being of the same mind would “complete” Paul’s/our joy?

D.  How would, “any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, (vs 1)” lead a congregation to be of the same mind?

2 (complete my joy by) having the same love,

A.  What are some things we know about God and his relationship to the church that would explain why “love” is a central aim of church life?

B.  Why would we expect all believers to share in the “same” love?

C.  What are some reasons that a church having the same love would “complete” Paul’s/our joy?

D.  How would, “any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, (vs 1)” lead a congregation to have the same love?

2 (complete my joy by) being in full accord and of one mind.

A.  What are some reasons we ought to strive to have “one mind” in the church?

B.  Why should we expect that our “accord” (agreement, consensus, harmony) in the church ought to be just as “full” as our “mind” is “one”?

C.  What are some reasons that a church “being in full accord and of one mind” would “complete” Paul’s/our joy?

D.  How would, “any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, (vs 1)” lead a congregation to be “in full accord and of one mind”?

E.  What do “being”, “having”, and “being in/of”, tell you about Jesus’ expectation of his body, the church? How well are you “being” and “having” what Paul has described?

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,

A.  What is it about “selfish ambition” that requires such a stern exhortation of “do nothing” like that?

B.  What is it about “conceit” that would have such a destructive influence on the church that we are to have none of it in our hearts or congregations?

C.  What are some ways you have seen “selfish ambition or conceit” do harm to the body of Christ?

D.  How well are you and your church ensuring that these destructive qualities have no place among you?

3 but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

A.  Paul uses the “but” to change focus from what we shouldn’t do to what we should do. Why is the quality of “in humility” consistent with our life in the body of Christ, while “selfish ambition and conceit” are not?

B.  How does Paul’s life show us the healthy meaning of counting others more significant than ourselves?

C.  Many people in families, friendships, and churches, have been treated as less significant than others. What do you know about the gospel, and life in the kingdom of God, that makes it clear that God is not endorsing such mistreatment of his children?

D.  How are you and your church doing at counting one another’s needs of greater significance than your own personal sense of need?

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests,

A.  How does the “not only” help us understand how our “own interests” fit in to the mindset of considering others more significant than ourselves?

B.  What does the “each of you” indicate about how we apply this to ourselves and our own church families?

C.  How are you and your church doing at not looking only to your own interests?

4 but also to the interests of others.

A.  How does the “but also” help us understand the “not only” of the first part of the verse?

B.  What do we know about God’s interests in us and the world that would help us focus our attention on the interests Paul is thinking about?

C.  How are you and your church doing at looking at the interests of others, both the interests of the world with respect to its need for salvation, and the interests of God’s children with respect to our need to freely grow up in Jesus Christ?

Application: While this whole passage (and what follows) has much to say to us about living for Christ, we also know that the Holy Spirit addresses specific things in each of us as we meditate upon the words of Scripture. With that in mind:

A. What are the primary things God is speaking to you about through this passage?

B. What do you see God doing in you and in your church that requires your faith-filled and faithful participation in the things the Spirit is teaching from this Scripture?

C. What are some things you now need to do to put this into practice in your life, in  your congregation, and in reaching out to the lost world around us?

© 2016 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)

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[1] English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

[2] Although this Bible study can be undertaken by anyone (believer, skeptic, seeker, unbeliever, etc), it is written primarily as a help to those who have already settled their salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The references to “you/we” in the questions means you/we who are already believers. If you are not a believer, you can still benefit tremendously from this study, but think of yourself as an outsider reading a letter between adopted family members, with the invitation that you could, at any time, receive God’s gift of adoption and join the family.

[3] “Firstborn” with reference to Jesus does not mean the first to be born (although this had to be true of any humans to which it applied). This does not support the claim of various cults that Jesus was created. Rather, it applies to Jesus what everyone understood of the position of the firstborn sons in the family, and their responsibility to care for and continue the family line and heritage. In the same way as the firstborn brother in a human family cares for and continues the family lineage, Jesus as our firstborn brother is our absolute assurance that we are held in his hands forever, and no one can ever take us away from him (John 10:28-29).

[4] Philippians 1:6