I’m in a coffee shop somewhere in Albequerque, NM on the way to AZ for the Thanksgiving holiday. Lots of great comments yesterday that I hope to interact with a bit, but since this post was already written and we’re on the road, I don’t have time to process many of the good comments the way I need to. In the meantime I’ll go with an already-written post for the day. Hope you don’t mind!

Philippians 2 has been the object of much consideration for many. What has come to be known as the “kenosis passage,” often draws our attention with the question: “what exactly did Christ empty Himself of?” While this is an appropriate theological reflection, I’m not so sure that’s the point of the passage. Rather than reflecting on Christ’s divinity, the passage encourages us to relfect on His humility and we are to follow in His footsteps.

Within the context, it’s as if Paul is asking a rhetorical question: “Do you want to know how to make your pastor happy?” This seems idea is what seems to be driving the discussion. Look again at this familiar passage (though the thought actually seems to begin at 1:27 with Paul’s admonition to “let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ,” we’ll begin at 2:1-8):

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Paul begins almost sarcastically, as if he’s saying, “Of course there will be encouragement in Christ! Yes you will find comfort in love, you will participate in the Spirit and find affection and sympathy!” In verse 2, he takes this for granted and then says, “complete my joy,” or “make my joy complete” as some translations read. How will the Philippians do this, how will they “complete Paul’s joy?” Paul’s glad you asked!

Paul then immediately launches into a description of a unified Body, having the same mind and love, putting rivalry and conceit to death and, counting others as more significant than themselves, looking out for one another’s interests! Paul then admonishes that we are to have the same mind as our Savior and then moves in to a discussion of Christ’s life of humility, even to the point of death on a cross.

As a pastor, I would venture to say that I’m not alone in saying that seeing these things lived out in local congregations would surely “complete my joy.” The Church is to be marked by humble unity lived out in love and service. Disunity kills local churches. Though we’ve been assured that not even the gates of Hades will prevail (Matthew 16:18) against the universal Church, local bodies, carrying within them members of the true Church, seem to die everyday.

We’ve been wondering aloud lately why so many churches seem so unfriendly. It’s the same reason that so many churches experience so much disunity. We are guilty of pride. Pride focuses inward rather than outward. Pride elevates non-essential issues to the status of “deal-breakers” and it certainly refuses to consider others as more significant than itself.

Satan thrives on disunity. When a church lacks unity, most of its time and energies are spent on internal battles (concerning everything from theology to the color of the carpet) rather than on expanding the kingdom of Christ. Disunity thrives on pride because pride insists on having its own way (more often than not, on issues that ought to be compromised). While we must stand firm on and not negotiate the Gospel, we must also admit that most issues that have split churches have not truly been “Gospel” issues and have been the result of years of growing disunity and combat rather than working together.

Paul, here and elsewhere (1 Corinthians 12:12-21, etc.) underscores the fact that of all people, Christ’s people ought to be unified. The fact that so many churches experience anything but true unity means that at some point, they have taken their eyes off of their first love, off of Christ and placed them squarely on themselves. Unity begins with each one of us looking to Christ above all else. Instead, we must look “to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2) and strive for unity under the banner of the Cross.

• Read The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? by Ronald Sider
• Read The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith by Alan Wolfe