Make My Joy Complete

Michael Phelps has set 39 world records, and his 8 gold medals in the Beijing Olympics are far more than anyone has previously won in a single Olympics. He is recognized as both the greatest swimmer and the greatest Olympian of all time, so in athletic competition, he has achieved the pinnacle of greatness.

He trains for 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, without fail. His total dedication to his training program has made him a world champion.

Now, he has worked through the path in athletics to achieve greatness in his field of expertise.

But there is another path to greatness, and we, as Christians, must demonstrate the same dedication and effort as we strive toward the finish line.

READ: Philippians 2:1-11

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty 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, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Did you notice that in that first verse, Paul writes the word “if” 4 times?

Here are Paul’s “IF” statements:

1.    IF there is any encouragement in Christ

2.    IF there is any consolation of love

3.    IF there is any fellowship of the Spirit

4.    IF there is any affection and compassion

He then states that if all these IFS are present in the church, he desires the church to “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

Why do you suppose he uses the word “if”?

Paul appeals to the church in Philippi to strive for unity in their relationships with other believers.

He uses the phrase “if any…”  In the Greek language, the word “if” is ei and can be translated as “if,” or it can also mean “since.”

Translating it as “since” conveys the same meaning that every believer experiences these blessings in Christ.

So, we can say with assurance that there is:

Encouragement in Christ                Consolation of Love    

Fellowship in the Spirit                    Affection and Compassions          

So, Paul is saying to the church in Philippi that since they experienced these wonderful blessings in their relationship with Christ, they should, therefore, strive for unity in their relationships with one another.

In addition to these four bases for unity, Paul gives one more basis for them to be unified.

This final reason shows just how greatly Paul loves the Philippian Christians.

He says that they will make his joy complete if they are united by a strong love for one another.

Think about your own body and how it functions.

Your hands are doing one activity, while your feet are going in another direction, your eyes are reading your Bible, and your mind is somewhere else.

That does not work so well. Although they are all part of your body, they are not working together toward the same goal.

The point is that, obviously, all the parts of your body must work together to accomplish anything.

Now, consider this:

Every believer is a unique part of the body of Christ.

It is essential that all parts of the body of Christ work together in unity under the headship of Jesus Christ.

Our various parts must work together in harmony in order for unity to be achieved.

Paul’s bottom line here is this:

That unity should be the direct result of receiving encouragement, love, fellowship, and compassion from Christ.

Now, what is the opposite of unity?   Division and Strife

Hear what is written in Proverbs 13:10 –

“Where there is strife, there is pride.”

And pride can be the breeding ground for strife, discontentment, and division.

If pride characterizes the body of believers, you may be sure there will be division and strife in that body. You will not find unity there in that body.

Paul knows what kind of damage pride can do to a fellowship, so he approaches the issue positively and exhorts them to humble themselves in their relationships with one another.

HUMBLE YOURSELVES. How do we humble ourselves? I am sure all of us have, at one time or another in our lives, been humbled by a situation or by the remarks of another person.

So here is the kind of humility Paul is encouraging the church at Philippi to achieve:

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty 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.”  Philippians 2:3-4

Paul has been encouraging the church to strive for unity. Now, he is giving them a vital avenue to unity—humility.

He is focusing on humility because it is the key ingredient in having a relationship in harmony.

Do you know someone who “everybody” likes?

Why does everybody like that person?

Very likely, the reason everybody likes that person is that he or she is not arrogant but humble.

Humility is an essential building block in forming strong relationships.

Paul’s bottom line here is that it is never ok to allow selfishness or arrogance to motivate us in our relationships with one another.

We need to understand, though, that Paul isn’t saying we should never look after our interests.

After all, God has made us with a motivation to take care of ourselves.

This is what parents do as they raise their children—instilling in them the motivation to take care of themselves.

All the great men of the Bible looked out for their own interests --- Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, Paul, and even Jesus Himself.

That may not sound right to you, but here is the difference – they did look after their own interests ---- but they did not do it in a selfish way. They did it according to the will of God.

As an example, let’s look at Moses ---- Hebrews 11:24 says,

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing instead to endure the ill treatment with the people of God rather that to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of God to be greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.

See, he was looking to the reward – he looked out for his own long-term interests by making the short-term sacrifice of enduring ill-treatment according to the will of God.

I mentioned that Jesus also looked out for His own interests.

Hebrews 12:2 – reads like this:

“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

He realized that obtaining God’s best for eternity required His personal sacrifice in the here and now.

God’s solution is not for us to despise our own interests, but God’s way is for us to look out for others’ interests in the same way we look out for our own interests.

And --  that – is UNITY.