This is Monday morning, June 18, 1973, in Richmond, Virginia. Ministry is being given through Brother Stephen Kong.
Another time together. May we turn to the letter to the Philippians, Chapter 2.
We will read from Verse 1.
If then there be any comfort in Christ,
if any consolation of love,
if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any bowels and compassions,
fulfil my joy, that ye may think the same thing,
having the same love,
joined in soul, thinking one thing;
let nothing be in the spirit of strife or vain glory,
but in lowliness of mind,
each esteeming the other as more excellent than themselves;
regarding not each his own qualities,
but each those of others also.For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, subsisting in the form of God,
did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on an equality with God,
but emptied Himself,
taking a bondman’s form,
taking His place in the likeness of men;
and having been found in figure as a man,
humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death,
and that the death of the cross.Wherefore also God highly exalted Him,
and granted Him a name, that which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of heavenly and earthly and infernal beings,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to God the Father’s glory.
We have just read this portion. We mentioned last night that this letter to the Philippians, written by the Apostle Paul, is a love letter.
In this letter, you do not find much presentation of doctrine or teaching, even though you do find teaching and doctrine there. In this letter, you find Paul is not trying to answer questions or solve problems, even though problems are solved.
This letter is mainly a love letter. Paul was writing this letter to the church that he loved very dearly. He was pouring out his heart to them. He was trying to share his very life with them. He was seeking for their very best.
It is a lovely letter. In this letter, you find Paul sharing with them—and with us today—the secret of life. How can we live on this earth as Christians? How can we live as Christ lived on this earth?
Not by ourselves, not by our strong will, not by our determination or resolutions, not by our own strength and effort, but by the life of Christ that is in us. In other words, the secret of Christian life is Christ. It is not us; it is Christ.
Paul said, “For me to live is Christ.” It is not Paul who is living the life of a Christian. It is not Paul who tries to live as Christ. It is Christ who is reliving His life in Paul, and today, in every one of us. This is the secret: for me to live is Christ.
This morning, we would like to proceed a little further. We have the life of Christ in us, and if only we will let Christ live through us—if we let Christ live, or if we live by Christ—then we will be marked by a certain spirit, or a certain mind. That is the mind of Christ.
Not only the life of Christ, but the mind of Christ. Oftentimes we do not have the spirit of Christ. In other words, I do not mean that we do not have His Spirit—we do—but oftentimes we do not manifest His Spirit. We do not seem to express His mind, even though in 1 Corinthians Paul says, “We have the mind of Christ.”
So far as our position is concerned, so far as His redemption is concerned, because we already have the life of Christ in us, therefore we have the Spirit of Christ in us. We have the mind of Christ in us. Positionally, this is true. But oftentimes you find this is not being manifested. Why? Because we do not really live by the life of Christ.
If we should live by the life of Christ, then His Spirit will be our spirit. Then His mind will surely be expressed as our mind. And this is very important.
The manner of life that we live is regulated mainly by our mind. As we think, so shall we walk. Our mind sets the direction; it sets the course for us.
If we set our mind on a certain thing, then we will proceed in that direction. We will be seeking for that thing, and that will become our living, our manner of life.
You find in Romans 8 that the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. If we mind the things of the flesh, we are flesh; if we mind the things of the Spirit, we are spiritual.
In other words, if you set your mind, set your thought, set your thinking—if you are thinking all the time of the things of the flesh—how can you be spiritual? You are thinking of the things of the flesh all the week, and then on the Lord’s Day you come and try to be spiritual. That is impossible.
If you set your mind on the things of the flesh, you are fleshly, you are carnal. But if you set your mind on the things of the Spirit, you are spiritual. The minding of the flesh is death; the minding of the Spirit is life and peace. Our mind is very, very important because it affects our very manner of living.
As you read this letter, we know that the church in Philippi was a church that seemed to be very mature. It had a marvelous beginning, as we mentioned last night, and it continued on very well.
Paul said that from the very first day, up to the time he was in prison in Rome, the church in Philippi was in constant fellowship with him in the gospel. It was a church that grew very well. It was a church that was quite mature.
There seemed to be no problem in that church—not like the church in Corinth, full of problems. This church in Philippi seemed to be a good one. There was not much problem among them, and yet they had a problem.
When Paul wrote this letter, especially in the first chapter, one word is repeated many times. Now, as we say, if you find something repeated many times, you know there is something there.
Strange to say, Paul did not point out the real problem of the church in Philippi until you come to the last chapter. As a matter of fact, the last chapter seems to be an addendum, because in Chapter 3 he had already said, “For the rest.” In other words, he was concluding his letter.
And when he was concluding the letter, he did not even mention what their problem was. Until after he had seemingly concluded the letter, he put a footnote: “P.S.—now you have a problem here.” He pointed it out in such a nice, gentle way.
But when you read this letter, even in the first chapter, you find that he repeated one word again and again. There was some hint there. What is that word? That word is “all.”
In Philippians 1:1, Paul and Timothy are writing “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.” He was not writing this letter to some of the saints in Philippi. He was writing this letter to all the saints in Philippi.
In Philippians 1:4, he says, “Constantly in my every supplication, making the supplication for you all with joy.” Paul was not praying just for a few, either the majority or the minority. He was making supplication for all of them with joy.
Then, in Philippians 1:7, he says, “As it is righteous for me to think this as to you all, because ye have me in your heart, and that both in my bonds and in the defence and confirmation of the glad tidings, ye are all participators in my grace.” To think this as to you all—he made no distinction. All of you in the church in Philippi.
Then in Verse 8, “For God is my witness, how I long after you all in the bowels of Christ Jesus.” He longed for them all, no matter who that person was. All of them.
Again, in Verse 25: “And having confidence of this, I know that I shall remain and abide along with you all for your progress and joy in faith.” God would have him live on for their progress and joy in faith.
Here you find, in the very beginning, he mentions again and again: all, all, all.
Then you find that he continues with this in Philippians 1:27:
Only conduct yourselves worthily of the glad tidings of the Christ,
in order that, whether coming and seeing you, or absent,
I may hear of what concerns you,
that ye stand firm in one spirit,
with one soul,
labouring together in the same conflict
with the faith of the glad tidings.
One spirit, one soul, laboring together in the same conflict. Then in Chapter 2:
If then there be any comfort in Christ,
if any consolation of love,
if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any bowels and compassions,
fulfil my joy, that ye may think the same thing,
having the same love,
joined in soul, thinking one thing.
Now, the church in Philippi certainly had comfort in Christ. They had consolation of love. They had fellowship of the Spirit. In sending Epaphroditus with a gift for Paul, even when Paul was in Rome, that showed how much they had consolation of love, comfort in Christ, and fellowship of the Spirit.
Yet Paul said, “If you want to fulfil my joy”—things you are thinking of me—“then you must think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking one thing.”
In other words, the whole atmosphere, the whole approach, the whole thought behind it all was this: Paul was thinking of them all, and Paul desired that they be one—one in spirit, one in love, one in soul. They were to think the same thing, in such unity and such oneness.
Why should Paul emphasize this so much in this letter? Because the church in Philippi had a problem. That was the only serious problem in the church there.
Brothers and sisters, as a matter of fact, you cannot find a perfect church on earth. There is not any. You cannot find a church without any problem.
Problems are good—yes, if they are rightly met. If you meet a problem with the right attitude and in the right way, it will mean progress.
So in the church in Philippi, even though it was such a mature church, they had a serious problem. This serious problem seemed to cast a shadow over the whole church.
What was that problem? There were two sisters in the church, two leading sisters, two strong spiritual sisters: Euodia and Syntyche. They had helped Paul in the work, and yet these two sisters could not get along with each other.
You know, the church in Philippi began with a sister, Lydia. She was the first one who came to the Lord. It seemed as if, in the church in Philippi, the sisters were really strong—very strong.
Even at the time when Paul wrote the letter, you find two sisters, very strong spiritual sisters, leading sisters, and yet they were at odds with each other. Not in the sense that they could not speak to each other, but in the sense that there was a rivalry between these two.
Now, brothers and sisters, the trouble in the church in Philippi was not over a matter of truth. Sometimes, because people have different emphases or different opinions on truth, that divides God’s people, which it should not.
But in the church in Philippi, there was no problem of truth, no problem of teaching. It was mainly a problem of personality. It was a clash of personality; it was not a clash of truth.
If it comes to a matter of truth, you know where you should stand. Of course, you stand with the truth of God. But when you come to a matter of personality, now that is a problem. Where is your stand? So you take sides.
That was the problem. These two sisters were both strong personalities, and they clashed. They did not clash over teaching or truth; they believed the same thing. Yet somehow their personalities did not seem to merge. They clashed because each of them desired to be the greater one.
Then the whole church was under a shadow, because the brothers and sisters did not know where they should stand. Should they stand with Euodia, or should they stand with Syntyche? Because it was not a matter of truth, they were lost and puzzled. Because of that, a shadow was cast over the whole church. They lost their joy.
Now, that was their problem. Brothers and sisters, I have seen a lot of conflict in the church among God’s people which is supposed to be for the truth, but actually it is personal.
A lot of people use the truth as a banner: “I cannot give in because it is a matter of truth.” But if you dig a little deeper, you find they are using truth as a banner, but the real problem is personality.
If it is truth, it is worth contending for. But if it is personality, it does not work; it does not work anything.
I wonder if the problem in the church in Corinth was the same problem. I do not know. Some say, “I am of Paul”; some say, “I am of Apollos”; some say, “I am of Cephas.” Now, is it because of truth?
There might be different shades, different emphases, in the truth that Paul presents, Peter presents, and Apollos presents. That is possible. Yet is this because of truth? I wonder.
When people begin to take sides, are they guided by truth, or is it just a natural personality? I am afraid there are lots of personality problems, not truth problems, even probably with the church in Corinth.
It is just that some people like Paul, that is all. Some people like Peter, and some people like Apollos. It is personality, not because of the essence of the truth that they present.
It is the same truth with different shades, and we ought to be able to receive all the truth with all the shades. Yet personality is a problem. There was rivalry between these two sisters, and each one wanted to be the greater one.
This is an old problem. Even when the twelve disciples were with our Lord Jesus, that was their constant trouble. They always argued among themselves who was the greater. Everyone wanted to be the greater.
That was a matter of personality, not a matter of truth. Because of this, you find our Lord Jesus had to try to calm them down all the time. It is an age-long problem.
Being human beings, we are open to that. We are open to that. It is a matter of person. Now, how are you going to solve that problem?
Paul was not going to touch it superficially. He was going to reach down to the very root and try to solve it. He knew their problem. He knew there was rivalry. He knew that it was a clash of personality. He knew the activity of the flesh.
These two sisters were both spiritual sisters, and they were striving for spiritual attainment. It was just spiritual flesh, if we may say that—very subtle, very subtle. How was Paul going to solve that problem?
He mentioned one thing, and that is the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ. Something was basically wrong. Where? In the mind. In the mind.
They had the life of Christ, and if they lived by this life, they should not have this strife and rivalry. There should be lowliness of mind in them. If they had lowliness of mind in them, there would be no problem with personalities.
What is the mind of Christ?
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, subsisting in the form of God,
did not esteem it an object of rapine
to be on an equality with God.
Think of Christ. He subsists in the form of God. Those who understand Greek tell us the word “form” here means that which He always is. It never changes. It is forever true.
In other words, our Lord Jesus subsists in the form of God. He is God. That is what He originally is, that is what He always is, and that is what He will never cease to be. Even when He became a man, He was still God. He never changes because He subsists in the form of God.
He is the Son of God eternally. He is in the form of God forever. No matter what becomes of Him, He is still that One. He is still God. Blessed be the Lord Jesus.
As God, He is on equality with God because He is God, the Son of God. That is what He is and forever will be. It is not subject to change; it cannot be changed. That is the meaning in Greek of “the form of God.”
And yet He emptied Himself.
Not because He was not equal with God. In essence, He was one with God. But in the Godhead—humanly using human ways of expression—before eternity, before there was time, in the Godhead there was a counsel.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit were in counsel. As it were, They were talking things over. The Father had a plan, a purpose. But for that purpose to be fulfilled, the Godhead needed Someone to carry it out.
So the Son offered Himself, not because He was not on equality with the Father. In essence, in life, They were the same. Yet He was willing to empty Himself.
Brothers and sisters, remember: when our Lord Jesus, when the Son of God, emptied Himself, it does not mean that He emptied Himself of the form of God. He could not empty that, because that form is eternal. It is not subject to change.
He emptied Himself of the glory, the honor, and the position He had in the Godhead. He could not empty Himself of His deity; He could not. Even when He was a man, He was still God.
But He emptied Himself of the glory and honor and position and authority and power that were connected with God. That He could empty.
In other words, He was willing to take a lower place for the purpose of God to be fulfilled. He was willing to take a lower place.
Actually, the Trinity must be explained in terms of operation, not in terms of essence or substance. That is the only way to see the Trinity, because the Three are equal; the Three are one. They are differentiated only in the things of operation.
The Father plans everything, and the Son comes to carry the plan out. In order to carry the plan out, He has to lower Himself. He has to be subject to God. So He came, laid aside His glory and His honor, and became a man.
In Verse 8, “becoming obedient even unto death.” The word “becoming” there is a different word. It means that He became what He was not before.
Being equal with God, the question of obedience did not come in, because He was one with God. But when He took the form, the likeness of man, then He became obedient unto the Father, even unto death.
That means He became what He was not before. Because of carrying out the purpose of God the Father, He became obedient as the Son, even unto death, the death of the cross.
So, brothers and sisters, here you find the mind of Christ—the spirit of Christ. The mind here actually is the mental attitude. We may say it is the spirit of the mind.
Here you find that the spirit of the mind of Christ is the mind of humility. Humility. He was able to humble Himself, empty Himself, take a lower place, and be obedient to the Father even unto death, even the death of the cross. Now that is the mind of Christ.
How different, how opposite, this mind is from the mind of Euodia and Syntyche. This mind is different from our mind. We are rather high-minded. In other words, we always aim at being higher than other people.
But here you find our Lord Jesus’ mind is humbling Himself to the lowest in order to serve the Father’s purpose and to save us. That is the mind of humility.
What is humility? You hear Paul say, “But in lowliness of mind, each esteeming the other as more excellent than themselves.”
How can we regard others as more excellent than ourselves? You know, in spiritual pursuit, you may come to a point where the Lord has really revealed Himself to you, and you have learned a great deal from the Lord. In other words, there is spiritual stature in you.
Having that stature, you cannot help but regard others as less excellent than you are—not because you are at fault, but because you are honest. Yet Paul says, “Esteeming the others as more excellent than yourselves.”
No matter how far you have advanced in Christ, no matter how much you know Him, the more you know Christ, the more you have Christ, the more you should consider others as more excellent than you are. How can it be?
Paul says, “Regarding not each his own qualities.” When you regard your own qualities, you cannot esteem others more excellent than you are, because if you do, it will be false. You are not honest.
But if you do not regard yourself, and you only regard others in Christ, then it is easy to esteem others more excellent. So I think it is someone who said this: humility is not to think less of yourself; humility is to think not of yourself.
If you try to think less of yourself, you will act humble, but actually you will be more proud. But humility is to think nothing of yourself. You do not think of yourself at all. You forget yourself altogether.
Because you have forgotten yourself altogether, when you look at your brothers and sisters in Christ, you see Christ in them, so they are more excellent than you are. That is honest. That is all.
Brothers and sisters, to solve the problem of personalities, there is only one way to solve that problem. Personality becomes a problem because the person thinks too much of himself. That is the problem.
If everyone thinks too much of himself or herself, there is a clash. It is inevitable. It cannot be helped.
If we live by the life of Christ, we will be marked by a spirit of humility. We are willing to give up our rights. We are willing to give up our position. We forget ourselves altogether, and we think of our brothers and sisters: how can we minister to them and serve them?
In other words, man disappears; Christ appears. When brotherhood comes, there is no personality problem.
You can have people with strong personalities. You can have people with dynamic personalities, and yet they do not attract people to themselves. They do not esteem themselves as more excellent than others.
When other people come in touch with them, they do not feel them; they sense Christ in them. They are attracted to Christ and not to them. If that is the case, there is no clash. There is no question of personality.
In humility, serving one another, pointing people to Christ and not to ourselves—not trying to gather people around us, but pointing people to Christ—just like John the Baptist: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” There is no personality problem.
Brothers and sisters, if the spirit of Christ marks our mind—that is to say, if we are minded and thinking in the spirit, governed and directed by the Spirit of Christ—we do not see ourselves.
We will not be conscious of ourselves all the time. We will not draw people to ourselves. Jesus Christ—always it will be Christ. There is no conflict in Christ.
I remember our dear brother Watchman Nee sometimes told us this. He said it does not matter, really, if you have a strong soul. Some people have very strong souls, that is, very strong personalities, dynamic personalities.
He said, “That strong soul, if accompanied with a strong spirit, is all right.” In other words, the spirit is in control. The spirit of the mind is being renewed.
If the spirit of the mind is being renewed, you find that even though a person can be very strong in every way, yet God can use it and turn it to Christ instead of to himself.
That is the very root of this personality question, and the solution is the Spirit, the mind of Christ, which is humility.
This does work out practically enough through the cross. As we live by the life of Christ, invariably—you do not need to try to create it or try to bring it in—you do not need it. If you live by the life of Christ, anything that is not Christ, the Holy Spirit will bring to your attention, and that will mean cross treatment.
You do not need to look for a way to deal with yourself. You do not need to. But our personality has to be changed. It must be Christ. It must be Christ.
Because Christ had gone through this, He was willing to take the lowest place in order to fulfil the Father’s purpose. Here you find God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name that is above every name. At this name every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
Brothers and sisters, if we strive for place, even a spiritual place, among God’s people, we will never reach it. But if we are willing to lose our life for Christ, to lose our soul-life for Christ and for His sake, we will gain it.
The way of the Lord is so different from the human way. The human way is to strive for it, and if you do not strive, you will never get it. But the divine way is emptying, losing, giving. In giving your life in that way, God will exalt you in His time.
Now, Paul, after he had given this principle to the church in Philippi, illustrated this principle with three people. That is the rest of the chapter.
Number one, he illustrated it with himself. He was not just talking to the church in Philippi and saying, “Now you must empty yourself and humble yourself in order that this problem may be solved.” He himself knew what he was talking about because it had worked in him.
Notice here, Paul says in Philippians 2:17:
But if also I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrifice and ministration of your faith,
I rejoice,
and rejoice in common with you all.
Paul considered the church in Philippi as a sacrifice and offering. He brought them to the Lord. He offered them as a sacrifice, as an offering to God.
But he said, “If I am poured out as a libation, as a wine offering, upon your offering, I rejoice.” According to the Old Testament, when people offered a sacrifice, the sacrifice itself might have been a bull, a lamb, a ram, or even pigeons.
Upon the sacrifice, they had to offer other things, such as the oblation, the meal offering, the flour. Then there was the wine offering. When they offered a sacrifice, they poured a wine offering upon the sacrifice.
Why? Wine in Scripture speaks of joy. Wine gladdens the heart. In other words, when a sacrifice is offered, you do not offer it grudgingly. You do not offer it merely from a sense of duty.
When you offer it, you offer it with joy. Because it is voluntary and with joy, it is accepted. God loves a cheerful giver. The same principle applies.
You do not just offer sacrifice as if, “Well, because I have to do that.” No, that is not good enough. When you offer as a sacrifice, pour wine on it. Make it a joyful offering. If your offering is so joyful and willing and cheerful, God is pleased.
Paul considered the brothers and sisters in Philippi as a sacrifice, as an offering. Paul offered them to God, not for himself. God used him to build up that church, but the church was for God, not for Paul. They were an offering to God.
Paul said, “Who am I? You are the offering. You are the main offering. I am only a wine offering to accompany you.” Oh, how humble he was.
He did not consider the work as his own work. He considered it as God’s work, and he was willing to be poured out upon it to add joyfulness to it. “I rejoice, and I rejoice with you.”
When I see you offer yourselves to God, I rejoice with you. I am adding that element of joy to it. I rejoice with you, and I hope you will rejoice. How humble Paul was.
Paul said to the church in Corinth, “I am willing to spend and be spent for you.” No matter how the church in Corinth treated him, Paul was still willing to spend and be spent.
The same spirit is here—the Spirit of Christ. He was nothing of himself, but he was thinking what would be good for the church. If only he could add something so that they would be more accepted by God, that was what he was willing to do.
That was the perfect Spirit of Christ. The mind of Christ was Paul’s mind.
More than Paul, he mentioned Timothy. Timothy was a young man, and yet Paul said, “I have no one like-minded who will care with genuine feeling how you get on; for all seek their own things, not the things of Jesus Christ.”
Paul was waiting for the trial to proceed, and in the spirit he knew that he would be released. He would be able to go back and visit the church in Philippi. But before he was released, as soon as he knew what would happen, he would send Timothy first to convey the good news to the church in Philippi, because they were very much concerned about this.
Why did Paul send Timothy? Because, “I have no one like-minded who will care with genuine feeling how you get on.” Not all seek the things of Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters, think of it. People who are serving the Lord may be seeking things of their own. But here was Timothy. He was not seeking anything of his own, but he had a genuine feeling for the saints.
In other words, he was a person who had the mind of Christ. If he could do anything for the church in Philippi, he was willing to pour himself out.
How sad it is to think that Paul said, “I had no one else,” no one else who had such a genuine feeling for them. Of course, it does not mean that all the others with Paul were seeking their own things. Probably we have to say that some who were with Paul had no concern for the church in Philippi. They might have been burdened with other churches, but not with the church in Philippi.
But Timothy was really burdened with that church, and for that reason Paul was very certain to send him, because he had the mind of Christ.
The third one was Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus was one of them, one of the saints. They sent him to Rome to serve Paul.
Being sent as a representative to Rome to serve Paul, on behalf of the church in Philippi, he must have been a person who loved the Lord very much. Sure enough, because Paul, in sending Epaphroditus back, said in Philippians 2:29-30:
Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy,
and hold such in honour,
because for the sake of the work
he drew near even to death,
venturing his life,
that he might fill up what lacked
in your ministration toward me.
In other words, here was a person who was willing to risk his life, to give his life, in order to fill up what was lacking in the ministration of love from the church.
Again, the Spirit of Christ. This was not just a theory. This was proven in the lives of Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus.
If the church in Philippi had such people, then the matter of rivalry and personality clashes would automatically be solved. In other words, everything is just Christ, Christ Himself.
The church is the body of Christ, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
So, dear brothers and sisters, it is one thing to have the life of Christ—we all have the life of Christ. It is another thing to live by that life. It is one thing to have His life; it is another thing to let Him live in and through you.
If we let the life of Christ move in us, one sure sign of it is that we will be marked by the mind of Christ.
If we are not marked by the mind of Christ, you will find personality clashes in the church. It is unavoidable. But if we live by the life of Christ, then we will all be marked by the Spirit of Christ.
We will gird ourselves with humility, serving one another. The result is that the church will be built. That is the only way to be of one spirit, in one soul, in one love, and thinking one thing.
May the Lord use these words to help us, in practical life, enter into that unity and harmony that is in Christ. This is very, very important.
Oh, heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee because Thou hast given us Christ as our life.
Oh, we do not need to struggle and strive to live, but we can just let Christ live in and through us.
Lord, how we praise and thank Thee because, even though we are individuals, there is no need for the clash of personality, because it is Christ in all of us.
Lord, may Thy Spirit of humility mark each one of us, that we may serve one another with all humility.
Oh Lord, we do pray that we truly may be of one spirit, one mind, and even thinking one thing. May Thy church be built.
We just commit ourselves to Thee and thank Thee that it is possible. It is workable; it is true.
In the name of our Lord Jesus.