The Good Life: Kingdom Focused Living (Part 2)
May 15, 2022
We hope this guide will help you take the good news you hear today into your daily lives.
Unity is not characterized by right answers, but by love for one another as Christ loves us, sustained by the Spirit, and renewed through humility. Unity is not a state of mind, but is worked out together as a body of believers.
Scripture and Notes
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Philippians 1:27-30 (NIV)
Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion...
Philippians 2:1 (NIV)
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4:10-12 (NIV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 5:22-26 (NIV)
...then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians 2:2-4 (NIV)
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming 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 acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)
Striving TOGETHER for the gospel
1. Unity begins in unconditional Love.
2. Unity is sustained through the Fruit of the Spirit.
3. Unity is renewed through Christ-like Humility.
Going Deeper: “Self-Emptying Love”
Christ Jesus…being in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:6-8 (NIV modified)
In these verses, Paul cites an early Christian hymn, known as the “kenotic”—or self-emptying—hymn. This is one of the first reflections on the incarnation: God’s decision to become human in order to encounter us, relate to us (and help us relate to God), and ultimately, save us. There is no greater lowering, nor love, than this.
Spend some time in prayer this week, reflecting on this passage.
· How does the self-emptying love of Jesus Christ draw you closer to him?
· Think of someone in your life who models humility and obedience. What can you learn from them? Consider reaching out to them (if possible) for a conversation, or even mentoring.
· Pray for God’s Spirit to show you aspects of your “self”—your attitudes, your possessions, or your opinions—that you can let go of, or release to God.
