I. The Importance Of Unity 

A. Paul Saw Himself United With Them V. 1a 

1. The Philippians struggled with unity.  (See Philippians 1:27) 
2. Yet Paul loved these saints.  They were blessed in many other ways. (Philippians 1:3-8) 

B. Paul Called For Unity Among Them Vs. 2, 3 

1. Paul was their spiritual father; he had founded the church.
2. V. 2- He doesn’t take sides with these women.  He tells them to change their attitudes
3. V. 2- be of the same mind-Find common ground in Jesus Christ.

a. He had taught them so many truths about Jesus: His humility, incarnation, His humiliation, obedience unto death, His resurrection, His imminent return.
b. Their unity would come as a result of reflecting on Jesus, not the things of man.

4. V. 3- These women were older Christians, and veterans of the mission field.
5. We don’t know who the true companion was, but he would help them find unity.
6. He was not there to decide who was right and who was wrong.

II. Attitudes That Bring Unity

A. What Attitudes To Have Vs. 1b, 4, 5

1. V. 1b…so stand fast in the Lord. Lit.- “in this way, with this mindset, stand fast.

a. Your “standing” ought not to depend on winning arguments and being right.
b. Your “standing” ought to be based on Jesus, what He did and who he is, etc.

2. V. 4- They were to rejoice in the truths of their salvation, promises of heaven.

a. If your “standing” in Christ is based upon winning arguments: no joy.
b. If your “standing” in Christ is based upon Him, you will rejoice.

3. V. 5- You will be gentle & patient if you have a right perspective.
4. V. 5- The Lord is at hand- His return is imminent.  He could come any time.
5. Gentleness & joy ought to be present because of Jesus, not because we are “right”
6. NOTE- The challenge for us as Christians is:

a. As Christians we do see wrongs that presently go uncorrected.
b. We are wronged, and often there is no apology or confession of sin against us.
c. Our godly sense of righteousness seeks to correct such things.
d. We grow frustrated with these sinful situations being left uncorrected.
e. The purpose of our life becomes “righting the wrong”, “being vindicated”
f. We become disillusioned that no one else can see this travesty of injustice
g. We lose our joy, we are not in unity, and we are not gentle.
h. Be angry, and sin not.  Be angry, but don’t lose your joy or gentleness.
i. Don’t you think that sin bothers God more than us? He is being patient.
j. Be angry but keep a right perspective.  God will judge. (See 3:15; Romans 12:14-21)
k. A measure of spirituality is being able to discern sin & seek to correct it.
l. A greater measure of spirituality is how you react when sin isn’t corrected
m. We have God’s directives to keep us rejoicing, gentle, in unity with others.

B. How To Get A Right Attitude

1. Prayer V. 6

a. Be anxious for nothing- Are you addicted to worry? It’s a sin, not a personality trait
b. prayer & supplication- general & specific. Do you have a worry list or prayer list?
c. with thanksgiving- Choose to remember the blessings of God and be grateful.
d. let your requests be made known to God- Go to God first, not people.

2. What prayer brings V. 7

a. the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding- we argue facts

i. God brings peace that goes beyond the facts.

b. will guard your hearts & minds- emotions and thought life.

C. Control Your Thought Life V. 8

1. meditate on these things- See also Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 10:5

a. NOTE- Paul isn’t calling them to meditate on nothing or to empty their minds.
b. They had been instructed in the Christian faith, and they knew the truth.
c. He is telling them what to meditate on.  It is up to them to do it.
d. Meditate- to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over, to consider.

i. A banking term: go over the facts and come to a conclusion about things.
ii. Reckon the transactions and come to a final amount.

e. It is a word that speaks of thinking on what you know to be true, and then coming to a conclusion based on the facts you considered.
f. It has nothing to do with supposing, wondering, or having an opinion
g. You would never ask your banker how much he feels you have in your account, or how much he guesses you have.  You ask him to reckon your account, to compute & calculate, & then come to a fact-based conclusion.

2. What to meditate on

a. true-not false, not supposed, not an opinion, not gossip, not speculation.
b. noble- honorable.
c. just- upright, righteous, that which is conformed to God’s will.
d. pure- pure from carnality, chaste, modest.
e. lovely- acceptable, pleasing, as opposed to unacceptable, displeasing.
f. good report- promising success; propitious; opportune; favorable, as opposed to gloomy and negative, expecting the worst.
g. any virtue- moral goodness, modesty, purity.
h. anything praiseworthy- things commendable, worthy of praise.

D. Do What You Know To Do V. 9

1. We learn, receive, and hear about Jesus, and we see godliness modeled by others
2. We need to do what we know God has called us to do.
3. Read Philippians 2:12, 13.  God does His part, but we must do our part.
4. “…and the God of peace will be with you.”

a. God is always with the Christian.  He never leaves the Christian

i. Matthew 28:20  “ I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
ii. Hebrews 13:5  “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”

5. But Paul is speaking of the Christian experiencing the peace of God.
6. Are you feeling it?  Is experiencing God’s peace the norm for your life?