Philippians 2:3

“doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself”

“Doing”: “Let nothing” (KJV). “Nothing”: “Nothing should be done in a” (TCNT). There is no room in our lives for selfishness. “Being in nothing factiously or vain-gloriously minded. Never act for selfish ends” (Hawthorne p. 68). “Faction”: Intrigue, contention, and strife. “Carries overtones of. party-spirit generated by selfish ambition. ‘Rivalry' is guaranteed to destroy unity” (Hawthorne p. 68). “There is always the danger that people should work not to advance the work but to advance themselves” (Barclay p. 31). Unity is threatened when Christians forget that the cause of Christ is more important than they are. The important thing is not that we are always treated right, or that we get every bit of credit coming to us, but rather that the local congregation survives to spread the gospel to lost souls of the present and future generations. “Vainglory”: Empty glory or self-conceit. “Stop acting from motives of selfish strife or petty ambition” (Wms). “Empty conceit” (NASV). An empty or vain opinion of oneself. “Denotes boastful pride. It is the spirit that inclines one to make great claims for himself and to disparage others. Literally it indicates emptiness of ideas” (Erdman p. 78). “S inful egotism, self-imagined excellence” (Muller p. 75). “The emptier the head the louder the boast” (Hendriksen p. 100).

“There is the desire for personal prestige. Prestige is for many people an even greater temptation than wealth. To be admired and respected, to have. platform seat (Matthew 23:6), to have one's opinion sought, to be known by name and appearance, even to be flattered, are for many people most desirable things” (Barclay p. 32). Such "conceit" or arrogance is "empty", because it is not grounded in reality. In view of what Jesus did for us (Romans 5:8), there is no room for conceit and false pride in the life of the Christian (Ephesians 2:8). Such arrogance is simply proof that one has forgotten their utter dependence upon God (Romans 6:21; 2 Peter 1:9; Matthew 18:33; Matthew 6:12)

“But”: In contrast to such destructive attitudes. In view of the fact that such attitudes will harm the cause of Christ,. have every right to talk to. brother or sister who has adopted such wrong attitudes (Galatians 6:1). “Lowliness of mind”: “With true humility” (Wey). “Modesty” (Gspd). “It is the very opposite of pride and self-glory. It indicates not merely modesty but self-forgetfulness, or such. lowly view of self as enables one to form rightful views of others” (Erdman p. 79). “The term suggests. recognition of personal insufficiency” (Jackson p. 40). This context reveals something very important about the biblical virtue known as "humility". True humility is not saying that we are "worthless", rather true humility is that quality which enables us to get all the focus off ourselves and to see that others have needs just as important as our own. Lipscomb said, “Showing that it is only by. wise and lowly estimate of ourselves that we come to know what is due to others” (p. 179). Humility enables. person to "serve". It is an accurate estimation of self and others that will motivate one to use their talents to serve others (Romans 12:3). The humble person is. servant, because they always see their own short-comings and never allow themselves to think that they have "arrived" and thus can rest on past accomplishments. “Each”: This is required of every Christian. “Counting”: “Each person is to practice ‘counting'” (Jackson p. 40). “To calculate, to reckon. It implies. conscious sure judgment resting on carefully weighed facts” (Hawthorne p. 70). “Better than himself”: “Deserving first consideration than himself” (Jackson p. 40). “More important than himself” (NASV).

“Paul is not asking the impossible or the untrue, namely that. am to think that every other Christian, just because he is. Christian, has more brains, more ability, more everything than. have. Nor does Paul ask that we merely ‘consider' one another above although we know that the facts are quite to the contrary, that. large number are far beneath us” (Lenski p. 767). “The rule does not mean that one must consider every fellow-member to be in every respect wiser, abler, and nobler than himself” (Hendriksen p. 100). It is the attitude that realizes that every member of the body is essential (1 Corinthians 12:1), and places the needs of my brother or sister ahead of my own. “Each is to put every other brother first on the list to be considered, himself at the bottom of the list; each one is to have the list arranged in this order. The worldly reverses this: he (individual) comes first, everyone else comes last, and perhaps does not come at all” (Lenski p. 767). Barclay points out, “There is concentration on self. If. man is forever concerned first and foremost with his own interests, he is bound to collide with others. If for him life is. competition whose prizes he must win, he will always think of other human beings as enemies or at least as opponents who must be pushed out of the way. Concentration on self inevitably means elimination of others; and the object of life becomes not to help others up but to push them down “ (pp. 32-33).