For further thought and discussion:
Getting Started
1.What was helpful to you in this week’s sermon? What didn’t you understand?
2.When have you been tempted to use your status, authority, or a certain privilege for your own benefit, rather than the benefit of others? Share your experience with the group.
Going Deeper
3.Read verses 1-4. How does this passage relate to what Paul just said in 1:27-30? Explain Paul’s flow of thought. What will “complete [Paul’s] joy” (v. 2)? What, according to Paul, is the key to Christian unity (vv. 3-4)? Why is humility essential for unity? To put it another way; how does a lack of humility destroy unity?
4.Read verses 5-8. How did Jesus pursue a lower status (list the stages of Jesus’ descent into shame)? What does it mean that Jesus existed “in the form of God” (v. 6). What does it mean that he didn’t consider equality with God “a thing to be grasped” (v. 6). How did Christ “make himself nothing” (v. 7) and “take the form of a [slave]” (v. 7)? What does this passage teach us about the true nature of humility?
5.Why is Christ’s example (vv. 5-8) particularly challenging for people in positions of power (remember that Paul greets Christian leaders specifically in 1:1)? How does it challenge you to view leadership differently? Be specific.
6.Why does God honor Jesus (v. 9)? Why would this have been so shocking to the Philippians (especially given their cultural context)? What “name” does God give Jesus? What is new about Jesus’ status after his resurrection? In verses 9-11, Paul alludes to Isaiah 45:18-25, but applies it to Jesus. Read the Isaiah passage. Why is Paul’s allusion so significant?
Application:
7.Jeff listed a variety of ways we can “strive for second place” in our relationships. Which of these stood out to you? Where do you need to “consider [someone else] more significant” than yourself (v. 4)?
8.What’s one thing you can do this week to apply this passage?