ニューイングランドの母校からアドヴェントメッセージの便り　その26

2015 Gordon-Conwell Advent Devotional
Day 27

Philippians 2:5-11
At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation. It is the story of God taking on human nature to live in a broken, fallen world with humans who are wounded, contentious and self-centered. It is through the incarnation that salvation for humanity is made possible.

But the incarnation of Christ is also a model for how we should live our lives. In the Church at Philippi, there were conflicts and rivalries among some members of the church. In Philippians 4, Paul pleads with members “to be of the same mind in the Lord” (v. 2) and work together for the cause of Christ.

In our text for today, Paul explains in more detail what the “mind of Christ” is and the way in which it can guide believers when they are in conflict with other brothers and sisters in Christ. We are reminded that our Lord, “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.” These words are part of an early Christian hymn that extolled a great doctrine, but one with very practical implications. Christians, following the pattern of their Lord, are called to lay aside rights, privileges and power in the service of the kingdom and in the service of others.
In such actions, conflict and factions are overcome.
Dr. Dennis P. Hollinger
President &
Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics