Supplemental Notes:

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Pliiuppians

© 2001 Koinonia House Inc.

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Introduction

Background. Paul's First Visit 10 Philippi (Acts 16). How God Guides.

Philippians 1

Timothy. Our Security in Christ. The Christian's Death Benefits. Christian Conduct.

Philippians 2:1 -11

Four Pillars for Christian Unity. TheKenosis. The Great Parabola. Jesus' N""",.

Philippians 2:12-30

Practical Examples. Li ving for Others. TheSanclity of a Commitment.

Philippians 3:1-11

The Advent oftbeJudaizers. Happiness vs. Joy. Losses Result in Gains. TheUltimateGoal.

Philippians 3:12-21

Winning the Race! Forgetting the Past. Finishing Well.

Philippians 4

Getting Along with Christians. The MeaningofPrayer. God's Rules for Doubtful Things.

Summary

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Philippi

The Book of Philippians Introduction

Philippi was founded by lhegremMacedonian king whose name it bears. It is on or near thesiteof ancient welb:orfollntains known as "Crenidcs.·' lis natural advantages wereconsidenlble: it was in tbe neighborhood of gold and silver mines, which were exhausted in early times by the Phoenicians and Thasians. They passed successively to the hand of the powers of civilized Europe: tbe Athenians. the Macedonians, alld the Romans. During the Roman occupation we rend litUeofthem. Theplain on which it was situated was remarkable for its ferti lity.

However, its primary importance was its strategic geographical position commanding the great road between Europe and Asia. The almost continual mountain barrier between the EaSI and West has a depression here which fonns a gateway fOr this thoroughfare between the two cominents. 11 was lhe advantage of thi s position that led Philip the Macedon to fortify Ule sill! of the ancient Crenides.

It was this which marked out the vcry battlefield where the destinies of the-Roman Empire were decided, and which Jed tbeconqucror to plant a Roman colony o n the scene of his triumph.

Philippi was the scene of the decisive bauleendiog the Roman republic in 42 B.C. Brutus and Cassius, murderers of JuJiusCaesar il1 M II.C. , were defeated by the combined forces of Mark Antony and Octavian. IIIho larer became Empemr Allgl/stus. Because of Philippi 's assistance. A ugustus granted Roman citizenship 10 these Philippians when he became emperor.

Augustus founded at Philippi a Roman military colony with the label, "Colonia Augusta Julia Philippensis." He.conferred upon iuhecoveted privilege of" Italic right," giving its inhabitants lhesamerights as iflhey were living ill Italy. (We will sense this when we explore Acts 16:21.)

The First Church In Europe

Paul 's fir.;t vis it to Philippi is recorded with a minuteness thai has few parallels in Luke 's history. Luke joined Paul just as he c rossed over inlO

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Europe. and he was with him during his stay in Philippi. He secms tohave remained there for some lime after Paul"s departure-the fi rst person plural is dropped at Philippi (Acts 17: I) and resumed in the same place afler a lapse of si.x or seven years (AclS 20;5).

This combines to make the visit to Philippi among themas! striking and instructive passages in Luke' s narrative.

Acts 16

5/ Andso were the churches established in the faith, and increa~ed in nUlllberdaily. 61 Now when they had gonetbroughout Phrygiaand thercgionofGalalia. and were

forbidden of the HoJy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.

The Roman Province of Asia (the region where tbe seven churches of Revelation 2 & 3 are located).

71 After they were come 10 Mysia. they assayed to go 11110 Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

Towards the north, bul blocked. Bithynia SE shore of Sea ofMamora, S. Shore of Black Sea.

81 And J.!!D: passing by Mysia came down to Troas.

Note the tbird person, ·'they." AJexandreia Troas, a port on coast of Mysia, 30 miles S of Dardanelles.

91 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: The.restood II man of Macedonia, and prayed him. saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

10) And after he had seen t e visioo, immediately H e ndeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly ga hering that [he Lord had caJled us for [0 preach [he gospel unto them.

NOlice the "we" by Lu e. Some suspect that he, Luke. was the man in tbe v ision!

I II Thererore lOOSing from and the next day to Nea

When Paul and his g whole course of Wcste

oas, we came with a straight course to Samolhraeia, lis:

g crossed the Dardanelles, they changed the Civi lizatio n !

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Samothracia: highest in e levation ofnonhern Aegean islands. midway

between Troas and Philippi. Neapolis: harbor of Philippi, IOmi. in land ; (favorable wind: two days; later it took five days).

12J And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city M lhat part of Macedonia, ,md a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.

Paul always focused on strategic centers. Hearrives about 20 years after the foundatio n of the Church at Jerusalem.

13] And on the sabbath we went oul of the eil}' by a river side, where prayer was wont 10 be made; and we sal down, aud spake unto Ihe women which resorted thither.

T he story of two women: Lydia and II channe led There was no syna­gogue (which requires 10 adult men); s imply a women's prayer meeting that would become the tirst church in Europe.

14 J And a certain woman named Lydia. a seller ofpurpJe, of the city ofThyalira, which worshiped God. heard/IS: whose heart the Lordopened, Ihalsheallended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

A sales rep. The celebrated purple dye was made from the Illurcx. a she llfish. (Ref. by Homer.) Inscript ions of the g uild of dyers have been found at T hY3tira. (ThY3tira was one o f Ule ci ties Paul had to omit on hi s way to Troas.)

15J And when sh~ was baplized. and her household. shebesoughlllS, saying, Ifye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house. and abide tliere. And she constrained us.

("Conmained" : only here and at the end of the Emmaus Road.)

16} And it came [0 pass. as we went to prayer, acertain damsel po!lSt!sscd Wilh a spirit of divination mel us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

" Divination": 1fuGwv PWItOIl; in Greek mythology the name of lhe Pythian serpent ordragoll Ihal dwelt in the region of Pytho at the foot of Pam ass us in Phoci s, and was suid to have guarded the oracle at Delphi and been s lai n by Apollo. Origin: from Putho ( lhc name of the region where De lphi , lhe seat of the fa mous oracle, wa.~ located).

The priestess at the fa mous temple at Ue lph was called the Pythoness; the teml Pytho n became eq uivalent to a soothsaying demon. She was,

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thus, Apollo's "channel." [There's nothing "new" about the "New Age" !l

171 The same followed Paul and us, and cried. saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

The occult is always motivated by self-interest. Even "trum" is used 10 "suck them in": soon it is mixed with error .... 011 each previous occasion (Mark a nd Luke). Jesus commanded the acknowledging de mon to silence.

18 J And this did she many days. But PlIul, being grieved. turned and~aid tOlhespiril. I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to COIne oul of her. And he came OUI the same hour.

191 And when her masters saw thallhe hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew Ihem into the marketplace unto Ihe rulers.

If infiltration doesn' l work, then direct oppression. Outright violence demonstrates that one of the enemy's strongho lds was being attacked (Cf,2Cor 10:4: Eph6).

10J And brought them to the m3gistr3teS, s3ying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city.

2 1 J And teach customs, which ate not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

The pride and privilege of Roman citl zcnship confronts us at every turn. This is thesentimcnt which s timulates tbe blind loyaJtyofthe people "by advocating c ustoms unlawful forus Romans to accept or practice ." This will be th!! basis of the redress and forces a n apology in vv.37439.

221 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded 10 beal (hem.

23J And when they had laid many stripes upon lhem. they cast them into prison. charging the jailor to keep them safely:

24 J Who, having receivt:d such achlirge. thrustlhem into theinncrprison. and made their feet fast in the stocks.

25 J And al midnight Paul and Silas prayed, und sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

Adoration and worship. (Not, "deliver your servants," etc.)Cf. Ps 113; 11 5: 11: 11 6:3,4,15, 17; 118:6,29; 11 4:7.

The concen was so successful thal it brought the house down! Other prisoners were "attentively listening ... "

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261 And suddcnlythere was a greate:mhquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all thcdoor.i wercopened, andevcryone's bands were loosed.

271 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, be drew OUi his sword, and would have killcd himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

He was accountable 10 pay their debts if lost. [Cf. Telelesfai: "paid in

full" as Ute compleLion of the i.r "certificate of debt."J

28J But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, DOlhyself no hnnn: forwearcalt here. 291 Then he called for a light and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before

Paul and Silas, 30J And broughl them out. and said. Sirs, what must I do to be saved'!

Good q uestio n. We a ll need to be cenai n of the answer.

31j And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, :lnd thou shal t be saved, Slid thy house.

"And thy house": a prophccy, nOI a doctrine . The firs t male convert in Europe.

32J And they spakc unto him the word oftbe Lord, and 10 al l that were in his bouse. 33] And he took thcm the same hourofthenight. and washed tlzeirstripes; and was

baptized, he and all his, straightway. 341 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and

rejoiced. believing in God with all his house. 35] And when it was day, the mllgiSlfates sent the sargents, saying, U::I those men

go. 36J And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magis trates have scnt

to let you go: now therefore dcpan, and go in peace, 37J But Paul said unto them. They have beaTen us openly uncondemned. being

Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they th rost us oul privily? nay veri ly; but Jet them come themselves and fetch us out.

WhoopS! They had aj ur isdiclion problcm! Valerian Law: no Roman should ever be bound: this was considered to be an offense againSl lhe empire. Pacian Law forbade any Roman to be nagged.

Magistrates were at substant ial risk themselves! I love the way Paul

" rubs their noses" ill it!

38J And the seljeants told these words unlO the magistrates: and they feared . when they heard Ihal they were Romans.

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39J And they came and besought them. and brought/hem out, and desired them to depart out of the city.

Oh, please, would you beso kind as to Icavequielly! Thisaspeci will al so be important for us to remcmberwhen we turn from Luke's narrati ve to Paul's lclterto the Philippians. Addressing a Roman colony from the Roman capitaL writing asacitizen to cilizens, heretum s in his thinking to the political franch iseas an apt symbol of the higher pri vi leges of their heavenly calling, to the· poliricallife as a s uggesti ve metaphor for the duties of thei r Christian profession:

Conduct yourselves in II manner warth), a/the gospel oj Christ ...

Phil 1:27 0111' CitiZl'lIship is ill heavetl.

Phi1 3:20

40] And they went our oftbe prison. and entered into the houst' QfLydia: nnd wheu they had seen the brethren, they comforted them. and departed.

Three Very Different Converts

Neither JeworGreek, slave nor/ree. male nor/emale./or.YOII areall OIU! ill Christ JeSIlS

Gal328

The Purple.Dealer a nd ProselytessofThyatira: an Asian; engaged in an important and lucrative business: devoted to the truths of the Old Testament.

A Girl with the Divining Spirit: a Greek; treated by lhe law-as a mere chane l without any social or political rights, employed by her masters to trade upon the impressionable ignomnt ; bearing the name of the Pythian god. the reputed SO UTce of Greek inspiration, represented the equi valent what is presently called the New Age.

The Roman Jailer: equally removed from both. held a subordinate office under government; whose worship was Like ly essentially political in tone.

First the proselyte. next the Greek, Hod lastly, the Roman: they would seem to symbolize the progress of Christianity throughout the world. T hey abo ilJustratc th~ two gTeat socilll revolutions Christillnity has affected: the amelioration of woman, and abolition of slavery (Cf. Acts 16: 13; 17:4; 17: 12). Cf. The solicitation of peace between Euodia and

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Syntyche.(PhiJ 4:2·3}. This is also the first recorded insl<lncewhere whole· families are gathered into the fold. Lydia and her household and the jai ler and all belonging to him are- baptized into Chri sr.

As in ancient days, the patriarch was the recognized priest of his clan. so in the Christian church the fa ther of the house is the divinc1y appointed center of re li gious life \0 his own family: the church in the house of Philemon grew into the church ofCo lossae (Phi lemon 2): the church in the house of Nymphus becomes the church of Laodicea (Colossians 4:15); the church in the house of Aqui la and Priscilla becomes the churches orbolh Ephesus and Rome (1 Corinthians 16: 19: Romans 16:5).

The history of Paul's connection with Philippi assumes a prominence quite out of proportion to the importance of the place itself.

The persecutions which the apostle endured here were more than usually severe and impressed themselves deeply on his memory. for he aUudes to them again and again:

But e\'f!.11 after Ihm lVe had suffered bejvre. alld were shul11cJullyt'mretUcd, as ye know, at Philippi ...

I Thess2:2

Having Ihe same conflicI which ye saw ill me, alld IWW heur tv hI' in me. Phil 1:30

His marvelous deli verance is without a parallel in his history beforcor after, and his labors surpasses hi s earlier and laler achievemenlS.The unwavering loyally oFhis Pbilippian converts is the constant solace of the apostle in his numerous trials. They are his "joy and crown:' his "brothers ... whom llong for" (Phil 4: 1). From them alone be consents to receive gifls of money fo r the relief of his personal needs (Phi 4: 15); 10 them alon¢ h¢ writes in language unclouded by any shadow of displea· sure or disappointmenl. (This is on ly paralleled with Jesus' letter to Smyrna (Rev 2:8- 11 ); more of the possible parallels will beexplored later!'}

In fact, Paul 's firs t visit to Philippi ended abruptly in the middle of the storm of pcrsecution; the apostle len behind a legacy of suffering to this newborn church. The afnictions of the Macedonian Chrislians, and of the Philippians purticularly, are more than once alluded to in Pau l's letters (2 Cor 8:2; c f. n01eson Phil 1:7,28·30).

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Application

"Why doesn' l God g uide us loday like in the Book of Acts?"

Paul must have been puzzled:

Quarre lling with Barnabas, he parted fro m him; • He wanted to preach the Gospel, so he passed through Syria

and Ciiiciu, and came to Dcrbc and Lystra, and there he met Timothy. He wUllled to go on to proco nsul ar Asia, and he cO\lld not do it: He was sick ; Un infinnity o f the tlesh was upon hi m and he could not go on. It was necc.ssary to tbat he should lake another direction and he went into Galatia and preached there.

• Then he mmed back again. There was na reason that becouJd understand. It was a picture of cross currents, of difficulty, perplexjty and darkness.

• Then he felt the lureofBithynia; he would gothere. No. hc must go west and on he wem, perplexed. Then came the vision of the- man of Macedonia ( ... and when he talked it over wilh Luke in later days. Luke would wri te the story with hindsight.)

The Spirit forbade him preachi ng in Asia. The Spiri t of Jesus drove him ever and ever on toward Troas. The guidance o f the Holy Spirit is validated by thereSul ts: Phi lippi, ThessaJonica, Berea, Athens, Corimh.

The guidance of the Spiri t was subsequently recognized by these men: ... nOI always by flaming visions;

... not by words articulate in human ears; but by c ircumstances, by commonplace things, by diffic ult things, by dark things, by d isappointing things.

The man the Spiri t will guide is the man who is in an attitude in which it is possible rorlhe Spirit to guide him~ ... an atti tude of life; of loyalty to the Lord, faith in the gu idance of the Spirit, and collstant watchfulness.

It is the watche-f for the Lord who sees the Lord.

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How God Guides

Understanding doctri ne: No sense of direction : Relations with others: Irreconcilable di ff crcnces: Customs, rituals: Directions to take: Major change:

Later Visits

Unanimous agreeme nt Persistent obedience Responsible concern Cordial separation lmpon antprind ple Sense of Peace Visionorcall . , .

About five years elapsed between Paul's J" and 211<1 visit [0 Philippi; bUI meanwhile his communications with this church seem to be freq uent and intimate.

In A.D. 57. when Paul was residing in Ephesus. he dispatched Timothy and Erastus lo Macedonia(Acls 19:22: Cf. also I COr4:J7 ; 16: 10;2Cor I: I). " would seem that T imothy did not go with Erastus to Corinth but remained in Macedonia.

Liberal Support

Despite their ahject poverty and sore persecution, the Philippian church was foremost in promptness and cord iality of their relief or tlle needs of their poorer brelhren in Judea:

110ll' tlwt ill a great trial 0/ qjJliction the ab'llldllll ce o/tlleir joy and their dCl1p poverty abOUll ded unto tile riches a/ their liberality. For 10 t/teir power. I bear record, yea. GIld beyolld Iheir power they were willillg oj themsell'es; Praying us with much in treaty that we would receive the gift, WId take lipan liS thejelloll'sl!ip o/the ministering 10 ,hesui/llS, And IhiJ Ihey did, not as we hoped. bllffi r,f/ g(lI'/! theirowll .ft'lw~s tolhe Lord, and /Into us by Ihe will o/God.

2 Cor8:2-5

Repeated Visits

In the autumn of 57 A.D., Paul, released from his engagements in Asia, revisited his European churches. He visited Macedonia on the way to Corinth (2Cor 1:1 S- 17:cf. I Cor 1 :5,6),

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He had intended to sail directly to Israel, but receiving information about a plot against his life, be changed hi s plans and returned by land (Acts 19:2 1 ;20; 1-3). Thus,Maccdoniareceivcdadoublcvisil. Hisafrectionate relations wi th Philippi seem 10 rivet him thcrc. The second lettcr to Ihc Corinthians and the leuer to Galatians were wri tten from here.

Paul at Rome

Paul's appeal challenged the hostility of the greatest power the world had ever seen. The very emperor to whom the appeal was made bc<lfS

the ignominy of tbe first systematic persecuti.on of Christians. which raged for several centuries. and which ended in establ ishing the Gospel on the rui ns of the Empire.

And it isn' t improbable that Paul foresaw tbe importance of his decision wben he transferred his cause to the lribunal of Cacsar. He "must visit Rome" (Acts 19:21); he had "been longing for mrulY years" to visit thc imperial city (Rom 1: 1 0-16; 15:22-24,28); the heavenly vision strength­ened his purpose, "You must also testify in Rome" (Act 23: I I).

Some scholars believe that Luke "Volumes I & 2" (including the Book of Acts) were the legally required pre-trial documents required to precede the appellant before Caesar. (Luke seems to take pains to emphasize thaI at each uprising it was the Jewish leadership-not P.\ui and bis companions-that were the cause. Also, it is interesting that centurions arc always "good guys," ctc.)

Paul fC mained in Rome for "two whole years" (Acts 28:30). However, it didn ' t seem to impede the progress of his missionary work! He had wnltento Romaus three years before; six fu ll years before IheNeronian outbreak.

Paul WQS a prisoner for4-5 years (A.D. 58-63); V:t in Caesarea;!Ii: in Rome. Duri ng thi s period he wrote four letters: to the Phili ppians, to the Colossians. to the Ephesians and 10 Philemon, aU probably from Rome. (While scholars differ, there see ms to be evidence that Philippians is distinctive from the other tllfce, and was the earlier of tile series.)

It certainly is dislinctl vcly affectionate, inti mate, and provocatively f ,.ee of any doctrinal exhortations. There is no appeal to his apostolic authority, and in no letter is his commendations more lavish, or his affection deeper. Thereare no misgivings of their loyalty, no suspicions

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of fal se play, no reproaches for disorderly living, no warnings against serious sins. (There appears to be onesourceof slrifcor rivalry, but these d ifferences seem related to social rather than doctrinal issues.)

• • •

Philippians 1

I J Paul and Timotheus. the scrvanl~ oflcsus Chrisl. toall the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi . with the bishop~ and de3Cons:

Timothy

A youngconvenclosely associated with Paul. Eunice (11 Tim I :5), as wen 3S her mother Loi s. had instructed Timothy in Scriptures from infancy (2 Tim 3: 15 ). Two ofPa ul"s letters are addressed to him: "My own son inthefai th"( ITimJ:2.18; UTim 1: 2).

Insix of PauJ ' s Epistles. Timothy joined in salutalion. Timothy was with Paul o n his second missionary joumey ... at Ephesus during the days of strife ... with him o n last journey to Jerusalem ... with him on his first imprisonment ... Paul senl for him in the loneliness of his second imprisonment.

Pau l considered Ti mothy his son, his chiJd, his comrade in the Gght. .. Pau l circumcised l1im so as not to offend Jewish prejudices (somelhi ng he wouJd not have done ifhe were a Gentile, like Titus).

Ilis dislinctivethat Pau l and Timothy take no officiallitle here : simply the servaniS (60ii.l..ot;; dOlt/OS, bondslaves) of Jesus Christ (Cf. Ex 21 :5, 6; Deul 15: 15- 17). They. as bondslaves, had renounced all to serve Ihe Lord, as those who are ali ve from thedead. rNo oneeM become a servant o f Jesus Chrisl unti l they realize Ihatby nature they are a slave to sin .]

One can become a slave: by conq uesl; by birlh; by debt.

Ps 19:13 Ps 5 1:5 Rom6:23

One could gain freedom by eaming il; by purchase: or as a gift. Only One could pay sin 's price on our behalf.

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The saints as a whole are greeted, and the elders and deacons are specially mentioned. This is unusuaL It impl i e~ a particular sense of o bligation 10 the elders and deacons on the part of the apostles. probably in connection to the assembly' s gifts of support.

"Sai.nts" are simply those '·set apart." "Elders" may. or may not. be official. Those possessing the qualifications listed in the epistles 10

Timothy and Tints should be sought' out \'0 take responsibilities in oversight in the house of God. ITo fa il 10 acknowledge such wOllld fail to be in subjection to the Word of God, but a true bishop or overseer would be {he last man to insist upon obedience to him. He would rather lead by serv ing the saints and by the force of a godly example.l "Deacons" are those who minister in temporal things. chosen for this purpose. The word means "servant"-not II "bondman" but onc acling voluntarily in response to the expressed desire of otbers.

Note the word "all." It is used very significantly in thi s epistle to bind all together into one bundle o f love, refusing 10 recognize any incipient division among them.

21 Graecbe unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and f rom the Lord JeSU$

Christ.

Grace was the general Grecian sahlllliion. Peace, thai of the Hebrew. Paul always links them logether, and in rhatorder (God'sorder). True peace rests upon the work of the Cross, evident of His precedent Grace (Cr. Luke2:14;John l4:27; John 20: 19; PhiI4:6-7).

31 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

[I wish someone could say that about me: I' m afraid any such " remem­brances" about me would be a mixed bag at best I] Paul's prayers always begin with thanksgiving ...

4] Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request wi th joy.

Joy is lhe main lhemeofthis intimate letter. Inner joy occurs 16 limes in these four brief chapters.

5] For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

Fellowship is mcntlom:tllhree times in this e pistle: our fellow!>l liV WJ tJl God, our fellowship with the Holy Spirit , and our fellowship in the

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sufrerings of Jesus Christ. Fellowship ill the gospel may beexercised ill various ways: by prayer; by part icipation in the public testimony; by furn ishing the means to enable the laborer to go forth unhi ndered by perplexities and anxieties as to necessary meaus to carry on his work.

Our Security in Christ

6] Beingconfidelll oftnis vcrYlnillg, thai he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it uotil the day of Jesus Christ:

This is one of lhe three great passages which focus on our security in Christ:

And 19j1'e IInto them etemallife;antithe).shollneverperish.neilher sholl any man pluck them alit uflll)' hand. My Farher, which ga\'e them me, is gremer than all; and 1/0 man is able to pluck tllem alit afmy Fa/lier 's IIalld.

John 10:27-28

For I am persmuied, that neither death. liar life. lIor (IIlgelS, lIor principalities. nor powers, flOr tllings presem, nor things to come. Nor height. north-pIli. norUlI)'olhercremure. shall be able 10 separ(lle liS from Ihe love of God.. .... hich is;n Chn·sr Jesus Ollr Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

There are Olher less fanna l all usions:

The LORD wi/lflllfill hispurposeforme. Psalm 138:8(NIV)

For by O/It~ offering he hath peljetudjorever them Ihat art' sal/crifled. Hebrews 10: 14

.. ./ hll\'~ Im'ed Iltee ",jlh W/ everlo.sling love ... Jeremiah3l:3

We are "Vllbled on every side, yel 1101 distressed; we are-perplexed, bill 1101 in despair; Persecutetl. bUlnOtforsaken: co.sldown, butnOldeslroyed. .. Knowin/{ thai he which rai,fed up Ihe Lord JesllS shall mise up lIS also by Jesus, Gnd shall present us wi,It YOII.

2Carinthians4:8-9, 14

This assurance is also suggested by the images tbat are applied to believers throughout the Bible:

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... trees that do not wither CPs 1 :3): cedars of Lebanon, year to year (Ps 92: 12); house built on a rock (Mt 7:24); Mt. Zion that cannot be moved (PsI25:l).

Paul had no doubt as (0 Ihe final outcome of every true believer. God fini shes what He starts. (Has He started a good work in yOII?J

If so, He has saved youJorll purpose (Rom 8:28fO. And He's not finished with any of us yet.

There is 110 Christian lislellin.r: to my voice who will rhillk aswell Qfhinuelf five yearsfrom now as he does fhis momill8.

- Donald Grey Barnhouse

71 Even as it is meet forme to think ttus of you 1111. because I have you in my heart: inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation ohhe gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

"AJI" believers included: v .4,6-7. Lit.: "all of you being participants with me of grace." No room for divisions here.

8J For God is my record, how greatly I tong after you all in the bowels of lesus Chris t.

"Longing": not just toierance.

Paul's Prayer (CI. Colossians 1 :911)

91 And this I pray, thai your love may abOund yet more and more in knowledge and ill aJljudgment:

We are to be frui tful. Following the familiar Eph 2:8, 9 ...

For by grace are ye SQI'(.'d II/rol/g/r faith; iIfId rh(llIlQ/ of yourse/w!.s: it is tlte gift o/God: Not o/works, festallY mari should boast,

, .. is verse 10:

Forweare llis workmallship, created i/l Christ j tSIIS U/lto good works, which God hmh be/ore ordoirJed rho/ we .f!JOIj/d walk ill them.

Ephesians 2:8, 9, 10

God wants productive chi ldren.

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10J ThaI ye may approve things that ar .... excellent; thai ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

"Sincere" = witho ut wax; tr3.nSlalingE.O .. tKPWtir; heilikrines, su n-tested; fou nd pure when lested in sunlight. Fine porcelain was greaUy valued . but it was so frag ile Ihal o nly it could be fired with the greatesl difficul ty without being cracked . Unscrupulous dealers would fiU any cracks with a pc:uly-wtti te wax wbich cou ld pass wi lhaut beingreudily dett.'Cted. U held to lhe light, however. thewax appeared as adark seam. Honest Latin dea lers marked lhe ir wares "si lle cera" (without wax).

IIJ Being fill ed with the frui ts of righteousness, whicll arc by Jesus Chrisl, Ull to the glory and praise of God.

Frui tfulness: Want to prosper? In Psalm I, v.3 is preeee/ed by v.2.

Blessed is the man thal walkerh 110/ in rhe coul/sel of Ihe ungodly, nor S/(Illdelh ill the )Olay 0/ Sill/IUS, /lor sille/h in the sear o/the scom/III. Bur his delight is ill/he law oj Ihe LORD, 011(1 in his law doth he meditwe day ami night. And he shull he like ( I tree p/nnlf!d by the rivers o!wa/er. llial bringetil!orth his!ruil in Ilis seasOIl; Ilis leaj also shall nO! wilher; alld whD/soever he ,Ioelli siln/l prosper.

Psalm 1:1-3

Suffering

You can't appreciate the next several verses unless you can put yourself in the shoes o f Philippi an Christians. It had been al lenst four years since they had seen Paul; they had heard rumors of the things that had happened to him and they were worried, Newshad reached Philippi from Rome thaI their fellow church member, Epaphroditus, had been sick. The news bearer updated them on Paul also but some lime hadelapsed. They would be asking serious questions: Was Paul stil l in chains? Was he sick? Had he already come to trial? Or had hcbeen martyred? .,. they had no way to deal with these speculations.

But now they had a letter from Paul! At lease he was a live! Howeagerl y they would have-read it. Can you imagine them reading the first eleven verses with references ollly to themselves?

[21 Bul I would yc should understand, brethren, that the: things which happelled unto me have fallen out rather UlliO the furtherance of 1he gospel;

At least he was alive!

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At the timeof wriLing to the Philippians he could have noconfidencehe would ever be free again.

Things have turned out quire different fro m what Paul had planned for himself. He had carried the gospel to various parts of the world : Syria, Crete, Asia Minor (wbat we know as Turkey), and Greece. He planned to go west even to Spain after returning once more to Jerusalem and then toRome.

Instead, he fo und himself 0 11 trial for his life. He faced entirely fru se accusations leveled at him by his own peopie(Acts 21 :28). He was nearly lynChed by a religiolL<; mob and ended up in a Ro man prison, havi ng escaped a fl ogging only by pleadi ng Roman citizenship (22:22fO. His whole case was a mockery of justice: al though right was on his side, he could nOI secure a hearing . He was Ihcsubject of unjust and unprovo ked inSults and shame (23 :2), malic ioul'O misrepresentation (24:5 ; 25:6), and a deadly plot (23: 12ff; 25: I fO. He was kept imprisoned due to corrupt officials.

Then came the storm at sea, and then to chains in Rome awaiting- for two ycars-ihe uncertain decision of an eaMhl y ki ng. Nevenheless, sli II imprisoned,slill chained, still unheard, sti ll uncertain, he looks back and avers, "what happened to me served 10 advance the goSpel."l A ll the frustration. all the delays. all overshadowed by the facl lhal il served 10 spread the. gospe l.

13J So (hat my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and ill all other places:

" Palace": lTpaLl:WpLOV praetorioll, Originally assumed to .refer to a building; however, since the l71h celllury many ancient manuscripls have been uncovered that mention the Roman Praetorium and in nOlle o f these manuscripts does the word ever refer to a palace or a building o r any kind. In rul of the m il refers topeople: 10 the Praetorian Guard, the official bodyguard Qftheemperor, which also took charge of all imperial pri soners.

These very soldiers that guarded him were brought to hear the gospel; it is evidenl lhatgreat numbers oflhem believed (Cf. 4:22). (From Paul 's pointof view, the chains were to keep them from getti ng away! Can you i.magine being chained to Paul for a fuJI sbift?)

141 A nd m!Uly oflhebrethren in the Lord. waxing confiden t by mybouds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

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And OIhers were nOl o nly encouraged: they went from fC<l f to boldness as a resull of Paul's example.

Christian Troublemakers

151 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy :md strife; and some also of good will:

There is hardly a problem in the chu rch today (hat did not ex ist in some fo rm in the church of the first century. (Cori nth being o ne of the conspicuous examples, but Rome, too.)

16J 'llJe one preach ChriSl ofcontenlion, nOlsineerely. supposiog to add affliction to my bonds:

Pau l speaks of those who preached Christ o ut of "envy and strife" and "contentio n." These were Christi ans who were trying to gel Paul into trouble with theirprcaehing! [Christians are well known for arranging their firil1g squads in circles!]

Hc also alludes to this friction in other books: he indicated that most of the Christians had desened him. It is nOl gcneral.ly recognized how poorly Paul had been received in Rome. Thepaslors were jealous ofPaui. They neglected him for Ihat reason. When the pastors fo rgot their duty, Lbe people fo llowed suit. In ti me Paul was almost forgollen.

The proof of this lies in the fact when Onesiphorus, a visitor to Rome, tTied to find Paul some years later, no one eQuid te ll him where Paul was. It was only by a diligent search that he found him (2 Tim I: 16- 17).

Paul is repon ing thatlhcy preached Christ o ut of unwonhy motives : jealo usy, strife, and partisanship. Did you know that Paul very likely losl his life as a result ofthe uoublecauscd by the lCouble making Chri stians in Rome"

The information lilat ex.ists from lheearly church age about the eve nts that led up to Ihe death of Paul poin ts to this concl usion: envy led some Chr istians to denounce Paul and, as a result o f their denunciation, Paul and perhaps others also, were. presumably exec uted under Nero:

I) We noted that whe n Onesi phorus arrived in Rome. no one seemed tobe ableto te ll him where PauJ was(2 Tirn 1: 16- 17). Then Paul bcgao to make converts through the Praetorian Guard. His views spread

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through Rome, provokingjealousy among Ihe leadersofthe Roman congregation. Paul alludes 10 that here and in his2oo1 1cUcrto Timothy.

2) Suefoni us, a ,Roman historian who wrote the lives of the Caesars. te lls us that "since the Jews constantly made d i ~turbances at the instigation Chresus [Christl," thinking that Christ was the ring leader. Claudius expelled them from Rome. Tbiscxpulsionofboth Chris ti ans and Jews is alluded to in Acts 13:2.

3) A Roman Christian, Clement, wrotea Jetterto the believers in Corinth aboul90 .... 0; in chapters 3 to 6, Clement warns the Corinthians about the bad effects of j ealousy which had resulted in sufferingand death among God's people. He alludes tosevclJ examples fTOm the Old Testament, and seven from more recent times. ineludillg Paul. ( I Clement 5). Jesus warncd his disciples that they would betray one 3nother(Mt24: 10).

171 BUlthe other of 10lle, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 181 What then?notwilhStBllding,C'.very way, whetherin pretence, or in tru th, Christ

is preached; and I therein do rejoice. yea, nnd will rejoice.

Paul's mind was fi.l led with Christ. (Mentioned 17 times in this chapter alone!) Even the fal se teachers can serve? (God can use taintcd vessels. Thal should encourage us: we, too, can be o n the team!]

No Disappointments

Everything human is stained w ilh disappoi nunem.

191 For I !utow thatlhis shall tum to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

20J According to my eamesl expectlltion and Illy hope. thm in nothing I shall be ashamed. but/hat with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life. or by death.

"Ashamed" = disappointed (in Bi blical usage) .

... hope make/II 1101 ashamed; Romans5 :5

alld thou shalt klloll' ,hall am the LORD:jor they shall llot b£ ashamed thm wait/or me.

Isaiah 49:23 (quoted twice in Romans)

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God docs nOi disappoint us: three verses, all contain "ashamed: "

(# ' )' Fur {am nOl ashamed o/Ilre gospel o/Chrht:/or it js lire power a/God rmlQS(J/wlliol! lQel'eryonetlJot believeth; totheJew first, anda/Sa fa (ht Greek.

Romans 1:16

(ThcGospel isdefinedin I Corinthians 15:3-4.)

(#2), For (he. w/licfl calise I a/sl) slIffer fJre.re fhings: nel'ertlwie.rs I am llOt ashamed: jar I know whom I have bcliel'ed, GIld am persl,joded thar Ire is able 10 keep tlrat wflich (have com milled IIn/O him against tlrat day.

2Timothy l:1 2

My deposit is safe with Him.

(#3), Accordi/Ig lo myeanresle:xpecUttiOllalldmyilope. thai illllOlhing I shall be ashamed, but t/rat with all boldness, as always, J'Q flOW also Christ shall be magnified ill my body, whetlrer it hI.' by life, or by dea th.

Philippians 1 :20

What scope!

I) Paul knew thai Christ would ul timately be exalted and rule in power until He had crushed all enemies beneath His feel (Ps2: 1-2; 110: 1-7: 1 Cor 15:24-25; PhiI2:9-11).

2) Paul knew that God 's determinatio n loexalt Hi sson alsoex tends lo those who are united to Hi m by faith [yes. even you and me!]. Thus, Phil 1:6.

3) Paul recognized that Chris t would bc- magnified in him whether he lived or dietl.

We lend to live in two worlds: the ;'sacred" and the "secular." But Jesus Christ knew no such divisions in His life,

I do always what pleases Him. John 8:20

So it was with Paul.

Whether there/ore ye eat. or drill/c, or wlratsoever yedo, doall to the glory ojGad. 1 Corinrhians 10:31

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' beseech JOllthere/ore, brethren. by the merciesojGod, thaI ye presel!l your bodies a lilling sacrifice. holy, acceplable /IIltO God, witich is YOllr reasonable .reM/ice.

Romans 12:1 How? By:

Cas/illS down imagbwtiolls. and every high titing that emltell! itself agaillst the Ivwwfedse of God, and bringillS inw captivity ("I'ery thouSht /0 the obedience o/Cllrist:

2 CorinLhians 10:5

What is Christianity?

Christianity is a person.

211 For to me to live is Christ. and to die is gain.

I am en/eified wilh ChriSI: lIel"errfw/ess l live; yet nOli, bill Christ liveth in me: und the life which I now live iI/ 'he flesh llive by lhe faith oj tire So/! ofG/)(~ who foved me, mid sa~'e himselffor me.

Galatians 2:20

These rwo verses. one from the early days or his ministry and one from the end, summurizethe li ving cssenccofPaul's faith: the very heartthrob of his life.

22] Bur if I live in the nesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what [ shall choose .1 wot not.

The Christian's Death Benefits

Unfortunately, death holds no benefits for unbelievers. Subconsciously, every non-Christi:In knows Ihis: death looms large as a dreadful enemy.

Men/ear demh as children/ear tlte dark. Francis Bacon

People know that in death a person must m~el his Maker. How gratefu l Christians can be that Christ came to free us from such terrors!

F orasmllc/r then as the children (Ire partakers a/flesh and blood. he also himseljllkewise tOQkpan o/Ihe Sf/me; that through death he /IIighllles/ roy him 111M had ';'6 powero!d(!(IIh. ';'(11 is. Ihed6"il: A."d dltli,'er fJ, 6111 ... Im through fear 0/ death were 011 tlleir lifetime subject to bot/dage.

Hebrews 2: 14-1.5

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23J For I am in aSlrait betwixt twO, havingadesiretodcpart, and to bc with Christ; which is far bettcr:

"Depart" : Ctv«A1iw alwluQ, to break camp. (From which we get tbe English, "analysis:') It c3JTl ed thc idea of leaving somcthing perrna­ncnlly bt!hind.

When the Roman annyreaehed Iheend of a long march, they madecamp: and this was a very elaborate affair. An adequate rec tangle was paced off. and theentireencampmcnt was secured by a moal and rampart, onen to a height of 10-\2 fl. The top was reinforced and the comers strengthened. When the camp was struck, the soldiers moved on, leaving behind the fortifications li ke a discarded chrysalis, mute testi­mony to the faci that they had been there.

This is what need to do: leave behind all that is not useful: alllhe sin, al1 the pain, all the care and anguish of this world.

For Lbe Christian, death is not a gain of the worst in life; it is an improl'emem 011 tile besr!

241 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh i.f more needful for you.

He is sticking around for your benefi t, Philippi !

25J And baving tltis confidence, I know thaI I shall abide and continue with you all for your funhcrance and joy of faith;

26] That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for meby roy COining 10 you again.

We have no clear record of whether this desire was fulfilled . but there are early church tradit ions that it was. We know he was released fro m his first imprisonment, and allowed to go about in freedom for several years before being again apprebended and manyred for the sake of Christ following him even unto death.

Christian Conduct

Priv ilegeimplies responsibili ty.

271 Only let your con.versation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that wbether I come and see you, or else be absent. I may hear of your affairs, that ye Sland fast in one spirit . with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

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"Conversation" was employed by our anceSlOrs as a word of far wider scope that is generally suggested today. It meant nOI only talk, blll included our ell/ire behavior; our whole manner of tife. But the translatio n difficulties go deeper. [n the NIV, it used six words to

lranslate it:

"conduct yourselves in a manlier worthy ... ,.

IIOAl tE~l politellomai, is 'bascdoll the noun meaningci ry:poli." and actually refers to citizenship. In the classical age, the polis was the largest political unit and the Greek belonged to it as we belong to a country, and in his culture il was the biggest thing in his life. The verb means "10 conduct oneself worthily as a citize n of the city-state·." We got a taste of this last time wben we reviewed Acts 16:

Alld brought them to the magistrates, sayillg, These mell. beillg Jews, do exceedillsly trolfbl/lO/lrcity, And teach CUStoms, which are Ilot im"ji.llfor liS to receive, neither to obsen'e, being Romans.

Acts 16:20-2 1

We, however, have our citizenship in heaven:

.. from whence also we look/or tire Saviolf r, the Lord Je.~us Christ: Philippians3:20

We are to be a citizen of heaven, like Abraham,

By /ailll Ire sojourned in tfle land of promise. as in (f strange cmmfry, dwelling iff tabernacles {Iems] with /saacafld Jacob, Ihe heirs with him oftlte some promise: For he /()()kedjoY a cit)' whicl! Iwthfoundatiolls, whose bllilder alld maker is God.

Hebrews 11 :9- 10

The emphasis here is to stand lOgt!Jher. One mind and purpose.

The Christians at Philippi knew what it meant to stand fast as Romans althe frontiersofthe Roman world ... Some Christians publicly wash their handsof aU involvement in community and national life. No one looked more earnestly for the Lord 'S quick return than Paul, but it was preemi­nently Paul who set with all the enthusiasm he could muster to claim the world for Christ ! So must we. We must carry thebaule for human souJs beyond the confines of our churches to the universities. the law courts, the corporate boardrooms, and the marketplace.

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"The early Christians (lid not say In di,mlOr: "Look what 'he world hus come to, " bllT in deliS/II, "wok whaT has come {() the world."

- E. Stanley Jones Stand Up and Be Counted

The battle is joined and there will be persecution.

281 And in Dothing terrified by your adversnries: which is hJthem an e\'identIQKen of perdition, but to you of salvation. and that of God.

" Perdition": These unholy adversaries read their own doom in thehappy fe llowship ()fthesaints of God. and see in it proof of the Lord 's words,

... upon this rock I will build my church: lind the gates of hell shall nOl prevail against iJ.

Matthew 16:18

Thi s is o ft en misunderstood: it is nOI the assembly of God Ihat is as a city besieged; ra ther it is Hell- or HadeS- lhe realm of darkness thai is besieged by the forces of light; it is the foreesofli ght who are carry ing on an offensive warfare-not defellsil'e ; and it is to them that the promise is given tbat "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." This is the "perdition" spoken of above.

29) For unto you it is giveu in the behalf of Chrisl, not only to bclic\'c on him, but alSQ to suffer for his sake;

30] Having the same connict which ye saw in me. and now hear to be in me.

If you squeeze an orange. you should get orange j uice: If you squeeze:J. Icmon, you should get lemon juice. If you squeeze a Christian, you should get Chrisi.

• • •

Next Chapter:

Remedies for ourselves: a) We need to develop a low opinion of ourselves: b) We need to have a better opinion of others. c) We need to possess the mind of Christ.

Coming: thefamedKenosis.

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Philippians 1 Study Guide

Study Questions:

1) What made Philippi sln ltegic (rom a Roman perspective?

2) Which of Pau] 's letters were writte n from Philippi? From Rome?

3) Review Paul 's several imprisonmcnls. Ho w did they advance the Gospel?

4) What are the several ways thatfellowsllip in Ille Gospel may be exercised?

Name three key passages e mphasizing our security in Christ.

Discussion Questions:

I) What is "Christiani ty'''!

2) Are there distinctions between the sacred and the $(Jell/ar in !.he Christian walk? Justify your answer from Scripture.

3) What makes a " house church" unusually effecti ve in personal growth?

4) What were Timothy's personal slfengths? Weaknesses?

5) How should we, as a fellows hip, deal with "Christian troublemak­ers'!" How does Matthew 18 fi t into the picture?

6) How is "gossip" the mosl painflll siD ?

For Further Research :

I) Compile a lisl of passages support ing the home fello wship. in contrast to the elaborate cathedrals of history.

Notes:

I. Excerpted from H.C.G. Moule. Phi/ippill1/ Smdi~$, Pickering& lnglis. Glasgow. n.d., p.7l. 78; q. v. Boice.

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Philippians 2a

Introduction

Many consider the forthcomi ng passage as the most sublime mystery ill all of Scrip l ure.

BUI first: Olhers

The last four verses ofChapler I and in lhe opening verses ofChapler 2, Paul focuses on the relationships among bt'..lievers.

Ollly ler yourcol1l'ersatiOIl [conduct; ci tizenship] be as il becometh the gospel a/Christ: that whether I comealld.~eeyoll, orefsebeabsem, /m(l), hear oj your affairs, that ye siond/ast in Om!!I'; til. lI'il/! Ollt! millt! SI riving together for the faith of the gospel; And ill nothing terrified by yo,,, udversarie,r: which i.l" tn them an I!lJi(/elll token alperdition, !)II/ f() )'01/ oJ salmliOll, and that o/God. ForI/lifo you it is gil'ell in rhebcila/fojChrist. lIo1onIYfobelie~'eon him, butu/so/QsI1ifeljorhis sake: Havills/hesome conj1icl which yl! saw illllle, and now hear 10 be in me

Philippians I :27-30

It is a matlerofuni ty. 1t is a necessity in time of war.

Philippians 2

I J If Ihere be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if IIny fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

" If' "" "Since .. :'; intensive form.

Here therearc four pi llars for Christian uni ty {NtVl:

I) because there is "encouragement"; 2) because there is "comfort from His love" ; 3) because there is "feUowship in the Spirit"; 4) because there is an experience of "tenderness and compas­

sion" of God.

I) tKJV "bowels": bowels. intestines (and the heart. lUngs, liver. etc,) were regarded as the seat of the more violent passions. such as anger and love; but by tbe Hebrews as me seat of the tenderer

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affcctions, esp. kindness, benevolence, compassion; hence , our heart (tender mercies, affectio ns, etc.) Yet, we are always templed 10 d ivisiveness in ways that injures our witness ... 1

Encouragemenl: Jesus prayed:

1'Imllheyall maybeone;as lhou, FlIther. on in me. and 1 ill/hee.that they tl{soltluy be olle i/l IlS; that lire world /IIa)'belie~'e rlmr Iholl hast Stili me.

John 17:21

So me take this to refer only to a spiritual unity thai all believers possess, regard less of actual deeds and feelings. Yel, thcre is a unity that the world can see and on the basis of which people can come to believe in Jesus: th is unity must be expresscd in decds, gestures, and speech: i.e., the way we think about, talk to, and act with other Christians.

Love: Christians have adilly lo see more than another Christian 's faulls. Our love is actually to be an outpouring of His Love through us as we are transformed by the indweUing presence of His Spirit.

A lZewcollllllrmdmtnr Igive Im tiJ you, nWI ye IOl'eoneanarher; flJ I llI'Ive 'uI'£'/ you. Iilm ye olJO love one another,

John 13:34

This leaves 0 0 room forqualificarion. fe r. The Wayof Agape forpracticat instruction in this area.l

C hristian Fellowship: NOI merely human fellowship ba~ed on common interests: a felJowship created by God; because by grace we have been made mutually dependent members of Christ's body.

That which we hal'e seell and he(lro dec/are we limo YOIl, that ye also may izavejellowslrip willi liS: and tn/Iyollr jellowJhip is with the Father. and with his SOil Jeslls Christ.

I John J:3

MercyofCompassion:

I beseech YOIl/here/ore. b,'etl/ ren, by the mercieJ o/God. that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice. holy, acceptable IIntO God. which 15 YOllr reasonable sen'ice.

R,)m fl nS 12.: 1

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If we-have been delivered from the fires of Hell by the mercies of God, how can we fail to show compassion to those who also confess Chrisl 's oame, eve n though they might have offended liS or disagreed with our interpretation of Scripture? Thus,

21 Pulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love. being of one accord, of one mind.

By Ihis sludl all men knoll' Ihal ye are my disciple.f, if),e hal'£! love one 10 flIlQlhu.

John 13:35

"I'm Third"

[A mysterious plaque above a desk: God ftrst; Olhers second; I'm Ihird.l

It is evident thai Christians will never see eye to eye on aU points. We are all influenced by habits, by environment, by education,. by the measure of intellec tual and spiritual apprehens ion to which we have auained, that it is an impossibili ty to find any number of people who look at t,!verylhing from lhcsame viewpoint. Yet,

3J LeI nothingbellolle through strife or vainglory; but io lowLinessof mind let each esteem olher betler than themselves.

4] Look nOlevery mall on his own lhings, but every man alsoon the things of others.

Bear )'e one unolher's burtlem. and so f ulfil the law a/CilrisT. Galatians 6:2

Be kindly affeclioneri oue to unO/her wilh brotherly love; in honour pre/erring olle another:

Romans 12: I 0

Cf. Matthew 25:31 -46.

As Paul admonishes the Philippians to "consider others belter than yourselves" and to look " to tllC interests of others," he was actually carrying them to the frontier of the great war being waged between the powers of light and darkness.

[P reamble: Cont.rast with the Fal l of Satan: Ezek 11- 19; [sa 14: 12- 14.1

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The Kenosis

The Ultimate Example. Kenosis from theGrcek here rendered "emptied Himself' or "di vested Himself;" here, "made Himselfof no reputation ."

The passageof Philippians 2:5- 11 is the NT equivalent of the prophecy found in Psalm 110: I

71re WHD soid rmIQ Illy wrd, Silliroll al my rigill hand. IImil I make thine ellemies Ihy jaolSlool.

Psalm J 10; I

This verse is quoted, directl y or indirectly, 27 times in the NT. and was the verse that Jesus used 10 confound the Pharisees (MI 22:4 1-46). It teaches that the Onecallcd David's Lord, the Messiah, will one day reign over aU things and that al/ His enemies shall be defeated.

The Great Parabola

This passage is among the most glorious sections of the New Testament. Thi s carries the descent of !he Lord Jesus Christ from the highest position in the entire universe down to the death on Lhe cross, and then up again to see Him seated once more on the throne of Hi s g lory before whic,h every -knee shaH bow.

In these few verses we sweep from Christ's life fro m eternity past to eternity fu ture, and areadmittcd to the breathtaking purposes of God in human salvation. They teach:

the divinity ofehris t. !-Us preexjstence. His equali ty with God the Father. His incarnation and true humanity. His voluntary death on the cross, the certainty of His ultimate triumph over ev il. and the permanence o f His reign.

Some scho lars attempt to dismiss the distinct doctrines of Christianity as late devclopmcnts in the history of an historicall y conditioned and evolving church. There was no evolution of the doctrines. There have been attempts to clarify them. and advances toward a fu ller understand­ing o f their significance .

.51 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

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61 Who, being in the form of God. thought it nol robbery to be equal with God;

The first view we have or Jesus is in reference to His prcincarnatest3te: in the form of God and as God 's equal.

In Ihebeginning wlIsrhe Wort!, and the WordwaswilhGod. alld the Word wasGcxl. The sallie was ill the begil/llillg With Gad, All things were made by hilll; alld witholll him W(IS 1I0t uny thing mmle llial was Ill!ltie. /lIl1im was life; and the life was Ihe light o/mell,

John 1: 1-4.

Alld 1I0W, 0 FUlher, glorify Iholl m .... wilh thine own se/fll'it lJ the glo')' which / had Willi Ihee before the world was.

John 17:5

Philips' paraphrase: "Let Christ Jesus be your example as to what your attitude wou ld tx:. For he, wbo had always been God by nature did not cling to his prerogatives as God 's equal."

Who is the image a/the invisible God. thejirstbom o/everycreawre: For by him were all th ings cre(Ued. thar are in hem'en, alld thaI are in earth, visib/eond invisible. ",hetherrMyberhrones, vrdominioru, vrprincipoliries, v r POWI!rS: all tltillgs wert~ eremeel b)'him, andJorM",; And It e is before alilltings. und by him alllllings co"sj.~t.

Colossians 1: 15- 17

Another parallel passage:

GOll. wllo 01 .sundry times olld ill dll'us mamlers spake ill time pew ,,,,ro lite fmhers by rhe propiters, HOIh illlhese /0.1'1 days spoken unto lIS by his Son, whom Ire Iw.III appointed heir of 01/ things. by whom also he made 'he worlds; Who being tlte brightness uJllis glory, alld tlte upress image afltis persoll, OIId upholdi"g all thi"gs by th , M'ord afltis pOM'er, M'hen Ite hud by h imselfpftrged our SillS, sat daM'n all Ihe rigllt hUlld of Ihe Majesty 0/1 ",.gh;

Hebrews 1:1 -3

Jesus cannot be understood 00 uJe basis or his cllrtbly Ufealooe. Hc is a man. He is also God. There llre two key words: lAoPlPn /IIorphe, which points both outward to the shape of an object and inward to indicate things that cannot bcdctccled on the surf:lce: and, '[ao~ isos. equal: such as in isomer, a molecule having a slightly different structure from another mo leCllleblll being ide ntical w ith ir in Icm15 OfitA c hcmicttl e le m e ntS und

weight; isomorph. having the same form: isometric; in equal measure.

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These phrases slash across any lesser confessions of Christ's deity. We are speaking of the unique and elemal Godhead.

The Glory of God

I h(Jlle glorified thee rJ/l the ear/ir: I have finished the tm,-k which thou go\'i>:Sl me to do. And now, 0 Falher, glorify Ihou me lVi,h thine own self with the glory which IIUJd with thee be/ore the world wa.~.

John 17:4.5

These verses highlight four aspects:

I) Jesus possessed a glory beforc the incarnation; 2) This glory was God' s g lory; 3) He did not have it after the incarnation: 4) There is a sense in which He d id possess it while on earth for He

revealed it by fini shing tbe work the Father gave Him to do.

In the early years of the Greek langllage-of Komer and Herodotus­there was a Greek verb (boKf.w dQkeo) from which the Greek noull for "glory," oo~C( doxa, sprang, meaning "to appear" or "to seem"; and the noun th::l.I came fro m it mean "opinion" (thus, orthodolC, heterodox, aod paradox).

In lime, the verb was used only for having a good opinion ~bout some person, and the noun came 10 mean the "praise" or "honor" due to one o f whom agood opinion was hcld. It is in this sense that Psalm 24 speaks o f God as the King of glory.

This understanding of God 's glory was reinforced in the English language by a word which mcans almost the same thing: the Anglo­Saxon word " worth." It refers to intrinsicc.haracter. Consequently, when people are engaged in praising God they are acknowledging his worth­ship. Dropping tbe difficult consonants, Ihis becomes "worship: ' Philologically, the worship oFGod,lhe praise of God, and ihe gi ving of glory to God. are identical.

The Sheklnah

Along thisconceplion is an emirely differetll meaning of the wordglory which emered the Greek Innguugc.Jater frunl its conUlct with the He brew

cul ture: it is the idea of" ljght" or "splendor" which is found in Greek (Jnl y after the Septuagint tnmslati on of the QT.

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Moses:

Bm if Iht'- ministration 0/ dewl!, written and engmven in stones, was gloriol/.I', JO II/clllhe children a/Israel could 1101 sled/a~'lly behold Ihe /ace oj Moses jar the glory oj his coul/tanance; which glary was 10 be dOlle away:

2 Corinthians 3:7

Cloud thatQvershadowed the Tabernacle, Ex 13:21.12; et al; Transfi gu­ration, Ml 17; Damascus Road, Acts 9:3 ff.

God is conforming yOIt (0 the image of Jesus Christ:

BIll we all, with open/ace b€holdins as;n a glass tile g/oryo/the Lord, (Ire changed inro Ihe sallie in/uge/rom glory 10 glory, even as by the Spirit ojtile LtmL

2Corinthians3:18

7] But made himself of no reputation. and took upon him the form of:1 servant, and was made in the likeness of men;

The next view we have is in His condescension. He had been aboveal1 humans, above all angels. Yet He became lower than both in love for humans aod in obedience to His beavenJy Father.

For)'e know the groceojollr LorriJeslIs Chrisl. Ihal, though he IWl$ rich, yet/or )'our sakes ht became poor. that ye lizrough his poverty might be rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9

Can God become man? Can Heenler His creation'!

For II!lfO liS II child is born, milo ItS CI .wn is 8il·en ... Isaiah 9:6

Note the two verbs: Jesus was always God's Son; thus. as a son He was gillen. In the incarnation, He became a man; thus, a child is born, not given. And again,

BUI when the tif/i.e hadfi.I/lY com~. God Stilt his Soli, born oJ a woman, bom under law.

Galalians4:4(NJV)

Paul uses three different words to describe what it meant for the etemal Son of God 10 become man.

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~oP<lJli morphe, whi t~h points both outward to the shape of an object and inward to ind icate things Ihal canllot be detected on the surface. First used in the very nature of God (v.6): hcre, the very nature of a servant (v.7).

0j.10LOJ\Ul IWllloioma, outward appearance, identity.

oXfl.!« .fchel/l(l, the habitus. as comprising everything in a person which strikes theseoses, the figure. bearing, discourse. actions. mannerof ti fe etc.

Christ endured all that weendurein this world: its pressures, its longings. its circumstances. its influences. And He was tempted as we are:

Forwe have 1101 all Jrighpriesr which camJOt 1M rOllchedwirll rhefuting uj ollr il/finniliU; bllr li"as in all pOillts tempted /ike as we are, yet wi/how sin.

Hebrews4:15

Cf. Mauhcw 4: the three temptations ... Physical, spiri tual. vocational (psalm 2detour?) .

And He was even like us with disappointments I He wept real tears over Jerusalem:

o j emstliem, Jenlsa/em. Iholl (hal !illest Ihepropheu. Q/u/ stones/ them wllkh are sen/ llnto thee, how (}fiell would i have gaJ/Jered I/'y chi/dnm I(}gerllu, evell as II hell gathererh her chicki'll.s under her willg.~. and ye. would nat!

Matthew 23:37 The PUI"j)()$I!, aod the Tragedy, of all history. Thus,

Behold. your /wu.se is left UIlIO )"Ou de$aWre. Matthew23:38

But the Triumph of all history fo llows in the next verse:

ForI saYllmo)'oi f, l'eshallllol .seemeilencefol1h. lilIye.sllal/ .say, Bleuell i$ he 111m ~'()lIIelh ill Ihe rumre ofllie Lord.

Matthew23:39

The Nadir of the Parabola

81 And being found in fashion as:! man, he humbled h.imselI, and becameobcdient unto death. even the death of the cross.

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The noss is the most important event in the hi story of the universe. It is the central fulcrum of the entire Bible. 2/5 of Mallhew's Gospel is concerned with the fina l week inJerusalcm. 3/5 of Mark, 1/3 of Luke and nearly Yz of John. It was in the injtial announcement to Joseph:

And she shall brblS!onh a son, und rhull shalt call his "am~ J£SUS:for he .~hall )"01'11 his peoplefmm their .rins.

Matthew 1:2 1

Jesus Himself spokeofthe suffering that was locome (Mark 8:31: 9:3 J: et al). Ijnki ng His mission io the crucifixion:

And I. if I be lifted lip from the earth, will draw lllf men IIIltO me. This /Ie said, signifying what dealh he should die.

John 12:32

This was even anticipated in Numbers 21 :8, 9, as Jesus explained to Nicodemus:

And as Moses lifted III' the serpell/ in the wilderness. ellell so must rhe Son of lnall be lifted lip:

John 3: 14

This explanation gave rise to the most famous quote of all:

For God so 100'ed the world, thal he bave his only besotren Son, that whosoel'l'r believeth in him should II(}/ perish, bill hm'e el'ulo.fling life,

Jobil 3: 16

Johncmphasizcs iliat lhecrucifixion was the key tothewholeprogram: John 2:4;1:30; 8:20; 12:23,27; 13: 1; 17: I. Jesus reviewed this by going through the entire OT on that seven-mi le Bible study on the Emmaus Road (Luke24:25-27).

There was no depth to which Jesus did not go. He relinquished His righLful position to become UleSaviour of Sinners. BUL in addition to its theological role jn paying our ransom. it also serves as our e.r:ample:

Fort' ven ht'-I"t'III!1Q were y t callt'd: bt'c(JJlse Chrixt also slIjJerl!tJ for us, lea~'illg lIS all example. fhat yt! xllOlildfollow his steps:

I Peter2:2 1

Here. in Philippians. that is the SUbjec t: the sufferings of Jesus as an example of the patient endurance under the strictures of Roman rule.

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Peter continued:

Wliohi:.'own sefjbtJreoursml' ill hu'owlI bodyonllie lree, Ihalwe, being de(l(f 10 sins, .~IIOII/d /iVf' 111110 n'ghteollsness: by whose slripe.r ye were healed.

I Peter2:2A

The Sin Bearer

811l1lOlI' lie hru appeared Ollce forall at fhe end of rile ages to doall'ay lVith l';11 by fhe sacrifice o/himself.

Hebrews9:26(N1V)

On Yom KiPI)IIr, the Day or Atonement, two goats were chosen. one as a sin offering ror the sins or the people and one to fi ll the role or the scapegoat:

Ami Aaron shall lay both his fl(lntir lipan Ihe head olthe /iliC goal, and c(lIIjess Olier him ali the iniqllities ojllll! cJrildren o/Israei. and all their I ran.fgresl'i(ms in alliheir.rins. plIl/ing Ihem lipen the heu,f ol'he goal, and shall send him away by the hand oj a fil man illlo the wilderness: And the goot shall bearupoll Itim aU their illiqtlities IlfltO a lalld IlOt j"lIabited: alld Ite shall let go tile gOOf ill the wilderness.

Leviticus 16:21. 22

This wasto remove the sins. bearing it on himself. The firs t was toprovide the blood tha! would be placed on the Mercy Seat, representing the payment for the penalty to satisfy divine justice. AU this was anlic ipmed as early as Eden, when God Himsel rreplace theirselr-madecoverings:

Unto Adam also anti to his wife did Ihe WRD God make coalS olskins, and c/m/ted fhem.

Genesis3:21

... teaching them that by the shedding or innocent blood they would be covered.

Jesus died to remove sin; to satisfy divincjustice; and to re)lea l God 's love:

Herein is love, 1I0t Ihal we loved God, but 11101 he loyed us, {/1/d Sf'1I1 his SOli /0 be the propitimionlor our si llS.

I John 4: JO

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For God so loved the world. fhar he gave his only begoflCII Son, 11101 whosoever believetll in him should Ilot perish, but how el'erlasrillg life.

Joh1l3: 16

And. thus. our response:

10m cMlcified with Christ: net'ertlleless lliw!: yet nOl i, hili Chrislliveth in lIIe: alld the life which l now live in the flesh Ilil'eby Ihe faith oJlhe Soli

o/Cod, wll() /(1V<,d me, ond gavt himsdJform ... Galatians 2:20

The Apogee Follows

9] WhereforeGod also hlllh highly exalted him, and gi lien him a name whil:h is above every name:

The final picture we have isor Jesus again in heaven. Four times in His ministry, Jesus spoke on thi s texl:

And wlwsof'I'er slwll !!Xa/I himself shall be humbled: and he that sholl IlII lIIb/e himself slw/J be aalted.

Mt 18:4;23: 12; Lk 14: II ; 18: 14

He lived the tex t. The I"' half oreach clause has an active verb. The21>! half of each clause has a passive verb. Everything that is said in the 1"' four verses of Philippians 2:5- 11 has JeSllS Himself as the subject.

His Name(s)

He is the Messiah. the Anointed One. He is the promised deli verer through wbom blessing comes to Israe l and the Gentile nations, the climax of aU hislOry.

Jesus is the Son of Man. This phrase means far more than si mply His humanity. It originates in Daniel:

I saw ill tht night visiollS, und. behold, Olil'! like thl'! SOli o/matl callie with the clouds o/hem,en. and camt /0 the Allciellt 0/ days. muJ they brollght hillllleorbe/ore liim. And Ihere was givelillilll domilliOIl, alld g/Ol}', and a killgdom, thatall pl'!opJe, Ilatio/ls, (Illdlaflgutiges, sho/lldsen't him: his dominioll is an el·erlasting domilliO/I, which shall not pass away, tlnd his ki'lgdom that .... hkl, sh(ll/ nOI be dostroyed.

Danie.l 7: 13, 14

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Jesus is the Son of God. So God Himself declared on two occasions (Mt 3: 17: 17:5). Thus, Satan so addressed Him(Mt 4:3, 6). h was the high point oftbe disciples' confession (Mt 16: 16). Thus:

WhoJoe~'er shalf confess tluu JeMfS is the Son of God, God dweJ/eth in him, olld he il! God.

lJohn 4: IS

Jesus also is the great "I AM"; His was the voice in Ule bumi.ng bush (Ex 3, 14;1n8,58).

Scven " I AM" state ments punctuate l ohn's Gospel: LAM the bread ofHfc (John 6:35f); I AM the light of the world (John 8: 12: 9:5); 1 AM the door of the sheep (Joh n 10:70; IA Mgood shepherd{John 10: 14); I AM the resurrection and the life (John 11 :25); 1 AM the way, the truth . and Ule life (John 14:6); I AM the vine, ye are the branches (John 15:5).

10J That at the nume of Jesusevcry knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth. and things under the earth;

Tell yeo and brillg them near; yeo, let them lake coullsel together: who I,a/II declared this from ondelll time? who halh laId il from fhnt time? hO~'e nat I the LORD? and there is no God dse beside me; ajust God alld a Sa viollr; tlrere is l it/lie be~'ide lIle. Look 1111 /0 me, alld be ye saved. all the ends of lire eanh: for I am God. (/l Id tlre.re is nOlle else. I how' swom by myself, the wo,.d is gone 0111 of my mOllth ill rigirteOllsness. alld shall not retllm. TOO/umo me e~'ery knee shalf bow, every IOn8'le shall swear.

lsaiah 45:2 1-23

The KJV adds tbeword "thing" in each oftbe pbrases as an added word by the translators even though there is no correspondi ng word in the Greek. Actually, the three phrases are translations of three udjectivu in Greek. and may refer to cither things or people. It is better to refer to them as personalities: "beings in heaven. beings on earth. and beings under the eanh." and refers to angels. humans. and demons.

I t 1 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lmtl. to the glory of God the F:lIhl!f_

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There is another "name" that appears to be "above every other name": Lorn.

The Greek is KUp!,O<; kyn'os, the title that citizens of Rome used to acknowledge the divinity of Caesar. This title was never used of the emperors until they were thought to be deified through religious ceremony. The test phJ1ISe Kyrios Kaiser meant "Caesar is Lord:' Christian s wcrcexccuicu for not say ing these words, insisting thai Jesus is Lord. not Caesar. as divine.

'fbe Hebrew teml, ';"11( a(/onai. is even more declarative, since it served to replace the "unpronounceable" numeofGod. :'ni;' (Yehollah , Yahveh, eta!.). Even in the written places, the vowel poinls wercallered to remind tltc reader to say "Adonat' instead. Thus, the OT Adonai became vinually synonymous with the tetragammaton in practice.

Thus, when early Christians made their confession, "Jesus Christ is Lord" they were actually confessi,ng that Jesus of Nazaretb is the God of Israel, Jehovah. the only true God. Furthermore, the word Adonai contains a personal ending: it does not just mean "Lord" or "God": il means "my Lord" or "my God. " It is the word that Mary used of Jesus in the garden on Resurrection morning. It is lhecollfcssion of Thomas, made eight days later. that John used to provide a climax to his Gospel. [n both cases the words were personal.

It is no enough merely 10 acknowledge mentally that Jesus Christ isGod. Thedevilsalso do that and tremble(Jamcs2: 19). Jesus must be yourGod. He must be yow Lord.

Jesus Is Coming Again

There is another great truth in the title, ·'Lord." It means that Jesus is God. It means that Jesus is sovereign.llalso means thatJesus is coming again .

. ThOlliuU/ pm all things in slIbjecTion IIl1der his/eel. For if/ lhat Irt! put (III iI/ subjection underhill/, he iefinorhillg lho/ is lIotpllt ullderhilll. But /lOW we see 1101 yet alltllings pllllmder him.

Hebrews2:8

He has yet to return to conquer evil and to establish His righteous will forever. Heis not only our Kinsman-Redeemer. He is aJsoour Avenger of Blood.

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Hnve ever notice the names thai Paul uses 10 refer to Jesus in his lette[ to the Thessalonians? All through his ieuer he uses thcpcrsonal, most human name: Jesus.

When he begins to talk about Christ's return, however, he no longer refers to Jesus as Jesus but toJeSliS as Lord. From this pointon the name occurs five times:

Forthis 11'1. say Ilnto YOII by Ihe word oJlhe Lord, Ihat we which are alive and relllllillllnlO Ihe comillB of lire. Lord shall /101 prevent Ihem wliich are asleep. For/he wrd himselJsllfllldescendJrom. heal'clI wir/tClshour. wilh the voice vJ {he lII"Changel, alld with the tmmp oJGod: {IIld Ihe dt.od ill Christ shall riSt. first: Theil we which arc aliVe alld remain shall be c(l/fght up togelherwith them in thedrmtis, to meer tlze Lord in til(! air: alld so shall we CI'U be wilh Ille Lord.

I Thessalonians4:15-\7

Paul associated the second coming with the fact thaI Cbristis Lord. This anticipation is also preserved rorus ill a prayer ill the Aramnic language at the end of I Cori nthians: maranalila. ( It is actually composed oflwo Aramaic words run together: the word of come and the word for Lord:

Mural/·allia ··Our Lord is Coming" Ondicntive); Mar(lIlQ,·rh{l "Our Lord, Come!" (Imperative). John also includes this idea in the nextto lhelast verse of the Bible:

He. which tl'l'rijielh litese lhingsl'o il/z, Surely I cOllie quickly. Amen. Even .fO, come, Lord Jt!,n~s.

Revelation 22:20

Pau l is not here-as elsewhere in hi s epistles--combating an error of faith: he is pleading fora life of love.

To hi", IIUlt ovel"comelh willi grall/ to sit wi,h me in my throne, eve/! as J o/soovercnme. and am set dow .. willi my Father in his throne.

Revelation3:21

• • •

Study Questions:

1) What are tile four "pillars of Chri s Ii an unily?"

2) What is the Kellos;s. and why is it s ignificant?

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3) Why is it called "the great parabola" ?

4) Ust the places whe-re the Shekillah glory appears in the Old Testament. And New Testament.

5) Contrast the "child" and "son" in rsaiah 9:6.

6) List Ute "I AM" stale ments made by Christ in the New Testamenl.

7) Explain why the death of Christ was not a tragedy. but an achieve­ment.

Discussion Questions:

1) How can love be a duty?

2) From your own experience(s), give examples of"puning the most charitable construction" on a situation.

3) Oiscuss the various exaUlpJcs of New Testamenl quotes of Psalm 110: 1, and how it was used to confuse, etc.

4) Discuss the four aspectS ofChri sl's g lory-and its limitalions from the incarnation- as reflected in John 17:4,5.

5) Contrast the use of kyrios and adollai in the New Testament

For Further Research:

Explore the role of the Mercy Seat, and its possible p rQphelic role for being the very Throllefrom which the Messiah will rule in the MiJlen­nium , (Cf. 2 Chronicles 35:20ff; Isaiah J 8: Zephaniah 3: 10: etc.)

Philippians 2b

[Review of Philippians 2a1

It ' s not clear who it was who first thought that ';being spiritual" means withdrawing (Tom the world. BUl lhe idca cen ainly entered the Church

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at an early period and has had delrimental effects ever since. There are all kinds of stories of monks and others who resorted to strange and unnatural antics to separate the mse lves from their mission fie ld. The. Bible does 1101 support this v.iew of spiri tuality.

Certainly ilis essential to spend lime alone with God in prayer. Vel the Bible never al lows us to th ink that meditation has achieved its purpose for us unJess it results ill practical applicarioll. There is no value to a mountain-top experience unless it hel ps us to live in the valleys.

Philippians 2

Call for unity(vv. I -4); then Kenosis (vv.5 - I I ). The "Grand Parabola" o f the Ke1!osis-the condescension o f God to become a man, His; saeri ficial death, and His ultimate reign over all creation-the..o;e s;ublimc

doctrines were inu-oduced into this letter, not for their own sakes, but for very practical purposes. They were incl uded for an example fo r the role of obedience and humility in li ving the Christian life.

And Pllul will include three more very practical examples before we conclude this chapter.

Application (vv. 12 - 30)

121 Wherefore, my beloved, as yc hUl'ealwaysobeyed. Ilotas in my prescllceonly, but now much more in my absence, workout your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Notice that Paul uses ·'wherefore" nl'ice in three verses (v.9 and v. 12); "because of this ... ": two paralle l results of Jesus' conduct: Jesus humbled Himself; and He became obedient to death, even the death of the cross: therefore God exalted Him (v.9). Jesus showed thecourse o f humility and obedience, tllere/ore the Christian is to work out his or her salvation (v.12).

" Work out"? Nor a self- he lp salvation. On the contrary, because you are al ready saved, because God has al ready entered your life in the perSOn of the Ho ly Spiril, bec:lUse you, lbercrore, have His power at work within you .. . because of these things you are now 10 stri ve to express this salvation In your conduct.

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rlt does no/ say "work for your salvation," or "work tOll/am your salvation." or "work {l/ your salvation;" it says "work 0 111 your salva· lion.]

There is a clear parallel betwecn vv. 12- 15 and Dcut 3 2 . (T he words "children." "blame less, and "crooked and depraved generation" in v .15 also occur in DeUl 32:4-5. Paul seems to have had this passage in mind.)

T he de liverancc o rlsrael fro m Egypt was not because tbey merited it; it wasenlire ly because God loved them. Iflhey had their way they would have s tayed there. In fact, they wanted to go back. But God trained them fo r 40 years and no w they were at the Jordan River.

Mose~ knew that he would not be a llowed to continue with them. He knew that God had called them and led them and was with them even then. On this basis he argues thut they are to possess the land and l ive there as God 's obed ient children.

Paul was about to be taken out of this world him self as Moses was. They bad been in bondage to sin and God bad deli vered them, too. So they, 100, are to "strive" for the real ization of God 's Jove, peace, ho liness, goodness, and jusliecin their li ves. [And so arc. you to ! ] 11 isGod Ibe Holy Spirit in us who does the worki ng:

13] Pori t isGod which worketh in you both 10 will ilnd todo of his good pleasure.

Adam had lost hisfree will in his disobed ie nce : he proved it by running away from God when God came to see them in the garden. T hat genetic derect is now passed on to us. We are he lpless but fo r God's in itiat ives.

NO lllon call come tome, e;rapl rlre Fmnerwhicnnalh selll medrow him: John 6:44

T he well· known verses in Epbesians speaks twice of works:

For by 8mce are ye saI'ed Illrollgh[ailh: alld I/WI IWI afyourselves: il is the gif/ofGod: Notof~·orks. fest any mall shou/d boast. F'or we are his workmUlL~hip. created ill Chri.fE Je.W.f 1m/(} good ~'orks. which God hath befure arduilled Illul we should walk ill Ehem.

Ephesians 2:8- 1 0

One kind o f work is condcmnt:d becuuse it comes out of ourselves and is conlami nated by si n. T he other kind of wOrk is encouraged because it comes from God as He works thro ugh the Christian.

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These verses are Paul's own commentary on Philippi:m s 2: 12- 13.

What are Your Goals?

MostofthecriticaJ skil ls in Iifecanuot be learned from a book while sitting on the side I ines. That's why we have bootcamps in the mi I itary , lraining camps for sports, and academies for leadership. Most professional activi ties involve comTCII)'- to-illSlillcl behavior. [Scuba diving, and grand prix dri ving examples ... ]

While we are not 10 be o/this world, we are to be in this world. We live for JcsusChrist in the midstofa wicked and ungodly generation. Weare not to retreat from the mission field we find ourselves in.

f/owean we live for ChriS! in this world? Don ' , fret : "What is this world coming toT' But proclaim: "What has come to thl s world!"

Paul now lists three specific goals:

J 4] Do all things without mummrings ::md disputings:

Disputings: OUt}.0Y I.0IlOc; dialogislI1os, from which we get the English word, "di alogue." The concept here is Ilot to be in rebe llion againsl God's will .

15] ThaI ye mlly be blameless and harmless, the SOI1S of God, without rebuke, in the midst or a crooked and perverse nation, amOllg whom ye ~hinc as lights in the world:

We are to be in complete submission to God: a) doing all things without compl aining or arguing; b) our life is to be blameless before other people; c) our tife is to be blameless before God also.

We are to be like Daniel. He li ved in the midst o f lhe fountainhead of ungodliness. Babylon. He- didn ' t bide in acomer: he lived in the-ki ng's palace and became his key advisor. His eoemies lried to find fault with him, but could only accuse him of hi s worship ofY HWH!

Then said these men. We sJw/lllOljilld OII),OCCIlSjOiI ugaills/liI is Dml iel, except wefilld it against him concerni"g rhe law a/his Gad.

Daniel 6:5

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We arc 10 live blameless before Ood. The word here is the same as in Ephesians,

According as he lIath chose/I III ill him be/ore the /owuialion a/the world, that we siwI/III be holy and wilhu!If blame be/ore him ill love:

Ephesians 1:4

This does not mean that we come to the point where we will be without sin. Real sanctification lies in the increasing reali zation of bow sinful we are. We need to be open before Him.

Search me, 0 God, alld know my Ilean: try me, alld kllOlI' my tllougllts: And see if/here be rulywick£J wa), ill me, alld lead 1m! ill tile way elJf!rlusting.

Psalm 139:23.24

This process will continue throughout life. Sounds impossible? Not with God, the God of the Impossible! We, ourselves, are incapable of living out the kind of life that Ood requires of us. But God is capable of living oUllhal life in anyone who yie lds to His Spirit. He does for us, and in tiS , what we cannot do for ourselves. The Bible tells us how this will happen:

I am crncified willi Christ: rtel'u/ile/es$ I live: ye/II01I, but Chris/liveth in me: and the liJe which I now /il'e in Ihe flesh I {Ne by Ihe fa ilh of the SO/l of God, who loved lIIe. alld gal'e himself/or lIIe.

Galatians2:20

Paul now includes three practical examples of what he is talking about.

Example #1 : Paul Himself

16J Holdingfonh the word ofHfe; that I may rejoice in thedayofChrist. that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

17J Yea, and ir I be offered upon [he sacrifice and service ofyourfaith. l joy. and rejoice with you all.

"Offered": onEil&.> spell do: (0 pouroul as n drink offering. makc a Hbalion, part of a pagan sacrificial offering; following a burnt offering of an animal, the offeror would take a cup of willcand pour it o n the al tar, it would immediately disappear in a puff of steam .

Pau l is!!. pr isoner in Rome and expecting to be offered up upon a pagan

altar. When he would bekllled it wouldonlybethedri nk offering poured out upon the far greater offering of their fa ith.

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His achievcmenlS-even his pending martyrdorn-he place very low on lhe scale. Does our humili ty among other Christians match his?

181 For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.

Example #2: Timothy

19] But J trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, whcn I know your state.

20J For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. 2lJ For al l seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. '2'lJ But ye know the proof of him, thai, as a son wilh the falher, he hllth served with

me in the gmpel.

We learn four things about Timothy:

1) Paul bad "no olle else like him:' In many ways, he was like Paul. 2) Timothy was concerned for others; sincerely . 3) Timothy put Jesus Christ fi rst in his life. 4) Timothy learned 10 work with others; he had developed a skill of

cooperation.

This also says a lot about Paul, as a father and teacher. Served "with " me .. jointly.

Our yOll1h now love luxury. T/ley have bad manlIUS, contempt for authority, diuespect/or older people. Chi/llrennowadays are tyrants. Th~Y'w longer rise when theirelderullter tht' room. nU!] C(JJTtrculict their parellls, cJwtler be/ore company. gobble their fo(}(J, and ryrallniu tlteir teachers.

-Socrales, 500 B.C.

We mUSI remember we arebUi bOlldslaves. But we also should express leadership in sett ing standards and lead by example.

2J) Him Iherefore I hope tosend presently. so soon as J shall see how it willgo with m<.

24) But J truSt in the Lord that I :tlso myself shall come short ly.

Example #3: Epaphroditus

Of all the men Paul honors in this epistle, Ep3phroditus gets the most attention.

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It is a eu logy thaI bui lds to a climax.

'251 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus. my brother. and companion in labour, and fe llowsoldicr, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.

A brother in Christ (a new ideal in Paul's day!): Fellowship among guilds, soldiers, etc., was exclusive, TIle world was pOlarized inloGreeks and Romans; Jews and Gentiles; aristocrats and plebeians; Cili7.ens and soldiers. etc. There was nothing exclusive-exclusiollary-about the early Christians. [Does thaI describe the. church(es) today?J

A companion in labor: Commincd. not just "involved," The church in Ephesus was lauded by Jesus:

And hnst home, and hast pntience, alld jor my lIame 's sake Irasllaboured, alld hast '1Oljaimed

Revelation 2:3

Despite fi nancial and numerical "success." the churches in America have increasingly become identified with the popu lar culture and so have become unable to speak prophetically [0 it. It has become camplocem and lost its intellectual ilnd cultural dynamic.

It needs to be reconstituted as a working church:

1) intellectually: scouuhe shelves of modem day bookstores and you find adenial of the fu ndaUlenta l doctrines of Christian ity . We need clear thinkers, winsome writers, and persuasive apologists to reverse the trends and publish works of real and lasting val ue;

2) socially: we need to recapture an active role ill addressing the social concerns, (Cf, theearl ier abotilionofsl avery, the child labor laws, etc.)

3) evangelism: the people need to be won; on il one-Io-one basis.

Fellow Soldier: Epaphroditus fo ught side by side-with Paul.

Romans pioneered shoulder-lo-shoulder tighting which led 10 their successes. The Romall Phalanx werealerror lotheancienl world . A wal.l of shields; esp. the '"tortoise" [omtalion. etc.

261 For helonged after you all, and was ful l ofheavint:ss. because [hat ye had heard that he hlld been sick.

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Philippi was abou1800 miles from Rome. a traveling distance of at least six weeks. Themessage thai he was sick wou ld have made a round trip in no less than three months.

271 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God hlld mercy on him; and not on rum only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

This is a refutation ofthe fai th healers who insist. like Job's comforters. that sickness is result of sin, a lack of faith. or God's chastening .

28] I senl him therefore thl!. more carefully, that, when ye see him again. ye may rejoice, and thai I may be the less sorrowful.

Paul clearly did not teach ';bealing in the atonement" or that it was a birthright of all Christians. We never read of him or his fellow- laborers being miraculously healed. Sickness is often a badge of honor among God'schildren.

29] Receivehim therefore in meLon! with all gladness;and hold sllCh in reputation: 301 Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life,

to supply your lack of service toward me.

Living for Others

The high paim of Paul' s praise for his friend Epaphrodilus was his sacrifices of his own interests for others. Paul was in prison and most of his friends had desened him. fef. our own experience: bankruptcy, earthquakes, etc., accompanied by abandonment. of our "Christian friends," etc.]

The concept of a fiduciary.

Sen.'(mIS, be obedient to them that are ),our masters according to the flesh, wilhjearond lumbling, il/ singlelless ojyourlleart. as unto Chn'st; NOI

with eyeservice, asmenpleasers: bill as the sef1!ul1lsojChrisr, doinS the will a/GodJrom the lIeart; Willi good will doinS service, as to tile Lord, and IrOI to mell:

Ephesians 6:5· 7

Obedience 10 "masters according rome tlesh": i.e., physical and mental , not spiritual or of the conscience. "I n singleness of hean" (60 minutes of each hour paid): also. as afiduciary. "As lIoto Chri !>l,": no d iMincl.ion between secular and "sacred:'

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Some Vocabulary

Faithful (I Cor4:2) Finnly adhering to duty; of true fidelity; loyal; true to allegiance ; constant in tbe performance of duties or services ; true to one's word; honest; 10),(1 /,

Fiduciary The relation existing when one personjuslifiably reposes confidence, faith, and rel iance in another whose aid, advice, and protection is sought in some matter:

The relation existing when good conscience requires one to act al all times for the sole bene fi t and illieresis of another with loyalty 10 those interests;

The relation by law existing between certain classes of persons (as confidential advisors and lheone advised; executors or administrators and legatees or heirs ... corpomte directors or officers ... )

The Sanctity of a Commitment

Society's desperate need: Di ligence only when the boss is looki ng? Slacking off whe n the boss is away is a form of dishonesty.

A Christian can perform allY good work as a ministry to Christ ... from the heart. Being a witness; vs. "Wilnessing" .. . ["Undercover Chris­tians'· ... ] What if the master is overhearing, abusive, unreasonable? "As unto the Lord" (n Your wages are only tempor:ll. Our real rewards are from HUn.

• • • An old missionary returning [rom mrilly years of sacri fi ci al service in Africa was on the same ship with Presiden l Theodore Roosevelt, returning from a big game hunt in Africa: When the ship docked, great crowds, prcss, e[ al., greeted tbe President. The o ld missionary and his wi fe walked off unnoticed and made their way to a cheap hotel. " It

doesn' t seem right! We gave our lives in Africa to win souls to Christ and when we arrive horne there's nobody to meet us. The president shoOis some animals and receives a royal welcome!" tbe missionary complained.

"That's because- we aren't home yet ," the wire noted.

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Addenda:

The Requirements of a Fiduciary

MOlly!omrso!com/uctpenn;ssibleillowork-a-daywol'ld!ort!Joseactilrg at am~'s lelr8th arejorbidden to those bot"ui byfiduciary ties. A trustee is held 10 sometlring stricter than the marais of Iile marketplace. Not hones/yalone, bur the punc/ilioojen honorthemOSI sensitive. is tlren the standard ofbehavior. As /(J thi,~ there has developed a Trmli/ion that is unbending and inveterate. Ulrc()mpromi.~illg rigidity h,U" been the anit'lde oj/he courts of eqllity WIWll peti/iOlled /0 Ulldemlille the mle of UlI(/iI'l·ded loyallY by the "disinlegraling ero.fiO/I· · ojpurticularexceptiollS ... Olliy thus has tire level of condllc/jor filluciaries been kept at a level higher than that trodden by Ille crowd.

Justice Cardozo, Meinlwrd v. Sa/moil

A director of a corporfllion is in the pmilion oj afidllciary. He wilinol be permilfed improperly to profit 01 lire expense of his cor[lOrarion. Undiloitled loyalty will everbe insisted "POl L Personal gaillwill be denied to e di reCIor when it comes because he has laken 0 position adverse to 01· in conflict with Ihe be:u imere$IS of his corporation. The fiduciary re/alionship impo.re$O duty toacl in accordance wilh fhe highest standorth which 0 ilion oj/lrefinesl sense ofhO/wrmighr impose IIpon Irilm·elf .. While there is a lofty moral idel.ll implicit in tlris role. il actlwlly accomplishes a practical beneficem pffrpO$e. Ir recognizes tlrefmilty ufhuman nalllre,­if realizes I}Ult where a ilion's immediatefor/lll1es areconcemed he nUlY sometimes be subject too blindllC.fs ojlen intttilive alld compulsive. Thi.r rille is deJigned on rhe one hand to prevem clol/ded conceptioll ojfldeliry and a moral indifference t/rat blurs the ~·ision, a/UJ 011 olher hand, /0

stimulate Ihe most IlIminollS critical se/lse and the fineST exercise of judgement uncontaminated by the dross of prejudice. oj divided allegiaflf.."e. oro! self-imerest.

Justice Shientag. Lilwin v. Allen

Study Questions:

1) Compare PhiI 2:12+15and Deul 32.

2) Givecxamplcs. in addition to Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, of allowing the life of Christ to now in one's Iifc.

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Discussion Questions:

1) Wh:u does Paul mean when he says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"? I thought your salvation was entirely His doing ...

2) Discuss examples where professional skill involves contrary-lO· instinct behavior.

3) Discuss examples in the Scripture of the error of "murmuring."

4) Discuss the role of fiduciaries in our modem society and relate them 10 our responsibilities as members of the Body orChrisl.

For Further Research:

1) Explorecxamples of enforcement of fiduciary responsibility ill loday' s jurisprudence.

Philippians 3a

The th ird chapler of Phi lippians is probably the most beloved chapter of Paul 's letter. It lays oul some of the most cardinal doctrines ofthe Christian life. It also unveils, in stirring language, Paul' s own key personal goal: to know and serve the Lord Jesus. His key challenge is to bejoyflll!

lStop and consider thesi luation: it was Paul, a prisoner in Rome-and uncel1ain of his continuing to even beal ive in the days ahead-who was encouraging his friends in Philippi , who were free, to be joyful. One would think it sbould have been the other way around! They should have been encouraging him.l

What robs us of our joy? Things. Paul will give us a lesson on "How to counl."

Verses ]·1]: Paul's Past. Pau l, the AccountanL "I cou nt." > New values.

Verses 12- 16: Paul's Prese nt. Paul , the Athlere "I press" > New \'i!;or.

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Verses 17-2 1: Paul's Future. Paul, the Alien. "1 look" > New vision.

- Wiersbe

Remember, Philippi was a Roman colony, "Rome away from Rome." In a sense, we, too, are a colony of heaven on earth, Our citizenship is in beavcn ... Philippians"3:20(NAsB)

The key word in the fir:.;t 11 verses is "count": to evaluate, assess,

The unemmilled life is not 1I'0nh lilling, Socrates

Philippians 3

These fi rsl three verses emphasize that joy is fo unded to a large degree on sound doctrine.

I] Finally, Illy brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things 10 you. to me indeed is not grievous, but for you il is safe.

("FinaJJy ... " = yet two more chapters! What Paul really means is, ''For the rest.,"; in contrast to his " finally" in 4: IS.)

Rej oice in the Lord: Jesus promised you for those who fo lJowed Him. This was announced fro m the very beginning:

A/ld the aI/gel said UIlfO Ihelll, Fear /101: for. behold, I bring YOIl good tidingsojgreatjoy, which shall be toallpeople. For IInlO YOt. ishom lhis day illlhe city 0/ DOllitl a Saviour. wllieh is Christ Ihe Lord. And lilis shall beD sigll muo you; Ye shal/filld Ihe babewftJPped ill swaddling dOlhes. lying in a m(mger.

Luke2:10-1l

Joy is the birthright of all true believers_ Jesus decilm:d:

Therethi/tgshavel spokell UIIIO you, Ihlll my joy might remait, ill),o ... ,md

that y(mr joy might be/ull. John 15: 11

Jesus pmycd to the Father:

A,oJ II(nol COm.: I , .. ,,,':':; <Iud ,h.:".: II,ill8S ' ''p.:<lk in lit.: w<)rfd, Ifr<lllhey

might have ",yjoy fi,ljilfl'd ill Ihelll.fe/ves.

John 17: 13

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21 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers. beware oftheeoncision.

Theonhodoxlew would call tlie Gentile a "dog," an unclean animal; but here Paul calls the orthodox Jews "dogs·'! He isn' ljust calling names: be is comparing tbese fa\~e Icachers to tbe contemptible scavcogers.

The Advent of the Judaizers

From the very beginning, the Gospel was scnt "to the Jew fIrst" (Acts 3:26; Rom I : 16). The fi rst seven chaplers of Acts deals only with Jewish believer. orGenti le proselytes toJ udai sm (Acts 2: ]0). In Chapter 8 the message wenlto the Samaritans-the "part-lew."

When Peter was called to open the Gospel to theGentiles-witho1ftjirsf becoming l ews-itcreated an uproar that was ultimately confronted at the Council of Jerusale m in Acts 15. Paul was specifically sent out by the Holy Spirit to minister to the Gentiles (Acts J 3: 1-3; 22:2 1).

But the dissenters did not desist: they fo Uowed Paul everywhere, stirring up trouble as they went. (Luke Vohtme 2, the Book of Acts, makes the responsibili ties for the uprisings quite clear.)

The Book ofGaJatians specificaUy addresses these issues, and it is these­very "Judaizers" that PauJ is addressing in these firs i lwo verses here.

·'Evil workers" we re Icaching that salvation was by faith + works, especially the works of the law. Paul is indicating thai their "good works·' were really evil works because they were of the flesh and not the spirit, and were an incumbrance to salvation.

For by grace are ye saved throughfilith; (II1f1 /har flot of yourse/j·t!s: if is the gift of God: Not ofworb. lest any man should /xlasl.

Ephesians 2:8, 9

Fo,- we ourselves (1150 we,-e sO/nelimes joolish, disobediem. deceiL'ed, serviflg di j'erslusll'andpleasures, living in malice and envy.halejul, Qfld hating one ollO/irer. 8,u lifter lhat lhe killdnessalld love of God our Saviour toward lIIal! appeared. NOI by works oj righterJl/sness which we have dOlle, bill accordillg to his mercy he sailed us, by the washillg aJ regcneflltiQIl, lind renewing oj the Holy Gho.l'l, Which he shed 011 lIS

abundulllly through Jesus Christ ollr Saviour,. 7hat beil1gjusrijied by his grace. we shollid be malie heirs accordiflg 10 the /Jope oj eternal life.

Titus 3:3·7

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Conc.ision: lCa.atOl!~ kalalome, to cut up; mutilation. A pun on "circumcision."Thel udaizers taught that circumcision was essential to salvation (Acts 15:1; Gal 6: 12- 18) . Paul sees it. in itself, as only a mutilation. Even in the OT, true circumcision is alwaysoflheheart (DeUI

3(6).

The true Christian has experienced a spiritual circumcision in Christ:

I" wlrom also ye are drcumcifed with the drclllncisionll1(llle witholH hands, in putting o!ftlle body of the sins oftheflesh by the circumcisio/l. o!ChriSt:

Colossians 2: II

JJ For we are !he CircUlllcisioll, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Chrisl 1esus, and ha\'e [10 cOllfidcncc in !he flesh.

Cf. Rom 2:25-29. WeareHisworkmanship (1ToLllUlpoema, from which we get poem; Eph 2: 10).

Confidence in the flesh? Dismiss the common clai m, ;'The Lord helps those who help themselves:' Not so, This is just a~ wrong today as it was in Paul's day. The Lord helps Ihose who come /0 t/le end oj themselves!

Happiness vs. Joy?

Every Christ jan vi.n.ue has its worldly counte rpart.:

World:

Se>< Security Self-gratification Happiness

Christian;

Lo,. Trust Pea", Joy

Happinells is our translation of the L.1lin wordjonl/na, which is closely related to c hance. Happiness is circumstantial; joy is not. Joy is n supernatural inner quality of del ight in God. How does one get this joy?

1) Becoming a Chri stian. Understand who you really are, and the program God has provided for you, and Jay aside any self-effort , trusting Christ for il all.

Page 54

"2) Obtain a mature knowledge of God 's Word.

Th~statlllewflhe WRDare right, rt'joicing the ht'art: jhe comma/u/ment cfrhe LORD is IJUft, tmlightenillg the eyes.

Psalm 19:8

I have rejoiced i/l the way of thy les/lm/mies, as milch as ill all riches. Psalm 119: 14

Ify~ keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my IOlle: t'Vell as I have kepi my F aTller's cOrnmOlldnwms, and abide ill his lowi. These th ings have I spoken /UJlQ YOII. Ihal tnyjoy miglu remail' ill you, rum Ihal ),our joy might befill/.

John 15: 10-11

ct. Exodus 13:9: Deut6:4-8; 11: 18.

This book Qf tile law shall/101 depart aUl a/ Ihy 1II0u1Ii; bill /llou .~hall meditate therein ,lay o/ld nighl, that tllOu mayest observe to do accordillg to (1IIIhoi is wrillen thereill :for then thou ~'halt make Ihy lI'ay prosperous, a/ld thelilhOIl shalt have good SlIccess.

Joshua 1:8

3) Pursue a life of righteousness and peace.

For Ihe kingdom a/God is nOl meat and drink; bill righleousness, and peace. (mdjoy in the Holy Ghvst.

Romans 14:17

Be carefulfor nothing; but ii' eL'ery thing by prayermul supplication lI'ilh tlumbgivillg let )'our reQllest.'i be made /';IIown II/Ito God. And the peace a/God, which pa~'se'h .11l Willers/anding, shall keep yOW' hearts and millds through Chrisl Jesus.

Philippians4:6, 7

Paul's Balance Sheet

Human ruin (Sermon on the Mount):

Be ye Ihereforeperfecl, e.'ell as your FUlher which is ill hea>'ell isperfect. MatthewS:48

A Chain is ineffective is Just one hnk: breaks. Une SIO shallcrs any c laim to the righteousness of God ' s standard .

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Human rigbteousne. .. s-at ils best-is still inadequate toqualify for the destiny God has in mind for us.

Paul illustrates this from his own experience:

41 Though I mighl also haveeonfidenee in thenesh. lf any Olher man thinketh Ihal he Mlh whereof he might truSI in the Ilesh, I more:

Paul fil ls out his " balance sheet:"

51 Circumcised lhe cighth day. of lhe stock of Israel, o/the tribe of Benjamin. an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

Israelite: Israel was the covell(1II1 name ()fGod' s people. just as! the word "Jew" emphasizes theirracial origins.

Benjaminile origin was source of pride: Benjamin and Joseph were Jacob's favori te sons. They were bam to Rache l, Jacob's favori te wife. Israel's firsl king came from the tribe o f Ben j amino Be njamin w a<; Ule one tribe that remained loyal toJudah when thec.ivU war divided Judah from Israe l after the death of Solomon.

The Pharisees were the most faithful ()f aU the Jewish sects in their adherence to the Law, and regarded as the summit of relig ious experi ­ence.

Paul was personally taught by the great rabbi Gamaliel (ACLS 22:3). and hi s cafCer was a promising one (Gal I :13- 14); yet he gave it all up to become a member of the hated "Chri stian sect."

6J Concerning zeal , persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameiess.

Paul's 7.eaJ in defending orthodoxy included zeaJous attacks on the followers of " that deceiver" (Mt 27:62-66), and participation in the stoning of Slephen (Acts 7:54-60). Cf. Acts22: 1-5;26: I- II; 1 Tim I: 12-16.

Seven achievemenL,,: some inheri ted; someeamed. These "assets" Y{ere actually li;lbilhies: they kept him/rom God:

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Losses Result in Gains

It would seem, on the surface, that Paul is boasling. in the flesh. But aClUally, he is demonstrating precisely what needs to be avoided! He is, 11l.ltobiographicaUy ,an ideal example:

7J But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Chris!.

"But": perhaps the most lmportant word in Ihis chapter ! What is impressivefrom a human point of view is q uile differentfrom God 's poinl of view, Paul had enough moraHty lok.eep him out of trouble. but not enough righteousness [0 gel him into heaven! He was spiritually bankrupt! Paul had to lose his "religion" to find salvation ...

How could anyone go so wrong? By /Ising the wI'OII8 measlfring stick. Like the rich young ruler{Mark? re: Mark 10: 17-22) or the Pharisee in Christ's parable (Lukc 18: 10- 14), Saul had been looki ng al lileOlltsi(ie ralher than the illside.lJesus, in IheScrTl\on on the Mount.. emphasized attitlldes and lIppetites as well as aetions.l

8J Yea doubtless, and I COU n! all Ihing~ 1m/loss fortheexcel lency oflhe knowledge of Chrisl Jesus Illy Ltl(tl: for whom I have 5uff.,r.,d the los~ of all things, rind

do count them b'lt dung, that I may win Christ,

It would be d ifficult to find a more forcefu l refutation of human effort to please God thai what Paul has presented here. (Four Greek participles. liill Ilt'VOUVYE Kat, (lllll mellOlll1 ge kai. introduce the strong statements orv.S.)

Paul's confrontation on the road to Damascus cause him to see every­thing io bis Iifequi ted ifferemly! (Cf. Acts 9: 1-2 1.)

This did not make him repudiate his heri tage: He did not become less a Jew; it made him a completed Jew-one who had found his Messiah!

It is this personal re/arimlslzip Ihat is paramoum; That is what Jeslls prayed for with His Father;

And tlris is life eremol. that Ihe)' miglrr know thee the (mly troe GOtI, and Jesus Chrisl, II'hol/l Ihou Irust sent.

John 17:3

Pase 57

Two Kinds of Righteousness

Works righteousness (vv. I-6) and fa ith righteousness (vv.7-11 )

91 And be found in him. not having minc own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the fai th of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by fa;th;

This verse is a summary of the Book of Romans : the heart of salvation in one verse.

An are classified within three spiritual types: Romans I: lS-22,Self-juslwed ;

Paul indicts in vv.21-28; Romans 2: 1-16, the Moral Person;

Who still fall s short of God 's requirements; Romans 2: 17-29, tJ1C Religi ous Person;

But God looks at the heart ( I Sam 16:7)

All are shon of God's requirements. That' s God ' s amazing predicament. How can ajust God forgive sins?

11 rna)' be rhOl deit)' can/arg ive ,sins. bill I don 'I:ree holY.

- Socrates, 500 B.C.

The Answer: by an amazing gift ! The gift of His Son, to pay the price, and thus enable the Redemption of those who would accept God's program.

Gaining tbe rightcousness of Chri st: tbe technical term is imputation: to put to onc ' s account. Cf. Romans 4: 1·8 carefully . [Our sins had. con­versely. been put on His accoum1] Romans 9:30-10: 13 is the parallel passage that desen'es our careful study.

The mIl)' illdeJeatible barner t Q Imlll is Ihe presulfIlJtioTl that ),011 already "ave it.

Fellowship with Christ

One o rthe misconceptions we see promoted today is the ce lebration or a "decision for Christ" as some kind ofclimax orending. It shuu/d be Seell

IlS ollly a' beginfling--a la llnching.

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You say you are saved? Whal have you done wilh il? Whatfruil has il yielded? ...

Faith is not an instantaneous event: it is a path of growth. Abraham is a prime example. God called him out of the Ur of the Chaldces ; but he didn't fully respond until his father died! He simply moved up river for aspell (Acts 7:2-4). But his pilgrimage isa journey of growth (Heb J 1:8,9). By the time you get to Genesis 22, his faith included the ostensible resurrection of Isaac! (Hcb 11: 17-19; Rom4:20-2J ).

The Ultimate Goal

The ultimate goal, of course. is fe llowship:

10] Thal l may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings. being made con fomJable unlo his death;

Fellowship: KOlv{,,)II(a koinonia, partnership; participation. Paul ex­

changed a set ofmles- the Law- for a Friend. Master. Companion.

The sufferings here are not the substitutionary sufferings on the cross. Only Christ could qualify for those. Paul did aspire 10 participate with Christ in suffering forthc sake of righteousness. (God had used Anaoias totell Paul whal he would do as a servant of Chris I. cf. Acts 9: 16). The Apostle did. indeed, suffer for Christ because he represented Him so open ly and lTuly (cf. Rom 8:36; 2 Cor4: 10).

Often, the ultimate intimacy is arrived at. ironically • through what some have called, "The Dark Night of the Soul ... when even God seems to have isolated us from Him- no matter how much we pray , etc. This is the subject of our book, Faith ill the Night SeasOIls, a practical guide to the really dark times which God uses to draw us to deeper intimacy with Him. )

"And the power of His resurrection"

III I[ by any means I might attain unto the resurrectionnfthe dead.

Cf. Eph I: 15-23: 3: 13-21 for the forecast of what it caD do Inyollr life!

The word tr:1nslalcd "resurrection" is a wlique translation of~avaatCWI' eXOlm.~/(Isis, a word used nowhere else in the NT. It means a panial resurrection OUI from among olhercorpses; literally an "out-resurrection,"

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Why ? Did he doubt he would be raised from the dead? Hardly. Some suspect thal he was using this word to refer to the a 'rpa;zw harpazo, or Rapture, thus expressing the hope thai the Lord would retum during his lifetime.

• • •

Study Questions:

I) Define "l udaizers" andexpJain their error.

2) Contrast " happiness" and "joy."

3) List three paths to true joy.

4) What does Paul mean when he contrasts " a gain for mc" and " loss for Christ"?

5) What does Paul mean when hc says. " If by Hny means I might attain unto the resurrection o f the dead" (v. I I)"!

Discussion Questions:

I) Discuss the reali ties of Matthew 4:8.

2) Discuss God 's Predicament. as recognized by Socrates in 500 D.C.:

It may be that deity cOllforgive SillS, bllt / doll't see how.

3) Contrast works righteousness (vv .1 -6) with faith righteousness (vv.7- 11 ).

For Further Research:

Explore fully the resurrection as detailed in I Corinthians 15, and the haT/JaW declared in I Thessalonians 4: 13ff.

• • •

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Philippians 3b

In Philippiuus 3, Paul is givi ng us his spiritual biograpby : • his past (vv. l -11), Paullhe Accountant; • his present (vv I2-16), Pau l, the Athlete; • his furure(vv. 17-2 1), Paul, the Alien.

In the previous session we encountered "Paul. the AccQulllanl," revising his evaluations since discovering Jesus Christ. In there01aining portion oithis chapter we will encounter "Paul , the Ath lete," pressing toward the fini sh line with renewed spiritual vigor; and wealsosee "Paul , the Alien," having expatriated his citizenship to heaven.

It is interesting to see Paul draw upon illustrations from lhe militury ("the whole annor of God" , Eph 6: I 0- 18); from architecture (''you arc the temple afGod". I Cor6: 19. et al); from agriculture ("what a man sows. that shall he reap," Gal 6: 7-9); and from athletics (in the verses that follow).

A n ideal: "Something that everyone iscxpecled 10 honor bul nobody is expected to attai n." Some view Christian discipleship this way. That' s tragic but unfortunately prevalent.

Paul docs not allow this kind oflh ink.ing to continue. In verse 10, Paul had expressed his life long goal:

Thar I may know him. and the polVerojhis resurrection. and thefellowsllip of his su/ferblgs, being made {'OIl/annable !11110 My death;

Philippians3: IO

But Paul also recognized lhat many of his readers would dismiss Ihis as an idealistic impract icality and unattainable. So Paul continues:

Winning the Race!

1'21 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I fo llow afte r. irthal l may apprehend that for which a lso I am apprehended ofChris\ JeslIs.

Th is is thedeclaralion ora Christian who ncvcr pcrmitted himse lf to be salisfied with his spiritual attainments. A sanctified dissatisfaction is the first csscnliill to progress in any race or serious undertaking.

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"Perfect" here realJy means completed, mature . We are continuall y warned against a fal se estimate of our spiIitual condition.

The c hurch at Sardis had "a name that thou livest and an dead," (Rev 3: 1). They had a reputation without real ity. The c hurch al Laodicea boasted that it was rich but wus actually "wretched, and miserable. and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev 3: 17).

[]( is sobering to realize thai each of the representati ve seven churches ill Re velation 2 & 3 weresll rprisedal their repon card! That should give us all pause for refleClion .. . j

We are also reminded o(Sam~on who thought he sti ll had his o ld power, but in reality it had d~paned from him (Judg 16:20).

Verse 12 is not only a statement of the demands of discipleship, it also is an announcement of the principles by which this call ing should be realized:

() Hc acknow ledges thaI he was called by Christ Jesus: 2) God had a purpose in calling him ; 3) He acknowledges that this puts an obligaticJI/ on himsclf--an

obligation to follow after Jesus.

We are called-by the God the Uni verse-we didn' t choose Him: He chose us:

No man can COme to me. e..tceprrhe Fmherwhich lralh sent me draw him; lind I will raise him III' allhe {USI day.

John 6:44

l'e hUI'IJnot chosen me, bur J have chosen you, and ordained you, Ihat ye should go <llld bn'ng/orlhjruil. and Ihol your/roil should remaill: Ihal whatsoever ye shall ask of rile !>'llIher in my name. he may give if YOII.

John 15: .1 6

Did Abraham chose God? Hardly. He was perfectly satisfi ed where he was in the Mesopotamian river valley in a pagan, idol-worshiping cu1ture~but God called Him to be the vehicle for His plan of redempt ion formankind.

Moses likewise. David. the youngest of seven sons of Jesse. John the Baptist-before Ir e was bOnl !

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Paul was in the process ofpersecllting Christians ... In each case, it was God' s initiative. And so it is with you and me. And, in each case, it was fo r a specific purpo.se.

And we know that all things )\Iork togfther for good to them tllar {are God, to them ",ho (Jre tlte called according 10 Ilis purpose.

Romans 8:28

[And there's more:]

For whom he didfouknoll', he also did predestinate /0 be COli formed /0 the image of his SOI/, that be mig/II be the jirlflbom al1long many brethren. Moreover whom he did predesrintl.le. them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: a/ldwhom he j ustified, them he also glorified.

Romans8:28-30

13] Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but /his one thing I do, forg¢lIing those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which arc before,

Paul was certainly not complacent: he was intensely commilled to winning the race of life; of max.imizing his opporturtities.

··One trung": an important flag phrase for each of us: "One thing thou lackest," Jesus said to the self-righteous ri ch young ruler (Mark 10:2 1); "One thing is needful," Jesus ex.plained 10 busy Martha when she criticized hersister(Lukc 10:42); "Onc trung I know!'" exclaimed the man who had received his sight by the power of Christ (Joho 9:25) : "One thing have Ldesired of the Lord, that willI seek after," tcstified the Psalmist (Ps 27:4). One of the secrets of discipline is to concentrate on "one thing."

[ef. Benjamin Franklin 's pursuit o rvinues : Bell Fmnklin 'sAlmanac ... J

No athlete succeeds by doing everything: he succeeds by speCialiZing. Ben Franklin 's famous admonition is usually misquoted: "l ack of a1.1 trades and master of one." [not "none"! J For the Christian, the "one" must be the Bible. And he leI's nOlhingdistract him:

A duuble mil/ded 111(111 is Ultslable ill aI/ his II'UYl·.

l ames 1:8

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Forgetting the Past

When thechildren oflsrnel were delivered from the boodageofthe world [Egypt] they repeatedly yearned forthcear]ier, more familiar,life.

We remember (hefish. which wedid em in Egypt/reel)'; Ihe cucumbers, and rhe melons, and the leeks, and the onions, {lnd the garlick: 8Ul //Ow

nllf soul is dded away: there i.f I/mhing 01 all. be.'1;de this "'(lima. before oure)'es.

Numbers 11 :5, 6

" Forgetting those things ... " Paul simply means thaI we need to break the power of the past by li ving for the fulure:

And Jesus said lIiltohim, No 1II01l.lul.llin8 put his h(md to 'he plougll. and look.ing back, isjitfor the kingtimn a/God.

Luke9:62

[As the race dri ver said, as he ripped out his rear view mirror: "What's behind us doesn't matted"] We don't want to be a leeks·and-garlic Christian!

" Reaching forth"; li!erally, "stretching as in a race."

141 I press toward the mark for the priu of the high call ing of God in Christ Jesus.

" I press!" Th is is the same verb translated ·'1 follow after'· in v .1 2. It conveys the idea of intense endeavor.

II is imponam for us to realize thai Pau l is 1101 telli ng us how to be saved. That would be by works and self-effon, and would contradict what he wrote in the firs t II verses-as well as mas! of the rest of his epistles!

Ln ordcno participale in the Greekgames, the athlete had TO beD citizel/!. Hedid not run the race to gain his citizenship. (In v.20, he will emphasize that "our ci tizenship is in heaven'· ,-al readyJ.) But since we are already the children o f God through fu ith in Christ, we have Ihe responsibi lity of " runn ing Ule race" and ach ieving the gOalS that God has sel for us.

fRewards; Cf. I Cor 3: 11- 15. using an architectural iIlustroltion, elc. For an excellent discussion. see The Reig" o/the ServaliT Ki"gs, by Joseph C. Dillow, Schoettle Publishing Co .. HayesvilleNc' 1992.]

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Finishing Well

15] Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing yf! be otherwise minded. God shall reveal even this unto you.

Howcan you know God's will ? How is it possible for someone to know the mind of Gad? If God has a plan for your life, how does hcreveal it to you?

Paul, here, focuses bis readers on this issue: "And if on some point you think differently. that, too, God will make cJeartoyou," (NIV)

God is committed to guiding us. Not necessarily more than a step at a lime. Just like an aircrafttlying on instruments. It works because il i~ trusted.

God is committed to revealing Hi s will lD us. There are a number of principles to apply to tbis crucial area:

l) Weean have this assurance because of the nalureofGod, God made the world to reveal Himself to those who would ultimately live in it.

For the invisible fhings a/him/rom the Crealiall a/me world are dearly seell, beillg ullderstood by the things fhal are made, ~'llen his etenw.l po ..... er and Godhead; so-tlw, they are w;thol/1 excuse:

Romans 1:20

2) We must be walking by God' s Word.

If all}' mall will do his will, he shalliwowofthe doctrine, wllether it be of God, or wherher/ speak oj myself

John7: 17

Nothing can be the will of God for you that is not in accordance with His Word. His will for nonbelievers is also clear:

Amllhis i,f tile will ofhim that SCIIl me, tha/everyone. which seelh Ihe-Son, and believelh 011 him, may hOl'e e\'erlasting life: and / will raise him up allhe hut day.

John 6:40

If you ars n01 u. C hr istian, God iii not interss ted ill telling you wl.le lher

or nol you should accepl that job at (company X); or whet her you should

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marry Sally or Mary (or He nry or John); or whetherornotlo enl ist in the mililary,etc. He is interested in whelher or nOI you will believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as your personal Savior. God 's will for you s larL~

al this point.

If you are a Christian, there is clear insight:

I beseech you therefore, brethrell, by the mercies a/God, that ye presellt your bodies I1livillg sacrifice, holy, acceptable IUIIO God, which is your reasonable service. And be 1101 con/onlled to this world: hul be ye trans/armed by the renewillg of your mind, that ye may prove what is Ihat goad. and acceplable, and perject, will a/God.

Romans 12:1,2

Thus, anything Ihal contributes to your growth in holiness is an aspect of God' s will for you.

God 's will for yourwork

Alld whatsoever ye do, do it heanily, as to lhe Lord, and /lot limo men: Knowing Ihal of the Lord ye shall receil'e the reword a/the iJmerirallce: Jor)'e sen'e Ihe Lord Chrisl.

Colossians 3:23, 24

Further,

Servallts, be obedieruto rhem that are your /fIastersaccording to Ihe flesh, witlifearand tremhling, ill ~'iIl8Ielless of YO llrheart, as lmto Christ; Not with eyeservice, (IS menpleasers; but as Ihe urvanrsojChrist, doing the will a/Godfrom tlie !won:

Ephesians6:5,6

"With singleness [s incerity] of heart": as in afldllciary relationship .. . What about the detailed events in one's life: how does one know whether to go to certain movies. making friends with people at work, social drinking, CI al? Another prediclable factor:

Fillalf)" bretlmm, whmsoevi!r things are trlle, wlWISoelti!r tllings are honeSI. whmsoevertltingsarejllst, whOlsoeverthillgsarepure, whatsoever things are !ovel)', whOisoever t/iillgS are of good report; iflhere be ony virtue, and ijtfwrebeollypralse, rhillkoll lhe-st!!lhings. 11rosethi/,gs, which ye have both leaTlled, alld receil'ed, and heard. and seen in me, do: and the God of peaa shall be with you.

Philippians4:8,9

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3) Another principle is daily fellowship with the Lord. He has assured us that,

I will illstn<Cflhee and ti!ach the!! in til!! wa)' which tholl shalt go: 1 will guide fhee with mine eye.

Psahn32:8

To "guide you with His eye" He must firs t calch our eye! And you must remain "eye-to-eye" wi th Him. Weean' t know His will for us without a knowledge of God's Word.

Blessed is the mall thor walkerI! /lot ill the counsel 0/ the ullgodl),. nor standeth in Ihe way 0/ sinners, nor silfelh in the seal o/the sconiful. Bill his delight is illlize lawo/the LORD; and itl his illwdotlille medilateday and night.

Psalm l:J ,2

Peter said that we are:

... born again. not of corruplible seed, but a/incorruptible. by Ihe word a/God. whlc1llivelh and abideill/orever.

I Pcter l :23

Has the Word of God penetratedyollr heart? Nothingelsewill doit: not the word(s) of a person, not philosophy, not history, not science.

Tharwhich Isham of rile flesh isflesh; alldlhal which is borno/lfleSpiril Is spirit.

John3:6

This is the fi rst great blessing of Bible study. The second is our sanctification.

Srmc:tify them throllgh/h)' Inlth: Ihy word is trltllt. John 17:17

h is through study of the Bible and fellowship with God that we are increasingly as He would have us to be. Unfortunately. Christians often seek holiness anywhere but by God ' s Word. They seek it tbrough reading other literature, by attending religious conferences. by emo­tional experiences, even myst icism.

Do you want to know how relevanl the Bible can be to )'our life and how God can usc it to reveal His will to you? Tlrell you must spend time

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reading if daily. If you are a Christian , God has a specific path marked out for you. You will find it only as you discover His will for you through Scripture.

16) Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by Ihe same rule, lei us mind the same thing.

Thi s typicalJy requi res us to reverse our standllrds to His. In the Navy, they call that a "Tum 18." We call that "conversion,"

There were maoy in the Bible who began showing great promise, but failed at the e nd because they disregarded God' s rules. They did not lose their salvation but they did lose their rewards ( I Cor 3: 15).

Lot (Gen 19); Samson (Judg 16); Saul (I Sa1028:3 1); Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5),

" .and it can happen to us.

Living In the Future Tense

171 Brethren, befollowers togctherofme, and mark them which walk so as ychave us for an ensample.

181 (Formany walk, ofwhorn I havelold you of leo, and now leU you even weel?ing, lhat they are the enemies o f the cross of Christ:

How strange, in a lellerdevOled to joy, to find Paul weeping! Not for himself, not for his treatment by the Romans, but for others. He was heanbroken over the way some professed Christians are living, people who " mind earthly things,"

19) Whose e nd is desrruction, whose God is tht!irbel1y,and whQU gJory is in their sbame, who mind eilnhly things.)

Aliens in a Foreign Land

20] For our conversation;s in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

As we discussed in an earlier session. the Greek word , TlOt..~tEUj.l.O:

polirerallo, translated "cooversation" means "citizenship;" it is lhe word from which we gcl lhc En g lbh word, "politic~ . "

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As we mcntioncd earlier, Philippi was particularly fondofi lS pri vileged Slatus as if on Roman soil . JuSI as Philippi was a colony of Rome on foreign soil , so Ihe church is a "colo ny of heaven" On earth. I like the way Donald Barnhouse summarized us:

A groupo/displaced personJ, I,prootedfrom their namra! home, alld on tlleir way to an extraJerrel'trial llestillatioll: nat a/this plallet, ,reitherin roots liar it, its ideals.

Donald Grey Barnhouse

Because Abraham looked for a city. he was content to li ye in a tent:

For he looked fora city which hathfOlllldatiolls. whose buildertmd maker is God .... These all died iI/faith, not having received the promises. bllt having seell them afar off, and were perslwded of them. 011(1 embraced them. and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims all the earth. For rhey tlmt say such things declare plainly that fhey seek a cOII",r)'. Afld truly, iJthey had been mindful oflhat country from whellce they came out, they mighl haw> had opportullity ttl have ret/fmed. /Jut now Iheydesire a bet/er coulllr)', Ihal is. an hem'e/Ily: wherefore GOII is nOI ashamed 10 be called Iheir God:for Ire /lath prepared/or them a city.

Hebrews 11: 10, 13-16

Paul concludes ihis chapter wi lh a glimpse at eschatology: Our Blessed Hope.

21] Who shall change our vile body. Ihal il lIIay bl! fashioned like unto his glorious body. accordi ng 10 the working whereby be is able even to subdue all things uo lO himself.

"Vile": to:TTf ( V(UO~t; rapeillosis: lo wness; humiliation ; low estate.

The body of glory:

Furin this we groan, camestlydesirillSfobeclothed upon withol/ rhOl/j·e which is/ram heave/I:

2 Corinthians5:2

"House": OlK'lt~p ~ov oikeleriOIl : a dwelling place, habit:J.tlon ; of the body 3S a dweUing place forthe spirit. TheonJy other place in thcNew Teslament that this word is used is in Jude:

And Ihe (Ingels which kept ncr their first estate, bllt left their 010'11

habitation, Ite hath rl:St!rved in everlasting t·hains Ill/der darkness 1I11f{)

l/tejlldgmem a/the great day. Jude v.6

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· .. which refers tothefallen angels in Genesis6 wbo "disrobed" from their previous ex.istence [0 indulge in (he mischief producing the Nephilim.

Another insight into the hyperspace that will be in volved with o ur resurrection bodies is g iven to us by John:

Beim·ed. lIowore we Ihe .fO IIS afGod, alld il dmh lIot yet appear ""hat we :rllall be: but we know tlrai. when he shall Q/Jpear, we shatl be like /limi for we shall see /lim a.s he is.

I John 3:2

Which means that we won' t simply be treated to a "3-dimensional" representatio n of a higher d imensional being: we will e njoy the same dimensionality~'we will see Him as He is !"

More 10 come ...

• • •

Study Questions:

1) Review the various promises for "Rewards" for service and commit­ment (i n canna"! to salvation itself). 1 Corinthians 3: 11 -1 5 is good place to start.

2) Which two o f the seven churches were distinctive in that no commendation was given tothem? (Which two had no criticisms?)

3) Of those called for God's purposes in the Bible, list some examples of those wbo began with great promise, but did 110/ fini sh well.

4) What does the wordfidL4ciary mean? How is it relevant to Ihe Christian walk?

Discussion Questions:

I) Rev iew Paul 's use of idioms: From military (or naval) life ; From accountancy; From athletics; From politics (cilizenship).

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2) How can our past be hindrances 10 our future?

3) Jesus gives us- through grace-the grealcstgift imaginable. Yet, docs He also include "rewards" mat areeamed? Why? How?

4) Review the Letters to theSevcn Churches in Revelation 2 & 3, and compare them with churches today.

5) How can wepracliclIlly delerm ine God's will in our lives?

For Further Research:

I) Research the use of incentives in the Scripture .

2) Review the concepts of inherj/lmce in both the Old and New Testaments, noticing panicularly the elements mal cou ld be for­feited and the elements that cou ld noe

3) Explore the nature of nature of hyperspoces and their impl ications regarding the posi-resurrection appearances of Jesus Chris\.

Philippians 4

Review

In Chapter 3. Pau l hjghlighted the conquests iliat Christ has made for those that truSt Him.

1) Chri st died to bring us salvation and the righteousness thaL comes by faith (3:9);

Our sins were removed and punished:

As far Q,f the east is from tJie wen, so for harh he remo\'ed Ollr trall.fgres)'i(JrIs/rom liS.

Psalml03:12

Alld J wW remelllber their ')"ill')' 'II) /IIfJrt'.

Hebrews 8: 12; 10: 17

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2) He lives that we might enjoy the power of Hi ~ resurrection (3: 10, 11).

3) He ha~ promised to reveal His will to us (3: 15), and His rules of conducl (3 : 15· 19).

Philippians 4

\] Therefore. my brethren dearly beloved and longed for. my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord. my dearly beloved.

These words bridge the great doctrinal statements of the previous chapter with the intensely practical chapter that concl udes Paul's epistle.

"Stand fast." A military term. Holding the ground Ihal He has con­guered !

Put Ol llhe whole amWllr of God. thaI ye may be oble /0 fi tond against the wi/esoflhe devil. Farwe wresfll: IIOlagainstfie..fh and bloud, bl/togainst principalities. ogaiflst powers, against the ruler.~ of the darkness of this world. against spiritllal wickedness in high places. Wh uefore ,okI! UIIIO youlhe wholellmlOurofGod, Iha/ ye maybeablelO wililstalld ill theel.i/ day. find having done till, tostond. Siolld tflere!ore. having yOllrfoinsgirt abom with Irmh, and having on lhe breastplate of/'igh/eOllsTU'ss ... etc.

Ephesians6: 11- 14

Getting Along (with Christians)

"Are all people members of God 's family?" No. Cf. John 8: 31ff.

The worst kind of lie: se lf-de lusion.

"We be Abraham 's seed, Ulld were never in bondage to allY man: how sayesr thOll, ye shull be made/ree?"

John 8:33

Neverin boodage? Egypt, 400 years; Philistines, Ammonites, Syrians, Babylonians; and Rome, as they spoke ... [Parentage? " We be nOI bol'/! offomication ... .. John 8:41 ?!]

.. y., <>1'« of )'011,. farh"r tlled.,,,,l, and 11,,,,ust.~ of your fat!.>!.,. y t: ,..iII do. He

was 11 mllrden!r from the hegillnillg. and abode lint in Ihe mIll!, bcc(wse

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there is 110 /nuh in him. When he speaketh a lie. he speake/It o!Ms OWII: /orlle is a liar, alld the/a/hero!it."

John 8:44

For God's chi ldre n, however, God commands a visible, earth ly, unity . Paul 's ultimate example, was, of course, the kcnosis, that we studied in Chapter2:5-1 1.

2] I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyehe, thallhey be of the same mind in the Lord.

These two women had been al odds with one another and the disagree­ment threa/ened the unity and effectiveness of the church.

3J And I imreat thee:tlso, true YOkefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also. and with other my fellowlabollTCrs. whose names are in the book of life.

"T rue yoke fellow" is masculine in form; probably a reference to Epaphroditus. who has already been described as "m y brother, fellow worker. and fellow soldier" (2:25) and who would now carry the iellerto Philippi from Rome.

4] Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

In addition to working together, we are also commanded 10 '; rcjoice" in the Lord . (We. 100 often, ra ther spend our time nitpicking ... )

"Rejoice" is a variant of the word "joy," one the greal Christian virtues, a supernatural frui t of the Spirit of God. It is in contrast to "happiness' which is:t virtue of lhe world. entirelyexternal. and circumstamial . Joy issues from the nature of God.

51 Let your moder::ltion be known unto all men. The Lord i$ ::It hnnd.

' 'Moderati on:' ' "Forbearing" (NASB); "Gentleness" (MV).

The Meaning of Prayer

Few doctrines are more generally misunderstood than true prayer. Does prayer change things? Does God change His mind as the result of believing prayer? Or does God move us to pray?

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What does it mean "to pray without ceasing?" Who can pray? How do you pray? Any why should a perSOIl pray anyway? [In any gathering of God's people. these questions are like ly to generate different and even contradictory answers!]

P rayer is talking wilh God. II is exclusively for believers only. Thconly prayer God hears and answers is one that is made throug h His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ:

Jesils .railh UIIIO him, I am the way,lhe lrulh. alld the life: 110 lIIun cfJmelh IIlIIn 'he Fatlier, but by me.

John 14:6

He is not one way among several : He is the only way. As in all conversations, we must know people well before o ur conversations can really fl ow free ly. Learn about Him. Spend time with Hi m.

Barriers 10 Prayer: Clinging to some sin in your heart:

If I regard illiquity in my henrt, Ihe Lord will 110/ henr me: Psalm66: 18

Behold, the W RD'S hand is nm shortened, ,hut it cnnno! salle; neither his ear heavy, Ihal jl emilio, hear: But your iniquities lra\'e separatt!d between you rllldyollrGod, (lI1i/yoursillS have hid his/ace/rom }'Oil, thaI he will 1101 hear,

[saiah 59:1 . 2

Too soiled to present yourself before the throne? Remember the "Christian's Bar o f Soap:"

Ifw#! cOllfess O/lr sins, he IS [ait/lfill and just to forgive us our sins, and ro cleanse lIS from all UllrighteOllsness.

[ Joho 1:9

PrdY for otlrers: it is called "intercession ." II is the heavy artillery in the_ armory of God.

We Dever know when thcSpirit may move us 10 hold up a brothcrorsister in ti me of need. And we arc inevitably astonished to discover the impl ications of what may seem but a whi spcr bc fore the Throne Room o f the Universe ...

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(Trisb, a neighbor who was visiting New Zealand. during the Sunday church service became overwhelmed wi th the need to pray for my wife Nancy. When returning to the U.S., and compari ng notes with her. we realized that during that church service in New Zealand, it was 5 P.M., Saturday. August J . in the U.S.: the very timelhat ourfirslbom son. Chip, died from a stroke whilejogging .. . ] l

A must verse for memorization:

6] Be careful for nothing; but in every thing hy prayer and supplication with thanksgiving lei your requests be made known unto God.

"Careful":::; anxious. This is God's cure for anxiety. Experts teU us that SLTess is onc of thc most destructi ve forces in the human predicamcnt.

"WOITY is assuming a responsibili ty that God didn' t intend for you to have."

"Worry is a trickle offear passing through the mind which soon cuts a crevice so deep that it drains all other thoughts away."

"Every thing"= there is nothing trivial between you and your Father.

71 And the peace of God. which passt!th all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Thatdocsn' t promise that we wi ll receive what we ask for. God knows our real needs bener that we do. We Blust remcmbcrto praise God forth e prayers that HcdoesfI 't answer! (That isoflen one of the more dramalic discoveries we make during a high school reunion ... !)

And we know thm allihillg.lll'ork together for good to them that love Gotl. 10 Ihem who art. tilt. called accordillg /0 his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Remember Paul' s prayer in Romans 15:

71ml f //lay be delil'eredfrom them Ihal do /10/ believe ill Juduea; and that my service which I ha ~'efor Jerusalem may be a('cep/et' of the saints; Thai I may come unto )'011 with joy by Ihe will oiGod, and may wilh yOlt be re/re.rhed.

Romnns 15:31,32

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Paul was in Corinth and was about to go on to Jerusalem with the collection from theGentile churches. Aflerthat he had planned 10 travel to Rome as an ambassador forthe Gospel. And he asked for three things;

I) "That I may bedeLi vered from them thatdonOl believe inJud:lea;" 2) " that my service which 1 have for Jerusalem may be accepted orthe

saints;" 3) That 1 may come unlo you wilh joy by thewiIl of God, ilnd may with

you be refreshed."

Were these req uests fulfilled? Not as he expected. (I) Hc was delivered- and then protected- with a two~year imprison­

ment at Caesarea. (2) His reception in Jerusalem was hardly what he had hoped for. (3) Hi s joyous journey to Rome was at govcmmcllt expense as a

prisoner in chains. Lt \lias with joy and by the will of God; but he was hardly refreshed by the reception of the believers there. But he did have the peace of God as promised.

God's Rules for the Doubtful Things

Can a Christ ian drink alcohol ornOl? Can a Christian goto a dance?Can he enter politics? Can he work for a company thaI manufactures war materials? To what extent can a believer adopt the standards of his times and socicty? There tire three principles which shou td assist in 99% of lhe situations:

I) A void legalism:

For sill shall not haVt dominion o\'er you: for ye tlrt not undt!r Ille fall', bill under grace.

Romans6:14

Even Peter fell into this trap; Paul remonstrated him (Gal 2; 11 - 14); and he later defended the case for liberty allhe Council (Acts 15; I 0- J I). Atthe same time, avoid the error 9fljcctlse (Rom 6: 15); gracc teads to holiness (622).

2) All Things are Not Expedient

Alllhillgsarl' {WilfUl rml(J me. bra alllhi~J are /rll/ r:.rpedie/rt: af/things (1ft! lall'flll for lIIe, bul l will 110/ be bnmghlullder the jJQweroJ ally.

I Cori mh ians6; 1"2

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Alllhil18sare lawful/or me, bil l al/thjngs are 1101 expedii!nl: all rhillEsare law/Illjar me, bIll alllhillEs edify 00/.

1 Corinthians 10:23

That does not require us, however. to attempt to live our entire lives on what some others may sayar think. That will lead to hypocrisy, schizophrenia, and madness.

And, here, Philippians4:8:

3) The Beuer Things

8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things arl!. honest. whatsoever things are JUSI, whulsoever things (Ire pure, whatsoever things are lovely, Whll[soever things lIre of good repon; if there be any virtue, and if then! be any praise, think on these things.

What makes this verse remarkable is the virtues mentioned here are pagall virtues! These words do not occur in the great lists of C hristian virtues: love,joy, peace. patience, et aL They are taken from Greekethics and from G reek philosophers, Fellowsbi p wi th God does not necessarily exclude the best values the wQrfd has to offer. We con thrive on beauty in music. art, architecture, literature , etc.

9) Tbose things, which ye have both learned, nnd received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and tht! God of peace shall be with you.

A Church Concerned

IOJ But 1 rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath nourished again; wherein ye were :llso careful, but ye lacked opponunity.

After a lapse of 10 years, their loyal ty (0 Paul agai n resuils in their giving----despitc their own meager resources. Epaphroditus was dis­patched to Rome with tbei r gifts.

111 Not thut I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever statc I am, therewilh to be conten!.

[Which proves Paul is nOI a Texan.J

t 'ZJ l lrnow both h<;ow 10 be ~t>~sed , ;uJd [ kllOw how to abouIld: every where and ill

all things I urn instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

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13 J I can do all things th rough Christ which sttengthcncth me. 14J Notwithstandingye have well done, that ye did communicate wi th my afniction. IS) Now ye Philippians know also. that in lhe beginning of Ihe gospel. when J

departed fro m Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but yeollty.

" But ye only." How illuminating it is to observe from where our real

ioyailiesendurc .. .

161 For even ill Thessll.lonica ye SClit once and again unto my necessity. 17 J Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fru it that may abound to your account. 181 But I havell ll , lind abound: I am full, having received ofEpaphrodilus the th ings

which wen> sem from you. an odour of a sweet smell , a sacrifice acceptable. wellpleasing to God.

The God Who Provides

The Precious Promises!

for God so loved IJr~ II'l)rld, Ihal hl' gave his ollly begottell Son. filar whosoever bellel'eth ill him shouftl /lot perish. /mt hal'e el'erlasting life.

John 3:16

And we klllJW that all things work tOKetiter for good to 'hem that love God, tl) IlulIn ""ho are the called accordj,lg /0 his purpose.

Romans 8:28

I am the duor; by lIIe if any mal! enter in. he shall be saved, alld shall go ill and ow. Qndflnd pa.~II.rt:.

John 10:9

Mysheephearmyvoice. and I kIl O"'" Ihem, and IheyfoUowme: And I gil'e unto them etemat life; and they shaUl/eYer perish, neither shall allY man pluck them au/ of my hand.

John 10:27-28

Be careful [ornothing; but in':l'cry thing by prayer GIld supplicatioll with th(mksgil1illglef your retJlu!st.~ be made knowlllllllO God. And the peace vflli/. which passe/h all IIlIderslill1dillg . .shall lreep YOllr hearts tlnd mirui~' titrough Christ Jel·us.

Philippians4:6,7

A.nd 'his is theconfirlence tha t. we have in him, that, i rwc a.~k any thing accord ing 10 his will, he heareth U~:

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And ifwe kllOw thathe he(/f/4S, wh(Jtsoel'erwl1 ask, wek7low thai we have the peti/iolls thai we desired a/him.

and. here, Philippians4: 19:

191 But my God shall supply a ll your need according 10 his riches in glory byChrist Jesus.

My God. All your need. Greatest need? Forgiveness. And Fe llowship.

20J Now unto God and our Father be glory ror ever lind ever. Amen. 21] Salute every $aifll in Christ Jesus. T be bredm::n which arC wi th lIIe greet you. 22] All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household.

That' s revealing! We can only spet;ulate on this one. Certainly a significant percentage of the Praetorians that were chaitJed to Paul for an entire shift at a time ! Can you imagine!

23) The-grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

<To the Philippians written from Rome, by Epaphrod itus.>

Amanuensis: use of profess ionals ...

Epaphroditus devoted himse lf to the min istry beyond hi s phySical powers; lhe exertion was 100 great and he lost his health and almost his life. His convalescence was succeeded by homesickness. He was depressed by the thought that the Philippians would have heard of his critical state, and was anxious to return to allay their fears (2 :25-30).

LHe is oot to beconfused with Epaphras (Colossians 1:7; 4: 12; Phi lemon 23) for although the names are the same. one was a native of Philippi, the other of Corinth.]

Pau l is believed 10 have visited more tban once 10 Philippi and his otiler Macedonian churches in the intervaJ between his fust and second captivi ties ( I Tim 1:3).

* * *

Study Questions:

I) Is fasting appropriate in our day?

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2) Whal are the basic requirements for prayer?

3) What are the principal barriers 10 prayer?

Discussion Questions:

1) Does prayer change things?

2) Does God change His mind as the result of believing prayer?

3) What does it mean "to pray without ceasing?"

4) Who can pray?

5) How do you pray?

6) Any why should a person pray anyway?

For Further Research :

I) Study the interrupted prayer io the Old Testament (Dan 9).

2) What are the distinctions between prayer. praise, and worship? Be precise. Biblical. and denotative.

Noles:

1. Noted in our book. Faith in the Night Seasons.

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Bibliography

Boice, lames MOnlgomery, Philippians, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids MI , 1971.

H. A Ironside, Philippians, l.<I izeuul( Brothers, NeplUne NJ, 1922.

J. B. Lightfoot, Philippians. Crossway Books. Nottingham, Engi.:l.nd, 1994.

D. Manyn Lloyd-Jones. nIt: Life o/Joy and PeaCt! - An ExpoJitioll oj Philippians. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids MI, 1992.

Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Joyftl/. Bible Study of Philippians, Victor Books, Wheaton IL, 1974.

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Notes:

page 82

Notes:

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About The Cover Design (on the tape cassette a/bums)

The "Front" cover:

The Greek border: "lam Alpba and Omega, the beginni og and me cnding, sai th the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is 10 come, the Almighty (Revelation t :8)." Thecenterdesignelementsymbolizcsthc Word of Oocllncamilte, illwil inatecl by the Holy Spirit.

The " Back" cover: (the "front" to the Jewish reader)

The Hebrew border: "HearO I ~rael: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all Ihine heart, and wi th all thy soul, and with al l thy mi ght (from the Sh'ma, Deut6:4-5)."

TIle center design represents the Burning Bush, made up of Hebrew leiters which proclaim " the Eternal One cannot lie."

The Spine:

The spine includes a Menorah fro m the Old Testament. a Maranatha Dove suggesting the New Testament. and the Koinonia House logo at the base.

Koinonia House P.O. Box D

Coeur d'Alene Idaho 83816-0347

(208)773-631 0 www.khouse.org

ISBN 1-57B21-1 65-4