The Sandwich Board of Salvation
A verse-by-verse explanation of the chapter.
An overview of the principles and applications from the chapter.
Tying the chapter to life with God.
Historical, geographical, and grammatical enrichment of the commentary.
Suggested step-by-step group study of the chapter.
Zeroing the chapter in on daily life.
“Pride is the mother hen under which all
other sins are hatched.”
C. S. Lewis
In chapter 2, Paul admonishes the Philippian Christians: Live unselfishly, as Jesus did, who gave up trying to advance himself. Instead, he lived to help others. When he humbled himself, God highly exalted him, and he will do the same with you. I will send both Timothy and Epaphroditus to you to help and encourage you in your need, so treat them well.
The Sandwich Board of Salvation
Harry Ironside, well-known preacher and author from a previous generation, used to tell the story of his struggle with humility. He asked an elder friend what he could do about it. His friend counseled him to make a sandwich board with the plan of salvation in Scripture on it and to wear it as he walked throught the business and shopping district of downtown Chicago for one entire day.
Ironside did it and found it to be a humiliating experience. As he was taking the sandwich board off, however, he caught himself thinking: “There's not another person in Chicago who would be willing to do a thing like that.”
Yes, humility is a difficult thing. Just the moment you think you have it, you've lost it. Humility is essential to successful relationships. It is the oil that makes the intersecting gears of human personalities turn without grinding on each other.
Love and humility go together. You cannot have one without the other. Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “Love is the only force in the universe powerful enough to change an enemy into a friend.” Augustine concluded, “One loving heart sets another on fire.” Benjamin Disraeli saw that “we are all born for love. It is the principle of existence and its only end.”
The power of love and humility is the message of Philippians 2. Here we learn that whenever people love humbly and unselfishly, especially in the midst of strained relationships, they promote unity and spread joy. The church in Philippi needed this message. Two women were disagreeing (4:2–3). Others argued and complained (v. 14). In Philippians 2, Paul shares the attitudes and actions that will restore peace to strained relationships. We need this counsel, for “keeping the peace” in our relationships is always a challenge. As we study Philippians 2, we learn from the apostle Paul how to unify relationships by humbly looking out for the interests of others (v. 4).
The Power of Humility
MAIN IDEA: Jesus' example of humility challenges Christians to live a life of unselfishness and unity.
Humility toward Others (vv. 1–4)SUPPORTING IDEA: If you want to make God happy, be unselfish with one another, treating others the way you would like to be treated.
2:1. In chapter 1, Paul speaks of his joy in prayer and joy in adversity as a Christian serving his God. He could rejoice in almost any circumstance. The key to this joy is a relationship with Christ. In chapter 2, Paul explains how joy comes through another aspect of the believer's life—humility toward others. He begins his appeal for humility by referring to the Philippians' experience. Because they are united with Christ, believers are members of his body. We have special bonds to one another due to our relationship with Christ. Our attitudes toward one another are important. The reality of our oneness in Christ is based on being encouraged by:
2:2. Paul instructs his readers to make my joy complete in practical responses with the following outlook toward one another:
These sentiments are viewed by Paul as being normal for Christians. Being united in Christ, believers work together for the same purposes rather than seeking areas of disagreement and division.
2:3. After revealing the positive way for believers to behave toward one another, Paul gives negatives to avoid. Unity in love means selfish ambition and vain conceit have no place in the Christian life. Such characteristics rise from pride, not from love. Instead, humility is to characterize the Christian. We are not to exalt ourselves above others.
You are probably thinking that this is easier said than done. Yet, Jesus, himself, said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35). Biblical love is selfless. The opposite of this kind of love is selfishness. Humility does not mean putting ourselves down but rather lifting others up.
2:4. Looking out for our own interests comes naturally. We need, and receive, no instruction for that. We are instructed to look out for the interests of others. We are to keep an eye out to discover ways we can help others even when they do not see they need such help. The apostle stated in Galatians 6:2: “Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
The Humility of Christ (vv. 5–11)SUPPORTING IDEA: Have the same attitude that Jesus did, who humbled himself and became a servant to others. As a result of his humility, God highly exalted him.
2:5. Paul proceeds to give examples for the Philippians to emulate. The first is Christ. He is the supreme example of humility, love, and selflessness. Christ's model brings to life Paul's words. As believers are united with Christ, we are to have the same attitude as Christ, one of humility. Paul expresses the same thought in Ephesians 4:2: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” All believers should share this humble, selfless mind-set of Christ.
2:6. Jesus is the preeminent example of humility. He has always been God. John 1:1 speaks of Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” As God, he did not selfishly grasp hold of or tightly hold to his position as equal with God. Instead, he was willing to leave his high position in heaven temporarily and to give himself over to serving our needs. Although he set aside the rights and privileges of being God, he remained God.
2:7. Jesus made himself nothing or “emptied himself.” Scholars refer to this important statement as kenosis, from the Greek word. By becoming a man, Jesus did not lay aside his deity. Charles C. Ryrie sheds light on this event: “Christ didn't become any less God, but he chose not to use some of his divine attributes. This involved a veiling of his preincarnate glory (John 17:5) and the voluntary nonuse of some of his divine prerogatives during the time he was on earth (Matt. 24:36). For God to become a man was humbling enough, but he was willing to go even further. Christ could have come to earth in his true position as King of the universe. Instead, he took the role of a servant. The Creator chose to serve his creatures.
Jesus did not come into existence as a baby in Bethlehem. As God, he always existed. He did take on human nature as Jesus of Nazareth being made in human likeness but remained sinless (Heb. 4:15). Christ did not have a halo as paintings sometimes portray him. He entered this earthly life looking like an ordinary man. Had you passed him on a street, he probably would not have caught your attention.
2:8. Jesus, looking like a man, humbled himself and became obedient to death. Mark 10:45, speaking of Christ, declares: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Second Corinthians 8:9 is also helpful: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Even though Jesus was equal to God the Father, he submitted to his Father's will (John 5:30).
Becoming a man was humbling. Taking the nature of a servant was more humbling. Christ went still further. He humbled himself to the extent of being willing to die like a common criminal on a cross. Crucifixion was the most degrading kind of execution that could be inflicted on a man (NIV Study Bible, 1865). It was the form of capital punishment the Romans employed for foreigners and slaves. Many died in this manner. Most paid the penalty for heinous crimes. Christ's death was unique! He died but not for what he had done. He was sinless with no penalty to pay. He died for others. He died to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. Observe Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” Isaiah 53:6 asserts: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd laid down his life for his sheep (John 10:14–15).
2:9. Following Jesus' humility and obedience, God the Father exalted him to his rightful position of honor and glory. Through the miracle of resurrection from the dead, God gave new honor to the obedient, humble Son. The Lord Jesus Christ resumed his preincarnate rank and dignity seated at the right hand of God's throne (Heb. 12:2). God bestowed upon Jesus the name that is above every name. The exalted Christ, seated at God's right hand, was now called “Lord.” He became the object of worship for the church. He became the Master instead of the servant. The church became his slaves and looked to him as their Lord. All this is a result of God's exalting the humble, obedient Son.
2:10–11. The result of Christ's humiliation was exaltation. Following his obedience, God the Father decreed at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. The emphasis here is on every creature in the universe acknowledging Jesus as the Lord of the created order. God's heavenly forces and his earthly church will honor Christ. Likewise, demonic powers and people who opposed Christ and his church will bow down before him (see Isa. 45:23–24). In God's heavenly precincts, in humanity's earthly home, and in the devil's domain below the earth, every tongue will worship Jesus for who he is: The Lord, the Sovereign of the universe. These verses do not mean that all will confess him as Savior, for the Bible offers no second chances after death (Heb. 9:27). This is the combination of worship from those who believe in him and acknowledgment of his power and authority by those he has defeated. The honored place the Savior now occupies and the universal acknowledgment of his lordship in the future are all to the glory of God the Father.
The Humility of Paul (vv. 12–18)SUPPORTING IDEA: See people like Paul serve God in humility and follow their example in living the saved life day by day.
2:12. The Lord Jesus Christ has given Christians an incredible example of selfless humility and service to follow. His example can be followed. Paul did so and called on the Philippian believers to do the same.
Paul conveyed the closeness of his relationship with the Philippians by referring to them as my dear friends. He commended their past obedience and urged them to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. He did not say “work for your salvation.” Observe Ephesians 2:8–9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” They have been saved by grace. Now they are to bring the salvation to completion, to live out the fact that they have been saved.
2:13. This outcome is possible not through human effort but because God indwells you and is working in you. Christians must demonstrate they are saved by allowing God to work through them. Salvation is by grace through faith. Saving faith surrenders all of life to God and his purpose, producing maturity demonstrated in good works. As Christians mature and allow God to work through their lives, they find God is accomplishing his purposes in them even when they are not aware of those purposes.
2:14. When you allow God to work in you, you do everything without complaining or arguing. Unsaved people might be expected to complain and dispute, but Christians are to have changed lives. We do the work God has for us without being negative or rebellious.
2:15. If we are obedient, we may become blameless and pure or “without fault” in contrast to the culture around us. Our life resembles our divine Father rather than our pagan neighbors. People recognize us as God's children (see Deut. 32:5). Believers are to be so distinct from unbelievers that we stand out as positive models. If God is working in our lives, we are to be unlike the godless society around us. We are to make them curious as to why we are not like them. Christ, himself, said that we are to be “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). Paul says we are to be as conspicuous in the world as stars are in the dark nighttime heavens.
2:16. How do we shine like stars in the night? How do we live out this ongoing moral example as children who reflect the perfection of the Father? We grasp hold of the gospel. The marginal note in the NIV reads, “hold on to,” the normal meaning of the Greek epexontes. Only God's Word can give us direction and power to let God do his work in our lives and keep us pure before him.
Paul looks forward to witnessing the progress these Christians will make in their lives. They are the reason for his ministry. He wants the concluding scene of history to show that his life had meaning. As he stands at the final judgment to hear God's evaluation of his life, he wants to hear that the Philippians have indeed been the stars of the universe. Then his ministry will not be without meaning or empty. He will have run life's race victoriously. He will have completed his life's occupation successfully. He exhibits a similar anticipation in 1 Thessalonians 2:19–20: “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.”
2:17. If anyone had the right to complain, Paul did. Yet he was an example of what he preached. Facing possible death while in prison, he viewed it simply as an act of worship, a sacrifice, a drink offering to God. Such a liquid offering would be poured over the main sacrifice on the altar. Paul did not describe his work and suffering as that main sacrifice. Rather, the ministry of the Philippian church constituted that sacrifice. His ministry merely supplemented and completed theirs. Seeing their faith in action, he maintained his joy. His call to obedience and purity in verses 12–16 are not in vain. They are encouragements to “keep on keeping on” in the Christian race.
2:18. Paul encourages his readers to have his same attitude and rejoice with him. Without doubt, he considers it a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ. Christ was Paul's example. He was willing to become obedient to death (Phil. 2:8). We, too, may experience joy under difficult circumstance if our primary purpose is serving God and others.
The Humility of Timothy and Epaphroditus (vv. 19–30)SUPPORTING IDEA: Honor Christian ministers because of what they have done for Jesus in serving you and his church courageously and unselfishly.
2:19. Paul now returns to personal matters. Timothy was with him in Rome (Phil. 1:1). As soon as he knows the outcome of his legal situation, he plans to send this faithful man to get a firsthand report of how things are in Philippi. Such a report would bring renewed cheer and hope to the imprisoned apostle who was already rejoicing over what he knew concerning them (v. 17).
2:20. Timothy stood out uniquely among the young pastors Paul mentored. Like Paul, Timothy had a genuine interest in their well-being. He ministered not to fulfill ambition and needs for personal success. He ministered to meet needs of the church people. What a model for today's young ministers who are too often flooded with calls to achieve success rather than to minister.
2:21. The normal human way is the way of self-interest. Protect yourself. Get what you need. If time permits, then help others. Timothy lived a different lifestyle. Like Paul, he put aside selfish interests. He concentrated on Christ's interests. He lived out the humble, self-giving life Christ had exemplified. He stood out as a bright star in the dark heavens.
2:22. Young Timothy was a living testimony of the kind of Christian Paul was instructing the Philippians to be. Paul could testify. He watched Timothy prove himself as his associate in the ministry. Paul had sent Timothy to other churches as well. In 1 Corinthians 4:17, the apostle said: “For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” We know of no family or children of Paul. He treated Timothy like a son. Every young minister needs a senior mentor as his ministerial father.
2:23. Paul still needed Timothy for a while until he saw what his own fate would be. Facing such an uncertain future, Paul still thought of the church's need and planned to send Timothy to help them just as soon as possible. Here Paul shows the fine line between total concentration on selfish concerns (v. 21) and legitimate concern for immediate personal needs (v. 23).
2:24. Paul, even with an uncertain future, anticipated being released to come see them, too. Such hope came not from confidence in the Roman legal system but from faith in what God had promised him (see 1:6,25–26).
2:25. Having placed Christ, himself, and Timothy as examples of humility before them, Paul now refers to one of their own. With Timothy and himself unable to come immediately, Paul sent Epaphroditus at once. Epaphroditus was a member of the Philippian church. He had delivered the financial gift to Paul from them (Phil. 4:18). Epaphroditus had stayed on in Rome to assist in the ministry. Thus he was the Philippians' messenger; but more, he was a colleague of Paul in the work of the ministry. He was a member along with Paul in God's army. The Philippians had sent him to care for Paul's needs. Now Paul sent him to care for their needs.
2:26. Epaphroditus had needs, too. He had been away from home too long. Homesickness plagued him. Part of the reason for homesickness was worry over the reaction of family and friends to news of his own illness. Their worries provoked deeper worries in him because he cared so deeply for them. He needed to go home. Paul needed him to go help his home church.
2:27. Friends at home had reason for worry. Epaphroditus experienced a close encounter with death. No human cause explained his continued life. Only God's mercy was responsible for that. In his providence, God chose to let the young minister live. Paul saw this as evidence of mercy in his own life, for it spared Paul added worry and sorrow at a time when his sorrow cup was already filled.
2:28. Epaphroditus' return to Philippi was not planned. All the more eager to send him may also mean “sending him sooner than expected.” Paul expected the return of the Philippians' young minister to bring joy to the Philippians. Seeing someone alive and well who almost died brings deep satisfying joy. Paul's life, too, would improve. He would no longer have to worry about Epaphroditus' health. Nor would he need to be concerned for the Philippian church, both because they would no longer worry about Epaphroditus and because Epaphroditus could minister in Paul's stead to the church's needs.
2:29. To prevent any criticism of Epaphroditus' leaving Paul in his difficult situation or not completing the mission on which the church sent him, the apostle commanded the Philippians to welcome and honor him for his sacrificial service for the Lord. He, too, followed Christ's model of humble service. In so doing he became the example for all Christians who want to serve in such a way as to win the church's acclaim as well as that of Christ.
2:30. The Philippians must not see Epaphroditus as a sickly weakling who failed in his mission. No! He was a Christian hero. He had risked his life in service for Christ, representing the Philippian church in doing for Paul what others in the church could not do. Thus Paul praised both the individual minister and the church for their faithfulness in carrying out God's mission to him and in fulfilling Christ's purposes.
In chapter 2, Paul sets forth the humble examples of Christ, himself, Timothy, and Epaphroditus as models for them to emulate. He desires his readers to have an attitude of humility to the extent that they will unselfishly serve one another. To be truly Christlike is to follow this instruction.
MAIN IDEA REVIEW: Jesus' example of humility challenges Christians to live a life of unselfishness and unity.
God has created us to be gregarious creatures. We need other people because we are created as social beings. God has created us so that we cannot make it alone. We must have relationships, interaction, and contact with others. This need is because we are created in the image of God, and God is a gregarious being.
Because God has created us to want and need interaction and relationships with others, he has established humanity so that we cannot have good relationships without treating others well. When I treat you well and you treat me well, then we both get our needs met in a context of love and unity. When I treat you poorly and you treat me poorly, then we are each isolated and unhappy. When Christ asks me to regard another person as more important than myself, what he wants is to give me deep, satisfying relationships with others. The harm he wants to keep from me is the barrenness of loneliness.
Therefore, the key to satisfying and sustaining relationships is sacrificial love. Philippians 2 teaches us that the people who love humbly and unselfishly spread joy and promote unity.
PRINCIPLES
APPLICATIONS
In his book The Fine Art of Friendship, Ted Engstrom wrote of a very special husband and wife whose relationship marvelously illustrates the selfless love of Philippians 2. The husband was paralyzed. Engstrom includes a letter the husband wrote to his unborn child:
Your mother is very special. Few men know what it's like to receive appreciation for taking their wives out to dinner when it entails what it does for us. It means that she has to dress me, shave me, brush my teeth, comb my hair, wheel me out of the house and down the steps, open the garage, put me in the car, take the pedals off the chair, stand me up, sit me in the seat of the car, twist me around so that I'm comfortable, fold the wheelchair, put it in the car, go around to the other side of the car, start it up, back it out, get out of the car, pull the garage door down, get back into the car, and drive off to the restaurant. Then, it starts all over again; she gets out of the car, unfolds the wheelchair, opens the door, spins me around, stands me up, seats me in the wheelchair, pushes the pedals out, closes and locks the car, wheels me into the restaurant, then takes the pedals off the wheelchair so I won't be uncomfortable. We sit down to have dinner, and she feeds me throughout the entire meal. When it's over, she pays the bill, pushes the wheelchair out to the car again, and reverses the same routine. When it's all over—finished—with real warmth she'll say, “Honey, thank you for taking me out to dinner.” I never quite know what to say (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985, 103–4).
Selfless, humble attitudes and acts of love! When you receive them, like this man, your heart overflows. Words cannot express your gratitude. Yes, as is taught in Philippians 2, people who love unselfishly spread joy and promote unity.
Just as selflessness is beautiful, inspiring, and rewarding, so selfishness is ugly, depressing, and demeaning. All war, all hate, all fighting, all conflict, all division result from selfishness. Selfishness creates hard, mean, little people. Selfishness inflicts pain. Selfishness destroys marriages, careers, churches, and lives.
We have all read stories of selfish people and shaken our heads in disapproval. Couldn't we tell our own stories? What about the time you snapped at your child simply because he had invaded your space? What about the time you gossiped about a coworker, causing friction at the office? What about the time you spoke disrespectfully of someone in authority over you? On and on it goes, stories we can tell of selfishness.
Jesus said that to lust was as bad as to commit immorality. He said that to hate was as bad as murder. Think of any story that you wouldn't want to be told in front of your church. Think of any story that brings a rush of embarrassment if it were widely known. Most likely, at the heart of it was an attitude, a word, an act of selfishness or empty conceit.
Selfishness is a “me first” mistake. Paul says, don't do things out of selfishness and empty conceit. Meditate on the humble example of Christ (2:5–11), and switch to a redemptive “you first” relational style. It will spread joy and unity and bring peace to any troubled relationship.
You have made us, O God, for deep, satisfying relationships because you are a relational God. Help me to bring joy into every context through humble attitudes and actions of love. Forgive me for being, at times, self-centered, looking out for only myself. Enable me to think of others first and to show your love toward them. In your loving name. Amen.
A. Fellowship with the Spirit (v. 1)
In this verse Paul employed the same Greek word, koinonia, that in 1:5 was translated “partnership.” Again, the meaning is “association,” “fellowship,” or “close relationship” (BAGD, 439). The basic idea is having something in common, sharing together in something, or sharing with someone.
The church, the body of Christ on earth, is not a building or denomination but a group of redeemed individuals who share a common life of fellowship. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have fellowship with one another. As believers, we are unified by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:3–6). Being a part of the same body, we are to live in love, humility, and service to one another. A Christian who is not interested in God's work and the lives of other believers is not in fellowship with the Spirit. Such self-centeredness has no fellowship with Christ or his church. Fellowship with God's Spirit is manifested through love and relationship with other believers (1 John 4:12).
B. In very nature God (v. 6)
Paul referred to the time before Christ came to earth as a man. The term translated nature is morphe, meaning “form, essence, or expression.” Before Jesus became a man, he was God. He possessed the divine essence of Godhood. He was equal with God the Father and God the Spirit. Being born as a baby in Bethlehem took nothing away from his deity. It only added humanity. Being fully God, his complete and absolute deity is here carefully expressed by the apostle.
C. Made himself nothing (v. 7)
The Greek kenoo literally means “to empty.” The natural question is, What did Christ empty himself of? Some have argued that he emptied himself of his deity. Orthodox evangelicals go in a different direction. They believe that he set aside some of his divine attributes some of the time as he became or took the nature or form of a man.
Putting on humanity involved limitations. In becoming a man, he voluntarily set aside his rights and privileges as God the Son. Some say that Jesus gave up his majesty or manifestation of his glory as God when he acquired a human nature. In the commentary, it is mentioned that he veiled his preincarnate glory and voluntarily chose not to use some of his power. Yet, while on earth, he did give Peter, James, and John a glimpse of his true glory as he transfigured himself before them (Matt. 17:1–13). In his incarnation, or taking on humanity, Jesus was fully God and fully man. In his deity he was undiminished, and in his humanity he was perfect.
D. Appearance as a Man (v. 8)
In the incarnation, Jesus took the form of a man and looked like any other male living in first-century Israel. He had a functioning physical body. He covered his body with clothing. He got hungry, tired, and sad. His true essence or glory was veiled as he remained fully God. Even though he appeared like us, he was not totally like us in that he did not have a sinful, fallen nature (1 John 3:5). He had to be human to face the problems we face, and he had to be a man to die for us. As Hebrews 2:17–18 reveals:
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
The thought of the God of the universe becoming human is indeed mind-boggling! The mighty and magnificent Sovereign of creation put aside his great position in heaven to take a body like yours or mine!
E. Exalted (v. 9)
Jesus completed his obedient earthly mission to redeem humanity from their sinful condition and ascended back to heaven. There Jesus Christ was exalted to the highest place. The word for exalted (huperupsoo) means “to raise to the loftiest height” (BAGD, 842). Today, we might say he was superexalted or megaexalted. Christ in humility became a man, a servant of other people, even abasing himself to wash dirty feet. Finally, he became obedient to death on a cross for the sins of humanity. Then God the Father, pleased with his service, exalted God the Son to the highest possible place in the universe. This exaltation awarded him the name that is above every name and provided the answer to his high priestly prayer of John 17:5. God the Son glorified God the Father while on earth. God the Father glorified God the Son following his completed work on this planet. Jesus not only resumed his former glory but received added honor as he had triumphed over sin and death.
Hebrews 2:9 states: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
The exaltation of the Savior of the world is unique. We Christians can look forward to being rewarded for obedient service. The apostle Peter writes: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Pet. 5:6).
It is important to recognize Jesus Christ for who he is. Jesus is God and the Savior of men and women. In the afterlife, all will both recognize and acknowledge him for who he is and what he has done—providing the only way to God by dying for our sins. Unfortunately, rejecting Christ while alive on earth will result in separation from God and eternal punishment outside of God's presence. This fate can and should be avoided by trusting in Christ as one's Savior today!
F. Work out your salvation (v. 12)
This phrase at first glance appears to contradict other Scripture which explains that salvation is a work of God by grace through faith. The word translated work (katergazomai) means to “bring about, produce, or create.” A more contemporary meaning is one of bringing to completion or “to carry out the goal or carry to its ultimate conclusion.” Paul was telling the Philippians to put into practice in their daily living what God had worked in them by the Spirit. They were not told to work for their salvation but to work out the salvation God had already given them. These believers were to work it out to the finish as they grew and developed their spiritual lives. As stated previously, salvation is a work of God for man in the nature of a gift (Eph. 2:8–9); the outworking of the new life in Christ requires obedience and faith from the believer. The purpose God desires for us to achieve is Christlikeness, “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29).
It is plain that salvation is not by human works. Isaiah 64:6 gives us God's viewpoint of man's righteousness outside of his Son: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” Only through Christ's righteousness in our behalf on the cross can we be righteous before God.
G. Blameless and pure (v. 15)
Being absolutely blameless and pure is impossible this side of heaven. These terms are not referring to sinless perfection but to complete, focused devotion to doing God's will. In our public and private lives, we are to live in such a way that we would be free from accusation by the people that do not follow Christ. During his earthly life Christ instructed that: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves (Matt. 10:16).
Christians are to live so that unbelievers cannot point an accusing finger at us. Unfortunately, due to scandals and moral failures of Christian leaders, many non-Christians cannot see any genuine distinctions between their lives and ours. In our spheres of influence, we can purpose to make our friends, neighbors, and coworkers see the difference in our lives that living for Christ makes.
H. I am being poured out (v. 17)
This phrase may be referring to Paul's entire ministry or more probably to his present imprisonment, which could well end in a martyr's death. During a later imprisonment Paul uses the same thought in 2 Timothy 4:6. Both Jewish and Greek religious practice included the use of wine poured ceremonially in connection with certain sacrifices. In Old Testament sacrifices and offerings the drink offering was considered as an additional “pleasing odor” offering (Num. 15:7). We, like Paul, can rejoice even when we are being poured out as an offering to our Lord. As we serve him, we should desire to be pleasing in his sight.
A. INTRODUCTION
B. COMMENTARY
C. CONCLUSION: LETTER TO MY UNBORN CHILD