Philippians 2:12-18

May 4, 2020

PURPOSEFUL PASSION AND POWER TO PLEASE GOD

Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV) Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12-13 (VOICE) So now, my beloved, obey as you have always done, not only when I am with you, but even more so when I can’t be. Continue to work out your salvation, with great fear and trembling, because God is energizing you so that you will desire and do what always pleases Him.

SUSIE: Paul asked the Philippian believers to continue in obedience to the Lord even while Paul was not physically there to guide them. 

SUSAN: Paul wanted them to embrace practicing the presence of Jesus as if the Lord, the God-Man, was walking right there alongside them and as if he, Paul, were still there mentoring and ministering among the people. 

SUSIE: They are not to “work for” their salvation but to “work out” their salvation, to live in obedience to the Lord in reverence and awe. 

SUSAN: Our salvation is not accomplished through self-effort, through works. It is by trusting that Jesus completed the work necessary to save us on the cross. It is by trusting in His sacrifice by faith (and even that faith to believe is given to us by God) that we are saved.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

SUSIE: This obedience is only possible because the Lord has already redeemed them and freed them from slavery to sin, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit enables them to live godly lives.

SUSAN: Good works are the outward expression of what God has already done inside the believer’s heart. His Holy Spirit empowers us to serve Him and our fellow humans.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV), For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 

SUSIE: It is God’s will that they be sanctified, “conformed to the image of Christ” (Romans 8:29). Therefore, as we saw in Philippians 1:6, the Lord will complete this goal in His children. God has already prepared good works for us to do. Our part is to seek Him and obey.

SUSAN: God imparts to us through His Holy Spirit the purpose, passion, and power to please Him as obedient children.

Q – I (Susie) remember my mom relating how a visiting pastor was preaching at their church in England. His own congregation was there as well because the two churches shared one baptistry. Everyone was shouting, “Amen, Preach it Brother.”  He then said, “Yeah, you say ‘amen’ and ‘that’s right’ on Sunday, but I be bailing you out of jail on Monday!” Do we put on our “Christian Face” at church and then live like the world throughout the week? As our pastor asked the other night, are we “asymptomatic” Christians—can anyone tell we belong to the Lord? Do we ask the Lord what He would have us do each day? Certainly, God wants us to be contagious Christians, exhibiting the symptoms (Fruit of the Spirit) of being taken over by Jesus.

Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.

SUSIE: This is really difficult for many people, especially me at times. I like to grumble. I will do what needs to be done, but sometimes amid much complaining. 

SUSAN: There is a difference between arguing and being argumentative. You can argue or defend a viewpoint without attacking the person. The attack is at the ideology, not the person themselves. 

SUSIE: Paul was not saying we cannot express disagreement or have calm, informed discussion when trying to work out differences among people or within the church body. He was saying not to argue for the sake of arguing or to tear others down in the process. We are not to have a bad attitude toward doing what needs to be done.

SUSAN: Avoid personal attacks at all costs. When we slip over into personal attacks, our argumentation must be very weak, not able to stand up to scrutiny. 

SUSIE: This harkens back to the earlier theme of unity among believers. If we truly adhere to the truths in verses 1-5 of chapter 2—the idea of putting others’ needs ahead of our own—we will be much more successful at refraining from complaining and arguing.

SUSAN: Talk about a “warped and crooked generation!” I believe that describes our present-day society in a nutshell. Paul’s generation is comparable to our own.  We are reminded of our iniquity daily in the media. The VOICE translation makes our goal quite clear:

Philippians 2:15 (VOICE) …you are God’s children called to live without a single stain on your reputations among this perverted and crooked generation…

SUSAN: To live without stain requires us to make integrity paramount, to insulate the content of our character, to become Christlike in order to withstand the fiery darts the Enemy directs at us. This is only possible when God abides with us through the Holy Spirit and we abide in Him and in His word, the Bible.

John 15:5 (NASB) I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Q – We know you have seen this one before, but it is still applicable. If you were being tried for the “crime” of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? If you were trying to impartially rate your own integrity, how would you score?

Philippians 2:15c-16 Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

SUSIE: When we operate with integrity, in obedience to the Lord, with compassion for others, we will stand out among the perversion of our society like a star pierces the blackness of night. 

SUSAN: We will reflect the light of Jesus like multifaceted jewels.

Malachi 3:17a (AMPC) “And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure).

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

SUSIE: In the King James Version, “a people for his own possession,” is translated as, “a peculiar people”. When I was younger, I always thought, “I don’t want to be ‘peculiar’ because that means weird!” 

SUSAN: I, too, thought peculiar meant strange or odd, nothing special, and certainly not something you desired to be!

SUSIE: However, in a sense, we will stand out as odd if we behave in the way the Lord instructs us amid a sea of people who have no regard for the Lord’s instruction. May we all be peculiar in the best sense of the word, set apart as being followers of Jesus!

SUSAN: Paul would take joy in the maturity of his spiritual children. 

Philippians 2:16 (VOICE) Cling to the word of life so that on the day of judgment when the Anointed One returns I may have reason to rejoice, because it will be plain that I didn’t turn from His mission nor did I work in vain.

SUSIE: When Paul faces Christ, he would be proud of the church he had started at Philippi like a daddy saying, “That’s my child!”

Q – Do you stand out as belonging to Christ at your workplace or school or among your friends, or do you try to blend in as much as possible without completely compromising your beliefs? Do you have spiritual children that cause you to rejoice when they obey Jesus? Would your own spiritual mentor beam with pride because of they way you live?

Philippians 2:17-18 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.  So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

2:17 if I am to be poured out. Paul here refers not to his present suffering, but to the possibility that he will die as a martyr.

Reformation Study Bible

SUSAN: Paul was saying that even if he were to be a martyr, a witness that died for his faith, the Philippians should still rejoice. I think he is saying that when a person dies as a witness, it is a privilege and an honor to give your life for Jesus because of your trust in Him.  

SUSIE: He was glad for the monetary gift and support of the Philippian church. It would not be in vain even if he were to be executed. He would still rejoice and asked them to rejoice with him. After all, the executioner would only be sending him into the presence of Jesus. The fact that Paul was willing to die because of His faith in Christ, made his witness even stronger. Men do not die for something that they do not passionately, wholeheartedly believe.

APPLY THIS TO YOUR LIFE:

  • Purpose in your heart to live out your Christian faith every day, among every group of people. Refrain from the temptation to compromise your integrity.
  • Ask the Lord to live through you in such a way that your relationship with Him is obvious at all times. When your human frailty flares up, and it becomes less clear who you belong to, immediately ask Him to forgive and cleanse you. (1 John 1:9)
  • Do not try to be as much like the world as possible without stepping over some contrived line. Instead, allow yourself the freedom you have in Christ to be as different from the world as possible while still living in it.

1 John 2:15-17 (NASB) Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.