Colossians 1 - THE GREATNESS OF JESUS CHRIST

Colossians 1 - THE GREATNESS OF JESUS CHRIST

A. Greeting and giving of thanks.
1. (Colossians 1:1-2) Paul greets the Christians in Colosse.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
a. Paul: According to the custom of writing letters in that day, the author’s name is given first. Therefore the author was Paul; he wrote the letter while in Roman custody (Colossians 4:3; Col_4:10, and Colossians 4:18), probably from Rome and around A.D. 63.
i. Paul probably wrote the letter because of the visit of Epaphras from Colosse (Colossians 1:7). It is likely that Paul himself had never visited the city (Colossians 2:1).
b. An apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God: Paul was qualified to write this letter of instruction to the Colossians, though he had never met them personally, because he was an apostle.
i. “The literal meaning of apostolos is ‘one sent’; but at its deepest level it denotes an authorized spokesman for God, one commissioned and empowered to act as his representative.” (Vaughan)
ii. And Timothy our brother: Timothy was an honored companion of Paul, but he was not an apostle. “Though Timothy is here joined in the salutation, yet he has never been understood as having any part in composing this epistle. He has been considered as the amanuensis or scribe of the apostle.” (Clarke)
c. To the saints and faithful brethren: When Paul addressed the saints, he did not separate some Christians from others in the Colossian church. Every true Christian is a saint. However, Paul may make a distinction with the phrase faithful brethren. He may refer to those who haven’t embraced the false teaching that concerned Paul so much in this letter.
d. Who are in Colosse: The city of Colosse was probably the smallest and least important city that Paul ever wrote to. It might surprise us that Paul would turn his attention to the Christians in Colosse at a time when he had so many other concerns. Yet he apparently thought the situation in Colosse was important enough for apostolic attention.
i. Paul wrote because there were problems among the Christians in Colosse, but the doctrinal problem - sometimes described as “The Colossian Heresy” - is difficult to precisely describe. It probably was a corruption of Christianity with elements of mystical and legalistic Judaism perhaps combined early Gnosticism.
ii. The first century religious environment was much like our own. It was a time of religious mixing, with people borrowing a little from this religion and a little from that religion. The only difference was that in the first century, one joined a group who did the borrowing. In our modern culture one does the borrowing one’s self.
iii. Whatever the problem was precisely, Paul dwelt on the solution: a better understanding of Jesus. Knowing the real Jesus helps us to stay away from the counterfeit, no matter how it comes packaged.
e. In Colosse: The city of Colosse is not even mentioned in the Book of Acts. All our Biblical information about the church there comes from this letter and a few allusions in the letter to Philemon.
i. From these sources we learn that Epaphras was responsible for bringing the gospel to the Colossians (Colossians 1:6-7). He was a native of the city (Colossians 4:12), and also got the message out to neighboring towns in the Lycus Valley like Hierapolis and Laodicea (Colossians 4:13).
ii. Perhaps Epaphras heard the gospel himself when Paul was in Ephesus. As Paul taught in the lecture hall of Tyrannus, all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord (Acts 19:10). It would not be surprising if some people from Colosse heard the gospel at that time.
iii. Historically, Colosse was a prosperous city, and famous (along with other cities in its region) for its fabric dyes. Yet by Paul’s time the glory it had as a city was on the decline.
iv. Adam Clarke adds an interesting comment: “That this city perished by an earthquake, a short time after the date of this epistle, we have the testimony of Eusebius.” Tacitus also mentioned this earthquake, which happened around A.D. 60.
f. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ: Paul’s greeting was familiar but heartfelt. “Grace is God’s unconditioned goodwill toward men and women which is decisively expressed in the saving work of Christ.” (Bruce)
i. This letter - full of love and concern, written to church Paul had neither planted nor visited - shows the power of Christian love. Paul didn’t need to see or meet or directly know these Christians in order to love them and be concerned for them.
2. (Colossians 1:3) Paul’s habit of prayer for the Colossians.
We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
a. Praying always for you: Though he had never met most of them, the Christian of Colosse were on Paul’s prayer list. He prayed for them not only often, but always.
b. We give thanks: When Paul did pray for the Colossians, he did it full of gratitude. Perhaps those who pray the most end up having the most reasons to thank God.
3. (Colossians 1:4-8) Why Paul was thankful.
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
a. Since we heard: Paul was thankful for their faith in Christ Jesus and their love for all the saints. Genuine faith in Jesus will always have a true love for God’s people as a companion.
b. Because of the hope: Paul was thankful for the hope laid up for them in heaven. He was thankful when he considered the destiny of the Colossian Christians.
i. We notice the familiar triad of faith, hope, and love. These were not merely theological ideas to Paul; they dominated his thinking as a Christian.
c. Which you heard before in the word of the truth: Paul was thankful that their eternal destiny was affected by the truth of the gospel, brought by Epaphras (as you also learned from Epaphras).
i. Epaphras is described as a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf. This doesn’t mean that Epaphras was superior to the other Christians in Colosse. The word minister does not mean “superior”; it means “one who serves.”
d. And is bringing forth fruit: Paul was thankful that the gospel was bringing forth fruit over all the world, even while Paul was in a Roman prison.
i. The phrase “in all the world” was “A legitimate hyperbole, for the gospel was spreading all over the Roman Empire.” (Robertson)
ii. “The doctrine of the Gospel is represented as a traveller, whose object it is to visit the whole habitable earth . . . So rapid is this traveller in his course, that he had already gone nearly through the whole of the countries under the Roman dominion, and will travel on until he has proclaimed his message to every people, and kindred, and nation, and tongue.” (Clarke)
B. How Paul prayed for the Colossian Christians.
1. (Colossians 1:9-11) Paul petitions God on behalf of the Colossians.
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
a. To ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will: First, Paul prayed that they would have a knowledge of His will, informed by a true spiritual understanding. To know God and what He requires of us is our first responsibility.
i. “If you read this epistle through, you will observe that Paul frequently alludes to knowledge and wisdom. To the point in which be judged the church to be deficient he turned his prayerful attention. He would not have them ignorant. He knew that spiritual ignorance is the constant source of error, instability, and sorrow; and therefore he desired that they might be soundly taught in the things of God.” (Spurgeon)
b. That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him: Second, Paul prayed that they would live according to the same knowledge they received, living out a walk worthy of the Lord.
i. This is a familiar pattern, repeated over and over again in the New Testament. Our walk is based on our knowledge of God and our understanding of His will.
c. Being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. This is how we can be fully pleasing to God and how we can have a worthy walk.
i. This is an echo of Jesus’ thought in John 15:7-8 : If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
ii. “ ‘Fruitful in every good work.’ Here is room and range enough - in ‘every good work.’ Have you the ability to preach the gospel? Preach it! Does a little child need comforting? Comfort it! Can you stand up and vindicate a glorious truth before thousands? Do it! Does a poor saint need a bit of dinner from your table? Send it to her. Let works of obedience, testimony, zeal, charity, piety, and philanthropy all be found in your life. Do not select big things as your special he, but glorify the Lord also in the littles - ‘ fruitful in every good work.’” (Spurgeon)
d. Strengthened with all might: As we walk worthy of the Lord, His strength is there to help us meet all of life’s challenges, and to endure and overcome problems with circumstances (patience) and people (longsuffering) with joy.
2. (Colossians 1:12-14) Paul’s specific thanks to the Father.
Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
a. Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us: In the divine administration, the Father is mentioned in connection with the broad sweep of His plan of redemption. He is the Person of the Trinity who initiates the plan of the ages.
b. To be partakers of the inheritance of the saints: It is the Father who qualifies us, not our own works. We gain this as an inheritance, instead of earning it as a wage.
c. He has delivered us from the power of darkness: Christians have been delivered from Satan’s domain. The word has the idea of a rescue by a sovereign power.
i. Another place where this same phrase for power of darkness is used is in Luke 22:53, where Jesus spoke of the darkness surrounding His arrest and passion in the same terms. “These words refer to the sinister forces marshaled against him for decisive combat in the spiritual realm.” (Bruce)
ii. The power of darkness may be seen in its effects, and for those who have been delivered . . . from the power of darkness these effects should be less and less evident in the life.
· The power of darkness lulls us to sleep.
· The power of darkness is skilled at concealment.
· The power of darkness afflicts and depresses man.
· The power of darkness can fascinate us.
· The power of darkness emboldens some men.
iii. “Beloved, we still are tempted by Satan, but we are not under his power; we have to fight with him, but we are not his slaves. He is not our king; he has no rights over us; we do not obey him; we will not listen to his temptations.” (Spurgeon)
d. And conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love: According to Barclay, the word we translate conveyed had a special significance in the ancient world. When one empire conquered another, the custom was to take the population of the defeated empire and transfer it completely to the conqueror’s land. It is in this sense that Paul says we have been conveyed into God’s kingdom. Everything we have and everything we are now belongs to Him.
i. The Son of His love is a Hebraic way of saying “God’s dear Son.”
e. In whom we have redemption through His blood: Redemption has the idea of release by a legal ransom. The price for our release was paid by the blood of Jesus.
i. This is one reason why pleading the blood of Jesus - in the right sense, not in a magical or superstitious sense - has such great significance in spiritual warfare. It shows the “receipt” of our lawful purchase as redeemed people.
ii. One of the great sticky questions of theology is to whom was the price paid? Some say it was to God that the ransom price was paid, but we were prisoners of Satan’s kingdom. Others say it was to Satan that the ransom price was paid, but what does God owe to Satan? This question probably simply extends the metaphor too far.
f. The forgiveness of sins: The word translated forgiveness is the ancient Greek word aphesis, most literally rendered “a sending away.” Our sin and guilt is sent away because of what Jesus did on the cross for us.
i. “It thus speaks of the removal of our sins from us, so that they are no longer barriers that separate us from God.” (Vaughan)
3. (Colossians 1:15-20) Paul’s meditation on the person and work of Jesus.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
a. He is: Paul started out thanking the Father for His plan of redemption (Colossians 1:12). He couldn’t do that without also thinking of the Son, who is the great Redeemer.
i. Most scholars think that Colossians 1:15-20 came from a poem or a hymn in the early Church that described what Christians believed about Jesus. This is entirely possible, but can’t be proven one way or another.
b. He is the image of the invisible God: The word translated image (the ancient Greek word eikon) expressed two ideas.
· Likeness, as in the image on a coin or the reflection in a mirror.
· Manifestation, with the sense that God is fully revealed in Jesus.
i. If Paul meant that Jesus was merely similar to the Father, he would have used the ancient Greek word homoioma, which speaks merely of similar appearance. The stronger word used here proves that Paul knew that Jesus was God just as God the Father is God. It means that “Jesus is the very stamp of God the Father.” (Robertson)
ii. “God is invisible, which does not merely mean that He cannot be seen by our bodily eye, but that He is unknowable. In the exalted Christ the unknowable God becomes known.” (Peake)
iii. According to Barclay, the ancient Jewish philosopher Philo equated the eikon of God with the Logos. Paul used this important and meaningful word with great purpose.
c. The firstborn over all creation: Firstborn (the ancient Greek word prototokos) can describe either priority in time or supremacy in rank. As Paul used it here, he probably had both ideas in mind, with Jesus being before all created things and Jesus being of a supremely different order than all created things.
i. Firstborn is also used of Jesus in Colossians 1:18, Romans 8:29, Hebrews 1:6, and Revelation 1:15.
ii. In no way does the title firstborn indicate that Jesus is less than God. In fact, the ancient Rabbis called Yawhew Himself “Firstborn of the World” (Rabbi Bechai, cited in Lightfoot). Ancient rabbis used firstborn as a Messianic title: “God said, As I made Jacob a first-born (Exodus 4:22), so also will I make king Messiah a first-born (Psalms 89:28).” (R. Nathan in Shemoth Rabba, cited in Lightfoot)
iii. “The use of this word does not show what Arius argued that Paul regarded Christ as a creature like ‘all creation’ . . . It is rather the comparative (superlative) force of protos that is used.” (Robertson)
iv. Bishop Lightfoot, a noted Greek scholar, on the use of both eikon (image) and prototokos (firstborn): “As the Person of Christ was the Divine response alike to the philosophical questionings of the Alexandrian Jew and to the patriotic hopes of the Palestinian, these two currents of thought meet in the term prototokos as applied to our Lord, who is both the true Logos and the true Messiah.” (Lightfoot)
v. “Prototokos in its primary sense expresses temporal priority, and then, on account of the privileges of the firstborn, it gains the further sense of dominion. . . Whether the word retains anything of its original meaning here is doubtful.” (Peake)
d. For by Him all things were created: There is no doubt that Jesus is the author of all creation. He Himself is not a created being. When we behold the wonder and the glory of the world Jesus created, we worship and honor Him all the more.
i. Comets have vapor trails up to 10,000 miles long. If you could capture all that vapor, and put it in a bottle, the amount of vapor actually present in the bottle would take up less than 1 cubic inch of space.
ii. Saturn’s rings are 500,000 miles in circumference, but only about a foot thick.
iii. The star Antares is 60,000 times larger than our sun. If the sun were the size of a softball, the star Antares would be the size of a house.
iv. If the sun were the size of a beachball, and put on top of the Empire State Building, the nearest group of stars would be as far as way as Australia is to the Empire State Building.
v. A star known as LP 327-186 is a so called white dwarf. It is smaller than the state of Texas; yet it is so dense that if a cubic inch of it were brought to earth, it would weigh more than 1.5 million tons.
vi. The earth travels around the sun about eight times the speed of a bullet fired from a gun.
vii. There are more insects in one square mile of rural land than there are human beings on the entire earth.
viii. Bees make their own air conditioning. When the weather gets hot, and threatens to melt the wax in the hive, one group of bees will go to the entrance of the hive, and another will stay inside. They will then flap their wings all together, making a cross draft that pulls the hot air out of the hive, and draws cooler air inside
ix. A single human chromosome contains twenty billion bits of information. How much information is that? If written in ordinary books, in ordinary language, it would take about four thousand volumes.
x. According to Greek scholar A.T. Robertson, all things were created has the idea of “stand created” or “remain created.” Robertson adds: “The permanence of the universe rests, then, on Christ far more than on gravity. It is a Christ-centric universe.”
e. Whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers: As will be demonstrate in the rest of the letter, the Colossian Heresy seemed taken with an elaborate angelology, which effectively placed angels as mediators between God and man. Paul emphasized that whatever ranks of spirit beings there may be, Jesus created them all and they all ultimately answer to Him.
f. He is before all things . . . who is the beginning: Centuries after Paul wrote a dangerous - yet popular - teacher named Arius claimed that Jesus was not truly God, and that there was a time when He did not exist. Paul rightly understood and insisted that Jesus is before all things and is Himself the beginning.
i. “As all creation necessarily exists in time, and had a commencement, and there was an infinite duration in which it did not exist, whatever was before or prior to that must be no part of creation; and the Being who existed prior to creation, and before all things-all existence of every kind, must be the unoriginated and eternal God: but Paul says, Jesus Christ was before all things; ergo, the apostle conceived Jesus Christ to be truly, and essentially God.” (Clarke)
g. In Him all things consist: The idea that Jesus is both the unifying principle and the personal sustainer of all creation.
i. “Hence, God, as the Preserver, is as necessary to the continuance of all things, as God the Creator was to their original production. But this preserving or continuing power is here ascribed to Christ.” (Clarke)
h. Head of the body, the church: This describes Jesus relationship to the church. Here, head probably refers to Jesus’ role as source of the church, even as we refer to the head of a river.
i. That in all things He may have the preeminence: This is a fitting summary of verses Colossians 1:15-18.
i. Adam Clarke on Colossians 1:16-17 : “Now, allowing St. Paul to have understood the terms which he used, he must have considered Jesus Christ as being truly and properly God. . . . Unless there be some secret way of understanding the 16th and 17th verses, which God has nowhere revealed, taken in their sober and rational sense and meaning they must forever settle this very important point.”
j. Fullness: This translates the ancient Greek word pleroma, and was really just another way to say that Jesus is truly God.
i. The word fullness was “a recognized technical term in theology, denoting the totality of the Divine powers and attributes.” (Lightfoot, cited in Robertson)
ii. According to Vincent, pleroma was used by the Gnostic teachers in a technical sense, to express the sum-total of divine powers and attributes “Christ may have been ranked with these inferior images of the divine by the Colossian teachers. Hence the significance of the assertion that the totality of the divine dwells in Him.” (Vincent)
iii. “The Gnostics distributed the divine powers among various aeons. Paul gathers them all up in Christ, a full and flat statement of the deity of Christ.” (Robertson)
k. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell: The ancient Greek word for dwell is here used in the sense of a permanent dwelling. There is an entirely different word used for the sense of a temporary dwelling place. Paul wanted to emphasize the idea that Jesus was not temporarily God, but is permanently God.
i. “Two mighty words; ‘fullness’ a substantial, comprehensive, expressive word in itself, and ‘all,’ a great little word including everything. When combined in the expression, ‘all fullness,’ we have before us a superlative wealth of meaning.” (Spurgeon)
ii. Once it pleased the Father to bruise Him (Isaiah 53:10); now it pleases the Father than in Him all the fullness of God should dwell.
iii. “Thus the phrase in Him should all the fullness dwell gathers into a grand climax the previous statements - image of God, first-born of all creation, Creator, the eternally preexistent, the Head of the Church, the victor over death, first in all things. On this summit we pause, looking like John, from Christ in His fullness of deity to the exhibition of that divine fullness in redemption consummated in heaven.” (Vincent)
iv. The fullness has been put into Jesus Christ. Not into a church; not into a priesthood; not into a building; not into a sacrament; not into the saints; not into a method or a program, but in Jesus Christ Himself. It was put into Him as a “distribution point” - so that those who wanted more of God and all that He is could find it in Jesus Christ.
l. And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself: Jesus’ atoning work is full and broad. Yet we should not take Colossians 1:20 as an endorsement of universalism.
m. Through the blood of the cross: Again we notice where the peace was made. We don’t make our own peace with God, but Jesus made peace for us through His work on the cross.
i. However, we should not regard the blood of the cross in a superstitious manner. It is not a magical potion, nor is it the literal blood of Jesus, literally applied that saves or cleanses us. If that were so, then His Roman executioners, splattered with His blood, would have been automatically saved, and the actual number of molecules of Jesus’ literal blood would limit the number of people who could be saved. The blood of the cross speaks to us of the real, physical death of Jesus Christ in our place, on our behalf, before God. That literal death in our place, and the literal judgment He bore on our behalf, is what saves us.
4. (Colossians 1:21-23) How the greatness of Jesus’ work touches the lives of the Colossians.
And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight; if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
a. Who once were alienated: The ancient Greek word translated alienated (apellotriomenous) is literally “transferred to another owner.” This transfer of ownership, from God to Satan and self, has affected us in both mind and behavior.
i. Belonging to the race of Adam, we are born alienated from God. Then as individuals, we each choose to accept and embrace that alienation with our wicked works.
ii. Once were alienated: This means that in Jesus we are no longer alienated. The difference between a believer and a non-believer isn’t merely forgiveness; there is a complete change of status.
b. Yet now He has reconciled: God’s answer to the problem of alienation is reconciliation, initiated by His work on the cross (reconciled in the body of His flesh through death). In the work of reconciliation, God didn’t meet us halfway. God meets us all the way and invites us to accept it.
i. One may use two different ways of understanding human need and God’s salvation.
· We can see God as the judge, and we are guilty before Him. Therefore, we need forgiveness and justification.
· We can see God as our friend, and we have damaged our relationship with Him. Therefore, we need reconciliation.
ii. Both of these are true; neither one should be promoted at the expense of the other.
iii. The phrase body of His flesh is redundant. Paul wanted to emphasize that this happened because of something that happened to a real man on a real cross.
c. To present you holy, blameless, and irreproachable in His sight: This is the result of God’s work of reconciliation. Taken together, these words show that in Jesus we are pure and can’t even be justly accused of impurity.
i. The idea of presenting us holy and blameless before God may recall the terminology used when priests inspected potential sacrifices. We are presented to God as a living sacrifice.
ii. A desire to be saved means a desire to be made holy, blameless and irreproachable, not merely a desire to escape the fires of hell on our own terms.
d. If indeed you continue in the faith: Those truly reconciled must truly persevere. Paul’s main focus is continuing in the truth of the gospel (continue in the faith . . . not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard). It is important for Christians to continue in godly conduct, but we are not saved by our godly conduct. So it is even more important for Christians to continue in the truth of the gospel, because we are saved by grace through faith.
i. “If the gospel teaches the final perseverance of the saints, it teaches at the same time that the saints are those who finally persevere - in Christ. Continuance is the test of reality.” (Bruce)
C. What Paul did for the Colossians.
1. (Colossians 1:24) Paul suffers for their sake.
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
a. I now rejoice in my sufferings for you: Paul wrote this from a Roman jail. He was able to see that his sufferings worked something good for others, so he could say that his sufferings were for the Colossians and other Christians.
b. And fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ: This word afflictions is never used of the suffering of Jesus on the cross. Most commentators see this as a reference to the affliction Jesus endured in ministry. These afflictions are not yet complete, and in this sense Jesus still “suffers” as He ministers through His people.
i. “Paul attaches no atoning value whatever to his own sufferings for the church.” (Robertson)
ii. “The term ‘afflictions of Christ’ is never associated with the redemptive suffering of Jesus upon the cross. It speaks, rather, of those ministerial sufferings which Paul bears because he represents Jesus Christ.” (Lane)
c. For the sake of His body, which is the church: Paul did not suffer for himself in the way that an ascetic might. Instead he suffered for the sake of the body of Christ.
i. Ascetics focus on their holiness, on their spiritual growth, and on their perfection. Paul followed in the footsteps of Jesus and was an others-centered person. Paul found holiness, spiritual growth, and maturity when he pursued them for others.
2. (Colossians 1:25-26) Paul is a servant of the church, revealing the mystery of God that was once hidden.
Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
a. Of which I became a minister: Paul was a minister - that is, a servant of the body of Christ, the church. He did not take this position on his own initiative, but according to the stewardship from God. God put Paul into this position, he did not put himself.
b. The word of God, the mystery which has been hidden: In the Biblical sense, a mystery is not a riddle. It is a truth that can only be known by revelation and not by intuition. Now it can be known, because it now has been revealed to His saints.
i. Hidden from ages and generations: This reminds us that there are aspects to God’s plan that were not clearly revealed in the Old Testament. The specific mystery Paul refers to here deals with many aspects of the work of Jesus in His people, but especially the plan of the church, to make one body out of Jew and Gentile, taken from the “trunk” of Israel, yet not Israel.
ii. “The mystery is this: that God had designed to grant the Gentiles the same privileges with the Jews, and make them his people who were not his people. That this in what Paul means by the mystery, see Ephesians 3:3, etc.” (Clarke)
3. (Colossians 1:27) Part of the mystery: that Jesus would actually indwell believers.
To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
a. This mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you: The wonder and glory of the abiding, indwelling Jesus was not clearly revealed in the Old Testament, especially that He would abide in the Gentiles. Therefore, this aspect of the work of Jesus in His people was a mystery that wasn’t revealed until the time of Jesus and the apostles.
i. “This is the crowning wonder to Paul that God had included the Gentiles in his redemptive grace.” (Robertson)
ii. This means that God is revealed to us in Jesus. Classic theologians use the Latin term deus absconditus to refer to the “hidden God,” the God than cannot be clearly seen or known. The Latin theological term deus revelatus refers to the “revealed God.” In Jesus, the deus absconditus has become the deus revelatus.
b. Christ in you, the hope of glory: This is the Christian’s hope of glory. It isn’t our own hard work or devotion to God, or the power of our own spirituality. Instead, it is the abiding presence of Jesus: Christ in you.
4. (Colossians 1:28-29) Paul’s motto for apostolic ministry.
Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
a. Him we preach: This was the focus of Paul’s preaching. He didn’t preach himself, or his opinions, or even lots and lots of entertaining stories. He preached Jesus.
b. Warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom: Paul wanted the whole gospel for the whole world. He wouldn’t hold back in either area - it was for every man, and he presented it in all wisdom.
i. Some translate the word warning as “counseling.” The ancient Greek verb nouthetountes means, “To impart understanding,” “to lay on the mind or the heart.” The stress is on influencing not only the intellect, but also the will and disposition. It describes a basic means of education.
ii. The work of warning - or helping to impart understanding - was a passion for Paul in ministry (Acts 20:31). It is also the job of church leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12) and of the church body in general (Colossians 3:16), providing that they are able to admonish others (Romans 15:14).
c. That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: The goal of Paul’s ministry was to bring people to maturity in Christ, and not to dependence upon himself.
i. “Therefore, the aim of this epistle, and, indeed, of all apostolic work is admonishing and teaching every man toward the realization of perfection in Christ, because that issues in the perfecting of the whole Church.” (Morgan)
ii. This work was for every man. In contrast, the false teachers at Colosse “believed the way of salvation to be so involved that it could be understood only by a select few who made up sort of a spiritual aristocracy.” (Vaughan)
d. Striving according to His working which works in me mightily: Paul’s work was empowered by God’s mighty strength. But God’s strength in his life didn’t mean that Paul did nothing. He worked hard according to His working.
i. “The word ‘struggling’ [striving], whose root can mean ‘to compete in the games’, carries, as of then in Paul, the idea of athletic contest: Paul does not go about his work half-heartedly, hoping vaguely that grace will fill in the gaps which he is too lazy to work at himself.” (Wright)

Philippians 4 - PEACE AND JOY IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

Philippians 4 - PEACE AND JOY IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

A. Instructions to specific saints.
1. (Philippians 4:1) A general exhortation: in light of your destiny in Christ, stand fast.
Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
a. Therefore: This links together what Paul wrote here with what he wrote before. Because of the promise of resurrection (Philippians 3:21), they have all the more reason to stand fast in the Lord.
b. My joy and crown: Paul used the ancient Greek word for crown that described the crown given to an athlete who had won the race. It was a crown of achievement (a stephanos); not the crown that was given to a king (a diadema). The Philippians, as they stand fast in the Lord, were Paul’s trophy.
c. So stand fast in the Lord, beloved: We can only stand fast when we are in the Lord; any other place is not a secure place to stand.
2. (Philippians 4:2) Instructions to Euodia and Syntyche.
I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
a. Euodia and . . . Syntyche: Apparently these two women were the source of some sort of quarrel in the church. Instead of taking sides or trying to solve their problem, Paul simply told them to be of the same mind in the Lord.
b. To be of the same mind in the Lord: Whatever the dispute was about, Euodia and Syntyche had forgotten that they have a greater common ground in Jesus Christ. They forgot that everything else was less important than that common ground.
3. (Philippians 4:3) Instructions to the true companion.
And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
a. I urge you also, true companion: Whoever this was, Paul instructed them to help these women who labored with me in the gospel. The true companion was supposed to help them by helping them to reconcile and come to one mind in the Lord.
i. These women who labored with me in the gospel is a telling phrase. These two women, Euodia and Syntyche, were faithful workers with Paul in the work of the gospel. Yet, they had a falling out with each other. Paul knew that this unfortunate dispute needed to be cleared up.
b. With Clement also: There was a notable Clement in the early church who was the leader of the church in Rome and wrote two preserved letters to the church in Corinth. Yet we don’t know if this is the same Clement. It was a common name in the Roman world.
i. We can contrast the brief mention of Euodia and Syntyche with the brief mention of Clement. If you had to have your whole life summed up in one sentence, would you like it to be summed up like Clement or like Euodia and Syntyche?
c. And the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life: There were others in Philippi who also helped Paul. They had the greatest honor in the world: to have their names in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:15).
B. More instruction on walking the walk.
1. (Philippians 4:4) Paul repeats a major theme of the letter.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
a. Rejoice: Despite the circumstance from which it was written, joy is all over the letter to the Philippians. Examples of this are in Philippians 1:4; Php_1:18; Php_1:25; Php_2:2; Php_2:16-18; Php_2:28; Php_3:1; Php_3:3; Php_4:1; Php_4:4.
i. “I am glad that we do not know what the quarrel was about; I am usually thankful for ignorance on such subjects; - but as a cure for disagreements, the apostle says, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always.’ People who are very happy, especially those who are very happy in the Lord, are not apt either to give offense or to take offense. Their minds are so sweetly occupied with higher things, that they are not easily distracted by the little troubles which naturally arise among such imperfect creatures as we are. Joy in the Lord is the cure for all discord.” (Spurgeon)
b. Rejoice in the Lord always: Again, Paul’s joy wasn’t based in a sunny optimism or positive mental attitude as much as it was the confidence that God was in control. It really was a joy in the Lord.
i. “What a gracious God we serve, who makes delight to be a duty, and who commands us to rejoice! Should we not at once be obedient to such a command as this? It is intended that we should be happy.” (Spurgeon)
2. (Philippians 4:5) Show a gentle disposition to all men.
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
a. Let your gentleness be known: Paul used an interesting ancient Greek word (epieikeia) that is translated gentleness here. Other translations of the Bible translate epieikeia as patience, softness, the patient mind, modesty, forbearance, the forbearing spirit, or magnanimity.
i. “The word epieikes is of very extensive signification; it means the same as epieikeia, mildness, patience, yieldingness, gentleness, clemency, moderation, unwillingness to litigate or contend; but moderation is expressive enough as a general term.” (Clarke)
ii. A good example of this quality is when Jesus showed gentleness with the woman who was taken in adultery in a set-up and brought to Jesus. He knew how to show a holy gentleness to her.
iii. This word describes the heart of a person who will let the Lord fight his battles. They know that vengeance is Mine, says the Lord (Romans 12:19). It describes a person who is really free to let go of His anxieties and all the things that cause him stress, because he knows that the Lord will take up his cause.
b. Be known to all men: The sphere is broad. We show this gentleness to all men, not just to whom we please.
c. The Lord is at hand: When we live with the awareness of Jesus’ soon return, it makes it all the more easy to rejoice in the Lord and to show gentleness to all men. We know that Jesus will settle every wrong at His return, and we can trust Him to make things right in our falling-apart world.
3. (Philippians 4:6) A living prayer life.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
a. Be anxious for nothing: This is a command, not an option. Undue care is an intrusion into an arena that belongs to God alone. It makes us the father of the household instead of being a child.
b. But in everything by prayer and supplication: Paul wrote that everything is the proper subject of prayer. There are not some areas of our lives that are of no concern to God.
c. Prayer and supplication: These two aspects of prayer are similar, but distinct. Prayer is a broader word that can mean all of our communication with God, but supplication directly asks God to do something.
i. Many of our prayers go unanswered because we do not ask God for anything. Here God invites us simply to let your requests be made known. He wants to know.
d. Be made known: God already knows our requests before we pray them; yet He will often wait for our participation through prayer before granting that which we request.
e. With thanksgiving: This guards against a whining, complaining spirit before God when we let our requests be made known. We really can be anxious for nothing, pray about everything, and be thankful for anything.
4. (Philippians 4:7) The promise of peace.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
a. And the peace of God: The Bible describes three great aspects of peace that relate to God.
· Peace from God: Paul continually used this as an introduction to his letters; it reminds us that our peace comes to us as a gift from God.
· Peace with God: This describes a relationship that we enter into with God through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
· The peace of God: This is the peace spoken of in Philippians 4:7. It is beyond “all mind”; that is, beyond our power of thinking.
i. “What is God’s peace? The unruffled serenity of the infinitely-happy God, the eternal composure of the absolutely well-contented God.” (Spurgeon)
b. Which surpasses all understanding: It isn’t that it is senseless and therefore impossible to understand, but that it is beyond our ability understand and to explain - therefore it must be experienced.
i. This peace doesn’t just surpass the understanding of the worldly man; it surpasses all understanding. Even the godly man can not comprehend this peace.
c. Guard your hearts and minds: The word guard speaks of a military action. This is something that the peace of God does for us; it is a peace that is on guard over our heart and mind.
i. “Shall keep them as in a strong place or a castle.” (Clarke)
ii. When people seem to “lose” their heart or mind, it often is connected to an absence of the peace of God in their life. The peace of God then does not act as a guard for their hearts and minds.
6. (Philippians 4:8) The right place to put our minds.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy; meditate on these things.
a. Whatever things are true: Paul’s list of things on which we should meditate translates well from the Greek to the English; there is no great need for elaboration upon each item.
b. Noble . . . just . . . pure . . . lovely . . . good report . . . virtue . . . praiseworthy: These, Paul would say, are the fruit and the food of the mind that is guarded by the peace of God. When we put these good things into our mind, they stay in our mind and then come forth from us.
c. Meditate on these things: Much of the Christian life comes down to the mind. Romans 12:2 speaks of the essential place of being transformed by the renewing of your mind and 2 Corinthians 10:5 speaks of the importance of casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. What we choose to meditate on matters.
i. What Paul describes here is a practical way to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
7. (Philippians 4:9) A return to the idea of following Paul’s example.
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
a. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do: Paul had the integrity to present himself as an example of all these things to the Philippians. He really could say, “Follow me as I follow Jesus.”
b. And the God of peace will be with you: If the Philippians did as Paul has instructed, not only would they have the peace of God, but the God of peace would also be with them.
C. Paul comments on the giving of the Philippians.
1. (Philippians 4:10-14) Paul’s perspective on the gift from the Philippians.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress.
a. Your care for me has flourished again: This refers to the financial support brought by Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25). Paul didn’t want to imply that the Philippians didn’t care before, only that before they lacked opportunity. When they had the opportunity then their care for Paul flourished again.
b. Not that I speak in regard to need: Paul reminded the Philippians that his thankfulness for the Philippians’ giving wasn’t because he was needy (though he was in fact in need), but because it was good for them to be givers.
c. I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: This was how Paul could say that his thankfulness was not based upon his own need. Even though Paul was in need, he was content where he was at - even in his Roman imprisonment.
i. I have learned: Paul had to learn contentment; it isn’t natural to mankind.
ii. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound: Paul reminds us that his contentment was not only theoretical. He actually lived this. Paul had been financially well-off; he had been financially needy.
iii. Paul knew how to be abased. “See here the state to which God permitted his chief apostle to be reduced! And see how powerfully the grace of Christ supported him under the whole! How few of those who are called Christian ministers or Christian men have learned this important lesson! When want or affliction comes, their complaints are loud and frequent; and they are soon at the end of their patience.” (Clarke)
iv. Paul also knew how to abound. “There are a great many men that know a little how to be abased, that do not know at all how to abound. When they are put down into the pit with Joseph, they look up and see the starry promise, and they hope for an escape. But when they are put on the top of a pinnacle, their heads grow dizzy, and they are ready to fall.” (Spurgeon)
d. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me: This refers to Paul’s ability to be content in all things. To achieve this contentment, he needed the strength of Jesus Christ.
i. Unfortunately, many people take this verse out of context and use it to reinforce a “triumphalist” or “super-Christian” mentality, instead of seeing that the strength of Jesus in Paul’s life was evident in his ability to be content when he did suffer need.
ii. We must always also put this precious statement of faith in connection with John 15:5 : for without Me you can do nothing. With Jesus we can do all things, without Him we can’t do anything.
e. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress: In speaking about his ability to be content, Paul did not want to give the impression that the Philippians had somehow done something wrong in supporting Paul. But there was a real sense in which the giving of the Philippians was better for them than it was for Paul (you have done well). Godly giving actually does more good for the giver than for the one that receives.
2. (Philippians 4:15-18) Thanks for the past and present giving of the Philippians.
Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.
a. The beginning of the gospel: This refers to Paul’s pioneering missionary efforts in Europe, recorded in Acts 16 and following.
b. No church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only: The Philippians were the only ones to support Paul during this particular period. Paul especially remembered how they supported him when he was in Thessalonica.
i. “Probably the gift does not come to very much, if estimated in Roman coin; but he makes a great deal of it, and sits down to write a letter of thanks abounding in rich expressions like these.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “While labouring to plant the church there, he was supported partly by working with his hands, 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9; and partly by the contributions sent him from Philippi. Even the Thessalonians had contributed little to his maintenance: this is not spoken to their credit.” (Clarke)
c. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account: Paul wasn’t so much interested in the gift on his own behalf, but in the fruit that abounds to your account. Their giving increased the fruit in their account before God.
i. “It is not the actual gift put into Paul’s hands which has brought him joy, but the giving and the meaning of that giving. It is the truest index to the abiding reality of his work.” (Expositors)
ii. This reflects one of the most important principles regarding giving in the Scriptures: that we are never the poorer for having given. God will never be our debtor, and we can never out-give God.
d. A sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God: Paul described the gift of the Philippians in terms that remind us of sacrifices in the Old Testament (Genesis 8:21, Exodus 29:18; Exo_29:25, and Exodus 29:41). Our giving to God’s work is similar to Old Testament sacrifices, which also cost the person bringing the sacrifice a lot. Bulls and rams did not come cheaply in that day.
i. Ephesians 5:2 uses the same terminology in reference to Jesus’ sacrifice for us; our sacrifices are likewise pleasing to God as a sweet-smelling aroma.
ii. In 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, Paul boasted about the Philippians as an example of the right kind of giving. He describes how they gave willingly, out of their own need, and they gave after first having given themselves to the Lord.
3. (Philippians 4:19) Paul declares a promise to the Philippians regarding their own financial needs.
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
a. My God shall supply all your need: We shouldn’t think that the Philippians were wealthy benefactors of Paul who could easily spare the money. As Paul described them in 2 Corinthians 8, it is plain that their giving was sacrificial. This promise meant something to them!
i. “He says to them, ‘You have helped me; but my God shall supply you. You have helped me in one of my needs-my need of clothing and of food: I have other needs in which you could not help me; but my God shall supply all your need. You have helped me, some of you, out of your deep poverty, taking from your scanty store; but my God shall supply all your need out of his riches in glory.’“ (Spurgeon)
b. Shall supply all your need: The promise is to supply all your need; but it is all your need (not a promise to go beyond needs) In this, the promise is both broad and yet restricted.
c. According to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus: This is a staggering measure of giving. Since there is no lack in God’s riches in glory, we should anticipate that there would be no lack in God’s supply.
i. “The rewarding will not be merely from His wealth, but also in a manner that befits His wealth - on a scale worthy of His wealth.” (Martin)
ii. Spurgeon thought that this verse was a great illustration of that wonderful miracle in 2 Kings 4:1-7, where Elisha told the widow to gather empty vessels, set them out and pour forth the oil from the one small vessel of oil she had into the empty vessels. She filled and filled and miraculously filled until every empty vessel was full.
· All our need is like the empty vessels.
· God is the one who fills the empty vessels.
· According to His riches in glory describes the style in which God fills the empty vessels - the oil keeps flowing until every available vessel is filled.
· By Christ Jesus describes the how God meets our needs - our empty vessels are filled with Jesus in all His glory.
d. All your need: We also notice that this promise was made to the Philippians - those who had surrendered their finances and material possessions to God’s service, and who knew how to give with the right kind of heart.
i. This promise simply expresses what Jesus said in Luke 6:38 : Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
D. Conclusion to the letter.
1. (Philippians 4:20) A brief doxology.
Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
a. Be glory forever and ever: It is wrong to think of this as an unthinking comment made by Paul, in the way that we throw off comments like “glory to God” or “praise the Lord” in our Christian culture. Paul genuinely wanted God to be glorified, and was willing to be used in whatever way God saw fit to glorify Himself (Philippians 1:20).
b. Amen: This was a word borrowed from Hebrew meaning, “So be it.” It is an expression of confident and joyful affirmation.
2. (Philippians 4:21-22) Mutual greetings expressed.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household.
a. Greet every saint: Paul did not here give specific greetings to individuals as he did in other letters. Rather he greeted every saint in Christ Jesus. This also is another example of the fact that the title saint applies to all Christians, not just to an elite few.
b. All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household: This special greeting is evidence that Paul was still used by God during his Roman imprisonment, when the gospel extended even into the household of Caesar.
i. Those who are of Caesar’s household: “By this he designates the functionaries and servants and slaves of the Emperor’s household, with whom Paul, as a prisoner for several years, undoubtedly came in contact on several occasions.” (Muller)
ii. “Nero was at this time emperor of Rome: a more worthless, cruel, and diabolic wretch never disgraced the name or form of man; yet in his family there were Christians: but whether this relates to the members of the imperial family, or to guards, or courtiers, or to servants, we cannot tell.” (Clarke)
3. (Philippians 4:23) Final words.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
a. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all: Paul did not say this to simply fill up space at the end of his letter. To him, the Christian life begins and ends with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, so it was appropriate that his letters began and ended with grace also.
b. Amen: This was a fitting word of affirmation. Paul knew that what he wrote to the Philippians was fitting to be agreed with.

Philippians 3 - LEAVING LAW AND PRESSING ON TO JESUS

Philippians 3 - LEAVING LAW AND PRESSING ON TO JESUS

A. The futility of a relationship with God based on the principle of law.
1. (Philippians 3:1-2) Warning against the influence of legalistic Jews.
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!
a. Finally: This didn’t mean that Paul was almost finished; Paul wrote here as many preachers speak. Yet we should expect some sort transition in the letter with the word finally.
i. “Paul’s ‘finally’ here is not the ‘finally’ of the present day preacher. He has another ‘finally’ in 4:8. He does not mean by this that he is about to close the letter. The words translated by the word ‘finally’ are literally ‘as for the rest.’“ (Wuest)
b. Rejoice in the Lord: This is a fitting theme for the whole letter. Paul shared with the Philippians the principle of being able to rejoice in the Lord - not in circumstances or in situations, but in the Lord who works all things together for good.
i. This abiding joy is fitting for the believer because it shows that we really do trust in a God whom we really believe is in control. When we believe this, it isn’t any surprise that we are then filled with joy.
ii. Rejoice in the Lord: “The entire phrase may be the Christian equivalent of the Old Testament exclamation, Hallelujah.” (Martin)
iii. “It is a duty for us to cultivate this joy. We must steadfastly arrest any tendency to murmur and complain; to find fault with God’s dealings; or to seek to elicit sympathy. We must as much resist the temptation to depression and melancholy as we would to any form of sin.” (Meyer)
c. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe: Paul assured the Philippians that he didn’t mind reminding them of the same things because it was for their safety.
i. Paul did not mind reminding them because he was passionately concerned about certain dangers, and he would speak out strongly against them. “This outburst is very remarkable, for its vehemence is so unlike the tone of the rest of the letter. That is calm, joyous, bright, but this is stormy and impassioned, full of flashing and scathing words.” (Maclaren)
d. Beware of dogs: This was a harsh reference to the troublemaking legalists who attempted to deceive the Philippians. “Dogs” is exactly the term of contempt Jews would use against Gentiles. Paul said a lot by using this word against these Jewish-influenced legalists.
i. Muller quoting Lightfoot: “The herds of dogs which prowl about Eastern cities, without a home and without an owner, feeding on the refuse and filth of the streets, quarreling among themselves, and attacking the passer-by, explain the applications of the image.”
ii. “We are bidden, therefore, to beware of men of a quarrelsome and contentious spirit, who under the guise of religion hide impure and unclean things; and who are not only defiled, but defiling in their influence.” (Meyer)
e. Beware of evil workers: This describes both what these legalists do (working evil), but was also a word against their emphasis on righteousness with God by works. Paul would admit that they have a concern for works, but they were evil workers.
i. Evil workers: “These people are the ‘Cranks’ of our Churches; they introduce fads and hobbies; they exaggerate the importance of trifles; they catch up ever new theory and vagary, and follow it to the detriment of truth and love.” (Meyer)
f. Beware of the mutilation: Here is another harsh reference to the insistence of these Jewish legalists on requiring circumcision for Gentiles who wanted to become Christians. This was all done with the idea that someone must become a Jew first before they could become a Christian.
i. “They did not deny that Jesus was the Messiah, or that His Gospel was the power of God unto salvation, but they insisted that the Gentile converts could only come to the fullness of Gospel privilege through the Law of Moses.” (Meyer)
ii. However, Paul did not see their insistence on circumcision as something beautiful or noble; he regarded it as an ugly example of mutilation. “I will not call them the circumcision, they have not been circumcised, they have only been gashed and mutilated, it has been a mere fleshly maiming.” (Maclaren)
iii. Martin on the mutilation: “By a pun, he mockingly calls it a mere cutting, katatome, i.e. mutilation of the body on a par with pagan practices forbidden in Leviticus 21:5.”
2. (Philippians 3:3-4) Paul defines the true circumcision.
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:
a. For we are the circumcision: These Jewish legalists considered themselves the ones truly circumcised and right with God. But Paul declared that he and his followers are were true circumcision.
b. Who worship God in the Spirit: This defines the true circumcision. They worship God in the Spirit, as opposed to the fleshly and external worship emphasized by these legalists.
i. “The word ‘worship’ is the translation of the Greek word referring to the service of Jehovah by His peculiar people, the Jews. A Jew would be scandalized by the application of this word to a Gentile.” (Wuest)
c. Rejoice in Christ Jesus: This also characterizes those of the true circumcision. Their joy is not found in their own ability to be justified by the law or by their law-keeping. Jesus and Jesus alone is their joy.
d. Have no confidence in the flesh: This is a third characteristic of the true circumcision. They do not trust in their own ability to be righteous before God through external works (the flesh), but their only confidence is in Jesus.
e. I also might have confidence in the flesh . . . I more so: Paul knew that he was more qualified to be justified by the keeping of the law than any of his present legalistic opponents were.
i. Curiously, often those who promote the idea of having confidence in the flesh are the same ones who are the least qualified to have such confidence. This is because of the principle Paul explains in Colossians 2:23 - These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
3. (Philippians 3:5-6) Paul’s reasons why he might have confidence in the flesh.
Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
a. Circumcised the eighth day . . .: Paul first listed four things that were his possessions by birth, all reasons why he might have confidence in the flesh.
· Paul was circumcised the eighth day in accordance with Leviticus 12:3.
· Paul was of the stock of Israel, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and therefore an heir to God’s covenant with them.
· Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin, a distinguished tribe. Benjamin was distinguished by the fact that it gave Israel her first king, Saul (1 Samuel 9:1-2). It was the tribe that aligned itself with faithful Judah when Israel divided into two nations at the time of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:21). It was also the tribe that had the city of Jerusalem within its boundaries (Judges 1:21).
· Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. This contrasted him with the Jews who embraced Greek culture as it spread through the Mediterranean. In that time, many Jews became ashamed of their Jewishness and tried to live and act as much like Greeks as they could, sometimes even to the point of having their circumcision cosmetically restored or hidden so they could enjoy the Roman public baths without being noticed as Jews. In contrast, Paul was raised by his parents as a Hebrew of the Hebrews.
b. Concerning the law . . .: Paul then listed three things that were his by personal choice and conviction, all reasons why he might have confidence in the flesh.
· Paul was concerning the law, a Pharisee. This tells us that among an elite people (the Jews), Paul was of an elite sect (the Pharisees), who were noted for their scrupulous devotion to the law of God. “There were not very many Pharisees, never more than six thousand, but they were the spiritual athletes of Judaism. Their very name means The Separated Ones. They had separated themselves off from all common life and from all common tasks in order to make it the one aim of their lives to keep every smallest detail of the Law.” (Barclay) The concern that Pharisees had for keeping the law is reflected in passages like Matthew 23:23.
· Concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Paul was not merely an intellectual opponent of perceived heresies against Judaism; he was also an active fighter against them - even in his blindness to God. Paul’s observation that the Jews of his day have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2) was true of his own life before God confronted him on the road to Damascus.
· Concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. This shows that Paul achieved the standard of righteousness which was accepted among the men of his day - though this standard fell short of God’s holy standard. Because of how the law was interpreted and taught, there were those of that day who were deceived into thinking that they really were blameless, like the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-23).
i. In summary, if anyone could lay claim to pleasing God by law-keeping and the works of the flesh, it was Paul. He was far more qualified than his legalizing opponents were to make such a claim.
4. (Philippians 3:7) Paul rejects all confidence in the flesh.
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
a. These I have counted loss for Christ: Any of the corrupting teachers Paul warned against would be proud to claim Paul’s pedigree. Yet Paul made it plain: these things I have counted loss for Christ.
i. “The word ‘gain’ is plural in the Greek, namely, ‘gains.’ . . . ‘Loss’ is singular. The various gains are all counted as one loss.” (Wuest)
ii. “He was skilled in spiritual arithmetic, and very careful in his reckoning. He cast up his accounts with caution, and observed with a diligent eye his losses and his gains.” (Spurgeon)
b. I have counted loss: Paul counted these things loss. It wasn’t so much that they were a loss by their very character, as much as he chose to regard them as loss.
i. They were counted loss not so much because they were harmful to Paul, but because these things were ways in which Paul sought to please God in the energies of the flesh. Before Paul became a Christian, he thought all these things made him a success in the effort to please God by works.
ii. We can say that Paul’s attitude was the same that Jesus described in the parable of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44-46).
B. Paul’s utter confidence in a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
1. (Philippians 3:8) Paul’s gain in Jesus Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
a. Yet indeed I also count all things loss: Paul did not only count his religious pedigree as a loss; he counted all things loss - but he counted them as a loss in view of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.
i. Yet indeed: “The translation of five particles, which latter are literally translated, ‘yea, indeed, therefore, at least, even,’ and show the force and passion of Paul’s conviction.” (Wuest)
ii. It wasn’t so much that those things were worthless in themselves, but compared to the greatness of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, they really were nothing.
iii. Paul here put a personal relationship with Jesus Christ at the very center of the Christian’s life. He joyfully accepted the loss of all other things for the greatness of this personal relationship.
iv. In Philippians 3:7 Paul said that he counted; in this verse he said I also count. This first counting was at his conversion; the second - some 30 years later - was in his Roman prison. After all he had experienced, he still counted it worthy to give everything up for the sake of following Jesus.
v. “After twenty years or more of experience Paul had an opportunity of revising his balance-sheet, and looking again at his estimates, and seeing whether or not his counting was correct. What was the issue of his latest search? How do matters stand at his last stocktaking? He exclaims with very special emphasis, ‘Yea doubtless; and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.’“ (Spurgeon)
b. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things: This counting loss was not merely an internal spiritual exercise. Paul had indeed suffered the loss of all things that he might gain Christ.
i. This is demonstrated by the place and circumstances under which Paul wrote this letter - a Roman prison, where he truly could say that he had suffered the loss of all things.
c. Count them as rubbish: Paul here used strong language. Literally, Paul considered them as excrement - as dung; not only as worthless, but as offensive.
i. The ancient Greek word for rubbish had one of two uses. It could describe excrement from the body, or table scraps that were fit only to be thrown to the dogs. We may suppose that Paul would be comfortable with either meaning in this context.
ii. “The word means the vilest dross or refuse of any thing; the worst excrement. The word shows how utterly insignificant and unavailing, in point of salvation, the apostle esteemed every thing but the Gospel of Jesus.” (Clarke)
2. (Philippians 3:9) The spiritual benefits of his gain in Jesus Christ.
And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
a. And be found in Him: Because Paul was in Him, he could renounce his own righteousness and live by the righteousness which is from God by faith. The foundation for his spiritual life was in what Jesus had done for him and not in what he had done, was doing, or would do for Jesus in the future.
b. The righteousness which is from God by faith: Paul here exposed the great difference between the legal relationship stressed by his opponents and his personal connection with Jesus Christ. The difference is between living and trusting in your own righteousness and living and trusting in God’s righteousness given through faith in Christ.
i. “He disowns his own righteousness as eagerly as other men disown their sins, and he highly esteems the righteousness which Christ has wrought out for us, which becomes ours by faith.” (Spurgeon)
3. (Philippians 3:10-11) Paul’s experience of a personal relationship with Jesus.
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
a. That I may know Him: This was the simple plea of Paul’s heart. It was a plea unknown to the legalist, who must necessarily focus on his own performance and status to find some kind of peace with God. But Paul wanted Jesus, not self.
i. To know Jesus is not the same as knowing His historical life; it is not the same as knowing correct doctrines regarding Jesus; it is not the same as knowing His moral example, and it is not the same as knowing His great work on our behalf.
· We can say that we know someone because we recognize them; because we can distinguish what is different about them compared to other people.
· We can say that we know someone because we are acquainted with what they do; we know the baker because we get our bread from him.
· We can say that we know someone because we actually converse with them; we are on speaking terms with that person.
· We can say that we know someone because we spend time in their house and with their family.
· We can say that we know someone because we have committed our life to them and live with them every day, sharing every circumstance as in a marriage.
· Yet beyond all this, there is a way of know Jesus Christ that includes all of these yet goes beyond them.
ii. “They tell me he is a refiner, that he cleanses from spots; he has washed me in his precious blood, and to that extent I know him. They tell me that he clothes the naked; he bath covered me with a garment of righteousness, and to that extent I know him. They tell me that he is a breaker, and that he breaks fetters, he has set my soul at liberty, and therefore I know him. They tell me that he is a king and that he reigns over sin; he bath subdued my enemies beneath his feet, and I know him in that character. They tell me he is a shepherd: I know him for I am his sheep. They say he is a door: I have entered in through him, and I know him as a door. They say he is food: my spirit feeds on him as on the bread of heaven, and, therefore, I know him as such.” (Spurgeon)
b. And the power of His resurrection: Knowing Jesus means knowing this power, the new life that is imparted to us now, not when we die.
i. “He wants to know in an experiential way the power of Christ’s resurrection. That is, he wants to experience the same power that raised Christ from the dead surging through his own being, overcoming sin in his life and producing the Christian graces.” (Wuest)
ii. “I do not think, however, that Paul is here thinking so much of the power displayed in the resurrection, as of the power which comes out of it, which may most properly be called, ‘the power of his resurrection.’ This the apostle desired to apprehend and to know.”
· The power of His resurrection is an evidencing power. It is the evidence and seal that everything Jesus did and said was true.
· The power of His resurrection is a justifying power. It is the receipt and proof that the sacrifice of the cross was accepted as payment in full.
· The power of His resurrection is a life-giving power. It means that those who are connected with Jesus Christ receive the same resurrection life.
· The power of His resurrection is a consoling and comforting power. It promises that our friends and loved ones who are dead in Christ live with Him.
c. And the fellowship of His sufferings: Knowing Jesus also means knowing this fellowship of His sufferings. It is all part of following Jesus and being in Christ. We can say that suffering is part of our heritage as the children of God; we get to be part of the family of suffering: If children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together (Romans 8:17).
d. Being conformed to His death: This reminds us that being in Christ also means being “in” His death. These words had particular relevance to Paul who faced possible martyrdom.
e. If, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead: Paul was not morbidly focused on suffering and death in the Christian life. He saw that they were a necessary way to the goal of resurrection life right now and the ultimate resurrection from the dead.
i. This was a goal that was worth any means to Paul. The suffering was worth it, considering the greatness of the goal of resurrection from the dead.
ii. I may attain: Paul didn’t doubt that he was saved, but he did long mightily for the completion of his salvation through the resurrection of his body. It was something that he had not yet attained and longed for.
iii. Remember that Paul wrote this having experienced more suffering than we will ever experience, and he wrote it from the custody of Roman soldiers. This wasn’t merely theological theory and ideas, but a lived-out connection with God.
4. (Philippians 3:12-14) The future of Paul’s relationship with Jesus Christ.
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
a. Not that I have already attained: Paul wrote from such spiritual maturity and purity that we might expect he believed that he had conquered all spiritual difficulties and saw himself as having arrived at near perfection. Yet he assured us this was not so. There was no perfectionism in Paul.
i. Sadly, it is common for many Christian leaders to cultivate the attitude that they have already attained. Without saying the words, they put forth the image of constant triumph that gives the idea that they have already attained and are already perfected.
ii. “Brethren, it is a very healthy thing for us who are ministers to read a biography like that of M’Cheyne. Read that through, if you are a minister, and it will burst many of your windbags. You will find yourselves collapse most terribly. Take the life of Brainerd amongst the Indians, or of Baxter in our own land. Think of the holiness of George Herbert, the devoutness of Fletcher, or the zeal of Whitfield. Where do you find yourself after reading their lives? Might you not peep about to find a hiding-place for your insignificance?” (Spurgeon)
iii. “Just as a little child is a perfect human being, but still is far from perfect in all his development as man, so the true child of God is also perfect in all parts, although not yet perfect in all the stages of his development in faith.” (Muller)
iv. “But while the work of Christ for us is perfect, and it were presumption to think of adding to it, the work of the Holy Spirit in us is not perfect, it is continually carried on from day to day, and will need to be continued throughout the whole of our lives.” (Spurgeon)
b. But I press on: Because Paul realized that he had not arrived, there was only one option open for him. He had to press on. There was no turning back for Him.
i. When Spain led the world (in the 15th century), their coins reflected their national arrogance and were inscribed Ne Plus Ultra which meant “Nothing Further” - meaning that Spain was the ultimate in all the world. After the discovery of the New World, they realized that they were not the end of the world, so they changed the inscription on their coinage to Plus Ultra meaning “More Beyond.” In the same pattern, some Christian lives say, “Nothing Further” and others say “More Beyond.”
ii. This is where child-like faith meets real maturity. A child can’t wait to be bigger, and always wants to be more mature.
iii. But I press on meant that Paul had put his hand to the plow and refused to look back (Luke 9:62).
c. That I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me: Paul pressed on for what Jesus wanted. His effort was put forth to do God’s will, not his own.
i. When Paul said, “That I may lay hold,” he used strong language. “The word ‘apprehend’ is from the same Greek word translated ‘attained,’ but with a preposition prefixed which means in its local force ‘down.’ He wants to catch hold of it and pull it down, like a football player who not only wants to catch his man, but wants to pull him down and make him his own.” (Wuest)
ii. Paul began this verse with the idea that Jesus Christ had laid hold of him. This is an important idea; yet sometimes Christians react to that idea by being passive. They suppose, “Jesus got a hold of me; so that is it now. I am a Christian and I am going to heaven.” Paul showed a different attitude, that he would take hold for that for which Jesus took hold of him. So one should ask, “Why did Jesus lay hold of Paul?”
· Jesus laid hold of Paul to make him a new man (Romans 6:4) - so Paul laid hold of that and wanted to see the converting work of Jesus completely carried out in himself.
· Jesus laid hold of Paul to conform him into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29) - so Paul laid hold of that and wanted to see the nature of Jesus within himself.
· Jesus laid hold of Paul to make him a witness (Acts 9:15) - so Paul laid hold of both the experience of Jesus and to testify of that experience.
· Jesus laid hold of Paul to make him an instrument in the conversion of others (Acts 9:15) - so Paul laid hold of the work of bringing others to Jesus.
· Jesus laid hold of Paul to bring him into suffering (Acts 9:16) - so Paul laid hold of even that work of God in his life, wanting to know Jesus in the fellowship of His sufferings.
· Jesus laid hold of Paul that he might attain to the resurrection of the dead (Philippians 3:11) - so Paul laid hold of that heavenly hope.
d. The prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus: Paul was focused on one thing, and would not let those things which are behind distract him from it. He pressed on for the prize.
i. We often let those things which are behind distract us, whether they be good things or bad things. Looking at what is in the past often keeps us from what God has for us in the future.
ii. It is a deception to live either in the past or in the future; God wants us to press on in the present, because the present is where eternity touches us now. Paul knew that a race is won only in the present moment, not in the past or in the future.
e. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus: The prize is the upward call of God. The prize is the call itself, not the benefits that come from the call or any other thing. The prize is being able to run the race at all, working with God as a partner to do the work of His kingdom.
i. “It is a high calling because it comes from above, from God; the conception of it has emanated from His heart. It is a high calling because it is worthy of God. It is a high calling because it is so much above the ideals of men. . . . And then this is a high calling because it summons us to where Christ sits at the right hand of God.” (Meyer)
ii. Because it is such a glorious call, it is worth reaching forward for it. “The Greek word points out the strong exertions made in the race; every muscle and never is exerted, and he puts forth every particle of his strength in running. He was running for life, and running for his life.” (Clarke)
f. The upward call of God in Christ Jesus: As everything else, this upward call of God is only in Christ Jesus. The legalists might say they followed the upward call of God, but they certainly didn’t do it in Christ Jesus; instead they did it in the efforts of their own flesh.
5. (Philippians 3:15-16) Paul exhorts the Philippians to adopt this same attitude.
Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
a. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind: Those who are really mature will have this mind. If they do not, Paul trusted that God would reveal the necessity of having it.
b. God will reveal even this to you: Paul had great trust in the ability of the Lord to deal with His own people. He didn’t have the attitude that if he failed to convince them they would then never be convinced.
c. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule: However, Paul would not allow a lack of understanding to excuse anyone from doing what they did know to be the Lord’s will. What we don’t know can never excuse us from failing to fulfill what we do know to do.
d. Let us be of the same mind: Part of doing what we do know is being of the same mind. This is a call to unity (a unity of truth, against the potential division brought in by the legalists) that looks back to Philippians 2:1-2.
i. The problems of unity facing the Philippians did not spring from great problems with carnality (as did the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4). Rather seems to be a danger brought on by pressure, both from the outside (Philippians 1:27-30) and from the inside (Philippians 3:2). Paul wanted to make sure that this pressure pushed them together instead of driving them apart.
C. Walking the walk.
1. (Philippians 3:17) The good example of walking the walk: Paul and others.
Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
a. Join in following my example: We shouldn’t think that Paul was being egotistical here. He knew that he was not a sinless or perfect example, yet he was still a good example. He could say as he also did in 1 Corinthians 11:1 - Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
i. We need concrete examples. While it is wrong to put our trust in any man, it is hypocritical for any Christian to say “Do as I say, not as I do.”
b. And note those who so walk: As well, Paul wasn’t so proud to think that he was the only one who could be such an example. He told the Philippians to note those who so walk in the way he spoke of, and he noted that the Philippians had us as a pattern (instead of saying that Paul was the only pattern).
2. (Philippians 3:18-19) The bad examples: the enemies of the cross.
For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame; who set their mind on earthly things.
a. For many walk: With great sadness, Paul realizes that there are many who walk in a manner contrary to what he teaches. He regards these people as enemies of the cross of Christ.
i. These enemies of the cross were really the opposite of the legalists, who celebrated their supposed liberty in Christ to the indulgence of their flesh.
ii. Paul had to contend with people like this in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 and Romans 6, who thought that salvation comes without repentance and conversion, and who thought that as long as your soul was saved, it didn’t matter what you did with your body.
iii. When we say that men are enemies of the cross, we do not mean that they are enemies of a physical representation of the cross. We mean that they are enemies of the Biblical truth of the atonement Jesus made for us on the cross, and its ongoing power and effect in our life.
iv. These people were truly enemies of the cross of Christ, who did not want to follow Jesus by taking up His cross of self-denial (Matthew 16:24-26).
b. And now tell you even weeping: The work and the end of these enemies was that they, in their disregard for God’s holiness, gave ammunition to the legalist’s accusation that Paul preached a cheap grace that required no commitment of the life. This is what grieved Paul so at their teaching.
i. Spurgeon thought that Paul wept for three reasons. First, on account of the guilt of these enemies of the cross of Christ. Second, on account of the ill effects of their conduct. Finally, on account of their doom.
ii. “I never read that the apostle wept when he was persecuted Though they ploughed his back with furrows, I do believe that never a tear was seen to gush from his eye while the soldiers scourged him. Though he was cast into prison, we read of his singing, never of his groaning. I do not believe he ever wept on account of any sufferings or dangers to which he himself was exposed for Christ’s sake. I call this an extraordinary sorrow, because the man who wept was no soft piece of sentiment, and seldom shed a tear even under grievous trials.” (Spurgeon)
iii. “Professors of religion, who get into the church, and yet lead ungodly lives, are the worst enemies that the cross of Christ has. These are the sort of men who bring tears into the minister’s eyes; these are they who break his heart; they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.” (Spurgeon)
c. Whose end is destruction: The word translated destruction is same word used for perdition in other places (such as Philippians 1:28). This can refer to either their ultimate damnation or to the present destruction of their lives. Probably their ultimate damnation is more in view.
d. Whose god is their belly: This describes the idolatry of these enemies. Not that they were necessarily focused on what they eat, but belly here has a broader reference to sensual indulgence in general. They live for the pleasures of the body, mind, and soul.
e. Whose glory is in their shame: This shows the misplaced priorities of these enemies. They gloried about things they should have been ashamed about.
f. Who set their mind on earthly things: This describes the focus of their life. It was not to please and worship God, but to get along in this world. Their attitude was the same as the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21.
3. (Philippians 3:20) Our citizenship and our Lord.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
a. For our citizenship is in heaven: We need to appreciate all this would mean to the Philippians, who greatly valued their Roman citizenship. Just as the Philippians could consider themselves citizens of Rome, and were under Roman laws and customs (even though they were in fact far from Rome) so Christians should consider themselves citizens of heaven.
i. One paraphrase of citizenship is in heaven reads like this: “We have our home in heaven, and here on earth we are a colony of heaven’s citizens.” Paul is saying: “Just as the Roman colonists never forgot that they belong to Rome, you must never forget that you are citizens of heaven; and your conduct must match your citizenship.” (Barclay)
ii. If we are citizens of heaven it means that we are resident aliens on earth. Foreigners are distinct in whatever foreign land they go. Christians must be so marked by their heavenly citizenship that they are noticed as different.
· Aliens should seek to do good works in the land they sojourn in.
· Aliens should not seek to interfere in the affairs of the land they sojourn in.
· Aliens have privileges as well as duties; they are not under the same obligations as citizens of the land they sojourn in.
· Aliens are not eligible for the same rewards and recognitions as the citizens of the land that they sojourn in.
· Aliens should not focus on building riches in the land they sojourn in.
iii. We also have a certain character as citizens of heaven.
· As citizens we are under the government of heaven.
· As citizens we share in heaven’s honors.
· As citizens we have property rights in heaven.
· As citizens we enjoy the pleasures of heaven.
· As citizens of heaven we love heaven and feel attached there.
· As citizens of heaven we keep in communication with our native home.
iv. “How heartily the Germans sing of the dear old fatherland; but they cannot, with all their Germanic patriotism, they cannot beat the genial glow of the Briton’s heart, when he thinks of his fatherland too. The Scotchman, too, wherever he may be, remembers the land of ‘brown heath and shaggy wood.’ And the Irishman, too, let him be where he will, still thinks the ‘Emerald Isle’ the first gem of the sea. It is right that the patriot should love his country. Does not our love fervently flame towards heaven?” (Spugeon)
v. There is a significant contrast between the citizens of earth as described in Philippians 3:18-19 and the citizens of heaven as described in Philippians 3:20-21.
b. From which we also eagerly wait for the Savior: As Philippians would eagerly await a visit from the emperor in Rome, even more so should Christians eagerly await the coming of their King - Jesus Christ.
i. Savior was a title given to the Caesars. In 48 B.C. Julius Caesar was declared to be “the universal savior of mankind.” It then became a common title for the ruling Caesar. Paul means something when he applies the title to Jesus in the context of citizenship.
c. The Lord Jesus Christ: The title Lord was also applied to the Roman Caesar. It wasn’t long after the time of Paul that Christians were martyred for refusing to Caesar Lord, claiming that Jesus was the only Lord.
4. (Philippians 3:21) The future work of our Savior: transforming our bodies.
Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
a. Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body: Our Savior can do and will do something that no Caesar can. When we are resurrected, we will have the same type of body that Jesus Himself had when he was resurrected.
i. Jesus was not merely resuscitated from the dead in the same body. He was resurrected in a new body, patterned after the old yet equipped and fitted for heaven.
b. According to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself: This is possible only because the God we serve is omnipotent. He is able even to subdue all things to Himself, and accomplish something as amazing as the resurrection of our bodies after the pattern of Jesus’ resurrection.
i. Jesus really can subdue all things. “There may be sins within your heart that have long resisted control. Do with them as you will, they still defy you. . . . But if you will hand over the conflict to Jesus, He will subdue them; He will bring them under his strong, subjecting hand. Be of good cheer. What you cannot do, He can.” (Meyer)

Philippians 2 - HUMBLE LIVING IN LIGHT OF JESUS’ HUMBLE EXAMPLE

Philippians 2 - HUMBLE LIVING IN LIGHT OF JESUS’ HUMBLE EXAMPLE

A. How Paul wants the Philippians to live with each other.
1. (Philippians 2:1) The basis of Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians.
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
a. Therefore: This draws back to what Paul has built on in Philippians 1:27-30, telling the Philippians how to stand strong for the Lord against external conflicts. Now he tells them how to act against internal conflicts in the body of Christ.
b. If there is any: This introduces the basis for Paul’s exhortation to unity, humility and love among believers. The idea is that if the Philippian Christians have received the things he mentions, then they have a responsibility to do what he is about to describe.
i. “It is extremely difficult to give the force of these expressions; they contain a torrent of most affecting eloquence; the apostle pouring out his whole heart to a people whom with all his heart he loved, and who were worthy of the love even of an apostle.” (Clarke)
c. If there is any consolation in Christ: Paul asked this as a rhetorical question, knowing of course that there was great consolation in Christ. Every Christian should know the consolation of Christ.
i. Luke 2:25 says that one of the titles for Jesus as the Messiah is the Consolation of Israel. Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 1:5, For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. In 2 Thessalonians 2:16, Paul says that God has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace. Of course there is consolation in Christ!
ii. “The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation. If I may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Christ is the medicine.” (Spurgeon)
d. If there is any . . . comfort of love: This is Paul’s second rhetorical question in this passage, affirming the great comfort of love. Every Christian should know what it is to have Jesus give them the comfort of love.
i. 2 Corinthians 1:3 says that God is the God of all comfort. There is no way He cannot comfort us and no circumstance beyond His comfort. But this is more than comfort; this is the comfort of love.
ii. The word comfort in this passage is the ancient Greek word paraklesis. The idea behind this word for comfort in the New Testament is always more than soothing sympathy. It has the idea of strengthening, of helping, of making strong. The idea behind this word is communicated by the Latin word for comfort (fortis), which also means “brave.” The love of God in our loves makes us strong and makes us brave. Of course there is comfort of love!
e. If there is any . . . fellowship of the Spirit: This is Paul’s third rhetorical question in this context. Paul knew and valued the fellowship of the Spirit, and every Christian should know what it is to have the fellowship of the Spirit.
i. Fellowship is the ancient Greek word kononia. It means the sharing of things in common. We share life with the Spirit of God that we never knew before. The Holy Spirit fills and guides and moves in our lives in a powerful and precious way. Of course there is fellowship of the Spirit!
ii. “The Lord doth usually and graciously water the holy fellowship of his people with the dews of many sweet and glorious refreshings; so that they have a very heaven upon earth.” (Trapp)
f. If there is any . . . affection and mercy: Paul’s final rhetorical question assumes that every Christian knows something of the affection of God and of the mercy of God.
i. Paul mentioned these things in a manner that suggests to us that they should all be obvious parts of the Christian’s experience. To make his rhetorical point, he could have just as easily said, “If water is wet, if fire is hot, if rocks are hard” and so forth.
ii. Each of these gifts - consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, affection and mercy - are communicated to us both in a direct, spiritual way from Jesus, and from Jesus through His people. But there isn’t any doubt that these are real gifts for Christians to really experience.
2. (Philippians 2:2-4) The specifics of Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians regarding love and humility among believers.
Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
a. Fulfill my joy: This speaks of a personal request. Part of the reason Paul wanted the Philippians to take heed to his word was because they should know that it would make the founding apostle of their church happy.
b. By being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind: These together all speak of the same idea; a deep, abiding, internal unity among the Philippians.
i. This unity is the goal. What follows in Philippians 2:3-4 are descriptions of how to achieve and practice the unity mentioned here in Philippians 2:2.
c. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition: This is the first step to this kind of unity. In the flesh, we are often motivated by selfish ambition or conceit. Much of what we do is not done out of love for others, but out of our own desire for “advancement” or “promotion” (selfish ambition).
i. Paul found it important to say selfish ambition. Not all ambition is selfish ambition, and there is a good ambition to glorify God and serve Him with everything we have.
d. Let nothing be done through . . . conceit: This is the second step to this kind of unity. Conceit is thinking too highly of one’s self, of having an excessive self-interest and self-preoccupation. It could be more literally translated “empty glory.”
i. A dictionary definition of conceit is “An excessively favorable opinion of one’s own ability, importance, wit,” and so forth. When we do things feeling we are so important, or so able, or so talented, we are out of God’s will. We are working against the unity Paul is pleading with them to have.
e. In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself: This third step to the kind of unity described in Philippians 2:2 is completely contradictory to the attitude of the world, because lowliness of mind is about the least attractive thing to the thinking of this world.
i. The ancient Greeks considered lowliness of mind to be a fault, not a virtue. “The pagan and the secular idea of manhood is self-assertiveness, imposing one’s will on others; when anyone stooped to others he did so only under compulsion, hence his action was ignominious [disgraceful]. The Christian ethical idea of humility could not be reached by the secular mind; it lacked the spiritual soil.” (Lenski)
ii. “In pagan writers generally, the word had a bad meaning, ‘abject, grovelling.’ But when it comes into the New Testament, its meaning is ennobled.” (Wuest)
iii. “The apostle knew that, to create concord, you need first to beget lowliness of mind. Men do not quarrel when their ambitions have come to an end.” (Spurgeon)
f. Esteem others better than himself: This rebukes much of the culture’s concept of self-esteem. The Bible knows nothing of the idea that we should - and must - carry with us an attitude of confident superiority in every situation, and knows nothing of the idea that this is the foundation for a healthy human personality.
i. While we recognize the intrinsic value of every human life, we can’t deny that the low self-esteem of some is justified, and based in reality. When we are in rebellion against God, it is fitting for us to have a low self-esteem.
ii. As we esteem others better, we will naturally have a concern for their needs and concerns. This sort of outward looking mentality naturally leads to a unity among the people of God.
iii. If I consider you above me and you consider me above you, then a marvelous thing happens: we have a community where everyone is looked up to, and no one is looked down on.
g. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others: Here the thought is completed. As we put away our selfish ambitions, our conceit, and our tendencies to be high-minded and self-absorbed, we will naturally have a greater concern for the interests and needs of others.
i. Paul doesn’t tell us that it is wrong to look out for our own interests, but that we should not only look out for our own interests.
B. Jesus, the ultimate example of humility.
Many regard Philippians 2:5-11 as a hymn of the early church that Paul incorporated into his letter. Some commentators go so far as to suggest stanza and verse arrangements for the “hymn.” This is possible, but not a necessary conclusion; Paul was capable of such inspired, poetic writing himself (example: 1 Corinthians 13). For reasons which we will examine later, this passage is often known as the kenosis passage.
1. (Philippians 2:5) Paul applies the lesson before he states it.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
a. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Paul will, in wonderful detail, describe for us the mind of Jesus in the following verses. But here, before he describes the mind of Jesus, he tells us what we must do with the information.
i. “Paul does not give all that is in the mind of Christ in these verses. He selects those qualities of our Lord which fit the needs of the Philippians at that moment. . . . This lack of unity among the Philippian saints became the occasion for perhaps the greatest Christological passage in the New Testament that sounds the depths of the incarnation.” (Wuest)
b. Let this mind be in you: It is all too easy for us to read the following description of Jesus and admire it from a distance. God wants us to be awed by it, but also to see it as something that we must enter into and imitate. Let this mind means that it is something that we have choice about.
i. Remember also that this mind is something granted to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says that we have the mind of Christ. But let this mind shows us that it is also something we must choose to walk in. You have to let it be so.
2. (Philippians 2:6 a) Jesus was in the form of God.
Who, being in the form of God,
a. In the form of God: This describes Jesus’ pre-incarnate existence. We must remind ourselves that Jesus did not begin His existence in the manger at Bethlehem, but is eternal God.
b. Being: This is from the ancient Greek verb huparchein, which “describes that which a man is in his very essence and which cannot be changed. It describes that part of a man which, in any circumstances, remains the same.” (Barclay)
i. “Paul, by the use of the Greek word translated ‘being,’ informs his Greek readers that our Lord’s possession of the divine essence did not cease to be a fact when He came to earth to assume human form. . . . This word alone is enough to refute the claim of Modernism that our Lord emptied Himself of His Deity when He became Man.” (Wuest)
c. Form: This translates the ancient Greek word morphe. It “always signifies a form which truly and fully expresses the being which underlies it . . . the words mean ‘the being on an equality with God.’“ (Expositors)
i. “Morphe is the essential form which never alters; schema is the outward form which changes from time to time and from circumstance to circumstance.” (Barclay)
ii. “‘God’ has a form, and ‘Jesus Christ’ exists in this form of God.” (Lenski)
iii. Wuest explains that the ancient Greek word translated form is very difficult to translate. When we use the word form we think of the shape of something; but the ancient Greek word had none of that idea. It is more the idea of a mode or an essence; it is the essential nature of God, without implying a physical shape or image. “Thus the Greek word for ‘form’ refers to that outward expression which a person gives of his inmost nature.”
3. (Philippians 2:6 b) Jesus did not cling to the privileges of deity.
Did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
a. Did not consider it robbery: The ancient Greek in this phrase has the idea of something being grasped or clung to. Jesus did not cling to the prerogatives or privileges of deity.
i. Wuest defines the ancient Greek word translated robbery as, “A treasure to be clutched and retained at all hazards.”
b. To be equal with God: It wasn’t that Jesus was trying to achieve equality with the Father. He had it, and chose not to cling to it. Jesus’ divine nature was not something He had to seek for or acquire, but it was His already.
i. Lightfoot wrote that it was not “a prize which must not slip from His grasp, a treasure to be clutched and retained at all hazards.” Jesus was willing to let go of some of the prerogatives of deity to become a man.
4. (Philippians 2:7) Jesus made Himself of no reputation.
But made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
a. But made Himself of no reputation: The more common (and well-known) translation of this is that He emptied Himself. From the ancient Greek word emptied (kenosis) came the idea that Jesus’ incarnation was essentially a self-emptying.
i. We must carefully think about what Jesus emptied Himself of. Paul will tell us plainly in the following verses, but we must take care that we do not think that Jesus emptied Himself of His deity in any way.
ii. Some develop the kenotic theory of the incarnation to the point where they insist that Jesus divested Himself of many of the attributes of deity - such as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and even suffered the elimination of His own divine self-consciousness. Yet Jesus did not (and could not) become “less God” in the incarnation. No deity was subtracted (though he did renounce some of the rights of deity); rather humanity was added to His nature.
iii. “During his humiliation, as God and equal with the Father, was no encroachment on the Divine prerogative; for, as he had an equality of nature, he had an equality of rights.” (Clarke)
iv. “His condescension was free, and unconstrained with the consent of his Father . . . the Son of the Highest can, at his own pleasure, show or eclipse his own glorious brightness, abate or let out his fullness, exalt or abase himself in respect of us.” (Poole)
v. “Even as a king, by laying aside the tokens of his royalty, and putting on the habit of a merchant, when all the while he ceaseth not to be a king, or the highest in his own dominions.” (Poole)
b. Taking the form of a bondservant: This describes how Jesus emptied Himself. Though he took the form of a bondservant, Jesus did not empty Himself of His deity or of any of His attributes; or of His equality with God. He emptied Himself into the form of a bondservant, not merely the form of a man.
i. Taking (the ancient Greek word labon) does not imply an exchange, but an addition.
c. Coming in the likeness of men: This further describes how Jesus emptied Himself. We can think of someone who is a servant, but not in the likeness of men. Angels are servants, but not in the likeness of men. In fairy tales, Aladdin’s Genie was a servant, but not in the likeness of men.
i. The word for likeness here may refer to merely the outward form of something. While Jesus did have the outward form of humanity, the outward form reflected His true humanity, which was added to His deity.
ii. “It was a likeness, but a real likeness, no mere phantom humanity as the Docetic Gnostics held.” (Robertson)
5. (Philippians 2:8) The extent of Jesus’ self-emptying.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
a. He humbled Himself and became obedient: Jesus humbled Himself when He became obedient. This was something that Jesus could only experience by coming down from the throne of heaven and becoming a man. When God sits enthroned in heaven’s glory, there is no one He obeys. Jesus had to leave heaven’s glory and be found in appearance as a man in order to become obedient.
i. One key to Jesus’ obedience on earth was the endurance of suffering. This again was something He could only learn by experience after the incarnation. As it is written: though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8)
ii. Indeed, He humbled Himself.
· He was humble in that he took the form of a man, and not a more glorious creature like an angel.
· He was humble in that He was born into an obscure, oppressed place.
· He was humble in that He was born into poverty, among a despised people.
· He was humble in that He was born as a child instead of appearing as a man.
· He was humble in submitting to the obedience of a child in a household.
· He was humble in learning and practicing a trade - and a humble trade of a builder.
· He was humble in the long wait until He launched out into public ministry.
· He was humble in the companions and disciples He chose.
· He was humble in the audience He appealed to and the way He taught.
· He was humble in the temptations He allowed and endured.
· He was humble in the weakness, hunger, thirst, and tiredness He endured.
· He was humble in His total obedience to His Heavenly Father.
· He was humble in His submission to the Holy Spirit.
· He was humble in choosing and submitting to the death of the cross.
· He was humble in the agony of His death.
· He was humble in the shame, mocking, and public humiliation of His death.
· He was humble in enduring the spiritual agony of His sacrifice on the cross.
iii. We can imagine that it was possible for the Son of God to become man and pay for the sins of the world without this great humiliation. He might have added the humanity of a 33-year old man to his deity. He might have appeared before man only in His transfigured glory, and taught men what they needed to hear from Him. He might have suffered for the sins of man in a hidden place of the earth far from the eyes of man, or on the dark side of the moon for that matter. Yet He did not; He humbled Himself, and did it for the surpassing greatness of our salvation and His work for us.
b. To the point of death, even the death of the cross: This states the extent of Jesus’ humility and obedience.
i. Crucifixion was such a shameful death that it was not permitted for Roman citizens (such as the people of Philippi). A victim of crucifixion was considered by the Jews to be particularly cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:23 and Galatians 3:13).
ii. Robertson called the death of the cross “The bottom rung in the ladder from the Throne of God. Jesus came all the way down to the most despised death of all, a condemned criminal on the accursed cross.”
iii. Even the death of the cross shows that there is no limit to what God will do to demonstrate His love and saving power to man; this was and forever will be the ultimate. “What must sin have been in the sight of God, when it required such abasement in Jesus Christ to make an atonement for it, and undo its influence and malignity!” (Clarke)
iv. “The lower he stoops to save us, the higher we ought to lift him in our adoring reverence. Blessed be his name, he stoops, and stoops, and stoops, and, when he reaches our level, and becomes man, he still stoops, and stoops, and stoops lower and deeper yet.” (Spurgeon)
c. Even the death of the cross: All of this was a great display of the power of Jesus. Remember that because of Paul’s past experience among the Philippians, they were tempted to think of God’s power as being expressed only in exaltation and deliverance and not in terms of glorifying God through humble service and endurance.
i. In this, Paul reminded the Philippians that his current place of humble circumstances (his Roman imprisonment) could still show forth the glory and power of God, even as Jesus did in His humility.
C. Jesus, the ultimate example of exaltation after humility.
1. (Philippians 2:9) The exaltation of Jesus Christ.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
a. Therefore God has also highly exalted Him: This is the general heading for the material in the next three verses. These words describe how God has exalted Jesus. Indeed, highly exalted could also be translated “super exalted.”
i. “The Greek elegancy imports superexalted, or exalted with all exaltation.” (Poole)
ii. “Now, just pause over this thought - that Christ did not crown himself, but that his Father crowned him; that he did not elevate himself to the throne of majesty, but that his Father lifted him there, and placed him on his throne.” (Spurgeon)
b. Given Him the name which above every name: This not only gives Jesus the Divine name Yahweh, but also implies that God has declared that Jesus has the character and person above all others, when we consider the importance of the Hebrew concept of the name.
i. This verse, with its clear statement of Jesus’ deity, is powerful ammunition against those who deny the deity of Jesus Christ. There is no higher name than Yahweh, and Jesus has that name.
2. (Philippians 2:10-11) The subjection of the whole creation to Jesus.
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
a. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow: Not only is Jesus exalted by the Father, but the whole world is brought into submission to the Son.
i. “Paul does not imply by this a universal salvation, but means that every personal being will ultimately confess Christ’s lordship, either with joyful faith or with resentment and despair.” (Kent)
b. Those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth: This conveys the absolute totality of all creation recognizing the superiority of Jesus Christ.
i. In this, Paul draws on the idea of Isaiah 45:23 : I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. Notice that in Isaiah, it is to Yahweh that all knees bow and tongues confess. In Philippians it is to Jesus, showing that Jesus is Yahweh.
ii. Those under the earth: “Either the dead, who are hid in the earth, and shall be raised by the power of Christ . . . or, devils, and wicked souls.” (Poole)
c. Every knee should bow . . . every tongue should confess: The combination of tongues confessing and knees bowing gives evidence that the idea is a complete submission to Jesus, both in word and in action, and one that is required of all.
i. The totality of this recognition of Jesus’ deity and exaltation has caused many to envision this happening in formal way after the final judgment, when every creature, in heaven and hell, is required to bow their knees and make the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.
d. That Jesus Christ is Lord: From this we can say that there is a sense in which Jesus returned to heaven with more than He had when He left. Not only did He return with His humanity still added to his deity (although a resurrected humanity), He also returned with the recognition planted among men of who He was and the worship He deserved - something unknown until the Incarnation and the full revelation of His person and work.
i. “He has always (in Paul’s view) shared in the Divine nature. But it is only as the result of His Incarnation, Atonement, Resurrection and Exaltation that He appears to men as on an equality with God, that He is worshipped by them in the way in which Jehovah is worshipped.” (Expositors)
ii. “He might have used the miraculous powers inherent in His Divine nature in such a way as to compel men, without further ado, to worship Him as God. Instead of that He was willing to attain this high dignity by the path of humiliation, suffering and death.” (Expositors)
iii. All this must be seen in reference to the humiliation described in Philippians 2:6-8; our tendency is to long for the exaltation, but to forsake the humiliation.
e. Jesus Christ is Lord: The confession of Jesus Christ as Lord reminds us to consider the great significance of this word kurios, especially as it was be understood by the early church, who used the LXX as their Bible - where kurios was consistently used to translate the tetragrammaton, standing for the name Yahweh.
i. We also should not miss the significance that at a later time in the Roman Empire, all residents of the Empire were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Emperor, declaring that Caesar is Lord, and burning a pinch of incense to an image of the emperor. Though the Roman state saw this only as a display of political allegiance, Christians rightly interpreted it as idolatry - and refused to participate, often paying with their lives.
ii. Paul has no doubt who is really Lord - not the Caesar whom he will stand trial before; Caesar may be a high name, but it is not the name above all names, the name which belongs to Jesus Christ!
f. Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father: Remember that Paul did not give this description of Jesus in Philippians 2:5-11 simply for the theological education of the Philippians.
He gave it to equip them to endure the hardship they were experienced.
He gave it help them to understand Paul’s hardships.
He gave it to help them to practice real Christian unity in the midst of hard times.
i. This picture of Jesus has helped them to understand how to assess the ministry of Paul, which seemed weak at the present time.
ii. This picture helped them to understand the context of God’s revelation of power - how God delights to show His power through humble actions.
iii. This picture has equipped them to act in a way towards each other that will promote unity in the body of Christ.
iv. This picture has shown them how to follow Jesus’ pattern of patient, humble obedience - something Paul will call them to continue in the following verses.
D. Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians.
1. (Philippians 2:12) Working out your own salvation.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
a. Therefore . . . as you have always obeyed: We should not miss the connection between the obedience Jesus showed (Philippians 2:8) and the obedience Paul expected of Christians as followers of Jesus (Philippians 2:12).
b. Work out your own salvation: We know that Paul did not mean “work so as to earn your own salvation.” Such a statement would contradict the whole of Paul’s gospel. What Paul did mean is to call the Philippians to put forth real effort into their Christians lives. This is not to work their salvation in the sense of accomplishing it, but to work out their salvation - to see it evident in every area of their lives, to activate this salvation God freely gave them.
i. Therefore, “These words, as they stand in the New Testament, contain no exhortation to all men, but are directed to the people of God. They are not intended as an exhortation to the unconverted; they are, as we find them in the epistle, beyond all question addressed to those who are already saved through a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Spurgeon)
c. Work out your own salvation: There is a sense in which our salvation is complete, in the sense that Jesus has done a complete work for us. Still there is also a sense in which our salvation is incomplete, in that it is not yet a complete work in us.
i. “The believer must finish, must carry to conclusion, must apply to its fullest consequences what is already given by God in principle . . . He must work out what God in His grace has worked in.” (Muller)
ii. “Some professors appear to have imbibed the notion that the grace of God is a kind of opium with which men may drug themselves into slumber, and their passion for strong doses of sleepy doctrine grows with that which it feeds on. “God works in us,” say they, “therefore there is nothing for us to do.” Bad reasoning, false conclusion. God works, says the text; therefore we must work out because God works in.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “He exhorts as if he were an Arminian in addressing men. He prays as if he were a Calvinist in addressing God and feels no inconsistency in the two attitudes. Paul makes no attempt to reconcile divine sovereignty and human free agency, but boldly proclaims both.” (Robertson)
d. Your own salvation: This tells us to give attention to our own salvation. Sometimes we show great concern for the work of God in others, and not enough for His work in us. We should care about the souls of others, but this care must begin with our own soul.
e. With fear and trembling: Paul’s idea was not that we should live our Christian lives with a constant sense of fear and terror, but that we should live with a fear of failing to work out your own salvation.
i. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling; but it doesn’t have to be the fear of hell or damnation. It may instead be the righteous and awe-filled reverence of God every believer should have. It doesn’t have to be the trembling of a guilty sinner; it should instead be the joyful trembling of an encounter with the glory of God.
f. Now much more in my absence: In context, Paul asked for this Christian work ethic (not a works ethic) to be promoted all the more because of his absence.
2. (Philippians 2:13) God’s work in you.
For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
a. For it is God who works in you: Paul here gave the reason why Christians must work out their salvation with fear and trembling - because God is working in them.
i. We take comfort in it: God who works in you. “Grace all-sufficient dwells in you, believer. There is a living well within you springing up; use the bucket, then; keep on drawing; you will never exhaust it; there is a living source within.” (Spurgeon)
b. God . . . works in you: The idea is that since God has done and is doing a work in the Christian, the Christian therefore has a greater responsibility to work diligently with fear and trembling regarding their own salvation and walk with the Lord. God’s work in us increases our responsibility; it doesn’t lessen it in any way.
i. Those that take God’s sovereignty and working and use them as an excuse for inaction and lethargy are like the wicked and lazy servant of Matthew 25:24-30.
ii. Those that are really God’s servants use their understanding of His sovereignty and omnipotence as a motivation for greater, more dedicated service to Him.
c. Both to will and to do: God’s work in us extends to the transformation of our will, as well as changing our actions (to do). Yet in light of the original exhortation to work out your own salvation, this is not a passive transaction.
d. For His good pleasure: This is the motive behind God’s work in our life. He does so because it gives Him pleasure to do it.
3. (Philippians 2:14-16) Practical ways to obey Paul’s exhortation.
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
a. Do all things without complaining and disputing: There is a good deal of dispute among commentators as to if this complaining and disputing refers to problems among the Philippians (such as mentioned in Philippians 2:1-4) or if this refers to their attitude towards God. Perhaps they resented God because of their present conflict (Philippians 1:27-30).
i. Because Paul specifically used terms that were used to describe Israel’s complaining towards God during the Exodus, it is probably best to see the complaining and disputing as including their attitude towards God. Spurgeon gives three examples of things we must not murmur against:
· The Providence of God
· One another
· The ungodly world
ii. In this command, the emphasis falls on the words all things, which is actually the first word of the verse in the ancient Greek text.
iii. “Dispute not with God; let him do what seemeth him good. Dispute not with your fellow Christians, raise not railing accusations against them. When Calvin was told that Luther had spoken ill of him, he said, ‘Let Luther call me devil if he please, I will never say of him but that he is a most dear and valiant servant of the Lord.’ Raise not intricate and knotty points by way of controversy.” (Spurgeon)
b. That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault: Through the display of a non-complaining spirit, we show ourselves to be true followers of God.
i. Harmless can have the thought of “pure” or “unalloyed.” But the translation as harmless is also justified (it is the same word used in Matthew 10:16).
ii. “ ‘Be ye blameless and harmless,’ says the apostle. The Greek word might be translated ‘hornless,’ as if ye were to be creatures not only that do no harm, but could not do any; like sheep that not only will not devour, but cannot devour, for it were contrary to their nature; for they have no teeth with which to bite, no fangs with which to sting, no poison with which to slay.” (Spurgeon)
c. In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation: This seems to refer back to Deuteronomy 32:5 : They have corrupted themselves; they are not His children, because of their blemish: A perverse and crooked generation. Paul meant that modern Christians should not be like rebellious Israel, who were constantly complaining and disputing with God during the wilderness sojourn.
d. Among whom you shine as lights in the world: This is not an encouragement to do something; it is a simple statement of fact. Christians are lights in the world; the only question is, “How brightly do they shine?”
i. “Not lights merely, but luminaries, heavenly bodies. But this can hardly be satisfactorily given in an English version.” (Alford)
ii. We are to fulfill our place as lights in the world:
· Lights are used to make things evident.
· Lights are used to guide.
· Lights are used as a warning.
· Lights are used to bring cheer.
· Lights are used to make things safe.
iii. Paul knew that the lights were in a bad place. Instead of excusing the lights for not shining, Paul knew that their position made it all the more important that they shine. Being in a dark place is a greater incentive to shine.
e. Holding fast the word of life: The phrase holding fast could also be translated holding forth. Both meanings are true and Paul could have meant it in this dual sense. We hold fast - in the sense of holding strong - the word of life, and we also hold forth the word of life.
i. “It is not so much the conduct of the Philippians that justifies the assertion that the shine as luminaries, it is their having life’s Word. This Word makes them luminaries irrespective of what the world judges about it and about those who have it.” (Lenski)
f. So that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain: The idea that Paul’s work might some how end up to be in vain was a troublesome thought to him. He knew that his work really abided in people, so that if those people did not continue on strong with the Lord, there was a sense in which his own ministry was in vain.
g. In the day of Christ: Paul looked forward to the day of Christ, and on that day he wanted to see and to know that his work was fruitful. This was something he could only be assured of if the Philippians continued to walk with the Lord.
i. This is the true heart of a shepherd: to have few burdens for one’s self, but many for others; to not be content with one’s own relationship with God, but also longing to see others walking with the Lord.
4. (Philippians 2:17-18) Paul as an example of his own exhortation.
Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.
a. Poured out as a drink offering: Paul here alluded to a practice among both Jews and pagans in their sacrifices. They often poured out wine (or sometimes perfume) either beside (as in the Jewish practice) or upon (as in the pagan practice) an animal that was sacrificed to God or pagan gods.
i. This is the drink offering, which accompanied another sacrifice, that is mentioned in Numbers 15:4-5; Num_28:7.
ii. The grammar of I am being poured out is in the present tense. With this Paul indicated the possibility that his execution may be immanent.
b. On the sacrifice and service of your faith: The ancient Greek word translated service is leutrogia. It meant, “Service to God or His cause . . . any priestly action or sacred performance.” (Muller) Therefore in this verse we have a sacrifice, a priest, and an accompanying libation that makes the sacrifice even more precious.
i. Since the sacrifice and service were connected with the faith of the Philippians, it is best to see Paul’s picture describing them as the “priests” and their faith as the “sacrifice,” to which Paul added (and thereby enriched) his martyrdom as a drink offering.
c. I am glad and rejoice . . . you also be glad and rejoice with me: Paul looked forward to what might be his imminent martyrdom, and expected the Philippians to be glad and rejoice with him. Paul wasn’t being morbid here, asking the Philippians to take joy in something as depressing as his death. Yet he did ask the Philippians to see his death as something that would bring glory to God. This is a theme repeated from Philippians 1:20.
i. Paul’s life was going to be a sacrifice for Jesus Christ, either in life or in death. This was a source of gladness and joy for Paul, and he wants the Philippians to adopt the same attitude.
ii. Again, we come to the consistent theme of Philippians: joy. But this is joy based not on circumstances (quite the opposite, really), but based in the fact of a life totally committed to Jesus Christ.
E. Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus.
1. (Philippians 2:19-22) Paul writes about Timothy and his soon anticipated visit.
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.
a. But I trust in the Lord: This showed Paul’s heart of true reliance upon the Lord. He wanted to see Timothy among the Philippians, but recognized that it would happen God’s way and in God’s timing.
b. That I also may be encouraged when I know your state: Paul didn’t expect problems from the Philippians, as if they were one of his problem churches. Instead, he expected that he would be encouraged when I know your state.
i. Contrast this with the attitude Paul conveyed to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 13:2-3. The Corinthian church had much worse problems than the Philippian church had.
c. Who will sincerely care for your state: When Paul sent Timothy he sent his best, a man who showed a pastor’s heart and had greater concern for his sheep than for himself.
i. Paul recognized just how rare this kind of heart was when he observed all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.
2. (Philippians 2:23-24) Paul repeats his desire to come to the Philippians in person, not only to send Timothy to them.
Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.
a. I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly: Perhaps Paul was being careful to avoid the accusation, “Paul wants to send Timothy because he really doesn’t want to be here himself.” He clearly told the Philippians that he also wanted to come.
3. (Philippians 2:25-26) Paul writes about Epaphroditus and his coming to the Philippians.
Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.
a. I considered it necessary to send to you: This undoubtedly meant that Epaphroditus took this letter to the Philippians. It seems that Epaphroditus came to Paul from the Philippians as a messenger, and he became sick while he was with Paul.
b. My brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier: Paul gave these important titles to Epaphroditus. He was a man Paul valued as a partner in the work of ministry.
i. There are three special relationships here mentioned:
· Brother speaks of a relationship to be enjoyed.
· Worker speaks of a job to be done.
· Soldier speaks of a battle to be fought.
c. Your messenger and the one who ministered to my need: This means that Epaphroditus brought a gift of financial support from the Philippians to Paul (Philippians 4:18).
i. Ministered has in it the idea of a priestly service. When Epaphroditus brought the support money from the Philippians to Paul in Rome, he brought a sacrifice.
d. Because you heard that he was sick: Epaphroditus was concerned because the Philippians learned of his sickness and worried about him. The return of Epaphroditus would give them peace of mind that their valued brother was in good condition.
i. It would also help Epaphroditus because he was longing for you all and was distressed. He greatly longed to see the Philippian Christians.
4. (Philippians 2:27) Epaphroditus’ sickness and his recovery.
For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
a. For indeed he was sick almost unto death: The sickness of Epaphroditus was no small thing; it was almost unto death. Yet God had mercy on him and he recovered.
i. There is nothing in the text to indicate that this was a miraculous healing, but Paul still saw God’s hand of mercy in his recovery.
b. Lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow: God’s mercy to Epaphroditus was also mercy to Paul. If Epaphroditus had died, Paul would have had sorrow upon sorrow, not only because a valued brother, worker, and soldier for Christ was no longer on this earth. He would also have sorrow upon sorrow because it all happened when Epaphroditus came on behalf of the Philippians to minister to Paul’s material and spiritual needs while Paul was in prison in Rome.
5. (Philippians 2:28-30) Paul’s instructions to the Philippians on how to receive Epaphroditus as he returns to them.
Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.
a. I sent him the more eagerly: Paul was eager to re-unite the Philippians with their beloved brother Epaphroditus, and reminded the Philippians to give him proper recognition when he returned (hold such men in esteem).
i. Probably, the Philippians sent Epaphroditus not only as a messenger, but also to be a personal attendant to Paul on behalf of the Philippians. When illness prevented Epaphroditus from doing this, he may have seemed like a failure (perhaps even a malingerer) in the eyes of the Philippians. Paul assured them this was not the case; in fact, it was just the opposite - Epaphroditus served above and beyond the call of duty.
b. Because for the work of Christ he came close to death: It was for the work of Christ that Epaphroditus came close to death. Even though his work was mostly that of being a messenger and not anything particularly spiritual, it was still the work of Christ.
c. Not regarding his life: The willingness to put the work of Christ first and his own personal safety and concern second displayed the noble heart of Epaphroditus.
i. The ancient Greek phrase not regarding his life uses a gambler’s word that meant to risk everything on the roll of the dice. Paul wrote that for the sake of Jesus Christ, Epaphroditus was willing to gamble everything.
ii. In the days of the Early Church there was an association of men and women who called themselves the gamblers, taken from this same ancient Greek word. It was their aim to visit the prisoners and the sick, especially those who were ill with dangerous and infectious diseases. Often, when plague struck a city the heathen threw the dead bodies into the streets and fled in terror. But the gamblers buried the dead and helped the sick the best they could, and so risked their lives to show the love of Jesus.
iii. “It seems plain from this expression that Epaphroditus’ illness was the consequence not of persecution but of over-exertion.” (Lightfoot)
d. To supply what was lacking in your service toward me: Epaphroditus did this by actually bringing the support that the Philippians gave. There was a lack in all the Philippians’ generosity and good intentions until the gift finally made its way to Paul’s need.
i. We should have the heart that there is something lacking in our service until the job is done. We should not be satisfied with good intentions or a half-done job.