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Philippians 2:12-18

Paul has laid before the church in Philippi the highest possible standard of sacrificial service - that of the
Lord Jesus Christ, Himself - who was obedient even to the death of the cross, in order to serve both God
and man. Paul will now encourage the believers in Philippi on the basis of this glorious standard, to inspire
them in their obedience.

We continue with verse 12.

[Philippians 2:12-18]

Everything that Paul is saying here stands in the light of the standard that he has given the believers in
Philippi - the selfless service of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are to aspire to this level of obedience, in their
life - perfect and complete.

Is that a reasonable aspiration? It is - because they have the very Life of Christ, in them - eternal life for a
glorified body, that they can live by while still in this body. That is the same Life through which Christ was
raised from the dead glorified, and ascended back to heaven, to the right hand of the Father (Eph 1:19-21) -
a very powerful Life.

The believers are entirely capable of living by the power of that Life, in complete obedience to the will of
God. And with the perfect standard set before their eyes, they will continue to progress, in their new Life.

Paul certainly believes that they will. These are his beloved friends, who share Pauls thinking on things -
which is the Lords thinking; and they have labored with Paul, participating in his ministry, for the sake of
the gospel of Christ - from the first day until now (1:4).

In fact, Paul says of the believers in Philippi that they have always obeyed. Certainly Paul would be
including here their submission to his authority, as the apostle who brought them the gospel.

But notice in verse 12 how Paul says not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.
How could they obey Paul more in his absence than in his presence - especially in light of the fact that Paul
says they have always obeyed? They couldnt.

What Paul is saying is that, in his absence, they have learned greater obedience - not just to obey their God-
appointed teacher, but to obey God Himself. The Philippians had so grown in their relationship with the
Lord, that they were learning to live by Him - by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD
(Deut 8:3). Truly they were making progress in the faith (1:25).

In light of this, Paul is encouraging them to continue in that progress - to take the next step in it, based on
their current situation, in Philippi. Paul exhorts the believers to work out your own salvation.

Now, many believers down through the ages have found Pauls wording on this difficult to understand.
Their train of thought goes something like this: We know that we have been saved by faith alone.

In fact, as long as we try to work for our own salvation - as long as we think we have to do something
ourselves, in order to be saved - then we really are not believing that Christ and His work on the cross
completely saves a person - and so then, were not saved. Its simple faith alone, in Christ alone.
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And Paul himself has written as much: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Eph 2:8-9). So how can Paul say
here, work out your own salvation?

Despite the fact that genuine believers are saved, they dont always understand what their salvation entails.
We had the opportunity to consider it at the beginning of our letter (lesson #3), and I just want to review
briefly what we learned.

Turn back to chapter 1. Look at verse 6, where Paul expresses the confidence that he has, for the believers
in Philippi.

[Philippians 1:6] What is the good work that God has begun in us as believers, which God will complete at
the time when Jesus returns for us, His church? The good work is - salvation; or you could say,
redemption. Paul was laying this out here as an ongoing work.

From the eternal perspective, it is finished - realized through Christs work on the cross. But from the
perspective of time, God is working it out.

When you first believed into the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on your behalf, God justified you.
Placing you in Christ through your faith in Him, God accounted your sin to Jesus, on the cross, and
accounted His righteousness to you, and God declared you Not guilty. In this way, you were freed from
sin, forgiven by God, and reconciled to Him. This is how God began a good work in you - the good work
of salvation.

And God will complete that work one day - the day of Jesus Christ. Having received the life of Christ
when you believed - eternal life - God will use the power of that Life to transform your earthly body into
one that is fit for His presence, in heaven - a glorified body of spirit-life. In this way, God will complete
your salvation - freeing your body from death.

But meanwhile - between the time when you were justified, and you will be glorified - God is working
through time, while you are here on earth, to sanctify you - by which you are being set apart from this
world, more and more, and set apart to God, for His purposes - to do His will. Through sanctification, you
are becoming the righteousness that God had initially accounted to you, in Christ - somewhat like drawing
on a line of credit!

Now, God has already given you the power to live righteously - in obedience to the will of God - through
the eternal life He has shared with you. And God has also given you a Teacher, to reveal the will of God to
you, and guide you in how to do it - who is that? The Holy Spirit. And through the Spirit, God is working
to sanctify you, in your life.

But you have a part, too. Whats your part? To take the instruction of your Teacher, by believing Him; to
cooperate, with what God is working into you. This is what Paul means by work out your salvation. Its
working out what God is working in - which you do by cooperating with God; by yielding to the leading of
the Holy Spirit; by following the Lord, in your life.

This is not a matter of working for your salvation; this is a matter of working out the salvation you have
already received - through faith alone, in Christ alone.
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Lets go back to our current passage. In verse 12, the verb for work out involves exhorting to continuous
action - Paul is saying the believers are to be constantly engaged, in this process - the process of their
sanctification.

Notice that Paul says the believers are to do this with fear and trembling. These terms together signify a
profound reverence and respect. For who? For God, of course - and in verse 13, its the God - the Father.

As children of God, we are to have the greatest respect for our Father, who is God Himself. God is God
and we are not; His will is the will that is to be done. The Father has the say; the family is to - obey!

But as a good Father, God helps us in our obedience. The Father works in us, to will and to do. What does
that mean? The word for works here means to effect or influence.

First, the Father creates in us a willingness, to do His will. And how does the Father do that? Through His
Spirit, in each one of us. The Spirit not only reveals to us the Fathers will, but also shows us the good of it
(Rm 12:2). And the Spirit encourages our love for the Father, by showing us how much our Father loves us
(Rm 5:5).

Our love then takes the active form of obedience, to the will of our Father - the doing of His will - through
the power of the Life, that He has given us.

And God is working in us to do His will, for His good pleasure. Now, what does that mean? Good
pleasure speaks of Gods good intent; His gracious purpose. So our obedience to God helps to realize His
gracious purpose. And I think we can best see this process - and what that gracious purpose of God is - as
we consider an illustration that Jesus gave to His disciples.

Turn to John chapter 15. Jesus came to His own - the nation of Israel - and His own nation did not receive
Him. But to as many individuals as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to
those who believe in His name (Jn 1:11-12). Twelve of these were chosen by Jesus as His apostles, whose
teaching would establish Jesus as the foundation stone of a new people of God - the church (Eph 2:20).

Having completed His earthly ministry to the nation Israel, Jesus then spent time with His apostles in the
upper room in order to prepare them for their ministry.

He washed their feet - a living illustration of how they were to serve one another, in love. He dismissed the
traitor, then shared the bread and the wine, which would become the memorial of His death, for those who
believe in Him.

Jesus gave His disciples instructions, and told them of the ministry that the Holy Spirit would have, among
believers - collectively, as the church.

And then Jesus departed with His disciples, heading for the garden of Gethsemane. He would have passed
through the Kidron Valley with them. In His day, the hillsides were covered with grapevines. Jesus used
these as another illustration to His disciples - to show the necessity of abiding in Him.

[John 15:1-8]

v. 1 Long ago, Isaiah was given a prophecy concerning the nation Israel being the LORDs vineyard, which
despite the LORDs careful cultivation of it, only brought forth wild grapes - useless for consumption, and
therefore, fit only for destruction - which Isaiah went on to prophesy, for Israel (Is 5:1-7).
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Jesus presents Himself here to His disciples as the true vine. Where Israel had failed to serve the LORDs
purposes, Jesus, as the servant of Jehovah, would be very fruitful.

In the illustration, the Father is the vinedresser, or husbandman - the one who cultivates the vine, ensuring
that the vine has what it needs, for vitality and strength.

Vines need much care, to stay healthy and productive. They must be periodically watered, in order to grow.
They must be trellised, in order to keep the branches from languishing in the dirt, and to access the air and
the light they need for their development. The branches must be cleaned, to remove dirt, disease and
parasites - which would inhibit their growth. And branches must be removed, if they are unproductive.

v. 2 As we consider the branches, we need to remember that Jesus is using nature to illustrate a spiritual
reality - and no such illustration is ever exact, so we need to hold the branches a little loosely, here! Vines
produce an abundance of branches, but not all of them bear fruit.

Consider the vinedresser looking at his vine, in need of his care. He observes branches that have borne no
fruit; what does he do with them? He removes them, so that the strength of the vine is directed to the fruit-
producing branches. And even the fruit-producing branches receive trimming - he prunes them, to
encourage greater fruitfulness.

The branches represent sons of the kingdom. Gods gracious purpose is to have a kingdom of righteous
sons, which He will have through Christ - the true vine.

Now, there can be true sons of the kingdom, and there can be pretend sons; that is, those who merely
profess to be sons - a contemporary example in Jesus day would be most of the religious rulers - and Judas
Iscariot.

A true son does the will of his Father; He fulfills Gods purposes; he bears fruit, for the vinedresser. If he
does not bear fruit, this is evidence that he is not a true son, but an imposter. And like a dead branch, the
vinedresser will remove him.

A true son will fulfill Gods purposes by bearing the fruit of righteousness, in his own life, personally.
Meanwhile, the trials and tribulations of this life simply serve to strengthen him - like the pruning of the
branch - so that he becomes even more productive - more fruit.

And there is another way, to view this fruit - as new sons of righteousness, that are born into Gods
kingdom - a product of the vine, working through a living branch. So here we can see Pauls thought, of
God working in the believer, and the believer working out what God has worked in.

As Jesus continues, He qualifies to His disciples how it is that they would be able to bear this fruit - since
they are true sons of the kingdom, themselves.

v. 3-5 The description of Jesus here is suggestive of grafted branches, which are cut and then cleaned to
help remove pests and diseases, before being grafted into the vine.

Jesus first reminds His disciples that they are already clean (Jn 13:10-11). Each one of them have taken in
the truth, believing into Jesus - and have therefore been sanctified and cleansed through the washing of
water by the Word (Eph 5:26).
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Now all that remains is that they abide in Him. When a grafted branch takes, it does so because it strikes
down into the vine, and attaches to it, then begins to draw its life-giving sap - and thereby the grafted
branch becomes a living branch, that can produce fruit. And a living branch, in the hands of the vinedresser,
becomes a productive branch - that can bear much fruit.

Each of the disciples is already clean; and each has joined themselves to Christ to receive His life; they
have been united to Him, by faith (Rm 6:3-5).

Jesus was telling His disciples that in order for their life in Him - and their ministry - to flourish, it was
essential that they each one abide in Him - to depend completely upon their relationship with Him, to
continuously draw upon His life, in order to live theirs. Apart from Him, they could do nothing - nothing of
any eternal value.

v. 6 If anyone - a contrast to a true son of the kingdom. By illustration, what Jesus shows is that the life is
not in the branch, independent of the vine. Think of a grafted branch; it can be placed in the vine, but if it
never strikes down to draw the sap from the vine, it will never produce fruit. Its withered state reveals that
it is a dead branch.

This is like one who professes to be a son of Gods kingdom, but has never been born from above. A man
must believe into Christ to become a new creation - a true son of God, that will bear the fruit of
righteousness, in Christ. Apart from that, the man does not fulfill the purpose for which God created him,
and so in not believing, he has fitted himself for destruction.

v. 7-8 If you - true sons of the kingdom. As believers, the words of Jesus abide in us when we believe and
obey them. This certainly pertains to the Word of God, the Scriptures; but also, Jesus continues to share His
words with each of us personally, through His Spirit abiding in us.

As we cooperate with God by believing and obeying His word, our requests tend to coincide with His will -
so that what we ask is done.

Its a flourishing fruitful relationship, that brings glory to the Father. And we prove ourselves true learners
of Jesus, by our obedience to God - true sons of the kingdom - as we help to realize His gracious saving
purpose, for us personally, and for mankind, in general.

[Return to Philippians 2]

Paul is showing his friends in Philippi the next step they need to take, in their obedience - so that they can
continue to bear much fruit, for the Lord. Lets read it again, starting in verse 14.

v. 14-16 Paul had previously encouraged his friends in Philippi in their unity - both in terms of having the
Lords thinking, concerning opposition in the city, as well as to have unity with one another - harmonious,
loving relationships - by putting their fellow believers, and not themselves, first. Now he gets more
specific, and calling for them to stop complaining and arguing.

But everyone complains and argues, dont they? Even believers? Sad to say, yes. We tend to think of this
as one of those lesser sins, dont we? Its certainly not up there with murder, is it? But I also think we
tend to downplay sins that we still participate in; if we can rationalize them to ourselves, we dont have to
deal with them, right?
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Well, since we see that this is a problem for at least the Philippians, and we are studying this letter, lets
take the opportunity to consider complaining and arguing a little more closely, at this time.

Why does anyone complain? Because things are not the way they want them to be; that is, things are not in
accordance with your will. Now, whose will is the only will that is always done, in this universe? Gods
will.

Lets consider a case where your will is not happening, and you can see its not going to happen. What
does that indicate? That what you want is not Gods will. Then to complain about it - whether inside or
outwardly - is really to set yourself in opposition to the will of God. Another word for that would be
rebellion.

But, you point out, what if in this case were considering, theres another person involved, and they are
insisting on having their will done. What about that? Well, is God allowing them this occasion to exercise
their freedom of choice? Then you allow it - and youll be abiding in the will of God - where you should
be.

And then theres arguing. Thats when you go beyond merely wanting your will, to actively contending for
it. Trying to persuade others; or coerce them; or manipulate them - whatever it takes - because they often
have a will in the matter, too.

You are fighting for the right to have a say, to voice an opinion, to get your own way - except you dont
really have a right to any of those, in Christ. You have been freed to do the will of God - and not your own
will, anymore. Then youd be a slave of sin again - like those rebels, in Adam.

And this is partly Pauls point. Sons of God who are complaining and arguing look no different than the
sons of disobedience - because they are behaving just like them.

So what happens to the believers witness, at that time? There isnt any. And the sons of disobedience have
a way of remembering these things - because they want to remember them - so that when you later try to
share Christ with them, your complaining and arguing come back to their minds, and they grasp the
opportunity to dismiss you - as a hypocrite.

Not only did you lose one opportunity to share the gospel - you may have forfeited any, in the future. And
this makes it ever so clear to us that no sin is trivial.

In fact, complaining and arguing - to the extent it was going on in Philippi - was a significant enough issue
for Paul to write this letter - and to set before them the standard of Jesus, in His submission to the Father.
Paul considered this very significant; why? Because at the heart of complaining and arguing is self-love -
thinking more highly of ourselves, than we ought (2:3).

Self-love is diametrically opposed to the love of God, which is for others. The love that Jesus showed, in
coming as the bondservant of Jehovah, was purely love for others.

But how can we have such sacrificial love? Theres only one way. Its to yield ourselves in submission to
God - so that He can love others, through us. And whatever will cause us to do that - to yield ourselves?
Only one thing - when our love for God is greater than our love for ourselves. Thats what it takes.
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And thats why Paul has set this standard before the Philippians - not so they can try, in their own self-
effort, to attain it; but so that in gazing in their minds upon Jesus, and how much He loved them, they will
be moved in their hearts to love Him back - and surrender their will to Him, in submission - and so to
become eager to do the will of God - as was Jesus.

Paul sees this as critical for the witness of the believers, to the pagan citizens of Philippi - who are part of
the world system, that crooked and perverse generation of men, in Adam.

The words that Paul uses to describe the Philippians, as they take this step of obedience, reflect an
impeccable witness - believers of pure character, whose conduct no one can fault. This is what
righteousness looks like - and it shines brilliantly, like light.

Paul chooses an unusual word for light, here, which denotes a luminary; a light-giver. The idea is not
reflected light, but radiant light; light that is generated from within.

We have believed in the Light, to become sons of Light (Jn 12:36), having been born again, born from
above. We have the very Life of our Father, within us. Thats a light that can never be put out. But its
radiance can be hidden - sin will conceal it. And in addition to that, its radiance also would not be seen, if it
was - withheld.

Paul is encouraging the believers not to withhold their light, in their city. This is what he means when he
says, holding fast the word of life - continuously so. He is again addressing their fear of the opposition,
in Philippi. He is saying that they must not let fear stand in the way of their sharing of the gospel, with the
people.

Fear is also rooted in self-love; the strong natural desire, to preserve ourselves, in our lives. Its a matter of
learning to trust God with our lives - and with each new circumstance that He brings into it.

Now there was fierce enmity against the believers in Philippi, and Paul recognized this - they were
suffering persecution. But he knows his friends, and he is confident that their love of the Lord will
overcome their fears, so that their witness can once again shine brightly in their city.

Paul expresses this in verse 16 with a statement about the day of Christ - when Christ comes for His church,
and determines the reward for each believer. When he speaks of running or laboring in vain, he is
specifically referring here to his efforts for the gospel, in Philippi.

Paul is associating his accomplishment with that of his friends in Philippi - if they will abide in Christ, and
bear much fruit, that will mean fruit from his labor (1:22). And it is on the note of this joint effort that Paul
concludes this exhortation to them.

v. 17-18 Paul has in mind one of the offerings that the LORD gave to Moses, for the Levitical priesthood. A
drink offering of wine was often poured out on a grain offering and a burnt offering - such as a sacrificed
lamb - which were together being offered by a priest to the LORD, as a sweet-savor offering - an offering for
acceptance of the offerer, by God.

Paul is likening himself to the drink offering here. A drink offering signified the life being poured out, in
death (Is 53:12, 2 Tim 4:6).
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Now, we have learned from this letter that Paul did not think his trial would result in his execution by the
state; he thought he would be released (1:25). And Paul even states further on that he is trusting in the Lord
that He will come to visit the Philippians shortly (2:24).

But Paul also knows that his release is not absolutely certain. And what he is saying here is a concession to
that - that it could turn out he is put to death. If so, Paul views that as being like the drink offering being
poured out, on the sacrifice and service of the faith of his friends, in Philippi.

Service here alludes to the ministry of a priest. Paul sees the believers in Philippi as priests, offering up
their sacrifice, to which he adds his own. In that Paul uses the word sacrifice and not offering, we have
the sense that he has in mind all that the Philippians are suffering, for the sake of the gospel - including this
most recent sacrifice, that he is calling on them to make.

The grain offering pictures Christ in His sinless humanity; the burnt offering, Christs whole life offered up
in obedience. As the believers choose to obey God - as they cease serving themselves and to continue to
serve one another in love - they will have the same mind in them as that of Christ Jesus (2:5). They will be
offering themselves as a living sacrifice - holy and acceptable to God - which is their rightful act of
worship, as priests (Rom 12:1).

The drink offering was always the first part of the offering to ascend heavenward - as it was instantly
vaporized to steam, by the fire on the altar. The smoke of the grain and burnt offering would slowly and
gradually follow.

And in this we can see what may have been Pauls full thought - that if he is put to death, his departure
from this earth would simply serve to announce to heaven the living sacrifice of the Philippians - a sacrifice
with which God would be well-pleased - since it reflected His beloved Son.

And that was a thought Paul himself took great pleasure in - and called on the Philippians to rejoice in, as
well. Because Paul knew, and his friends were learning, that to live is Christ - and to die is gain.

Reading: Acts 16:1-5, 1 + 2 Timothy.