Philippians 2:12 - God. Is. Here.

"So that, my beloved, just as you always obeyed, not as in the coming of me only but rather now much more in the absence of me, with fear and trembling be working out one’s own salvation."

-’so that’... what paul is about to tell us derives from what he has just told us.  obey.  yes, do what God wants no matter who is looking, and do so with fear and trembling - but we do what God wants with fear and trembling BECAUSE we have a perfect Savior Who is the risen and exalted Lord before Whom every knee will bow and Whom every tongue will confess to be the King of the Universe.  He has all authority, He has all power, and while right now we have almost no concept of what that looks like, we need to do our best to let that truth unsteady our knees and soften our hearts and necks to live lives of obedience and reverence.  we need to learn to awe Who Jesus is, and then go with it.

-all the imperatives paul has been giving thus far fairly constitute what God wants His people to do.  one-souled, striving together for the progress of the Gospel, going low and living into others-first others-better - this is what God wants us to do, and doing what He wants connects with the concept of obedience.  it is quite simple - we show our love for the Lord and our true yieldedness to Him AS Lord in how we obey Him and do the things that He asks us to do (1john 5.3, john 14.15, john 14.21).  these philippian believers apparently had always been quite obedient when paul was present with them, but now he is not there and is communicating what God wants them to do via letter.  and this is really the true test of a person’s faith, is it not?  do i still do what God wants when nobody is around, when i am not aware that anybody is looking?  of course God sees everything we do and knows our every thought, but we can be quite expert at conveniently forgetting that fact.  thus one of the goals of discipling and mentoring and coaching and parenting is to position those God has placed within our purview to carry on and thrive when we are not there to help them do so.  it is why john says he has no greater joy than to hear that his children in the faith are actually walking in the truth in his absence (3john 3-4; cf galatians 4.19).  it is why paul is saying that these believers can actually fill up his joy - he so much wants them to be all in for the things that God wants, and that holds true even and especially when no one is there to watch over them.  so, question: who are you when you think nobody is looking? 

-the actual word for ‘obey’ in the greek is hupakouo, which literally means ‘to listen under’.  the prefix is hupo, or hypo, which means ‘under’ (think hypodermic, meaning ‘under the skin’).  it is the exact opposite of hyper (which means ‘above’), the word we’ve just been looking at in philippians 2.3 and philippians 2.9.  we are really talking about two antithetical positions and directions.  we are talking about being under, a lowering of ourselves, going low in how we relate to other believers and most certainly in how we relate to Jesus.  He went low, put Himself under what His Father wanted and obeyed perfectly, and as a result is now above all things.  so the whole concept of God’s people obeying Him dovetails perfectly with the idea of going low.  in order to obey, you need to choose to place yourself under the authority and rank of the person you will choose to obey, and to give them a place above you.  you not only hear what they are saying they want, but you rank yourself under them, you subjegate yourself to what they want and you comply.  you do what they want.  this is obedience.  this is how we are to relate to the God Who made us.  or should, at least.  it is indeed the path of wisdom (psalm 111.10) as opposed to foolishness (psalm 14.1).

-’work out’...  it means to carry out to the goal, complete, bring to pass, accomplish, produce (cf romans 7.8).  it is present tense, so we are talking something constant, day by day, moment by moment.  not as in procuring something we do not have, but rather in substantiating the salvation we have already received.  this is our role, carrying out to the goal the salvation which we have received from the Lord.  ours is a long obedience, a marathon and not a sprint.  each day of the thousands God gives me is full of new opportunities to substantiate what He has done for me and in me by obeying Him, by going low and doing whatever He wants.  each day must begin anew as if nothing yet has been done for Christ, not resting on any perceived laurels nor putting confidence in anything i may have accomplished or experienced yesterday, nor being deterred by it (cf job 2.10).  no, each day must begin where i freely decide to rank myself under Jesus as my Lord and King.  each and every day i am abiding in Christ and trusting Him for fresh power and guidance and i am going low, saying no to what i want, to self and my flesh and to the world and the enemy and i am saying yes to the Lord and what He wants.

-true salvation is not a faith that fizzles before the finish.  it perseveres until the end, through suffering and hardship as well as through blessing and joy.  it keeps running hard after Christ every day, trusting Him, obeying Him, even when no one is looking.  it is something that God initiates in us to be sure, and He continues right alongside us and in us every step of our journey, but ours is not a wheelchair or a gurney.  we walk.  we run.  we run with endurance.  we run to win (hebrews 12.1, 1corinthians 9.24).

-and we do it with fear (phobia) and with trembling.  these two seem to go hand in hand (cf mark 16.8, 1corinthians 2.3, 2corinthians 7.15, ephesians 6.5), particularly when God is either present or in mind.  we need to be constantly reminded of Who it is we are dealing with.  we’re not talking about some docile benign heavenly grandpa.  we’re not talking about some fluffy Jesus with baby bunnies bouncing around, or a few cute, harmless little cherubs.  in fact we are told that it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of this God Who is truly alive and is not silent (hebrews 10.31).  He tends to have that effect on people (matthew 14.26, matthew 17.5-6, luke 24.4, revelation 11.13, deuteronomy 34.12, isaiah 2.19, exodus 34.30) - when He shows up and is present, there tends to be great terror and fear.  God is the original ‘shock and awe’.  but the truth is that He really is here.  He is always present and accounted for.  proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (proverbs 1.7; cf exodus 9.30).  a healthy fear and awe of the living God is a prerequisite for godly living (exodus 18.21, exodus 20.20, deuteronomy 5.29, deuteronomy 10.12, psalm 33.8).  fear and obedience go hand in hand, to be sure (genesis 22.12, deuteronomy 31.12).  when we obey someone, we do so in part because we are wisely afraid to incur the wrath of the one we would disobey.  there is a double thrust of motivation - we do what God wants in order to bring Him pleasure, but also to avoid His wrath.  ours is not a safe God.  of course He is good, but He is not safe.  the fact remains that God is always watching and present, even when nobody else is around.  it is the highest of wisdom to learn to conduct myself and live my life with circumspect reverence and the awareness of the very real presence of Almighty God, to always seek to do what He wants in part out of proper fear and respect for Him.  i still have a looooong way to go...

Philippians 2:11 - "What is Thy bidding, My Master?"

’...and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, unto [the] glory of God [the] Father.’

-the end, the final outcome is glory.  the whole reason why any of this has taken place is to show off the magnificent splendor and breathtaking goodness of Almighty God.  it is the all-encompassing why behind all that He has ever done or ever will do.  He has taken the path of glory, the one which will in the end bring Him the most glory.  it is all about Him.  this theme resounds throughout Scripture.  it is all about bringing maximum glory to the all-glorious God.  everything God does is in relentless pursuit of whatever will most show off and increase the celebration of His breathtaking goodness (cf john 12.28, john 14.13, luke 2.14, romans 11.36, romans 15.7, romans 16.27, and countless other passages).  this is why God’s people are to embrace a mindset of going low in pursuit of others-first others-better.  this is precisely why Jesus made it all not about Him and emptied and lowered Himself - He was in hot pursuit of showing off God’s breathtaking goodness.  ultimately for those who follow Christ it needs to become not about me and instead all about Him.  He must increase and i must decrease (john 3.30).

-the way this glory will be shown is that every tongue should or will confess (or agree) that Jesus is Lord.  we know that this is the core confession of a truly regenerated Christ follower (romans 10.9), and we also know that it is only by the enabling of God’s Spirit that someone can even say that Jesus Christ is Lord (1corinthians 12.3).  and so this section begs the question still further - is paul talking about true Christ followers only, those who when they agree with the Kingship and Lordship of Jesus Christ do so with their whole heart, or are we talking about a universal confession which includes many who arrive at that agreement only reluctantly or even defiantly.

-ultimately, it is in honoring His Son Jesus Christ, and only in doing so, that the Father - hence God almighty Himself - is truly honored (john 5.23).  the two are inextricably One (john 10.30), and thus we even see that the deity of Christ is truly wrapped up in this confession.  but ultimately all things WILL be subjected to Christ and hence to God the Father (cf 1corinthians 15.24-28).  looking at the whole of Scripture it looks like we are talking about a universal confession and subjection, yes, but that it will be more of a process than an event.  by the end of history, when the devil and death are finally thrown into the lake of fire along with every other soul who lived their life in rebellion against their Creator and never emptied and lowered themself to trust in Christ’s payment for their sin (revelation 20.7-15), every created being, whether human or angelic, will either willingly or forcibly bend the knee and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is King and Lord.

-regardless, how unfortunate it is that the term 'Lord' has become one of the most overused and clichéd in the Christian vocabulary, whereas it really declares the true character and supremacy of Jesus Christ.  it is the fountainhead of worship and the bedrock of daily living for those who would truly follow Christ.  theirs is the posture of darth vader kneeling before lord sidious: “what is thy bidding, my master?”  or that of Christ Himself kneeling before His Father: “not what I want, but what You want.”  theirs is the unending pursuit of living into the answer to the question, “Lord, what do You want?”

Philippians 2:10 - In the presence of Royalty

’in order that in the Name of Jesus every knee should bend, of [ones] upon heaven and upon earth and under-the-earth...’

-bending the knee is what someone does when they enter the presence of royalty.  the action could be merely out of respect without necessarily indicating an attitude of subservience, particularly if the person doing the bending doesn’t belong to that country.  but paul here pretty much covers all possible knees.  this is again speaking to outcome, to result, to purpose.  the outcome of Jesus being hyper-hyped and given the hyper Name - the purpose for that - is so that every person who has ever lived will somehow, someday bow before Him and acquiesce to the truth that He is King.

-now some commentators are wont to point out that paul here says ‘IN the Name of Jesus’ as opposed to ‘AT the Name’ as it is rendered in most translations, which indicates that most translators are forcing an interpretation onto the text.  the use of ‘AT the Name of Jesus’ fits more naturally with the picture of a literal event, that certain future day when Christ returns for judgment and every person whether they have trusted in Christ or not will be forced to show their acknowledgment that Jesus truly is King, the One True and only King of the universe.  however, what is not likely being described here is some future event where all the living and the dead will be gathered into a massive crowd and then at some point some being utters the word ‘Jesus’ as if by introduction and then every person, whether saved or unsaved, bends their knee simultaneously.

-however, it does suggest an interesting question for each of us today: what do you do when you hear the name, ‘Jesus’?  what runs through your mind?  is there a kneeling of the mind, of your heart and soul at the mention of the Name of Jesus?

-some then suggest that rather than picturing a one-time future event, that paul instead is describing an environment of willing prayer, that every knee which does freely bend in prayer will do so (only) IN the name of Jesus, depicting the truth that Jesus Christ is the One Mediator between God and man (1tim 2.5).  it is, however, not realistic to conceive that EVERY being will be freely praying to Jesus at some point, which means that this interpretation would require one to limit the scope of what is meant by ‘every knee’.  yes, we know that God would like for every person to come to repentance, to come to that place where they would seek Him and actually pray to Him, where they would freely lower themselves and surrender and submit to Him (2pet 3:9).  but we also know that many people as well as the devil and his rebellious angels will not ever do that (cf rev 12.7, mt 25.41, rev 20.10, rev 20.14-15).  

-some commentators refer to is 45.23, where God declares the future reality of universal submission, and paul here uses similar language, so that we are basically looking at a reiteration of that prophetic statement.  the language is also very consistent with the scene of universal worship of the Lamb depicted in rev 5.13 (cf ps 103.22).

-now it is the NAME of Jesus under consideration in this verse.  of course, the Name of Jesus already had total power and sovereignty before He was hyper-hyped (lk 8.26-37, lk 10.17), and simply became more fully so afterwards (jam 4.7, act 3.16, act 16.18, cf heb 2.7-10).  to be sure, for those who follow Jesus, everything they do is tied to His Name (jn 20.31, 1jn 3.23, jn 1.12, 1cor 6.11, act 2.38, mt 18.20, jn 14.13-14, jn 16.24, lk 9.48, col 3.17, jam 5.14, lk 24.47).  but there are of course those who will never freely submit themselves to the Kingship of Jesus.  so then, we are perhaps either talking about a subset of created ones who freely submit and do indeed do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, including praying and bowing before Him daily and on into eternity, OR we are talking about a mixed group of willing and unwilling participants who regardless of their predisposition are face-to-face with the King of the universe, the One Who made them and Who in His hand holds their eternal destiny.  either way we are talking about a posture of submission in the presence of royalty, before the King of the universe, a posture which can and should begin both at some point in this life and be continued every moment of every day until i die or until Christ returns.  i have a long way to go...

Philippians 2:9 - Higher than high

-’therefore also God highly exalted Him and freely gave to Him the Name the [one] above every name...’

-the glorious irony here is that what Jesus did in emptying and lowering Himself and making it all about others and not about Him is that God made it all the more about Him as a result.  obviously this could not be part of our motivation here, and we are not being asked to pay for the sins of the world, therefore we are not going to be talking about being given a name or a position like that which Jesus has.  not to mention that we are not the only begotten Son of God (and yet - for those who go low, who lower themselves and embrace others-first others-better, there remains a promise of exaltation, a promise of glory for those who walk the via dolorossa - mt 23.12, rom 8.17-18, 2cor 4.17).  but the context is others-first others-better, and here it is definitely not about us.  paul in these next few verses shifts the focus completely off of us and what we do and onto Jesus.  it is a slight tangent of glorious truth about the King of glory...

-He lowered Himself, going as low as He could go, and subsequently was lifted up as high as could possibly be.  God (the Father) highly exalted Jesus.  this is a great word in the greek, and it is only used here in the NT.  the word is huperupsoo, from huper (hyper)(it became ‘super’ in latin and it of course still that in english), which means above, and hupsoo (which is the verb form of hupsos, or hypsos, which describes something that IS above or high).  so God didn’t just make Jesus higher, He made Him higher than high.  basically, God super-exalted, He hyper-hyped Jesus.  the super-latives runneth over: supreme, superb, supernal, incomparable, matchless, unequaled, consummate, unsurpassed, par excellence, transcendent, unrivaled, inimitable, second-to-none.

-when did this super-exalting take place?  it seems obvious that it took place after this ‘death on a cross’ in v. 8.  really it takes place as a result of the entire process of emptying and lowering which of course began with the incarnation and even before that in eternity (cf heb 1.2), but the consummation is found at calvary.  and there are mutiple references throughout Scripture to this super-exalting coming after and as a result of what Jesus suffered on the cross (heb 2.9, act 2.33, eph 1.20-22, heb 1.3, heb 12.2, ps 8.5-6, is 52.13, lk 24.26, rom 14.9, eph 1.20-22).  to be fair, even the super-exalting which was determined in eternity and carried out in the ascension has yet to be fully realized (heb 2.8).  we will come back to this...

-but God the Father gave Him the Name - THE Name.  now there is definitely something about the Name of Jesus.  mt 1.21, act 4.12, eph 1.21, heb 1.4.  “you will be hated by all because of My Name...” - lk 21.16-18.  ‘they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the Name of Jesus...” - act 4.18, act 5.40.  “whatever you ask in My Name, that I will do...” - jn 14.13-14, jn 16.24, act 3.6, act 16.18, lk 10.17.   the name Jesus means, ‘God saves’ (english for Iésou, which is the greek for jeshua/joshua, which was the hebrew word for savior).  it is certainly the most polarizing Name on the planet.  it is misused, abused, mocked, and hated - by many who are being deceived by the world, the flesh, or the devil, by ones who are in outright rebellion against their Creator, and by others who have experienced or seen unrighteousness worked by those who claim to follow Jesus.  it’s dismissed by ones who’ve yet to be convinced they need saving.  some use the Name as more of a means to an end (mt 7.22), but there are many others who have embraced the Name and the One to Whom it was given as their Savior and Lord.  these He is not ashamed to call His friends and His brothers and sisters (jn 15.13-15, heb 2.11, mt 12.50).

-obviously the name ‘Jesus’ was given to the Son of Man before He was conceived (cf lk 1.31, lk 2.21), and He had a status of glory before then as well (jn 17.24).  but it looks like the text here could be saying that God gave this super name to Jesus after the crucifixion, that He got the name as a result of His obedience unto death.  so, perhaps the name in question here is not ‘Jesus’ afterall?  or, the use of contrast could suggest that perhaps the naming is actually tied more to the entirety of His going low, the humbling Jesus did which began with the laying aside of His status and privileges and taking on the form of finite frail humanity.

-so we need to consider, was the exalting something separate and complementary to the naming, or is it the one and same thing?  because it would seem that the exalting was definitely part of the resurrection and subsequent ascension and seating at God’s right hand, especially since the flow here mentions the exalting immediately after the crucifixion.  and yet technically the Jesus-naming took place before that, prophetically before He was even conceived (lk 2.21)... one view suggests that the exalting and naming both did come after the cross, seemingly then requiring that the super Name to which paul refers here is not ‘Jesus’ but rather ‘Lord’ (verse 11 is mentioned as supporting this view, cf act 2.33-36).  another view suggests that it is not a personal name that was given per se but rather the actualization of a position and office of supreme, unrivaled dignity and honor.  another explanation is that the exalting and naming both took place more out of time, when the heretofore unnamed second member of the Trinity (cf dan 7.13, dan 3.25, ps 80.17) emptied and lowered Himself and was gloriously incarnated inside the womb of an unwed teenage girl in galilee.  it makes some sense to attach the naming to the incarnation as the time when the emptying and lowering actually took place.  this posture of humility then of course continued throughout His time on earth (cf lk 2.51, mt 3.14-15, mt 14.24-27), being ultimately consummated in the sufferings of the Passion.  but what about the exalting?  one could perhaps even try and identify a time prior to the incarnation, since in eternity the decision to lower and the actual lowering as well as the ultimate hyper-hyping would all be part of one continuous reality.

-another way to reconcile the timing of the naming and the exalting without having to resort to a name other than ‘Jesus’, which we are told in the next verse is the name at which every knee will bow, is to consider that the name of Jesus while given prophetically before conception and practically at His birth was fully realized only after He did die and pay the penalty for the sins of the world, thus accomplishing the salvation to which the name ‘Jesus’ refers.  it was only thus that He really and fully became Jesus the Christ, and in the ascension He then also once and for all entered into the place of Lord over all, subsequently bringing full expression to all that is contained in the name ‘Jesus’.  they called Him Jesus in the stable in bethlehem, but now He IS Jesus, in every sense of the word.

-nevertheless, a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, and there are many other names and titles found throughout Scripture by which He can be called.  the fact remains that Jesus of Nazareth is both Lord and Christ, God’s Messiah, and there is no other name in or under heaven by which we can be saved.  He alone is the Way and the Truth and the Life.  His is a Name higher than any other, one which deserves and should impel both awe and worship, total abandonment and audacious boldness.  it should change everything - and has in many ways and for many people.  unfortunately the Name of Jesus has also been horribly misrepresented by some and has indeed become for many others nothing more than an epithet, or an afterthought.  or perhaps a kind of noble idea at best.  no doubt my own gaps and failings - not the least my materialism and timidity and selfishness - do indeed detract from a fully-orbed manifestation of devotion to and showing off of the glorious greatness of the Name of Jesus.  i do have a long way to go...

Philippians 2.8 - "Not what I want"...

"...and having been found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, having come to be obedient unto death, but death of a cross."

-He didn’t only take on human appearance - Christ lowered Himself.  in other words, others better.  certainly God better.  He wasn’t obeying people per se, He was listening to His Father.  He embraced ‘not what I want but rather what You want’ (luke 22.42).  He was the eternally glorious King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Creator of the entire universe, God almighty albeit in human flesh, and yet He allowed Himself to first be born as a human baby - in a stable - to poor parents to whom He submitted Himself - and later to be betrayed and arrested and beaten and abused and whipped and killed on a cross.  He of course had to go through these things as part of the divine plan but in order to go through them He had to lower Himself.  He was indeed surpassingly better than anyone around Him.  He had the power to not only protect Himself but do whatever He wanted, and yet He divested Himself of this power and authority and status and took on frail and finite human flesh and walked among us.  He was a helpless baby and an obedient child and a young man Who grew tired and hungry and cried and felt pain and betrayal and Who grieved over the utter brokenness of the world.  He simply said, ‘not what I want.’  and He let Himself be tortured and executed by people whose only power to do that to Him came from God Himself.  FOR THEM.  it was not about Him.  there was no hint of me-first, me-better.  He lived perfectly into the low-thinking which we are here being exhorted to embrace.  this is our example.

-obedient.  obedient all the way unto death.  saying no to bad choices and to His flesh and to what He wanted and saying yes to what pleased His Heavenly Father (john 8.29).  He did what was right and what was asked of Him all the way to giving His life in obedience to His Father.  death of course is the ultimate obedience - there is no greater form of love (john 15.13)(and of course there is no greater command than to love - mark 12.30-32).  and Jesus was not just dying for the ones who were following Him - He was dying for the ones who were killing Him.  and not just any death - it was death on a roman cross, an extreme, excruciating form of torture and execution.  and the cross was preceded by hours of sleep-deprivation, beating and as well as a scourging - 39 lashes with a cat-and-nine-tails that literally ripped the flesh of His back and brought Him to death’s doorstep.  you could perhaps ask the question, could the sacrifice have been accomplished with a different form of death, say, a guillotine, or a gibbet?  it is interesting to think about, however not very helpful.  the fact remains - Jesus lowered Himself (for the sake of others), said no to self and yes to God all the way to giving up His life (for the sake of others), and in so doing lived perfectly into others-first others-better.

-oh, how much of my life and heart is consumed with taking care of number one, taking care of me first and doing what i want, indulging my fleshly desires and living for the things that don’t last.  how easily i give into disobedience.  how easy it is for me to look down on someone else, to somehow think less of them, maybe because of how they talk or decisions they make or things they do or don’t do, maybe because they don’t have the same education or training or convictions or priorities that i have, maybe because the things that they do which affect me aren’t exactly how i would like them to be.  and as long as what they do doesn’t affect me, i usually don’t even care.  oh Lord, have mercy on my pride and selfishness and deliver me from this slavery of me-first me-better.  help me to think and live like Jesus.  please give me the grace today and every day to live into the cross so that Christ can truly live in and through me (galatians 2.20).  yes, the cross of Christ is more than just an historical event - it is a daily destination for those who follow Him (luke 9.23)...  i have a long, long way to go.

Philippians 2:7 - Free to be slaves...

"...but rather He emptied Himself, a form of a bond-servant having received, in likeness of men having come to be..."

-here we have one of the most amazing statements in all of Scripture, and yet this is exactly what Jesus did.  we read that Jesus emptied Himself, and one might ask, as many others have also asked, of what did He actually empty Himself?  did He empty Himself of deity?  to which we answer simply, no, He did not.  He was still God.  simply put, He emptied Himself of ‘self’.  He didn’t empty Himself of His nature, His divinity - rather, He emptied Himself of me-first.  we’re talking about an attitude, a way of understanding, one which is entirely possible for us to embrace as well.  obviously none of us are able to empty ourselves of our nature, our humanity, but we can get rid of our me-first way of living and thinking.  actually this is quite impossible humanly-speaking, but with God at work in our lives this becomes totally possible (as we will see in verses 12-13).  

-what Jesus did was let go of His status and His rights and privileges and all the things He could have thought He deserved due to the fact that He was God, and took on the form of a bond-servant.  instead of holding onto the form of almighty God, He freely chose to take the form of a slave, living into a supreme expression of others-first.  a slave has no rights, no privileges, no time or possessions or place of their own.  a slave deserves nothing - he exists solely for the sake of someone else, for the sake of the master.  they are owned by the master.  all their stuff and their time - everything belongs to the master.  it is not about them first or even at all - it is about someone else.  others-first.

-Christ’s example, His attitude which we are to also embrace - the same mindset which a slave would have - was one of service (luke 22.27, john 13.12-15, matthew 20.28).  the more common verb for ‘to serve’ in the NT is diakoneo, which means just that, ‘to serve’.  Christ here takes the form of a doulos, and a doulos would normally engage in douloo, but that verb for slave-service is not used much in the NT.  however, diakoneo is certainly what a doulos does - it is more a question of identity.  anyone can engage in service, but an actual doulos is also owned by the one whom they have freely committed to serve - in this case we are talking more about an attitude and an action, a lifestyle and a calling of serving others.  Christ came to serve not Himself but others first, and paul is calling those of us who follow Christ to serve our fellow Christ-followers and to do so with the mindset of a slave.  and this service is not just what i do but it is also who i am.  it is my identity.  i am a slave, and i have no rights, and i deserve nothing, and i embrace this for the sake of my brothers and sisters in Christ and for the sake of the forward progress of the Gospel.  this theme is woven throughout the NT (matthew 23.11, luke 22.25-26, galatians 5.13, ephesians 4.12, 1peter 4.10-11).  it is quite simple.  we are called to serve one another.  others first.  one who serves is called a servant.  someone who is forced to do this against their will is typically referred to as a slave, but the one who freely enters slavery and surrenders their freedom and embraces a life-calling of serving another is a bond-servant.  this is the form and the mindset that Jesus took on, and this is the example we are to follow.

-paul also points out that Jesus came to be 'in the likeness of men'.  it is the wonderful impossible miracle of the Incarnation - the eternal, infinite living Word of God, through Whom all things came to be, came to be real finite flesh and blood within the womb of a teenage girl from galilee and though veiled in glory gave us a glorious glimpse of the divine (john 1.14).  God Almighty walked among us, and lived and died as one of us, an amazing antinomy of two things which cannot both be true simultaneously and yet must both be true (being one of at least three great antinomies to be found in the Christian faith; other antinomies of note are the Trinity - where God is both three and one - and then there is the truth of predestination/free will, where the choices of a Sovereign Eternal All-knowing God and those of free human agents coexist - these truths will be addressed elsewhere, but suffice it to say that the necessary existence of these multiple antinomies at the core of the Christian faith points to divine origin of the Truth that is found therein.  a fabricated man-made religion would no doubt ignore or attempt to eliminate such apparent contradictions...).  but this Incarnation was not only necessary, as sin needed to be punished in human flesh (romans 8.3), it was also entirely advantageous, because we now have a Savior Who walked the same path that we walk, subject to our same limitations and challenges and temptations and weaknesses and yet to these He never succumbed (hebrews 2.17).  in fact, He rose above the limitations to live perfectly into others-first.  among a host of other things, He truly became our Perfect Example.  i have a long, long way to go...

Philippians 2:6 - Let go

"...Who, in [the] form of God existing, did not rule the to being equal to God something to be grasped..."

-Christ Jesus did not hold on to His rights, His wants, His status, what He deserved, what He had always been, the way things had always been.  it was not about Him.  it was not about self.  it was not about Me. 

-the context makes this lowering even more significant.  Jesus in fact was God incarnate.  He had always been God, always co-existing and co-equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  all things were made through Him.  every single thing in the universe came into existence by Him, thus He was above all things, including every single person on planet earth.  as God, not only was He above all things and people, but He was worthy of all honor and glory and blessing and praise and love and devotion from every thing and everyone.  He deserved all of that.  but He chose to not hold onto it - He chose to not put Me first.  the incredible irony here is that it WAS all about Him.  all of history had pointed to His coming.  God’s great plan was the summing up of all things in Christ (ephesians 1.10).  He was the Way, the Truth and the Life.  and yet He chose to make it not about Him (and even in doing so He made it even more about Him, as we will see in verse 9...).

-what are you holding onto today?  what am i holding onto today?  in what ways am i living into me-first?  what rights am i grasping at others’ expense?  what privileges or status am i holding onto at all costs?  what is it that i feel i deserve?  paul reminds us here that Jesus deserved to live as God and be treated equally with God the Father, but He let it all go and lived into others-first.

-in our case, it might be helpful to remember that we actually deserve two separate outcomes, and both are different than what we get in this life.  for those who are in Christ, we simultaneously 'deserve’ both heaven and hell.  we were designed for and are now once again destined for paradise - and it is instinctive for us to feel that life for us should be perfect.  at the same time we really deserve something far worse than what we ever get in this life - we deserve to pay the penalty for our sins by being forever separated from God and excluded from paradise.  these polar extremes create a context that can and should inform how we think and how we hold onto various expectations and the things that we think we deserve in this life.  

-do i think i have the right to my privacy and my own time and to not have to mess with the messes and complexity and warts of others?  the right to a perfect job or boss or spouse or kids or church or place to live?  the right to live in a clean home and have my food ready for me whenever i want it?  the right to justice and equal treatment while driving a car or when purchasing something?  the right to paradise?  do i deserve to not be sick or hungry or have things break down on me?  do i think and act as though i deserve some kind of paradise here on earth?  as we will see, all complaining and grumbling is actually rooted in this reality.  we grumble and complain when things aren’t right because we were designed and are destined for paradise.  so there is an understandable instinct in play, and yet this life will never live up to those expectations, and we are in fact called to lay aside all those expactations for the sake of others and for the Gospel, just like Jesus.

-at the same time, living into me-first and expecting life to be perfect fails to take into consideration that what i actually deserve is hell.  yes, i was designed for paradise, and it is perfectly understandable that we want and feel like we do deserve life to be perfect, but what i really deserve is to be forever separated from anything and everything that is Perfect and breathtakingly Good and able to thrill and satisfy my deepest needs and desires.  living into others-first and letting go of my expectations and what i think i deserve will be a challenge, to be sure, but it will never be as hard or as bad as getting what i ultimately deserve.  so i must let go of my expectations today.  let go of my perceived rights and the things i think i deserve.  live into and embrace a life of others-first.  i have a long way to go...

Philippians 2:5 - Our Supreme Example

’This be thinking in you what also [was] in Christ Jesus...’

-paul is still talking about the phrén, our mind as it relates to understanding.  but now he sets the bar as high as it can go, giving us the perfect example of how to be focused on others.  we are to be thinking and having the same perception and understanding that Jesus Himself had.  He is our supreme and primary example when it comes to living into others-first others-better.  He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith on Whom we must fix our eyes (heb 12.2).  which points out the fact that in order for us to be able fix our attention on the needs and interests of others, we must first make sure that we are focusing on Jesus.  in order for others to increase, He must increase (jn 3.30).  me-reduction begins with Christ-production, with God’s Spirit producing and re-producing more and more of the life and character and mindset of Christ within me (cf gal 2.20).  me in Christ and Christ in me (col 1.27-28).  and so we must talk about death.  death of self.  death to me, dying to the things of me - this is the journey i must undertake not only just to follow Jesus but also in order to attain to others-first others better (lk 9.23).  i must walk the calvary road, each and every day.  we’re not talking about a scaffold or a gallows, a place of public execution.  no, this execution chamber is my mind.

-it is the ultimate paradox.  we come to Jesus to find life.  we were never made to taste death, we want desperately to avoid death, and we come to Jesus because He is the One Who conquered death and offers us life forever (jn 11.25-26).  and yet the path He invites us to follow is the via dolorosa, the road that led to golgotha, the place of the skull, the hill of execution to where Jesus dragged the very cross on which He would die and in doing so gave us the ultimate example of dying to self and living into others-first others-better.  He understood that true life is found not in trying to hold on to it but rather in losing it, in giving it away (lk 17.33, mk 8.35). 

-so, what was Jesus thinking exactly?

-regardless, to the extent that i am to be thinking the same as Jesus, i definitely have a long ways to go...

Philippians 2:4 - Look out!

’...not the [things] of themselves each watching but rather each the [things] of others.’ 

-here’s the deal.  practically every modern translation modifies what paul wrote to say, 'don't only look out for yourselves but also look out for others.'  but that dumbs down the impact of the original language.  the greek does not have the word ‘only’ or ‘merely’, and the oldest manuscripts do not have the word ‘also’.  the use of those words in this verse have the effect of creating space for the reader to pay attention to themselves.  apparently the folks who copied the earliest manuscripts and those who have later worked on our various modern translations of the New Testament felt it necessary to add these words.  which is understandable to a point, because really, who can be expected to not look after their own interests?  it is only reasonable to allow that people need to take care of their own interests while they also look after the interests and needs of others.  but those who have handed down this text to us have truly lowered the bar.  look at the rest of Scripture - the bar is set quite high.  gal 6.2 simply says ‘carry each other’s burdens’ - it doesn’t add the word ‘also’.  rom 15.1-3 tells us to ‘please our neighbor for his good, to build him up, for even Christ did not please Himself’.  it does not say, ‘ALSO please your neighbor’ (the word ’just’ in v. 1 in the NAS - ‘not JUST please ourselves’ - has also been inserted there gratuitously by the translators).  but really it is quite simple - there is no also or and.  the language here is not, watch others AND yourselves.  to be sure, we must take care of ourselves to a certain extent.  but me-first is already our default position, and in this we generally go above and beyond.  we are experts at taking care of our own interests.  for many it is only children and elderly parents who tend to be the primary levers that pry us out of me-first mode.  but here we are simply being exhorted to get our eyes OFF of ourselves.  it’s not ‘merely’ one eye on us and ‘also’ one on others - that is not what paul says.

-the word is skopeo, which is the verb for skopos, which gives us our english word, scope.  it can be a goal or a target, something on which we focus intently.  picture someone with a rifle or a drawn bow, or perhaps a scout or a lookout on a wall with an enemy in sight, and they are looking closely and fixedly at one thing, and it is not themselves.  this is what we are instructed to be doing, getting our gaze off our navels and onto others.

-even the conjunction paul uses points out the contrast.  it means 'but rather' or 'instead'.  not focusing on me, BUT RATHER focusing on others.  INSTEAD of focusing on me, focusing on others.

-it’s like when Jesus is telling peter to follow and love Him and to take care of His sheep, and peter asks Jesus, ‘but what about john?’  and Jesus says don’t worry about him (jn 21.17-22).  don’t worry about that other thing.  right now i want you to focus on this one thing, this one thing i am asking you to do.  paul is making no concession whatsoever about looking out for ourselves.  he is simply saying, you don’t need to worry about your own interests right now - don’t look at them.  just get your eyes off yourself and think about others, look at them and at their needs instead.  and if the whole body of Christ actually did this - look out!

-practically speaking, why would someone even want to consider jettisoning their me-first mindset?  me-first not ony bars my access to heaven, it also shuts down the encroachment of heaven upon the earth.  me-first can suffice in solitary confinement or on a deserted island perhaps, at least for a short while, but one is definitely the loneliest number, and as long as i make it all about me in a broken world, i will ultimately be sadly disappointed.  and once i throw in other people who are also wired for me-first, things spiral downward in haste.  we all want paradise, peace and love, those peaceful easy feelings, those good vibrations, right?  ‘they were naked and unashamed’, no hiding, no hurling - that was paradise.  not merely a place of beauty but one of beautiful relationships - encouragement, giving, helping, sharing, patience, honesty, acceptance, forgiveness, faithfulness, trust, kindness.  but me-first shuts down every last drop of that.

-Lord, please don’t let me move beyond this passage and forget about it, such that it just fades into the background like so many of the great truths i have read about and studied and filed away.  don’t let me look away unchanged and just keep on living as the same old self-centered, me-first me-better donkey i’ve always been.  please work in me today, and tomorrow and the next day.  yes, God, do what it takes to reduce me so that i can truly see and focus on the needs of my fellow believers and really live into others-first others-better.  i have a long, long way to go...

Philippians 2:3 - A Radical Me-Reduction

’...nothing according to self-seeking nor according to vainglory but rather by lowmindedness ruling one another [as] exceeding themselves...’

-me-first, me-better.  that is the default position for the sons of adam and daughters of eve.  in this verse, self-seeking is eritheia, a base self-seeking which is unable shift its gaze to higher things.  this person is only in it for themselves.  me first.  paul used it in phil 1.17 to describe those who were only thinking of themselves as they thought to cause him trouble somehow by preaching the Gospel.  vainglory is kenodoxia, from kenos (empty), and doxia (glory).  it is a delusional and overblown sense of self-worth.  me better.  as we consider the importance of the understanding mind (phren) in relationships and functioning within the Body, paul is calling out any attitude of me-first-me-better, and saying, get rid of any hint of such thoughts, understand that there is no place for that mindset in the Body of Christ. 

-and the greek simply says ‘nothing’.  most versions render it as ‘do/doing nothing’.  some commentators suggest it should be ‘thinking nothing’.  but it is simply nothing.  ‘nothing from me-first-me-better...’  there is to be no room or quarter given to any hint of me-first, me-better in our thoughts or actions.  and in order for this to happen, each one of us definitely needs some radical soul-surgery, a me-ectomy.  not a full ectomy per se - more of a me-reduction... a radical me-reduction.

-yes indeed, because instead there is to be lowmindedness.  the word is tapeinophrosyné, from tapeinos, which describes something lowly or even servile, and phrén, which we have already seen denotes our mind and understanding.  this lowly perspective must take the lead (hégeomai, which is the initiative/decision of a leader - cf mt 2.6, lk 22.26) to decide to relate to others as though they are better than me.  the word is hyperecho, which means to hold over.  it describes something that towers over or stands out above something else, particularly in an elevated position or in one of power.  it is the position of a king or others in authority (rom 13.1, 1tim 2.2, 1pet 2.13).  we are talking about a conscious attitude of considering my fellow believers in Christ as being better than me, relating to them as though they are a king or queen, treating them with respect and courtesy and deference.  what if Christ-followers treated each other like royalty?  and it’s not that i treat them like a fellow monarch.  it is as though they are the monarch, and i am not.  others better.

-one might ask, to what extent am i to extend this royal treatment to unbelievers?  paul gives us no hint here.  elsewhere in Scripture we see that believers are to be good loving neighbors who meet needs, defending the defenseless, helping the helpless, respectful and submitting to all those in authority, honoring others esp the king (1pet 2.17, rom 13.7).  and yet we don’t really find the same level and quality of self-abandonment.

-but the paradox in the greek here is really fascinating - i am to make a ruling (in my mind at least) - just like a king or queen would - that my fellow Christ-followers are the real kings and queens.  i get off my throne and put them on it.  others better.  i have a long, long way to go...

Philippians 2:2 - One-souled

’...fill up my joy in order that you may be thinking the same, the same love having, souls together, the one thinking...’ 

-we know that paul has joy.  he told us about the joy he has in thinking about the philippians involvement in the Gospel and as this Good News about Jesus is being proclaimed.  so we have already seen that paul’s joy was tied to the spread of the Gospel.  here he exhorts the philippians to fill up his joy.  this is the main command of this particular section.  and it is totally safe to assume that what will give him full joy is tied to the forward progress of the Gospel in hearts and lives of these in philippi and elsewhere as well as among people(s) who haven’t heard or have no access to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

-now if paul’s joy is connected to how these believers in philippi are doing and on how the Gospel is moving forward, it makes total sense that what will fill up his joy is for these believers to channel all the things he just mentioned in the previous verse towards each other such that their own relationships show off the magnificent power and goodness of the Gospel and its ability to transform lives.  it’s not just about them having their fire insurance or having a good mano-a-mano vertical relationship with God.  paul is saying that they need to let the Lord make their relationships with each other so full of encouragement and love and sharing and caring that it totally enhances the way in which they come together and work together for the cause of Christ.

-what paul gives us is an application of phil 1.27, where the philippians are to be competing together in one spirit and one soul for the faith of the Gospel.  we’re talking about lives and conduct which are worthy of this Great Message and which are conducive to its spread.  now all the divine resources which the Lord has put at our disposal in the previous verse are to be employed to safeguard and grow unity of minds and hearts and focus among believers.  remember that oneness in the Body of Christ is produced automatically by God’s Spirit and must be guarded and preserved by God’s people (eph 4.3, 1cor 1.10), who determine to love each other in spite of their differences (1cor 8.1, col 3.14).  this is completely consistent with the new command which Jesus gave in jn 13.35 - ‘by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’  like Jesus, paul here is linking the forward progress of the Gospel to a manifestation of the selfless agapé love that those who follow Him show to one another.

-so, what does this love actually look like in the body?  does it look like absence of conflict?  everybody just getting along and being surfacy-nice to each other one day a week?  on the contrary, there is a shared passion for Jesus and a united commitment to the spread of His Gospel.  there is readiness to give and a mutual concern for the well-being of other believers, particularly those within our local assembly.  there is life-involvement that produces an awareness of needs and results in generous giving of time and sharing of resources to eliminate them.  there is Holy Spirit-empowered encouragement and comfort and speaking words that give life and build up and spur others on to love and good deeds.  it is people who really care about each other, people who love to be with each other (more than just a couple of hours a week), people who believe in each other and give grace to each other and forgive each other and who come together to get through hard times together.  it is people who really love Jesus working tirelessly side by side to help others learn to love Jesus, to give them a glimpse of His unbelievably breathtaking goodness, to be a blessing to their neighbors and to the nations.  it is people who put aside what they want or think they deserve and put the needs and wants of others before their own.  like Jesus did, as we shall read.

-so paul is saying, you guys are in the game with me, and the Gospel is going forward, and this is great, but now, fill up my joy by letting the Lord totally transform your relationships with one another, SO THAT you can really be united and focused on loving the Lord and on living to make Him famous.

-take note of the role of the mind, our thought life.  paul twice here uses the verb phroneo, which refers to the activity of the phrén, the perceiving mind or understanding (as opposed to the nous, which is the thinking mind).  the verb will be used again in phil 2.5 where paul exhorts us to have the same phroneo as Jesus.  it is important for us to understand the significance of the phrén both as it relates to the progress of the Gospel as well as the role it plays in all of life.  the activity of the phrén is certainly core to following and devotion to Christ (phil 3.13-15, col 3.1-2).  but for the greek, good phroneo (i.e. the act of perceiving and understanding well) is THE source of virtue.  plato actually considered phronésis (understanding) to be the chief virtue.  all culture is linked to it, to our mind and the proper/healthy exercise thereof.  it is a divine gift that should guide society and leaders and which directs the mind toward immortality.  for His part, God’s phronésis is unsearchable (is 40.28).  phroneo is how He set up the universe.  and while humans should certainly strive towards good phronésis, phronésis apart from God (fear and awe of Him) becomes arrogance (rom 11.20, rom 12.3), and faulty phroneo (bad understanding) and a-phrosuné (not understanding) are seen as the most elemental of sins (cf phil 3.19, lk 11.40, lk 12.20, mk 7.21-22, mk 8.33, eph 5.17, 1pet 2.15, ps 14.1)(cf gen 6.5, 1chr 28.9, ps 10.4, ps 139.23-24, prov 12.5, prov 23.7, is 55.6-9, is 57.11, is 65.2, lk 2.35, act 17.29, rom 2.14-16, rom 14.5, rom 14.13-14, rom 14.22, 1cor 14.20, 2cor 10.5, heb 4.12-13).  paul repeatedly urges unity of phroneo for those who follow Christ (rom 15.5, 2cor 13.11).  but the outcome of encouraging and comforting and loving and fellowshipping with one another should definitely increase our ability to really unite and focus on making Jesus famous.  one-souled.  we all want most what Jesus wants most, for us to love the Lord with all our hearts and to love each other and our neighbors really well.  i have a long, long way to go.

Philippians 2:1 - Let's get dirty!

”If therefore [there is] any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any sharing of spirit, if any inward parts and mercies...”

-these are all strong ‘heart’ words in the greek.  encouragement is paraklésis.  consolation is paramuthion.  paul also mentions agapé, koinonia, splagchnon and oiktirmon.  these are some very strong words, full of meaning.  and despite the fact that paul leads with the conditional ‘if’ clause, he is not suggesting these concepts are improbabilities for those who are in Christ.  they are very real, and they are powerful.  their conditional nature rests in the fact that they have Christ as their source, and thus they must be drawn from Him.

-paraklésis is God’s comfort.  He is the God of all comfort (2Corinthians 1.3, 2Corinthians 7.6, 2Thessalonians 2.16-17).  the Holy Spirit is in fact the paraklétos (John 16.7), the One God sent to empower and encourage and comfort and help His people (John 16.7, Acts 9.31).  and God also is quite pleased to send and use His people to minister and pass on His comfort to those who need it (2Corinthians 1.4, 2Corinthians 7.7, 1Thessalonians 4.18, 1Thessalonians 5.11, Philemon 7).  in this case, paul is saying that paraklésis is available for those who are in Christ, and that in abundance, as it is meant to be shared.  everyone has a story to tell, something they have gone through or are going through.  our world is broken, and life is full of challenges (cf Genesis 3.17-19).  indeed for many, even getting food is a daily struggle.  and those who follow Christ are meant to be there to help one another keep going.


-encouragement is giving someone support, confidence, hope, giving someone helpful words or resources that stimulate them to do or to continue to do something.  it says to someone, ‘i believe in you!’ talk about a way to keep someone going!  paul says IF there is encouragement in Christ.  you know what, there should be no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it.  this should be a no-brainer.  too often we are critical or complaining or just silent, withholding encouragement, often without even realizing it.  God’s people should be at the ready and over the top in this area, ready with words that affirm and build up and do not tear down, words that reinforce that which is good, words that bless and give life, words that express appreciation or sympathy.  in this sense, we are not just the hands and feet of Jesus but also the mouth.  WE are the ones He most likely intends to use to encourage and comfort His people.  in our roles as parents, spouses, children, bosses, employees, leaders, followers, teachers, students, customers - words are powerful things.  use them carefully.  use them generously.  encourage the ones closest to you.  encourage those who work hard for you.  encourage people in what they like to do.  encourage, help, comfort - this is a powerful way to minister to others, and there should be no if’s about it.

-paramuthion can also be comfort.  we see it given particularly to people who are grieving or fainthearted (John 11.19, 1Thessalonians 5.14).  in this case, the comfort is delivered on the wings of love, agapé love which has its source in God as well.  this giving, selfless love which reaches out to those who are hurting comes only from God and is seen (or should be seen) in the lives of those who are walking with Christ.  it is certainly able to provide whatever consolation is needed for those who are hurting or struggling in any way.

-koinonia, that sharing and common-unity which is produced by God’s Spirit as His people gather together, is both rich and intoxicating (Psalm 55.14, Psalm 133.1-3).  but it requires that God’s people actually spend time together, pray and study God’s Word and worship together, do life and ministry together.  the root idea is that something is dirty because it has been shared.  it means that God’s people get dirty together, sharing the dirt of life and of their souls with one another, carrying each other’s unbearable burdens (cf Acts 2.42-47), etc.  it is not just having a meal together every once and a while, altho those times can be very enjoyable.  it takes more than just a semi-regular Bible discussion.  it is an ongoing journey of joint perseverance and giving and caring and celebration.

-splagchnon and oiktirmon are both feeling words, the former specifically refering to the bowels or inward parts, and the latter describing the feeling one has (or should have) on seeing the misery of another.  these words together signify feelings of affection and caring and compassion for others, for their needs and struggles, and in this case particularly for others in the body of Christ.

-taken together these words form a powerful description of caring and loving relationships within the body of Christ.  they clearly have God as their source, so when ongoing fellowship with the Lord is lacking, of course these qualities will also be lacking.  but paul knows that these things are readily available to the believers in philippi, and he has something in mind for how they are to be used, as we will see.  the question for me is, do i see these qualities in my life and am i using them with fellow believers?  am i aware of how others in the body of Christ are doing and feeling?  do i even take the time to stop and ask them how they are really doing and listen to their answer?  do i validate their feelings and really want to do something that will comfort them?  do i even care or am i too busy or too caught up in what is going on with me?  and then do i even get the dirt of their souls on mine?  am i willing to get dirty with folks who are different from me or with whom i don't get along?  do i actively pursue and engage with my fellow Christ-followers in ways that help them get up and keep going, or do i initiate with them only because i am supposed to or when i need something from them?

i have a long, long way to go... but God's is good and His grace is sufficient!

Philippians 1:30 - Don't waste this...

"...having the same agony, such as you saw in me and now are hearing in me."

-paul knew something of suffering, this second gift of grace.  he was no stranger to it.  in fact, it would appear from paul’s new testament letters that suffering and paul were constant companions.

-the word paul uses to describe his experience is actually agon, which gives us the english word, agony.  it describes laboring and struggling and striving, especially in the face of some significant obstacle or opposition (luke 22.44, 1corinthians 9.25, colossians 1.29, colossians 2.1, colossians 4.12, 1thessalonians 2.2, 1timothy 4.10, 1timothy 6.12, hebrews 12.1).  it is a race.  it is a wrestling match.  it is a fight, and in many ways the battle ground is internal.  there is a wrestling match in our hearts and wills as we are faced with the prospect of following hard after the One Whose own path led to the Cross (luke 9.23), Who Himself was betrayed and abandoned by His friends and rejected and beaten and killed by those who opposed Him.  there is an internal battle to be waged and won in order to hold onto joy not only in the face of opposition but also in the midst of a broken and dying world.

-paul mentions that the philippians had seen paul experiencing agony, or conflict.  we read about this in acts 16.19-24, where paul and silas while in philippi were beaten and thrown in prison without a trial.  but we see their Gospel-worthy conduct in acts 16.25-32.  in the midst of extreme adversity and suffering, paul and silas stood firmly together and chose the path of gratitude and trust.  they were filled with joy as a result.  not only were they focused on the Lord, but they were also able to focus on others, on their felt needs as well as on their need for the Good News.

-and as paul was now again in chains for the sake and cause of Christ, these believers in philippi had heard about and had responded to help and encourage paul, as we will read in chapter 4.

-but the greater point in this verse is that these philippian believers were having the same agon that paul was having.  no doubt it was one thing for them to see someone else having agon, but it was another thing altogether to actually have the barrel of opposition turned on them.  now they were having the opportunity to live into hardship in ways that showed off the breathtaking goodness of God.  they were being given the chance to choose the path of joy and faithfulness and obedience no matter what they were going through, and even if it meant giving up their lives.  theirs was the chance to boldly live for Christ in unity and exalt Him in their bodies, to pour out all they had in laboring fruitfully in His cause, to struggle mightily together for the progress of the Good News in their own lives and among the nations.

-this same opportunity is handed down to us today.  each and every day is a new gift, a chance to live for Christ, to live a life that is actually worthy of such a sacrifice, such a cause.  ours is the same admonition which tom hanks delivered to private ryan:  dont waste this.  don’t squander the gracious opportunities that God gives you to hold onto and show off glimpses of His breathtaking goodness to a broken world.  don’t get bogged down in grumbling and complaining and navel-gazing and pining for greener pastures.  give the world the chance to see that you are convinced that God is really good, that the Gospel really is Good News, that there is hope and joy and caring community even in the midst of hardship and brokenness.  Don’t.  Waste.  This.

Philippians 1.29 - God's gracious gifts...

"Because to you it was granted on behalf of Christ, not only to be trusting unto Him, but rather also to be suffering on behalf of Him."

paul mentions two grace gifts, two ways that God has shown His mercy and undeserved favor to those who follow Jesus.  the first is that He gave them faith in the first place.  faith is a gift.  it is not something we earn.  it is not something at which we arrive completely on our own.  Scripture makes it quite clear that trusting in the Lord it is not something which someone can do without the kind enabling of God’s grace (cf acts 5.31, acts 11.18, romans 2.4, 2timothy 2.25, ephesians 2.5, ephesians 2.8).  but this first grace gift is one that most are glad to receive.  the second, however, is rather more dubious.  paul says that suffering is a gift.  it is a favor of sorts, a gracious gift from the Lord which He gives to those who receive that first gift of faith (matthew 5.10-11).  the word is pascho.  it is the word which Jesus and the NT writers used repeatedly to describe what He experienced on and leading up to the cross (matthew 16.21, luke 24.46, acts 3.18, hebrews 2.18, 1peter 2.23).  He was the paschal (Passover) Lamb of God, the One God sent to be sacrificed to pay for the sins of the entire world (genesis 22.8, exodus 12.21-22, isaiah 53.7, john 1.29, 1peter 1.19).  and for those who follow Jesus, suffering is normative (2timothy 3.12).  Jesus Himself promised it (john 15.20).  it is not only a litmus test of sorts (cf romans 8.17 - true faith which is God-given will outlast any oppostition), but it is the part of the heritage of the people God chooses.  history is replete with an innumerable list of souls who have suffered for/as a result of their faith in the God of abraham, isaac, and jacob.  some are household names.  many are known only to the One Who rejoices to be called their God (hebrews 11.32-38).  it is actually said that more people were killed in the 20th century because they were following Christ than in the previous 19 centuries combined, and the trend continues.  read about it at www.persecution.com.  suffering for the Name of Jesus, for the sake of Jesus, is guaranteed for those who follow Him, but so is ultimate victory (luke 21.12-19, romans 8.35-37).  sadly, many of God’s people in the west know very little of this second gift of grace.  while a post-modern, humanistic, pluralistic, relativistic, narcissistic ethos increasingly prevades the cultural landscape, the church is mostly prosperous, mildly accepted (and/or dismissed), and very comfortable.  would it be fair to even suggest that at some level if the world is not pushing back, then God’s people are perhaps not pushing hard enough? 

and there is yet another way in which suffering can be seen by believers as a gracious gift from God.  remember that we were designed and are destined for paradise.  we are bent and driven towards comfort and ease.  we want trees full of low-hanging fruit, all our ducks in a row, and everything to go according to plan.  we want to live in the promised land.  we long for life that is free from pain and trial and hardship.  what that really is, however, is a dangerous place to be in this life.  it is in fact a life which is devoid of opportunities to really trust the Lord for His power and provision.  the normal challenges and extra-ordinary challenges of life are in fact God-given gifts of grace that provide us with new opportunities to be on our knees and kept at a place where we are essentially forced to trust wholly in the Lord and lean on Him for wisdom and strength and provision.  a life which is devoid of these challenges, a life devoid of suffering and need would be paradise, to be sure, but in this life it would allow us too much room to cease depending on the Lord for daily bread.  “give us this day our daily bread” is more than just a mantra - it reflects a life and a heart which is remaining at an appropriately high level of trust and abiding and dependence.  so watch out!  (deuteronomy 6.4-13)  is my life hard today?  am i facing an extraordinary challenge of some kind?  this is in fact a gracious gift from the Lord in the form of an opportunity to trust Him and lean more fully into Him for wisdom and power and provision.  and it is why we are able to not only rejoice always and thank God IN every circumstance (1thessalonians 5.16-18) but also thank Him FOR every circumstance (cf philippians 4.6-7).  this level of gratitude recognizes these grace-gifts and also demonstrates our trust in the Lord - in His sovereignty and power, in His goodness, that He knows what He’s doing and is faithfully working out the good plan He has for our lives (cf psalm 139.13-16).  oh, for the grace to live more fully into this truth every day.  i have a long, long way to go.

Philippians 1:28 - Don't get spooked

"...and not being spooked in no way by the [ones] opposing, which is to them proof of destruction, but of your salvation, and this from God."

-so, those who follow Jesus and are living out an obsession with Him by standing together and striving together for the faith of the Good News about Him should also not be at all afraid when they encounter opposition to this faith, to the spread of this faith, much less resistance to the very existence of the Empire of Heaven itself.  there is in fact an ancient enemy waging a long war against God - millenia ago he rebelled and was kicked out of heaven down to earth (isaiah 14.12, luke 10.18), whence he has endeavored to establish a dominion of darkness and direct it in a losing battle against the kingdom of light and against the God Who made him (cf daniel 10.8-13, 10.18-21, john 12.31, colossians 1.13, ephesians 6.12).  we are told that he wants to steal, kill, and destroy (john 10.10).  he has blinded the eyes of billions who he is holding captive to do what he wants (ephesians 2.2, acts 26.18, 2timothy 2.26).  he is a clever deceiver and a pathological liar who is bent on tempting people into joining in his rebellion against God (john 8.44, 2john 7, revelation 12.9, cf genesis 3.1-5, matthew 4.1).  he raises up arguments and opposition against the knowledge of God (2corinthians 10.5) and tries to accuse believers and discourage them from devotion to the Lord (cf job 1.6-12, zechariah 3.1, luke 22.31, 1timothy 3.6-7, revelation 12.10).  he wants to scare them into timidity and devour them (1peter 5.8).  there will even be a short time when he will be given temporary authority to wage war against God’s people (revelation 12.12, revelation 13.5-7).  thus there is the incomparable significance of the Good News which Jesus and those who follow Him bring to the world (luke 4.18, luke 5.10, matthew 4.18), and also the need for God’s people to stand together and resist the temptation to give in to fear and run away (ecclesiastes 4.12, ephesians 6.11, 6.13, james 4.7, 1peter 5.9).  truly, greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world (job 1.11-12, 2corinthians 10.4, 1john 4.4, 2timothy 1.7, romans 8.31), because those who trust in Jesus are in fact overcomers.  they are destined for victory! (romans 12.21, 1john 2.14, 5.4-5, revelation 2.7, 2.11, 3.5, 12.11)

-the word paul uses for spooked is pturo, and is only found here in the NT.  it describes the terror experienced by a startled horse.  

(observations from a lifelong horse lover:
    -you never really know what will/might spook a horse (i.e. they spook easily)
    -their reaction when spooked might be to run, jump, or even plant their feet.  they might then turn to face the object with eyes bulging and nostrils flaring
    -TRUST IN THE RIDER HELPS REDUCE SPOOKING!!! (“when i first got annie she would not EVER walk over water. after a while she went anywhere i asked her to”)
    -desensitizing/exposing to many different stimuli helps reduce spooking

a spooked horse will run, or will perhaps fight and rear and kick if it cannot run, but to be sure, it is a flight animal.  they instinctively sense danger and avoid it.  when spooked a horse is unmanageable, and even dangerous to be around - it is definitely unable to serve its master while in that spooked state.  similarly, the instinctive response of believers who encounter opposition while sharing their faith and even just while following Jesus can be to run away, and in that state they of course will not be useful to the Master.  no doubt the opposition faced by those who followed Christ in philippi could have been deadly, as it would still be in many places around the world today.  it would of course be natural for someone to try and avoid a situation which could cost them their life.  even in contemporary western society, where opposition is not likely to be deadly, the temptation is to shrink back from declaring the truth of the Gospel and from standing for Jesus.  paul says don’t do it.  don’t shrink back.  don’t be spooked by those who oppose your attempts to follow Jesus or to tell others about Him.  don’t run away from opportunities to help others learn about Jesus.  AND trust your Rider!  if Jesus is your Rider, give Him the reins - give Him free rein.  He really is in control, He knows what He is doing, He will supply whatever strength is needed to get through it all, and He is working it all for good.

-now, paul gives another reason why God’s people should not be spooked.  he says that the reality of opposition is proof positive (from God Himself) of two things - it is proof that those who are being opposed in following Jesus have definitely been saved, and it is proof that those who are doing the opposing are definitely heading for destruction.  in other words, for those who are living out an obsession with Jesus and spreading the Message of the Empire-Kingdom of Heaven, when they encounter opposition, they can rest assured that they are on the right team - the winning team, and the ones who are standing in opposition to believers - persecuting them, hindering the spread of the Message, etc - they are most assuredly on the wrong team, the one which will ultimately lose.