Get your shine on

Context is king

Emphasize this in light of “therefore” This means that Paul is drawing conclusions based on the argument that he just presented.

What does it mean to “workout your salvation?”

One way that this passage is understood is that “Salvation should be understood more loosely, as meaning well being or something like that, and that fear and trembling means we should be humble toward one another. This would mean that Paul is commanding the Philippioain Church to make sure that they hav good relationships with each other. THis fits with the theme of Philippians, however, The text does not seem to be saying that.

This is not very convincing

This is sanctification, but what in the text clues us into that?

The word therefore means that Paul is drawing conclusions based on v5. In addition, working out salvation appears to be expounding obeying in v 12.

Paul is exhorting the Philippians to keep doing what they have always been doing by obeying and becoming more like Christ.

Take a closer look at “working out salvation”

What clues does this give us about obeying God?

How Paul says it here makes it clear that it takes effort to pursue salvation. Paul is keeping up the same themes of unity and service. v 12 is the exhortation that Paul is giving the Philippian church based on everything that he has told them from 2:1-2:8

This is great, but how do we actually make our lives look more Christ like. It is easy to say that we want to be more like Christ, but it is difficult to actually know what steps to take to obey better.

This looks like the slow, every day dedication to living for God. This means that we are praying and readign our Bible every day. Coming to Church, resisting temptation.

A little Greek: In the Greek, work out is a plural verb, which shows that Paul is also building on the unity of the Church that he has been emphasizing before now.

What exactaly does “work out” mean.

Philippians 1:27 CSB

Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel,

One commentator notes here that Paul is saying that the Philippians should be living in a manner fitting the Gospel. It is wrong to say that we work for our Salvation, and God meets us half way as Paul points out in verse 13

Devotional note on this: This is a command to every Christian in the church to pursue sanctification together. This is both terrifying and relieving. This means that we can confess our sins to one another without fear. (Make a point about how we are all sinners equally, that we cant hold each others sin over one another. We all need each other.

Now: Why fear and trembling?

Proverbs 9:10 CSB

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

We should understand who God is as a motivation for our obedience

When we understand who God is, and the Salvation that he has given to us, we

HOW CAN WE DO THIS?

Paul porceeds into his next section by giving believers the practiacl steps on how to work out their salvation.

He begins by saying to do this without grumblling and arguing

Who in the Bible is known for their grumbling?

Exodus 14:12 CSB

Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

We wont look at all the other passages about Israel complaining because we would e here all night.

The point is that We have an example of God’s people complaining, and we also see from that example of how God responds to that complaining.

It is important to remember this becaus of how difficult the Christian life can be. Of anyone, Paul knows this the best. He knows the temptaion to complain and to grumble. However, he makes it clear that we need to not grumble

One point is that the Church is God’s people now in Christ. So we ought to learn from the mistakes of our Spiritual anscestors.

Philippians Redeem the Witness of Disobedient Israel (2:14–16a)

The Philippians should, in fear and trembling, not presume upon their salvation but instead take measures to quell the dissension in their midst.

Moreover, Moses describes the Israelites who complained against God as a crooked generation

Deuteronomy 32:4–5 CSB

The Rock—his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true. His people have acted corruptly toward him; this is their defect—they are not his children but a devious and crooked generation.

The Israelites were supposed to be the stars that shone into a dark world, but they failed at this. They were as dark and crooked as the rest of the world. However, now the Church can succeed where Israel failed. We can be the beacons of Gospel shining into the darkness of the world.

THe church is the fulfilment of Isa 49:6

Isaiah 49:6 CSB

he says, “It is not enough for you to be my servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

What is the main point that Pau lis trying to reach? It is that the church do everything without grumbling. He is reminding them that there is eschatological significance to not complaining.

Why is this so important? What do people think about Christians?

They think what ever they see. Christians have a certain reputation because people see “Christians” behaving in a certain way. How we behave affects the reputation of Christians and by extent, Christ. If people see that CHristians are ungrateful and that they complain and are selfish, what does that say about Christ? If, however, poeople see that Christians do not fail in the way that the Israelites did, it shows the mercy and power of Christ in salvation. It shows that we have found something that is worth giving up worldly ways for.

v. 16 serves as a contrast to v. 14. If we are holding on to the Gospel message, then we are not complaining, This is best done with the end goal in mind. This is why Paul endures the trials and labors that he does. He remembers the end goal is the Day of the Lord. This remembrance gives him endurance when his opponents attack him and when he is persecuted.

v 17-18

These are when Paul reminds the Philippians that what he is saying is validated by his own life. Paul has lived through the greatest suffering, and has been the most effective missionary, and throughout it all, he did not complain. Rather, he remembered the end goal of presenting himself as pleasing to Christ.

This is what he means as a drink offering, he was persecuted and he suffered for the sake of Christ, and even so, he rejoiced

Because of the realities of verses 5-8, we are called to something greater. We should not behave like the world, rahter, we should follow the example of our Master.