Gospel Personified

Introduction:

(Huffington post) Dean Winters ― who for years has played “Mayhem,” the walking whirlwind of chaos in Allstate insurance commercials ― knows plenty about the unexpected that can befall a person in real life. He plays everything from a mother-in-law to your cat, or St Bernard Dog or whatever......These commercials like many others like show us the manifestation of mayhem.

We live in a world that sin is being exposed for what it is. When we see according to

Galatians 5:19–21 NASB95

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 NASB95

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

This is nothing but mayhem personified.

(looper.com article) Winters almost didn't make those Mayhem ads. First off, after his medical nightmare, he had to re-learn how to walk. "I was feeling sorry for myself — I had lost toes and half a thumb and the tip of my nose fell off — and this nurse took me to the children's burn unit," Winters recalled. "I saw these eight kids with prosthetic legs playing soccer and I thought, 'That's it.' That's the moment when I turned everything around and decided to learn how to walk again."

Dean was able to learn from the example of the children how to learn to walk again, we can learn to walk

from the example of the gospel as written in the book of Philippians...

Philippi was the first city in Europe in which Paul ministered the Gospel. His experience in jail as reported in Acts 16 climaxed his initial ministry in the city, but his ministry to the Philippians continued on through Paul's lifetime. The epistle to the Philippians reflects a great deal of affection by Paul for the believers in Philippi who were his first converts in Europe. ----------------------------

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 1

By the time Paul arrived to preach the gospel (around AD 50), the city’s culture and institutions would have been decidedly Roman, with civic power concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of elites who owned property in the surrounding countryside. These estates and farms would have been served by a large underclass that lived mainly in the city—non-Roman laborers, tradesmen, and service workers. Unlike many cities that Paul visited (e.g., Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Thessalonica, Ephesus), Philippi does not seem to have had a synagogue. Neither the text of Acts 16 nor the book of Philippians indicate a Jewish community (aside from several God-fearing women meeting for prayer outside the city; Acts 16:13).

Christ, the believer's life rejoicing in spite of suffering (1:1-30)

Salutation (1:1-7)

Joy triumphing over suffering (1:8-30)

Christ the believer's pattern, rejoicing in lowly service (2:1-30)

Exhortation to unity and meekness (2:1-4)

The sevenfold self-humbling of Christ (2:5-8)

The exaltation of Jesus (2:9-11)

The outworking of the inworked salvation (2:12-16)

More exhortations for Christian conduct are given in this chapter with the example of Christ as the pattern of conduct. The largest part of the chapter addresses the anticipation of Paul's visit and the high character of two of his associates whom he is sending ahead to prepare for the visit. Philippians 2 may be divided into four major parts as follows:

The Conforming to the Gospel (Philippians 2:1-4)

The Christ of the Gospel (Philippians 2:5-11)

The Conduct of the Gospel (Philippians 2:12-18)

The Companions in the Gospel (Philippians 2:19-30)

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 2

2:1–11 Paul encourages the Philippians to continue practicing love and humility among one another (Phil 2:1–4). This topic leads into the hymn of vv. 5–11, which praises Jesus as the ultimate example of self-emptying love. This hymn might have been composed by Paul, or it could be from an early Christian liturgy

Point #1-The Exhortation About the Conduct v12

(Philippians 2:12) "As ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

This text is a general summary statement made about the expressing of Gospel conduct in one's life

. • The persistency in the expression. "As ye have always obeyed" (Philippians 2:12). This is the only kind of obedience that is acceptable. The Philippian believers were a rare bunch, but they were not doing anything that was abnormal. This type of behavior should be normal among believers.

• The place of the expression. "Not as in my presence only" (Philippians 2:12). We have seen this emphasis before in Philippians 1:27. Most people can improve their behavior when the minister is present, but to behave properly, whether he is present or not, has a lot to do with the genuineness of one's faith. Believers are to behave godly regardless of the place in which they happen to be or the people around them.

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Exhort

ex•hort \ig-ˈzȯrt\ verb

[Middle English, from Anglo-French exorter, from Latin exhortari, from ex- + hortari to incite—more at YEARN] verb transitive 15th century: to incite by argument or advice: urge strongly 〈exhorting voters to do the right thing〉 verb intransitive: to give warnings or advice:

It is from the great semonic gospel hymn of Phil 2: 5-11 that we see the Gospel presented to our conscious. Your mind or conscious tells the will what to do. Your will commands the body…For the Christian( Read below)

My Utmost for His Highest June 6th—Work out What God Works In

Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a disposition which renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord is presented to the conscience, the first thing conscience does is to rouse the will, and the will always agrees with God. You say—‘But I do not know whether my will is in agreement with God.’ Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time.

High Definition Commentary: Philippians 2:12–18

So what exactly does fear and trembling really mean? Does it mean outright fear or just simple respect? When we bought our first house, there were some issues with the electrical panels that needed to be fixed before our loan would be approved. Being sort of a handy person and wanting to save some money, I decided to do the work myself. It involved installing a new circuit breaker box. The day of the project, the power company came to disconnect the power and said they would come back at 4:00 PM to hook it back up. The linemen explained to me the consequences of touching the 220 volt cables, wished me well, and then drove off. The cold sweat and knot in my stomach demonstrated my fear. It was not a debilitating fear, but one that drove me to pay the utmost attention to what I was doing—to make sure I did exactly what was expected of me. The fear was grounded (pun intended) in an accurate view of my limitations and what 220 volts could do to me.

• The performing in the expression. "Work out your own salvation" (Philippians 2:12). This does not teach salvation by works. It speaks not of working in but of working out one's salvation, not of acquiring but of expressing, not of obtaining but of proclaiming. It means to perform according to your faith. It means to let your salvation show in your conduct.

• The piousness in the expression. "With fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). This is a holy respect for God which should motivate our conduct. The godless today laugh and mock the holy commands of God, but wise men tremble before the holy commands of God lest they should fail to honor them.

The NET Bible

The translation “awe and reverence” was chosen to portray the attitude the believer should have toward God as they consider their behavior in light of God working through Jesus Christ (2:6–11) and in the believer’s life (2:13) to accomplish their salvation.

Psalm 1:1–6 NASB95

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.

Proverbs 1:7 NASB95

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Point #2. The Enabling (for the Conduct )(Philippians 2:13)

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Enable

en•able \i-ˈnā-bəl\ verb transitive

en•abled; en•abling \-b(ə-)liŋ\ 15th century

1 a: to provide with the means or opportunity 〈training that enables people to earn a living〉

b: to make possible, practical, or easy 〈a deal that would enable passage of a new law〉

c: to cause to operate 〈software that enables the keyboard〉

2: to give legal power, capacity, or sanction to 〈a law enabling admission of a state〉

Jeremiah 18:6 NASB95

6 “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

Isaiah 64:8 NASB95

8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.

We get our English word "energy" from the Greek word translated "worketh." This text informs us about the enabling for living Gospel conduct.

And in some ways, God looks at us like that, especially when we are young.  He can take us as an unformed, slightly gooey mess and make us into a masterpiece!  Back in Bible days, they didn’t have playdoh, but they did have something even more descriptive of what God wants from our lives…

Isaiah 64:8 (ESV Strong’s)

But now, O Lord, you are our Father;

we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

If we are like clay in the hands of an expert Potter, then He can make us into anything He wants us to be.

GOD SEES THE POTENTIAL

Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV Strong’s)

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

When God looks at you, He doesn’t see you the way you see you.

When we look at ourselves, or at others for that matter, we see the raw, flawed materials.  When we look at each other, or when we stand in front of the mirror, the person looking back seems far from perfect, far from worthy and nowhere near greatness. We are born as sinners, and some of us through our lives have sinned more than others, but all of us are sinners.

But God, when He looks at us, looks through the muck and mire and rubbish and He sees the great things we could become. He looks at a piece of dirt and sees a pot, or a vase or a plate. He has plans for each of our lives. Plans to prosper us, plans to give us a wonderful future, a hope and a destiny.

You are not a mistake, you are not a failure, and when you are a child it is easier to believe that God has a plan and hope for you than when you are an adult. The great advantage of being grown up is that you know how to mess your life up good and proper!

• The Source of the enabling. "It is God which worketh in you." The person who fears he cannot live the Christian life will especially be encouraged by this text that he will be given Divine help to live the Christian life. God enables one to live a holy life. It is the only way one can live a holy life.

• The specifics of the enabling. Paul cites two particular things which God does for us to help us "do of his [God's] good pleasure" which is doing God's will.

First, the desire in the enabling. "To will." God puts the desire in you to live a holy life. The ungodly do not have any desire to live godly. Rather, they want to do evil.

Second, the dynamic in the enabling. "And to do." This is the power, the dynamic for doing the will of God, for living a holy life. God not only puts the desire in us to live right, but He also puts the dynamic in us to enable us to live right.

Philippians 1:6 NASB95

6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

High Definition Commentary: Philippians 2:12–18

Philippians 4:13 (LEB): I am able to do all things by the one who strengthens me.

John 15:5 (LEB): I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him—this one bears much fruit, for apart from me you are not able to do anything.

Psalms 139:14-16 (ESV Strong’s)

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Today, even if you feel worthless, overlooked, feel like a mistake or you feel like a failure, God sees the potential in you, and He focuses on His desire to create something beautiful out of your life.