Work it Out!

Philippians 2:12-16

The New International Version (1984) Shining as Stars

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold outa the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

Bacground to the Text:

a). The origins of the church at Philippi:

Paul ministered to the Philippians in Macedonia in Europe, during his second Missionary journey, spending about 3 months in the city. (see Acts 16:22-34).

Lydia was one of the first convets here, a buisnesswoman who opened her home to Paul and his coworkers and led a church in her own home (Acts 16:13-15).

Also you might remember that the jailer of the city was converted miraculously whilst Paul and Silas languished in prison (Acts 16:22-24) and following him the whole of his household and undoubtely many of his friends and neighbours, due to his testimony.

b). The reason for the letter:

This is often referred as a prison epistle (along with Ephesians;Colossians and Philemon), writen probably from Rome in AD 61-62.

This letter was delivered by Ephaphroditus but only after a long delay during to his becoming ill! (Phil 2:26-27).

It was intended to address a number of pastoral issues, principally the question of how the believers needed to remain faithful to the Lord during times of great pressure ane even when their beloved Apostle was in prison and the outcome for him was uncertain. Paul was also concerned by talk of disunity which he addressed in Phil 4:1f and these two big issues have a direct bearing on our text today.

c). The theme of the book:

The key theme is joy! (Phil 1:3-4,25;2:1-2) - It's found in each chapter! Swindoll suggests this outline:

Ch 1. Joy in living for Christ.

Ch 2. Joy in Serving Christ in Unity.

Ch 3. Joy in knowing Christ.

Ch 4. Joy in Resting in Christ.

Four chapters and 104 verses long, committed to joy. This is God's prescription for happiness. "A joyful heart causes good healing"(Proverbs 17:22) "Take one chapter of Philippians per day for the rest of your life."(Chuck Swindoll).

Though there are some serious matters to address here, the overall tone of the book is warm, encouraging and affirming. It wants us to see that by centering our lives around Jesus, we can experience joy!

d). The recipients of the letter:

These are words addressed “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons” (Phil 1:1) that is to say, to Christians who are called upon by Paul to “work out” what God is working within them.

These are people who are obedient to the gospel, whom he knows personally - “my dear friends,” and with whom he is closely acquainted: “As you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence.”

e). The structure of the text:

There is an declaration of relational value - "dear friends",

followed by a comparison in which their obedience is noted whilst he was with them and now continues now that he is away from them.

This is followed by an exhortation to continue in obedient living, the reason being that "God..works in you to will and to act according to His good pleasure." and a command to “do everthing without complaining or arguing" with the reason attached that "you may become blameless and pure, children of God" and stand out as light-bearers in this dark world, offering people “the word of life.”

Finally Paul addressed his purpose behind the exhortation, namely that his work will be proven not to have been a a waste of time and effort when they respond positively to his instructions.

Paul calls the beleives in Philippi to, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”(v12-13). What does this mean in the context of Philippians chapter 2 and the book as a whole?

Work it out by following the example fo Jesus

Our text follows on from Phil 2:1-11 in which Paul presents to us the example of Christ that we are to imitate Jesus and have his “attitude” in regard to the interest of other believers.

This is important in the wider context of the book because in Phil 4:2-3, Paul is concerned by the news of a major falling out on the aprt of “Euodia and…Synthyche” who were not getting along in the Lord and this was leading to factionalism. The unity of the church was being threatened at a time when it was becoming increasingly difficult to stand firm for Christ in a hostile world in which Christians were being imprisoned and in some cases put to death for their faith.

These challenges and dilemmas were to be worked out in in Christ-like obedience. He put aside his own interests, refusing to stand on his dignity and instead: “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! “(vs 7-8).

The application is this Euodia, Syntyche, be obedient and follow the example of Christ by being willing to surender your pride and your need to be right and be willing to humble yourself and forigve. Work it out by following the example fo Jesus! Instead of fighting and complaining about one another and getting people in your side, be willing to die for one another!

2. Work it out by deliberately adopting spiritual values:

Paul talks about “working out your salvation with fear and trembling.” We are to ‘work out’ - the verb work out, katergazesthe, is better rendered ‘work at’ what God in his grace has ‘worked in’. challenge is to grow in grace and this takes deliberate and determined action!

God is at work within us and we are working out what He is working within us by His Holy Spirit. We know that His purpose is to conform us to the image of His Son. To make us like Jesus and so that is the goal of our sanctification.

Paul does not state this in military terms but in terms of friendship as the loving expression of his pastoral heart.

It’s important to interpret the word “salvation” in the context of the passage. Salvation here is primarily in the corporate context of the Church. Their salvation includes the health of the Church; the spiritual wellbeing of the community which has been diseased by strife and bad feeling.

It’s all about having the right attitude to these things; the atttiude of Jesus to be fixed on the interests of others (Phil 2:4). The attitude of the Philippians towards one another in the fellowship of the church.

Learning from Christ’s obedience which Paul tells us took him to the cross provides us with a direct parallel and an idea as to the extent to which we should be prepared to go in lovingly serving one another. This is a challenge to our attitude. What is the right kind of attitude to have?

a). Be Obedient Children:

Sometimes children can be guilty of doing the right thing when parents are watching but as soon as you take your eyes off them, tehy get up to mischief. Paul reminds his readers of their initial obedience as they were "working out” their “salvation with fear and trembling" and he wants this to continue even when his eye is not on them. He is glad that they have been doing this and wants them to continue.

Obedience means that instead of the Philippians negatively working against eachother, they are to work together in copoperative grace.

b). Be Humble:

Humility is the opposite of arrogant pride but so often arrogant pride is the cause of division.

Humility will express itself in “fear and trembling.” - Eph 6:5.

c). Be Dependent:

Dependence speaks of a complete reliance on God who is working in us. (v13).

Note God's action is in the matter of ‘willing’ and ‘working’. God produces both the will to change the condition of his people and brings about the change as well. This will manifest itself in the unity of fellowship and love among the people of God and in the attitudes that characterises the fellowship that exists within the church.

d). Be Gentle & Accepting:

Paul encourages the Philippian believers to stop “arguing and complaining”. Arguing, dialogismoi, may be taken in the manward, legal sense of ‘dissensions’, ‘litigation’, as in 1 Cor 6:1-11. Complaining, gongysmoi, an evil-sounding word, used also of a plague spot in the Corinthian community (1 Cor. 10:10).

The opposite to this is to be gentle and accepting of differences. Let a spirit of tolerance and kindness permeate your gatherings.

e). Be Blamesless & Pure:

v15 reveals the aim of these exhortations. The Philippians are called to set their own house in order so that God’s purpose for them as a witnessing community may be fulfilled.

This purpose is, first of all, that they may become blameless and pure. The verb become, genēsthe, is more precisely ‘show yourselves’.

Blameless, amemptoi, is used by Paul in 1 Thess. 5:23 and of his own example in 1 Thess. 2:10. It means ‘irreproachable, living a life at which no finger of criticism may be pointed’.

Pure, akeraioi is an ethical term used by Jesus when he encourages his disciples to be as, ‘innocent as doves’ (Matt. 10:16), and in Romans 16:19, ‘innocent about what is evil’.

The two words provide an apt commentary on what it means to let our conduct be ‘worthy of the gospel of Christ’ (1:27). They are after all "children of God" by adoption and need to remember the reputational risk to the Father if the family continues in dispute.

f). Be Sharers of the Word of God:

Paul makes it clear that we live in a dark and hostile world which envelopes the church. The church’s influence as a witnessing community is described in the language of influence of light in a dark place (cf. 2 Pet. 1:19).

This dark world is the arena in which the Christian stands out as a herald and deliverer of the “word of life.” The vocation of believers is to be found and fulfilled in (lit. ‘in the middle of’, meson) such a world.

Believers in Christ are redeemed out of this present evil world (Gal. 1:4), so that they no longer share its condemnation (1 Cor. 2:6; 7:31; Gal. 6:14), nor its spirit (1 John 2:15–17).

They do not belong to the world, to society as alienated from God, indifferent to his presence, and hostile to his rule (see John 17:16); but they are still ‘in’ the world (John 17:15) and have no mandate to withdraw as recluses and shut themselves away in some secluded place.

On the contrary, Christians have a direct commission to go into the world (John 17:18; Mark 16:15). In the world is our proper place as the Lord’s people. For it is only there that true Christian witness can be borne and influence for Christ effectively exerted.

Christians are light-bearers in a dark world and we represent Jesus, the Light of the World (John 8:12). We are "children of light"(1 Thes 5:5). Our job is to ‘to hold fast or firmly’ (Moffatt, rsv) as well as ‘to hold out, offer’ (av/kjv, rv, niv) the word of life - the word which brings the life of God into the lives of people wherever its message is received and obeyed. The Message puts it like this: “Carry the light-giving Message into the night.”

The Philippian Christians are to remain firm in their adherence to the truth of the gospel, to hold it fast as a torchbearer would grasp securely the light he carries, and to let no opposition daunt their spirits (see on Phil 1:27).

As they do this, they will be discharging their vocation as the true children of God who exercise a potent influence in the midst of the dark and ignorant world which would, if it could, frighten them into fearfulness (Phil 1:28) and muffle their clear witness.

The apostle’s thought here is usually taken as referring to stars which shine in a dark firmament: so the Philippians are exhorted to ‘shine like stars in a dark world’ (Moffatt). To support this rendering Daniel 12:3 (lxx) is quoted: ‘and they that are wise shall shine as stars (hōs phōstēres) of the heaven’. see Acts 13:47:Matt 5:14-16.

g). Be determined to finish well:

Paul’s great pastoral heart is laid bare as at 2 Corinthians 6:11. The Philippians owe it to him as the one through whom they came to believe in the Lord (1 Cor. 3:5) to act upon his directives. Otherwise at the final day of reckoning, the day of Christ, they will not be his ‘joy and crown’ (see on 4:1) and he will then be faced with the sad fact that all his apostolic care and labour will have been for nothing.

He uses language reminiscent of Isaiah 49:4, where the Servant of the Lord admits, ‘I have laboured to no purpose’, kenōs ekopiasa.

The apostle’s words of solicitude and trembling fear for his converts (cf. Gal. 4:11; 1 Thess. 3:5) are matched, however, by the confidence that his work will not be for nothing (cf. 1 Cor. 15:58). He trusts that, at the last, he may boast, at their obedience (2:12) as they heed his direction in the reformation of their church life, the maintenance of their courageous witness in the world and their perseverance unto the end (1:6). Then they, like his other churches, will be his ‘crown in which we will glory’ (1 Thess. 2:19).

The imagery of the runner in the stadium is to be seen in the words I did not run; but as he completes his course he learns that he has been disqualified (1 Cor. 9:27) and, therefore, he has exerted himself needlessly, for nothing.

Deissmann connects the words labour for nothing, eis kenon ekopiasa, with Paul’s knowledge of weaving, when a piece of cloth would be rejected as badly woven and therefore useless, eis kenon.34 There would be no payment for this!

He expresses the hope that it may be otherwise: that he may finish his course with joy (Acts 20:24; cf. 2 Tim. 4:7) and that his work may pass the test of the day of Christ and be rewarded (1 Cor. 3:13–14)—these are his confident hopes for his converts.

Working out what God is working within!

I like the way the Message states this idea -”redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.”

This is done by obeying God's word and although it has this manwad focus, there is an overarching Godward purpose behind it all as "God works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."

Darkness is all around us but our lives, characterised by obedience will make us shine in the darkness as Christ intends.