Philippians (#4)

Why don’t we just read our Bible and do what it says?

A couple things:

“The Bible” doesn’t say anything. Someone wrote it in a context for an audience… sometimes we have a pretty good idea who that was and what the situation was, other times we know less or scholars have a wider variety of thoughts and theories.

What is the Bible then? And is speaking of it like this somehow a “low view” of Scripture? I don’t think so. I think it’s just not confusing Scripture as being something it cannot be. Brian Zahnd is helpful here…

Scripture as Witness to the Word of God Brian Zahnd

The Bible is the word of God that bears witness to the Word of God — Jesus Christ.

The Logos-Word became flesh — not a book.

Jesus is God. The Bible is not.

The Bible did not create the Heavens and Earth — the Word (Christ) did.

We worship Jesus; we do not worship the Bible.

The Bible is not a member of the Trinity.

The Bible is not God. Jesus is God.

The Bible is not perfect. (There are parts of it we now regard as obsolete; e.g.Levitical codes.)

Christ is the perfection of God as a human being.

What the Bible does infallibly is point us to Jesus Christ.

There is one mediator between God and man…and it’s not the Bible.

The Bible is the inspired witness to the true Word of God who is Jesus Christ.

...

The divine mission of John the Baptist was to point us to the true Light — Jesus Christ. This is how we should understand the role of Scripture. Jesus says as much in John 5:39-40…

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; but it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Now, you may still be thinking, why don’t we just read our Bible and do what it says?

Ok. Well there’s passage in today’s reading that might set us straight on this oversimplification…

Philippians 2:14 says

Philippians 2:14 CEB

14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing

[pause for chuckle]

Ok. So as we turn to our text for today, a reminder that the words we will hear follow right after the words we heard as our call to worship…

Jesus is our example and Jesus’ mindset or orientation is to be ours. And our humility (like Jesus’ willingness to humble himself) will be the key to our unity.

Paul doesn’t start a whole new thought, but continues on… the example of Jesus is now supplemented by three other examples of how this looks in real life… Paul, Timothy & Epaphroditus.

Will you please stand for the reading?

[READING: Philippians 2:12-30 NTE

12 So, my dear people: you always did what I said, so please now carry on in the same way, not just as though I was there with you, but much more because I’m not! Your task now is to work at bringing about your own salvation; and naturally you’ll be taking this with utter seriousness. 13 After all, God himself is the one who’s at work among you, who provides both the will and the energy to enable you to do what pleases him.

14 There must be no grumbling and disputing in anything you do. 15 That way, nobody will be able to fault you, and you’ll be pure and spotless children of God in the middle of a twisted and depraved generation. You are to shine among them like lights in the world, 16 clinging on to the word of life. That’s what I will be proud of on the day of the Messiah. It will prove that I didn’t run a useless race, or work to no purpose.

17 Yes: even if I am to be poured out like a drink-offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I shall celebrate, and celebrate jointly with you all. 18 In the same way, you should celebrate, yes, and celebrate with me.

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I in turn may be encouraged by getting news about you. 20 I have nobody else of his quality: he will care quite genuinely about how you are. 21 Everybody else, you see, looks after their own interests, not those of Jesus the Messiah. 22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a child with a father he has worked as a slave alongside me for the sake of the gospel. 23 So I’m hoping to send him just as soon as I see how it will turn out with me. 24 And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come very soon as well.

25 But I did think it was necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. He is my brother; he has worked alongside me and fought alongside me; and he’s served as your agent in tending to my needs. 26 He was longing for you all, you see, and he was upset because you heard that he was sick. 27 And he really was sick, too; he nearly died. But God took pity on him – yes, and on me too as well, so that I wouldn’t have one sorrow piled on top of another.

28 This has made me all the more eager to send him, so that you’ll see him again and be glad, and my own anxieties will be laid to rest. 29 So give him a wonderfully happy welcome in the Lord, and hold people like him in special respect. 30 He came close to death through risking his life for the king’s work, so that he could complete the service to me that you hadn’t been able to perform.

So what is Paul on about here?

Why does he move from the majestic and sweeping Christ hymn into discussion of his own situation and the travel plans of Timothy & Epaphroditus?

Let us consider the task, the method and the examples Paul gives the Philippians.

The task:

This passage begins dangerously… “work out your salvation” as I learned it, or “

Live out of their own divine deliverance OR as Paul has stated in 1:27 to ensure that their “public behaviour matches the gospel”

The question then is what stands in the way of us living out of our own divine deliverance?

-individualism (looking after ME), selfish ambition, vanity (See Philippians 2:3-4)

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling… can take us some weird places, especially if we read 2:12 separately from 1:27-2:11. (This is why we need to read whole letters or at least larger context and not just find a verse and build whole theologies on it.

If our theologies or our practices seem inconsistent with the depiction of Jesus in Philippians 2, maybe we need to rethink?

Tweet: When we get fixated on our rights and our need to be kept comfortable and even privileged, perhaps Philippians 2 offers a correction?

So how do we centre ourselves on the reality that God has and is and will deliver us? By fixing our minds on the same object (2:2c) … Jesus. (Who… down down down… up!)

So according to Philippians 2, the task for the Philippians is to live out of their own divine deliverance.

The method:

Recognize the presence and purpose of God

So Paul reminds them that God is at work among them.

vs 13 God himself is the one who’s at work among you, who provides both the will and the energy to enable you to do what pleases him.

God is providing the will & the energy we need in order to be able to live a live worthy of the gospel (or to have our public behaviour match the gospel of Christ

All this struggle they’re having? Not the sign of God’s absence or disinterest or displeasure.

The examples:

Paul himself. In prison and possibly facing death.

But that doesn’t threaten God’s salvation. God’s deliverance is bigger. Bigger than just Paul. (But also, if he dies, he will experience deliverance) Bigger than just the Philippians. They’re connected to something larger. Somehow their particular struggle matters and yet it isn’t to be over-emphasized or fixated on in a way that will make them forget about the bigger picture.

Also Timothy & Epaphroditus. Paul holds these two up as

“good models of unity, obedience, courageous faith, and humility, especially when it comes to putting others’ needs and concerns above their own.” (Gupta)

Timothy:

[description of Timothy is beautiful!]

Nobody of his quality,

He cares geniunely and so Paul knows he can send him as his “rep” even while hoping to come himself in time.

He has shown his devotion to the gospel, by putting the interests of Jesus the Messiah above his own. (Just as Paul has instructed the Philippians to do earlier, following Jesus’ example)

And Timothy has been faithful to Paul like a son.

The word ALONGSIDE comes up twice and so Paul & Timothy are also examples of what Paul has called the Philippians to in those military images from the end of chapter 1:

27b struggling side by side with one united intent for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not letting your opponents intimidate you in any way.

But Paul goes on to a second example… Epaphroditus.

E is one of “their own”

This is like us getting a report of Hannah Juras or Brendan Twamley. (Or someone you know well and would be very personally concerned about if we were to get bad news about them…)

But notice what Paul does here. He’s reporting on what’s happened to E which is that he’s been deathly ill. But he’s okay. And P is sending E both to go and return to his community, but also to set his own heart at ease.

Also, don’t miss the honesty of what Paul includes. It’s not just: “It’s fine. Everything’s fine.”

He was LONGING to see you, you see, and he was UPSET because you heard that he was sick. And he really was sick, too; HE NEARLY DIED.

And then this admission…

But God took [pity on him - yes, and on me too as well, so that I wouldn’t have one sorrow piled on top of another.

E has “completed” the mission that the Philippians sent him on (to check on Paul, likely to bring him money and supplies (no prison-issued supplies in this moment in history) and now Paul is “eager to send him” both because he knows E’s return will be a happy thing for the Philippians and that it will ease Paul’s anxieties. (Wait. Following Jesus doesn’t fix our anxieties?)

So what is our task?

Are we also called to live out of our own divine deliverance?

What is our method?

Are we also to recognize the presence and purpose of God?

And who are our examples?

Paul, Timothy & Epaphroditus…and many others.

Name someone right now that is an example to you. Could be someone you know or have known. Could be an author or podcaster or a neighbour… or?

And our ultimate example is Jesus. And the mindset Paul wrote about just before our text today. That humility will be the key to our being able to live out of our own divine deliverance, recognizing the presence and purpose of God along the way.

Let’s pray.