Phil 2-12-18 Presentation

8/9/2019 Phil 2-12-18 Presentation

1/21

Philippians 2:12-18

Sunday, April 18, 2010


2/21

Philippians 2:12-18 (NRSV)

12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not

only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work outyour own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at

work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good

pleasure.

14 Do all things without murmuring and arguing,

15 so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of Godwithout blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,

in which you shine like stars in the world.

16 It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on

the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 But

even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the

offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you

18 and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.



3/21

presence/absence



4/21

presence/absence

Paul wants something other than

his physical presence to be a

factor in the Philippiansobedience.



5/21

presence/absence






6/21

presence/absence




Its sort of like the parent child

relationships . . . parents want their

children to do what is right eventhey are not looking.



7/21

The Philippians would have just finished hearing the Christ hymn.

With the humility and exaltation of Christ only seconds old Paul nowsays . . .

God is at work in you,

enabling you both to will and to work

for his good pleasure so . . .work out your own salvation with fear and trembling



8/21

work out your own salvation

This is not working toward salvation in order to gain it . . . the

salvation already belongs to them. Working it has the sense ofcontinually translating the principles of the gospel into every day

life.

Philippians 1:11

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christto the glory and praise of God.

your is plural . . . individual salvation cannot be seperated from

the community.



9/21

with fear and trembling

Romans 8:15

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear,but you received the Spirit of sonship.

This has to do more with reverence, respect, honor, etc.

The reality of God working in them, in the same powerful he workedon his sons behalf (in the hymn) should be pretty sobering.



10/21

You probably know that the

stomach is acidic and this is

necessary for the digestion of food.A healthy stomach has a pH of

around 2 - the lower the number on

the pH scale, the more acidic it is.

This level of acidity is capable of

dissolving teeth or metal - and itsall swilling around in your stomach

right now! Luckily for us, our body

has considered this minor problem

and the lining of the stomach

secretes loads of mucus to protectour stomach from being digested

by itself.

www.ilovebacteria.com



11/21


Romans 6:4

Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, sothat, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the

Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 8:9-11

9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit ofGod dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ

does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, though the body is

dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If

the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, hewho raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies

also through his Spirit that dwells in you.



12/21


Section Summary

It seems that Paul wanted their Christ-like living to be governed bythe fact that God himself is at work in them . . . God wants them to

move toward maturity . . .he is accomplishing this by bringing about

the will to even desire righteousness but also the strength to then

live righteously. In light of Gods working on behalf of his son

seeing the humility and elevating him we should realize that he isalso working on our behalf. The reality that the power of God is

working in us should be quite sobering . . . it should result in fear

and trembling.



13/21

for it is God who is at work in you

In order to clarify or prevent the Philippians to think that they haveto generate the ability to do this on their own or that they are

somehow responsible for the source of this working he quickly

establishes that it is God who is providing all that is necessary for

them to apply their salvation to life.



14/21

enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Unlike the law that was an external dynamic that could only pointout what should be done and highlighted mans inability to do it, the

Spirit



15/21

14 Do all things without murmuring and arguing,

The implication of the corrective is that the Philippian Christianswere murmuring and complaining. Not that the murmuring and

arguing amongst themselves (disunity) has a direct impact on

outsiders. Their communal life directly affects their missional

efforts. Part of their shining in the midst of the empire was how

they lived as a community.



16/21

blameless and innocent

Pauls desire for them to be blameless and innocent was

previously reflected in his prayer in verse 10

Philippians 1:9-11

9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more

with knowledge and full insight 10 to help you to determine what is

best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through

Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

At this point we are able to see that Pauls original prayer for their

love to increase is directly related to their unity.



17/21

Section Overview

Perhaps thee are echoes of the Israelites and Moses . . .

1. The people were murmuring and complaining . . . Numbers

11:1-6; 14:1-4; 20:2; 21:4-5. Paul develops this same idea in 1

Corinthians 10:1-13.

2. They were a crooked and perverse generation . . .

Deuteronomy 32:5

They have acted corruptly toward Him. They are not His children

because of their defect, but are a perverse and crooked

generation.



18/21

holding fast

Paul understands holding fast to the word to be evidenced by not

murmuring and complaining. We can say that if murmuring andcomplaining continue to characterize the Philippians community

Paul would doubt that they are holding fast to the Jesus story. We

cannot separate belief from practice.



19/21

libation

Accompanying other offerings was the drink offering, which

consisted of a certain quantity of wine, proportioned to the nature ofthe sacrifice. This was taken by the priest and poured out like the

blood at the foot of the altar of burnt offering. For a bullock, half a

hin (about two quarts) of wine was used. For a ram, a third of a hin.

For a lamb or young goat, a fourth of a hin. (See Numbers 15:412.)

In the temple service, the pouring out of the wine of the drinkoffering at the morning and evening sacrifice was the signal for the

priests and Levites to begin their song of praise to God.

New Manners and Customs



20/21

sacrifice and offering of your faith

The life of the Philippians = offering (specifically, the gifts to Paul . . .

1:5, 2:30; 4:18)

Pauls life of service = the accompanying drink offering

Perhaps Paul is thinking here of his possible death. paul wanted his

death to be seen as a drink offering that accompanies the livingsacrifice of the Christians he was nurturing. Jesus as Paul rejoices

to see them offer their lives to Christ they should be glad that Paul

is doing the same, even if it means death.



21/21

So What?

Lets think of one as a group!

Documents

Phil 2-12-18 Presentation