LESSON 14

Classroom Goals of this time together:
* here to see and meet and learn of Jesus; to grow in each one of our own personal lives/relationships with Jesus
* to grow in our daily day-to-day JOY IN Him
* to grow in our vision /understanding of Jesus as our SAVIOR and REDEEMER everyday in the midst of our lives in a pagan world

ROE: 
* all questions are encouraged all the time
* TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER THROUGHOUT OUR TIME TOGETHER, WHETHER WE AGREE OR NOT WE MUST LOVE EACH OTHER

SUMMARY:
1:1-11  Greetings and Gratitude

1:12-26  "Pauls Personal Circumstances: the Preaching of Christ"

1:27-2:30  "The Pattern of Christian Life: The Humility of Christ"
1:27-2:4  The Exhortation to Humility  HERE is the Goal; How do the things he presented in this section become a REALITY in the life of a Church and it's believers?? ONLY THROUGH HUMILITY, ONE TO ANOTHER. 
2:5-11  The Epitome of Humility  Jesus - here is the Divine Example; He was presented as the totally unique and DIVINE One who HUMBLED Himself absolutely and to the utmost: "...emptied Himself...", and "...unto death...even...the cross"; 
2:12-18 The Exercise of Humility  here is HOW YOU experience this in YOUR daily life
2:10-30  The Examples of Humility  Timothy and Epaphroditis

NOW we come to 2:12-18 The Exercise of Humility; 

2:12-13  {HAVE SOMEONE READ THIS VERSE AGAIN} [FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS]; 
The new life in Christ we have CERTAINLY been given MUST BE LIVED OUT HERE AND NOW, AND IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR PERSISTANT SIN NATURE WHICH IS DEAD BUT NOT DEPARTED; Every day we MUST learn of God's provisions for us as we deal with the POWER of sin in the world and in our lives; 
That process whereby we live and GROW MORE LIKE JESUS every day and experience deliverence from sin's power is called SANCTIFICATION; 
IT WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE SOMETHING WE LIVE AND BREATH AND EXPERIENCE AND ENJOY RIGHT HERE AND NOW: OUR ETERNAL LIFE STARTS GROWING RIGHT NOW!! 
And Satan HATES us for that, so, since he can't rob us of it, HE WILL SEEK TO SPOIL IT, TO DELAY OUR FULLNESS OF IT FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE as ONLY one CALLED the DISPOILER can do; 
He will try to fill it with his sad and sour bitterness; And Paul KNEW that to be true for his most precious Philipians (even as it is true for us here and now); 
Are there things in your own life that you KNOW should be different, but you HONESTLY CAN"T seem to find the desire to change or do otherwise? DON'T DESPARE! HERE IS THE VERSE FOR YOU! The Lord Himself has promised to WORK IN you; HE can and WANTS to give you that desire to be more like Him; 
In this most precious and powerful of verses, Paul fully directs our attention and HOPE in only ONE DIRECTION: the Lord; "FOR IT IS GOD WHICH WORKETH IN YOU..." WE MUST NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF THE SOURCE OF OUR SALVATION, NOT ONLY FOR SIN'S PENALTY, BUT ALSO FOR IT'S POWER; 

WRITE THIS DOWN IN LARGE LETTERS: IT IS THE LOOK THAT JUSTIFIES, BUT IT IS THE GAZE THAT SANCTIFIES.
Before we go on, HOW do we "gaze" upon Him? Same as with anyone else: WE SPEND TIME WITH HIM. That can happen through prayer, time in His Word spent with the PURPOSE of seeking HIM, meeting HIM and EXPECTING HIM to meet US then and there; To FELLOWSHIP with Him; and when we feel the frustration of our waivering gaze? WE CALL OUT TO HIM TO WORK WITHIN US TO WILL AND TO DO; 

2:14  HE SET THE STAGE IN VS12-13 SO AS TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING POINTS; NOW HE'S GOING TO SHOW THEM HOW THEY ARE TO APPLY GOD'S PROMISE OF "THE WILLING AND THE DOING"; 
The previous two verses were essential to establish before Paul begins to talk directly to issues of personal and "Body" behavior. Otherwise these following verses would at best become the basis for some legalistic "Checklist to Get Righteous"; They HAD to understand clearly THE SOURCE OF THEIR RIGHTEOUSNESS AND THE SOURCE OF THEIR ONGOING LIFE IN CHRIST BEFORE HE ADDRESSED THE PARTICULARS OF WHAT THAT LIFE SHOULD INCLUDE AND NOT INCLUDE; 

"...murmurings and disputings..." (KJV); the Gr word trans "murmurings" is constantly used in the LXX OT of the murmurings of Israel against Moses and God in the wilderness; it means grumbling and faultfinding and complaining; 
Some commentators believe that this implies that the "murmurings" were therefore aimed at the Lord, as in the wilderness; I can see this from my own life; How I have complained to the Lord about His "management" of my life's events! Some times we may not even see it as such; {TELL ABOUT MED SCHOOL PROF'S AND 5 YEARS TO FORGIVENESS}; 
The longstanding bitterness we may feel about portions of our lives, the anger with which we STILL describe long since ancient hurts and disappointments ARE AN INDITEMENT AGAINST THE LORD, AN ACCUSATION THAT AT THOSE DEEPLY HURTFUL, BITTERLY RECALLED TIMES IN OUR LIVES GOD SOMEHOW FAILED US, THAT HE SHOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND DIDN'T; How easy to believe this for the Philipians; living in a large and hostile world, seeing and feeling the rejection and hardship of their own loved ones and of Paul; 
Just like me, when I saw what I had been doing for over 5 years, we have got to confess the bitterness of hearts to the Lord BECAUSE IT IS AGAINST HIM; Do we really WANT healing of our hearts? We AREN'T entitled to that hurtful bitterness, NOT if we really believe that our Lord is willing and able to BE GOD in our lives; 
Others believe that the Philipians "murmurings" were being aimed at each other; How easy it is to immediately understand and identify with that; We're ALWAYS doing something to each other that hurts or embarrases or maybe just plain hacks us off; Doesn't have to be cosmic, we're not talking mass murder or chainsaw massacres here; 
We're talking about the anger and irritations of every day life; the thoughtless word, the too-quickly made judgement, the impatient lack of forgiveness of our own too human failings; basically our just being BONE-HEADS; BUT we don't shout or scream at each other, we "murmur" our discontent and bitterness to anyone who will listen, to anyone with a similar "cause" for complaint; 
AND PAUL IS SAYING DON'T DO IT!!; 
Well?? So what do we do INSTEAD?? Again, we have GOT to ask for forgiveness FOR OURSELVES FIRST! 
WHAT?? But WE'RE the ones who were HURT!! Why do WE need to do that?? Same reason as before, God is either able to be God or He's NOT; Someone else's sin DOESN'T justify our OWN; 
HOW GREAT is our need for ANY murmuring we do to be that of hearts and knees bowed in fervent prayer FOR EACH OTHER; NOT AGAINST each other; 

The Gr word trans "disputings" is better trans as "questionings and doubting" implying that such are against the Lord; Once we start "murmuring", the next logical step from complaining is to start questioning, NOT as if to earnestly seek understanding, to grow in insight, but rather as a hostile accuser who shouts the "questions" without waiting for an answer, rather than asking the questions as a child who expects her father to be able and willing answer every and any mystery that enters into her life; 
As with "murmuring" this word ALSO could be taken in a manward legal sense of "dissentions" or "litigations", described by one commentator as "outward disputing and discussion"; It is possible that the same plague of settling quarrels at pagan law-courts had broken out at Philippi as had at Corinth (I Co 6:1-11); If so, this would represent an advanced stage of the petty rivalry and vainglory Paul was concerned about for them earlier in the letter (2:3).

2:15  What possible reason could Paul have for the above BLUNT and abrupt absolute statement? It's GOT to be more than just to make for happier church gatherings, to prevent fist fights in the foyer; 
{READ THE VERSE} (KJV) "...that ye may be blameless and harmless..." 
"may be" better trans as "SHOW YOURSELVES" or "PROVE IT"; to who?? the world!! Make NO mistake about it, the rest of the world is watching us to see what all this business about Jesus is really about; THEY ARE GOING TO SEE AND HEAR ANY AND ALL "MURMURINGS AND DISPUTINGS" WHETHER WE WANT THEM TO OR NOT! 
"...blameless..."; Gr trans means "irreproachable, living a life that NO one could criticize and expect to be believed"; 
"...harmless..."; This is an ethical term, not a reflection on some sort of Christian "Wimp Factor"; Mt 10:16 "...harmless as doves..."; To these Roman readers, it carried an everyday connotation of very real meaning: It was employed in 1st century wine making meaning "UNDILUTED", and also regarding metals meaning "WITHOUT ANY WEAKING ALLOY"; hence it meant "unmixed, pure"; 
What does all that bickering and strife among us do TO us?? It DILUTES and WEAKENS that which the Lord would do IN us and THROUGH us; It waters down the Gospel so that any who would come in seeking the PURE STRONG meat and drink of the message of salvation, would go away unsatisfied, REJECTING THE WEAKENED TASTELESS MESSAGE WE WOULD HAVE GIVEN THEM THROUGH OUR LIVES AS A BODY OF CHRIST; 
"blameless" in the sight of OTHERS; and "pure" WITHIN our OWN hearts; 
"...without rebuke..." Better trans as "without blemish"; the same root word used to describe sacrificial victims as "without blemish"; More on this in the following verses; 
BUT LOOK WHERE ALL THIS IS TO TAKE PLACE: "...in the midst..."; We have been redeemed OUT of this world, we no longer must share it's condemnation, nor it's spirit, BUT WE ARE STILL IN THIS WORLD; It is only IN the world that we can tell of our Jesus and His marvelous love and salvation; 

"among whom ye shine as lights in the world"; This isn't a matter of just being some bright oddity, another bit of glitter that people might casually or indifferently notice and remark upon as they drive by; NO!! WE ARE BEACONS, BLAZING OUT INTO A WORLD THAT IS FRANTICALLY GROPING, BLINDLY AND FRIGHTENED, LOST IN THE MOST UTTER AND ABSOLUTE BLACKNESS, A DARKNESS UNIMAGINABLE, A BLINDNESS THAT RAGES TO TEAR THEM APART WITH IT'S VERY BLEAK INTENSITY; 
But is it that the light house itself is on fire?? NO!! It is but the fortunate container of the light! AND SUCH ARE WE! WE ARE NOT THE LIGHT ITSELF, WE ARE NOTHING THAT THE WORLD SHOULD PROSPER BY US, IT IS OUR MESSAGE, THAT BLESSED "WORD OF LIFE" THAT WE HAVE AND CAN OFFER TO THEM THAT SHINES OUT INTO THE DARKNESS; 
2:16  [KJV] "...holding forth..."; the verb possess two different but very complimentary meanings; 
It can mean "to hold out, or present" as to offer wine to a guest, or the breast to an infant; HOW CLEARLY THIS WOULD APPLY TO US AS "LIGHT BEARERS";
It also means "to hold fast or firmly", as if to "affix attention upon" something; Here the implication is that the Philipian Christians are to remain firm in their adherence to the truth of the gospel, to hold it fast as a torch-bearer would grasp securely the light he carries; to let NO opposition daunt their spirits; We've already seen where Paul has described in the preceeding verses and in Ch 1 where the church has felt intimidated and needed greater boldness to overcome the world's attempts to suppress them; 
Paul picked the perfect word to describe the above, for BOTH meanings dovetail into one truth: Only as we firmly "hold fast" to the gospel truth are we able to "hold it forth".
AND NOW PAUL CAN'T HELP BUT GET PERSONAL AGAIN; because he goes on to add his PERSONAL reasons for his deep desire for their agreement with and confroming to his directives here; 
As he considers his personal love and affection for them, remembering their faces and their lives with him in Jesus, he can't but yearn for their continued perseverance in these times of hardship; their failure would mean MUCH MORE than just an abstract loss in the mission field: IT WOULD HURT HIM WHERE HE LIVES, IT IS A BURDEN THAT ONLY A LOVING PASTOR CAN BEAR; 
He's NOT complaining that their failure would make HIM look bad, or inconvience him; He wants to "glory" in them and hurts at the prospect of the loss of that moment of triumphant "glory" as ONLY A PARENT CAN FEEL ABOUT HIS BELOVED CHILDREN, WHO WANTS SO DEEPLY FOR HIS PRECIOUS CHILDREN TO ENJOY THE WONDER AND JOY OF SUCCESS, AND WOULD GRIEVE AS IF IT WERE HIS OWN LOSS AT THEIR FAILURE TO GAIN THAT PRIZE;