LESSON 15 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 Therefore, given the previous picture of Who and What our Lord Jesus is and did, MOVE ON, cultivate and GROW UP in your salvation-life; experience the FULLEST salvation from the POWER of Sin; BUT, lest you forget just Who is the ABSOLUTE and COMPLETE SOURCE OF EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR SALVATION, REMEMBER THIS: "IT IS GOD...WHO WILLS AND WORKS"; 2:14 "...murmurings and disputings..."; We talked about how such activity ultimately reveals our own bitterness against God, ALTHOUGH WE MIGHT NOT EVEN SEE IT AS SUCH! That to feel such deep seated distress points to a failure on our part to TRUST GOD FOR ALL AND EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN OUR LIVES; And the ONLY REAL place of HEALING is and will always be at the foot of the cross, at that precious Throne of Grace that our precious Lord Jesus made a way for us to gain; AND THERE TO FIND FORGIVENESS AND GRACE TO FORGIVE as the only road to healing for ourselves; THIS WOULD BE A VERY REAL CONCERN TO A CHURCH PAINFULLY AWARE OF JUST HOW SMALL IT REALLY IS IN THE WORLD VIEW OF THINGS, AND A HOSTILE WORLD VIEW, AT THAT; 2:15 But Paul meant for his directive to reach BEYOND the doors of their tiny congregation, OUT INTO THE WORLD ITSELF; 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; 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; 2:16 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; 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 conforming 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; 2:17 Now Paul really hits hard with all the force of His love for them, striking solidly to their hearts love for him; In the most serious part of this letter, he comes face to face with the possibility of his death, his martyrdom for Jesus' sake and for theirs; AND YET, how unlike the unsaved would be; this is not some grim teeth-gritting "Oh well, too bad for me" kind of response; This whole section is FULL of the JOY of the Lord, FULL of the JOY that triumphs over even death and loss and sorrow; Paul builds a powerful image for and about the ENTIRE situation for BOTH him AND his dear philipians using the picture of a SACRIFICE as the tool; NOTE: The Gr trans of "Yea, and if..." better stated "But if indeed...", so does seem to make it a conditional situation; HOWEVER, Paul went on to use the present tense here:"I AM BEING POURED OUT" is the LIT trans of "I be offered"; this seems to show how vivid the prospect of his execution actually was for him, in spite of his attempting to preface his concerns with a sort of "maybe"; [So you SEE? Christians CAN "feel" the weight and pressure and even pain of persecution; ] Pauls choice of this phrase refering to being "poured out as a libation" clearly refered to a DRINK offering made during BOTH PAGAN AND HEBREW sacrificial rituals; There has been a fair amount of discussion in the commentaries about WHICH sort of sacrifice he was describing; EITHER would suffice; He WAS writing to recently former pagans very familiar with the practice of pouring wine UPON an already burning sacrificial animal, causing a sweetly scented steam to rise from the co-mingled parts of the offering; It also could refer to the practice in Hebrew sacrifices where the priests would pour out wine AROUND the buring sacrifice as an ADDED offering to the Lord ALONG WITH the already burning offering; SO WHAT'S THE POINT???? NOTE CAREFULLY: WHAT WAS THE ACTUAL SACRIFICE IN THIS VERSE? It was the Philipians FAITH; The real sacrifice was that of the Philipians faith; Paul's "libation" would NOT be complete WITHOUT their FAITH-SACRIFICE; AND IT IS THIS ACT OF SACRIFICE THAT IS THE MAIN FEATURE OF THE STATEMENT; Their "faith-sacrifice" was their active support of his needs, their gifts given in the midst of THEIR OWN WANT AND SUFFERING; Sacrificial Service; The KJV "sacrifice and service" was a phrase used repeatedly in reference to the ministry of the priests and Levites, as well as other Biblical characters TOWARDS BOTH GOD AND MEN; WHAT DOES THIS SAY TO US AS A CHURCH?? With ref to Missionaries?? And MORE importantly, with ref to our own Pastor?? GOD IS AT LEAST AS INTERESTED IN OUR SUPPORT OF HIS PASTORS AS HE IS IN WHAT THEY ARE DOING; ARE WE PRAYING FOR HIM? ARE WE AS BURDENED FOR HIS PROBLEMS AND NEEDS AS WE ARE OUR OWN?? SO: The Philipians are described by Paul as exercising a priestly ministry of service to God, and their FAITH, made visible and evident in the gifts which they sacrificially contributed AND which gave them a share in Paul's afflictions, IS THE SACRIFICE; NOTE: the verb "I am being poured" IS IN THE PASSIVE VOICE; Paul is NOT offering ANYTHING; The sacrifice DOES NOT offer itself, but rather IT IS OFFERED; And in this case PAUL is being offered BY WHOM?? THE LORD HIMSELF, WHO IS OUR HIGH PRIEST FOREVER; ARE WE READY TO SEE OURSELVES AS SACRIFICES TO BE OFFERED BY AND FOR THE LORD?? SO, OK, WHERE'S THE JOY IN ALL THIS?? With Paul, it is NOT some morbid yearning for death; BUT RATHER, his joy is based on a confidence that death is GAIN because by it THE LORD JESUS is magnified and the gospel is proclaimed; AND HE REJOICES EQUALLY THAT HIS PRECIOUS PHILIPIANS ARE ABLE TO SHARE IN THIS SACRIFICE TO THE LORD THROUGH THEIR SACRIFICES ON PAUL'S BEHALF; 2:18 This is a call to his readers to receive his news with gladness and to share his perspective of joy, EVEN AS SACRIFICES; Paul used a particular word for "rejoice" in BOTH vss17 and 18; they used the prefix "sun", which is the prefix of UNITED EXPERIENCE; Paul is emphasizing to them that this joy of theirs is a COMMON AND SHARED JOY BORN OF THEIR SHARED SAVIOR, JESUS, AND WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR THEM ALL IN THEIR SALVATION; 2:19-30 The Examples of Humility Timothy and Epaphroditis; NEW section; 2:19-21 1st, Timothy 2:19 What was to be Tim's mission? A F/U of Paul's appeals to the Phil's for unity and steadfastness, humility and mutual love; "...in the Lord Jesus..."; Nowhere else in Paul's other references to his proposed journeys does he use this phrase; He must have been MUCH more aware of just HOW unsettled and unclear his future really was at this point; HOW OFTEN it is for us, that a really "uncertain" future forces us to again become aware of WHO REALLY IS IN CONTROL OF OUR DESTINY AND THAT IT IS NEVER "WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN" THAT IS OUR PLACE OF HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, BUT RATHER "WHO WILL HAPPEN" THAT IS OUR PLACE OF PEACE; The ultimate purpose of Tim's visit is seen in (KJV): "that I may also be of good comfort..."; The pronoun is EMPHATIC in the Gr, and the "also" precedes it, so that the real impact of the Gr better reads: "...not only will YOU be encouraged, but I too shall be heartened..."; BOTH he and the Phil's will be encouraged from the mutual exchange of news that Tim will bring; 2:20 He is making a point here: View Tim as you would ME; Paul is trying to establish Tim's credentials for what could be a pretty bumpy ride; "naturally" better trans "genuinely"; Of all Paul's Christian friends there with him at prision, NO-ONE shares so intimately Tim's deep concern for the Phil church; Does this contradict 4:6 where Paul says don't be anxious about "anything"? NO, Paul did not want them to be so worried about themselves, with their own interests; Tim's "concern", his BURDEN was for the spiritual welfare of others; HOW IRONIC: much more often the opposite is true for us; We become SO anxious about ourselves that ANYONE ELSES problems get ignored by us; HOW OFTEN I spend MORE time praying about MYSELF that about OTHERS; how easily we can become distracted by our OWN lives problems, so that any "concern" we might have is only superficial, lacking the real heart and burden that a "genuine" issue would produce; NO ONE has to TRY to worry about their OWN problems, INCLUDING spiritual problems; 2:21 WHAT WAS PAUL TALKING ABOUT HERE?? WAS THERE NO ONE ELSE?? What about those he spoke of in 1:14 and 17?? Clearly, he was talking about of those who were AVAILABLE to him NONE had the needed spiritual growth and maturity to undertake the mission to the church at Philippi; AND HERE WE CAN SEE THE RESULT OF SUCH SELF-CENTERED THINKING as described in vs 20; Paul had other Christians around him, BUT apparantly their concerns were more for their OWN spiritual growth and it's problems than for some OTHER churches needs; AND THIS was in spite of Tim's OWN spiritual growth needs: he was young (1 Ti 4:12), he was NOT of the best health (1 Ti 5:23), and not exactly the most DYNAMIC kind of guy, either (2 Ti 1:6-8; and 1 Co 16:10). AND YET HE IS THE ONE PAUL WOULD CHOOSE; So, the criteria for usefulness to Paul was NOT what WE might think; He wasn't looking for Billy Graham or some other "great" leader; HE WAS LOOKING FOR A PERSON WITH A HEART THAT WAS ABLE TO BE BURDENED WITH SOMEONE ELSES NEEDS, ABOVE THEIR OWN; 2:22 KJV: "...ye know the proof of him..." better trans as : "you KNOW how he has stood the test and shown himself to be a man of sound character and worthiness"; Then Paul talks of his "father and son" relationship with Tim; NOW THAT'S AN ENDORSEMENT! Filial obedience was a very POWERFUL concept in the 1st century, a duty of profound force then AND THIS IS SEEN IN the word trans "served": IT LIT MEANS "SERVED AS A SLAVE"; BUT NOTE: Paul does NOT say Tim served HIM as a slave, BUT RATHER, "SERVED WITH ME AS A SLAVE FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE GOSPEL"; In the Lord's church, the only claim to position and honor is BASED ON SERVICE TO THE CAUSE OF HIM WHO CAME TO TAKE THE FORM OF A SLAVE (2:7), and among those who were His own that he was "he that serveth" (Lk 22:27); 2:23 The KJV keeps the original word order; It was meant to give emphasis to the fact that it was TIM that Paul wanted to send; "presently" really better trans "immediately", BUT THEN WITH THE QUALIFIER: as soon as I see how things are going to turn out; 2:24 (KJV) "BUT I trust in the Lord..." here Paul is trying to give the balance of the world view vs the Lord's point of view; After expressing the issues of the "uncertainty" Paul AND the Philipians felt, Paul wants them to know where his REAL CONFIDENCE ULTIMATELY LIES: IN JESUS; So here's the summary: Paul awaits the judge's verdict. When that is known, he will commission Tim to make the Patoral journey to the church at Philippi. If the verdict goes against him, Tim will be Paul's envoy to act in his name as one sent "in the Lord Jesus" (vs19). If the verdict is favorable, and he is released, Paul syas he'll follow "shortly", i.e. soon after Tim.