LESSON 6

Classroom Goals of this time together:
* here to see and meet and learn of Jesus
* not to learn about another book in the Bible, but to MEET HIM...here and now; not to finish another epistle, but to grow in each one of our own personal lives/relationships with Jesus
* to grow in our daily day-today JOY IN Him
* to grow in our vision /understanding of Jesus as our SAVIOR everyday in the midst of our lives in a pagan world

ROE: 
* all questions are encouraged all the time
* we are not obligated to agree with me or each other

Obligations:
* ONLY ONE - 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
Paul gives us two magnificent themes: Rejoicing and Fellowship; BUT these are given a totally radically NEW meaning in Christianity because of the SOURCE and OBJECT of these experiences: JESUS CHRIST, hence the recurring theme of IN Christ, OF Christ, THROUGH Christ, BY Christ;

1:12-26  This is the next BIG part of the book  "Pauls Personal Circumstances: the Preaching of Christ"

1:12-17  Instead of "the Good, the Bad and the Ugly", Paul describes here that what the Phillipians are seeing are "The Guard, the Bold and the Envious"; 
Then starting in v18 he gives them HIS view:
1:18  Christ Proclaimed
1:19  Christ Vindicated 
1:20  Christ Exalted: 
THE HEART OF THIS WHOLE PASSAGE, THE CRESCENDO TO WHICH HE IS BUILDING IS vs20:
Earnest/Real expectation
NO shame: in Life OR Death
ONLY boldness: in Life OR Death

WHY???
BECAUSE JESUS WILL ALWAYS BE EXALTED!

vs21  The Battle Cry of Christ's exaltation; This cry captured the essence of a totally radical new view, it revolutionized the Worlds concepts of and relationship between: 
LIFE		Separation
and 		vs
DEATH	Reunion
Try to imagine what Pauls guard must be thinking of all this! To a soldier the greatest test of his obedience to his cause, of his own personal discipline, was to somehow face death, even though he did not want to die; 
To Paul, HIS greatest test of obedience and discipline was to REMAIN ALIVE, even though HE'D much rather DIE; 
How shocking a thing this would be to a soldier guarding Paul, that the thing HE (the soldier) feared most, that he steeled himself against with the harshest of disciplines was the FEAR of DEATH, the very thing Paul YEARNED for the most; that for Paul, the greatest sacrifice was to GO ON LIVING; 
What manner of belief was this Christianity that the BEST part of it's promised eternal life began AFTER death?? What manner of Savior was this Jesus that those who knew Him yearned to be with Him SO MUCH, that death was seen as a blessed REUNION with Him, and life on Earth was instead a voluntary SEPARATION from the greatest JOY possible??; 
This is a Bitter Irony for the Unsaved ARE RIGHT! FOR THEM Death IS a terrible endless separation, a most terrifying and horrible fate to behold, much less fall into; 

vs22-26 the Christians Delemma: 
Our Love FOR Jesus compells us to Depart
The Love OF Jesus compells us to Stay
NOT for our OWN sake, but for EACH OTHERS!
This then begs the question: WHY ARE WE STILL HERE, ALIVE?? Is it because "dying is wrong" or frightening or unpleaseant to contemplate? Or is it because Jesus fills us with His love and a heart yearning to share Him with others?
Are we searching for a meaning to Life? FIND IT in JESUS LIFE; Him living it IN us, and THROUGH us
Another question: WHEN is being with Jesus NOT the best choice?  When His choice for us is for us to REMAIN.

Now we begin a NEW section
1:27-2:30  one possible description of this section is "The Pattern of Christian Life: The Humility of Christ"

Before we start in, let's see an overview of this passage;
1:27-2:4  The Exhortation to Humility  HERE is the Goal
2:5-11  The Epitomy of Humility  Jesus - here is the Divine Example
2:12-18 The Exercize of Humility  here is HOW YOU experience this in YOUR daily life
2:10-30  The Examples of Humility  Timothy and Epaphroditis

NOW let's dig in:
1:27  "ONLY..." placed first and is emphatic; ie The one thing I urge as the only thing needful; or "Above all, at all costs"; 
(KJV) "conversation" the Greek verb means to be a citizen; so a better lit trans is "Be citizens..."; 
...doing WHAT?? living a life "worthy of the Gospel of Christ"; This use of the verb involving citizenship would hold special importance to the Phillipians, for whom their ROMAN citizenship was a particular point of pride and enjoyment; Paul is now trying to help them see that they are NOW also and more importantly Citizens of a Heavenly Realm, with the Lord as our True King; THEY CAN'T ACT LIKE THEY DON'T BELONG, THEY MUST LIVE AS FOREIGNERS, living a life that reflects their TRUE HOMELAND AND IT'S CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS; No one questioned their living like Romans in a land so far from the soil of Rome, so too they need to see themselves in the same way as living a Christ-life in a pagan land; 

How do we see ourselves?? Are we foreigners here in America? Are we able to see the clear and critical differences between our Earthly land of birth, and our Heavenly Home of Re-birth?? HOW HARD it is sometimes to NOT be conformed to this world, but rather live that transformed life of Jesus; Do we kid ourselves by confusing what is actually personal biases and upbringing and opinion for true Christian living? By allowing actions and attitudes to exist in our hearts and lives because everyone else around us where we live does? Its OK to bad mouth people we don't like, people who have hurt us with their false or unfair words or actions; it's OK to cheat someone "just a little bit" in business because that's being a slick businessman, a good horse trader; it's OK to talk about other peoples activities, even if its humiliating and embarassing to them, substatiated or not, because we're only telling what someone else told us, I mean, it's not like WE started the talk...; 

What does vs27 indicate that Paul meant when he talked about being "citizens worthy of the Gospel..."?
-standing firm together
-of one mind striving
-unafraid of suffering (vs28)
He longs to be assured of their steadfastness; NOT based upon his being there, but rather upon THEIR being there because of CHRIST; 
"striving" in Greek carries association of a contest in war and in the arena where gladiatorial struggles were life-and-death real; It also has a an added prefix sun emphasizing a sense of fighting "with, together"; or "side by side" 
"one mind"  the Phillipians attitude and interaction with the world must be based upon an internal harmony; 
1:28  Persecution can be TERRIFYING; the Greek word is a very strong one, used only here in the entire NT, denoting the uncontrollable stampede of startled horses; 
The use of this particular word is very appropriate to those who deal with the terrible aftermath of the world's behavior; It is often sudden, harsh and utterly savage and barbaric; There IS no sort of crime, NO kind of atrocity beyond the perverted imagination of humanity; Even the quiet contemplation of man's vicious handiwork in the course of studying medical and military history can chill the soul and shake the heart; WHAT THEN, the reaction to being face to face in a seeming unavoidable collision course with the PERSONAL experiencing of such realities?? 
"adversaries"  this word gets ALOT of use in the Bible; it includes Jesus enemies, Pauls opponants at Ephesus, the anti-Christ, and esp Satan; 
(KJV) "...an evident token of perdition...[and] of salvation"  WHAT is this "token"? Their constancy and fearlessness in the face of persecution; Lit trans: a pointing out; It is a legal term, used to mean "a writ of indictment"; It is a PROOF and a DEMONSTRATION; 
To the persecutors, the Christian's steadfastness is an accusation against them, proving that their persecution is devoid of power, that their attempts to intimidate, and terrorize them into silence about the Lord Jesus CANNOT SUCCEED; 
To the Christians, this same constancy and fearlessness is proof that the Lord is able and willing to enable them to endure what they could NOT have endured on their own; "salvation" here carries with it the though of God's preserving care in the midst of trial; BUT ALSO, it is Proof that the Lord who is faithful NOW in their tribulations will ALSO be faithful to save them unto the very end, even unto their ETERNAL FINAL salvation; 
TO WHOM is this "token" evident?? "...to them..."; The unsaved persecutors will be UNABLE to deny that the Christians are NOT responding with the terror that they were expecting; When they see their attempts fail, they will know that "something's wrong"; perhaps even some will realize that they are contending with something or some One beyond their ability to stop; 
(KJV) "...and that of God"; better trans: "FROM God"; BOTH the destruction AND the salvation are from the Lord; 
AND HERE IS THE KEY FOR US: it will ALWAYS be ONLY FROM the Lord that we can find enablement and the power to resist trials that panic all others; OUR HOPE IS SOLELY AND ONLY IN HIM AND NOWHERE else; Do you look to yourself and despair at the hopeless inadequacies you find there? Does the future fill you with hopeless dread and/or frustration because of a past filled with repeated defeats and failures? HERE IS OUR HOPE, HERE IS OUR PLACE OF REST FROM THE FRUSTRATIONS AND BURDEN OF OUR OWN HUMAN FRAILITIES: "...AND THAT FROM GOD"; God remains sovereign in the midst of our suffering; 

1:29-30  "FOR..."; In the light of the above, or Given the above; He's now going to explain how such a remarkable statement as he just made could POSSIBLY be true;
What can make the prospect of suffering and persecution NOT terrifying? By letting them see it from the Lord's view, that it is not a punishment, it is NOT God slipping up and letting unfair and pointless pain into their lives; 
(KJV) "...it is given..." better trans: "It was given..."; (AMP) "...you have been granted..."; This privilege of suffering for His sake was ALREADY theirs from the moment of their salvation; IT WAS THEN AND IS NOW AN INTERWOVEN PART OF OUR SALVATION; 
"it was given" in the Greek is derived from the word translated "GRACE"; To suffer because of our living for Jesus is a GIFT, a PRIVILEGE, and a FELLOWSHIP with Paul and ALL OTHER Christians; It is being "granted for Christ's sake" 
The Gift was NOT suffering AS SUCH; it's meaning and value lay in it's being FOR HIS SAKE;