LESSON 7

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 three 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 third recurring theme of CHRIST: 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"

Then we began a NEW section
1:27-2:30  "The Pattern of Christian Life: The Humility of Christ"

This section had 4 parts:
1:27-2:4  The Exhortation to Humility  HERE is the Goal
2:5-11  The Epitome of Humility  Jesus - here is the Divine Example
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

We started the first section last time:
1:27-2:4  The Exhortation to Humility  HERE is the Goal, the Need, to live in Christ while in a hostile Pagan world;
1:27-28  What do vss27-28 indicate that Paul meant when he talked about being "citizens worthy of the Gospel..."?
-standing firm together
-of one mind striving (fighting side-by-side)
-unafraid of (NOT panicked by) suffering (vs28)
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; 
Do we IN FACT face persecution?? YES, 
Last time we talked about what kinds of "persecution" WE face TODAY, here in a supposedly "tolerant" and "open minded" society; The quiet but brutal denial of acceptance by our peers, by those with whom we work and live life each day; 
(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 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; 
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; the use of the word "salvation" in the Greek here carries with it the thought 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; 
(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 FRAILTIES: "...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; 

OK, so in this "exhortation to humility" Paul calls to us ALL to Live thusly:
-stand together
-strive in unity
-be unafraid in suffering

HOW??? How does this become a REALITY in the life of a Church and it's believers??
It's in 2:1-4 that he begins to give us HIS answer:
ONLY THROUGH HUMILITY, ONE TO ANOTHER.

2:1  (AMP) "SO"  given the above call to Christian living AND given the following precious common life experiences we share in Christ Jesus...
This vs is RICH with PROMISES; SEE what Jesus has made available to us:
"consolation", "comfort", fellowship", "bowels and mercies"
The word trans "if" sometimes creates the implication that such only "might" be available; BETTER trans would be as in AMP: "SO"; or "SINCE"; It's clear from all that Paul has ever written that all these are not "maybe's" but definite realities for every Christian, both then and NOW; 

Let's talk a bit about those "promises" one promise at a time:
-"consolation"  better trans EXHORTATION in Christ; WHAT kind of EXHORTATION IS there in HIM?? What DOES He call us to do?? [read John 13:34-35; 15:12; 17:22]
-"comfort"  the Greek lit trans as "beside speech/word", meaning a word which comes to the side of one to stimulate and comfort him, to act as an incentive to him; [GIVE PASCUZZI'S ENCOURAGEMENT/INCENTIVE TO ME DURING THIS SAT'S AEROBIC RUN]; so a better trans would be "PERSUASIVE INCENTIVE in love"; AND WHAT IS THE INCENTIVE LOVE HAS? WHO'S love?? HOW does it DO this to/in us?? 
-"fellowship" THERE'S THAT WORD AGAIN!! Do you remember what it means?? "Participation"; IN WHAT?? the Spirit; It's not "fellowship wrought BY the Spirit" BUT RATHER "fellowship WITH, participation IN the Spirit"; WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "PARTICIPATE IN THE SPIRIT"??; a participation in His gifts and influences; 
-"bowels and mercies" better trans AFFECTION and COMPASSIONATE SYMPATHY; "bowels": we already discussed that to these people this was the "location" of DEEP seated emotion; 
MORE importantly is the word trans "mercies" {oiktirmoi}; from the word {oiktos} "pity or mercy", this word defines the feeling which expresses itself in the exclamation {oi} OH! on seeing another's misery; it further can, and does here, signify the outward expression of deep feeling in compassionate yearning and action; 

Paul is telling them (AND US) that THESE are GIVENS,  they are REALITIES in their lives because JESUS is REAL; Are they real in our lives and in our Church as well?? They CAN be, AND THERE IS NOTHING THAT HAS TO KEEP THEM FROM BEING SO; IF we are willing and yearning for them; 

2:2  AND he goes ON to say that GIVEN these DO exist and are AVAILABLE to them, then  "FULFILL" (KJV), or (AMP, NIV, NAS) " COMPLETE" my JOY; lit: "complete of me THE joy..."; 
One commentator calls vs1 a "fourfold appeal" and then goes on to call this vs a "fourfold result" that can and should naturally come out of accepting and living out the above "promises":
(KJV) "likeminded", "same love", "one accord", "one mind";

"likeminded"  lit trans "think the same thing"; does this mean all thinking the same way?? NO!! BUT it DOES mean having the SAME OBJECT of our thoughts, the same GOAL; AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT IS FOR PAUL?? SEE 1:20-21  JESUS JESUS JESUS!!! HIS EXALTATION! the AMP writes it "living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose"
"same love"  from {agapon}; does this mean we all have to love the same way?? Express the affection Jesus puts in us the same way?? NO!! BUT WE ALL MUST HAVE THE SAME SOURCE OF LOVE; 
BUT, that "same love" often gets manifested in MANY different ways because WE are very different children of the Lord; The "Prophets" among us will express that love by calling out to us about those things that they can see so clearly that dishonor us and the Lord, that so clearly are dragging us down, keeping us from FULLY living that marvelous life in Christ; the "Mercys" among us will not see the sin as much as the pain and anguish that it has caused in and among us and they will seek out the hurting and comfort them; the "Servants" among us will busily buzz around us "DOING" what we either can't or won't see that needs to be "done"; And so on for ALL the different parts of the Body of Christ, LOVING AS THEIR DIFFERING GIFTS ENABLE THEM; 
"one accord"  lit "one in soul"; did you ever have such a good and close friend that you seemed to have the same thoughts, the same feelings and the same responses to everything? THATS what Paul wants for them AND FOR US, TOO; If we seek out and experience the life in vs1 Jesus can give us, then we CAN DO and BE this to each other; (this is the same word {psuche} as in 1:27 "with one mind"); 
What does this mean in real terms? It can mean that when ONE of us hurts the REST of us do TOO; That we don't see ourselves as apart and UNAFFECTED by the events and trials others of us are experiencing; It's a kind of perverse reverse of the self-righteous Pharisee who prayed "Oh Lord, I thank you that I'm NOT like that miserable SINNER over there" BUT INSTEAD WE may find ourselves praying "Oh Lord, I thank you that I'm NOT suffering or hurting like THAT miserable wretch over there; I'm glad those aren't MY problems"  GUESS AGAIN!!! IF THEY ARE HIS OR HER PROBLEMS THEY ARE YOURS TOO!!; 
"one mind"  lit "thinking the ONE thing"; this is a repeat use of the same Greek word in the first of this verse only here he gives it a harder and heavier emphasis of his original point; AMP writes it as "of one harmonious mind and intention"; 

Before we go on, see the transition above, where in 1:27-30 he appealed to them for the sake of THEIR joy; but HERE in 2:1-2 he's now appealing to them for the sake of HIS joy; Reminds us that what we do DOES NOT JUST AFFECT US, BUT ALSO ALL THOSE WHO LOVE US AS WELL; there are those who would try to say that what they choose to do is their OWN business and NOBODY ELSES; FALSE! UNTRUE!! WE ARE LOVED BEYOND OUR OWN RECKONING and our choices DO impact upon others and WISHING it otherwise does NOT make it less so; OUR joy and the joy of those around us who love us is inevitably intertwined and inseparable;