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Philippians: Part 2 - Ch. 2



The Character of Christ


Moving on to chapter two of Philippians, Paul continues his encouragement and explanation of the gospel in a very beautiful way. For the first half of this chapter, Paul discusses some very interesting aspects of Christ’s life, including His humility and exaltation. On top of this, Paul also goes back to a familiar topic that we addressed in the book of Ephesians by talking about unity in the Spirit. All of this comes to a point when Paul tells the Philippians how they should view all of this from an eternal perspective as well. To wrap up this chapter, Paul gives an update on two fellow believers whom he has sent to proclaim the good news of the gospel and help lead the church. All of this shows us where Paul’s heart is at during the building up of the Philippian church, but it also shows us how we should live and how we should be building up our own local churches. Just as Bible Ref states about this very chapter, “Chapter 2 emphasizes the theme of rejoicing during times of suffering. Believers were to look out for the interests of others, as well as their own. This involves taking on the humble attitude of Christ.” As we dive into this chapter, we will see just that. Paul will reveal to us the humble attitude of Christ and show us how that should shape our lives and impact our view of salvation. With this in mind, let’s see what our Lord has to teach us through the second chapter of Philippians. 


Unity For Christ


To begin, we must dissect the first four verses, as they set the foundation for what Paul is about to say. Philippians 2:1-4 says, “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Just as we have addressed before, with this passage starting off with a conjunctive adverb, we know that Paul was referencing something prior to this point. As we look at the end of chapter 1, we notice how Paul was discussing how to live is Christ and to die is gain. This was a powerful statement that we went over in our last post, and Paul is building off of this statement to begin chapter two. And as we can see from these opening verses, Paul wants the church to live in unity by focusing on the needs of others and having humility, because this was how Christ lived. So, essentially, Paul is saying that because we live for Christ and even death is a gain to us, let us humble ourselves and follow Jesus’ example because there is nothing the world can do to us. That is a beautiful and powerful statement to realize. Paul goes on to state how Jesus emptied Himself by being made a man and didn’t even consider Himself equal to God, even though He still was God. This is why Philippians 2:9-10 tells us, “For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” Jesus is exalted by the Father because He humbled Himself and took on the form of a man here on earth. 


Fear & Trembling


All of this comes to a point in the next few verses that we cannot overlook. This passage is one that is popular, yet many people take it out of context or don’t understand what it means. Philippians 2:12-13 says, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, workout your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to workfor His good pleasure.” What Paul is saying here is very important. When Paul says to ‘workout your own salvation with fear and trembling’, he is not by any means assuming that we can work our way to God apart from the gospel. Just like these previous passages, he building off of what he has already said. Paul is telling us that because Christ is the center of our salvation and because even He humbled Himself to the point where He died for us to purchase our salvation, may our lives reveal that we truly believe that. The Philippians weren’t being asked to live like Christ-followers because Paul was around; they were being told to live like Christ-followers because of the fear and respect they had for the Lord and His word. When we are told to workout our salvation with fear and trembling, it means that we should live as a saved people who at all times honor and glorify God because of what He has done for us. This should be our response to Jesus dying for us and purchasing our salvation, that we would respect Him and follow His words for the rest of our days. 

Lastly, Paul discusses with the Philippians how he is sending Timothy and Epaphroditus to them. This may not seem like a whole lot that should have an impact on us, but there is something beautiful here that Paul states that I think should challenge all of us. When discussing Timothy, Paul says in Philippians 2:20-21 “For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.” What an amazing statement to be said about a believer. I know we don’t live in the same time and culture that Paul and Timothy did, but may God make us more and more like Christ every day so that the same may be said about us. May we ourselves be genuinely concerned for the local church becasue of Jesus, that others may feel the impact of it as well. I hope and pray that as we conclude this chapter, you will understand the weight of what Jesus went through when He humbled Himself to become a man and die for us. And may this understanding bring us to repentance so that we may live out the rest of our lives working out our salvation in fear and trembling of who the Lord is and how He can use us for His honor and glory. 






Sources

[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/



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