Phili 2:15 | KingComments | STEP | . In the preceding verses you saw the Lord Jesus. I think you should have felt just like me. When you see Him, you forget all and you are completely engrossed in Him. Now Paul brings you back to the reality of life. And that is the same reality of life the Lord Jesus lived in. Therefore what Paul now says is connected with the previous. So he begins with “therefore”. He focuses on the believers in Philippi whom he calls “my beloved”, a beautiful and above all a true form of address. He does not do that to flatter them, but he stresses the deep love he has for them. They are the objects of his loving care. In his care for them he wants them to implement in practice what he told them about Christ. The obedience of Christ served them as a model. Now they should follow. He appeals to this by pointing out to their obedience they had already shown when he was with them. When you remind someone of the good results he had already achieved he will be persuaded to give his best. Perhaps for the Philippians it could have been relatively easy to be obedient to the Word of God when Paul was with them. He fought for them at that time. You may recognize that. When someone supports your cause and is a good role model for you, it has an encouraging effect on you. If such a person is no longer there, then the danger is that you fall asleep. Paul is no longer with them. Now they must fight alone and “work out” their own “salvation”. They could no longer leave this to Paul. Now it is a matter of their own commitment to work out their salvation to the finish. Salvation here and elsewhere in the letter refers to the future. It refers to a situation where there are no more threats which can block our life of faith, and where there is no enemy to be feared. We have not reached this far as long as we are on earth. To reach the destination safely you will have to use all your energy. The word work out is used for working in a field where the work is never finished. Weeds are always there to be pulled out; for instance judging evil thoughts. This working out must be done “with fear and trembling”. This makes us aware of the fact that this is not something you just do. You can feel powerless to confront the dangers which make the way so cumbersome. Nevertheless it is your responsibility that you commit yourself to reach the goal safe and well. If you really live with the Lord and live for Him, then that will be your intense desire. You will also find that you are not able to deal with the dangers that threaten your life. You fear and tremble when you balance the circumstances through which you are going, against your own strength. . But then you get a great encouragement. All is proof that God works in you. You are not left to yourself and you are not dependent on your own strength. For the Philippians, the apostle was not there any longer but God was very much there ( ). He remained with them and it was He Who worked in them. It is His pleasure to bring people to the place of salvation with Himself. He gives them the necessary strength to reach the goal (cf. ). So here you see a close connection between your own responsibility and the work of God. How it works exactly cannot be explained. One thing is certain. If you do what God wants you to do He gives you the power to accomplish it. That applies to any situation you go through. . A major obstacle on the way to final salvation, Paul says, is “grumbling or disputing”. The history of the Israelites, the earthly people of God, gives a few examples of these utterances during their wilderness journey ( ; ). This evil also reflected itself in the very first days of the church ( ). It lies dormant in all of us. It is the feeling of dissatisfaction and discrimination as if you are the only one who always undeservedly receives the blow. You think that you always have to do the least of the jobs and if you do something good you do not get the recognition that you deserve. The step from grumbling to disputing is taken quickly. You start disputing and discussing everything you ought to do. The tone is set for discontentment and disagreement. The mind of the Lord Jesus is completely out of sight, mutual unanimity is far away, salvation is endangered. Because Paul so clearly sees this, he urges to do “all things without grumbling or disputing”. So not only things that you see the benefits of or for which you get due credit. In this context, “all things” refers to anything that promotes mutual unity. Remember the example of the Lord Jesus. . If there is no room for grumbling and disputing, then the way is clear for all positive expressions which are mentioned below, and which describe exactly what Christ Himself showed. In this way the church – every individual member – should always act whatever be the circumstances. “Blameless” means that there is nothing in your life which someone can point his finger at. This refers to the outer. “Innocent” means unmixed, and that refers to the inner character where there is only one desire and not a desire to want from both sides. You can see these two features clearly in the Lord Jesus. However, here the matter is not about Him but about you. Paul continues. He says to the Philippians – and thus also to you and me – that they are “children of God above reproach”. Above reproach doesn’t mean that no one can ever say anything wrong about you. But what is the exact reason? Here you are spoken to as a child of God. You are a child of God because you are born of Him. Therefore you have His nature ( ). The nature of God is light and love ( ). This must be visible in your life. When something of your old nature is visible, then you are no longer above reproach. Then people have something to point at, and God also has something to point at. In your old life you were not distinguished from a “crooked and perverse generation”. You were part of a generation, a kind of people, who seduce others to bad deeds. Now you no longer belong to it. But you stand in the midst of it. It is now God’s purpose that you shine as a light in the midst of these people. As a child of God you are a light bearer in a world which is shrouded in darkness and is excluded from any Divine light. The world has rejected the true light ( ). God in His mercy has not taken away all the light from the world. Now we, the children of God, are “the light of the world” ( ). . And how can people around you perceive the light? That is if you present “the word of life”, that means if you show Christ in your life ( ). In John 1 you also do find that special combination of light and life ( ). After dealing with the relationship of the Philippians with one another, Paul is now talking about their behavior in the world. You see how close one is linked to the other. When the believers disagree, it is something that does not go unnoticed in the world. We must be ashamed of any disunity. To prevent disunity it indeed is necessary to go to the lowest possible level to accommodate the other person. The need for separation from believers in the case of sin is not the issue here. This is clearly spoken of in other letters. But in this case it is about my mind which must be undisputed before God, before my fellow believers and before the world. Paul connects the practice of the Philippians with the account he must give before the judgment seat of Christ. It took him a lot to bring Christ to the Philippians and to keep them in the way of faith. He did “run” for it. Paul makes reference to the discipline of the Olympic Games. The participants submitted to a ten month of strict abstinence and hard training. He did “toil” for them. The word means that he exerted himself physically and mentally and so he was severely fatigued. It cannot be true that all this was “in vain”. Should it be so that the Philippians should abandon? This persuasive appeal of a man who is so committed to them cannot remain unanswered. Besides harm to their own soul and dishonor to the Lord Jesus, it would mean a terrible ingratitude to this man as they owed him so much. Now read Philippians 2:12-16 again. Reflection: What leads you to grumbling quickly and how well are you equipped against it?

‏ Philippians 2:15

Light Bearers

Phil 2:12. In the preceding verses you saw the Lord Jesus. I think you should have felt just like me. When you see Him, you forget all and you are completely engrossed in Him. Now Paul brings you back to the reality of life. And that is the same reality of life the Lord Jesus lived in.

Therefore what Paul now says is connected with the previous. So he begins Phil 2:12 with “therefore”. He focuses on the believers in Philippi whom he calls “my beloved”, a beautiful and above all a true form of address. He does not do that to flatter them, but he stresses the deep love he has for them. They are the objects of his loving care. In his care for them he wants them to implement in practice what he told them about Christ.

The obedience of Christ served them as a model. Now they should follow. He appeals to this by pointing out to their obedience they had already shown when he was with them. When you remind someone of the good results he had already achieved he will be persuaded to give his best.

Perhaps for the Philippians it could have been relatively easy to be obedient to the Word of God when Paul was with them. He fought for them at that time. You may recognize that. When someone supports your cause and is a good role model for you, it has an encouraging effect on you. If such a person is no longer there, then the danger is that you fall asleep. Paul is no longer with them. Now they must fight alone and “work out” their own “salvation”. They could no longer leave this to Paul. Now it is a matter of their own commitment to work out their salvation to the finish.

Salvation here and elsewhere in the letter refers to the future. It refers to a situation where there are no more threats which can block our life of faith, and where there is no enemy to be feared. We have not reached this far as long as we are on earth. To reach the destination safely you will have to use all your energy. The word work out is used for working in a field where the work is never finished. Weeds are always there to be pulled out; for instance judging evil thoughts.

This working out must be done “with fear and trembling”. This makes us aware of the fact that this is not something you just do. You can feel powerless to confront the dangers which make the way so cumbersome.

Nevertheless it is your responsibility that you commit yourself to reach the goal safe and well. If you really live with the Lord and live for Him, then that will be your intense desire. You will also find that you are not able to deal with the dangers that threaten your life. You fear and tremble when you balance the circumstances through which you are going, against your own strength.

Phil 2:13. But then you get a great encouragement. All is proof that God works in you. You are not left to yourself and you are not dependent on your own strength. For the Philippians, the apostle was not there any longer but God was very much there (Acts 20:32). He remained with them and it was He Who worked in them. It is His pleasure to bring people to the place of salvation with Himself. He gives them the necessary strength to reach the goal (cf. Heb 13:21).

So here you see a close connection between your own responsibility and the work of God. How it works exactly cannot be explained. One thing is certain. If you do what God wants you to do He gives you the power to accomplish it. That applies to any situation you go through.

Phil 2:14. A major obstacle on the way to final salvation, Paul says, is “grumbling or disputing”. The history of the Israelites, the earthly people of God, gives a few examples of these utterances during their wilderness journey (1Cor 10:10; Exo 14:11 ; Exo 15:24 ; Exo 16:2 ; Exo 17:3 Num 14:2 ; Num 16:11). This evil also reflected itself in the very first days of the church (Acts 6:1). It lies dormant in all of us. It is the feeling of dissatisfaction and discrimination as if you are the only one who always undeservedly receives the blow. You think that you always have to do the least of the jobs and if you do something good you do not get the recognition that you deserve.

The step from grumbling to disputing is taken quickly. You start disputing and discussing everything you ought to do. The tone is set for discontentment and disagreement. The mind of the Lord Jesus is completely out of sight, mutual unanimity is far away, salvation is endangered.

Because Paul so clearly sees this, he urges to do “all things without grumbling or disputing”. So not only things that you see the benefits of or for which you get due credit. In this context, “all things” refers to anything that promotes mutual unity. Remember the example of the Lord Jesus.

Phil 2:15. If there is no room for grumbling and disputing, then the way is clear for all positive expressions which are mentioned below, and which describe exactly what Christ Himself showed. In this way the church – every individual member – should always act whatever be the circumstances.

“Blameless” means that there is nothing in your life which someone can point his finger at. This refers to the outer. “Innocent” means unmixed, and that refers to the inner character where there is only one desire and not a desire to want from both sides. You can see these two features clearly in the Lord Jesus. However, here the matter is not about Him but about you.

Paul continues. He says to the Philippians – and thus also to you and me – that they are “children of God above reproach”. Above reproach doesn’t mean that no one can ever say anything wrong about you. But what is the exact reason? Here you are spoken to as a child of God. You are a child of God because you are born of Him. Therefore you have His nature (2Pet 1:4). The nature of God is light and love (1Jn 1:5 ; 1Jn 4:8 ; 16). This must be visible in your life. When something of your old nature is visible, then you are no longer above reproach. Then people have something to point at, and God also has something to point at.

In your old life you were not distinguished from a “crooked and perverse generation”. You were part of a generation, a kind of people, who seduce others to bad deeds. Now you no longer belong to it. But you stand in the midst of it. It is now God’s purpose that you shine as a light in the midst of these people. As a child of God you are a light bearer in a world which is shrouded in darkness and is excluded from any Divine light.

The world has rejected the true light (Jn 1:5). God in His mercy has not taken away all the light from the world. Now we, the children of God, are “the light of the world” (Mt 5:14).

Phil 2:16. And how can people around you perceive the light? That is if you present “the word of life”, that means if you show Christ in your life (1Jn 1:1-2). In John 1 you also do find that special combination of light and life (Jn 1:4).

After dealing with the relationship of the Philippians with one another, Paul is now talking about their behavior in the world. You see how close one is linked to the other. When the believers disagree, it is something that does not go unnoticed in the world. We must be ashamed of any disunity.

To prevent disunity it indeed is necessary to go to the lowest possible level to accommodate the other person. The need for separation from believers in the case of sin is not the issue here. This is clearly spoken of in other letters. But in this case it is about my mind which must be undisputed before God, before my fellow believers and before the world.

Paul connects the practice of the Philippians with the account he must give before the judgment seat of Christ. It took him a lot to bring Christ to the Philippians and to keep them in the way of faith. He did “run” for it. Paul makes reference to the discipline of the Olympic Games. The participants submitted to a ten month of strict abstinence and hard training.

He did “toil” for them. The word means that he exerted himself physically and mentally and so he was severely fatigued. It cannot be true that all this was “in vain”. Should it be so that the Philippians should abandon? This persuasive appeal of a man who is so committed to them cannot remain unanswered. Besides harm to their own soul and dishonor to the Lord Jesus, it would mean a terrible ingratitude to this man as they owed him so much.

Now read Philippians 2:12-16 again.

Reflection: What leads you to grumbling quickly and how well are you equipped against it?