PHILIPPIANSPaul's Prison Psalm

byRobert H. Sykes

EVERYDAY PUBLICATIONS INC310 Killaly Street WestPort Colborne, ON L3K 6A6Canada

Copyright © 1989 Everyday Publications Inc.

Copyright © 1989EVERYDAY PUBLICATIONS INC.

ISBN 0-88873-414-X

Printed in Canada

Copyright © 1989 Everyday Publications Inc.

ContentsChapter Page

Introduction 51 Living FOR Christ; 9

Christ our Purpose in Life2 Living LIKE Christ; 15

Christ our Pattern3 Living TO WIN Christ; 25

Christ our Object4 Living BY Christ; 34

Christ our Strength and Supply

Appendix 1 – The Humility of Christ 45Appendix 2 – Fellowship, Partnership 54Appendix 3 – Christ the God-Servant 55Appendix 4 – Joy, Rejoicing 57Appendix 5 – Mind, Thinking, Attitude 58Appendix 6 – Stars in the Universe 59Answers 61

3Copyright © 1989 Everyday Publications Inc.

Copyright © 1989 Everyday Publications Inc.

INTRODUCTION

Paul's letter to the Philippian believers is a very warm letter. "Joy-notes" are found in every chapter. As you study this letter make anote of each one you find. When you have finished check Appendix4, page 47. Try to find the secrets of Paul's joy, and apply them toyour own life. Now let's look at the historical background to this let-ter, which may well be called Paul's Prison Psalm.

The church in Philippi began in Acts 16. So we urge our read-ers to read that chapter before going any further. In verse 9 welearn that God had called Paul and his companions to leave AsiaMinor (now called Turkey) and go across into Europe. Paul's com-panions at that time were Timothy, v.3, Silas, v.29, and Luke, whowrites ”we” v.10, 16, see 20.6. Macedonia was part of what wenow call Greece.

They sailed from Troas (ancient Troy) and landed at Neapolis.From there they walked about 10 miles (16 km) toward the north-west, arriving at the city called Philippi. This city was named inhonor of Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great. It was theleading city of the district of Macedonia and was a RomanColony. This means that its citizens were privileged to be Romancitizens. That gave them many special benefits.

Philippi was located at the end of the famous Egnatian Waywhich was the main road leading from Rome to the East. Therewere rich gold and silver mines in the area. So it was an importantcenter for both government and for business.

As we read in Acts 16, Paul and his fellow-workers first went tothe riverside and found some religious women meeting in a sort ofpark under the trees. We think they were meeting there be-causethere was no synagogue where Jews could worship in the city.

Paul began talking with them about the Old Testament scrip-tures and about the Lord Jesus. Lydia was a business womanfrom the city of Thyatira in Asia, and the first to believe in theLord Jesus. And so the Good News of God's salvation entered the

5Copyright © 1989 Everyday Publications Inc.

“Gateway to Europe”, as Philippi was called. Soon there wereseveral other believers: some who were members of Lydia'shousehold, v.15; a slave girl whom Paul rescued from the powerof demons, v.18; the chief city jailer and his family, v.34; and othermen called brothers, v.40. There were people from various socialclasses: business, slavery, military; people with differing back-grounds: Asian, Greek, Roman, possibly Jewish; and people fromvarious religions: a convert to Judaism, a spirit medium, anemperor worshiper.

Later on, when Paul wrote the letter to these believers, hementions several other names. Look them up in chapters 2.25 and4.2,3.

And so we see the first Christian church in Europe was plant-ed in Philippi. That is why it is called the Birthplace of EuropeanChristianity.

A number of years passed (some think about 10 years). Paulwas in prison in Rome when he wrote the letter we are now goingto study. He had several reasons for writing to these believers.Here are some of them:

1. To give them news about himself, 1.12-16; 4.10-19.2. To encourage them in their problems and persecutions,

1.27-30; 4.43. To help restore unity among some who were quarreling,

2.1-4; 4.2-54. To say a good word for Timothy and Epaphroditus,

2.19-30.5. To warn the believers about wrong teaching, chap.3.6. To thank the believers for gifts sent to him, 4.10,18.

We suggest a Key Verse for the letter would be chapter 4.4,Rejoice in the Lord! Perhaps as you study this letter you maythink of some other verse as Key Verse. Bible teachers have givenus many good outlines for Philippians. We will pass on a few toconsider. First is an easy one to remember:

Chapter 1, Christ our Purpose, v.21Chapter 2, Christ our Pattern, v.5Chapter 3, Christ our Prize, v.14

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Chapter 4, Christ our Power, v.13

Here is another one:Chapter 1, Christ our Life.

The Gospel Mind and evangelistic spiritChapter 2, Christ our Example.

The Lowly Mind and humble spiritChapter 3, Christ our Object.

The Determined Mind with steadfast spirit Chapter 4, Christ our Strength and Supply.

The Confident Mind and spirit of trust.

One with a little more detail:1. Encouragement for living the Christian life, 1.1-30

Paul praises the believers, 1.1-8Paul prays for them, 1.9-11Paul presents himself to them, 1.12-30

2. Examples for living the Christian life, 2.1-30The Son of God – attitude for believers to share, 2.1-11 The servants of God – manner of life for believers to fol-low 2.12-30

3. Exhortations for living the Christian life, 3.1-21Believers to have no confidence in the flesh, 3.1-14 Believers to walk pleasing to God, 3.15-21

4. Enablement for living the Christian life, 4.1-23 Christ at the center of life, 4.1-7God's presence with believers, 4.8-9God's supply of believers' needs, 4.10-20

Conclusion, 4.21-23.We suggest you take each of these outlines, one at a time, and

read right through the letter to the Philippians noting the pointsof the outline being used. Then as we study the letter together,make up your own outline. And as we go into our study, pleaseread each chapter in your Bible before you read these notes onthat chapter. And be sure to look up all the scripture references asyou come to them. The more you look into the Bible itself themore you will be blessed.

INTRODUCTION 7

CHAPTER 1

Living FOR Christ;Christ our PURPOSE in Life

1 The writer of this letter is Paul. Timothy was with him whenhe was writing so he included Timothy's name. Paul does not

use his title of Apostle as he does in other letters. Perhaps he didnot feel that he needed to do so since the Philippian believerswere very near and dear to his heart. But he does call himself andTimothy servants or slaves of Christ Jesus. Slaves were servantswho had been purchased with a price. So they did not belong tothemselves.

God's people are called saints. This means believers who areset apart by God for His possession and service. Compare He-brews 10.10 and 13.12. This letter is written to all God's people atPhilippi including the leaders and helpers. They all had the samestanding before God, they were "in Christ". That refers to theirspiritual standing. “At Philippi” refers to their physical location.2 Grace is God's favor, His love to us shown through Christ.

Peace is the result in our hearts - it refers to total well-being.3,4 Paul had happy memories of his dear friends at Philippi.

Every time he thought of them he breathed a word of thanksto God for them with joy in his heart.5 They had been faithful in helping Paul as he worked in preach

ing the Good News - not only right there in Philippi but alsoafter he left them to preach in other places. They had followedhim with their prayers and gifts.

We should notice the important place the Good News has inthis first chapter. (1) Fellowship of the Good News: (a) by prayer,v.19; (b) by preaching, vs.14-15; (c) by practical living, v.27, andgiving, v.5.

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(2) Furtherance of the Good News, v.12.(3) Faith of the Good News, v.27, referring to the whole body

of Scripture truth.6 What is the good work God is doing in the believers' lives? He

is forming them into the likeness of the Lord Jesus. This is acontinuing process which began the moment we believed. And itwill certainly be brought to perfection when we see Him face toface, 2 Corinthians 3.18. Paul rejoices in the assurance of theLord's ability to perform this. Hebrews 12.2 reminds us that Jesusis the Author and Cause of this work and also the Finisher of it all.

The day of Christ refers to His coming again and it includesthe judgment seat of Christ. Then He will remove forever all thathas been sinful and displeasing to Him , 1 Corinthians 3.10-15.7 Again Paul writes his thanks for how the Philippian believers

had faithfully stood with him through all his labors for theLord. They had shared with him whether he was busy preachingand defending the faith or when he was shut up in prison. Theirlove was true and loyal.8 Paul calls on God to witness how very much he loved them. It

is his way of making a very solemn statement of truth. (Seeother similar references in Romans 1.9; 2 Corinthians 1.23; 1 Thessalonians 2.5,10.) Some old Bibles use the word bowels, butit really means the inward feelings of love and tenderness. Todaywe use the word heart for this. Paul's deep love for the believerscame from the very heart of Christ Himself.9 Paul's three-fold prayer: (1) for abounding love, v.9; (2) for

right understanding, v.10; (3) for genuine purity, v.10b.First of all he wanted to see their love continually growing

stronger and deeper. None of us should ever feel that our love hasreached perfection. There is always room for improvement.10 A good knowledge of God's Word will give us an understand-

ing to be able to test what is the best way to live and behave.God wants our lives to be pure and without blame. The word forpure has the idea of being tested by the sunlight. That was howmerchants tested for defects or flaws in expensive porcelain. Theyheld it up to the sunshine to find any tiny, hidden cracks. The test

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of genuine faith is not what a person says in public but whetherhe is living in obedience to the light of God's Word.

Without offence means not being a stumbling block to others,and being free from impurity. Blameless speaks of our motivesbeing right before God. Look up 1 Corinthians 10.32.

11 Christ living in us will produce the fruit of righteousness, that is a life filled with good, Matthew 5.16. All this results in glory

and praise to God. And that should be the supreme goal of abeliever's life here on earth.

12 Paul now uses his own life-experience to illustrate this. Hegives four results of his suffering, in verses 13, 14, 15, 19.

13 First, the whole imperial guard heard about Christ, and all of Caesar's soldiers knew that Paul was in prison because of his

love for Christ. Remember Paul's experience in Philippi in the jail,Acts 16. And now, years later in Rome, Paul has the same joy ofseeing his very guards won to the Lord Jesus. So, in spite of theenemy's work against Paul, the cause of the Good News wasadvancing, marching forward (a military term), v.12.

14 The second result of Paul's imprisonment was that some timid believers were made brave to stand up and witness for Christ.

This was good and resulted in a greater spread of the Good News.

15 The third result was not good. Some were preaching the Good News from false motives, v.17. They were for Christ but

against Paul. They were jealous and quarrelsome. But there werealso some who loved the Lord Jesus and who loved Paul becausethey knew he was faithfully defending the Good News.

16,17 So both groups were preaching, and these verses reveal their motives. The troublemakers were filled with ill-will

and selfish pride and ambition. But the true servants of Christwere filled with love to Christ, to Paul and to the needy soulsaround them. This is the way we all should be serving Christ.

18 We can also learn from Paul's attitude. He was happy in know ing that men were proclaiming His beloved Savior. He per-

haps was thinking of the Lord's words, If I am lifted up I willdraw all to Myself, John 12.32. That was more important than

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what they thought of Paul! Here we see again the lovely spirit ofhumble selflessness in Paul.19 Here is the fourth result of Paul's sufferings: deliverance and

victory. But what deliverance does he mean? There are sever-al possible answers: (a) deliverance from possible wrong thoughtsin his own heart. For example, which is more important to me,Christ, or my liberty, or a life of service and fame?; (b) general sal-vation, as set free from my sins; (c) final stage of salvation as inRomans 5.9; (d) future release from the Roman prison. In any casePaul had victory over the surrounding circumstances, and hecould rejoice in spite of them. Perhaps Paul is quoting here fromJob 13.16.

This is the only place we read of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Wefind the Spirit of Christ in Romans 8.9 and 1 Peter 1.11. And theSpirit of His Son in Galatians 4.6. These are all titles of the HolySpirit, also called the Spirit of God. We see that all three Personsof the divine Trinity are linked with each other even in their titles.20 Now we come to the very center of Paul's great purpose in life.

The very deepest desire of his heart was: (1) Never to disgracehis Lord; (2) To be brave, full of courage; (3) To glorify his Lordwith his whole being; (4) at all times, whether by living or dying.Some Bibles use the words, that Christ may be magnified. We do thiswhen we praise Him. In Luke 1.46 Mary uses this term, My soulmagnifies the Lord. See also Acts 10.46 and 19.17. To magnify Christmeans to cause people to recognize His greatness. Believers are tobe like magnifying glasses, making Christ large in everyone'seyes. For this to be possible we have to have our hearts "focused",centered, on Christ. And we must be clean so that His light canshine through us. That was Paul's great desire. May it be ours aswell!21 Now Paul gives his personal testimony as to what life is all

about for him: to me, living is Christ. That is not what mostpeople would say today. Unbelievers would have to admit thatfor them living is centered around money or pleasure, power orfame, all for Self . But the Christian has a new center in life, it isChrist. (More on this in chapter 3). James 4.14 asks the pointedquestion: What is your life? What are you living for? Dear reader,will you write down your own answer to the question right here?

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But Paul goes even further. He says that dying is gain! Only abeliever in Christ can say that. When unbelievers die they willexperience only loss,—terrible, eternal loss. In verse 23 Paulexplains what the gain will be for believers.22 If given the choice, Paul would not know which to choose: life

or death. The future in glory was a strong pull on his spirit.But working here on earth for his Lord and Master was a wonder-ful privilege and was all very worthwhile.23,24 Paul longed to be with Christ because he knew that would

be the true gain. But he is being pulled in two directions,heavenward and earthward. He uses a military term for depart-ing. It was used when soldiers break camp as they prepare tomarch . It was also a naval term used when sailors set sail to goon a long voyage. Acts 16.26 uses this term about prisoners whowere released from their chains. All of these thoughts enter intoPaul's view of what death would be like for him: marching Home,setting sail for Heaven, having all the chains of earthly lifereleased, snapped. Home. Freedom. No wonder he exclaims withstrong words, “very far better”!

But the earthward pull is still present. There is yet much workto be done. His tour of duty as Christ's soldier-sailor-ambassadorwas not yet completed. And that would be the measure of his life-span here on earth. It was true of Paul and of all of us, “Immortaluntil our work is done”.25,26 So Paul is assured by the Lord that he would remain here

on earth for a time. And what would his occupation be? Notfor himself but for others. He would be busy helping the believersgrow in faith and joy. They would be rejoicing, not in Paul, but inChrist.27 Paul's main concern was that the Philippian believers should

be living in a manner worthy of the Good News. There wasstill much work to be done for Christ. Let them stand firm, work-ing together shoulder to shoulder with one common purpose, toglorify Christ. There were still many battles to be fought. Let thembe fighting, not against each other, but alongside each other. Letthem stand side by side against the enemy, fighting for the truthof God.

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28 This will take real courage. They should not be surprised that the enemy is busy and strong. But the enemy will be

destroyed, and a sure sign of this is the very courage the Lordgives the believers in the face of battle.29 Life will include bearing a cross. Suffering for Christ is as

much a part of serving Christ as believing on Him. And thissuffering is called a privilege. Do you remember Acts 5.41? Lookit up.30 By suffering for Christ they were taking their place right along

with Paul in the battle. True, they were in Philippi and he wasin Rome, but in God's sight they were fellow-soldiers strugglingin the same battle. Their past struggles are referred to in Acts16.19-24. Today the battle is still the same kind. But, praise God,believers are on the Lord's side and therefore on the winning side!

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 11. Which verse reminds you of Hebrews 12.2, regarding the

Lord Jesus as the Author, Beginner of salvation, and alsothe Finisher of it?

2. Find one or more verses which tell how much Paul lovedthe believers at Philippi.

3. Name one good result of Paul's being in prison.4. What was Paul's chief ambition in life?5. Two privileges are given to Christians. One is to believe

(trust) in Christ. What is the other one? Which verse?

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CHAPTER 2

Living LIKE Christ;Christ our PATTERN

1 This chapter begins with the important teaching that we should be humble. And we are going to see four examples of

living a Godly life. At Philippi there was a problem between somebelievers. Paul is going to deal with them by name in chapter 4.But first he wants to teach all of the believers the importance ofhaving a right attitude of mind. The word “if” in this verse doesnot mean a doubt, it really means “since". His appeal is based onfacts and not on uncertainties.

Here are four facts about believers: (1) We are united withChrist; (2) He loves us; (3) The Holy Spirit is in us; (4) Believershave the capacity to love. These facts strengthen and encourageus. We can have fellowship together, which suggests walking andtalking together, going hand in hand. Through the power of theHoly Spirit this is possible.2 Now since these things are true Paul appeals to all of them to

live in unity, that is, (1) to have the same thoughts and hum-ble attitude of Christ Himself; (2) to share the same strong, self-denying love; (3) to be one in spirit, in heart-agreement; and (4) tohave the same purpose. This is only possible, of course, by thepower of the Holy Spirit. But where He is in control of believersthis lovely harmony and unity will be seen. Paul's own heartwould rejoice greatly if they showed such loving unity.3 But two things must be removed from their hearts before such

unity can be reached: selfish ambition and empty pride. Greekpeople of those days taught that everyone should put self on thethrone of their thoughts and worship. And it is still a great prob-lem in our lives today. Living for self is so common in the worldaround us! And Christians easily take the same attitude. Prideeasily fills our thoughts and hearts. We need to be reminded that

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pride is more correctly spelled prlde, noticing that the center ofpride is the capital I.

Some people show an attitude of pride in their relationshipwith others; this means a lack of humility before God. This seriousspiritual sickness shows in boasting and talking much aboutthemselves or their accomplishments. We need to hear the warn-ing of our Lord Himself in Luke 14.11: Everyone who exalts him-self will surely be brought low, but whoever humbles himself willbe lifted up!4 We should consider others better than ourselves and be look-

ing out for their interests and their wellbeing. Our Lord JesusChrist was always helping others in His life and death. Paul isgoing to write about Him shortly but he is leading up to it little bylittle. It is only by having this same attitude ourselves that we canremove quarreling and fighting from our church life. Let us real-ize that being occupied with self is sin!

And Peter adds some important words to this, in 1 Peter 5.5,6:Clothe yourselves with humility toward each other, because God opposesproud people but He gives special grace to humble folks. Therefore, humbleyourselves under God's hand of power in order that He may lift you upafterwards. Now Paul turns our attention directly to our Lord Jesus.5 Verses 5-11 may be some of the words from an early Christian

hymn which the Spirit uses here to teach some most importanttruths about Christ. Verses 5-8 may be called the first verse en-titled LOWEST HUMILIATION.6 First of all we learn that Jesus Christ is and always was exist-

ing in the form of God. He is the eternal Son of God, equalwith God the Father. The word “form” means “very nature, exactinner being". He never was less than God and never could becomeless than God. He is eternal, unchangeable, supreme over all theuniverse, and He existed before He created the worlds, John 1.1-3; Romans 9.5. He was fully equal with His Father in everyrespect. Every attribute (quality or characteristic) of God was trueof God the Son. He possessed the permanent, eternal fulness ofthe Godhead.

But He did not think that He should hold on selfishly to Hishigh privilege. He did not hold fast to His rights.

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7 God saw lost men dying in their sins; God the Son (Christ) offered to do something about it. God (the Triune God) said,

Whom shall I send, who will go for us? Christ the Son of God said,Here am I, send ME! Isaiah 6.8,9.

Christ willingly made the great personal choice. He strippedHimself of His glory and majesty. He did not hold fast to the com-fort and glory of heaven. But He laid aside His beautiful garmentsof glory. He stepped down from His high throne. He made Himselfof no reputation. How? By taking hold of another form, or innernature. He took on the essential, permanent form of Servant.

But He had always been in the inner, permanent form of God.So He could not and did not lay aside that divine nature. He didnot subtract from His nature and being. But He added a new formor inner nature. He became the God-Servant. What a step ofhumility! What grace He showed to lost mankind!

God has many servants of various degrees. The Bible tells usof mighty angels and the archangel, rulers, authorities in heaven-ly places, cherubs (winged creatures) and seraphs (flaming crea-tures). What kind of servant did Christ become? Hebrews 2 tellsus that He did not take hold of angels. He did not become acherub or a seraph. But He became a man, He took hold onhuman nature, made in human likeness. He was born as a littlebaby in Bethlehem.8 What kind of human being did He become? Humble, lowly,

despised. Born into a poor family, brought up in despisedNazareth. Think of it! He was the only person in the whole worldwho could choose where to be born. Yet He did not come to livein a royal palace or in a wealthy home. Instead He chose to beborn in a manger or stable. Wonderful humility!

But the chief quality of a servant is Obedience. Christ becameobedient to His Father when He sent Him into this world, 1 John4.14. He submitted Himself to the will and authority of HisFather, Hebrews 10.7. His attitude was, Not my will but Your(Father's) will be done, Luke 22.42. Look up also John 6.38; 8.28. Re-member He was still God when He was on earth. But as Servant-God He chose not to assert His own will or authority. Instead Hesubmitted to that of His Father. He chose not to use His own

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Omniscience (ability to know everything) but He learned fromHis Father. He chose not to use His own omnipotence (being all-powerful) but He worked in the power of the Holy Spirit.

How far did His obedience go? Even to the point of death. Hewas willing actually to die in His obedient service to God HisFather. And what kind of death did He choose? An honorable,easy, quick, painless death? NO! It was death on a cross. It was themost cruel and painful means of putting men to death. This tor-ture was reserved for the worst criminals. It was the lowest formof shame. No Roman citizen was allowed to die on a cross.Honorable death was by the poisoned cup used for the higher-class Romans. The average citizen who deserved to die was be-headed (as Paul was). But only the lowest outcasts of society werecrucified.

Furthermore, the Old Testament taught that the curse of Godwas on all who were hanged on a tree. See Deuteronomy 21.23and Galatians 3.13. Yes, that was the kind of willing obedienceJesus showed to His Father. And He died in this way to lay thegreat foundation for our salvation. Hallelujah!

The poet has beautifully described it all:Down from His glory - ever living story -My God and Savior came, and Jesus was His name; Born in a manger, to His own a stranger,A man of sorrows, tears and agony!What lowly grace, bringing us salvation,That in the dead of night, not one faint hope in sight, God, gracious, tender, laid aside His splendor, Stooping to woo, to win, to save my soul!Without hesitation, without holding back,He took the form of man, revealed God's hidden plan; O glorious mystery, sacrifice of Calvary!And now I know He is the great “I AM".Oh how He loved me! He came to save me! His Iife He laid down at Calvary! The great Creator became my Savior,And all God's fulness dwells in Him!

(Wm.Booth-Clibborn, Alt)

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9 Verses 9-11 give us the second verse of the hymn. This be enti-tled, HIGHEST HONOR. Someone has pointed out that verses 1-

4 of this chapter tell of God the Spirit's work; verses 5-8, God theSon's work; and verses 9-11, God the Father's work. And it is true,for we now see God the Father stepping in to act. He has beenwatching His beloved Son as He walked that lowly path here onearth, all the way to the cross. Jesus was obedient every step of theway as He proved His devotion and love to His Father. And nowHis Father openly declares His entire satisfaction with the perfectwork His Son finished at Calvary. God the Father raised Christ tothe highest place of glory and honor.

Jesus had taught the heavenly law of discipleship to His fol-lowers—the way to be high in His kingdom is to go down. To befirst you must become the last and lowest. The way up is down,Matthew 20.25-28; 23.11. So now God applies this law to His be-loved Son who stooped to lowest shame. He now exalts Him tohighest honor. Notice (1) God places Christ in the highest posi-tion. God raised Him from the dead, seated Him at His own righthand in heaven far above all others. He put all things underChrist's feet, Ephesians 1.20-22. God has given back to Christ theglory He had with Him in heaven in eternity past. See John 17.5.

Now notice (2) God has given Christ the highest name. Thename speaks of all Jesus is in His own person and work. It tells usof His love and grace, of His wonderful kindness and patience, ofHis cross and pain, of His great salvation. To the believer it is thesweetest name on earth!10 And God has decreed that all shall bow before Jesus, submit

to Him, and recognize that He is the Highest One. All mustbow before Him, all intelligent beings in heaven (the deathlessplace above), on earth (place of dying around us), and the under-world, Hades (place of the dead below). Many have received Himas Lord and Savior now in this life and have already bowed theirknees to Him. But others refuse to do so now; they will be madeto do so in a coming day of judgment.11 And every tongue shall confess the great confession of the

whole universe: Jesus Christ is Lord. He is supreme over all,He is Lord of all. Look up these verses: Ephesians 4.10. Revelation

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5.3,11-14; 7.9-12; 14.6-7. The Lordship of Christ is the very heart ofChristianity. This exaltation of Christ is the fulfillment of Psalm110.1-4 and many other Old Testament prophecies.

Peter puts it this way in 1 Peter 3.22: Jesus Christ has gone intoheaven and is at God's right hand, with angels and authoritiesand powers all bowed in submission to Him. And every truebeliever adds, Amen! That's the way it should be!

(Please note. These verses, 5-11, are very important. There hasbeen much wrong teaching about them. This causes us to writemore fully about this subject in Appendix 1. Please turn to it forfurther study.)

Dear reader, we must pause to ask you, How has all of thisaffected you? Has the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus touchedyour heart? Have you bowed your heart before Him as youreceived Him as your Savior? Have you thanked Him for takingyour place on the cross? Do you gladly acknowledge Him as yourLord in your daily life? Is Jesus Christ our Lord?12,13 Now Paul applies these truths to the lives of believers in a

practical way. It is a loving appeal to them as his dear friends.They have been obedient to the apostle's teaching in the past andhe wants them to continue to obey, even though he is not presentwith them. Notice the two workings:(1) Work OUT. This is putting faith into action in our practicallife. It is NOT working for the salvation of our souls. That is notreceived by our works or good deeds, Ephesians 2.9. Rather thisrefers to putting into practice the things we have learned fromGod. In this case the Christians were to obey instructions of vers-es 1-4, and follow the example of Christ in verses 5-11. Then theproblems in the church would melt away. Believes would agree.There would be harmony and unity.(2) Working IN. This is God's work. We can only work out whatHe has worked into our hearts first. Remember chapter 1.6 wherewe had the beginning (past) of His good work, and the finishing(future). Here we have the present form, a daily continuing. It isour actively allowing God to do His work in us. He makes us will-ing and yielded to Him and He gives the strength to obey Hisword. In this way His plans and purposes for our lives are ful-

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filled. The fear and trembling are our humble recognition that weare weak in ourselves and must depend on God, also show ourreverent devotion to Him.14 Sins of the tongue are serious. Read James 3.1-12. Here are two

of them: (1) complaining or grumbling; (this was Israel's fre-quent sin; see Numbers 21.1-9, along with 1 Corinthians 10.10);and (2) arguing, resisting and rebelling against the Lord's waysand authority.

In Philippi it may not have been against the Lord but proba-bly was against other believers. But if they continued in this itwould spoil their outward testimony to the world.15 By avoiding those sins the believers would be blameless or in-

nocent. The word used here was used of wine that was not“watered down” also of precious metals, like gold, with anothermetal mixed with it to make it cheaper. The word pure was usedby the merchants for their goods of highest quality, that had nocheap substitutes in them. In the world around us there are plen-ty of imitations, people who are corrupt and sinful. They are inspiritual darkness, Ephesians 4.17-18. Jesus came as a light in theworld, John 8.12. And He has left believers to be lights in theworld now, John 9.5. Matthew 5.14-16. We are to be shining likestars in the dark night of sin. For further thoughts about this seeAppendix Six.16 How do we shine in the dark? By holding the word of life out

to people, offering them God's Word. It is light and life, John1.4. It will give light and life to those who are stumbling in thedarkness of sin.

The believers should be living lights in their city; this wouldmake Paul feel glad in the coming day of Christ, the Rapture, 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18. His service was like running a race; hewould not have wasted his time and strength. Paul wanted tohear the Lord's praise, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”And he wanted the Philippian believers to hear it too.17 Now in the rest of this chapter Paul gives us three more exam-

ples for us to follow, three men who followed the GreatExample, our Lord Jesus Himself.

First he refers to himself, Paul. We remember that his conver-

CHAPTER 2 21

sion was a total turn around. In chapter 3 he tells us how proudand haughty he had been as a super-religious Pharisee. We willlook more at that when we get to that chapter. But he waschanged into a humble, devoted slave of the Lord Jesus. He is notboasting of himself here, nor does he want to call attention to him-self. The illustration he uses is very interesting.

In the Old Testament the Israelites offered many sacrifices toGod. A bull, or a young cow, or a ram or a lamb might be offered.But sometimes the offerer would take a cup of wine and pour iton the large animal sacrifice. This was called the Poured Out DrinkOffering. See Exodus 29.38-41 and Hebrews 13.15. The wine repre-sented the blood of the animal, but it was poured on the animal sac-rifice and disappeared at once, leaving only the sweet smell.

So Paul refers to the Philippians' service and gifts as the large,main offering. His own part of service was only like the littledrink offering. Thus he was thinking the Lord's thoughts with Hisattitude of humble self-denial. See also 2.30; 4.18.18 His joy was in them and theirs would be in him: a common

rejoicing in what God had done in all of them. To God be allthe glory. In this way we can see how Paul lived up to his name,which means Little. He uses only one verse to refer to himself,while he takes five verses for Timothy and six for Epaphroditus.19 Next Paul refers to Timothy as another example to us. Now

Paul was in prison in Rome and he needed Timothy to be ahelper. But he also wanted very much to know how the believersat Philippi were getting on. So he decided to send Timothy to findout. Timothy would willingly undertake the trip from Rome toPhilippi in order to cheer and encourage the heart of his belovedPaul.20 The reason Paul could send Timothy was because of Timo-

thy's heart of love and care for those believers. He had a trueshepherd heart. He cared for others. Like his Lord he was not self-centered nor seeking his own ease or comfort.

Turn to Genesis 31.40 and 33.13, and you will see how Jacobwas a careful shepherd in the physical sense. It is a good pictureof the kind of spiritual shepherd Timothy was, self-sacrificing anddevoted. He really cared with genuine interest.

22 PHILIPPIANS

21 In contrast, Paul sadly notes that almost everyone else wastoo busy with their own interests and affairs. They could not

be bothered about the spiritual needs of others. And what shallwe say today? Is it not also true of many of us, even believers? Welive in the “me first” age. Many of us have forgotten the simple lit-tle lesson: JOY is made up of J-O-Y; Jesus first, Others next, andYourself last J-O-Y.22 Timothy has proved himself to be a true shepherd, willing and

dependable. He had done so as he worked with Paul in afather-son team for the sake of the Good News.23,24 Paul would send Timothy as soon as he heard how his

imprisonment or release would turn out. In fact, he hopedhimself to come to them soon if the Lord opened the way.25 But there was another servant of the Lord with them,

Epaphroditus. He is the next example Paul refers to in theremaining verses of this chapter. He was the messenger fromPhilippi who had brought gifts to Paul in Rome. He too was abeliever interested in others. Paul describes him as:

(1) brother – in the same family of God, with a mutual love toGod and His people;

(2) fellow-worker – in the same work with Paul, but whoworked quietly behind the scenes (a very importantwork!);

(3) fellow-soldier, – one with Paul in suffering danger and sick-ness;

(4) messenger of the church, for the Lord's sake – one with Paulin service and mission.

Epaphroditus had been very ill and the Philippian church hadheard about it and was concerned. This upset Epaphroditus somuch that he longed to go back to let them know he was better.(He may even have been home-sick also.)27 Paul confirms that he had truly been sick, and almost died.

But He praises the Lord who had mercy on him and restoredhim to health. But Paul adds that the Lord's mercy was also onhimself, Paul. He was spared having many sorrows in caseEpaphroditus had died.

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Here we must notice that the healing of the body is a mercy. Itis not a “family right” to be demanded by Paul or anyone else.Paul himself had been healed on one occasion, Acts 28.6, but notat another time, 2 Corinthians 12.7-10. Miraculous healing by Paulwas not God's will for Trophimus, Timothy nor Epaphroditus.When we pray for the Lord to heal we must always pray “if it beGod's will", and leave the sick one in the mercy of God.28 He probably sent this letter with him. This would relieve the

anxiety of the Philippians for both of them.29 Paul tells them to welcome him back home with joy, and give

honor to him. If they had any doubts about whether he hadbeen an unfaithful servant Paul now assures them he was not.Instead he was just worn out in service to God and to Paul. It isstill better for Christians to wear out than to rust out!30 This honored servant had literally risked his life for the work

of the Lord. He knew Paul's danger of receiving the death sen-tence for refusing to worship the Emperor. There was the possi-bility of his own arrest and being put to death along with Paul.But that hadn't stopped him from going to the prison to be ofwhatever help he could be to Paul. He had represented thePhilippian church in this service. They could not go to Rome tohelp Paul, but he had done so on their behalf. What an example tous! He was faithful to the point of death like his Lord and Savior.Only in this case he was spared from death by the Lord's mercy.

May this brief sketch of these three servants of Christ be a veryreal challenge to all of us to follow them as they followed Christ,humbly and unselfishly.

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 2

1. Name two ways in which a Christian should not act.2. Who is the greatest example of humility?3. How far did Jesus go in obeying His Father?4. Name three other examples of devoted service to God.5. Which one nearly died in the work of Christ?

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Chapter 3

Living TO WIN ChristChrist our OBJECT

1 This is a letter of joy. The believer's chief joy is in the Lord. Paul writes to encourage his brothers to be constantly rejoic-

ing in HIM. Any teacher knows that an important part of teachingis to review, to repeat over and over. And so Paul is very carefulto warn his dear friends again about things which can rob them oftheir joy in the Lord. It is for their safety and well-being spiritually.2 In chapter 2 he has been pointing to some examples for believ-

ers to follow. Now he gives an example of persons for believ-ers to avoid - those who were trying to lead them back into Juda-ism. Look out for them! Paul describes them in three ways – dogs,evil workers, and butchers (flesh-cutters). These are strong termswhich may sound strange to us. So let us explain briefly whatPaul means.

In the Old Testament the Jewish people were under a cove-nant or agreement with God to obey and follow Him. One of thesigns of that agreement was circumcision, that is, cutting off theforeskin of all males. All Jews had this “sign” on their bodies. ButGod had told them that there was something more important thanjust cutting the flesh. It was to be an inward sign of the heart. Thatis a spiritual condition of separation of the heart to God. SeeDeuteronomy 30.6, Romans 2.25-29. This was more important toGod.

In the New Testament the Good News tells us that we aresaved by faith in Jesus Christ. He died for our sins and fulfilledthe demands of the Old Testament law. The book of Acts showshow some Jews resisted this new message from God. (Even Paulhimself had done so before he was saved.) Now these people were

25

telling new believers that they must become Jews before theycould believe in Christ to be saved. In other words, they must becircumcised before believing. You should read Acts 15 regardingthis, also Paul's letter to Galatians which deals with it in moredetail.

And so Paul is warning the believers at Philippi about thedangers of listening to these false teachers. That is why he usessuch strong words: (1) Dogs. In the Bible dogs are called unclean,Revelation 22.15; worthless, 2 Samuel 9.8; cruel, mean, Psalm22.16. We know how sheep need protection from dogs and wildanimals that will attack and kill them. Just so these false teacherswere trying to destroy the believers' faith, like dogs attackingdefenseless sheep. They were like wolves in sheep's clothing, seeMatthew 7.15 and Acts 20.29.(2) Evil workers, mischief-makers. In 2 Corinthians 11.13 they arecalled lying or deceitful workers. They were wrongly making thephysical act of circumcision more important than the inward,spiritual attitude toward God. Going through an outward ritualcan never change an inward condition of the heart. That is onlydone by the Spirit of God.(3) Flesh-cutters, butchers. Simply cutting off a small piece of skinfrom the body does nothing to the inner man. A sinner who hashis foreskin cut off is only a circumcised sinner. Just as a sinnerwho is baptized is only a wet sinner. Or a sinner who joins achurch is only a church-going sinner. Sinners need to be changedon the inside, made new persons by the Holy Spirit. See whatGalatians 6.15 tells us: Neither circumcision nor uncircumcisionmatters at all; what counts is a new creation, being born again.3 Now Paul describes the true circumcision in God's view. We

should: (1) Worship God by His Spirit. Worship is not a reli-gious ceremony, going through certain bodily acts. In John 4.24Jesus said that God is Spirit and those who worship Him mustworship Him in spirit and truth.(2) Glory or boast in Christ Jesus. He is our Savior. We could notand did not save ourselves. All credit and glory goes to Him. (3) Put no confidence or trust in the flesh. Flesh is the body thiswould mean that we are not trusting in the cutting of skin on our

26 PHILIPPIANS

body as the means of our salvation. Often flesh refers to our oldsinful nature, what we were before we were saved. In such casethis would mean we do not trust in any works we have performedbefore we were born again. All our trust and hope is in Christ notself.4 Paul now directs our attention to his own past life. He is not

boasting here, but rather giving his personal testimony ofwhat Christ had done for him. More than anyone Paul had reasonto think he was “religious enough” to earn his way into heaven.His training and activity in the Jewish religion had been unusualand outstanding. Read Galatians 1.13-14.

Verses 4-6 are Paul's history, “B.C.-Before Christ” (that is be-fore he was saved); and verses 7-14 are like “A.D.-Anno Domini”(year of our Lord), that is after his conversion.5,6 Among Paul's religious advantages he lists seven things he

could boast about: (1) Covenant sign. He was circumcised on the eighth dayaccording to the law of Moses. This tells us that he was born aJew and did not become one later in life as others had, Genesis17.12.(2) Race, nationality. Israel was God's specially chosen peopleby covenant, Romans 9.4; 11.1. Paul was a full member of thatspecial race by birth.(3) Tribe of Benjamin. Judges 5.14 and Hosea 5.8 tell us thatBenjamin was an important tribe among the 12 tribes of Israel.(4) Breeding. He was a Hebrew through and through, know-ing the Hebrew language as his own. Both of his parents werefull Jews.(5) Orthodox, that is, correct in doctrine. He was a Phariseewho strictly kept the law of Moses. Act 22.3; 23.6; 26.5.(6) Zeal. He was the chief persecutor of the Church, having thepower to arrest believers. Consider Acts 9.1-2.(7) Perfect Law-keeping. He was very careful in keeping everydetail of the law. He followed the rules of sacrifices and offer-ings closely. He does not say he was sinless, but no one couldfind fault with his outward behavior. Paul was without fault

CHAPTER 3 27

as far as it was possible for a person to be right with God byobeying the commands of the Law of Moses.He thought all of these things would earn favor with God.

This was all “B.C.-Before Christ” in his life.7 But now all has changed. Now all that he thought was to his

profit he calls loss! He has taken careful notice of the profit-able items in his life, and he has decided that they all are a totalloss! What made the difference? He gives his answer—ChristJesus. Paul met Him on the road to Damascus and all of his pastlife of religion became like dirty rags, see Isaiah 64.6. At his con-version he counted it all loss, worthless, useless.8 Now, years after his conversion, he is even stronger in his

commitment. He not only says those seven good things areloss, but he says everything is loss. And more than that he calls itall garbage, waste.

What made this change in Paul? The much greater value ofknowing Christ Jesus his Lord. It is like a child throwing away hisold worn-out cheap toy to receive a brand new, shiny gold coin. Sothere is no comparison between the cheap self-righteousness ofkeeping the law of Moses and the perfect salvation Christ offers us.9 We have seen from Isaiah 64.6 that our good works are like a

bundle of old, filthy rags. We throw them all away when wecome to Christ. He puts on us the beautiful white robe of Hisrighteousness. It is called the garment of salvation in Isaiah 61.10.We receive it when we are found in Christ, united to Him.

This whole matter of being made right with God by faith inChrist is more fully taught in Romans chapters 1-8 and inGalatians.10 Paul now sums up the whole desire and deep longing of his

heart: I want to really know Christ, (1) intelligently, by studying His life, works, and words in the

scriptures; and (2) by experience, as He lives His life in me:

(a) experiencing the great power of His resurrection. Whocan measure how very great that power is? Ephesians1.19-22.

28 PHILIPPIANS

(b) sharing in His sufferings. This does not refer toChrist's suffering for our salvation (on the cross), butsuffering for the sake of right as in 1 Peter 4.12-16.

(c) becoming like Him in His death. Again this is not Hisredeeming death for our sins. But in order for the newlife to grow in the believer he must put to death the oldself-life, Galatians 2.20.

11 Death is the stepping-stone to resurrection. Paul now refersto this as his true goal—if somehow, by any means, he might

reach it. Some think that Paul is referring to the bodily resurrec-tion at the time of the Rapture, 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18. But that isthe true hope of every one believing the sure promise of God (1 Corinthians 15). So Paul would not be “hoping” with anyuncertainty to reach that goal. We think Paul is referring here tohis deep desire to experience the power of Christ's resurrection inhis daily life, as we had in section (b) of verse 10 above. He couldsay, I die daily, 1 Corinthians 15.31. And, I am crucified withChrist, Galatians 2.20. He also speaks of living in newness of life,Romans 6.4-5. These all speak of a present daily life of identifica-tion with Christ in His death and resurrection.12 Verses 12-19 tell us about running toward the goal and win-

ning the prize. Paul often uses illustrations from the world ofsports. Here he writes about running in the race. He hasn't al-ready reached the goal. The goal is not heaven: of course, Paulhadn't reached heaven yet, neither have we. But the goal is beinglike Christ in every detail of our lives here on earth. To know Himby experience as the object and strength of our life.

We should note that here in verse 12 Paul has not reached“perfection", and in verse 15 he speaks of those who are “perfect”.Is there a contradiction here? No. Verse 12 speaks of completenessto which nothing more can be added. No believer has arrived atthat. There is always room for improvement. But in verse 15 per-fection means the process of growing up to spiritual manhood.The illustration has been given of an apple on the tree. It is stilltwo months before harvest time. The green apple is growing larg-er and is a healthy apple. It is perfect, so far, but it is not ripe yet.Don't try eating it yet or you will get a good stomach ache!

CHAPTER 3 29

Paul hasn't finished the race yet. But he is pressing on, as hecontinues to follow Christ. He keeps on growing in grace and inthe knowledge of Christ. His motto – Never let up, keep on keep-ing on. Press on, trying hard. He, and we, may stumble on therace-track, but get up and get going again. Don't stop! Don't quit!Go onward, forward!

The Lord Jesus took hold of Paul on the road to Damascus,Acts 9.15,16. For what purpose? To make him into a man of God.Now Paul says he wants to take hold of that very thing, lettingGod fulfill His good purpose in his life.

Have Your own way, Lord, have Your own way; You are the Potter, I am the clay.

13 Paul has not yet reached the state of sinless perfection. (Neither does any believer here on planet earth.) He still

sinned now and then just as we do. He lost his temper and insult-ed the high priest. He failed to do good when he knew he shoulddo it. He experienced covetousness. See Acts 23.3. Romans 7.15-24. But he is determined to do two things: (1) forget the past, and(2) push forward into the future.

(1) Forget the past. (a) Forget past success and blessings as a matter of pride

or boasting. (b) his past experience of lawkeeping as a basis of salva-

tion. (c) Forget past failures, don't keep thinking about them.

This can only discourage. Rather confess and forsakethe sins, remember the lessons learned, and press on.Refuse to be sidetracked and over-occupied with thepast. In a foot-race the runner should never look overhis shoulder to see the runners behind him. If he doeshe may lose the race. Just so, believers should not becontinually looking back because forward progresswill be delayed.

We must know, however, that these verses do not say weshould forget everything of the past. The Bible does tell us not toforget some things. Try to find some verses which tell us some

30 PHILIPPIANS

things we must be sure to remember. For example, 1 Corinthians11.24-25. Deuteronomy 8.2,18.14 (2) Press forward. Stretch out, run ahead full speed toward

the goal. Keep your eye on the goal, never turn aside. What isthe goal? In a race it is the finish line. For the Christian it is pleas-ing Christ and being changed into His likeness.

What is the prize? It is not eternal life in heaven. That is thefree gift of God which cannot be earned. But we can earn crownsas rewards for faithful service, running the race. See 2 Corinthians5.10 and 1 Corinthians 9.24.15 Christians who have grown up spiritually will be living by

this pattern. But those who are still like little children are eas-ily satisfied with copying other believers. Adult believers willkeep their eye on Christ and seek to please Him only. Those whoare not yet grown up may think differently than Paul, but theyshould know that God can teach anyone who is willing to learn.16 The responsibility of all believers is to live according to the

light they have already received. Obey God's Word step bystep and He will give more light as we walk with Him. In thisChristian race we all realize we haven't been able to keep up withPaul. He has been far ahead of us in spiritual understanding andservice to God. But we must run in the same track according to thesame rules (Word of God), and God will surely bless and help usto keep on going.17 So Paul keeps on running the race set in front of him, and he

calls out to the rest of us, Come on after me, this is the righttrack, the right pattern, the right life style. Follow me as I am fol-lowing Christ, see 1 Corinthians 11.1.18,19 Again Paul sounds the warning about those whom we

should NOT be following enemies of the cross. The cross is thesymbol of death to the old self-life and to the world, Galatians2.20; 6.14. Enemies of the cross are those who live for self and forthis present world. Their gods are their bodily desires, for money,sex, too much food. These can and do draw true believers awayfrom following Christ so that they fall out by the way-side. Paul'stears of concern show us how serious this is. Compare Romans16.17,18.

CHAPTER 3 31

Living for self ends in destruction, eternal loss. Think of therich man in Luke 16.19. He ended up in hell. Many live by human,godless standards instead of by the Word of God; this will onlylead to loss.20 In verses 20-21 we see citizens of heaven. They were once cit-

izens of Satan's kingdom of darkness with its laws and stan-dards and customs. When God saved them He transferred theminto the kingdom of Christ. Their citizenship was changed,Colossians 1.13. The laws of the two kings are different. Now theyare IN the world but not OF it, John 17.14,15, 1 Peter 2.11,12.

We have already noticed that the city of Philippi was a Romancolony. Its citizens had all the rights of citizens of Rome. Theywere responsible to the Emperor in Rome, they lived by his laws.This is an illustration of how Christians on earth are citizens ofanother country - heaven. They are ruled by their king, the LordJesus Christ. Our true citizenship is in heaven and we are juststrangers and foreigners here on earth. 1 Peter 2.11. Heaven is ournative country, our fatherland, our Homeland. And we eagerlyawait the day when our blessed Lord will come to call us HOMEto Heaven.21 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 teach us about the first

resurrection at the Rapture. This is based on the resurrectionof Christ. Romans 8.13-23 shows that every trace and result of sinwill be removed. So when Christ comes at the Rapture He is goingto make a great and wonderful change in the believers. He willchange our weak, mortal bodies into another form, to be like thebody of our Lord Jesus. All weakness, disease and pain will beremoved. We will have bodies of glory and perfection. If youstudy the 40 days of our Lord's stay on earth after His resurrec-tion you will learn some things about His resurrected body. Thiswill give you some idea of what our new bodies will be like. Trythis and make a list of what you find. How is all this going to bepossible? The almighty power of God will be at work, the powerwhich is going to bring the whole universe under His rule. SeeRomans 11.36; Ephesians 1.10; 3.9; Colossians 1.15-20. Also Satanand death will be made subject to Him. 1 Corinthians 15.20-28.

God is going to take our bodies to heaven. They are not goingto be left in the grave of earth. This should make us realize that

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our bodies are important now. We should not make light of themnor misuse them. Rather let us devote them to God's service indaily, living sacrifice, Romans 12.1. 1 Corinthians 6.19-20.So, for the Christian, the Rapture will mean the finish of the raceand the completion of our sanctification, our being made into Hislikeness.

To save from sin's Penalty Jesus did die,To save from sin's Power He lives on high;To save from sin's Presence He will come by and by,

Praise His Name forever!

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 3

1. Before Paul was converted what are some things he wasproud of?

2. At conversion what became more important to him?3. Had Paul reached “sinless perfection” in his daily life?4. In what ways are believers to be like runners in a foot-

race?5. What is meant by being a Citizen of Heaven?

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Chapter 4

Living BY ChristChrist our STRENGTH and SUPPLY

1 Again Paul expresses his deep love for the believers at Phi-lippi. How dear they were to him! And he missed them and

longed to see them again. Have you ever noticed how love andjoy combine in the Christian life? Paul refers to his converts as hisjoy and crown of rejoicing, 1 Thessalonians 2.19,20. Paul lookedforward to the rejoicing and reunion and rewards at the judgmentseat of Christ, 1 Corinthians 3.8-15.

Paul urges them to stand firm in the Lord. Don't give in totemptation or turn and run from the enemy. Keep on obeying theLord.2,3 Now he writes plainly to the two women who were quarrel-

ing. He calls them by name because he personally knew them.They probably were among the first converts in Philippi. Perhapsthey were at that women's meeting at the riverside when Paulfirst came. They had been helping Paul in his evangelistic work.They had worked hard in helping in one way or another. Womencan be and are greatly used by God as they share Christ withneighbors, friends and relatives. They are much more effectivethan men in working with children, women and older people.And their influence on their own children cannot be measured.Men may be more in the public eye as evangelists, but we feelstrongly that when the soul-winners crowns are given womenwill receive more than men.

However, it is sad to see how the enemy can take faithful andfruitful workers out of action. Euodia and Syntyche had been

34

quarreling. We do not know what they were fighting about. Allwe know is that their usefulness and fellowship were spoiled, andthe unity of the church was being broken. All because of a per-sonal quarrel!

So Paul appeals strongly to them. He does not command themwith his authority as an Apostle. But in love he begs them, hepleads with them not to let self-interest stop the work of the Lord.They should be of the same mind. Now we know that it is not pos-sible for two persons to agree completely on every little detail inlife. Our backgrounds, training, experience, habits and personalcharacters are all different. Only if we are in the Lord can we getalong in harmony with other Christians. That means having HISmind and attitude, as we have been seeing in chapter 2. The lowlyattitude of Christ must be ours in love to others. When love islacking we will surely fail, 1 John 4.7,21.

Paul wisely calls on a third person to help these dear sisters tosettle their problem. We are not sure who this person was. Somesuggest it was Epaphroditus who was probably the one to de-liver this letter. But he was with Paul in Rome so it is doubtful thatPaul would write to him in this way. Others think yokefellow isthe translation of another brother's name in the Greek language(Syzygus). And the suggestion is for him to live up to his nameand be a helper in this matter. Another possibility is that it mayhave been one of the elders in the church who had worked close-ly with Paul when he was there. In any case he must have been aspiritual person, Galatians 6.1.

Paul mentions other workers who had labored with him.Their names were in the Book of Life. In those times cities hadofficial registers of the names of their citizens. It also was a com-mon practice in the Old Testament days, Exodus 32.32; Psalm69.28; Isaiah 4.3. But it is especially true of the citizens of theHeavenly City who possess eternal life, Revelation 3.5; 13.8; 17.8;20.12,15. May we ask our reader, is your name written there?4 Today people wish each other happiness, as Happy birthday,

or Happy New Year. But Paul writes about joy. Joy is greaterthan happiness, because happiness depends largely on happen-ings and circumstances. Joy is much deeper. True joy is always

CHAPTER 4 35

in the Lord. He is its continual, unfailing source. Always meansin all kinds of times, sorrow or distress, doubt or suffering. Lookup Habakkuk 3.17-18, James 1.2, and 1 Peter 4.13.

To an unbeliever joy would be the last word he would expectto hear coming from a prison! Yet Paul was full of joy in the Lordand he urges Christians to be constantly rejoicing in the Lord. Herepeats it for emphasis.5 Now he tells believers to show the attitude of gentleness, for-

bearance and consideration for others. One translation calls itbeing satisfied with less than is your due. Chapter 2 told us howthis was true of Christ. See also 2 Corinthians 10.1. It involves thegiving up of personal rights, not trying to get even, nor standingup for our rights. And if we are arguing with someone we mustrealize that we all know only in part, and we ourselves just mightbe wrong! Proverbs 15.1 fits in here. We trust the two quarrelingsisters took this verse to heart.

Paul's reason for writing about this is given next: the Lord isnear, or at hand. This may mean (a) He is standing nearby watch-ing, listening. Compare His actions in the seven churches ofRevelation, in 2.1,2,-9,13,-19;- 3.1,8,-15. We know He is watchingand hearing us so we should be more careful how we speak andact. Or it may mean (b) He is coming soon, it may be today! So, beready! Revelation 3.20-21. The early church was expecting theLord to return soon, Hebrews 10.37. 1 Corinthians 16.22. James5.8-9. The near return of Christ has a cleansing effect on thechurch, 1 John 3.2-3.6 The Remedy for Worry. Enemies of the believers threatened to

harm them. This was cause for concern, chapter 1.28; 3.1-2; 4.1.But self-centered concern is worry. And worry is sin. The Lord'scommand here is, Don't worry about anything! This is a strongorder: not under any circumstances whatever!

Of course this is not the only time the Bible warns believersagainst worrying. Look up Matthew 6.25,28,31,34. Luke 12.22. 1 Peter 5.7. Here are some reasons why we worry:

(1) our weakness, insufficient resources;(2) doubting God's ability to care for us; (3) pride, we won't admit our need;

36 PHILIPPIANS

(4) fear of the unknown.But here is the wonderful Remedy for Worry:1. Prayer. The believer's God is not dead! He hears His chil-

dren's cry for help. Psalm 55.22, cast your burden on the Lord.Psalm 37.3-5 commit it, roll it off your shoulder on to God's shoul-der. Prayer also includes worship and devotion. Note these factsabout prayer:

Prayer is for every Christian, Matthew 7.8Prayer is for every thing, Philippians 4.6Prayer is for every time, 1 Thessalonians 5.17 Prayer is for every place, 1 Timothy 2.8.

2. Petition, special request for personal need. Includes theidea of earnestly pleading, begging,—not just unclear, emptywords, but asking about the exact thing which is causing us toworry.

3. Thanksgiving. It is so easy to forget to say Thank You toGod. It is a most important part of prayer. Notice our Lord Jesussaying, Thank You, in Matthew 11.25 and John 11.41. And look upthese references: Colossians 4.2. 1 Thessalonians 5.17,18. 1 Timo-thy 2.1. 1 Thessalonians 3.9,10.

4. In everything. Sometimes we may wonder if we shouldpray about some matter; is it too small to pray about, does Godcare about little details? Or, on the other hand, do we wonder ifsomething is too big for God to handle? Here is a good rule to fol-low: Anything (big or small) which burdens or bothers me is justthe right thing to unburden on to Him, because He cares aboutHis child. And also, let's remember, there is nothing too small forHis notice and nothing too large for His power.

So keep on Asking, Seeking, Knocking. The answer will come.Someone has summed it all up like this:

Careful for Nothing,Prayerful for Everything,

Thankful for Anything.7 Now comes the promised result:

The Peace of God—this is divine, heavenly, perfect peace. It is not just the absence of quarrels or trouble; it

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includes total well-being of the believer. In John 14.27our Lord Jesus calls it, My Peace.

Surpasses—goes far beyond. It is more wonderful than—All human understanding—it cannot be described, only

experienced.Will guard or keep—like a military mounted guard, pro-

tecting us against the attacks of the enemy, Satan.Hearts—our affections, Minds—our intelligence.In Christ Jesus—the Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9.6.

Someone has described the Peace of God as, The great Calm ofthe Eternal World. Is it possible for troubled human beings to re-ally experience such peace? Take a good look at the three men inthe fiery furnace, Daniel 3; or at Daniel in the den of lions, Daniel6; or at Peter asleep in prison on the eve of his execution, Acts 12.Then listen to Isaiah in 26.3,4, God will keep in perfect peace himwhose mind is steadfast because he trusts in Him. Trust in the Lordforever for the Lord Jehovah is the eternal Rock.

Here in Philippians, believers should do their part in verse 6,and God will surely do His part in verse 7. There is no doubt about it.8 Think! Paul turns our attention to the importance of having

healthy minds, thoughts, attitudes. Proverbs 23.7 tells us: As aperson thinks within himself so he is. Satan is engaged in the bat-tle for the mind as he attacks the fortress of our thoughts. He seeksto poison our minds with his doubts, lies, and filthy, sinfulthoughts. So here Paul gives us eight tests for our thought-life.They are like a series of road blocks to stop wrong thinking andattitudes. We should fill our minds and fix our thoughts on thesethings:

1. True—genuine, sincere, without any shade of falsehood2. Noble—good, honest, proper3. Right—upright4. Pure—free from moral filth, without a “bad smell”5. Lovely—attractive, pleasant6. Good report—respected, gracious7. Excellent—lofty, higher-than-average8. Honorable—worthy of praise.

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And where will we find this kind of thoughts? David's secretis found in Psalm 1.1,2. Look it up. And in another sense we willfind them in Christ. Study Him.

Perhaps the first to apply this rule was Euodia and Syntyche.We could hope that they ended their fight by looking at what wasgood in each other instead of the bad. May we all learn to thinkthat way. And let's remember the old verse:

There's so much good in the worst of us And so much bad in the best of us That it ill becomes any of usTo think badly of the rest of us!

9 We must remember that these Philippian believers did not have all of the New Testament scriptures as yet. Their lives

were governed by what the Apostles said and did. They watchedPaul live and listened to him teach, and they could form their life-habits after his example. So he tells them to be putting these com-mands into practice. See James 1.22. Hebrews 5.12-14 teaches usthat Christian maturity (adulthood) is the ability to use the Wordof God to direct personal conduct. In other words, God measuresmaturity by what I do and not by what I know. Also rememberthat our Lord said that if we know these things we are blessedonly if we do them.

So, once again, if we obey the first part of this verse God willsurely do the last part—He, the God of Peace, will be with us.What a precious promise! And what a lovely title, God of Peace.

Look up these chapters and find the verses where God isgiven this name, and meditate on them:

Romans 15Romans 16 2 Corinthians 13 Philippians 4 1 Thessalonians 5 2 Thessalonians 3 Hebrews 13

10 In verses 10-23 Paul concludes this letter with some practicalmatters. He rejoices in their care for him. He remembers that

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they had been caring all the time but had no opportunity to sendtheir gifts to him. Paul had been on the move for many monthsand there was no mail service in those days.11 As he mentions money matters he at once tells them that he is

not begging for another gift. When he was in need he workedhard with his own hands and prayed. He practised what he wrotein verse 6. (Philippi was not the only place where Paul workedwith his hands to earn money to pay his expenses. Can you findother places where he did so?)12 For Paul and all of us, life is really the school of experience.

The great lesson Paul had learned in this school was Content-ment. He had learned to hold the things of this world loosely.Contentment is the opposite of greed and covetousness. ReadLuke 12.15. Contentment means the end of doubt and grumbling,even though we have very little to live on.

Paul probably came from a wealthy family who could affordhis expensive education. Also he no doubt made good moneyfrom his high position over the Jews, Galatians 1.14. We believethat before his conversion he knew what it was to have plenty.(Acts 24.26 suggests that Felix thought Paul had money.) Butwhen Paul was saved he sacrificed it all for the sake of ChristJesus his Lord; chapter 3. After his conversion he knew both hard-ship and plenty. But let us quote from a Bible teacher who wrote:Paul found greater contentment in going hungry with Jesus Christthan he ever found at any banquet table as a wealthy man.13 Christ our Strength. Here is the secret of how Paul could be

and was content in any kind of extreme experience, evendying for Christ, 2.17. It was in Christ's strength Paul was able toface all kinds of conditions. In Romans 7.18 Paul wrote that therewas nothing good in his old self-life. In Philippians 3.3 he has noconfidence in it. Now in this verse he tells us that the key to hisability to do anything is in the Lord Jesus.14 But Paul was glad for the gift they had sent. He does not take

it for granted but sends a courteous “thank you”. Surely it isimportant for us to express our thanks to any who show us kind-ness.15 Paul is not complaining here, but simply stating the facts.

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From the early days of his work in Macedonia none of the otherchurches sent anything to help Paul pay his expenses. Only thesebelievers at Philippi had done this. This showed the spirit ofthankfulness from those who had been blessed by Paul's mes-sages. The other churches will have to give account to the Lord fortheir neglect.

Paul uses some business accounting terms here, such as thegiving and receiving, profit and loss, credits, partnership. It all re-minds us that our Lord is Lord of the Accounts. He watches overour money. This is true of churches as well as individuals. We areall answerable to Him when He “checks the books” at theJudgment Seat of Christ. Are we spending too much money onourselves so that we do not have any “left over” for the Lord's ser-vants? One wealthy Christian business man did it the other wayaround. He did not give the “left overs” to God, but first gaveGod the biggest part and then lived himself on the small “leftovers". And God greatly blessed him for it.16 So the church at Philippi was a good example to all other

churches including ours today. It is good for us to look beyondour own walls and share in the needs of other works and workersof God.17 Again, Paul is not begging for money. But he is unselfishly

seeking a reward for these believers at Philippi. The Lord willreward our gifts to Him, whether small or large. He rememberseven a cup of cold water given for His sake, Matthew 10.42.Giving to the Lord is a spiritual act. It is like depositing money inthe Bank of Heaven. The gift is credited to the account of the giverwith high interest added. Remember the words of our Lord Jesusin Acts 20.35, It is more blessed to give than to receive.18 Here is Paul's receipt: I have received full payment and much

more. And what is the value in the Lord's eyes? Gifts are likea sweet smelling offering. In the Old Testament God gave instruc-tions about offering animal and cereal offerings to Him. Whenthis was done by faith it was a pleasure to God as it remindedHim of His Son who was, later on in the New Testament, offeredon the cross on our behalf. Ephesians 5.2. Noah's offering is anexample in the Old Testament, Genesis 8.21.

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Today believers are told to offer sacrifices and offerings toGod. You can find two of them in Hebrews 13 and another in Ro-mans 12. Look them up and note what they are.19 Now we find God's promise to the givers. It seems that the

Philippians had shared so generously that they had left them-selves in some real need. So Paul says that God will surely meettheir need. We should note this setting for this verse. This prom-ise is not made to lazy, easy-going persons who didn't want towork for their living. To such God has another message found in2 Thessalonians 3.11,12. Read it. Provision for material needs ispromised to those who put God first, as we read in Matthew 6.33.And it is the direct result of their obedient and generous giving,Proverbs 11.25; 19.17; Matthew 5.7.

Here is the promise, and it has been likened to a promissorynote drawn on the Bank of Heaven:

1. My God—he Heavenly Banker, note close relationship“my”

2. Shall supply (liberally, fully)—the solemn promise3. All your need—Amount of note4. According to His riches—imitless wealth of the Bank5. In glory (heaven)—address of Bank6. By Christ Jesus—authorized signature7. Endorsement required—must be endorsed by us by

Faith.So there you have it. If you qualify, sign your name to it by

faith and watch God fulfill His promise. We might add that thispromise is not limited to merely financial needs. We pass on toyou the comments of another writer:

"All your need” includes more sympathy to strengthen, more pa-tience to endure, power to overcome, hope to cheer, truth to cleanse, loveto build up, grace to beautify, more of Christ to satisfy. According to Hisriches in glory—not dollars and dress, food or furniture, but a portion ofthis unlimited store of His riches—spiritual and heavenly treasures.

20 Paul bursts into a doxology of praise to God. Glory to God the Father now and forevermore. He has many reasons for burst-

ing into praise. But just here in chapter 4 alone are these:

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we have: Joy, verse 4; Peace, verse 7; Power, verse 13; Plenty, verse 19.

As believers we also can thankfully add, Amen, so it is!21 Paul sends his closing greetings to all God's people. He doesnot take sides in the local quarrel. He greets and sends love to all,including the quarreling women.

God's people are called Saints, those who are set aside forGod, who belong to God, made holy through the blood of JesusChrist.

His fellow-workers in Rome probably included Timothy.They are called the brothers because they are fellow-members ofthe great family of God.22 And all the believers in the church in Rome sent their greet-

ings too. If you wish to know some of their names read Ro-mans 16.1-15. Paul specially mentions those who belong to Cae-sar's household. These would be members of the emperor's staff,soldiers and servants. It would likely include members of theimperial guard and perhaps some of their families. What a tri-umph of the Good News! See chapter 1.12,13.23 Paul closes with his usual words of prayer-blessing.

Grace is God's special favor and blessing;Of the Lord Jesus Christ—He is the Lord of glory; He is Jesus

the lowly, loving Savior; He is Christ, the anointed Messiah.Be with your spirit, center of our spiritual being and includ-

ing the whole person.In Conclusion and Summary let us notice Paul's Seven Desires:

1. To magnify Christ, 1.202. To be with Christ, 1.233. To rejoice in the day of Christ, 2.164. To win Christ (possess Him fully), 3.85. To be found in Christ, 3.96. To know Christ, 3.107. To become like Christ, 3.10.

May these be the deep desires of all our hearts also. AMEN.

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QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 41. Who were Euodia and Syntyche?2. What is Paul's cure for worry in this chapter?3. What is the great lesson Paul learned?4. Who made it possible for him to do this?5. How does Paul describe the gifts he received?

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Appendix 1The Humility of Christ, 2.5-8

The Self-humbling of our Lord Jesus Christ is a very importanttruth. But, sad to say, there is much misunderstanding and wrongteaching about it. It is vital and important because the rock-foun-dation of our faith is based on the Person and work of Christ. Wefeel it is necessary to give more attention to these verses than wecould in the brief comments under chapter 2.

1 Timothy 3.16 tells us that our Lord's coming to earth as aMan is a great mystery. That is, it is beyond our little minds to beable to understand fully how it could be. It is beyond our abilityto reason it out yet it is by no means unreasonable. Our thoughtsare limited because we are human beings. There is no limit toGod's greatness and Being. Our little brains cannot contain whatis without limit. So, how can we ever understand what passes ourknowledge? Hebrews 11.3 tells us that it is by faith we under-stand!

But faith in what? Some dim, unclear, shadowy ideas ordreams of man? Some faint, imaginary vision of angels? No! Wehave the solid word of God for a foundation. We rest our faith init. We believe it and know, Romans 4.16.So let's take a careful look at the words God uses in this pas-sage.As we see just what God says, and place our faith in it we canunderstand.

First, notice a brief outline of the flow of thought: God — be-came — servant — became man — unto — death/cross.

We know that God is eternal and He cannot die. So we noticethe steps which are needed between God and death. They are nec-essary and important. Now we will look carefully at these impor-tant words concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.

Being, or Subsisting. This is a stronger word than just to be or

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exist. It means to continue being, to maintain one's existence un-changed, to abide or remain. Hebrews 1 tells us that the universearound us will wear out and be changed, but Christ remains theSame, the eternal One who changes not, verses 10-12. This meansthat Christ is eternal, unchangeable, continuously without ceas-ing. The Son of God is fully God forever, — before time, — dur-ing His time on planet earth, — and forever on into the future, incontinuous flow of life. It is this very life which came from heav-en and entered the virgin Mary's womb, and by the Holy Spiritwas linked with a human body. The baby who was born wascalled Jesus, Jehovah Savior, and Immanuel, God with us,Matthew 1.20-23. He was not half God and half Man in one per-son. Nor 90% God and 10% man. But rather 100% God linked to100% Man. Jesus Christ continued to be GOD just as much onearth as He was in heaven.

Form, very nature. The word used here always means an out-ward expression of the inward reality. In this case it representsthe permanent nature and character of God. It is the inward formof God's nature manifested outwardly to other intelligent beings.Christ's inward nature during all the eternity past was divine. Hehas been continuously the eternal Son of God.

God. Christ's very nature and being is divine. This means“possessing the fulness of the attributes which make God God”.All of God's attributes, or qualities of character, are eternal,unchangeable, balanced, perfect. He is all-powerful, all-knowing,all-present, supreme, self-sufficient, self-existent. These are somecharacteristics of Christ in His inner nature.

Equality with God. Deity is made up of three divine, equalPersons. The Son is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Eachmember of the divine Trinity (or Tri-Unity) has always had cer-tain basic, natural rights as God:

1. The right to Self-will, choice, decision-making.2. The right to sovereign action, that is the liberty to act with-

out having to answer to any creature.3. The right to full honor and glory of Supreme Deity, to be

served, obeyed, glorified and worshiped.These and other rights of Deity were fully shared by God the Son.

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Grasp, cling to, hold on to. Christ had every right to hold onto this glory which belonged to Him as God. No one could take itby force from Him. Being equal with God was His eternal rightwhich He could hold on to for His own benefit and glory.

Thought, considered carefully. This word has the idea of tak-ing care to weigh the facts and coming to a decision. Christ usedHis divine right of making a decision or choice. He thoughtfullyand carefully chose not to hold on to His rightful high place ofhonor and glory. He decided not to stay on in the comfort andsplendor of heaven. “He did not regard His being of equal gloryand majesty with God as a treasure to be selfishly held on to, butemptied Himself of it”.

Strip, empty, give up. Christ laid aside all Self-interest. He letgo of His rights. He chose not to use His right to command, rule,or be served; and He chose to obey, to be ruled, to serve and suf-fer. He stripped Himself of His high position and rightful majesty,honor and wealth, 2 Corinthians 8.9. He made Himself of no rep-utation on earth.

However, He did not cease to be the Son of God when onearth. God called Him My beloved Son, Matthew 3.17. He al-ways addressed God as His Father, and always spoke of God asHis Father, in many references in John's Gospel. He did not ceaseto be the Almighty Creator-God. Look at His many miracles, suchas in John 2, turning water into wine. He did not cease to be all-wise, all-knowing, John 2.25 and many other references. He didnot cease to be able to be all-present, see Matthew 28.20, John 3.13.He did not cease to be fully God at any time on earth. Notice care-fully these words: In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdomand knowledge. In Christ all the fulness of the Deity lives in bod-ily form. Colossians 2.3,9.

Christ did not and could not empty Himself of His deity norof any part of it. But He did lay aside His glory, see John 17.5. Hewas made lower than the angels, of no reputation, Hebrews 2.7,9.He limited Himself to doing only the work His Father gave Himto do, John 17.4. He only spoke the words His Father gave Him tospeak, John 3.34; 7.16; 8.28 and many other references. (See furtherunder Obedience). He did not subtract from His deity but rather

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He added something to it: becoming a Servant!Taking. This word is used in the following ways:

to take hold of, as of a garment to put it on, John 13.12; to take upon oneself, as the cross, Matthew 10.38;to take a wife (to marry, unite with), Luke 20.28-31;to take into union, Mark 12.19-22;to lay hold of (and not let go), Mark 12.8;to appropriate to one's self (honor), Hebrews 5.4.

The stronger form of the word is in Hebrews 2.16, He did notlay hold of angels, but of humanity.

So this word strengthens the teaching that our Lord did notsubtract from His deity in any way but added to it (the new qual-ity of Servant).

Form, very nature. Again this word is used. It means the per-ma-nent, real, essential, inner character. It was just used (verse 6)about Christ's deity, and now the same word is used regardingHis Servant-hood. Possessing the very form of God was definedas possessing the fulness of attributes which make God God. Andnow it is used with equal force: possessing the fulness of attrib-utes which make a Servant a Servant. Christ was not pretendingor playing the part of a servant. He became servant in very nature.

Servant, slave. It is a strong word here again. A slave is onewho has no rights of his own. He submits to authority of another,he takes orders and does not give orders. He is obedient. In thecase of our Lord Jesus, His was voluntary Self-denial, obedience,submission, humility. All in pure grace! Even as a boy He wassubject to His parents, Luke 2.51. And all His life He was subjectto His Father in heaven. Notice His own words: He came not to beserved but to serve, Matthew 20.28. I am He that serves, Luke 22.27.

And this nature of Servant was taken in permanent, unendingform. Even in the future glory He, the Master, will dress Himselfto serve, to wait on others! Luke 12.37.

Becoming. How did He take the Servant-form? By becomingas men are. This change of position is the outward showing of thenew nature of the servant. He put on the slave-clothes of aServant.

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Human likeness, appearance as Man. Christ still kept Hiseternal fulness of Deity, but He added to it perfect Manhood. Asthe perfect Man He had Spirit, Mark 2.8; Luke 23.46; soul,Matthew 26.38, Mark 14.34; and body, Matthew 26.12; 27.58.Because He became Man He was born like every other humanbeing. But because He was God He was conceived supernatural-ly, by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary. As a human He grew anddeveloped just like other boys, physically and mentally. Hewalked and talked, breathed and slept, ate and drank as a normalhuman being, because He was born a genuine Man, born of awoman, Galatians 4.4. But the scriptures clearly tell us that Hewas without sin of any kind. He had no sinful nature like all therest of us have. Read Hebrews 7.26,27.

Humbled Himself. He came to live among poor, ordinarypeople. He lived in a despised town, Nazareth, in a humble car-penter's family; not in the grand mansions of the wealthy, norkingly palace of royalty. He did not claim any “Creator exemp-tions” from taxes, hard work, hunger, thirst nor pain. He learned“the hard way” what life was like on a sin-cursed planet. He wellknew sweat, tears, pain, sorrow. But humility is not inferiority.He was still The Mighty God, the King of the Uni-verse. But Hehad laid aside His robes of glory and riches. He had steppeddown from His throne in heaven. He came to earth in slave-cloth-ing to be Servant. And inside He was King all the time! He neverceased to be God over all forever, blessed be His Name!

Obedient. He was always obedient to His Father. As Son Helearned obedience here on earth, Hebrews 5.8. He submitted tothe will of His Father, “Not My will, but Yours be done", Luke22.42. That was His purpose in coming to earth, John 6.38. He al-ways did what pleased His Father, John 8.28. So we see that Helaid aside the independent use of His own attributes in favor ofobeying God His Father.

Apart from His coming to earth as Man, as Son of God He wasequal with His Father. Many verses teach this: John 8.58; 10.30;14.9; 17.5; Romans 9.5; Colossians 2.2,3; Titus 2.13; Hebrews 1.8; 1 John 5.20.

On earth as the Servant He tells us that the servant is not

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greater than his master, John 13.16. In John 14.28 He tells us thatHis Father in heaven is greater (in glory) than His Servant-Son (onearth). While upon earth the Son was hated and despised,laughed at, scorned, insulted as being out of His mind , spit upon,shamefully treated. He could easily have used the words of theprophet Malachi asking, Where is my honor, my respect, myglory? It had been thrown in the mud of human hatred. But inheaven God the Father is all-glorious, everyone there highly hon-ors Him. No one would even dare to do any-thing less than giveHim full glory.

So Christ speaks on earth of His Father being greater than He,the Son; He means this great stoop of humility the Son took. Andit was all in obedience to His Father. The Father sent the Son, John3.17; 5.23. The Father gave the Son, John 3.16. And the Son loving-ly obeyed His Father.

When the Son's work was completed He returned to HisFather, John 14.12,28; 17.21. And He returned to the glory whichwas His before He came to earth, John 17.5.

Death – Cross. Christ's obedience to His Father was carried tothe point of death itself. Nothing short would do. Christ's life, per-fect, beautiful and wonderful as it was, could not take away oursins. He must die.

In Genesis 22 Isaac obeyed his father Abraham and willinglyallowed himself to be placed on the altar to be sacrificed. But Godstopped Abraham from actually killing Isaac. He did not want ahuman sacrifice. Only the death of the Perfect Man could take awayour sins. Praise God our Savior was willing to go all the way.

Lord, even to death Your love could go, A death of shame and loss;To overcome for us every foe,And break the strong man's (Satan's) force.Oh, what a load was Yours to bear, Alone in that dark hour,Our sins in all their terror there, God's wrath and Satan's power.

(H. Rossier)

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To conclude this section we turn our attention to two illustra-tions from Scripture which may help us to understand this diffi-cult subject of the God-Man.

First, in the Old Testament. After the people of Israel had beenrescued by the Lord from slavery in Egypt they traveled througha wilderness on the way to the promised land, Canaan. The Lordtold them to build a tabernacle in which he would dwell. Theywere to come there with their sacrifices and worship Him.Various pieces of furniture were in this tabernacle. The mostimportant was called the Ark of the Covenant. It was a box madeof acacia wood overlaid with pure gold. Other pieces of furniturealso were made. These were pictures, or types of our Lord Jesus.These were all placed inside the holy place or holy of holies, andwere seen only by the priests.

But when Israel journeyed through the wilderness theTabernacle was taken down and carried on special poles or han-dles by men. But before the Ark was taken outside the holy placeit had to be carefully covered with several covers. On top of themwas a blue cloth. (See Numbers 4.1-12). None of the gold was seenby men as they traveled through the wilderness.

Gold is a picture of Deity. The Ark was a special picture of ourLord. He was God, but when He came to earth He covered His di-vine glory in a human body. The gold on the ark was not takenoff, nor even partly removed. It remained in place all during thejourneys in the wilderness. But it was just covered from humansight.

So with our Lord Jesus Christ. The gold of His true deity wasnot taken away from Him when He came to earth. It was onlycovered. Instead of gold the people saw blue, speaking of theheavenly one but in subdued color. Man could never behold thebrightness (gold) of God's glory. Therefore Jesus covered it so thatmen could draw near to Him. On one occasion He allowed Hisglory to shine through His body for a brief time, and His discipleswere overcome with fear. When was that occasion? See Matthew17.1-9.

Now in the New Testament is another picture for us to notice.In John 13 we read about our Lord Jesus giving His disciples a les-

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son on humility as He washed their feet. Notice carefully how itillustrates what we have here in Philippians 2.John 13 Philippians 2Vs.1-3 Jesus knowing all things v.6. In very nature,(Omniscience) form, of GodGod put all things in His hands– got up from meal made Himself of no reputation– took off outer clothing v.7. stripped Himself (of his glory)v.4 wrapped towel around waist took form of servantv.5. performed lowly service(washing feet)v.12 finished, put on clothing (John 19.30 It is finished)vs.3,12. returned to His place v.9. God exalted Him – Name

above every namevs.13,16 called Lord, Master v.11 Jesus is LORDv.31 climax – God glorified in Son To glory of God the Father

There are other passages which fit in with our portion inPhilippians 2. We will put them together in the following form:Philippians 2 Look up these and read carefully:Very nature of God John 1.1,4; 13.1,3; Colossians 1.15;

Hebrews 1.2,3Subsisting eternally Colossians 1.17Equality with God Colossians 1.15-17; 2.3; Hebrews 1.2,3;

John 10.30; 2 Corinthians 8.9 Emptied, stripped Himself John 13.3,4; 2 Corinthians 8.9;

Hebrews 12.9; Isaiah 53.12 Very nature of servant John 13.4; Matthew 20.28;

Luke 22.27Likeness of mankind John 1.14; Romans 8.3Human appearance John 1.14Humbled Himself John 13.5; 2 Corinthians 8.9Obedient Isaiah 6.8; Psalm 40.10; Isaiah 50.4-10Even to death 1 Peter 3.18; Isaiah 53.8On the cross John 12.13; 19.30; Colossians

1.20-22; Hebrews 1.3

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Christ's Exaltation: Highly exalted Him John 12.13; Colossians 1.18;

Hebrews 1.3; 1 Peter 3.22;Hebrews 2.9; Isaiah 52.13; 53,12;

Colossians 3.1Highest name Hebrews 1.4All must bow and confess Hebrews 1.6; 1 Peter 3.22;

Hebrews 2.8; 1 Corinthians 15.25,26Jesus is Lord John 13.13,16; Hebrews 1.9,13;

Colossians 2.10,15To glory of God the Father John 13.31; 17.1; 1 Corinthians

15.24-28May the careful reading and study of all these references cause

our readers to bow right now to worship and praise our blessedGod and Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2.13.

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Appendix 2Fellowship, Partnership

The Philippian believers were very dear to Paul. He felt a realnearness to them. This is shown in his references to the idea of fel-lowship, togetherness, community. Christian fellowship is one ofthe great blessings God has given to His people. We believe youwill be helped by looking more closely at the verses given. Thinkabout them and write down what you learn from them.

Partnership, sharing, fellowship: 1.5,7; 2.1; 3.10; 4.14,16. You all, each, every: 1.4,7,8,25; 2.17; 4.21.In the Lord: 2.19,24; 3.1; 4.1,10.In Christ Jesus: 1.1,26; 2.5; 3.3,14; 4.7,19,21.In Christ: 2.1.

Paul adds “together with” to a number of words in the follow-ing references:

Partakers, 1.7Rejoice together, 2.17,18 Fellow-worker, 2,25; 4.3 Fellow-soldier, 2.25Of the same nature, 3.10 Fellow-imitator or follower, 3.17Yokefellow, 4.3To fight together, 4.3 Fellow-partaker, 4.14One common purpose, 1.27Same thoughts, love, soul, mind, 2.2.

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Appendix 3Christ the God-Servant

The Old Testament prophesied that the coming Messiah-Saviorwould come as the Servant of the Lord. We list here five specificpassages where He is pictured. The interested reader shouldstudy these portions further. Look up the other New Testamentreferences to them. Find out how Jesus fulfilled them.

The four Servant Songs of Isaiah are as follows:Isaiah 42.1-9. God's chosen, delightful Servant. He will serve in

patient, humble obedience, not in great military power or rule.Note the importance of his anointing, Acts 10.38. (Messiah meansAnointed One).

Isaiah 49.1-7. The Servant who will redeem and give light, evento the Gentiles. Messiah the Servant's mission. Acts 13.47. Luke2.30-32.

Isaiah 50.4-10. The obedient, submitting Servant. His daily obe-dience brought suffering. The instructed tongue and the openedear, see John 7.16; 8.28. Regarding the opened ear read Exodus21.5-6 and Hebrews 10.5, also Psalm 40.6. The servant because ofLOVE for his master and his wife became a servant for life, evenuntil death! Beautiful picture of Christ Jesus!

Isaiah 52.13-53.12. The righteous yet suffering Servant.Suffering even to death, yet ending in final triunph. See 1 Peter2.24; Hebrews 9.28.

In addition to the above four Servant Songs, Isaiah also makesanother clear reference to this Servant in Isaiah 61.1-3. Here He isthe anointed and sent One, referring to Isaiah 42.1-9. See Luke4.16-21.

Another reference is Zechariah 3.8 where He is called MyServant the Branch. Look up other references to the Messiah-Savior as the Branch in the Old Testament.

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This brief outline will help the interested reader to see howclearly the Old Testament foretold the idea of Christ coming asServant. So we need not be surprised that Philippians presentsChrist as the Servant-God, or God the Servant.

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Appendix 4Joy, Rejoicing

The letter to the Philippians is truly Paul's Prison Psalm. Thenotes of joy and rejoicing appear in each chapter. Sometimes herefers to his own joy, sometimes to that of the believers, and some-times to both. We list references here for you to look up each oneand write down the causes for joy in each one.

PAUL'S JOY JOY OF PHILIPPIANS JOY OF BOTH

1.41.18(twice)

1.251.26

2.22.16 2.17, 18 (twice)

2.282.293.1

3.34.1

4.4 (twice)4.10

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Appendix 5

Mind, Thinking, Attitude

We have noticed that Paul often writes about our mind,thoughts, and attitude. It would be a good study for the interest-ed reader to look more closely at the references. Apply them toyour own attitudes and thought-patterns. Paul uses several differ-ent words so we will list them separately for your benefit.

1. Think, exercise the mind, be interested in, regard.1.72.2 (twice)2.53.15 (twice)3.16 3.19 4.24.10 (twice)

2. Think, reason, count, conclude.3.13 4.83.Think, please, be accounted.3.4

4. Mind, soul, life. 1.27

5. Humiliation of mind2.3

6. Thought, mind. 4.7.

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Appendix 6Philippians 2.15: You Shine like Stars

in the UniversePaul often looked out at the starry skies on a dark, clear night, andmust have thought often about what he saw. As he admired thebeauty of the starry heavens it must have reminded him of somewords of the Lord Jesus. Followers of the Lord should be likethose heavenly bodies. Let us make some comparisons.

In John 8.12 Jesus said that He is the Light of the world. Whilehere in this world He shone as the Light of Life. He was like thesun shining in the sky. See Malachi 4.2, John 9.5. But now He hasgone back to heaven and He has appointed His followers to belights in this dark world, Matthew 5.14. Daniel 12.3. Isaiah 60.1-2.

Believers are like heavenly bodies. They are born from above,that is heaven-born, John 3.3; they are citizens of heaven, Philippi-ans 3.20; they are heavenly in character and their home is in heav-en. Daniel 12.3 tells us that believers who lead many to right pathsare like the bright stars of heaven. (Remember a star led the wisemen to the Savior, Matthew 2.1-11.)

In the physical heavens above us we see various kinds of heav-enly bodies: our moon, planets, stars, constellations and galaxies.Let's consider briefly how they picture the believers' life and wit-ness.

1. PLANETS (including our moon).(a) They revolve around their center, the Sun. They are held intheir orbit or path by the power of gravity. So the believer's life re-volves around the SON, Christ. He draws us to Himself, John12.32. We are kept by His power, 1 Peter 1.5.(b) They have no light of their own but receive light from the Sun.So with believers, we receive Light from the SON, 2 Corinthians4.6,7. The Lord makes the light of His face shine on us, Psalm31.16; 67.1.(c) They reflect the light of the Sun. Believers reflect the light of

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the SON, 2 Corinthians 3.18. As they behold the Lord's glory theyreflect it like mirrors (planets). And they should grow in increas-ing brightness as they move closer to their SON.

2. STARS. Shining out like stars in the sky. Individual starsare: (a) Appointed, placed by God in space and time. Each has itsown orbit and size and brightness. Genesis 1.16. Psalm 8.3.(b) High up in the heavens, Genesis 1.14-19; Job 22.12. So dobelievers occupy places of heavenly responsibility.(c) To shine in the darkness of night, Psalm 136.9; Matthew 13.43.(d) Numerous, cannot be counted, Genesis 15.5; Deuteronomy10.22; Revelation 7.9.(e) Varying in glory and brightness, 1 Corinthians 15.41; 12.4-6.(f) In harmony, melody, praising the Lord, Job.38.7; Psalm 138.5;1st Peter 2.9.

These are some pictures of believers. We are to shine in ourown place with the individual gifts the Lord has given to each ofus. No two are alike nor in the same place in life. But we are all tobring glory to God.

3. CONSTELLATIONS, groups of stars. Isaiah 13.10. Job refersto the Pleiades, the seven sisters, Job 9.9. Revelation 1.16,20 saysthe Lord holds the seven stars in His right hand. Believers areplaced together by the Lord in church fellowship, shining togeth-er as they hold forth the word of life, Philippians 2.16. They are inthe Lord's hand of control. Other constellations (Orion and theBear) are also mentioned in Job 9.9; 38.32. In Genesis 1.14-17 isGod's purpose for the stars: (1) Signs, - of things to come; (2)Seasons, cycles of time; (3) Shining light on this earth. As the sea-sons of the year pass, the different constellations come into view.In this dark, dark world we believers are to be lights of God shin-ing with clear, steady light as we proclaim God's Word to thosewho sit in darkness and the shadow of death.

In this world of darkness So we must shine -You in your small corner And I in mine.

(A. B. Warner)

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ANSWERS TO QUESTIONSON PHILIPPIANS

Chapter 11. Verse 62. Verses 3,4,7,83. V.13. Whole palace guard heard Good News4. V.20. Christ be honored, glorified5. V.29. Suffer for Christ

Chapter 21. V.3. Selfish ambition, empty boasting2. Vs.5-8 Jesus3. V.B. Even to death4. Vs.17,19,25. Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus5. Vs.27,30 Epaphroditus

Chapter 31. Vs.4-6. Being a true Jew, Pharisee, law-keeper2. V.B. Knowing Christ his Lord3. V.12. No.4. Vs.13-14. Not turn nor look back; press,strain forward5. Vs.20-21. Being born again (from heaven);living under laws of

heaven Looking for King/Savior from heaven (our homeland)

Chapter 41. V.2. Two women in Philippian church who were quarreling2. V.6. Prayer with thanksgiving3. Vs.11-12. Content with whatever God gave him.4. V.13. Christ5. V.18. Fragrant offering, acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

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