Philippians 2: 12-18 – “Letting our Stars shine”
By James Galbraith
First Baptist Church, Port Alberni
October 15, 2006
Text
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
Introduction
An man goes to a diner every day for lunch. He always orders the soup du jour. One day the manager asks him how he liked his meal.
The man replies, “It was good, but you could give a little more bread.”
So the next day the manager tells the waitress to give him four slices of bread. “How was your meal, sir?” the manager asks.
“It was good, but you could give a little more bread,” comes the reply.
So the next day the manager tells the waitress to give him eight slices of bread. “How was your meal today, sir?” the manager asks.
“Good, but you could give a little more bread,” comes the reply.
So ... the next day the manager tells the waitress to give him a whole loaf of bread with his soup. “How was your meal, sir?” the manager asks, when he comes to pay. “It was good, but you could give just a little more bread,” comes the reply once again.
The manager is now obsessed with seeing this customer say that he is satisfied with his meal, so he goes to the bakery, and orders a six-foot-long loaf of bread. When the man comes in as usual the next day, the waitress and the manager cut the loaf in half, butter the entire length of each half, and lay it out along the counter, right next to his bowl of soup.
The man sits down, and devours both his bowl of soup, and both halves of the six-foot-long loaf of bread. The manager now thinks he will get the answer he is looking for, and when the old man comes up to pay for his meal, the manager asks in the usual way: “How was your meal TODAY, sir?” The man replies: “It was good as usual, but I see you are back to giving only two slices of bread!”
This message is about neither soup nor bread, but we will talk about the issue of “complaining and arguing”, and how divisive it can be.
First, let’s see what’s brought Paul to this point in the letter.
Review
This passage is a lot like the end of a sermon.
Paul has spoken at length on the condition of the Philippian church.
He has called them to work together and put behind them petty squabbling that could blow up into full-scale, church wrecking dissent.
He has reminded them that suffering and trials are part and parcel of the faith - as Christ suffered to bring us salvation so we too will undergo hardship related to our faith.
He has encouraged them to act in humility to bring themselves closer together, and pointed to the greatest act of humility in history:
the birth, life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as an example.
He is about to return to discussing his own current situation,
but not before wrapping up his train of thought concerning
facing hardship together, working together and putting each other first.
READ VERSES 12-13 - Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
He starts off with very kind words, to demonstrate his affection for these people and his good intentions in what he is about to tell them.
He is not the arrogant master bossing his servants around, he is the loving teacher sharing essential truths with a class that he dearly loves.
"as you have always obeyed" is a reference to their demonstrated desire to follow God. It is an acknowledgement that they as a church have always tried to do what they knew God wants of them.
And they do it whether Paul is with them or not.
I remember those special days in school when our poor teacher fell sick. We would be treated to the presence of a substitute teacher. We promptly tested his or her mettle, throwing aside all the discipline that our regular teacher had instilled in us. It was amazing how little time it took for all our teachers hard work to dissolve in her absence.
Not so with the Philippians. Paul has been absent from them for years, but they have thrived as a Christian community. Paul acknowledges this, and compliments them for it.
He then moves on the point of the sentence. - CONTINUE TO WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING.
What? Work? Salvation? I thought that salvation from God was supposed to be free! Christ paid the price for us, so how can we "work out" our salvation if it is already paid for?
Many people see these words and think that Paul is talking about earning our way into heaven. This statement is confusing at first glance, but let’s give it a deeper look.
First, is it saying that we have to work FOR our salvation,
or work OUT our salvation? There’s a big difference!
"Work for" would entailing earning, and that’s unacceptable.
"Work OUT" means "to do", or "to act upon" or "to demonstrate".
Paul is calling us to act out our faith like we truly believe it.
One of the most important things about Christ’s death for us on the cross was that he did it because there was absolutely no other way we could ever get into heaven. We can’t earn our way in, sneak in or break in.
We don’t “buy” our salvation from him, but we can certainly act as though we take it seriously!
"With fear and trembling" is not a popular phrase these days,
since we so regularly associate fear with evil or wrongdoing.
The fear of God, however, is a deep seated respect that acknowledges God as the supreme being and pays him the respect he is due.
Paul himself has been confronted by God, and it is a terrifying thing. But the terror is cleansing, not harmful. It puts the world into perspective - this is God’s world, not ours, and we best live in a way that gives God his due.
Paul is calling them, and us, to live out their salvation by keeping in mind who has saved them. Not "The big guy" or The man upstairs", but the God that brought the world together and sustains the very fabric of existence.
READ VERSE 13 – “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
We have been given a very high calling, and we are being promised that God is in the midst of it, leading us toward himself and bringing all our efforts into line with what he wants to accomplish.
God is not only the subject of our faith, he helps us work it out by giving us strength to follow him in every and any circumstance.
We need only to move forward in good faith and God will take what we do, say and strive for and make it into something more wonderful than we could ever accomplish on our own.
So Paul is calling us to demonstrate their salvation as if before God, knowing and trusting that God will take their efforts and do marvellous things with it.
He now shares a final thought about their cohesiveness as a group of believers.
READ VERSE 14-16 - REPEAT VERSE 14
Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Pretty simple, eh?
He’s said "Be of like mind"
He’s said "contend as one man"
He’s said "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"
Now he just tells ‘em to cut it out! No more! If you do not like something, make sure you evaluate your motives before you take a stand on it.
For example, there are certain camp songs that I don’t like.
In the course of an entire summer of camp, I must have suffered through these songs two or three hundred times! I won’t sing them unless I’m roped into it, and usually I sing silly lyrics just under my voice so that I alleviate some of the pain and suffering!
But I would never, ever dream of getting into a fight over these songs! On any level!
Unfortunately, issues as petty as this do sometimes become contentious, and churches have suffered because of it. Paul’s words are simple, easy to understand directions to follow concerning such issues. Just Don’t do it!
He then continues by explaining the result of NOT bickering.
READ VERSE 15-16 - so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Now these two verses need a closer look. This is one of those moments where Paul is speaking to the Philippians in terms that would mean a lot more to them then they do to us. They can mean a lot to us too, but we need to do a bit of research to understand their importance.
The Bible the Philippians’ would have been reading was not the same one we have, for the New Testament is still an ongoing creation when Paul is writing this letter.
Their “bible” would have been the entire Old testament, for that was finished four hundred years before Christ came to Earth. They would have also had some letters from the various apostles, like Paul, as guidance and instruction, but their Scriptures were the OT.
SO they did not have the whole Bible we do, and on top of that, many of them did not read at all!
They listened to the teachers read, and had HEARD the Scriptures again and again, but they rarely sat down and read the way we can.
Materials for writing was not cheap, and many simply did not know how to read and write! They learned very well from hearing, and would have recognised key words and terms instantly.
These two verses contain imagery and phrases from the OT that would have clicked instantly with those who were accustomed to the spoken Word of God.
"Shining like stars in the universe" is straight from Daniel,
who was sharing God’s promise that those wise enough to heed him would shine like the stars in the heavens.
"A crooked and depraved generation" is straight from Deuteronomy,
where Moses is lamenting the hard heartedness of a "crooked and depraved generation" who would not follow God.
One of the worst sins that Moses was confronted with was the divisiveness of the people in the wilderness; God’s people constantly reduced themselves to God’s bickering and whining brats.
The two images are from the stories that people had heard again and again. Paul is painting a picture that draws from their heritage. It would be like a teacher drawing images from the stories we grew up with.
It’s an extremely effective teaching method, and Paul is using it to make a very clear point:
Those who strive to follow God and work together will shine, standing out from their opponents like stars in the heavens. Furthermore, they are literally holding out life to those who are stumbling in darkness.
We don’t get much imagery like that today. We talk about being a presence or making an impact, but Paul saw what they were doing as a light for those who were blind and a bridge from dying to living.
And Paul’s not afraid to share that seeing the Philippians strive to act in this way will give him great personal satisfaction.
Seeing the Philippians act as one would bring great joy to Paul - he’s seen them through so much and prays for their continued love and togetherness. He takes this very personally, like anyone who really cares for something.
Paul finishes these thoughts by assuring them that despite his words of correction and exhortation, he does see them as a worthy cause and their work together as something to rejoice over.
READ VERSES 17-18. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
The imagery is that of the Old testament priest pouring wine before the altar in preparation for the sacrifice.
We may be tempted to read these words and think that Paul is declaring that he is ready to be sacrificed for the sake of the Philippians’ growth. This is a noble and inspiring picture, but it’s not what Paul is saying here.
The image centres around “a drink offering”, which was a small part of some of the sacrifices we find in the Old Testament. In the midst of performing the ritual the priest might, in some circumstances, pour a small measure of wine on the sacrifice. It was a token added to the larger whole.
With this in mind, I believe that Paul is saying that even if his efforts are but a small addition to the whole then he will be happy. He wants to know that his efforts were not in vain, as we see in verse 16, but he is ready to see his efforts in perspective.
So many people play a part in the growth of a Christian, and Paul realises that he may just be a small part of a greater effort. And that’s okay, as long as he’s part of the plan.
If his efforts are but a small part of the process of the Philippians taking God seriously and serving him out of their faith, then mission accomplished.
This fits in with his desire that they be humble, that they serve together, that they look out for each other and that they be a part of what God is doing.
That is enough for him, and his last words make it clear that he thinks that’s enough for them, too.
So for today, what does Paul say to us?
LET YOUR FAITH SHOW
Our faith is a personal faith, but it should have a public presence. It is free of charge, but it should be demonstrated in our lives - from the closets of our minds to the offices we work at to the malls we shop in.
Do we need to holler from the street corners? Well, maybe a few of us do, but overall, no.
God gives us many different ways to “work out our salvation”. What matters is that we are faithful to be a part of what he is doing, and that we serve him out of respect, awe, and yes, even fear and trembling.
DO EVERYTHING WITHOUT ARGUING OR BICKERING
Just cut it out! ALL of us. We can be such a powerful force - look at the imagery here - SHINE LIKE STARS, HOLD OUT THE WORDS OF LIFE!
But we have to put squabbles in their proper places - the trash can.
IF YOU’RE BUT A SMALL PART OF WHAT GOD IS DOING, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
We do not have to compete to be a part of the God’s work.
Some of us preach, others sing, others dance!
Some give, some take! Some host parties.
Others knit clothing or sew quilts…
Others change babies or teach children; the list goes on and on and on….
The bottom line is that if you are striving to serve him YOU ARE PART OF WHAT GOD is doing.
We can shine like stars in the universe, if we let God work through us.
We don’t have to worry about who’s shining brighter than who or anything like that, we just have to be ready to take what God has given to us and put it to work for him.
We all have something that can be put to work for God,
and when God’s people put his gifts to them together for his work,
the church truly shines.
