2010 Feb 28 - Philippians Wrap-Up

February 28, 2010
Philippians Wrap-up

We made it through three chapters of Philippians this week. As we went through the letter, we stopped for questions and discussion. We'll finish up chapter 4 this Sunday, with time left to begin the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6 and 7).

Some of this week's discussion points:

"Saints." The term means "those set apart for God," and includes all of us who have made a commitment to join the Kingdom. For many of us, the word was applied to the old folks in church, the ones who led out in prayer and who seemed to have no problem following God. But all of us who have accepted God's gift of new life are already saints. We may not yet be "great saints," but the transformation has begun.

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion." Here is the promise that God intends to make us into those "great saints" we talked about. We also talked about when God began working in our lives. We mentioned the time we asked for forgiveness, because that's when we gave Him permission to change us. But we quickly realized that He'd begun the work even sooner. Long before we cooperated with Him, He was calling to us and encouraging us to respond.

"Pure and blameless." This is the aim of God's work in our lives: To make us like Him. Each of us is to be pure, and what we do is to be blameless. That's more than most of us expected when we first turned to Him, but that's what His intention is for everyone.

"Sufficient courage." Courage may be essential for any other virtue. It's pretty easy to be "good" when there's no opposition, but real goodness requires courage to stand for what's right even when it's not popular.

"Whatever happens." Paul uses this phrase right after some very confident statements about the future. "I know I'll see you again." "I know that I will be released." But then he acknowledges that no one knows the future for certain. More importantly, Paul's trust in God is not dependent on Paul knowing his own future.

"You will be saved." We talked about being saved. This includes being saved out of particular difficulties, although it isn't a guarantee that all of this life will work out just the way we'd like.

"To will and to act." This theme comes up a couple of times in Philippians. It is not enough to think about following God. We need to act on these decisions.

"Hope in the Lord Jesus." Paul also mentions being "confident in the Lord." Sometimes our hope and confidence isn't based on God's plans. We need to stay focused on the Kingdom so that more and more of our life relies on what God wants. As we become more "pure and blameless," we will discover that our hopes are more in line with God's intentions.

"Becoming like Him in His death." This is part of Paul's list of what it means to be like Jesus. He wants to know the power of the resurrection in his life. He can't have a resurrection without a death. We are called to be like Jesus, and that includes sharing in His sufferings. When a person lives according to God's principles in a world that doesn't live that way, the person is bound to face opposition to some degree. (This principle was recognized by the ancient Greeks as well as by Christians.)

"Let us live up to what we have already attained." Paul emphasizes that he is not yet perfect in this life. God has more for him, just as God has more for each of us. But Paul has made some progress already, and so have we. It is important that we live up to the level God has already brought us to.

With all this discussion, it's no wonder we didn't make it through the entire letter! We'll get into chapter 4 this Sunday, and we should have enough time for a good introduction to the Sermon on the Mount from David.

If you remember more points or have further discussion, or if some of this needs better clarification, feel free to respond to this post.