Shining as Stars
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, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, 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 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. 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. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
My Understanding: This second chapter in Philippians begins by revealing to us the nature of Christ Jesus, and also how we should imitate his attitude in all that we do and say. We are to do nothing out of selfishness ambition or vain conceit, but in humility we are to consider others better than ourselves. We should look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others. And, our attitude should be the same as Christ. He was God in heaven, and yet he willingly left his throne in heaven and all the glory that went with that, and he humbled himself by taking upon himself human flesh. He became our servant so that we could go free. He suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and then he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death as a common criminal on a cross, although he had done no wrong.
When he was crucified, our sins were crucified with him. When he was buried, our sins were buried with him. When he was resurrected back to life, our sins stayed buried forever in the grave. He conquered death, hell, Satan and sin through his death and resurrection. And, he did this so that we would not have to face the penalty of sin - eternal damnation and eternal separation from God. As well, he did this so that we would be free from the control of sin over our daily lives and so we would be free to walk daily in his light and fellowship, in faithful obedience and surrender to Jesus Christ as our true Lord and master.
Because of this,
“God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him a name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11 NIV ’84).
Then, verse 12 begins with the word “therefore,” which means “because of;” “as a result of;” or “for that reason” we should obey Christ in all things, whether anyone is watching us or not, and we should continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us to will and to act according to his good purpose. This is not works-based salvation “for it is God who works in us.” Yet, we must cooperate with his work and allow the Holy Spirit to do the work of revival in our hearts as we humble ourselves and become obedient to death to our sins, so that we can be resurrected to new lives in Christ Jesus, our Lord, free from accusation and free from the guilt and penalty of our sin.
We are to do everything without complaining or arguing. We need to humble ourselves and take on the form of a servant like Christ did. And, we need to do this so that we can become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which we should be shining like stars in the universe, if we hold out the word of life. In other words, we should learn to be content in every situation, i.e. we should be willing to accept whatever God may bring our way without complaining or arguing about those things over which we have no control. This does not mean we should accept sin nor should we ever submit ourselves to sin, but it does mean yielding to the sovereignty of God over our lives. And, it means accepting his purposes in all that happens to us.
We live in a crooked and depraved generation, i.e. in a world of immorality, corruption, greed, envy, strife, discord of every kind, wickedness, dishonesty and deceit, i.e. we live in a sinful and fallen world. We are not to become friends with this fallen world or to make nice with it, but we are to come out from the world and be separate, and we are to stand out as different, in stark contrast to the wickedness of our generation. Not only that, but we are commanded to hold out the word of life to this crooked and depraved generation. Instead of becoming one with them, we are to be sharing with them the word of truth and how Jesus Christ came to set them free from the power of sin over their lives. When we live like this, we will shine like the stars of the universe in this wicked world in contrast to its darkness.
Paul was the one writing this to the Philippian believers in Christ Jesus. For him, their spiritual success in life meant he had not labored for nothing. But, then he went on to say something that sounded like he was preparing to die for his faith in Christ. He had been beaten, falsely accused, mistreated, falsely imprisoned and he was prepared to die a martyr’s death, and he did all of this for them, that they may come to know Christ in his fullness, and so they may live obedient lives unto Christ, and so they may have the promise of eternal life with God in heaven, and so they may live productive and fruit-bearing lives for Christ Jesus while they are still on the face of this earth. And, he was glad that he was counted worthy both to suffer and to die for the sake of the name of Christ, the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for the sake of the spiritual freedom for those to whom he ministered God’s grace in many forms.
Life as we know it will one day pass away. Some of us will be ready to meet our God and some of us will not because we have loved this life, our own selves, and this world more than we have loved Christ. Christ Jesus came to set us free. He did not go through all that he went through so we would continue in bondage to sin. God did not put us on this earth to live self-gratifying lives, free from concern over spiritual matters. He did not put us here so we could win a lot of friends for ourselves, so we could be liked by many people, or so we could just have a good old time living for ourselves, and ignore God and his provisions for us in dying so we could go free. He put us here to live lives pleasing to God, and so we could walk in fellowship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to obey him in all things and to do what he desires of us, not what we desire (if our desires don’t match his). We are not to live and die for ourselves, but we are to live and to die for God, for his purposes, and for the eternal salvation of the people of this world, many of whom do not know God personally through faith in Christ.
May we all today be willing to submit ourselves to our Lord and master, Jesus Christ, and to walk humbly before him the rest of our days with eternity’s values in view. None of us knows how much time is left for us on this earth. Let us make the choice today to live for Jesus Christ in whatever time remains.
The Peace of Christ / An Original Work / October 31, 2011
Based off of Col. 3:1-17; Eph. 5:19-20
Let the word of Christ dwell in you,
As you teach with all wisdom,
Teaching one another to not
Think on earthly things;
Think instead on things above,
Where Christ sits with God, in love,
Saving us from all of our sins,
Cleansing us; made new within.
Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts,
As you sing songs unto Him;
Speak to one another with psalms,
Hymns, and spir’tual songs;
Always giving thanks to God,
In the name of Christ, His Son,
Who gave His life up for us all,
And gave us eternal life.
Let the love of Christ within you
Rule in your hearts; grace within,
Purifying you from your sin,
Make you whole within.
Forgive as the Lord forgave.
Show His kindness ev’ry day.
In word or deed, whate’er you do,
Glory give to Jesus Christ.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Audio, song lyrics and sheet music (free):
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/the-peace-of-christ
Song on video:
http://youtu.be/tW7HXchJ9qE
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