SLIDES

The Partnership between God and Believers to Bring Unity

Philippians 2:12-13

 Introduction

In the Boston Globe on October 12, 2011 there was an article by Bob Hohler on the 2011 Boston Red Soxs baseball team. Hohler wrote the article as “a story of disunity, disloyalty, and dysfunction like few other in franchise history.”  He said that thing kind of thing has been going on for years in that the Red Sox organization had cast blame. settle scores, and threw people under the bus for things going sideways on the field.

Disunity in a sports team like the Boston Red Socks is usually a recipe for disaster. No one wins when there is disunity in a ball team. The same can be said about churches and different groups within churches such as the elder board, the deacon board, and different divisions within a church such as adult education, a Sunday school class, or a mission committee just to name few. Disunity is as harmful to the Body of Christ as organs of the human body not functioning correctly and working together.

Today we will discuss some changes in attitudes and/or practices outlined by Paul that should occur that should help keep disunity from occurring or continuing in different aspects of a church.

A.  Believers are exhorted to change their attitude and practices that cause disunity. (12)

12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

As we study verses 12 & 13, please keep in mind that the unity of the church at Philippi is in view. Verse 12 begins with the conjunction so then that goes back to 1:27 where Paul’s presence and absence are referred to as in this verse. In 1:27 we have Paul’s exhortation to the Philippian saints to conduct themselves as citizens of heaven. Paul now ties those verses to what he will write next.  The expression my beloved is a term of endearment that certainly has the element of commitment in it because it comes from a word that is in the agape’ family.  Here Paul is referring to the group of believers who are part of the Philippian Church. Paul planted the church with the aid of a few others. The leaders and some of the laypeople ministered to Paul in prison by visiting him and bring him needed items even though it was over 800 miles from Philippi to Rome. The trip to approximately six week to make.  It was for these reasons and perhaps others that Paul felt a deep commitment toward them. He had so much time and effort invested.

Do you feel that commitment to others in this class that Paul felt for the Philippians?

The next portion of verse 12 deals with obedience and his presence. The Apostle Paul is putting a motive before them. It is not difficult for a child to obey what the parent has told him to do when the parent is in the same room observing them. The very presence of the parent who has given the order is a strong motive to obedience. How much different it is if a parent is going out of the house for a period of time and says to the child, “When I get back, I want all your toys picked up and place them in the toy box.” The child is not under the same amount of pressure as when the parent was observing them. The degree of obedience of the child is not determined by what the child does when the parent is present, but by what he does when the parent is absent. The same can be said of the obedience in the Philippian church. The obedience he is referring to is the obedience concerning unity in the church.

In the remainder of the verse, Paul is laying down a biblical principal that spiritual salvation and forgiveness of sin that is based on doing good works when he says “work out your salvation.” Does everyone agree with that? Spiritual salvation and forgiveness of sin is based By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. He did not say work for your salvation but work out your salvation.

When we lived in Marietta, I had Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door regularly.  I loved engaging in conversation with them about the Bible, especially about how one’s sins are forgiven so an individual can receive eternal life. One afternoon two Mormons knocked on our door. We went on the front porch and talked for over an hour.  They told me that salvation was gained by believing in Jesus and by doing good works and they quoted this verse in Philippians. I said if you look closely at the verse, you will notice it says work out your salvation, not work for it. They both looked like a deer in the headlights. They usually say something like we need to talk to Elder so and so about this. Then I told them I was going to ask them a question about their view of salvation, but to remember that God was listening to their answer. I formed the question like this. “So, you are telling me that good works are necessary for salvation because the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross is not sufficient to remove all of our sins.” They both agreed that was correct. SELAH!

But, as we shall see, in context the salvation Paul refers to here is not spiritual salvation.

Remember that Paul has been striving to encourage the entire congregation at Philippi to achieve unity through humility.  We have seen two models of humility in chapter. Who were they? They were Jesus, our supreme example of humility and the Apostle Paul.  The other two other examples of humility we will see in chapter two is Timothy and Epaphroditus. The word “your” is plural so he is not talking about an individual’s spiritual salvation.  He is not talking an individual member of the church putting into practice doing good works since they are spiritually saved. The word salvation can also be translated deliverance. He is commanding the entire church at Philippi to work out or bring about their deliverance from their attitude and practices that were keeping them from being united. Since being united as a congregation was a serious matter, the entire church at Philippi should bring about the deliverance from their attitude and practices that were keeping them from being united with an attitude of fear and trembling i.e., with a humble reverence, a goldy fear, or reverence of God.

Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!” (v. 1). Fearing Yahweh and delighting in His commandments are paired. They are best of friends here as they are in the conclusion of the book of Ecclesiastes: “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity” (12:13 CSB). Dan Phillips

Unity in the body of Christ in Philippi was a serious matter.   In verse 13 we find the reason for what would bring about this deliverance.

Philippians 2:13 - for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

B. The reason believers are to change their attitude and practices that keep them from being united is that God is among them to empower them for the purpose of making them willing to accomplish the tasks needed to bring unity.

In verse 12 we see that the believer is “working it out,” but in verse 13 we see God is “working it in.” In verse 12 we see the responsibility of the believer but in verse 13 the responsibility of God.

God’s ultimate desire and purpose is no doubt the restoration of unity among the Philippian church that was a divided community. He was among them to empower them to be willing to seek unity to accomplish the tasks God wants them to do. To being unity among the Philippian congregation is for the sake of God’s desire. We are His ambassadors and witness even today.

In these verses we see both divine enablement and human responsibility are involved in getting God’s work done to bring unity to the Philippian church. "It is not a 'let go and let God' affair. It is a 'take hold with God' business. It is a mutual cooperation with the Holy Spirit in an interest and an activity in the things of God.

Remember in chapter 2 verse 1 Paul stated the believers have a partnership with the Holy Spirit who is the One that brings wisdom, power, and desire to obey God’s Word and to accomplish the works He has ordained for us as we see in Ephesians 2:10.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

To bring more unity to this class, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to give us the power and the desire to make the Thriving in Jesus Connect Group deal with the issues that keeps us from being totality united.

The phrase for His good pleasure means for the sake of His desire. What is God desire.  It’s unity.  God desire for the Philippian church was for them to be untied. God’s desire for this class is for us to be united. 

If we are striving with the help of the Holy Spirit to love and forgive one another in this class with the goal of glorifying God, then there will be unity.

Union has an affiliation with others but no common bond that makes them one in heart. Uniformity has everyone looking and thinking alike. Unanimity is complete agreement across the board. Unity, however, refers to a oneness of heart, a similarity of purpose, and an agreement on major points of doctrine. Charles R. Swindoll, Hope Again

SELAH!