Lesson 531

(Lesson 531)(01-29-13) Philippians 2:1-18, "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me."

In this lesson Paul exhorts the Philippians to continue doing the work of the Lord with the same zeal as they did in the beginning when he was with them. He instructs them to care more for those around them than they do themselves. Paul explains how Jesus came, in human form, to give all of us the means by which we could become the children of God. He tells us that every one of the saved will be made to confess, before Jesus, all of the things we have done in this life, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Paul said, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." There are many who profess to believe that this statement means that we are to earn our salvation by living sin-free lives, or to continually demonstrate, by our complete abstinence from "sin", that we are worthy of salvation. That perception the above statement however, is a false one. If one merely reads the very next sentence one finds that the actions of the saved, no matter what they are, are the actions of God, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 1 John 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."~