This week’s promise: God promises that you will work out your salvation
Philippians 4:2-9 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Today let us look at the rest of what Paul says about working out our salvation, picking up where we left off yesterday. The last words we read from him yesterday were that working out our salvation was what would enable us to stand firm in the Lord. Before we do go further though, I’d like to talk for a minute about what it means to stand firm in the Lord and why it is desirable for us to do so. Let’s look at another verse that talks about this:
Ephesians 4:13-15 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
It becomes clear from reading this that to “stand firm” is the opposite of “being blown here and there by every wind of teaching” Notice that in the above passage it also indicates that as we become spiritually mature we are able to stand firm, and that we become spiritually mature through knowledge of the son of God as we attain the fullness of Christ. We do this through the study of God’s Word, reflecting on it and through prayer.
Now let’s address the very first thing Paul talks about in today’s passage with also coincides with the other one I just posted. The first thing Paul says is that he wants two of his fellow workers to agree with each other. He is talking here about unity in the faith, just as he is in the first sentence of the passage from Ephesians. Remember the other day when he was talking to them he told them that if any of them disagreed with this teaching that the Lord would make it clear to them? It is similar here too. As far as the basics of our faith go, we are to agree with each other. Basics being things concerning our salvation and the Gospel. Something that is not basic would be for example, what color table cloth to use on their alter, or where people should sit, or if they should sit or stand for the blessing, etc. Notice something else too: Paul did not tell them which of them was right. He did not tell them to ask Peter or James or Mark or anyone else about which of them was right. The only directions he’s given anyone concerning when they are unsure is that the Lord will teach them the Truth. It appears from the context as well as from what Paul says about it earlier that these two are contending with each other over something that is not basic to our salvation. This is the other piece of advice he gives concerning this:
Philippians 2:1-5 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Here he advises them to remember their priorities and that they are to put the others interests above their own and be as servants like Jesus was. But where it concerned the Word of God, or doctrine, Paul told them that the Lord would make it clear to them. Paul knew that everyone grows at a different rate and that since everyone wasn’t saved at the exact same time, that each would be at a different stage in their spiritual walk. Therefore he knew there were bound to be differences in opinions, just as there are now and he asks us to help each other to remain united in the faith and not let differences separate us from each other.
Paul next tells us something that seems strange at first and even out of place. He says we are to rejoice in the Lord always! Now, here are these people who are apparently at each others throats, and he’s telling them to rejoice in the Lord always! If you think about it for a moment though it does make sense and Paul certainly had plenty of experience in dealing with “hard times” so he was quite qualified to know what he was talking about when telling others what to do when involved in a difficult personal situation. He says, “rejoice in the Lord always!” Notice he is not saying to rejoice in the problem or the circumstance, but to rejoice in the Lord. What does that mean? It means that no matter what we are going through physically or even emotionally, that we can have inner joy by simply remembering what the Lord has done for us and what He has promised to do in our future. In other words, remembering our blessed hope, the rapture. By doing this, rejoicing in the Lord, it brings our focus off our circumstances, off the current problem or difficulty and puts it squarely back where it belongs: on our Lord Jesus! This is what gives us joy. This is why Paul was able to rejoice even after being beaten half to death and being in prison! The joy of the Lord was his strength! That joy can be ours too and the Lord wants us to use it! That is why Paul reminds them to rejoice in the Lord.
Next Paul advises them to let their gentleness be evident to everyone. If you recall, gentleness is a fruit of the spirit. Fruit of the spirit is what becomes evident in our lives as we mature in the Lord. We mature in the Lord as we work out our salvation. By reminding them to let their gentleness be evident to everyone, it once again reminds them that they are not to act the way they did before they were saved, they were instead to “live up to what they had already attained”.
I realize that as we’ve been looking at what Paul says here, that I’ve been using the word “they” referring to the people that Paul was writing to, but please know that everything Paul wrote to them, was also written to us as well. It has just as much meaning for us as it did for the original people it was intended for.
Now, after telling them to let their gentleness show, Paul reminds them that the Lord is near, meaning that even then they were waiting for the rapture to happen just as we are. The difference here for us is that we are even closer to the rapture then they were! Just as God’s Word says elsewhere, “our salvation (meaning the completion of our salvation which occurs at the rapture) is nearer now then when we first believed. (Rom 13: 11-12)
Next we hear the familiar command that we are not to be anxious about anything. Instead Paul says, we are to remember that Christ’s coming is near and simply present our requests to Him with thanksgiving. Paul wasn’t telling them not to “care” about the things that were happening to themselves or others, but rather not to “worry” about those things. We are to love and care about each other, but not “worry” or be “anxious” about each other or anything else. We are instead to trust God. If we really trust God, then we cannot worry, as worry eliminates that trust. Paul reminds us that when we trust God, that His Peace will guard our hearts and minds, kicking that worry right out the door! Again, this is another measure of our spiritual maturity. The more spiritually mature we are, the more we’ll be able to trust the Lord, and the less we will worry. Do I need to say again how we achieve that spiritual maturity? There really is only one way and no shortcuts to it. It requires daily work on our parts, which is how we work out our salvation.
Finally Paul gives us some more very solid advice as to how to keep our minds from worry and anxiety. He tells us that we shouldn’t be dwelling on evil or sinful things, but rather on things that are good, true, and right. Those are the kinds of things we should be thinking on. God’s Word has quite a bit more to say on this subject so we’ll deal with it another time in more depth. For now though, let us know that thinking on problems is not on the list of things that Paul says we should be thinking on!
Paul ends this part in much the same manner as he ended the others, and I think it’s the perfect way to end today’s study too:
Philippians 4:9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
