Working Out Our Salvation

 May 29 2022

Philippians 2:1-18

Well, here we are at the end of May celebrating yet another Memorial Day. This is when we, as a country, take time to honor those who have given their lives in the service of our nation. Memorial Day began in 1868 to remember those who had fought and died in the Civil War and has been observed ever since. The sacrifices of those who died are tragic and important yet what becomes so apparent is that while the victories of the wars that were fought can be celebrated, the root cause of those wars still remains very much alive. We can’t help but think of the Civil War which was fought to abolish slavery but the root cause that necessitated this war, that some do not feel that all people are created equal still rears its ugly head as we just recently witnessed in Buffalo, New York. The two world wars were fought because of the disrespect of international boundaries of nations and still today we are witnessing this again with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. So, yes we do honor those who gave their lives but we must also remember that wars such as the ones that have been fought are never the final answer as to establishing an honest peace because peace will never prevail until the war within each individuals heart has at last been settled. In that war, the war that rages within all of us, there is only two deaths which matter, the death of Christ and the death of ourselves so that the risen Christ might live in us. Only as Christ lives, by faith in us, can we experience something far greater to live for and if need be, die for, than any earthly cause which is the glory that is to come. While this is Paul’s concern as we come to the second chapter of his letter to the Philippians we might be a little surprised that he also speaks about having to work out our faith, which seems to be holding two opposite ideas together because we often hear that either one is saved by faith or they believe that they can be saved by their works. So, we are left wondering just how is it that Paul can speak of working out our faith.

We begin our search into just what Paul is getting at right at the beginning of the second chapter of Philippians where we find that we must first deal with the very first word of this chapter which is often translated, “so”, but is, perhaps, better translated, “therefore”. I prefer “therefore”, because when I read this word it begs the question just what is the, “therefore”, there for? We have to know what Paul is referring to in order to make sense of what he is about to write in the rest of the second chapter of Philippians. So, when we look back at the first chapter of Philippians we find that what Paul is concerned about is that the members of this little church are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, not being frightened by their opponents. This, Paul writes, is a clear sign of their salvation. Now, when we think of salvation we may think of it being just a simple prayer we once made where we accepted Jesus into our hearts, but for Paul, salvation is being able to remain faithful and loyal to Jesus, even if doing so requires suffering. In fact, at the end of this first chapter, Paul goes on to say that the members of this church had not only been granted or given faith to believe in Jesus for the sake of Christ but they also had been granted or given to suffer for his sake as well. How often would any of us consider that our suffering for Jesus is a gift that has been given to us by him? As strange as this might sound to our ears, this is exactly what Paul is insinuating here. You see, one of the most difficult aspects of Paul’s letter to the Philippians is that for them suffering was not only expected but it was also understood as a badge of honor that they would be called on to do so. For us, living in the land of the free, we seem to be exempt from suffering at all for the cause of Christ so much so that I suppose that if we were called to suffer for Christ we would most likely be shocked. For Paul though, suffering for Christ was extremely important because his suffering was a message to a watching world that his relationship with Christ was worth the loss of everything, all worldly comforts, all rights and privileges, even the loss of his very life; this is how much Paul treasured Jesus the Savior who treasured him. Yet, even so, what Paul was concerned about was that the members of this little church at Philippi would be able to hold on to their faith clear to the end, and so be assured of their salvation. This is what Paul is going to address here in the second chapter of his letter to them.

Paul, knowing that as believers in Christ they must stand firm together, begins by stating those things that these Christ followers knew to be certain of no matter what. They knew that Christ was their parakletes, their Advocate, the one who walked along side of them through the Holy Spirit, and spoke on their behalf. Paul knew that Satan is the accuser, the one who speaks lies and deceit into the ears of the believers causing them to question their belief in Jesus. Yet, Paul also knew that Christ was right there with them speaking against the lies of Satan, speaking the truth, countering the false claims that threatened them; this was a rock solid certainty that they could count on.

Paul also knew that they could be certain of the love that bound them together as a church, a love that had a heavenly quality, a love which sought the good for others over the good for oneself, the love which was displayed upon the cross. Out of this love, each member could be counted on to walk alongside each other, speaking words of encouragement and comfort. This is what the writer of Hebrews also wrote of to his church when he told them in the third chapter of his letter that they were to encourage one another every day so that none of them might be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

So, as we begin to see the image that Paul is describing for us, that as they went about their life together, there was Jesus walking and speaking to them and their they were, each believer listening and speaking encouraging words to each other as well, that it is not a stretch to follow that Paul next speaks of the certainty of their one life together in the Spirit. Here again, just like he did in the first chapter, Paul uses the word, koininia, which is often translated fellowship but perhaps is better understood as the common life that is shared by all of the believers, a common life that is a life that is drawn into the life of love held by the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit. This is the very certain experience of eternal life that is shared together today by believers in Christ.

Out of this experience of union with the Father and the Son through the Spirit then it is not difficult to understand that Paul also writes that the believers can also be certain of an affection for one another that is deep and abiding, a compassion that not only rejoices with those who rejoice but also weeps with those who weep. The words Paul uses here are words that describe great passion, feelings which arise from the gut-level. This is what Paul insists that these believers he writes to can be certain of, that those around them would not just deal with them on a superficial level but instead they would feel for each other in a powerful and meaningful manner.

This life that Paul has described here, one where Jesus and the members of this church walk alongside each other, sharing a common life with one another in deep affection and compassion for each other, this is the result of Paul planting the word of the gospel within their hearts. Now, Paul exclaims, he wants to see this gospel word grow and bear fruit so that he might be full of joy from the resulting harvest. This harvest in a word was unity. They were to be people who thought with one mind, people who loved with one love, the very love of God, people who had one soul, one life together, people who had one frame of mind, or understanding about life. This frame of mind that they had among themselves was to be one of great humility. This frame of mind is important to hang on to because this is the basis of how this little hometown of heaven will maintain some semblance of order. As in any society, there has to be an order to how things get done and Paul uses a word here in the third verse of the second chapter which refers to leadership or governance.  So, what Paul is implying is that the way that one leads in this heavenly city is that they do so by putting another’s needs ahead of their own, to consider that those one encounters are of more importance than they are. Now, this teaching of Paul sounds very counter-intuitive to us I suppose, but what Paul is saying here is exactly the teaching of Jesus who in the ninth chapter of Mark tells his disciples, “If anyone would be first, if anyone wants to lead, they must be last of all and the servant of all.” Jesus, of course, would teach this because this is the very essence of the love of God, this agape love which seeks to care for another no matter what the cost. Yet, if they were to have this mindset among them they had to make sure that they did nothing for one’s personal gain or for one’s personal honor. To do so would be to tear apart the unity that Christ through the Holy Spirit was bringing to fruition among them. Paul states, that it is Christ, this is who the church is supposed to look to to figure out just what their frame of mind is supposed to be when we interact with each other.

For the people that Paul writes to, the church at Philippi and us as well, to grasp the very frame of mind of Christ, Paul sets forth what is most likely a poem or a song of the early church. There is much evidence that this poem is an adaptation of the song of the Suffering Servant found in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. Just as Paul writes about the form of Jesus, that at one time he has the very form of God,  Isaiah also spoke of the Servant but he states that the he was one who had no form, no beauty, there was nothing noble about him. This contrast of having once had the form of God to having no form, no beauty or nobility about him, happened because of the work that Jesus, the Servant, felt compelled to accomplish. This work began when, as Paul writes, Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. There are many ways that this has been interpreted over the years however the best that I have come across is that Jesus did not want to claim this life of unity with his Heavenly Father for his very own, to seize a hold of this life so that it would be his alone. No, Jesus desired that we might experience this life, the life that he had experienced in heaven for all eternity, here on earth. The way that he accomplished this is to give himself over completely to our need, the need we have for someone to come and take upon themselves our sickness and our sin as is written of in Isaiah because this is a burden all of us are unable to bear. Jesus came to give us not what we deserve but instead he came to give us what we desired, which is mercy, grace and forgiveness. This is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus came as a servant being born in the likeness of men. When Jesus came in our likeness, this is when the truth of Isaiah becomes apparent for when Jesus put on our human flesh this then is when Jesus had no beauty or nobility that set him apart. He did not come to be set apart from us but rather he came to be united with us, to be one with our dishonor, our suffering and our affliction. Jesus came as a servant and he did so that we might be free. Now, that seems like an odd understanding doesn’t it, but in the days in which Paul wrote his letter the people of his day would have understood this statement. You see, people acquired slaves to do the menial chores that took up their time so that they might be free to pursue leisure activities. In like fashion, Jesus, as our servant, took upon himself, our sickness and our sin and carried them all the way to death forever, setting us free from us having to forever bear them within us. As Paul writes in the fifth chapter of Romans, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. So, yes, we have been set free from our sins so that we might at last be able to rule but then we must ask just how is it that we are to rule? The answer is that we rule, we lead, by being a servant. Jesus, who came as a servant on our behalf, lifted from us our burden of sin so that we are freed at last, no longer having to be focused on bearing that which weighted us down. Now, because of Jesus, our hands no longer carry the heavy load of our sin so that now we are at last freed up to be able to bear the burdens of others. As we take the lead and serve others bearing up their burdens then they are set free to go and bear someone else’s burdens. In this way the very life of heaven comes upon the earth when we in our freedom follow Jesus and give to people not what they deserve but rather when we give others what they desire, mercy, grace and forgiveness.This is the way of God, this is the life found in the life of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the life that Jesus could not keep to himself. No, he came as one of us so that we might be like him, freed at last to serve and so set others free to serve. This is why Paul writes that God the Father has highly exalted Jesus and bestowed upon Jesus the name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth. Here, Paul quotes from another passage from Isaiah, this time from the forty-fifth chapter where Isaiah writes, “Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth! For I am God and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness, a word that shall not return: To me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear allegiance.” So, what Paul is getting at is that our allegiance to Christ, our allegiance to his way of life, this is our salvation. When we bow our knees in service to others, this is when we bow our knees before Jesus our king who rules by serving even unto death. When our life reflects the life of Christ doing to others as Christ has done so to us, this is when the name, the fundamental character of Christ, that of being a servant is exalted and glorified.

It is only when we understand that Jesus has come from heaven as a servant so that we might be set free to be servants, that this is the eternal life of heaven, only when we understand this can we at last figure out just what he means that we are to continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Our salvation all depends on our being able to hold fast to our faith all the way of our life here on earth even if this means suffering on account of the gospel. The question Paul is attempting to answer is just how we can continue to strengthen our faith  even in the midst of adversity? The answer he gives is that we are to follow the lead of Jesus and live the life of a humble servant of others, bearing their burdens, forgetting about ourselves. You see, for Paul, faith means having a deep love for the servant life that Jesus has set us free to live. Faith is being so caught up in serving others, so focused upon giving to others the mercy, grace and forgiveness that they desire that any other way of life becomes unimaginable. Faith then is when we might say, that this life of Jesus has come to possess us deep within ourselves. What we find is that the more that we do the work of serving others, the more joy we receive as we, good and faithful servants, enter and live in the joy of our master. This is a foretaste of our eternal glory which tempers our momentary afflictions. When we come before the presence of our master with awe and trembling we do so because his love overwhelms us. This love is the presence of the Holy Spirit, the God who pours out upon us the very love of heaven which motivates us to do the will of our Heavenly Father here on earth as it is in heaven, doing the work of a servant to all that we meet because this is what our faith in Christ is all about. When we do the good works which bring glory to our Heavenly Father, this is when we are the light of the world, this is when we, as Paul exclaims that we shine like stars in a dark world. So, are you ready to shine? Do you, like Jesus, desire to show the world the life of service that sets people free? Are you ready to follow Jesus and enter into the joy of your master and hear him say to you, well done, good and faithful servant? Amen!