pat loughery

Oh Lord My Shepherd Be (Somerville)

Morning Devotion: Gordon Fee
Philippians: A letter of friendship and moral exhortation.

Yesterday we saw how letter of freindship worked in the context of this letter.

The rest of the letter is in 3 sections.

Get rid of

Break fo Phil 2:19-30 regarding Timothy and Epahroditus.

The rest of the letter is 3 parts dominated with

If we had 4 sesiosn we’d do Phil 1:12-26: unusual that he talks about himself.

How do you deal with adversity? You focus on Christ.

In 1:27-30 Paul speaks to their situation very directly. (Dr. Fee reading from TNIV)
27Whatever happens, [as citizens of heaven – Pat; from tniv] conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved-and that by God. 29For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Phil. 1:27 through Phil. 1:30 (NIV)

Keys: Strive together for the sake of the gospel in the face of opposition.

This is how 2:1-18 fits into the letter.

Paul says, then, … be likeminded (verb occurs 16 times in Paul’s letters; 10 in this letter, most of the others in romans 8). Paul appeals to the relationship and says… make my joy complete by getting yhour act together” (“that’s gordon’s language, not paul’s”).

Then he isolates the attitudes that destroy community:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

Lurking behind all human evils are these twin evils: selfish ambition & vain conceit.

Rivalry, getting our own needs met. This leads to breakdowns in marriages as well: feeling that we’re not gettting served quite enough.

This is the kind of love that leads to husbands expecting their wives to serve them fully with very little going the other way. Or to wives dishonoring their husbands by how they speak of them.

Paul: DO NOTHING out of “vain conceit == empty glory”. Only the self-blessed can bestow it upon themselves.

Instead of these things, consider others better than youreselves. (I pushed hte TNIV committee hard here: Paul says in the TNIV: “rather in humility value others better than yoruselves not looking to your own interests…”. NIV inserted the word as value others better… NOT ONLY looking (which is not Paul, but America).

HUMILITY IS: looking out for interests of others. That’s WHAT IT IS.The problem is, humility is not our middle name, but it’s exactly what God has called us to.

Barth wrote a wonderful commentary on Philippians. Humility is the ONE THING.

So how do we get there?

Paul says the way is this: pointed to Christ Jesus, starting in Phil 2:5 – have the same attitude-of-mind that Jesus had. Follow the leader. Live by his example.

THIS IS THE PRIMARY EXEMPLARY PARADIGM – the mindset that is to capture our mind.

WIth that, Paul launchews to one of the most wonderful pieces of lyrical prose (one can see the grandeur of the prose and miss the point of its beign here):

This passage exists precisely to repsond to the twin issues of 2:3, selfish ambition and vain glory.

Paul focuses on Christ in his twofold existsnce :: pre-existance as god; incarnation as human being

In 2;6-8 there are just two sentences. Subject and verb: pared down to their basic elements these are the two sentences:
As God, he emptied himself.
As man, he humbled himself.

Everything else in the sentene is a description of how Jesus emptied and humbled himself. It’s quite clear that those two sentences stand over against selfish ambition and vain glory.

—

This letter written in 62AD, 1 Cor in 53AD. A decade letter, Paul’s mesagre is the same. THe cross is scandalous. We simply can’t handle a God like this.

This friends is the only GOd there is. There is no other. Until we grasp that we’ll still have triumphalism of every kind invading the church, whether wealth-and-health, or pentecostal favoritism with regards to tongues, or signs-n-wonders in the Vineyard, all of which can be come triumphalism instead of the character of God.

Seeking tongues and signs-n-wonders is not goal of populating heaven with as many people as God. The goal is to create a people to bear the image of God here on earth in relationship to each other. Individualistic Christianity is the bane of western christianity.

Understand this; the whole purpose is image-beearing, to redo what was undone in the garden. image of GOd being restored on earth that salvation of christ is all about. if we don’t understand the character of god how can we bear th image of God? since we can’t do this on our own, this is why the holy spirit is essential.

“in the form of god”
“in the form of a slave” (we translate as servant)

Kenosis: “don’t make metaphors walk on all fours”. Jesus simply poured himself out. (of what? doesn’t matter). HOW? By becoming like a slave. (HOW and WHY are important, OF WHAT is pushing the metaphor too much).

“If you make that metaphor to do with money, you need to get saved.”

“Friends… the good news is that GOd is not like us. THAT’S the good news.” We do so much out of selfish ambition and vainglory. God is just like his Son; he

We’re talking about God’s character here. Ths is why the gospel was foolish to the greeks (us): God? In the form of a slave? Power is always expressed in terms of zapping people!! ANd GOd? In the form of a slave?

“God came to shape us into his likeness, and we’re forever trying to shape him into ours.”

See also Matt 11:25-30

“come to me and learn to me because I am – what? tough, and eager to get my way in the world?”. No. Humble.

Here’s the antitode to selfish ambition and vain conceit:
coming to christ in our weariness of playing God and trying to make God just more liek us in our self-centeredness.

This is the secret. Coming to know GOd in this way: Taking on his character by the help of the indwellilng Holy SPirit, so that our church communities and beyond we pour ourselves out by taking the form of servanthood, humbling ourselvves to serve and sacrifice. only then can it be said of us that we are His disciples.

Do you understand that verses 2:6-8 are the reason that the story is told?

Whgat hapens in v 2:9-11 is God the father’s vindication of the son in his humbling himselfa nd pouring himself out.

God has stamped his full approval by HIGHLY EXALTING his son, bestowing upon him THE NAME:
The name is not “jesus” – that was the earthly name; the name is “The Name”. Shades of “I Am”. Yahweh elohim. The Lord is one; Love Yahweh.

Somewhere in 3rd / 4th c bc theyt began to substitute “Adonai” when reading “Yahweh” so as not to take the name in vain.

For the 2nd/3rd bc translators of septuagint: Yhwh -> Adonai -> Kyrios

WHen Paul refers to Kyrios, he always refers to Jesus, not YHWH. (Jesus is the Named God.)

Paul dips into a well-known oracle in Isaiah 45: (septuagint: swear -> confess)
Paul: Every knee bow, every tongue confess that

(in Phil, Nero was called Kyrios, lord and savior)

at the naem that has been bestowed on Jesus
(icluding lord caesar)

that Kyrios is Jesus Christ

to the glory of God the Father.

—

this is the ultimate vindication of v 6-8 that this is how god is: Jesus has had The Name bestowed on him because he did the fully god thing at crucifixion. but at the end, every knee and tongue will proclaim tha tthe only kyrios there is, is the incarnate crucified ONe who humbled himself and became obedient.

The Lord is none other than Jesus Christ.

Our msision to carry out the missio dei is to bring people to the point to carry out that confession before they have to do it at the end. to follow now,

that’s our mission in the world.

it worls best when we exemplify it in our relationships with others and the world.

“Deliver us from arrogance; deliver us from triumphalism. empower us by your spirit and the gifts and signs and wonders, empower us to bring you to a world that is caving in on itself. come, holy spirit! come!! upon us, our churches, that we mght truly ocnfess that Jesus christ is lord. amen!!!!”