The Christ-pleasing Life – Philippians 2:12-18

Paul opens this section with a reminder that the Philippians are near and dear to Paul. He has a close relationship of mutual affection with the Philippians that he didn’t have with, say, the Corinthians.

He also calls them to obedience and an orientation of servanthood, which is not something we are good at doing or even understanding. But the obedience is not to Paul or to any individual pastor, but rather to Christ. It is through Christ that they “work out” their salvation, living out His regenerative work. That work changes both their will and their resulting behavior.

Specify, Paul calls on them not to grumble or dispute. It calls to mind the Israelites in the wilderness, not to mention our own behavior. Why does God detest this grumbling and disputing? It is a lack of trust in God, one that will cause division in the church and undo the work of Christ that the Philippians are doing.

Instead, they are called to be light to the world, just as Jesus called us to in the gospels. They are not called to be hidden or secret, but rather shining like stars. The “word of life” also brings to mind the gospels, where John calls Jesus the “logos”. It is this word, this relationship with Christ that makes possible the behavior the Philippians were called to.

Paul himself models this behavior, being “poured out like a drink offering” along with the sacrifice and service of the Philippians.

The result of all of this is joy. Joy is an emotion, which means we do not necessarily have control over it. If we see a bear, we immediately feel fear without making a decision to do so. We must be transformed so that service to God naturally evokes joy.

How does this happen? As we commit ourselves more and more to the pursuit of and imitation of Christ, our view of the world changes. On a natural level, looking at the world gives us plenty of reasons to doubt or not have faith, but the work of Christ on the cross offers us the strength and the joy that we need.

– Sermon Notes, Aaron James, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, September 2, 2018