Psalm 78:1-4; 12-16
O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old– 3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
12 He did miracles in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand firm like a wall. 14 He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. 15 He split the rocks in the desert and gave them water as abundant as the seas; 16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.
Philippians 2:1-13
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death– even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
God Works In, We Work Out
We are going to spend a few weeks in Philippians, Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi.
Paul opens this passage by speaking of unity, having the same mind, the same love, of being in full accord. Paul tells the Philippians to be of the same mind as Christ Jesus. Christ is our supreme example of self-sacrifice, obedience and humility. These characteristics are to exist in us also if we are to be faithful followers of Christ. In this passage, Paul lays down a pattern for holy living that is based on Jesus Christ. Then in verses six through eleven he quotes one of the earliest hymns of the Christian church. We’re going to spend some time on that hymn this morning because it gives us insight into the first followers of Jesus and can teach us how we are to follow Jesus ourselves.
In this case the translation, New Jerusalem Bible happens to be slightly more accurate in its translation so I will read that one. “Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped.” (Phi 2:6 NJB) We see here an early acknowledgement of the dual nature of Christ; that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. In the form of God means in Jesus’ true essence, in the core of his being. Form here is an unchangeable form, Jesus is God, in his very essence, in the trueness of his being Jesus is God with all the divine power and privilege that includes. But Jesus did not regard this as something to be clung to, but willingly laid aside his divinity to become human. The next verse says, “But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being”, (Phi 2:7 NJB) Jesus emptied himself, made himself nothing, surrendered his rights. Jesus became human, laid aside his deity. As one worship song puts it, “all for our sakes became poor”,
After the sermon we will sing the hymn, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain” which asks the question, “amazing love how can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me.” Before we even get to that question, perhaps we need to ask amazing love how can it be that thou my God should become human, should take the frail form of a human being, should be born a helpless babe. The God who created the universe became an infant unable to fulfill a single desire on his own. He who spoke and created the heavens became one who could only cry as an infant and hope to be fed. Jesus willingly surrendered all his power. The next verse in Philippians says, “And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death– even death on a cross.” The renowned author and theologian William Barclay said, “there is no passage in the whole New Testament which so movingly sets out the utter reality of the godhead and the manhood of Jesus Christ, and which makes so vivid the inconceivable sacrifice that Christ made when he laid aside his godhead and took manhood upon Him.”
Jesus’ life was characterized by humility, obedience, self-renunciation. He sought to serve, not dominate; he desired not his way but God’s way; he did not seek exaltation but renounced his glory for our sake. If Jesus’ life was characterized by this, shouldn’t our lives be too? Jesus does not force us to submit to him. We do not fall at his feet in broken submission, our wills destroyed but instead we fall down in worship and adoration of His love so great, so all-encompassing.
How? How could he? “What wondrous love is this that caused the lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?”, asks the hymn. What kind of love can turn from the wonders of heaven to come to earth and bear our sin and shame? Such humility, such self-sacrifice. How can we but fall on our faces and worship? Every knee shall bend and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. Do we not long for the glory of God, to see God, to know God, to be in God’s presence. There is no higher joy than the joy of knowing God and walking with Jesus. Saint Augustine said, Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. We are created with a God-shaped hole inside us that only God can satisfy.
Having quoted this marvelous hymn Paul then says, “therefore.” It is important to notice the therefores in the Bible and to realize what they are there for. The balance of Paul’s argument is based on the truth of the hymn we have just looked at. He describes how we are to be as a result of knowing Jesus’ love and supreme sacrifice and Paul talks of salvation. Now many people see a dichotomy in faith; either/or propositions. Either we are saved by grace or we are saved by good works.
When we come to verse 12 it would seem that Paul is a champion of works righteousness. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” It sounds like salvation is up to us and what we do. But Paul doesn’t stop there; he continues, “for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Paul has turned back to God as the cause. Ok, so which is it, Paul? Our work or God’s work? The answer is yes and yes. It is our work and it is God’s work. It is not an either/or question but a both/and question. As Martin Luther proclaimed we are saved by grace alone. This is an important tenet of our Reformed theology. If God does not act first, we have no ability to come to Christ, no way to save ourselves. It is only when God calls us that we have any chance to approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and forgiveness. Yet salvation is not just God calling us, salvation is continued in our actions following the call. Those who truly listen to the call of God in their lives will live changed lives. Their actions will reflect the mind of Christ that we talked about earlier this morning. That is what Paul is talking about when he says we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. The Christian life does not consist of saying “yes” to Jesus and then sitting back and waiting for heaven. Jesus entrusted us with certain tasks here on earth and expects us to live certain ways. That’s why in Matthew 7:13-14 we have the parable of the wide and narrow gates. That’s why Jesus says some will call his name and he will deny them. These two verses are applicable to the sermon today.
Later in Matthew 21 Jesus tells the following parable. A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” The one who said yes with his mouth but no with his actions or the one who said no with his mouth and yes with his actions? What God wants is for us to say yes with our mouths and our actions. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” When we come to fully appreciate the magnitude of Christ’s love there will be a response of gratitude. True faith will manifest in a life of obedience. Reformed theologian R. C. Sproul said, “True faith will absolutely and necessarily yield the fruits of obedience and the works of righteousness.” Paul tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling – in other words, to be in a submissive frame of mind, to be humble.
Humility is not valued in our society nor was it valued in Jesus’ time. Yet Jesus’ entire existence on earth was marked by humility. Jesus describes himself as humble several times. In Matthew 11:29 he says, “29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” On the ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in Matthew 21 it says, “Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Mat 21:5 NRS) Repeatedly Jesus tells us the humble will be exalted and those who exalt themselves will be humbled. James tells us God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. The apostle Peter says, “8 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” (1Pe 3:8 NRS)
In the Old Testament in 2 Chronicles, chapter seven, verse fourteen God says, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Why is it so important to be humble, not to be proud but to have a spirit of deference or submission? If we are proud and full of ourselves, we cannot learn, we cannot have the mind of Christ. It is necessary that we get out of our self-absorption, the instant gratification offered by television and the internet is not good for us in the end. We remain centered on ourselves and not each other. We do not have the mind of Christ we have the mind of me! Me, me, me! Instead we are to be imitators of Christ, to live in a way that allows others to see Christ in us.
Paul said, Work out your salvation-what is the result of a worked out salvation? Sanctification. We have been saved by grace, yes, but God is not done with us yet. Sanctification is the growth in grace and the holiness of a life marked by good works that results from God’s continuing work in us through the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells each one of us. A grace-filled life will be a life in which we can rise above the stresses and strains of life and learn to live more fully from Christ within us. Each moment of each day, each decision we make, God is at work in us helping us to have more fully the mind of Christ. As we grow in sanctification we are better able to live in a way that shows Christ to the world.
As we go forward into a new week may we be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and may the joy of the Lord fill us to overflowing as we are conformed to the image of Christ to the glory of God the Father.