Philippians 2:12-18

Monday, June 22, 2015

Philippians 2:12-18

Paul has set the bar of expectations for the Christian very high. We are aiming to have all of our interrelationships flow out of the life of Christ within us. Is this even possible! YES, because “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). However, we are not idle or passive while God is at work within us. We have a part to play, and Paul is as passionate for our participation as he is for God’s work within us: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b NRSV).

Paul is not suggesting that we work for our salvation; verse 13 clearly establishes that it is God who is at work within us. Our role is to passionately take responsibility for how we live our lives, to work hard to show the results of our salvation. This is what we know: God is transforming us by renewing the way we think. God is planting His holy desires within us. God has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to make Godly choices in our lives. Therefore we can live with the real confidence that our lives are making a difference for good in the world.

Paul’s vision that our confident living will be like bright lights in the world (2:15) invokes two images for me. First, when we take responsibility for cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, when we take seriously our need to yield our life to God so that He may transform our lives to be like Jesus, we fulfill the prophecy of Daniel 12:3, “Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.” Secondly, Paul’s vision rings true with the words of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14).

Because we have God’s light shining in our hearts, we are like bright lights in our world, and the life of Jesus is made visible in our life. (See 2 Corinthians 4:7-10)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.