Philippians 2:5-11

Friday, June 19, 2015

Philippians 2:5-11

Imagine a snobby, very socially conscious community. Everything in the community is about status, power and honor. The word humility is literally not in their vocabulary. That was life in the Roman colony of Philippi (Home of Alexander the Great). Paul’s first visit to Philippi, where he was beaten and thrown into jail for proclaiming Jesus as Lord, is recorded in Acts 16. There we learn that only after his release from jail did Paul reveal his Roman citizenship, a status that would have prevented him being beaten and jailed. Why did he wait? What qualities of life in a Christian community was he demonstrating for the new followers of Jesus in Philippi? When we read Philippians 2: 1-11, we see that Paul was not just waxing eloquent; he was living the very life he was offering to the Philippians.

Too often we are tempted to dismiss Paul’s description of the self-sacrificing life of Christ as not a reasonable expectation for the average layman in the church. Our attitude should change when we realize that Paul actually lived his life after Christ’s example. Verse five is the key to how Paul, and how you and I, can follow Jesus. Most translations of verse five say that we should have the same attitude or mind as Christ. Calling me to have the same attitude as Christ puts all of the responsibility on me to have the power and integrity to live self-sacrificially. I believe that is both unreasonable and not possible. However, the New English Bible translates verse five to reveal the very heart of Paul’s message and sets forth the truth that enabled Paul, and will enable you and me, to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus: “Let your bearings towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 NEB 1961).

That verse of Scripture changed my life and gave me my life’s mission statement: Seeking the life in Christ as my way of life. It is our life in Christ that enables us to choose a self-sacrificing way of life that beings glory to our God and empowers us to be co-laborers with Christ for the Kingdom of God.

In the next passage we’ll see exactly how this is possible.

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.