June's Passage: Philippians 2:12-18
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the Word of Life, so that in the Day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (ESV)
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Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...
Obey
There are several ideas in this month’s passage that are crucial to a solid, orthodox understanding of the Christian faith. Yet, it is somewhat difficult to sift the ideas out one at a time because Paul intertwines them so tightly in these four sentences.
So, to begin we are going to try to look at the connecting idea that joins all of the other ideas together. Then, in future articles, we will unpack those other ideas more fully.
The glue that holds this passage together is found early on in the word OBEY.
Obedience is oftentimes scoffed at in our culture. Our society’s institutions of government, military, workplaces and even family and the Church are all fundamentally and foundationally held in place because of an idea that there is an authority structure and that we will yield to, comply with, or obey the authority that is in place unless there is a urgent and compelling requirement to disobey and rebel.
Any and all of those institutions fall and fail (some have already begun to decline) when the dynamic is flipped and the knee-jerk reaction changes into resistance to authority — to actively or passively disobey the authority that is in place unless there is a urgent and compelling requirement to obey.
With all of that said, Paul is starting this month’s passage from a point of weakness as far as our current society is concerned, because we are a people (in general) who push back against authority at every chance. To simply yield and obey without first questioning and challenging is seen as weak and stupid in our society.
This didn’t just happen. It is somewhat understandable. Governments (including ours) have been seen to have a track record of dishonesty and abuse of power (true regardless of the party in power). Employers have sometimes been rightly seen as too interested in profits at the expense of their workers. In the family, husbands and fathers have been stepping away from their obligations for more than two generations. In many (but not all) cases they have left their roles as wife-honoring, child building, leading men unfulfilled. And why? So that they can continue living in the role of immature boys - chasing trinkets, entertainment and sexual pleasure.
Even in the Church, there has been a sad cycle of news reports of fallen church leaders who were drawn away from the mission by the cares and pleasures of this world. In the greater scheme of things, the Church has often battled within our own ranks when the authority of God has been traded for the whims of man, greed for material gain and/or desire to be thought well of by the culture. This was a major reason for the Reformation - yet it continues in many protestant denominations today.
So the backlash against authority is not without its causes. We live in a broken world and sin has truly broken EVERYTHING.
Yet, The Apostle Paul unflinchingly says obey and keep obeying. You may not like this passage when you read it in that light, but this month we will look at several aspects of obedience - and if you can submit to the Authority of God’s Word, this will be a very good passage for your heart and life.
We wrote above that, “To simply yield and obey without first questioning and challenging is seen as weak and stupid in our society.” The Bible says that the way of obedience (To God) is the way of wisdom and strength. Will you base your life on society’s view of you or on the Scripture’s promise to you?
If you are a Christian, you need to get used to the idea that you will be seen as week and stupid by the not-yet-believers around you (1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16).
Keep reading this month to find out why we should obey, how we can obey (despite the fallen nature of worldly authority), and what are the rewards of obedience.
