Philippians
2:12-13
|
Philippians
2:3-4
|
Therefore,
my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as 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
nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more
significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others.”
|
The
right hand column of the chart is the next section I am comparing to the theme
verse on the left. It is made up of two statements, each of which begins with a
negative, and then repeats the same thought in the positive. In a different
kind of chart, Philippians 2:3-4 looks like this:
Negative
|
Positive
|
Do
nothing from selfish ambition or conceit
Let
each of you look not only to his own interests
|
but
in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
but (look)
also to the interests of others.
|
Parallelism
is a big part of the Hebrews poetry we see in Scripture. Instead of rhyming
words, this style rhymes thoughts. In the Psalms, we see many statements that
are in parallel, sometimes with two lines that are both positive, or both
negative, and other times where the same thought is in parallel with a negative
look first, and then a positive way of saying the same thing. This Hebrew form
of rhyming is very evident in Proverbs as well.
With
Paul being thoroughly conditioned by an upbringing in the Hebrew mindset, we
often see that he says things in parallel thoughts. I think that both the
sentences in this section are parallel in a positive way, that they both use
the same form and address the same things. Then the negative/positive form of
each sentence is a parallel way of addressing the same message.
So
far, I simply see that the negative side of both lines addresses not being
selfish, and the positive side emphasizes the way we think of others. I am very
curious how this is playing into all the relationship things going on in and
around me. What is clear is that we are not permitted to have selfish ambition
in any of the relationships we are dealing with. There is no place for the
conceit that thinks we are more important than others. Even when people seem to
be sarky, snarky, bearers of trouble, God wants us to know what it is like to
put aside pride and selfishness, and humbly consider what others are going
through, and how to join God’s work in their lives.
When
we look at ourselves through humility, as Paul expresses of Christ in the next
section,[1] we are able to see the significance of people around us. When we
humbly submit our interests to their proper place in the church, we realize
that other members of the body of Christ have interests that are worthy of our
attention as well.
Because
this is about what we are working out in response to what God is working in,
and we now know that everything God is working in is for his good pleasure and
our complete joy,[2] we must work these things out in the acknowledgement that, no
matter how much our sark (flesh) claims to have the more pleasing route, the
selfishness and pride that it promotes are joy-stealers in every way.
We
must watch for those ways that God is working to humble us in our hold on any
form of self-protection, while perhaps opening our eyes to the reasons that
others have chosen to live by self-protection rather than by faith. As God opens
our eyes to the needs of people around us, and the kind of things that have
broken and held back those who have hurt us, we become positioned to consider
the things that would bring complete joy to all involved, and in a way that is
for God’s good pleasure and ours.
What
I see is God working to humble his children so that we can freely, and in a
Spirit-filled and Spirit-led way, enter into the needs and interests of others.
God will do this work in us even when we wish that other people would be strong
for us instead of us being strong for them. This is a sensitive issue for
anyone who experienced childhood trauma by being put in the place of a parent,
and still wish their parents would finally be strong for them. God is able to
do things in such people so they can follow God’s will in thinking of the needs
of others, while experiencing no trauma in doing so.
Sadly,
the idea of wanting everyone else to be strong for us becomes a debilitating self-interest
issue, typically under the direction of the sark. When God is not giving people
around us the freedom or maturity to be strong for us, we can expect that God
is working in us to will things that require us to find strength in him,[3] and to work things that could never happen except that his strength
is perfected in our weakness.[4]
With
these thoughts in mind, I am watching for how God will work in his people to humble
us so that we are able to think of others, and consider that the work God is
doing in others may very well demand something of us just as our need for
salvation demanded something much greater of Jesus.
I
remember a very significant and wonderful time that God humbled me in order to
bring me to joy. It was another time that I had started the new year with a
concentrated season of seeking God. To my surprise, the first few days of this
journey were a strong focus on repenting of things I had been doing (or not
doing) out of wounded pride, self-interest, and self-protection. As I cleared
these things up with God, both confessing the sin involved, and submitting to
God regarding his will, I felt a growing peace in my heart. God was at work,
and I was joining him.
After
those first few days of preparation, there was a surprising and unexpected
knock at the door. Standing there was an “enemy” who had come to reconcile with
me. He explained that he had just been driving by, and had an irresistible urge
to pull into our driveway. He said it felt like someone else’s hands were
making him turn the wheel. As we walked to the living room, he asked me if I
had been praying for him. After only a half hour, we both felt so much joy as
we reconciled in a way that only God could accomplish.
I
am sure that God’s work to humble his children, break our pride, destroy our
self-protective systems, and lead us to rely on him for the good of others, is preparing
us for things he is already doing. As he works in us to will and work according
to his good pleasure, we may initially cry out with unbelief and shock at who
shows up at the door, so to speak. However, God is doing the things that will ultimately
bring us into the complete joy that comes from fellowship with God, the
apostolic foundation of the church, and all other believers around us.[5]
While
it may not always look like it, good stuff is happening for God’s good
pleasure, and our complete joy. Let’s remember to face anything that comes up
as God’s sovereignly good choice of what to do in our lives. No matter how much
a new puzzle piece seems to clash with the rest of the picture, God knows where
it fits in and has decided it is time to put that piece in place.
If
we receive God’s work as he is working in us to will and to work for his good
pleasure, and we work out with fear and trembling whatever he is doing, we will
have the benefit of experiencing the fulfillment of the “good and acceptable and perfect” will of God.[6] Joining him in his work is the prelude to our joy, even if we
cannot summon up any joy to take the first step. We take the step by faith,
experience God’s grace doing things that none of us could do, and discover joy
in things that God did that we have never felt with any activity of sark or
self-protection.
Whenever
God is working there will be negative things that we must stop doing, and
positive things we must add as God instructs. We may see some of these
instructions written in the beautiful parallelism of Hebrew rhyming. But we will
also see the teachings of Scripture run perfectly parallel to whatever God is
doing in our lives. Listen to him in his word, pay attention to what he is
saying, watch for what he is working in you to will and to work, work that out
with fear and trembling, and you will not be the only one who grows up in joy.
© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
Philippians 2:5-11
[2]
Philippians 2:12-13 connected to 2:1-2. Our home church studied this one Sunday
morning. The video can be viewed here: http://in2freedom.blogspot.ca/2015/01/home-church-video-working-out-for.html
[3]
Ephesians 6:10
[4]
II Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 11:4
[5]
See I John 1:3-4
[6]
Romans 12:1-2
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