So, last week in Philippians 3, verses 1 through 11, Paul warns the church against a dangerous kind of religion, one that puts confidence in the flesh, and he tells the Philippians to watch out for those who boast on outward performance and human credentials, as though righteousness can be earned by a proven religious performance. So then, Paul turns the spotlight on himself, if you recall. He says if anyone could claim a spiritual advantage, it was he. He had the pedigree. He had the accolades, the training, the zeal, the reputation. He had it all.

Yet Paul makes a stunning confession. Everything he once counted as spiritual gain, he now counts as a loss, even rubbish, because Christ is worth more than all of it. And his deepest desire is no longer recognition. It's no longer like his moral achievements, but it's to be found in Christ with a righteousness that comes through faith, and to know Christ personally, to know Christ more intimately, to know Christ in his resurrection. He goes further in Christ's resurrection power, and even the fellowship of his sufferings. So it's not just to know Christ, but to intimately know Christ and his sufferings and death.

But Paul does not want the Philippians to think that this new life in Christ means he has already reached the finish line. He hasn't gotten there yet. He has real assurance, but he is not complacent. He has a true righteousness, but yet he has not yet arrived at a full Christlikeness. So that's the bridge to this section, and we're going to begin in Philippians 3, chapter 3, verses 12, all the way up to chapter 1, verse 4. So Paul shifts from, if you would say, a testimony to pursuit, showing what it looks like to live between grace received and a glory promise.

So he calls believers to press on with a holy determination, to follow faithful examples, and to resist the pull of an earthly-minded lifestyle. And he anchors that perseverance and hope, which is our citizenship in heaven. And Christ will return, he will transform his people, and therefore Paul's conclusion in chapter 4, verse 1, is to stand firm in the Lord. So again, three-point outline, verses 12 through 16, is pressing forward toward the heavenly prize, verses 17 through 21, living as citizens of heaven and not on earth, and chapter 4, verse 1, standing firm in the Lord while we wait. So pressing forward toward the heavenly prize, verses 12 through 16, not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus had made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. So Paul goes on here to describe his own life, but now his focus shifts from his past to present Christian life and the way he thinks on moving forward. So the imagery changes as well. He is no longer using the language of like an accountant, like gains and losses. He is using the language of athletics, he is using the language of an athlete, so he pictures himself as a runner on a track, straining forward and toward the finish line, pressing on to win the prize.

And most likely he has in mind here the great athletic games of the Greco-Roman world. And his point is clear. This is what the Christian life is like. what the Christian life should be like. And it's not some casual stroll, as Adam would say. We're not barnacles on a ship.

You know, we're not just some cruise ship where we're just sitting there. It's not an easy way of going. It's more like an Olympic distant race. I mean, the Olympics are going on, right? The Winter Olympics. So following Christ involves real effort.

It's a deliberate discipline and a persistent endurance. And Paul, he holds up his own example here. And it's not, he's not boasting, but to show us that pressing on with all we have is the normal and it should be the posture of a believer who has been gripped by grace. That should be our posture. So in verse 12, after saying that his righteousness comes from God on the basis of faith, Paul adds an important clarification here. He says, not that I've already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus had made me his own.

Brothers, I do not consider that I've made it my own. So in a sense, Paul piles up phrases to make one point clear. He has not arrived. He's not perfected. He's not yet fully laid of everything, bound up in knowing Christ and being conformed to him and sharing in his resurrection. When he says, I press on to make it my own, he uses the same verb that then he applies to Christ because Christ Jesus had made me his own.

And you can honestly translate it as I press on to seize this because Christ Jesus has seized me. So Paul is looking back to the day on the road to Damascus when the risen Lord stopped him in his tracks, called him by his name, and took hold of his life forever. So from that moment on, Paul belongs to Christ. And the same thing for us when Christ has entered our life. So Paul's point is this. Because he has already possesses a perfect righteousness in Christ, he refuses to just sit still.

He refuses just to be complacent. He presses toward the goal. And he's confident he will share in the resurrection from the dead. Yet, that assurance doesn't make him passive. It fuels his pursuit even deeper. It gives him the fuel to press forward.

It gives him a pursuit of a deeper conformity to Christ in the present. And he is clear that he has not yet already obtained this or already had been made perfect. And it's certainly not in the way the Judaizers held out, kind of like a supposed spiritual completeness through law-keeping. He's not like them. Instead, because he has found in Christ and clothed in a righteousness that comes from God, he strains forward to know more of the power of Christ's resurrection at work in him now. So one commentator, Dennis Johnson, notes, Paul holds together both rest and pursuit, resting in a finished righteousness, yet running hard after the one who first laid hold of him.

So Christ has taken possession of Paul, and that very grip becomes the reason Paul will never stop pressing on. So with death in Rome, remember, Paul has in mind that he's possibly gonna be facing death. So with death in Rome still a very real possibility, Paul fixes his gaze not on uncertainties of his circumstance, but on the certainty of the prize. But one thing I do, he says, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. See, he refuses to live looking over his shoulder, whether at past sins or past achievements. And yet, belonging to Christ did not make Paul passive, precisely because Jesus had laid hold of him.

See, Paul now strains forward to lay hold of Christ. of all that Christ saved him for. So in other words, there is still more. Even with a perfect righteousness already counted to him in Christ, Paul refuses to think he has arrived. See, there is a larger goal before him. And that larger goal is to know Christ more deeply, to be made more like him, to reach the fullness of the resurrection life.

And he does not want to waste a step of the journey. He doesn't want to waste that. So in verse 13, when Paul says, Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it on my own, it is not because he has nothing new to say, but because he wants the Philippians to feel the tension of the Christian life, even though he is already clothed in the perfect righteousness that Christ has given through faith. He has not yet reached that final goal. And there is still more ahead, more growth in Christlikeness now, and the full enjoyment of what God has promised in the end. In your ESV study Bibles, it notes that Paul is speaking like an athlete in a race.

He refuses to talk as though he has already arrived, because the life of faith is marked by settled belonging to Christ and an ongoing pursuit of Christ. So that is why Paul lays out this need to press on. So what he has already received is real, but it's not yet complete. So he frames this passage, as I've referenced earlier, as an image of a runner. I've come far by grace, but I can't stop and congratulate myself. I must keep moving forward.

Then in verses 13-14, Paul describes now he runs, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind me in straining form to what lies ahead, I press on. So in context, forgetting what lies behind is not merely a slogan about moving on from past failures to Paul. It is Paul refusing to let the past, especially his past achievements, become a reason to slow down. In the Reformation Study Bible notes, Paul is not expressing an uncertainty about his justification. He is rejecting a complacency. See, true grace does not produce a spiritual passivity, but fuels perseverance toward the finish and fixes the believer's eyes on the prize God has promised in Christ.

Christ is our prize. Christ is our goal of why we press forward, why we continue forward. Christ should be the prize. So that's why Peter is speaking to believers who feel scattered, and 1 Peter says, Prepare your minds for action. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. See, Peter knows that holiness does not grow in a heart that is drifting.

It grows in a heart that is braced by hope, that has assurance, a mind that is girded in a soul that is anchored to the grace that is coming when Christ appears. Also, Hebrews says the same thing to Christians who are tempted to slow down. Hebrews 12, 1 through 2, Lay aside what weighs you down. Step out of the sin that keeps grabbing your ankles and run with endurance the race God has set before you, fixing your eyes on Jesus. So that is such a kind command. See, God doesn't ask us to finish by our own willpower.

He tells us where to look. See, when we are weak and our legs feel heavy and when we are tired and when we feel fragile and we stare down these miles that are ahead of us and we have pain and weakness, we are to look to Christ. See, remember that He has endured the cross. Christ has despised the shame and now He sits enthroned and our endurance is fed by Him. His endurance for us. And Paul in 2 Corinthians gives language to what so many of us struggle to say.

Yes affliction hurts, and yes it can feel like it will never end, but it's not meaningless. Momentary light affliction is producing an eternal weight of glory as we learn to look beyond what is seen, as we learn to look beyond what is to see what is unseen. Then he takes us even deeper. Real sanctification happens as we behold the glory of the Lord. As we behold the Spirit steadily transforming us into that same image. So you don't change by staring harder at yourself.

You don't look in the mirror and be like, I'm going to change, let me change, no. You don't stare at yourself harder. You change by looking at Christ, His beauty, His sufficiency, His example. Dennis Johnson, a commentator, puts it in a way that not only comforts but steadies. The New Testament's call to perseverance is never a cold try harder, but a warm summons to a hope filled endurance. A life strengthened by God's promises and sustained by the Spirit as we keep Christ's glory in view.

See when you feel weak, the answer is not a manufactured strength on your own, it's to return your gaze to the Savior who holds you. So beloved, do you want that prize? Do you press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus? And the upward call is God's saving summons. It's His gracious claim on you in Christ. And that prize is not a generic better life now.

Scripture names it that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. See one day the struggle with sin will be over. One day the sorrow will be swallowed up. One day your faith will become sight and the one you have chased, sometimes with strong steps, sometimes with limping ones, will be yours in fullness and you will share in His glory. And that's what we long for, that's what we hope for. So in verse 15, Paul is essentially saying, this isn't just my personal ambition.

This is the normal and this should be the normal mindset of Christian maturity. It's not only Paul who should be reaching for Christ and longing to know Him and the power of His resurrection and pressing toward the heavenly call, it is all of us who are to think this way. It's not just for the elders, it's not just for the apostles, it's just not for the pastors, it's for every Christian to pursue this and to live this and to think this way. It's to pursue Christ with a whole heart. So you notice Paul is describing the standard and it should be the posture of the spiritually mature and to not be satisfied with a half-hearted Christianity. See, mature believers don't treat knowing Christ as a check-off box or an elective.

They treat it as life itself. That should be our life, to pursue Christ and nothing else. But Paul adds immediately something very deeply and pastoral, and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. See, Paul knows that what we often forget, and believers are not all at the same place. So not everyone has the same strength or the desire or the clarity or the steadiness. And some are new Christians, some deal with wounds, some deal with failures and past mistakes, and some are slow to grow, right?

And Paul does not respond to that with contempt. He doesn't scold the weak as though they are a nuisance. He's very pastoral. He's patient, he's confident that God is at work. And Paul refuses to turn a spiritual growth into a harsh pressure campaign. He entrusts the process to God's sanctifying hand.

Believing the Lord will bring his people along in due time. See this is exactly the spirit we need among ourselves. It's easy to be sharp with immature Christians, especially when their ignorance shows. Or their priorities are confused. Or their habits are lagged behind their profession. It's easy to be impatient with believers that are immature.

But Paul models something better. Firm conviction about the goal and a gentle, patient with those still learning the pace. See we should be quick to teach and quick to encourage and slow to chastise. So the longer you've walked with Christ, the more tender you should become. Not some high and mighty condemning person, but humble and helpful. And scripture consistently portrays growth as gradual.

The righteous path brightens like dawn until full day, Proverbs 4.18. See some need milk before they can handle the solid food. And here in Philippians, Paul's concern is not to shame those who are yet all in, but to keep setting the example of what true maturity looks like. Christ above all. Christ who is worth everything. Christ pursued with everything.

The Christian life is not meant to be a carefully managed hobby. Paul's pursuit is wholehearted because Christ is infinitely worthy. And yet here, the kindness of Paul's confidence. God will make it clear. And God will grow his children. God is the author and perfecter of our faith.

God is not finished with a slow and growing behavior that has easily distracted a believer. The believer whose desires feel weak and inconsistent. Paul does not think that yelling at somebody will produce Christian maturity. I mean, how would you like it if Adam was just yelling at you, stop, stop, stop. He believes God's will, so we pray more than we argue and we exhort, but we do not crush. We aim people toward Christ and we trust the Lord to deepen their hunger.

Because the one who started the work will finish it. God is the author and perfecter. The God who began a good work in his people will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus returns. And that promise isn't necessarily a license to sin or a license to drift. And it should be a comfort to weary runners. You may not be where you want to be, but if you belong to Christ, you are not abandoned on necessarily the track of running.

He is committed to your growth and he is willing to bring you home. So in verse 16, Paul brings his exhortation to a sharp point, only let us hold true to what we have attained. See his aim is not, his aim is that the Philippians are to keep walking in truth. That our justifying righteousness is God's gift, received through faith alone, in Christ alone and that they press on to finish completing that race toward that goal. See the upward call of God in Christ Jesus ultimately reaches forward to what Paul has already highlighted in verse 11, the resurrection of the body. But those who cave to these Judaizers simply to maintain a peace or who under pressure from the Greek and Romans grow weary and abandon the faith, place themselves in great danger of forfeiting the prize.

See they risk missing the reward of Christ's call and the promises he gives to those who endure to the end. It's like the marathon runner who comes close but then quits, unready and overwhelmed, who's worn out by the hard course and becomes and therefore loses what awaits at the finish line. And Paul knows we won't finish well unless our direction is clear and our loyalties are settled. So he turns. from the posture of a runner to the identity of the believer who we are to determine how we live. So in this next section, Paul lays out what it is to be living as citizens of heaven and not on earth.

And Paul calls the church to imitate a faithful example, to recognize the danger of an earthly mindset, and to raise their hope to the coming king who will transform their lowly bodies and bring them safely home. So let's look at verses 17 through 21. Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many of whom I have often told you and now tell you, even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross. Their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we wait a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.

So in these verses, Paul exhorts the Philippians to live in a way that matches the prize for which they have been running. See, in verse 17, he addresses them as brothers. And it's an affectionate term, and then he gives a pastoral directive. Join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. See, he's treating them as those who should want this kind of guidance, the mature. And he presses them to pattern.

See, their lives, after believers, they already know who are pressing on to know Christ and His resurrection power, and to obtain the resurrection of the dead. And the point is not to create, necessarily, celebrity Christians, but to give the church visible, to give them embodies of models of Christ-shaped life, so believers stay oriented when competing voices try to pull them off course. So that's why Paul uses walk. Walk is Scripture's metaphor for one's whole manner of life. The direction, the habits, the loyalties, that defines who we are. The unbelieving world is crooked because it refuses the straight line of God's light revealed in Christ.

But God, in mercy, gives His church examples to follow. And all of them ultimately flow from the supreme example, who is Christ. Jesus was humble and obedient. And Paul has already set that pattern before them in the Christ hymn that we've read previously. In chapter 2, Christ, though in the form of God, did not cling to His rights, but emptied Himself, took the form of a servant, and humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on the cross. See, Paul's language of example is deliberate.

The Philippians are meant to fix their attention on the apostolic, on Christ-conformed patterns so that they are not reshaped by rival patterns, especially those by the false teachers who redirect confidence from Christ to the flesh. So given the serious threats that are opposed by the Judaizers, tempting believers to abandon the race and to seek a kind of a perfection-grounded-in-the-flesh mindset, Paul is not asking the church to imitate him because he's basically showing this super-apostleship. Rather, he is to be followed because he is an apostle. He's hand-picked. Remember, he's commissioned by the Lord Jesus. And Jesus is the supreme example of humility.

To serve as Christ's authorized messenger to Gentiles. Following Paul and those who walk in the same pattern is therefore a means of staying anchored to Christ Himself. And that's what Paul is getting at. Paul is not telling them to copy his personality or to mimic him for his own sake. He's calling them to follow his pattern because his whole life is aimed towards Christ. And that's the same logic he states plainly elsewhere in 1 Corinthians.

Imitate me as I imitate Christ. So in other words, don't fix your eyes on Paul the man. Fix your eyes on Paul. on Christ, who shapes the direction of Paul's life. So Paul is saying, look at what I'm doing. I'm striving, I'm straining forward, I'm pressing on.

I haven't arrived yet, but I'm pursuing Christ with everything in me. Imitate that. And he immediately broadens it. Keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. See, Paul is not claiming exclusive rights as the only model. If others are walking that same Christward path and living with that same mindset, then watch them also.

Like all you older people in here that have lived a Christian life, you are an example to younger believers, and we look to you. And that's the same mindset that Paul is getting at. Not that they look to you, per se, as the model, but they see Christ in you as the example. See, Paul then pivots to a warning in verse 18 through 19. He says, not everyone is running the race. Some are actively moving in the opposite direction.

And Paul doesn't describe them coldly. He speaks even with tears, because this is not necessarily a theoretical danger. There are many who walk as enemies of the cross. Their whole course of life contradicts the cross. Instead of dying to self, they indulge in self. Instead of seeking heaven, they live for earth.

Instead of glorying in Christ, they glory in what ought to produce shame. And Paul summarizes their trajectory in four phrases. What does he say? He says, their end is destruction. Their God is their belly. Their glory is their shame.

And their minds are set on earthly things. So in other words, the cross calls us to humble, to self-denying, to heavenward living. But these people have reversed the compass and made appetite, pride, and the present world their guiding center. Remember, we are called to be not of this world. So Paul's words in verses 18 through 19 are not just some cold warnings here. They are tearful warnings of a pastor who deeply cares and who loves his people.

He says, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. He says, and now to tell you even with tears. Guys, do you see he has grieved here? He's grieved because he knows what is at stake. And the cross is not just a doctrine to affirm, it's a way of life to embrace. Dennis Johnson, a commentator, draws out that Paul is warning the church about a kind of spirituality that wants Christ's benefits without Christ's cross or his comfort without repentance, glory without self-denial, and salvation without surrender.

And Paul weeps because that road feels easier in the short run, but it quietly carries people towards destruction. That grieves his heart. And then Paul describes what that cross life eventually reveals. Their end is destruction. Not because Paul enjoys saying that or saying hard things, but because love refuses to stay silent when this danger is real. He would not be a loving pastor if he did not care about this.

See, their God is their belly. Their appetites become their authority. They glory in their shame. And what should humble them becomes what they celebrate. With minds set on earthly things, they live as though this world is all theirs. When their belly becomes God, life quietly reorganizes around comfort, cravings, and self.

It may not always look scandalous, and it can look ordinary, just a steady drift into living for what feels good now rather than what honors Christ. And that's why Paul warns us, because spiritual drift rarely announces itself. It simply begins to steer. So then comes one of the sweetest lines in this letter. But our sedition ship is in heaven, verse 20. See, Paul isn't saying believers are above the ordinary responsibilities.

of life, he's saying you must remember where you belong. That this citizenship language re-anchors our identity. And Philippi may be where they live, but heaven is their true commonwealth. And that changes what they value, what they fear, and what they pursue. And that should change our mindsets. And Paul adds that our citizenship is not an idea, it's a hope.

It's a hope with a face. Says from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not merely waiting for circumstances to improve, we are waiting for a person to come. The same Jesus who took hold of you, by grace will return to finish what he has begun. And Paul ends with comfort that reaches all the way down to our weakness. Christ will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, verse 21.

He does not promise that the Christian life will feel strong right away, he promises that it will end in glory. Lawson highlights that the power of Christ will use to renew his people in the same sovereign power by which he rules and subdues all things. That means your suffering, our suffering is not meaningless. Our aging is not ultimate. Our frailty is not the final word. The king is coming.

And he is not only your savior from sin, he is your savior from decay. One day he will make you fully like himself, whole, pure, steady, and radiant with resurrection life. Beloved, don't we all long for that? So Paul's call is both sobering and it's also strengthening. Don't live as if earth were your home. This is not our home.

Do you all long for the greater country? Or is your heart anchored into this world? Don't follow the crowd that drifts away from the cross. Lift your eyes, fix your hope, and keep running. You belong to heaven and your savior is on the way. So Paul's focus, again, is upon how the Christian future hope informs the Christian life in the present.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him, even to the subject of all things to himself. See, every Christian lives with a kind of a dual citizenship under the rule of Christ. We belong in an earthly sense to the nation where we were born and where we now reside, and that is our real temporal citizenship. Yet at the same time, we also belong to heaven, and that heavenly identity is not meant to be merely future-facing. It's meant to shape and to even reshape our lives in the present, because we are already united in Christ, already sharing in his risen life. We are called to look at earthly things through a heavenly lens, and that perspective guards us from the very distortions that Paul has been warning about.

It keeps us from making appetite our master and from imagining that we stand right with God because of our externals, what we eat or refuse to eat, what rituals we keep or avoid, and even the assumptions that our opinions about what God should do carry weight with him. Heavenly citizenship reorders our priorities so that Christ's, not the flesh, sets that direction. See, Paul then points us to where our true king reigns now, and he teaches us to live with steady hope. See, if we die, we go to be with the Lord. If we remain, we wait for his return, and when he comes, our weakness will not have the last word. See, these lowly bodies, so often bent by sin and marked by the fall, will be transformed and made like Christ's own glorified body, and that is what the finish line Paul has been pressing toward, the resurrection of the body, the ultimate prize at the end of the race, and Christ will accomplish it because he possesses divine power over death itself and because nothing has always been the same.

creation. Nothing in all creation stands outside of His sovereign control. Lastly let's look at verse chapter 4 verse 1. Standing firm on the Lord while we wait. Therefore my brothers whom I love and long for my joy and crown stand firm thus in the Lord my beloved. As Paul moves toward the close of his letter in 4.1 he also drives home everything he has been saying with a final appeal.

He dresses the Philippians with a deep tenderness calling them the brothers and sisters he loves and long for and he speaks of them as his joy and crown. The grace given fruit of gospel labor that he cherishes as a reward from the Lord. And from that place do you see his pastoral affection here. He urges them once more to stand their ground in the midst of pressure and trouble. They are to remain steady in the Lord. Resting their confidence not in themselves but in the resurrection power of Jesus.

The same power that will sustain them now and finally redeem them completely. You see we stand firm in the Lord who began his work in us with and his work in us will certainly bring it to completion. See in our endurance isn't finally fueled by grit or a spiritual like adrenaline but by Christ who holds his people fast. When the world feels unsteady our hearts grow weary. His promises become our anchor and he calls us he calls us to remain steadfast not with with anxious fear but with a glad confidence that the glory to come will far outweigh every trial that we face. Every suffering every ale.

When Paul tells the church to stand firm in the Lord he isn't calling us to a spiritual paralysis. Standing firm is an act of resistance. It means pushing back against the steady pressure of a world that wants to make you forget who you are and where you belong. Dennis Johnson presses this further this command further. See perseverance is not merely hanging on but remaining rooted in the Lord. Staying anchored to Christ and his gospel when suffering false teaching or temptation rises or tries to shift your to shift your footing.

And that the firmness is sustained by identity. Believers stand their ground because they live life from the reality of their heavenly citizen citizenship not from the shifting standards of the cravings of the earth. See that's why eternity can't be necessarily just some occasional thought that we have. It's our future that we are to think of now. Every choice either trains our heart toward that kingdom or suddenly distracts you from it. So we stand firm we stand from fixing our eyes on Jesus by leaning on faithful examples by leaning on those who live out the Christian life before us.

We stand firm on Christ and we cling to the promise of his gospel. The world will always dangle its counterfeit joys in front of us and tempt us with comfort with success with pleasure but none of them can satisfy the soul that was made for God. When you live with heaven in view it changes everything. It should change how we spend our time, how we use our money, how we raise our children, how we love our spouses, how we love our neighbors, how we respond to conflict and how we suffer. So the call of this passage is clear. Don't trade the eternal for easy.

Don't drift into the spiritual sleep through temporary carnal pleasures and don't lose heart because of passing troubles. Beloved, lift your eyes to Christ. Remember where your citizenship lies. Know that your king is coming and when he does every sacrifice made for His sake will be worth it. Therefore, stand firm in the Lord, stand firm in grace, stand firm in His hope, stand firm in His gospel that saved you. The world and its desires are passing away, but those who belong to Christ will share forever in His glory.

So how do we apply this to our life? How do we apply this passage? I'll tell you after I get a drink. Beloved Philippians meets us right where we live, between grace already received and glory still promised. Paul knows how easily we can fall. He knows how runners can fall in a ditch, right?

Two different ditches. One is complacency, that whispers, since I'm forgiven I can ease up, and the other is condemnation, that groans, since I have failed I might as well give up. We kind of fall into those two things, right? And Paul won't let you make a home in either of those places. He calls us, he calls you, forward. Not necessarily to earn God's love, to earn God's favor, to earn Christ's love, but to know that because Christ is already taking hold of you and will not let you go.

So we're to ask, where am I drifting toward? Am I drifting toward comfort that settles for a weak Christianity, or toward shame that keeps replaying failures in my mind over and over and over again, where I'm constantly condemning myself? See here, Paul's counsel for both. Don't stay chained to what's behind you, chained to what's behind you, neither sins that still accuse you, nor success that tempts you to relax. Lift your eyes and take the next step. Keep running, not with a frantic pressure, but with a steady hope in the Lord who carries you.

He is the one who carries you. And then Paul also is very practical. He says, be careful who you follow because your heart is always being shaped by some pattern. How easily we are distracted, how easily we are tempted by idols and things of the world that deter us and distract us. We're always being shaped by some pattern. And beloved, take a gentle and honest inventory before the Lord who truly has your attention.

Which voices are trying to distract you and shape you? What are you lingering over? What are you enjoying more? What do you worry about? What is an excuse you have in your life that you are putting before Christ? They're always forming your heart, either drawing you nearer to Christ or slowly dueling your hunger for Him.

Paul says, fix your eyes on faithful examples, on people who walk the Christward path. Because drift rarely announces itself. It just starts to steer until comfort becomes your master and earth becomes to feel like home. But that is not who you are. Your future is secure, you belong to heaven, and your suffering is not final. You're waiting for a Savior when He comes and He will not only forgive you, He will transform you.

So don't try to stand up on your own strength, on your own power. Stand firm in the Lord, steady in the Word, steady in prayer, and steady in worship and fellowship. And we must be quick to repent and quick to hope. And don't trade the eternal for easy comfort. Lift your eyes and keep running towards Christ. And stand firm, because beloved Christ is returning and He is our hope.

So in Philippians 2, 12-30, which we preached on last time, Paul shows us what the Christ hymn looks like when it is lived out in real people. So in chapter 2, verses 12-18, having just unfolded, if you recall, Christ's descent and exaltation, he says, Therefore work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Not to suggest that we earn salvation, but to call us to live out with a reverent seriousness when God has already worked in us. And the comfort comes in verse 13, For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. So our obedience is real and required, yet can only be done by God working in us, not in our own strength, right? So as our obedience is required, it is only by God.

So we are to shine as lights and not be grumbling and crooked. We're to hold fast to the word of life. So Paul can rejoice even in his own life is poured out like a drink offering. Then in chapter 2, verses 19-20, he gives basically the flesh and blood examples. If you recall, Timothy, who embodies the mindset, genuinely concerned for the Philippians welfare, serving Paul, Paul would consider him a son and he would be his father in the gospel. And then Epaphroditus is his brother, his fellow minister, his fellow worker, fellow soldier that he references, who nearly dies in service to Christ, risking his life to complete what the church could not do in person.

So together, these two examples show us what it means to work out God's work, which is should be humble and other focused, costly service that reflects the mind of Christ. So these guys were examples for us to live by. So now we step into Philippians 3, verses 1-11. So Paul is not suddenly moving on from what he has just said. He's putting his finger on the deepest rival to the Philippians way of life, and that's confidence in the flesh. So after calling us to rejoice in the Lord, he warns against any teaching that would quietly shift our trust from Christ's finished work to our own religious record, to our own backgrounds, to our own resume, or our own performance.

And to make the danger concrete, he lays out his own impressive spiritual background, his own spiritual resume, and then counts it all as a loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. And at the heart of this passage that we're going to get into is a profoundly pastoral question. Will you rest your righteousness or try to build your own? Or in a righteousness that God freely gives in His Son? So Paul's testament is meant to shepherd us. He gladly lets go of every lesser identity and achievement so that he might gain Christ and be found in Him, and to keep pressing on to know Him in His suffering and in the power of His resurrection.

So the outline that I have before us tonight, verses 1-3 is rejoicing in Christ, not in the flesh. Verses 4-6, Paul's former confidence in the flesh. And then verses 7-11, Christ as true gain and righteousness. So before we walk verse by verse through this text, it would help us to see the movement of Paul's argument. So Philippians 1-11 unfolds in a deliberate progression. He begins with a command to rejoice in the Lord.

And then issues a sharp warning against false confidence. And then he supports that warning with basically an autobiographical proof of his own unmatched religious resume. Then comes what is called the great reversal. What was once gain is now loss. At the center stands the heart of the gospel. Righteousness from God through faith in Christ.

And then finally Paul expresses his ongoing aim is to know Christ in resurrection power and suffering conformity, pressing toward final resurrection. So the whole section moves from warning to truth. Testimony to theology to longing. So let's look at the first verse, three verses. We're to rejoice, rejoicing in Christ, not in the flesh. He says, finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. So verse one opens with yet another command. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

So Paul's call to rejoice in the Lord, and this is like a dominant theme throughout the whole letter, is not a new idea, but it's the next link in a chain of exhortations that began back in chapter one. So when Paul says finally, he isn't signaling that he's about to close this letter. The word carries more of the sense of so then, or as we go forward, he's not winding things down, he's pressing deeper. And what he presses first is this, rejoice in the Lord. See, that joy is not necessarily a sentimental add-on to the Christian life. It is the spiritual climate, per se, in which everything else grows.

A heart that is anchored in joy in Christ is a heart that can discern error without fear. And to stand guard without panic and to remain steady when false teaching is threatened. So joy in the Lord is the soil in which watchfulness and faithfulness can take root. So in other words, Paul is saying that in light of everything he has just urged them to do, it naturally flows that they are to rejoice in the Lord. The joy is not a shallow emotional add-on, but the proper atmosphere for obeying all prior commands of the letter. Those who take, basically those who take the exhortation of chapters one through two seriously and seek to live them out will find themselves like Paul, rejoicing in the Lord.

So Paul goes on to say, look out for the dogs. Look out for the evildoers. Look out for those who mutilate the flesh. See, that's strong language here, right? Paul has just told them to rejoice in the Lord and immediately he sounds an alarm. See, he wants this church, which he loves, to be on guard.

So who are these dogs? Who are these evildoers, these mutilators? He's warning them about the Judaizers, teachers who slipped into the church saying, in effect, Jesus is wonderful, but he is not enough. Their message was that the Gentile believers needed to take on key Jewish markers and keep the food laws, observe the ceremonies, and especially for the men to be circumcised if they really wanted to be long to the people of God. And it sounded religious and it sounded serious, but underneath it was deadly because it turned the gospel from Christ alone into Christ plus Christ plus law-keeping, adding on to what should not be necessary, or Christ plus religious performance. And by turning these proud religious men into dogs and mutilators of the flesh, Paul is exposing what their teaching really does.

It does not beautify grace, it tears it apart. So Paul in verse three answers that false message with a clear reminder of who the real people of God are. He says, for we are the circumcision who worship by the spirit of God and in glory in Christ and put no confidence in flesh. So in other words, the true circumcision is not a group necessarily with a certain mark on their bodies, but a people who trust and whose hearts have been changed by God. They're those who worship is stirred and sustained by the Holy Spirit, who boast in Christ alone and whose trust is not anything that they can do or perform for God. but in everything that God has done for them in Christ.

So this fits the whole story of Scripture. See, when God first gave circumcision to Abraham in Genesis 17, the physical sign was never meant to be the main thing. It pointed to something deeper. A heart set apart to God in faith. See, that's why Paul says, elsewhere, those of faith are the sons of Abraham. And if you are Christ's, then you're Abraham's offspring.

So being God's child has never ultimately depended on bloodline, received by so or religious zeal or the ability to keep rules and has always rested on God's promise received by faith. So when Paul says we are the circumcision, he reminds the Philippians that in Christ they are the true covenant community. They worship in spirit, boast in Christ, and refuse to rest their hope in anything in the flesh. So first, Paul says that the true circumcision is those who worship by the Spirit of God. That stands in complete contrast to trusting in outward rights or human effort. The people of God are no longer marked by a physical sign in the flesh, but by an inward work of the Holy Spirit.

These three descriptions in verse 3, worshiping by the Spirit, glorying in Christ, and refusing confidence in the flesh, function together as defining marks of the new covenant people. So it's replacing reliance on circumcision and law-keeping as badges of belonging. See, true worshipers know that anything pleasing they offer to God is energized by the Spirit's presence within them, not by their own religious grit. And worship by the Spirit of God is low on pride and high on dependence upon Him. And it breathes humble gratitude rather than self, like a self-congratulation. And this language here echoes the Old Testament promise of heart circumcision, where the Lord promised to do inwardly what the knife symbolized outwardly.

And the prophets anticipated a day when covenant membership would no longer rest on external marks, but on an inward renewal by the Spirit. And Paul is saying that that day has arrived in Christ. The true covenant community is defined not by ethnicity, but by union with the Messiah through faith. Second, Paul says the true glory of circumcision is in Christ. What do I mean by that? Our boast is not in what we have done for God, but in Christ and what Christ has done for us.

See, we exult in the Savior whose body was pierced and bruised so that we might be counted as God's own. The cross is not for us a bare or historical data point alongside other facts. It is a place where our hearts find joy, safety, and identity. To glory in Christ means we lean our whole weight on Him, His righteousness, His sufficiency, His finished work, not on ourselves. See, this is Christ-centered boasting directly counters the mindset Paul warns against in verse 2, which rests on religious conventions and performance. So third, Paul says the true circumcision puts no confidence in the flesh, and we do not treat our background, nor our morality, or our religious record as if they carried saving weight.

We are not adding a little of Jesus to mostly adequate self. We are confessing that Jesus is our only hope. He carries all the freight. We bring nothing that can earn God's favor, and Christ has done everything necessary to secure it. See, that is what it means in practice to glory in Christ Jesus and to abandon confidence in the flesh. So when Paul says that writing the same things is safe for them, he's letting the Philippians know something we often forget.

We never outgrow our need to hear the same gospel truths again and again. See, repetition is not a sign that something is shallow. It's one way of God's ways of keeping us safe. steady, and hearing it over and over that our joy is in the Lord, that our standing with God rests on Christ and not on us, that grace is free and full in Him, and that's our spiritual protection. It keeps our hearts from slowly drifting toward a Christ-plus mindset, a religious, pharisaical mindset, a we-do-anything-we-can-to-earn-God's-favor mindset. See Paul is like a careful shepherd walking the fence line, checking for weak spots and making sure the flock isn't exposed to danger, and he doesn't mind saying the same things because he knows their souls are safer when those truths are nailed down in deep.

There's no other gospel. There's no other gospel. And this cuts closer to home than we might think, right? Most of us are not tempted to add circumcision to the gospel, but confidence in the flesh takes many modern forms. It can sound like, I come from a Christian family, I know my Bible well, I serve a lot in church, I live a pretty clean life. None of these things are bad, but they become dangerous when they quietly become our hope.

We start to lean even just a little on who we are and what we've done instead of resting entirely on who Christ is and what He has done for us. See Philippians 3, 1-3 lovingly calls us away from that. See God's true people are those who depend on the Spirit, boast in Christ, and refuse to rest their confidence anywhere else. That's why Paul is about to lay out his own impressive religious resume in verses 4-6, and it's not to impress us, but it's to show us how completely he has let it go. If anyone could have trusted in the flesh, it was Paul. Yet he will say that compared to Christ, it belongs all the lost side of the ledger.

That's where he's about to take us next. So let's look at verses 4-6, Paul's former confidence in the flesh. Though I myself, verse 4, though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh, also if anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. So in verse 4, Paul turns and looks religious confidence square in the eye. Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh, he's saying in effect, if anyone thinks they know what it means to rely on a spiritual pedigree or performance, I do.

See Paul is not speaking as someone who missed out on a Jewish privilege or stood on the margins of Israel's life. He stood at the very center of it. That is why he can add, if anyone else thinks he has a reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. He wants the Philippians to be clear. See when he exposes the emptiness of trusting in the flesh, he does so as a man who has a religious resume surpassing that of any Judaizer troubling the church. Stephen Lawson notes that Paul is piling up his credentials, not to impress us, but to show that even the most flawless record is worthless as a basis for righteousness before God.

It all must be counted as a loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. See Paul is making it clear, when it comes to confidence in the flesh, he outstrips his opponents on their own terms. His Jewish pedigree and performance stands far above the dogs who boast in their religious credentials. He isn't critiquing this mindset as an outsider, he is someone who has lived that life to the fullest and now knows from experience how empty it really is. And he reminds the Philippians that he wasn't merely circumcised, he was circumcised on the precise day the law prescribed, in Leviticus 12. He belongs to the tribe of Benjamin, the only one of Jacob's sons born in the promised land, and from the tribe that remained.

loyal to David when the northern kingdom broke away and later stood at the heart of the restored community after the exile. In terms of heritage, Paul stood in a line any Jew would have admired. Then he lists three personal distinctions to show why he could be called a Hebrew of Hebrews. As to the laws, he was a Pharisee, part of the strictest party, devoted to knowing, guarding and teaching the law. As to zeal, he had gone so far as to persecute the church, the followers of Jesus, and his former thinking, such a threat to the law that he tried to stamp them out. And as to the righteous, under the law, he could describe himself as blameless, not sinless before God, but meticulously observant as far as anyone could see.

And this was not a man of empty talk, but of rigorous, disciplined obedience. All of this, Paul, is Paul's way of saying, if anyone understands what it means to rest on religious privilege or performance, I do. I have worn that robe more completely than any of these teachers who are troubling you. He is not warning them away from confidence in the flesh as someone who had never had it, but as someone who had it more fully than they ever will, and who, in the light of Christ, has now written it all off as loss. And he's about to show us in verses 7-3 that Christ is the true gain in righteousness. So let's look at verse 7.

But whatever gain I had, I counted it as loss for the sake of Christ. Verse 8, indeed I count everything as loss because of the passing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share His suffering, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. As at this point in this passage reaches its theological center, Philippians 3, 7-11 is not primary Paul's autobiography, it is soteriology. Paul's personal testimony serves to magnify a doctrinal truth. And what is that doctrinal truth?

Justification rests entirely on Christ's righteousness, received by faith apart from works of law. Everything else in the paragraph orbits that reality. In verse 7 Paul describes what happened to all that supposed righteousness the moment Christ took hold of him. But whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Everything that once went in the so-called prophet's column of his spiritual lever now gets moved into loss. Being the Hebrew of the Hebrews suddenly didn't count for anything.

His zeal for the law, his fierce defense of traditions of his fathers, all of it, in light of the risen Jesus who stopped him on the Damascus road, proved to be worse than worthless. It was flesh, not spirit. It had brought him nearer to God, it hadn't brought him nearer to God, it had only deepened his guilt before God. Though he hadn't seen it that way until Christ opened his eyes by first taking his sight. So from that day forward Paul's assessment never changed. He can say indeed I count everything a loss because of this passing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

And from his new vantage point all the self-righteousness, all the zeal that had impressed his family and his rabbis shrank to nothing. What he once called blameless, see he now recognizes as proud, blind confidence in himself. And it stripped that illusion by the realization that Jesus truly is Israel's Messiah. See, Paul finally sees now his former life for what it was. He sees Christ for who He is. In comparison with knowing Christ Jesus as Lord, everything else was a loss.

Everything else is nothing. And the word Paul uses for loss is strong language. It doesn't just mean something neutral or no longer useful. It speaks of a liability. Something damaging that must be forfeited. It's the same noun used in Acts 27 when the ship to Rome is being battered by a storm and the crew starts throwing cargo overboard by staying alive.

See, what had once been valuable merchandise, even vital food, suddenly becomes a threat to survival. And so it was hurled into the sea without regret. In the same way, when Paul realizes that all things he once counted as spiritual gain were actually standing between him and the life found only in Christ, he did not merely downgrade them to unimportant. He reclassified them as loss, positively harmful to his soul. If he clung on to them, he had gladly cast them overboard. So every pedigree, achievement, and religious credential went into the sea so that his whole confidence might rest in Christ alone.

See, all these things that once gave Paul an edge in the eyes of men, he now gladly lay aside in order to highlight the far greater privilege of knowing Christ. And in verse 5, he lists a background that was spiritually impressive by every human standard, a rich pedigree, the right family, the right tribe, the right training. But once Christ took hold of him, all those natural advantages were eclipsed. What had once seemed bright and impressive now looked small and shadowy in the light of something infinitely better. So why could he see his former gains this way? Because he had seen the glory of Christ.

The risen Lord met him, and in that moment, Paul became a different man, a man who loosened his grip on every earthly credential and reasoning for boasting. When we still draw our sense of worth mainly from earthly traits or our advantages or appearances or even our intelligence or status or relationships or money or success, etc., etc., it is often because we have not yet been captured by the beauty of Christ as Paul was. You see, just as the sun makes every other light look dim, so when the glory of Jesus really rises in our hearts, every form of human glory fades into the background. Look at verse 8. Paul says, for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. See this isn't just abstract language.

Following Jesus really did strip him of status, reputation, and comfort. Yet he looks back and calls those former advantages garbage. He's glad to be rid of it. And the problem isn't that those things were evil in themselves, but they became spiritually dead once he leaned on them as his righteousness. You see, Paul would rather watch every credential fall away than cling to anything that keeps him from resting in Christ alone. And that's the force of the verse, of verse 8.

Jesus is of such surpassing worth that every other treasure becomes expendable in comparison. That should grip you. And that in the same hard work the gospel does in us, whatever we, whatever you and I have been trusting, our background, or our morality, or ministry, or reputation, must be willingly laid down so that our confidence is found in Christ and in his righteousness alone. And Paul says in verse 9 that his great aim is to gain Christ and to be found in him. And that little phrase, in him, is the great fountain from which every other blessing of the Christian life flows. Everything else springs out of that reality.

See, at the heart of Christianity is not a set of experiences or a bundle of spiritual perks that make life a bit smoother. At the heart is a person. In the gospel, you are given Christ Himself. He joins you to Himself, unites you to His own life, and binds you to Him forever. And because you are in Him, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places is now yours in Him. Union with Christ is not one blessing among many, it is the reality of which all blessings come.

See, beloved, being found in Him by faith is, for Paul, the greatest treasure that renders every other supposed gain empty. To be united to Christ means that His standing before God no longer rests on His own record at all, but on Christ's flawless obedience and sin-bearing death credited to Him. That righteousness is not something Paul contributed to or approved, it was given and received by faith alone. Once he saw that, all the things he once stacked up as spiritual advantages were exposed as spiritual liabilities if they kept him from relying wholly on Christ. And the only way to share in Jesus's righteousness is to stop trying to supply your own and entrust yourself entirely to the Savior, whose perfect record is accounted to yours. The passive expression, be found in Him, underscores that this righteousness is not achieved, but it is received.

It is forensic and relational at the same time. To be in Christ means that His record becomes ours, His obedience counts for ours, and our identity is relocated entirely to Him. This is the fountainhead of assurance. So in these three verses, nine through 11, Paul gathers up the whole sweep of salvation and presses it into the believer's life, and he touches on three great facets of redemption. Verse nine, justification, verse 10, sanctification, verse 11, glorification. So what is justification?

Justification is God's once-for-all verdict, where He declares a guilty sinner righteous in His sight because of Christ. The perfect righteousness of Jesus is credited to us. Our sins are fully forgiven, and we are received as acceptable for God, not because of anything in us, but entirely by His free grace. Sanctification is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit by which God reshapes us into the new likeness of Christ. Little by little, He teaches us to put sin to death and to walk in new obedience. Unlike justification, this is not instantaneous, but lifelong.

It begins the moment we are justified and continues until the Lord calls us home. And lastly, glorification, what we all long for, is the final completion of God's saving work. Remember, God is the author and the perfecter of our faith. It's the final completion of God's saving work when He will renew us, body, soul, and flawless glory. On the last day when Christ returns, every trace of sin and of the curse will be removed, and we will dwell with Him forever in the place He has prepared. So in Philippians 3, verses 9 through 11, Paul is not merely listing doctrines.

He is confessing a Savior who has secured his past, is transforming his present, and will one day perfect his future. Paul gathers up the heartbeat of his life in verse 10 when he says that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. See, this is not the curiosity of a theologian basically collecting data. It is the longing of a disciple who wants deeper fellowship with his Lord. To know Christ here is personal and relational and experiential, a growing and living participation in who Jesus is and what He has done. And Paul wants to experience the power of Christ's resurrection, not only someday in a glorified body, but now as that resurrection power animates His obedience, it sustains His faith, and enables Him to put sin to death.

At the same time, He doesn't want resurrection without the cross. He speaks of sharing in His sufferings. Not because He has some type of a martyr complex, but because He... He knows that to walk closely with Jesus in a fallen world will inevitably mean opposition. It will evidently mean loss. It will be costly.

It will be a costly love. Commentator J.C. Meyer points out that this fellowship of his suffering is how the believer is gradually conformed to Christ. See our lives are reshaped along the pattern of his. As the spirit uses trials and hardships to carve the likeness of Jesus into us. See Paul's aim is not comfort but Christlikeness.

Not an easy path but a deeper communion with the crucified Lord. That's why in verse 11 follows so naturally when he says that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the Lord from the dead. See Paul is not expressing doubt about whether he will be raised. He has already anchored his confidence in Christ's righteousness. Not in his own. So instead he's acknowledging the seriousness of the path that leads there.

He does not presume upon grace. He presses on in grace. His language carries the sense of whatever the road the Lord chooses, whether marked by joy or by suffering, by a long life or by a short life, I want to walk it faithfully because the end of that road is to be with Christ in resurrection glory. For the believer this is both sobering and deeply comforting. Because it reminds us that the Christian life is a call to daily dying. To self.

To pride. To idols. To sin. To comfort. Because every step of that dying is moving us toward a certain radiant future. Raised with Christ.

Perfected in holiness. And finally seeing the one who we've longed to see and to know. And these verses invite us to evaluate our own desires. Do I want to know, do I want Christ himself enough to embrace both his resurrection power and the fellowship of his sufferings, trusting that the path of costly obedience is the road that leads to resurrection joy? Do I want that? Do I really want that?

See Paul's great ambition was simple and all-consuming. He wanted to know Christ above everything else. Not just know about him, it wasn't superficial. But to know him in the fullness of who he is. See he longed to experience the power of his resurrection at work in his own life and in the church. God's power bringing about real transformation and advancing his kingdom.

But Paul also wanted to know Christ in his suffering. He didn't run away from hardship or resent it. He saw suffering for Christ as a way to share in his Savior's path and he welcomed it when it meant Christ would be honored. Can any of us say that? Can we truly say that we want to suffer for the sake of Christ to be honored? See and he wanted to be conformed to Christ in his death.

To live a life of daily dying to self and taking up his cross and following Jesus wherever he led. And his eyes were fixed on the end. To be united with Christ in his resurrection, sharing finally and fully in the life to come. And that raises some searching questions for us, right? What do we want most? What are you and I really praying for?

If we truly know Christ, are we content to treat that as a finished box to check off? While we coast on spiritually? Are we just barnacles on a ship? Or are we pressing on to know him more, to go deeper into his word, his ways, his suffering and his power until knowing Christ more and more becomes the great pursuit of our lives? That should be the great pursuit of our lives. Not fame, not status, not money, not the good American dream.

It should be the pursuit of Christ. And yet though Paul possesses Christ's righteousness fully, he has not yet... attained resurrection perfection. See justification is complete, glorification is not. The tension, already righteous, not yet perfected, explain why Paul will say in verse 12, not that I have already obtained this. Grace does not produce complacency, it fuels pursuit.

Because he is secure in Christ, because he's secure in Christ, he presses on towards Christ. So let's look at some application. Beloved, this passage isn't Paul scolding you, it's Paul coming close like a wise pastor who knows how easily our hearts drift. Imagine Adam talking to you as your pastor, lovingly. He's not scolding you here, he's saying, let's be honest about where you run when you're retired, when you have failed. When you're anxious, when your prayers feel dry.

When the text gently presses, what do you lean on then? And most of us will never be tempted to trust in circumcision or a pharisaical rule keeping. But confidence in the flesh still finds, right, a thousand more disguises. It can be our faithfulness at church, our theological knowledge, our moral record, our ministry involvement, our past experiences, our family heritage, or even our reputation as a serious Christian. None of these are bad gifts, but they become heavy burdens the moment we start using them as a kind of righteousness. And Paul, in love, won't let you build your peace on something you can't hold your weight.

When life shakes you, beloved, you need more than I'm doing good. You need a Savior who doesn't change. If it can't save you, it cannot sustain you. Christ alone sustains you. And here's the sweetest part. Paul is not asking you to let go of everything only to be left with nothing.

He's calling you to gain Christ, not merely to believe in facts about Him, but to have Him as your treasure. See, this isn't cold doctrine. It's the deep assurance to be found in Him, wrapped in a righteousness that is not your own, so that when you are partially aware of your sin, you're even more aware of His sufficiency. And then from that secure place, the passage invites you into a deeper and warmer Christian life. To know Him, to experience the resurrection power, is wonderful. To learn fellowship with Him, and even in suffering, to walk with Him in the path is costly, and to find that Christ is not only enough to forgive you, but enough to satisfy you.

So ask yourself gently, not harshly, what do I treat as my gain? What do I fear losing most? Why do I secretly hope will make God pleased with me? And hear the good news. Underneath the call, you don't have to perform your way into God's favor. Beloved, in Christ you already have it.

You already have it. When He becomes, when Christ becomes your surpassing worth, you can loosen your grip on lesser things. Not because life gets easier, but because you're already held by something better. Christ is better. Christ is most glorious. Compared to anything that we put in front of Him is nothing.

May we cast off all things that we hold so dearly compared to Christ. Would you pray with me?

A reverent perseverance that depends on God's power, and a unity that refuses grumbling. A witness that shines in a dark world. And two living examples, Timothy and Epaphroditus, who embody the same gospel-shaped self-forgetfulness. So as we read, we're in chapter two, finishing it up. We're going to be doing 12, verses 12 through 30. Again, three points.

Verses 12 through 18, worked out salvation, warm-hearted servanthood, Timothy, verses 19 through 20, and willing-to-risk servanthood, Epaphroditus, verses 25 through 30. So let's begin verses 12 through 18. Paul says, 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 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. So look at with me at the opening words in verse 12. It says, so then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed. Those first two words, so then or therefore, are Paul's way of fastening this new paragraph to everything that he has just said. So he's not changing subjects.

He's drawing a straight line from Christ's story to the church's life. And that and what has he just said before? So recall the great gospel hymn of Christ that we talked about last Sunday, the hymn of Christ's humility and exaltation in verses five to 11. A key word from that hymn reappears here in verse 12. In verse eight, Christ humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Now, Paul turns to the Philippians and says, so then, just as you have always obeyed, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

And that repetition is deliberate. Paul is anchoring their obedience in Christ's obedience, showing that what he calls for is not a self-salvation, but gospel-shaped faithfulness that flows from the belonging to the obedient son. So Paul is saying, in view of the Lord's perfect humility and obedience, obedience that held steady under the most extreme pressure, and in view of the Father's vindication and exaltation of the Son, presses on the same posture. That therefore, verse 12 is the bridge of adoration to imitation. From worshiping Christ's descent to walking in humility and steadfastness, his grace produces in his people. And he speaks with a pastoral warmth here.

He says, my beloved, and he's not driving them with harsh demands. He is gently shepherding them forward with the kind of encouragement that strengthens weary hearts. The Christ who stooped for you is the Christ who now steadies you. So that obedience becomes the livid response of a church learning to think and walk in Christ. So now look carefully at verse 13. Notice the little word that begins the sentence.

For. See, that conjunction matters. Paul's for gives us the ground. It explains how he can possibly say what he has just commanded in verse 12. So in 2.13 he writes, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. So Paul is not canceling human responsibility.

He has just given us a clear weighty command. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. But now he pulls back the curtain and shows us what is happening underneath that obedience. He's saying in effect, let me tell you why this is even possible. Because behind your working stands God working. See, you are not left to grind this out alone or on your own.

As though you were stranded on an island running an individual race with no help and no hope. The One at work in you, Paul says, is God Himself. Notice how specific he is. God is at work in you both to will and to work. So in other words, He is the One shaping your desires and strengthening your actions. You see, He grants the will and He supplies the power so that your obedience is real.

Your effort is required, but the ultimate source and sufficiently are entirely His. So the exhortation to work out one's salvation with fear and trembling is left to stand on its own. I'm sorry, if left to stand on its own would indeed be a word of condemnation to the Philippians. Not a word of encouragement to continue living in a way consistent with the Gospel, which results from embracing the attitude of Jesus. But this exhortation to work out our salvation does not stand alone. It comes in a particular context.

You see, the Philippians are to stand firm in Paul's absence. And it's followed by a reminder that salvation is God's work within us in the sense that the desires to work out our salvation and the fear of God is a fruit of His work already began in us. Or within us. So as John Calvin wisely reminds us, there is a will or desire to do something which we may have, and the power to do these things which we do not have. Therefore, we must have nothing to boast about. But as Calvin adds, a good will is accomplished in us entirely by God and God alone.

So Paul now turns to what that obedience looks like. in the ordinary and often difficult rhythms of life. Look with me at verse 14. He says, do all things without grumbling or disputing. So Paul goes straight for the tongue and beneath that for the heart. The language deliberately echoes Israel's willingness story.

Where grumbling and complaining became their hallmark theme of unbelief. So instead of trusting the God who had redeemed them from Egypt, the people murmured against him and against his appointed servants. So Paul does not want the Philippian church so rich in gospel privilege to repeat Israel's pattern of complaint. So one commentator notes that Paul is not addressing some minor irritations, but the kind of chronic discontent and relational friction that can quietly hollow out a congregation's joy in unity. So verse 15 gives the purpose. That you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.

So Paul is echoing here Deuteronomy 12. I'm sorry, Deuteronomy 32. Where Moses describes Israel's unfaithfulness as that of a crooked and twisted generation. Only here Paul applies the phrase to the surrounding world and calls the Philippians to live as faithful children of God in its midst. So the contrast is stark. A grumbling, twisted world on one side, a grateful, blameless people on the other.

And it's precisely in that contrast that their witness shines. Among whom you shine as lights in the world. And that imagery draws from Daniel 12.3. Where the wise shine like the brightness of the sky and like the stars forever and ever. See the Philippian believers are to be like that. Points of steady, quiet light in a dark sky.

Not because they are impressive in themselves, but because God, because the God who works in them is displaying his character through their conduct. So verse 16 shows what makes that light truly distinct. Which says holding fast or holding forth the word of life. So this phrase can mean both clinging to the gospel and offering it to others. And in context both of these ideas fit. See the church shines as it refuses to let go of the world.

They gave it life and extends that life giving word to a watching world. As Dennis Johnson puts it, believers shine not by drawing attention to themselves, but by holding out the gospel as a lamp in the darkness. So that their integrity and their message reinforce one another. For Paul, you see this has deeply personal dimension here. He longs to be able to look back in the day of Christ and see that his race among them was not run in vain. That the seed he sowed was born fruit and persevering, joy-filled obedience.

Notice verse 17. 17-18 with me. Paul says, even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoiced with you all. So he reaches for sacrificial imagery from the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the drink offering was not the main sacrifice. It was a smaller libation poured out on top completing and honoring the primary offering.

See, Paul sees the Philippians' faith and obedience as the main sacrifice. The sacrificial offering to God. So his own suffering, even the possibility of martyrdom, would simply be the wine poured out on their suffering. That is how he views his life. Gladly expended to adorn and complete the worship of God's people. And remarkably, his tone is not grim, but joyful.

He says, I am glad and I rejoice with you all. Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me. Suffering for Christ far from canceling joy becomes a shared participation in it. Stephen Lawson notes that Paul's imagery here shows how deeply he has embraced the downward path of Christ's own humility. He's willing not merely to labor for the faith, but to be poured out for it. And he invites the Philippians to see this is not a tragedy, but as a privilege.

He brings this section to a full circle. The God who works in us, verse 13, calls us to a life without grumbling. Shining in a dark world. And rejoicing even when obedience costs us dearly. It is the pattern of Christ. Humble and sacrificial.

So how do these verses land? How do they land on us? Paul calls to work out your own salvation. And to live without grumbling or disputing means that everyday areas of our lives become the stage where God's grace is put on display. The way you and I respond when things are inconvenient. The way you speak when you're tired or mistreated.

The way you handle disappointment or delay. These either dim or brighten your witness as a child of God in a dark world. Yet, none of this is meant to drive you into despair. The same God who commands you is the God who is powerfully at work in you and within you. Shaping your desires and supplying your strength. As you yield to Him, you hold fast to the Word of Life.

And your life becomes like Paul's. A joyful offering poured out in worship. Not a grim duty carried out in your own power. So having painted this picture, Paul now helps the Philippians to see what this looks like in flesh and blood. He moves from exhortation to example. So instead of merely saying, live this way, he says, in effect, let me show you people who are living this way.

And the first is Timothy. A warm-hearted servant whose concern for others proven to be true.

So, as we continue through this letter together, Paul has already shown us what gospel-shaped love looks like.

So, just to kind of give you a recap, in chapter 1, we watched it overflow in Paul's prayers and anchor his joy in suffering and fuel his partnership with the church.

But now, as we step into chapter 2, Paul lifts our eyes even higher. He moves from his example of humility and love to this supreme example of Christ himself. Everything he has been urging the Philippian church toward finds its perfect expression in Christ Jesus alone.

So Paul wants us to see that the unity and the humility and self-giving love that he commands do not come from sheer effort or personality. They come from beholding Christ. They flow from having the mind of Christ formed in us by his grace.

So, when we step into Philippians 2, we find ourselves in one of the most breathtaking sections of the New Testament. The hymn that follows has captivated the minds and hearts of believers for centuries, and rightly so.

In just a handful of verses, Paul carries us from the eternal glory of the Son existing in the very form of God, down into the humility of his incarnation, where he willingly takes on the form of a servant. And from there, we descend all the way to the shame and agony of the cross, only to be lifted with him again as he is exalted above every name in heaven and on earth.

So this is our Savior. This is Christ. This is the one we worship.

John Calvin reminds us that if we can read this passage and fail to behold the deity of Christ and the radiant majesty of God displayed in his saving work, then we are, in his words, blind to the things of God.

So in other words, Philippians 2 is meant to open our eyes. It calls us to see Jesus as he truly is. Fully God, fully Savior, and worthy of all our worship.

So we're in chapter 2, we'll be doing verses 1-11 again. Chapter 2, verses 1-11.

So there's, again, three points that I want you to see. Verses 1-2, the appeal, verses 3-4, the command, and verses 5-11, the pattern.

So let's begin with The Appeal, verses 1-2.

Paul says, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy of being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind."

So look closely at how Paul opens chapter 2. He begins with an if-then appeal. Not because he's doubting anything, but because he is shepherding hearts here.

He's saying, in effect, if these comforts are truly yours in Christ, and they are, then let them shape the way you live in love. That is why he states so tenderly in verse 1.

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy," see Paul is gathering the sweetest realities of the Christian life and setting them right before the church. Like a pastor placing warm hands on weary shoulders.

So as the ESV Study Bible notes, these if-clauses function more like sense statements. So Paul is appealing to blessings they already possess in Christ, not possibilities that might one day attain. If you are in Christ, you have these realities. That's what he's saying. Our union does not reflect future possibilities, but they are now realities.

So and each phrase is loaded with comfort. Do you see that? Even those two simple words, in Christ, are meant to steady you. This is one of Paul's dearest ways to describe a believer because it tells you where your life is anchored.

To be in Christ means you are not left to carry yourself. You're not defined by your failures, your fears, or your weakness. You're not defined by your sin. You are not defined by anything but Christ. You are joined to him. His victory is counted as your victory. His death has broken sin's rule and power over you. His resurrection has brought you into new life.

And God has taken out the heart of stone within us and given us a heart of flesh. He's began a real work in you, and it's not a fragile one. And the day is coming when what you now possess by faith will be yours by sight. You will share fully in the glory of the new heavens and the new earth.

Martin Lloyd-Jones helpfully reminds us that Paul always begins with what God has done for us in Christ before he turns to what we must do toward one another.

So when Paul says, in Christ, he's not giving you a theological label. He's giving you a place to rest. He's comforting you, or he's reminding you that every blessing of salvation, every encouragement, every comfort that we have, every help of the Spirit, every tender mercy from God comes to you through Christ.

And it's meant to shape you, not only in private faith, but in public love. This is where Paul is leading, from gospel comforts received to gospel shapes lives lived.

So notice how Paul assumes the Christian life is lived inside a real personal relationship with a triune God. In Philippians 2:1, he speaks of encouragement in Christ and participation in the Spirit. Do you see the trinity there, how triune that is? And the comfort of love most naturally points to the Father's love.

Paul thinks this way elsewhere too. Recall 2 Corinthians with a distinctly Trinitarian blessing, 2 Corinthians 13:14, "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit."

So taken together, these texts reveal a Trinitarian pattern, the Son who encourages, the Father who loves, and the Spirit who creates fellowship. It's a Trinitarian work.

So Paul is calling the church to live out that reality. We are to live that reality. In God, there is encouragement, love, and fellowship because we have been brought near by Christ's blood. We are to live as citizens of His kingdom from the inside out. The more we consciously draw on these divine resources, the more we will be able to embody the unity, shared love, and the like-mindedness that Paul pleads in verse 2.

So let's look at verse 2. He says, "complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind."

Paul's appeal comes as four tightly woven calls, a single plea for unity expressed in four phrases.

So Paul's theme is plain, love and unity. But notice the warmth in it. See, this is not merely a command to obey. It's a joy to pursue it. Paul says this unity would complete his joy.

So in other words... He's not barking out orders at them. He's pleading to them like a father in the faith, longing to see the family walk together in peace and in unity. And it's not only right, it's beautiful. Psalm 133, "behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity."

And we need to hear this in our own day. Division and distance in the church have become so common that we can't forget how much they grieve the Lord. God does not save us into a lonely faith. He gathers us into a family.

One commentator reminds us that if we are saints in Jesus Christ, our lives have been supernaturally and extremely woven, interwoven. In other words, unity is not a necessary accessory to the Christian life. It's part of what the gospel produces and part of what we must guard.

So why does Paul press this so strongly in this passage? See, it's more than a pastor's concern for his spiritual children. Paul knows that unity is one of the clearest evidence of Christ's power before a watching world.

Jesus said in John 13:35, "by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." See disunity tarnishes Christ's name. It makes it seem as though he changes nothing. They fight like everyone else. Why should I listen?

See beloved, may this not be so with us. May we not tarnish the name of Christ, but we show the watching world our unity and our love towards one another.

So that is why scripture speaks with such an urgency. Ephesians 4, "I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. There's one body and one spirit. Just as you recalled to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who is overall through all in all."

See this unity is not something we manufacture. It is something Christ has purchased and we are called to guard it with humility, patience and love.

Since pride is the fastest way to fracture this unity, Paul now goes straight for the heart in verses three through four. So with unity set before us in verses one through two, Paul now shows what guards it in everyday life. Humility over self-interest and a steady concern for others.

So let's look at The Command in verses 3-4.

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others."

So Paul moves from talking about the foundation we share in Christ in verses one through two to encouraging humility in verses three through four. He tells them, "do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself."

In other words, Paul is going after the inner motive before he talks about outward action. If the church is going to walk in one mind and one love, then they cannot be driven by self motive.

See this is the opposite of what Paul had already seen in Rome. Recall some were preaching Christ out of envy and rivalry. They were seeing Paul's imprisonment as an opportunity to elevate themselves.

And it was the opposite of what threatened the Philippians as well. And Christians are not to live with competitive spirit that uses people as stepping stones or treats ministry as a platform. But we're not called to use each other as Christians.

In plain terms, selfish ambition is the urge to advance yourself, your name, your preferences, your advantage, even when it just disminishes others. But Paul's language reaches even deeper. The word carries the sense of working for self-gain, like a hired hand in this context. It leans toward vanity, empty glory, the craving to be noticed. That's exactly what these preachers were after.

And Paul calls it out as a poison to the church's unity. It is the very opposite of the mind of Christ.

So what is the antidote? Paul gives us two positive commands. First, in humility count others more significant than yourself. The word for humility here is not a false modesty. It's not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less. It's a true assessment of your own standing before God and others.

And the second command is a practical outworking of the first. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others.

See, this is not a call to neglect your own needs. It's a call to expand your vision. The Christian life is not lived in a vacuum. It's lived in community. And the humble person is not self-absorbed. They are others-absorbed. They are actively seeking the good of their brother and sister.

And this is the daily work of unity. It's the quiet, unseen choice to prefer another, to listen to another, to serve another, to let go of the need to be right, to let go of the need to win. This is where unity is either guarded or eroded in countless small choices to die to self. We are to die to ourself and to count others more significant.

So the pattern in verses five through 11 anchors all of this in Christ Himself. And the mind that we are called to have is the mind we already share in Christ Jesus.

So let's look at The Pattern, verses 5-11.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

The one who had every right to cling to glory chose and said to empty Himself and take the form of a servant and obey to the point of death, even death on the cross. That means no act of humble obedience, God ask of you will ever take you lower than Christ has already gone for you. Whatever He calls you to stoop, to forgive, to reconcile, to serve quietly, He has stooped further and He goes with you.

And the way down is not a dead end. The pattern of the Christian life follows the pattern of Christ. And it's costly obedience now and glory later. You may be misunderstood, overlooked, or taken advantage of, but the God who exalted His Son will not forget His children. He will complete what He has begun.

So the expression, in the form of God, is not casual wording on Paul's part. It is a clear and careful chosen statement of doctrine. This is a clear affirmation of Jesus' deity and preexistence. Before creation, before time, before the Son took to himself a true human nature in the womb of the Virgin, he already shared the Father's glory within the life of the triune God.

Hebrews speaks of this way, calling him "the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." See the Jesus that stoops in humanity is the very one who shares God's glory and sustains all things. So when he descends, we are meant to tremble with wonder at how far he chose to come for us.

You see, the suffering, shame, and humiliation of the incarnation must come before the exaltation described in the hymns' final verses, 9-11.

"Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

See because the Son willingly descended because he took the form of a servant, he obeyed to the point of death, even death on the cross, therefore God has highly exalted him. You see, the Father responds to the Son's humiliation with exaltation. The one who stooped so low for us and for our salvation is the very one whom God has now publicly lifted up, confirming by his resurrection and his ascension the rights and titles and privileges that were his from all eternity, but are now openly acknowledged in the light of his suffering and obedient self-giving.

And the ESV Study Bible rightly notes that this exaltation does not grant Jesus a status he previously lacked. It proclaims and vindicates the status that already belonged to him as the eternal Son.

So Paul goes further, "God has bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

See here, Paul is not simply saying that Jesus is important or influential, he is locating Jesus with the very identity and worship of the one triune God. And he does this by deliberately echoing Isaiah 45, one of the clearest Old Testament declarations of God's absolute uniqueness, where the Lord declares, "to me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear allegiance."

And any faithful Jew in Paul's day would have gladly affirmed that homage belongs to Yahweh alone. But Paul does something staggering. He takes that language of exclusive divine worship and applies it directly to Jesus.

Stephen Lawson notes that Paul writing from prison under accusation does not soften his Christology. strengthens it. The God who says, "to me every knee shall bow" is the same God before whom every knee will bow at the name of Jesus Christ.

So when you hear these words, every knee and every tongue, you are hearing more than poetry. You're hearing Paul's pastoral courage. See in prison and under accusation, he anchors the church in the strongest possible truth. The crucified Christ is the Lord of Isaiah's vision, and that means his humiliation was not a detour from glory. It was the path into glory.

So in other words, in this hymn, this hymn is not simply a beautiful poem about humility. It is a clear and resounding declaration that Jesus is truly God. The one who went down to the cross is the one before whom every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth will one day bow to.

Every knee and every tongue includes joyful worshipers and defeated enemies, angels and demons, kings and commoners, all acknowledging willingly and unwillingly that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

And this universal confession does not compete with the Father's glory. It fulfills it. When every tongue confesses Jesus as Lord, it is to the glory of God the Father. The Father is glorified precisely in the honoring of the Son whom he sent and exalted.

So seen in this context of Paul's imprisonment, this is deeply pastoral. Remember, he's in chains because he proclaims the very Lordship of Christ. Opponents may accuse him of blasphemy. Rome may treat him as disposable. And even some preachers may envy him for his influence, but none of that alters the reality he holds out to the Philippians. The crucified Christ is the Lord of Isaiah's vision. His humiliation was not a detour from glory. It was the divinely appointed path to glory.

This is why Paul can rejoice in prison and call the church to humble and cast the obedience. The story does not end at the cross, it ends at the throne.

And beloved, this is meant to leave us both humble and hopeful. Humble because the one before whom every knee will bow is the one who went lower than we will ever be asked to go. It's to leave us hopeful because the path that he walked down into costly obedience and then up into glory is now the pattern God uses in our life and the life of his people.

You and I are not saving anyone by our humility, but we are following in the footsteps of the one who saved us by his.

So when Paul goes on to say, "therefore, my beloved, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," he's not shifting topics. He's drawing the invocation in the light of Christ, his humiliation and his exaltation. This is what your life must look like now. You are to live out what he has already worked in, to put into practice the mind that he's given you, to walk the downward road of love, resting in the confidence that the God who has exalted his son will also sustain you and keep you to the end.

And this is meant to do more than move our minds and stir our affections also. It is meant to reshape our lives. If this is who Christ is and this is the path that he walked for us, then Philippians 2:1-11 cannot remain merely a passage that you and I admire from a distance. It must become the pattern that we live out.

So the question before us is, how is the mind, or how should the mind of Christ and his humility, his self-giving love, his obedience unto death actually show up in our attitudes, our relationships, our service? our life together as a church.

So with that in view, let's turn from exposition to application.

After I get a drink.

So, taking seriously, this should reshape how we see ourselves in one another. To really know our identity and union in Christ.

See, Paul's appeal in verses one through two reminds us that the Christian life is not powered by our own resources, but by encouragement, comfort, and love, and fellowship we already have in Christ. Our starting point is not guilt, but grace.

A church that remembers it is love and comforted and carried by the triune God will move toward unity and not away from it. And we are to find ourselves withdrawing, if we are to find ourselves from withdrawing in nursing resentment or assuming the worst of others, this passage calls us back to the fountain. Encouraged in Christ, comforted by his love, sharing in his spirit and extending that same posture to brothers and sisters.

And Paul's command in verses three through four then brings that grace down into the daily details of our relationship. "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, count others more significant, look to the interest of others."

You see, this confronts all the subtle ways we put ourselves at the center. Selfish ambition and empty glory show up in the need to be noticed and to be right. So we must ask, where am I driven more by my own advancement than by love? Whose interests do I never seriously consider?

Obedience here is usually very ordinary, right? Listening more than speaking, listening more than speaking, rejoicing when God uses someone else, serving where no one applauds you, letting go of the need to win. This is where unity is either guarded or eroded in countless small choices to die to self. We are to die to ourself and to count others more significant.

So the pattern in verses five through 11 anchors all of this in Christ Himself. And the mind that we are called to have is the mind we already share in Christ Jesus.

The one who had every right to cling to glory chose and said to empty Himself and take the form of a servant and obey to the point of death, even death on the cross. That means no act of humble obedience, God ask of you will ever take you lower than Christ has already gone for you.

Whatever He calls you to stoop, to forgive, to reconcile, to serve quietly, He has stooped further and He goes with you. And the way down is not a dead end. The pattern of the Christian life follows the pattern of Christ. And it's costly obedience now and glory later.

You may be misunderstood, overlooked, or taken advantage of, but the God who exalted His Son will not forget His children. He will complete what He has begun.

So Philippians 2 presses very concrete question upon us. Where do you need to pursue unity rather than maintain distance? Where is God calling you to confess pride, to stop clinging to your own way or to move towards someone you have avoided?

Above all, will you keep your eyes fixed to Christ and letting His descent and exaltation shape how we think and what you value and how you treat one another?

Beloved, the more that you and I behold Him, the more we will resemble Him. And the more our shared life will quietly proclaim to watching world that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Would you pray with me?

As weve seen in Philippians 1:1-11, Paul begins this letter by reminding the church who they are and how deeply he loves them. They are saints in Christ Jesus at Philippiset apart by God, bound together in a rich gospel partnership, and carried along by a God who always finishes the good work He begins. Pauls heart overflows with gratitude for them, and his prayer is that their love would abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that they might approve what is excellent, live pure and blameless lives, and be filled with the fruit of righteousness to the glory and praise of God.

Now, beginning in verse 12, Paul turns from his prayer for them to his own situation, showing how God is advancing that very same gospel through his chains, shaping his view of life and death, and calling the Philippians to live in a manner worthy of the gospel in the midst of their own opposition.

The Gospel Advances (vv. 1218)

To Live Is Christ (vv. 1926)

Live Worthy of the Gospel (vv. 2730)

The Gospel Advances (vv. 1218)

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

Here, Paul begins an extended discussionrunning through verse 26in which he explains his current situation. It is the most detailed account of his personal circumstances in his letters. Paul is writing as a prisoner in Rome under house arrest: confined to rented quarters, likely chained to a Roman guard, yet not silenced. As Acts 28:3031 describes it, he remained there for two years, receiving all who came to him and proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with full freedom and without hindrance. Those are the circumstances Paul has in mind when he says that what has happened to him has actually served to advance the gospel.

The Philippians already know Paul is imprisoned. They know he is suffering, they know he has needs, and they have responded with tangible support through their gift. So Paul is not writing here to fill in the details of his case or to speculate about how it might turn out. Instead, he says, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. In other words, Paul looks at his confinementand even the rival preachers he will soon mentionand he is not discouraged. He is genuinely encouraged, even astonished. Dont be anxious about me, he is saying. Look at what God is doing. The gospel is moving forward.

God has sovereignly ordered all things through Jesus Christ so that everything unfolds according to His willeven the hard, confusing, and painful parts. Throughout Pauls ministry, his arrests were often the result of gospel preaching that stirred opposition in city after city. Yet in this passage, Paul makes it clear that his imprisonment is not an accident or a setback; it is precisely what God has appointed for the further advancement of the gospel.

As we noted last week, God is wholly responsible for our salvation, and yet He ordinarily accomplishes His purposes through appointed means. So why did Paul end up in prison? Ultimately, because God ordained it. And instrumentally, because opponentsparticularly those offended by Pauls messagemoved against him.

Scripture is full of examples of God accomplishing His purposes through the very means others intend for harm. Consider Joseph: his brothers committed real wickedness by selling him into slavery, yet God raised him up in Egypt to preserve many livesincluding the family through whom His promises would continue (Gen. 50:20). Israels move to Egypt was not merely survival; it was providence preparing the way for redemption. And Joseph says it plainly: You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. In the same way, God can bend what others intend for harm toward His wise and saving purposeswithout approving the evil itself.

The Philippians needed to observe Paul and learn what true faithfulness in suffering entails. Here is their father in the faith, facing persecution, yet responding in a way that glorifies the Lord and keeps joy alive in the heart. Paul not only tells them what to pray in 1:9-11; he shows them how to think. His joyful outlook in chains becomes a living example of how believers should assess their trialsnot by appearances, but by what God is doing through them.1

In verse 13, Paul explains what he means by the gospels advance: What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospelso that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. His chains have made one thing unmistakably clearhe is not suffering for a personal cause or a political agenda, but for Christ. His imprisonment has become a testimony that what is happening to him is bound up with the honor and glory of Jesus, and that his hardship is being used in the service of Christs name.

In other words, the soldiers assigned to guard himelite troops serving the Roman Empirecame to understand that Paul was not a typical criminal or political agitator. He was suffering because of his allegiance to the true King, Jesus Christ. As members of the imperial guard rotated through their duty, many spent hours chained to Paul. Few could imagine a more direct captive audience for gospel witness.

The gospels reach did not end with the guard on duty. Even when Paul was not addressing them directly, the soldiers would have overheard his constant conversations with visitors and fellow believersagain and again, the message of Christ and the reason for his chainsuntil the news permeated the entire guard, men of real influence in the worlds most powerful empire. Pauls point is plain: opposition may bind the messenger, but it cannot bind the message. In fact, Pauls imprisonment did not suspend his calling or hinder his usefulness; it became one of the instruments God used to carry out His work in Paul and through Paul, strengthening the church that loved him. The irony is striking: Rome stationed soldiers to confine the apostle, but God stationed those same soldiers to hear the gospel; the empire believed it was restraining a prisoner, yet God was using that confinement to carry the good news of Christ into places no one would have expected it to goproving that no circumstance is wasted and nothing can stop the gospel.

Beloved, this is the heart of verse 13. Paul is not suffering because he is foolish, reckless, or criminal. He is suffering because of loyaltyallegiance to Jesus as Lord. That phrase for Christ is what converts pain into meaning. Pauls chains teach the

church that suffering can be interpreted as a witness, not merely endured as an inconvenience.

Although Paul is writing these words from prison, and although he warns the Philippians that they too will face opposition and suffer for the gospel, the dominant note of this passage is triumph. It is a triumph because Pauls chains have opened doors for the gospel, so that the message has reached the imperial guard and spread widely throughout Rome (1:1213). It is a triumph because Pauls imprisonment has emboldened other believers in Rome to speak the word with greater courage (1:14). It is even a triumph when Christ is preached by those with impure intentions (1:15), because while their motives are corrupt, the gospel they proclaim remains true.

Notice verse 14: And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. The gospel was not only advancing through Pauls witness to the imperial guard; his suffering itself became a catalyst for greater boldness among the believers in Rome. Seeing Paul endure hardship faithfully strengthened their confidence in the Lord and stirred them to preach Christ with renewed courage, unconcerned about the cost. As one commentator insightfully observed, The chains that restricted Paul set others free to proclaim the word of God without fear.2

Pauls chains did something remarkablethey stirred courage in others. Believers who once hesitated now spoke the word of God without fear. And that tells us something important: these brothers and sisters feared God more than they feared the threats around them. Which leads us, gently but honestly, to ask: whom do you fear? Are you more afraid of peoples opinions than of missing an opportunity to honor Christ? Do you, as I often do, feel the pull to remain respectable, safe, unnoticed? Paul had long laid that burden down. He became a fool for Christ because he cared more for souls than for status, more for the gospel than for public approval.

Beloved, my prayer is that Christ would be so near to your heartso real, so precious that fear of man would lose its grip. That His presence would give you the quiet courage to speak, to love, to stand, even when it costs you something. And if you hear this and feel the sting of regretif you remember moments when fear silenced you, or even times when your actions resembled Peters denialtake hope. Peters failure was not final. The Lord restored him, strengthened him, and used him mightily. He will do the same for you. Grace does not leave us where it finds us; it leads us back to faithful obedience. So let us rise again in the strength Christ supplies, renewed in courage, and willing to be used for His glory.

In Philippians 1:1518, Paul makes it clear that not everyone engaged in preaching Christ is driven by the right kind of heart. He writes, Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. He is not, in this passage, dealing with false gospels or heresythat receives his strongest condemnation elsewhere (Gal. 1:8

9). Here, the message itself is sound; it is the motives that are mixed. On one side are those who understand that Paul has been put here for the defense of the gospel. Out of genuine love and goodwill, they stand with him by proclaiming Christ boldly while he is in chains. On the other side are those who look at Paul as competition. They are driven by jealousy and selfish ambition, seizing on his imprisonment as an opportunity to elevate themselves, thinking to afflict him by increasing their own influence while he is sidelined.

What is most striking is how Paul responds to this. He asks, What then? and answers, Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice. Paul does not excuse or ignore the sin of selfish ambition, and he does not suggest that motives are unimportant in the eyes of God. But he refuses to let the flawed hearts of others dictate his own joy. His deepest concern is not the guarding of his own reputation, prominence, or comfort; it is that the real Christ is being made known. As long as the true gospel is going forth, he can genuinely rejoiceeven when some who preach it are trying to harm him. This both challenges and comforts us pastorally. It confronts the temptation toward envy and rivalry in ministry, calling us to examine our motives. And it frees us to entrust the hearts of others to God, to rejoice wherever Christ is faithfully proclaimed, and to begin to share Pauls Christ-centered perspective that will soon be summed up in the words, To live is Christ (v. 21).

Paul has shown us how God is using his chains to advance the gospelChrist is being preached, and that is Pauls joy, regardless of peoples motives. Now he turns to what the gospel is doing in him. In verses 1926, Paul reveals his own heart and shares the perspective that sustains him in prison: whether he lives or dies, his primary concern is that Christ will be honored in his body.

To Live Is Christ (vv. 1926)

19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be

honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Verses 1926 carry forward the same central theme: Pauls entire ministryand even his imprisonmentis governed by the gospel of Christ. Verse 18 functions as a pivot point, linking his present joy in chains because the gospel is advancing to his settled confidence and future joy as he anticipates his upcoming trial and its outcome. Notice the movement in verse 18 from present to future: What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.

Paul explains why his joy will continue: he is confident that God will bring about his deliverance. When we hear that word, we instinctively think the same way the Philippians likely didwe assume Paul is talking about a physical outcome, release from imprisonment. That expectation makes sense, especially since in verse 25 he says, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith. Paul evidently believed there was a real possibility that God would answer the churchs prayers and grant him freedom.

He is not limiting his hope to the outcome of a court case. He is anchoring his confidence in something larger than the chains on his wrists: the certainty of Gods saving purpose and his ultimate destiny in Christ. Whatever happens in Rome, Paul knows where the story endswith Christ, and with God completing the work He began.

Pauls deliverance is bigger than a courtroom outcome. He is not saying, I know Ill be released. He is saying, I know God will carry me through. And the clearest proof is what he wants mostnot comfort, not control, not even certainty, but Christ honored. That is why he speaks the way he does in verse 20: his eager expectation and hope is that he will not be ashamed, but will have the kind of courage that makes Jesus look great, whether by life or by death.

So here is the question Paul quietly presses into our hearts: What would it look like for Christ to be honored in your body right now? Not just in your intentions, but in your

actual, embodied lifeyour words, your patience, your choices, your steadiness under pressure. Paul is showing us that the gospel does not merely help you survive hardship; it gives you a holy ambition inside hardship: Lord, whatever You decide, let my life make much of You.

This is where Pauls echo of Job is so illuminating. Job, afflicted in his circumstances and further wounded by misguided counsel, said: This will be my salvation (Job 13:16). He was not merely longing to escape his immediate pain; he was looking beyond it to final vindication and ultimate deliverance. Pauls wording echoes that same confidence. Like Job, Paul cannot control the circumstances, but he can rest in the certainty that God will preserve him to the end.3

That confidence produces one of the most famous lines Paul ever wrote: For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (v. 21). If he lives, Christ is his purposehis whole life is fruitful labor for the church (v. 22). If he dies, Christ is his rewardhe departs to be with Christ, which is far better (v. 23). Paul is not romanticizing death, nor is he despairing of life. He is Christ-saturated. Christ is the meaning of living, and Christ is the treasure beyond dying. Life is victory because we belong to Christ and are privileged to serve His purposes. Death is victory because it brings us immediately into His presence.

And Paul can be sure Christ will be magnified even by death because he can say, with equal clarity, to die is gain. Death does not steal Pauls treasure; it delivers him into the presence of his treasure.4If Christ is more valuable than life in this world, then dying cannot be an ultimate loss. It becomes gain, not because death is pleasant, but because death brings the believer into fuller communion with Christ. When a Christian faces death with steady hopepreferring Christ above continued earthly lifeChrist is displayed as supremely precious. The world can understand a person who clings to life at all costs. What it cannot explain is a person who can sincerely say, Christ is better.

This is why verse 21 is so decisive for magnifying Christ. If our aim is to worship Christ, spread His fame, and display His worth, then the question is not merely, How do I avoid suffering? or How do I preserve comfort? The question becomes: What do I value most? Christ is magnified in our bodies when our lives showpractically, visibly, consistentlythat Christ is our highest good. In life, we magnify Him by living for His will rather than our ownby treating obedience as privilege and service as worship. In death, we magnify Him by meeting our final enemy with a settled confidence that being with Christ is better than remaining here. In both cases, the magnification occurs in the same way: Christ is seen as great because He is treasured as such.5

Church, isnt it a comfort to know that present troubles never have the final word? God delivers, and He always brings His peoples story to a glorious end. Pauls confidence ought to become a steady confession on our lips when we feel pressed in on every side: I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my redemption. If the Lord can even use Roman chains to accomplish His good purposes, then none of our trials fall outside His wise control. And like Paul, we can rest not in the assumption that God will always remove our hardships, but in the certainty that He will surely bring us through one way or another.

In verses 2425, Paul explains why remaining alive is more necessary for the Philippians: his life is still useful for their spiritual good. Though he longs to depart and be with Christ, he is persuaded that continued ministry among them will serve their progress and joy in the faith. In other words, Paul views his possible release not as a personal victory, but as Gods provision for the churchso that their faith would mature, their stability would deepen, and their joy would be strengthened in Christ.

Then in verse 26, Paul clarifies the ultimate purpose of his continued presence: not that the Philippians would boast in Paul, but that their confidence and celebration would overflow in Christ Jesus. If God grants his return, it will furnish them with fresh reason to glory in Christbecause Pauls preservation and renewed fellowship with them would be another clear evidence of Christs faithful care for His people and His ongoing work among them.6

Notice what Pauls Christ-centered perspective does to his heart: it doesnt cool his love for peopleit warms it. The same man who says, I long to depart and be with Christ, can also say, but to remain is more necessary for you. That is what grace does. When Christ becomes your life, you dont become less human, less tender, or less involvedyou become more loving, because you no longer need others to hold you up. You are finally free to give yourself away.

So Paul can pivot naturally into verse 27: Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. He has just shown them what gospel-shaped living looks like in chains: courage without shame, joy without control, love without self-preservation. Now he turns and says, in effect, Let that same gospel shape your life together. If the gospel can steady a man facing Caesar, it can steady a church facing opposition. And if Christ is worthy of being magnified in my imprisonment, He is worthy of being honored in your unity, your courage, and your steadfastness.

Live Worthy of the Gospel (vv. 2730)

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul begins by telling the Philippians that they must live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Only is Pauls way of saying, Make this your non-negotiable. Live in a way that matches the gospel you claim to believe. There is no room here for a divided lifeone version of you on Sunday and another the rest of the week. The gospel you have embraced must shape the way you speak, the way you decide, the way you treat people, and the way you endure hardship. You came into Christs kingdom by surrendering to Jesus as Lord, and that same surrender is meant to define how you live now.

When Paul says, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, he is giving a headline that summarizes the whole Christian life. The verb he uses conveys the sense of living like a citizenordering ones life according to the values and laws of the realm to which one belongs. And Paul chooses that language deliberately because Philippi understood citizenship. They took pride in their status as Romans; Paul reminds them that their truest citizenship is higher. They live in a Roman colony, but they belong to a heavenly kingdom. So their daily conduct must reflect the gospel and the King they serve.7

Paul is not only calling for individual holiness herehe is calling the whole church to a public, corporate faithfulness that fits the gospel. The language is communal from the start: whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear He is picturing a congregation whose life together tells the truth about Christ, so that the churchs conduct does not contradict the churchs message.8 And notice the images Paul chooses. Standing firm is the language of a line that will not break. Striving side by side is the language of shared effortshoulder to shoulderpulling in the same direction for the faith of the gospel. Paul is pressing unity in gospel labor, not isolated spirituality.9

Next, Paul shows what gospel-worthy living looks like in the life of the church. Look at verse 27: standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. When pressure rises, the church doesnt scatter; it holds the line as one body. And it strives side by sidenot as competitors, not as isolated Christians doing our own thing, but as a family linked arm in arm for one cause: the faith of the gospel. This is active, corporate Christianitybelievers contending together for the gospel rather than drifting into private, isolated faith.9 The gospel is meant to be the center that holds us togetherstronger than preferences, stronger than personalities, stronger than whatever could divide us.

Notice verse 28. Paul adds, not frightened in anything by your opponents. He is not denying that fear will be felt; he is insisting fear must not rule. He is describing a steadiness the Lord suppliesquiet courage, an unshaken presence, fidelity under pressure.10 And that steadiness becomes a sign. Paul is not teaching believers to boast over opponents; he is teaching them to interpret the moment spiritually. A fearless, unified church testifies that God is at workand that salvation is His work, not theirs.11 The Lord can steady your heart. The Lord can give His people courage. And when the church quietly holds its groundwithout panic, without compromisethat steadiness becomes a testimony. Its a sign that God is truly at work, that the gospel is true, and that the opposition will not have the last word.

Look with me at verse 29: It has been granted to younot only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake. In other words, your trials are not random, and they are not proof that God has left you. Paul calls them a granta giftnot because pain is pleasant, but because the Lord uses it. Suffering ties you to Christ, and it ties you to His people, and it becomes a place where God strengthens faith, purifies love, and advances the gospel. So take heart, beloved: live in a way that fits the gospel, stand together, strive together, and when hardship comes, dont interpret it as abandonment interpret it through Christ. The God who gave you faith will also give you what you need to endure.

And the same conflict means you are not alone in itthis is shared gospel faithfulness that the Lord uses to strengthen His people.9

Transition into Application

Beloved, Paul has shown us a Christianity sturdy enough for prison cells and gentle enough to serve others. He rejoices because Christ is proclaimed, he rests because Christ is his life, and he exhorts because Christ is worth it. So lets move from what the text says to what the Lord is calling us to do.

Application

Philippians 1:12-30 gives us a steady way to live when life is unsteady. First, Paul teaches us to read our circumstances through the gospel: even chains cannot chain the Word. God is not stalled by setbacks, and He often advances the gospel through the very hardships we would avoid. So dont only ask, How do I get out of this? Ask, How can Christ be honored in this?

Second, Paul re-centers everything with one confession: to live is Christ. Christ is not a part of your life; He is your life. That means suffering cannot ultimately ruin you, and success cannot ultimately define you, because your identity is secure in Him. So bring your fears, your plans, and your sense of control back under His lordship and say again, Jesus, You are enough.

Finally, Paul applies it to the church: Only live worthy of the gospel. Stand firm together. Strive side by side. Dont be intimidated. And when suffering comes, dont interpret it as Gods abandonmentinterpret it through Christ. Receive His grace, rest in His promise, and walk in unity and courage, so that your life together shows the world that the gospel is true and Christ is worth it.

End Notes

Dennis E. Johnson, Philippians, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: PR Publishing, 2013).

G. Walter Hansen, The Letter to the Philippians, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 75.

Grant R. Osborne, Philippians: Verse by Verse, Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017).

William Hendriksen, Exposition of Philippians, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1962), 76.

John Piper, The Inner Essence of Worship, sermon, November 16, 1997, Desiring God, accessed January 6, 2026.

Johnson, Philippians, on Phil. 1:2426.

Steven J. Lawson, Philippians for You, ed. Carl Laferton, Gods Word for You (Epsom, UK: The Good Book Company, 2017).

Lawson, on Phil. 1:27.

Osborne, Philippians: Verse by Verse, on Phil. 1:2730.

Hansen, on Phil. 1:28.

Johnson, on Phil. 1:2730.

Imagine receiving a letter from a dear friend who is in prison. You might expect a detailed description of the harsh conditions, the uncertainty of the trial, perhaps even notes of fear, frustration, or despair. Philippians is a letter from prisonbut when Paul writes to this little church in a Roman colony, the first words that pour out of him are not complaint, but thanksgiving, joy, and heartfelt prayer. In Philippians 1:111, we get to listen in as a man in chains calls ordinary believers saints, speaks words of grace and peace over them, thanks God for their gospel partnership, and prays that their love may abound more and more. To appreciate the weight of these opening verses, we need to remember what kind of letter this is and who is writing it.

Philippians is one of Pauls warmest and most personal letters. Hes not writing to strangers; hes writing to people he lovespeople he knows, people whose stories he remembers. This is the church Paul helped plant in Philippi during his second missionary journey (Acts 16). Philippi was a proud Roman colonycitizenship mattered there, privilege mattered there. And Paul takes that familiar category and redirects it: Yes, you live in a Roman city, but you belong to a greater kingdom. Live as citizens of heaven (Phil. 1:27; 3:20). Now picture Paul as he writes: he is in chains, imprisoned in Romearound A.D. 62with Timothy at his side. And yet the tone is not cold or bitter; its affectionate. Hes writing to a largely Gentile church that has stood with him in gospel partnership from the first day until now. Their story began with dramatic conversionsLydia, the freed slave girl, the Philippian jailerand it began in the middle of real opposition. From the start, this church learned that following Christ often involves suffering, and Paul remains mindful of that shared struggle as he reminds them that it has been granted to them not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake (Phil. 1:2930).1

So when you read Philippians, hear it this way: its both a thank-you note and a pastoral charge. Paul thanks them for their generosity and support. He updates them on his imprisonment. And he wants them to knowvery clearlyhis chains are not stopping the mission. God is using them. The gospel is advancing even through prison doors. But Paul is also shepherding their hearts. He calls them to unity when pressure could divide them, to humility when pride could creep in, and to steadfast joy when circumstances tempt them to despair. He anchors everything in Jesus Himselfthe pattern of Christs humble descent and glorious exaltation (Phil. 2:511). Then he lifts their eyes beyond the present, urging them to press on toward the final hope resurrection life, heavenly citizenship, and the return of Christ (Phil. 3:714, 2021). And as Reformed commentators often emphasize, woven through all of this are the deep notes of grace, union with Christ, suffering, and perseveranceso that the church can rest in this confidence: the God who began His good work in them will surely bring it to completion (Phil. 1:6).2

These opening verses open a window into Pauls pastoral heart. Even before he addresses the churchs challenges, he steadies them with grace, anchors them with assurance, and shapes them with prayer. And the same God who was at work in Philippi is at work among us. So lets walk through the passage in three movements.

Outline

Pauls Greeting (vv. 1-2)

Pauls Thanksgiving (vv. 3-8)

Pauls Prayer (vv. 9-11)

Pauls Greeting (vv. 1-2)

Scripture: Philippians 1:1-2

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

If youve spent any time reading the New Testament letters, Philippians 1:1-2 will sound familiar right away. In Pauls world, letters usually began the same way: the writer introduced himself, named who he was writing to, and offered a greeting. Paul follows that pattern herebut hes not just going through the motions. He takes this simple opening and turns it into a pastoral word. Even in these first lineshow he speaks of himself, how he addresses the church, and how he pronounces grace and peacePaul is already preparing our hearts for everything hes about to say.

If youre wondering why Timothy appears in the opening line, its because he was closely involved with Paul in the planting of the Philippian church. Timothy wasnt a distant assistant; he had shared in the labor there and cared deeply about their spiritual welfare. When the believers in Philippi saw his name, they would have remembered his presence and pastoral concern. So this isnt something like a cold, formal co-signatureits two shepherds addressing a congregation they both genuinely love. The letter is addressed by both Paul and Timothy as co-senders, even though Paul is the primary author. Timothys presence with Paul is one of the reasons many believe this epistle was written during Pauls house arrest in Rome, where Timothy is known to have been with him. According to Acts 1618, Timothy had also been with Paul in Philippi when the gospel was first preached there. So, the Philippian believers not only knew Paul, but they also knew Timothy.

Paul introduces himself and Timothy as servants of Christ Jesusa title he otherwise uses only in his letter to Titus. Already in verse 1, he is embodying what he will later command in 2:57laying aside status and embracing the lowly path of service under Christ. Apart from calling himself a prisoner in Philemon and using no title at all in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Christ in his other eight letters. In other words, this choice of title in Philippians is unusual and deliberate. Paul and Timothy identify themselves as bond-servants of Jesus Christ. In the Greco Roman world, slaves were viewed as their masters property with few rightsa vivid backdrop for the apostles use of redemption and slavery-to-Christ imagery. In Scriptures metaphor, that cruel tyrant is sin, and the purchase price securing our freedom is the shed blood of Jesus.

When Paul and Timothy call themselves slaves of Christ, they are confessing a new ownership. In the eyes of the world, they may look weak and unimpressivebut they belong to a new Master. They have been chosen, purchased, and set apart by Jesus for His purposes. And Paul is doing more than signing his name; he is setting the tone for the whole letter. He wants the Philippians to adopt the same mindset: a willing servant, gladly devoted to the honor and will of Christ, regardless of the assignment. As the letter unfolds, Paul will point them to examples worth imitatinghimself, Timothy, Epaphroditusand ultimately Christ Himself, calling them into a humble, trusting posture under Gods providence in every circumstance.

Then Paul addresses all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi. That word all matters. Even in the opening lines, Paul makes it clear: he is speaking to the entire church, not just a select few. And the word saints is not spiritual flatteryit is covenant language. It reaches back into the Old Testament, where God claimed a people for Himself (Ex. 19:56), and it carries into the New Testament church as Peter says, you are a holy nation (1 Pet. 2). Saints simply means holy onesthose set apart by God and for God. Not because they are naturally better, but because God is holy and He has laid claim to them: Be holy, for I am holy (Lev. 11:44). And that is why Scripture can speak of Gods people as His saintsHis treasured possession and His delight (Ps. 16:3; 34:9).

Just as Israel was set apart to belong to God and to serve Him in truth, so the Church is set apart today. In the New Testament, the word saints is consistently used to refer to all believers in Christ Jesus, those whom God has claimed as His own possession. The title saint rests not on our perfection, but on Gods grace in setting us apart in Christ. They are saints not because of their own moral perfection but because they are in Christ Jesusunited to Him by faith, clothed in His righteousness, indwelt by His Spirit. Notice the double location: they are in Christ and at Philippi. They live in a real Roman colony with real pressures and problems, yet their deepest identity and security are found in Christ.

Finally, Paul includes the overseers and deacons. This shows that the Philippian church is well-ordered, with recognized leaders who shepherd (overseers/elders) and serve practical needs (deacons). By naming them with the saints, not above them, he affirms both their legitimacy as the two primary offices of church leadership (in line with his qualifications in 1 Timothy) and their responsibility to lead the congregation toward the unified response he is calling for in this letter. Yet he mentions them with the saints, not above them. The whole churchordinary believers and officers togetherstands under Christ, belongs to Christ, and receives this letter as one body.

Then comes the greeting: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul takes the conventional greeting of the ancient world and transforms it into a gospel blessing. Instead of the ordinary word for greeting, Paul uses a closely related word that means grace, turning a polite salutation into a theological pronouncement.3

This is the typical apostolic greeting, but grace and peace are far from empty Christian slogans when we grasp what they contain. Together, they represent every true good because they both point us directly to Christ Himself. John 1:17 declares, Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, and Ephesians 2:14 tells us, He Himself is our peace. When Paul pronounces grace and peace, he is expressing nothing less than this desire: that his readers would enjoy every blessing that exists in Jesus Christ.

Peace is a central theme in Pauls letters, appearing throughout his epistles as a shorthand reference to the believers restored relationship with God. This peace rests on the fact that Gods righteous wrath has been satisfied through the suffering of Jesus in our place. Yet it does not stop with vertical reconciliation. The same gospel that makes peace between God and sinners also creates peace among believersacross lines of class, ethnicity, and culturebecause all who are in Christ are united in one body.

Christ alone stands as the mediator between God and humanity. Having reconciled us to the Father, He also reconciles us to each other. Those once orphaned by the world are now joined together as one body, one family, in Him. Grace and peace are gospel gifts that reach sinners only from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father is the architect of this great salvation, and the Son is the one who accomplished it.4

Beloved, taken together, these two great words, grace and peace, offer a complete answer to the deepest needs and profound emptiness of the human heart. Everything we most desperately require is contained in them: grace that raises us from spiritual death to new life, and peace that describes the rich, settled life we now possess through faith in Jesus Christ. These are not casual words or a polite formula Paul tacks on to open a letter. Far from itgrace and peace are the twin spiritual realities that Scripture as a whole, and Philippians in particular, holds out to us.

This is why we need the message of Philippians: grace for our sin and peace for our troubled hearts; grace for our weaknesses and peace for our fears; grace for our spiritual poverty and peace in knowing that in Christ we are immeasurably rich. It is grace that has carried us to this point and grace that will lead us safely homeand peace that quiets the accusing conscience and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Everything we truly need is encompassed in these two gifts: grace and peace. This is what the gospel offers. This is what we receive in Jesus Christa complete remedy for the full brokenness of life under the curse of sin.

Having spoken grace and peace over them, Paul now opens his heartshowing what gospel partnership produces in him: gratitude, joy, confidence, and deep affection. Lets look at Pauls thanksgiving verses 3-8.

Pauls Thanksgiving (vv. 3-8)

Scripture: Philippians 1:3-8

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

In verse 3, Paul begins to give thanks to God, with great pastoral affection for those to whom he is writing. These are not strangers to him; they are his spiritual children, and he is their father in the faith. That bond shapes everything that follows. Because of this warm, reciprocal relationship, Paul opens by declaring (vv. 35), I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Pauls gratitude is directed specifically to my God, not to some vague spiritual force or impersonal deity. He is deeply thankful for the Philippians and remembers them consistently in his prayers. For Paul, this is both a responsibility and a delight. He had been with them from the very beginning, and from that first day onward, they had faithfully supported him in his mission to carry the gospel to the Gentile world.

Pauls relationship with the Philippians is what he calls a gospel partnership koinōnia (Phil. 1:5). This isnt mere familiarity or friendly affection; its a spiritual bond forged in shared devotion to Christ and tested over time. They have linked arms in the work of the gospel, and that shared mission runs like a thread through the whole letter.

And Paul is clear: this gospel labor is not in vain. He is confident that the God who began this good work will bring it to completion on the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6). Even his imprisonment doesnt weaken that assurance (Phil. 1:7). Paul refuses to let appearances interpret realityGod is still at work, the gospel is still advancing, and their sacrifices are never in vain. And right here, early on, Paul is already sounding a note that will echo through the whole letter: salvation, from start to finish, is the gracious work of God.

Paul rejoices over his brothers and sisters in Philippinot because his ultimate confidence rests in them, but because it rests in God. The same God who initiated His saving work in them will also carry that work forward and bring it to its appointed end on the day of Christ. This is profoundly significant: you did not begin this workGod did. And He will not leave its completion in your hands or dependent on your own strength. With absolute certainty, Paul can sayunder the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that God is the author of your salvation from its beginning to its final culmination.

This is not a cooperative project where God does His part, and we do ours; it is what theologians call a monergistic workGod alone, by His Spirit, bringing life where there was death and carrying that work to completion. That is why he goes on to say, It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Because God has worked so powerfully in their hearts, Paul feels a deep and genuine affection for them. The Philippians have faithfully, hopefully, and steadfastly endured with him in the gospel. They are far more than contacts, acquaintances, financial supporters, or even ordinary friends. They are true partners and fellow sharers in his ministryand Pauls heart is deeply knit to them because of it, and he loves them for it.

Paul is not trying to sound sentimental; he wants the Philippians to know his love is real. He says it is the very affection of Christ Jesus at work in himdeep, tender compassion from the innermost place. The word Paul chooses is especially strong; it speaks of heartfelt mercy, the kind that moves you from the inside out. Pauls point is this: what they are receiving from him is not just Pauls personalityit is Christs love expressed through Paul.5 Can you hear his pastoral heart? He wants them to be assured of it, to feel it, to know how deeply he cares and how strongly he longs to be with them.

And that kind of love doesnt stop with Paul. The gospel calls us beyond mere tolerance. Christian love means we actively seek the good of our brothers and sisters. We dont simply put up with one anotherwe care, we welcome, we learn, we rejoice, and we open our hearts wider to include all who belong to Christ, even those we have not yet met.

As James Montgomery Boice observed, true Christian community expands outward because our union with Christ binds us together. And the Apostle Paul reminds us that without this kind of love, doctrinal precision and spiritual activity are of no value. Without love, we are just noiseempty, hollow, and spiritually ineffective (1 Corinthians 13:1).6

Who are the fellow laborers God has placed in your lifethose with whom you share true fellowship by serving side by side in the work of the gospel? Where, specifically, are you investing your time, your gifts, your prayers, and your resources for Christs mission?

If we neglect to cultivate gospel partnershipswithin our own congregation and with faithful churches and ministries near and farwe are not merely missing an opportunity; we are also forfeiting a vital means of spreading the gospel. We are sidelining one of Christs wise and strategic gifts to His people: the strength, encouragement, and shared advance of the gospel that He supplies through His body.

Pauls gratitude does not stop at thanksgiving. It turns into intercession. Gratitude asks God to keep doing what only God can do. In verses 911, he opens his heart even further and shows us the kind of Christlike growth he longs to see in them. Lets look at Pauls prayer verses 9-11.

Pauls Prayer (vv. 9-11)

Scripture: Philippians 1:9-11

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The final movement of Pauls introduction is his prayer. He asks God to cause the Philippians to grow together in love as they look ahead to the day of Christ, when they will be presented to Him as a pure and blameless Bride, bringing glory and praise to God. Their love is to deepen through the means of knowledge and all discernment; its purpose is to prepare them for Christs return; its expression is to be the fruit of righteousness; and its ultimate outcome is the glory of God.

Pauls request for knowledge and discernment in verse 9 echoes similar prayers in his letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians. Yet here he uniquely emphasizes these qualities as the means by which their love will abound more and more.

Paul begins by praying that the Philippians love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment (Phil. 1:9). His request is not for love in isolation or knowledge in isolation, but for a love that grows through increasing wisdom shaped by Gods Word. True knowledge and discernment do not stand apart from love; they produce and deepen it. God calls us to study His Word not to inflate our pride or accumulate information (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1), but to shape our character and fuel our service. As we work through this gospel-rich letter and observe the deep affection and partnership shared between Paul and the Philippians, we should be asking God to use His Word to strengthen our own bonds of love within the church. What we learn here is meant to move us toward greater love for one another.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones observes, Where there is no love, there is no life, and there must be life before you can impart knowledge. Paul is afraid of knowledge that is not based upon love, and in the same way, he is afraid of love that cannot be controlled and checked by knowledge.7 His point is profound: love and knowledge are inseparable. You cannot love well without truly knowing, and you cannot genuinely know someone without opening your heart in love.

Take, for example, marriage. I love my wife, but that love requires real knowledge of who she is. If I do not know her, I am only loving my own sentimental projectionsan imagined version of her shaped by my preferences rather than reality. Love must be grounded in truth. Likewise, I cannot truly know her unless I love her, because without love, I will keep my heart guarded, approaching her from a distance, analyzing rather than embracing, observing rather than entering into a relationship. Love and knowledge enrich and complete one another.

But why does Paul pray this for the Philippians? Why must their love abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment? He answers in verse 10: so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. In other words, abounding loveshaped and informed by godly knowledge and discernmentenables believers to recognize what truly matters. It teaches us to choose what is excellent, especially the excellencies of Christ Himself.

There are many good things one can dedicate their life to, but love enriched by knowledge directs us to the best things. Growing in love through knowing and being known by Jesus leads us to a life that is fruitful, pure, and pleasing to Goda life lived for His glory and praise.

Beloved, true Christian loveproduced in us by the Holy Spiritgives both the desire and the strength to live according to what Gods Word declares to be right. The goal of growing in knowledge and discernment is that our love would overflow more and more, and the goal of abounding love is that we would become transformed people who delight in what is excellent, who walk in purity and blamelessness, and who bear the righteous fruit that comes through Jesus Christ. Through our shared life together, God uses our relationships to shape us into the image of His Son, all to the glory and praise of His name.

Pauls deep love for the Philippians flowed from the fact that Christ had first loved him. And the Philippians could partner so faithfully with Paul because Christ Himself had united them in His grace. At the heart of all their affection, encouragement, and partnership stood the cross of Jesus Christ. Apart from the gospel, our service is merely an activity; but through the gospel, our service becomes worship, our love reflects His love, and our prayers join in the ongoing intercession of Christ for His people.

Beloved, if this is what God has done in the Philippians and what Paul prays God will complete in them, then we must ask how this same grace should be seen among us. How should our view of ourselves, our relationships, and our prayers change because of Philippians 1:1-11? With that in mind, lets move from exposition to application.

Application

So as we close, just let Pauls own words lead you. In his greeting, he settles your identity: you belong to Christyou are His servant and His saint. In his thanksgiving, he strengthens your assurance: God started this work in you, and God will finish it. And in his prayer, he directs your next steps: love that grows, wisdom that discerns, and a life that bears fruit to the glory of God. Thats why Paul can sing in chainsand thats why you can walk in joy even when life is heavy: your story is not written by your circumstances, but by the faithful God who completes what He begins. So receive His grace, rest in His promise, and walk in His waysuntil the day of Christ.

Endnotes

ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), Philippians: Introduction.

R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible (Sanford, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), Philippians: Introduction.

J. C. Meyer, Philippians, in EphesiansPhilemon, vol. 11, ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 134.

Meyer, Philippians, 135.

Grant R. Osborne, Philippians: Verse by Verse, Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), on Phil. 1:8.

James Montgomery Boice, quoted in Steven J. Lawson, Philippians for You, ed. Carl Laferton (Epsom, UK: The Good Book Company, 2017), 35.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Life of Joy: An Exposition of Philippians 1 and 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989), 54.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

And so tonight in this tough text, we'll explore how this shocking statement, properly understood, does not call us to emotional rejection of our loved ones, but rather to something far more profound, a complete reordering of our of our affections that enables us to love others more deeply than we could ever do before. Through the lens of Augustine's concept of the ordo amoris, the proper ordering of loves, we will discover that Christ's demand represents not the destruction of human love and affection, but it's rather its ultimate fulfillment.

So, to begin, Luke places the the words of this text at a crucial juncture in Jesus' uh journey to Jerusalem. Great crowds were following him, uh drawn by his miracles and by his authoritative teaching, uh and the hope that um he might be the long awaited Messiah who would deliver Israel from Roman oppression. And yet Jesus recognized that many in this crowd were motivated not by a a superficial enthusiasm rather than a genuine commitment. And they sought the benefits of following Christ without understanding uh the cost of this. And so this verse is directly uh directed rather primarily to those on the fence or those with practical motives like getting free food, free bread, or those with uh political concerns.

So, um in response to this shallow discipleship, Jesus turns and addresses the the crowd with a series of increasingly demanding statements. He begins with the requirement to hate one's family and escalates to bearing one's cross and concludes with the necessity of renouncing all possessions. This is not gentle Jesus meek and mild that we see. This is the Lord who demands everything from those who would follow him.

And so this passage from Luke 14:25 through 35, as viewed as a whole, forms a carefully constructed unit on counting the cost of discipleship. Jesus also employs two other parables in this section, the tower builder in verse 28 and the king going to war in verse 31 to illustrate the necessity of a deliberate commitment. Just as no sensible person begins a construction project without calculating whether they can complete that project, we know this from firsthand experience here most recently. Um, and no king engages in battle without first assessing his chances of victory. So no one should embark on the path of discipleship without understanding what is it going to require.

The section concludes with a mysterious saying about salt losing its saltiness in verses 34 and 35, which suggests that half-hearted discipleship is not merely inadequate, but it is actively worthless. It's worth nothing. Jesus is not interested in gathering large crowds of nominal followers. He seeks only disciples who will follow him to the cross.

So there's a Greek word here, uh that we that that we translate hate in the English, which is miseo. Did I get did I get that right, Adam? Miseo, which typically translate to hate in English, but we must understand it through the lens of first century Jewish thought patterns rather than with modern Western categories. Um, in Semitic languages and thought, comparative relationships were often expressed in absolute terms. So what we would, so how we would express as uh loving something less, the Hebrew speakers would express as hatred. It was much more binary for the Semitic um thinker. The clearest biblical example appears in Genesis 29, 30 and 31. There's many of them, but this is a clear one, where we read about Jacob's relationships with Leah and Rachel. Verse 30 tells us that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, while the very next verse describes Leah as hated. The Hebrew text uses the same root word for hate that underlies Jesus' statement in Luke. And yet clearly Jacob did not despise Leah in an absolute sense. He lived with her, had children with her, and provided for her. The hatred was comparative, not absolute.

And so Matthew's gospel um also provides crucial interpretive help. Um, in Matthew 10:37, if you'd like to to shift over there real quickly, I'll wait for you. Matthew 10:37. The same teaching appears in comparative rather than an absolute language. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. So Matthew, writing in a primarily Jewish audience familiar with Semitic hyperbole, preserves what may be closer to Jesus' actual phrasing. Luke, writing to Gentile readers, may have retained the more shocking formulation precisely because it better conveys the radical nature of Jesus' demand to an audience unfamiliar with Hebrew idioms. This parallel demonstrates that Jesus is not commanding emotional hostility towards family members, but instead establishing a hierarchy of devotion. The issue is not whether we love our families, because scripture elsewhere commands such love, but whether we love them more than we love Christ.

Notice the comprehensive scope of Jesus' requirement back in Luke. He moves systematically through the circles of human affection, parents who give us life, the spouse in whom we are one flesh, um children who carry our hopes for the future, siblings who share our blood and our name, and finally our very own lives. So nothing is exempt from subordination to Christ. Every natural affection, every human loyalty, every instinct for self-preservation must yield to his supremacy. That's what he demands.

So, uh, St. Augustine of Hippo, um, some many of you are familiar with him. He's perhaps the most influential theologian of the early church after Paul, provides us with a framework that illustrates Jesus' teaching. Augustine or Augustine, if you prefer, um, argued that the fundamental problem with the human condition is not that we love wrong things, but that we love right things in the wrong order. This is the essence of his concept of ordo amoris, the proper ordering of loves. Thomas Aquinas also expanded upon this concept and some other thinkers. Um, in order to to to get a foundation for this, please turn over to, I'm this is probably the last verse I'll have you turn to. Matthew 22, 37 through 40. It's one that you you know well. Matthew 22, 37 to 40. Where Jesus says, the greatest commandment is this, love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second command the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.

So this establishes the fundamental ordering. God first, neighbor second, self third. Augustine saw this as the blueprint for all properly ordered love. Now, uh different thinkers throughout time have ordered these differently, but the the there is a concept that there are orders to our love. And that God is primary among them. So according to Augustine, God, as the supreme good and the source of all other goods, must be loved supremely. Every other love must be loved in proper relation to him. When we elevate a lesser good, however legitimate in itself, above God, we commit idolatry and we introduce disorder not only into our souls, but into our relationships. This disorder corrupts both our relationship with God and our relationship with the very thing that we have wrongly elevated.

So, take a moment to consider how this works practically. When parents love their children more than God, more than Christ, they often turn those children into idols who must then bear the impossible weight of providing ultimate meaning and satisfaction to their parents. The children are unable to bear this burden, and they either crumble under the pressure or they rebel against it. Neither one is a good outcome. So what was meant to be a blessing from God becomes a source instead of dysfunction. But when parents love God supremely and love their children in uh in Christ and for Christ's sake, the parent-child relationship finds its proper proportion and it flourishes according to its design. Augustine also observed that disordered love destroys both the lover and the beloved. So when we make ultimate what God made to be penultimate, we demand from created things what only the creator can provide to us. A spouse cannot be our savior. A career cannot be our security. Children cannot be our redemption. And so when we ask created things to be gods, we crush them under the expectations that they were never designed to meet. Further, that that disordered love enslaves us, not just those around us. And so when family approval becomes absolute to you, we become slaves to family opinion. When romantic love becomes supreme, we become dependent on the fallen hu on another fallen human for our sense of self-worth, which is a disaster. When self-preservation tops our hierarchy of values, fear becomes our master. Only when God in Christ occupies his rightful place at the summit of our affections, do we find freedom from these lesser tyrannies.

This is where we encounter the beautiful paradox of Jesus' demand. By requiring us to hate all else in comparison to him, Christ actually liberates us to love people and um to love people and things properly for the first time and in the right order. And so when God is loved supremely, everything else can be loved appropriately. Neither too much nor too little, neither as gods nor as garbage, but as gifts instead. Um, C.S. Lewis captured this truth magnificently in his book The Four Loves, and this is what he said. When I have learned to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. In so far as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards a state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed, but rather are increased.

So this is the gospel's great paradox and mystery. Surrender leads to fulfillment, death leads to life, and hating in the way Jesus means leads us to our deepest and truest loves. As a side note, um Lewis's novella, The Great Divorce, uh is a is a tour de force uh dramatization and examination of ordered versus disordered loves. I highly recommend it despite some some of its flaws, and I've read it many times. And I recommend it to you as well.

So how does this theological principle translate into practical living? First, it means that every decision we make must be evaluated in light of our supreme allegiance to Christ. When family expectations um conflict with Christ's calling, Christ's calling must take precedence. When cultural or political values clash with kingdom values, kingdom values must prevail. This is what Jesus is telling us. When self-interest opposes self-denial, we must choose the cross. This might mean a young person pursuing missionary service despite parental approval. It might mean refusing a lucrative job opportunity that would require compromising your principles. It might mean setting boundaries for family members whose demands would prevent faithful discipleship. These decisions are never easy, and they often involve genuine loss and pain, but they flow from the recognition that Christ has first claim on our lives.

Jesus immediately Jesus immediately follows his demand about hating family with a requirement to bear one's cross. Um in verse 27, he says, whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. In the first century context, this image was shockingly vivid because this meant that the the this was the cross, this was Rome's instrument of torture and execution, and it was it was reserved for slaves and for insurrectionists, the the lowest of the low. So to bear one's cross meant to carry the horizontal beam in the place of execution, which meant publicly acknowledging Rome's authority and accepting its judgment. And so for Jesus' followers, bearing the cross means accepting the world's judgment on our allegiance to Christ. It means being willing to be misunderstood or rejected or even persecuted for his sake. It means dying to our own agenda and living to his. And so the cross is not merely an inconvenience or a disappointment, it is death to self-sovereignty.

And yet Jesus' demand contains an implicit promise as well. So don't miss this. When he says that anyone who does not hate father and mother cannot be his disciple, he implies that those who do meet this requirement can indeed be his disciples. The very severity of the demand highlights the magnificence of the relationship offered. Jesus is not merely seeking students to learn his teachings or admirers to appreciate his wisdom. He seeks disciples who will share in his life and his mission and in his inheritance. Moreover, Jesus himself models what he demands of us. He loved his earthly family, um caring for his mother even from the cross. And yet he subordinated these natural affections to his father's will by going to the cross, despite the bewilderment and the agony that this caused his mother and his disciples. And so when when his mother and brothers sought to interrupt his ministry in Mark uh chapter 3, 31 through 35, he declared that whoever does God's will is his true family. And he shows that it is possible to honor both human relationships while maintaining divine priorities.

I think it's also crucial here to to clarify what Jesus is not commanding. He is not commanding us to emotional coldness towards our families. He's not endorsing neglect of family responsibilities. Indeed, elsewhere he condemns those who use religious devotion as an excuse to avoid caring for parents in Mark chapter 7. He's not promoting a spiritual elitism that despises normal human affections. Neither is Jesus establishing a competition between love for God and love for others, as if these were mutually exclusive categories. Rather, he is establishing the proper foundation and ordering principle for all loves. So when we love God supremely, we are freed to love others appropriately. Again, neither as gods who can save us nor as obstacles to be overcome, but as fellow creatures made in God's image, worthy of love that flows from and returns to its source in Christ.

And in our contemporary context, this teaching speaks powerfully to several common idolatries. In cultures, for example, that prioritize family, Jesus' words remind us that even the most sacred human bonds must not become ultimate, lest they become corrupted or destroyed. The family is a good gift from God, but it is not God. And so when family loyalty requires us to overlook injustice or compromise truth, we must choose Christ over family. And similarly in our individualistic age that makes self-fulfillment the highest good, Jesus' demand that we hate even our own lives and preferences challenges the sovereignty of our selves. So the modernist gospel of self-love and self-actualization and self-esteem crumbles before Christ's call to self-denial. And yet, again, there's this paradox. In losing our lives for his sake, we actually find them. And in dying to self-sovereignty, we discover our true identity and freedom as beloved children of God.

So for those who are struggling with difficult family relationships, this passage offers both challenge and comfort. The passage is to ensure that family dysfunction does not become an excuse for failing to honor parents or to care for family members as scripture commands. The comfort is in knowing that when family relationships become destructive or demanding in ways that oppose faithful discipleship, we have Christ's own authority for maintaining proper boundaries. For those blessed with loving families, the challenge may actually even be greater. It's often easier to subordinate a difficult relationship to Christ than a delightful one. Yet, even the best human relationships must not be allowed to compete with Christ for supremacy in our hearts. The test often comes in subtle ways. Are you willing to speak gospel truth even when it might strain family harmony, for example? Can we put kingdom priorities above family preferences? Will we choose Christ's calling over family comfort and harmony?

The doctrine of the Trinity provides the ultimate model for properly uh ordered loves. Uh for example, within the Godhead, the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from their love. And yet this love operates in perfect order and harmony. The Son's subordination to the Father's will, most clearly displayed in Gethsemane, does not diminish his deity or dignity, but expresses the perfect love that exists within the Trinity. And so when we participate in this divine love through Christ, we enter into this same dynamic of ordered affections. We love the Father through the Son and the power of the Spirit, and from this primary relationship flows our love for all creation. This is not merely a human achievement, but it's a participation in the very life of God.

Also, uh Jesus' demand also makes sense only in light of eternity. From an earthly perspective or maybe from a materialistic perspective, putting Christ above family can seem harsh or unnatural. But from an eternal perspective, the this is the only a rational response. Our earthly families, precious as they are, are temporary arrangements. And in the resurrection, Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:30, that there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage. Our ultimate and eternal identity is not as someone's spouse or parent or child, certainly not as an employee, but as members of God's family. And so this eternal perspective does not diminish the importance of earthly families or institutions, I argue, but instead properly situates them. They are schools of love where we learn the care for others, laboratories of forgiveness where we practice reconciliation daily, and symbols of the divine authority that points us toward our ultimate home. But they are not themselves ultimate. Only by keeping eternity in view can we love our families properly within the boundaries of time.

And so as we conclude our exploration of this challenging text, we need to ask ourselves, have we truly counted the cost of following Jesus? Have we recognized that he demands not a portion of our lives, but all of our lives, the whole our whole lives? Have we understood that discipleship means not adding Jesus to our existing priorities, but allowing him to reorder our priorities? The call to hate mother and father, brothers and sisters, is ultimately a call to love, to love God with the supremacy he deserves, and thereby um to love all else with in proper proportions. So this is an invitation to freedom from the tyranny of disordered affections and an entrance into the peace of properly ordered loves. It is costly grace that demands everything, but gives back infinitely in return.

Augustine understood this when he prayed this prayer. He loves thee too little who loves anything together with thee, which he loves not for thy sake. May we learn to love God with such supremacy that all of our loves are purified, strengthened, and properly ordered. May we have the courage to put first things first, trusting that when we do, second things are not lost, but indeed they are found. So the gospel of Luke presents us with Jesus' uncompromising call, absolute devotion that looks like hatred by comparison. This is not the hatred of hostility, but the hatred of hierarchy, the recognition that Christ must be supreme or he is not Lord at all. And so in embracing this demanding discipleship, we discover that we have not lost our families or our lives, but we have paradoxically found them transformed and restored in Christ.

And so let us take up our cross daily and reorder our loves daily in a proper way and follow him who loved us and gave himself for us. For in losing our lives for his sake, we find them. And in hating all else by comparison, we learn to love truly. And in dying to our own sovereignty, we rise to life eternal. So the question remains, will we be his disciples on his terms, or will we turn back to the lesser loves that can never ultimately satisfy us? The choice is ours, but the terms are his. So, church, may God grant us grace to choose wisely, to love in an orderly fashion, and to follow faithfully. And now I am ready for your questions. Well, I'm actually never ready for your questions, but it just seemed like the thing to say. Go on.

As I begin Id like to trace out the context of our passage tonight. The tough text in view is Romans 11:25-26, but in order to understand it we need to see most of Romans 11 that led up to it. So lets see it.

In 11:1-10, as Paul begins Romans 11 hes eager to remind us that God has not rejected His people Israel, but has kept a remnant of faithful followers throughout the ages even down to today. So even though the vast majority of Jews reject the gospel, there remains a remnant alive and well chosen by grace while the rest of Israel has been hardened in their unbelief.

Then, in 11:11-24, we saw Gods purpose in hardening the majority of Israel was to get the gospel out to us, to the Gentiles, to the nations. Which, God says, will ultimately cause Israel to be stirred or provoked to jealousy as they see us Gentiles enjoying the great promises God first made to them. And from being so jealous God says many of them will return to the gospel. Praise God! Paul speaks of this great return to Christ in dramatic terms. He says there was and is great gain and riches in the Gentiles redemption through the gospel, but when the fullness of Israel returns, there will be much more gain, much more riches, much more blessing and glory to behold. Until then, Paul warns us Gentiles to not make the error of Israel and grow pridefule with a smug sense of superiority over the Jews who are hardened, as if weve totally replaced them as the people of God. No, were not to be proud, were to fear the Lord. After all, since God can do the harder thing and bring us in who were once strangers to these great promises of old, God can do the easier thing and bring Jews who believe back in.

Perhaps now were ready to come to our tough text.

The Mystery (v25-27)

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob ; and this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins.

As v25 begins we see an immediate connection with what has come before. The section before this, v11-24, contains a hefty warning against Gentile arrogance. Weve looked at some of that already today as we began. See then how v25 continues on in the same vein. Lest you be wise in your own sight is a strong plea for humility, but it also means that what Paul has been telling us and is about to tell us is practical through and through. Weve discussed some elements of eschatology here in our time together as weve walked through this chapter, and I wonder if some of you at the very mention of the word eschatology thought to yourselves Why in the world does this matter to me? You wouldnt be alone in such thinking. Many people believe the great doctrines of our faith are cold and dusty, or clinical and lifeless. Far from it! Paul knows no such kind of theology. His theology, which should be our theology, is vibrant, full of life and practicality. v25 shows us this. Do any of you struggle with pride? Perhaps then, you need to remember who you once were apart from grace. As a Gentile you were once an alien, a stranger, a foreigner, wicked, dead in sin, hated by God and hating one another. Perhaps then you need to remember how God saved you, by grace and grace alone. Perhaps then we need to remember what will come about in the future. That Gentiles arent the end all be all of Gods plan. God will move and bring in the fullness of Israel through Christ. All this to say, Pauls theology here is full of life and practicality because it shows us how no Gentile can boast about who they are after reading this passage. Ethnic pride was a problem in these Roman congregations, and it remains a problem in every age really.

See how Paul moves on. After warning against pride he tells us of a mystery he doesnt want us to unaware of. This is one of Pauls favorite ways of saying, I really want you to be aware of this. Whats the mystery? Well first, that its called a mystery ought to be remembered. This is worth noting because while there are things we can know for sure about this, some of what hes about to tell us will remain mysterious. Second, that its called a mystery shows us some of what is truly going on here. A mystery according to the world is something that cannot be known, something totally beyond our understanding. But according to the Bible and how this word is used in the Bible, mystery means something else. It is something that was once hidden and has now been revealed. And that its now revealed means its actually something we can know truly, although not fully.

Well, what is this mystery? Paul says it, a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved Of all the passages in Romans 9-11, v25-26a, what we just read, tends to be the most hotly debated sentence. So, follow this closely. Paul has already told us of Israels hardening for rejecting the gospel back in 11:7-10. Paul has also already spoken to us, in great anticipation, of what the return of Israel to God through the gospel will be like in 11:11-15, that when that day comes it will be life from the dead. Now, in v25-26 he tells us more. That Israels hardening, which was partial, will be removed at a specific time. What time? When the fullness or full number of the Gentiles have been saved. When that happens Paul says, all Israel will be saved I do think this is clear. The debate surrounds this last phrase. And in this way all Israel will be saved? What does it mean?

Well, this phrase all Israel could just mean the Church, all believing Jews and Gentiles together who make up the New Covenant people. Paul does speak like this in other places, clearly. In Phil. 3:3 he refers to the Church as the true circumcision and in Gal. 6:16 he even calls the Church the Israel of God. This is the view that St. Augustine, Martin Luther, and John Calvin taught, and this what I used to think this is what it meant, but I no longer believe that to be the case. While Paul truly does speak like that about the Church in other places hes not doing that here in Romans 11. Rather, I think all Israel in v26 refers to the bulk of the Jewish people who will one day return to the gospel. Why do I think this? Because all throughout Romans 11 Paul has been using the word Israel to describe the Jews, contrasting them with the Gentiles time and time again. So Israel means Israel here, Paul isnt going to use the word to refer to one thing throughout the whole chapter and then all of the sudden use it and mean something else. v25-26 shows us this. A partial hardening has come to Israel, to the Jews, and when the moment comes when the full number of the Gentiles has come in all Israel, or the bulk of the Jewish people, will return to the gospel. Thats what the phrase in this way means in v26. The way all Israel will be saved in the end is that circular pattern of rejection jealousy - return described in v11-24 which Paul summarizes in v25.[1] This is Pauls great concern here. He isnt concerned with Israel as a governmental or political entity. He isnt concerned with land of Palestine, not at all. His concern is with the Jewish people themselves, with Israel.[2]

And just in case we might think all Israel will be saved simply because theyre Israel, simply because theyre Jews, Paul, once again goes back to the OT to correct us and show us the truth in v27 saying. as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob ; and this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins. These two quotations come from mainly from Isaiah. Paul does pepper in a few phrases from the Psalms here as well to make his point clear v27 reminds us the way Israel will be saved. Yes, when the bulk of the Jewish nation returns, they will return to God(why?)because theyre Jews? No. They will return only through the One called the Deliverer, who comes from Zion to save by taking away sins. Who is this One, who does this and establishes a New Covenant? This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Where did Christ take away sins? The cross.

Church see it. Christ, is how the fullness of the Gentiles will be saved and Christ, is how the fullness of Israel will be saved as well. The gathering of Israel into the Church is therefore, not a possibility, and not even a probability, it is a promised certainty.[3] When this occurs, dont forget it. When we see the Jews return and trust in Christ it will be so astounding and amazing that it will be like life from dead as v15 tells us, and we all will rejoice!

All of this in v25-27 then, is the great mystery that was once hidden but is now revealed here in this passage. Having told us what the mystery is, Paul, in v28-32, will now explain this mystery further as he sums up his entire argument in Romans 9-11.

The Mystery Explained (v28-32)

As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all.

These verses might at first seem strange to hear. It is not very often that we hear it stated that Israel is a people who are both the enemies of God and the beloved of God. But such is v28. So, what do we do this? Rather than seeing this as Paul saying two opposite and contradictory statements at once, see v28 as Paul summarizing all he has said so far in Romans 9, 10, and 11.[4] How so? Think about it. When the gospel is in view, Israel is indeed our enemy because the majority of Israel rejects the gospel. Was this not Pauls point in the first half of Romans 9-11? Indeed it was. Chapter 9:30-10:21 powerfully speaks to this reality in tragic terms. Remember it? Israel is truly zealous for God, but their zeal isnt according to knowledge. They truly seek after righteousness but not Gods righteousness revealed in Christ, theyre ever bent to establish their own righteousness. And even though the gospel is now going out to the ends of the earth, and even though Gods arms of everlasting love are held out to them all day long they still reject God and His Christ. Whats the result of this? 10:21 says it and it is a tragic blow, Israel is a disobedient and contrary people. Thats what Paul means in v11:28 when he says Israel is now our enemies in relation to the gospel.

But the rest of 11:28 tells us the rest of the story. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. Was this not Pauls point all through chapter 11:1-27? Indeed it was. There we read that God has not rejected His people, but has a future for them. Of all the nations in the world God chose them and set His affection on them and made great promises to the forefathers, the great patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yes God hardened them in their unbelief when they rejected the gospel, but the hardening was not full or final. For when the Jews see Gentiles enjoying the great promises first made to the forefathers of Israel, Israel will become jealous, and in such jealousy many will return to the gospel. All this to say, Israel is both an enemy when the gospel is in view, and beloved by God when the great promises of old come into view, and those promises will, in the end, show themselves to be firm! This again, is simply Romans 9-11 in summary form. But why are these things true? Because of v29, For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Gods promises are binding, unchangeable, unalterable, irreversible, constant, fixed, final.

So Israel does indeed have a place and future in Gods great plan, but, its not because of Israel that they still have a place and future in Gods plan, its only because of God and because God is forever faithful to His promises. In v28-29 then, Paul has summarized all of chapter 9-11.

But as he concludes in v30-32 he drives it home to us all, both Jew and Gentile, and shows us the great mercy of God. Hear it again, For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all.

Conclusion:

I love how the Gospel Transformation Study Bible puts it in the notes on this verse. There is a mysterious symmetry and reciprocity in Gods judgment and mercy to both Gentiles and Jews. The bottom line is that God desires to have mercy on all because mercy is His heart, it is who He is.[5] Church, if it werent for the mercy of God wed all be lost. Thats where the matter ends.

[1] Douglas Moo, Romans, NICNT (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2018), 735.

[2] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans - To God's Glory (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Banner of Truth, 1985), 186.

[3] Lloyd-Jones, 168.

[4] Moo, Romans, 744.

[5] The Gospel Transformation Study Bible, note on Romans 11:25-32, 1519.

Beloved SonRise family, we are in the midst of our Tough Texts series, where we intentionallywrestle with passages of Scripture that challenge, perplex, or even discomfort us. These are theverses that make us stop, reflect, and lean harder on Gods Word. Tonight, we confront one suchpassage: 1 John 5:13-17.

If I were to ask you today, What is the single greatest struggle in the Christian life? many ofyou would likely say doubt. We wrestle with the question: Am I truly saved? We examine ourfailures, our inconsistent obedience, and the persistent presence of sin in our lives, and wewonder, Do I really have what it takes to be a Christian? Do I have eternal life?The Apostle John was intimately familiar with this struggle. Throughout this letter, he has givenus a series of spiritual tests to help us discern the reality of our faith and the assurance thatflows from it: Do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Do you obey Godscommandments? Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ? Johns purpose is clear: tocultivate assurancea settled confidence that those who believe in Jesus Christ truly belong toGod. John connects the assurance of salvation with the power of intercessory prayer and thereality of sin in the believers life.

Transition: Before we delve into Johns teachings on sin and prayer, let us consider a poignantexample of the human struggle with fear and doubt.

Illustration: John Bunyan and the Sin Leading to Death

In Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan recounts a season early in hisChristian life when he feared he had committed the sin that leads to death. For weeks, heagonized, convinced that his sin was unforgivable. He compared himself to Peter and Judas andconcluded his sin was worse than both.Desperate, Bunyan sought counsel from an older believersomeone he thought wiser, moreseasoned in Scriptureconfessing the blasphemous thoughts he had uttered in his heart and hismomentary yielding to temptation to deny the Lord. But instead of offering comfort, the olderman sorrowfully agreed that Bunyan had indeed committed the sin that leads to death. Bunyansanguish reveals a universal Christian strugglethe fear that we might fall so far that grace canno longer reach us. Though Bunyan eventually found comfort in Gods mercy, his tormentunderscores how severe Johns warning truly is.

Transition: Understanding Bunyans struggle helps us appreciate why John wrote his epistletoguide believers toward assurance, even in the face of sin, while warning of the dangers ofpersistently rejecting Christ.

The passage of 1 John 5:16-17 presents one of the most profound and challenging distinctions inthe New Testament: the difference between a "sin that leads to death" and a "sin that does notlead to death." It is one of the more difficult passages in the New Testament. The passage createstension: on the one hand, the letter is emphatically pastoral, encouraging the reader to know thatthey have eternal life (1 John 5:13). On the other hand, this passage introduces a sin that leadsto death and a caution against praying for it. This passage has been debated for two millennia.We must understand the distinction not as a difference in the severity of the act, but in thespiritual state of the person sinning. Many scholars, theologians, church fathers, and pastors overthe centuries have debated on how one should rightly interpret this text.

From a Reformed standpoint, we must hold together (at a minimum) two truths:

1. True believers persevere and are kept by the power of God (i.e., perseverance of the2. saints).

The New Testament warns seriously against apostasy, unbelief, false doctrine, andunrepentant sin.

To grasp the weight of Johns words, we must first understand the context in which they arespoken. John wrote to churches in Asia Minor, likely from Ephesus, between A.D. 85 and 95.Within these churches, a false teachingwhat scholars refer to as proto-Gnosticismhademerged. These heretics denied the true humanity of Christ. Some, known as Docetists, claimedJesus only seemed to have a body. Others, followers of Cerinthus, taught that the divine Christleft the man Jesus before the crucifixion.

This heresy produced moral and spiritual decay. Believing themselves to possess a higher, secretknowledge (gnōsis), they concluded that physical behavior was irrelevant to their understanding.This led to antinomianism, the idea that believers were no longer bound by moral law. Johnexposes their false claims: They went out from us, but they were not of us (1 John 2:19).

Transition: With this background in mind, we see that Johns warnings are not about ordinaryfailings but about a serious, deliberate turning away from Christ. Understanding the falseteachings in these churches helps us grasp why he emphasizes both the reality of apostasy andthe certainty of assurance for those who genuinely belong to God. Before addressing thechallenges of sin and prayer, John first anchors us in the unshakable certainty every believer canhave in Christ.

The Foundation of Assurance: (v. 13)

The Privilege of Intercession: (vv. 1416a)

The Warning of Apostasy: (vv. 16b17)

1. The Foundation of Assurance: (v. 13)

The purpose of John's letter is assurance. John says plainly: These things I have written to youwho believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.He is not writing to make believers doubt, but to make them certain. The Gospel of John waswritten so that unbelievers might come to faith (John 20:31). This epistle, however, was writtenso that believers might rest in faith. Here, John is not addressing unbelievers, nor is he presentinga hypothetical scenario. He is speaking directly to those who already believethose who haveplaced their trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The goal of his letter is not to sow doubt, butto cultivate certainty and confidence. Assurance, therefore, is both possible and necessary for theChristian life.

But what does this assurance look like in practice? John tells us that it rests not in ourperformance, our feelings, or our ability to overcome sin, but in the finished work of Christ. Thebelievers security is anchored in the Person and work of JesusHis obedience, His death on thecross, and His resurrection. As John later emphasizes in 1 John 5:11-12, eternal life is found inChrist, not in our own efforts: And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and thislife is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does nothave life. True assurance rests not in our performance but in the finished work of Christin Hisobedience, His death, and His resurrection. As John Calvin explains: The certainty of salvationis not founded on our own righteousness, but on the unfailing promise and fidelity of God inChrist.

Transition: With assurance in mind, John now draws a connection between confidence in Godand our prayer life, showing how assurance motivates intercessory love. Having established theunshakeable certainty of our salvation, John now turns to how that assurance shapes our lives. Aheart confident in Gods love will naturally reach out in prayer, interceding for others in theirstruggles.2. The Privilege of Intercession: (vv. 1416a)John begins in verse 14: And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we askanything according to His will, He hears us. Here, John describes the assurance believerspossess in prayer. Prayer is not tentative or uncertainit is grounded in a relationship with God.Because we belong to Him, we may approach His throne boldly, confident that He hears us. Thisconfidence, however, is conditioned by alignment with His will. It is not a blank check forselfish desires, but an invitation to participate in Gods redemptive work according to Hispurposes.

Verse 15 continues this thought: And if we know that He hears uswhatever we askweknow that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. John emphasizes the effectivenessand certainty of prayer. When we pray in accordance with Gods will, we may rest assured thatour petitions are not ignored or lost. Gods hearing is not passive; it is active, responsive, andpurposeful, bringing life, restoration, and spiritual fruit in the believers life and in the lives ofothers.

In 1 John 5:16a, John instructs believers: If anyone sees his brother committing a sin notleading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life. Here, John is describing the believerscall to intercede for one another. He distinguishes between sins that are serious yet remediableand those that are final and irreparable. In this verse, he focuses on the first: the sins that do notend in spiritual death. Believers who stumble are still within the reach of Gods grace, and prayerbecomes the channel through which God restores and gives life.

John now connects our assurance with our prayer life: And this is the confidence that we havetoward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we ask, we knowthat we have the requests that we have asked of him. Notice the link between assurance andintercession: those who know they belong to God are quick to pray for others who stumble.Intercession is both a privilege and a responsibility for believers in the local church. We areinvited to stand in the gap for others, not to judge or condemn, but to bring them before God.This prayer reflects the heart of God, who Himself intercedes for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrewssuch prayer for other believers to be answered: 7:25), and demonstrates the Spirits active work within our own hearts. John tells us to expectGod will give him life. This is not presumption, but we can pray boldly for one another, knowing that as we pray for theperseverance of the saints, we pray according to Gods will

Transition: John immediately illustrates this connection by distinguishing two kinds of sin:those that do not lead to death and those that do. Lets consider the first category.3. The Warning of Apostasy: (vv. 16b17)A. Sin Not Leading to DeathJohn says, If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, andGod will give him life.In 1 John 5:16-17, John introduces a profound distinction: the difference between a sin thatleads to death and a sin that does not lead to death. He begins with the latter, urging believersto pray for fellow Christians caught in such sin. Scripture reminds us that all wrongdoing is sin(1 John 5:17) and that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Sin always brings deathwhether physical in this life or spiritual as eternal separation from God. Yet physical death is theuniversal consequence of living in a fallen world.While all sin carries consequences, Johns focus here is specific: the spiritual realities forbelievers versus those who reject Christ. The emphasis is on spiritual deatheternalseparationbecause the letter consistently highlights eternal life and fellowship with God (1John 1:2-3; 5:11-13). John distinguishes two kinds of sin. A sin not leading to death is seriousbut not final, because the sinner remains open to confession and repentance (1 John 1:7, 9; 2:12;3:5). Such sins, arising from weakness, ignorance, or passion, are not unto death because thebeliever is covered by Christs atonement and guided by the Holy Spirit. Intercessory prayer forthese believers is therefore both appropriate and effective. Historically, the church affirms this.Tertullian notes that believers may sin but remain under Gods mercy, making prayer for themboth necessary and fruitful. Origen similarly observes that Gods grace preserves the believerfrom final ruin, providing the ongoing opportunity for repentance.⁴Transition: Having established the nature of sins that believers commit and the role of prayer inrestoration, John now moves to a far graver categorythe sin leading to death. Here, he shiftsfrom encouragement to a sobering warning about the spiritual peril of deliberately rejectingChrist without repentance.B. Sin Leading to DeathThe sin leading to death functions as a severe warning. This refers to a deliberate, ongoingrejection of Christ by someone who once professed faith. Genuine believers, John teaches, do notlive in continual rebellion (1 John 3:46, 9). When John speaks of those in the Ephesian churchwho left, he observes: they went out from us because they were not of us (1 John 2:19). Theirdeparture does not signify a loss of salvation, but rather reveals that they were false convertsfrom the outset.Patristic and Reformed fathers converge on this understanding. Chrysostom interprets this sin asthe final hardening of the heart, rendering repentance impossible.⁵ Augustine notes thatdeliberate resistance to Gods grace demonstrates that the person was never truly regenerate.⁶Calvin explains it as those who fall away from the gospel in deliberate unbelief, extinguishingall light of grace.⁷ Owen emphasizes that the defining characteristic is a settled rejection ofChrist, not merely the severity of the act. Thus, the sin leading to death is primarily about thespiritual state of the persona conscious, hardened rebellion against God leading to eternalseparation. It is unrepentant sin that exposes false profession and culminates in spiritual andeternal death.⁸But then John adds the haunting line: There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he shouldpray for that (v. 16b). This is where the text becomes difficultand deeply sobering. The Greekphrase ὸ ά (pros thanaton, toward death) does not refer to a single act of sin but aspiritual conditiona hardening direction of the soul away from God. This is not a believerstruggling under weakness; it is one who has turned away in unbelief, rejecting Christ andresisting the Spirits call. Charles Spurgeon explained: He who has committed the sin untodeath has no desire for forgiveness; he will never repent, he will never seek faith in Christ.⁹Romans 1:28 gives us the tragic parallel: And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,God gave them up to a debased mind. Here is the dreadful consequence of continual resistanceto Gods gracethe Spirit ceases to strive, the conscience grows cold, and the heart becomesstone. This is not merely moral failure but spiritual apostasy, the willful rejection of Gods truthafter having known it.How should we understand Johns words regarding those who commit a sin leading to death?Notice his careful, almost tender phrasing. In a letter where he often speaks with bold clarity,here he approaches the matter with gentle clarity. He does not forbid prayer for such individuals;he says, I do not say that he should pray for that (v. 16b). His words acknowledge a delicatebalance: we are free to pray for the hardened, yet there may come a point when continuedintercession is no longer fruitfuland we may step back without guilt or shame.Scripture offers guidance on this principle. God at times instructed Jeremiah to cease praying fora rebellious people (Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14), and Jesus told His disciples that some cities wouldnot listen, and they were to shake the dust off their feet (Matthew 10:14). John seems torecognize the painful reality that some hearts may become so closed that our prayers no longerbear fruit. Yet because it is rarely clear when that point has been reached, he neither forbidsprayer nor prescribes a fixed limit. Instead, he lovingly leaves space for discernmenturging usto pray as long as there is hope, and to trust Gods wisdom when He signals that it is time to stepback.Transition: With these distinctions in mind, we can now examine the major theologicalinterpretations of the sin leading to death, weighing their strengths and weaknesses.C. The Four Major Views of the Sin Leading to DeathTheologians and commentators have proposed several interpretations of what John means bythe sin leading to death. Each view attempts to explain how this concept fits within the broadertheology of Scripture and Johns pastoral intent. Evaluating these views helps us discern both thegravity of sin and the certainty of assurance for the faithful. Each of these views offers valuableinsight into the seriousness of sin and the necessity of genuine faith. Yet only one coherentlyexplains Johns logic, his language, and his larger theological framework.1. Mortal Sin (The Roman Catholic View)Some interpreters, particularly within the Roman Catholic tradition, understand the sin leadingto death as grave or mortal sinserious transgressions such as murder, adultery, or apostasythat sever the believer from Gods grace until absolved through confession. Strengths:This view emphasizes the seriousness of sin and the need for spiritual vigilance. It rightlyrecognizes that certain sins are more destructive than others and that divine restorationmay require specific, deliberate steps. Weaknesses:While capturing the gravity of sin, this interpretation operates within a sacramentalframework not present in Johns epistle. The letter consistently highlights the contrastbetween eternal life and spiritual death, rather than a system of confession andabsolution. Moreover, Johns text appears concerned not with a single sinful act but witha settled spiritual condition, which transcends the rubric of mortal sin.Transition: While the mortal sin view underscores sins severity, another view interprets Johnswarning in terms of physical consequences.2. Physical Death or Divine DisciplineSome scholars, including Augustine and modern interpreters such as John Stott, suggest that thephrase sin unto death refers to physical death as a form of divine discipline. Examples citedinclude Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) or the Corinthians who died because they partook ofthe Lords Supper unworthily (1 Cor. 11:30). Strengths:This view rightly acknowledges that God disciplines His people and that sin can havetangible, temporal consequences. It takes Johns pastoral concern seriously to warnbelievers of the real-world effects of sin. Weaknesses:However, this view overlooks the eternal dimension emphasized throughout 1 John.Life and death in the letter refer primarily to spiritual and eternal realities, not merelyphysical outcomes (1 John 3:14; 5:1112). Reducing the sin unto death to physicalconsequence diminishes the gravity of Johns warning. Additionally, the instruction I donot say that he should pray for that loses clarity if the matter is simply temporaldiscipline, as prayer is precisely the avenue for restoration (cf. James 5:16-20).Transition: Beyond physical consequences, some interpreters connect Johns teaching to theunforgivable sin described by Christ.3. Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit ViewAnother interpretation aligns the sin leading to death with Jesus warning about blasphemyagainst the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:3132). Here, the sin represents a persistent, knowing rejectionof the Spirits testimony about Christ, ultimately leading to death because it rejects the onlysource of spiritual life. Strengths:This view correctly identifies the sin as deliberate, conscious unbelief. It aligns withpassages like Hebrews 6:46 and 10:2627, highlighting a hardened heart that has tastedthe truth but now resists it. The eternal consequence of life versus death is preserved. Weaknesses:Nevertheless, this interpretation imports language and historical context from the Gospelsthat may not fully apply to Johns pastoral audienceprofessing Christians in AsiaMinor rather than hardened Jewish leaders. John never explicitly uses the termblasphemy against the Spirit in his epistle. While related in theme, it may not preciselydescribe the spiritual dynamics in 1 John.Transition: Another lens, particularly favored by Reformed commentators, focuses on theapostasy of false teachers in Johns audience.4. The Apostasy ViewThis view interprets the sin leading to death as the total apostasy of those who once professedfaith but have departed from Christ. It is the persistent, deliberate rejection of the Son of Godafter exposure to the truth. Prominent advocates include John Calvin, John Owen, and manyReformed theologians. Strengths:This interpretation closely follows Johns logic and pastoral intent. Throughout theepistle, John distinguishes between those who are truly of God and those who are not(2:19; 5:19). The sin leading to death is thus not an ordinary failure but evidence ofunregenerate hearts. It explains Johns instructions to pray for believers who commit sinsnot leading to death, while withholding prayer for those who are apostates. The viewpreserves the believers assurance while soberly warning against counterfeit profession. Weaknesses:Critics may argue that this view seems to close the door on repentance for individualswho have fallen outwardly. However, Johns caution is specific: it addresses those whoserejection is final and settled, not every case of backsliding. Pastoral sensitivity isrequired, but the view remains consistent with Scripture and Johannine theology.Transition: After considering all these views, we must ask: Which interpretation best fits Johnsgrammar, theology, and pastoral purpose?1 John. Grammatically, Johns phrase sin leading to death than an isolated act. Contextually, John distinguishes between those who are of God and thosewho are of the world (5:19). The sin unto death, therefore, identifies those who permanentlyWhy the Apostasy View is ValidThe apostasy view offers the most compelling account for both the grammar and the theology ofconveys a settled trajectory ratherturn from Christ, showing they never truly belonged to Him. The believer may stumble, but theapostate abandons the faith altogether (2:19).Theologically, this interpretation aligns with the Reformed doctrine of perseverance and finalapostasy. Calvin, Owen, and later Reformed theologians understood Johns warning as referringto those who, having once professed the faith, now renounce the gospel. Their sin is unto deathbecause they reject the only means of lifeunion with the Son. D. A. Carson observes,Apostasy is not merely moral failure; it is theological rebellionthe willful refusal to remain inChrist.⁰ This reading aligns with Hebrews 6 and 10, and with John 15, where branches that donot abide in the vine are cast forth and burned. Thus, the apostasy view safeguards bothbeliever assurance and Gods holiness, showing that genuine faith endures, while counterfeitfaith inevitably perishes.ApplicationIn summary, John distinguishes sins not by severity but by the hearts response to Christ. The sinthat does not lead to death applies to genuine believers, whose repentance and faith in Christpreserve them. The sin leading to death exposes false profession, whose persistent rejection ofChrist results in eternal separation. As we wrestle with these truths, let us remember the promiseof assurance: There is no comfort in the world comparable to the comfortable knowledge thatwe are accepted in the Beloved and that our salvation is secured in Christ. Richard Sibbes.Beloved, let this assurance anchor your heart as you face doubts, struggles, and the persistentreality of sin. Rest in the finished work of Christ, intercede for your brothers and sisters, andrejoice in the eternal life you possess.ENDNOTES John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, ed. W. R. Owens (London: PenguinClassics, 1987). John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (Peabody, MA:Hendrickson Publishers, 2008). Tertullian, On Repentance, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, ed. Alexander Roberts and JamesDonaldson (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885).⁴ Origen, Commentary on the First Epistle of John, trans. Ronald E. Heine (Washington, D.C.:Catholic University of America Press, 1989).⁵ John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistles of John, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, FirstSeries, Vol. 14, ed. Philip Schaff (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994).⁶ Augustine of Hippo, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,First Series, Vol. 7, ed. Philip Schaff (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994).⁷ John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (Peabody, MA:Hendrickson Publishers, 2008).⁸ John Owen, The Doctrine of Apostasy (London: John Rothwell, 1657).⁹ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: An Exposition of the Psalms, Vol. 2(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988).⁰ D. A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2000), 74. Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, in The Works of Richard Sibbes, Vol. 1, ed. Alexander B.Grosart (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2001).

The Role of Women in Church?

1 Cor. 14

Our tough text this evening is 1 Cor. 14:33b-35 which says, As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

Why is this a tough text? Well, it certainly seems obvious why this passage is among the list of tough texts. What Paul says here has not only been called hateful toward women, it is directly at odds with much of our current cultural climatethat seems ever bent on not just blurring but dismissing gender definitions and roles. Our cultures insistence on this is so strong that it has many within the Church confused, such that many Christians at best have trouble knowing what to do with passages like this, and at worst many Christians no longer hold to traditional gender role distinctions.

While we could, from this point, launch out into an entire evening on gender, the Church, and the Churchs role in the world, we wont. Rather, our focus tonight will be narrower, aiming more at what I think is the heart of the matter, the role of women in the Church. I want to focus on this because ones view on women in the Church is something of an orienting position. Meaning, where you land on this issue will by and large determine where you land on many other issues regarding gender. I also want to begin here because most of the modern gender debate begins right here with women. And Im convinced that if we begin on the right track, well stay on that track. So lets dig in.

The Reformed tradition, rooted in the Protestant Reformation, has long wrestled with the practical application of biblical principles regarding gender roles within the church. While all branches of the Reformed faith affirm the spiritual equality of men and women as co-heirs of Gods grace and view both male and female as co-image bearers, the interpretation of specific NT passages concerning church leadership and public teaching has caused much debate. This discussion is not merely academic; it shapes the structure, ministry, and daily life of many churches around the world.

The views on the role of women in the Church are most often understood in two major positions, complementarianism and egalitarianism. While the majority of believers fall in either of those camps, two more positions have emerged in our day that we need to discuss as well, soft-complementarianism and patriarchalism. Tonight Ill speak on all four of these positions. Of course I wont be able to say everything needed in our time, but it will serve as an introduction to the positions. Well begin with the major two positions, then moving on to visit the two smaller positions.

Complementarianism

If complementarianism were to have a motto, it would be this, equal in worth, distinct in function. Complementarianism is the dominant position within many conservative denominations. The core tenet of this view is that men and women are equal in essence, worth, and dignity, but God has designed them for different, complementary roles in the home and the church.

Scriptural Foundation

Where do they get this view? Complementarians base their position on two primary themes within Scripture: the created order and explicit NT patterns.

The Created Order: the narrative of creation in Genesis 2 is interpreted as establishing a pattern of headship. The man was created first, and the woman was created as a helper, a term understood to teach us that the woman was made to be a necessary and powerful partner to the man, but made to have a distinct role from the mans. The fall of man in Genesis 3 is seen as a distortion of this original, good order, not where the origin of the order itself. Before the fall we see harmony. Adam leading, Eve submitting as helper, and all is well. After the fall we see tension. God speaks to this in Genesis 3:16 saying the womans desire will be against her husband, but nonetheless he would rule over her. Thus, in the complementarian view, this created order in Genesis 1-2 stands till the end of the world.

New Testament Patterns: Pauls letters are considered the clearest articulation of the gender role restriction. The key texts are: 1 Timothy 2:11-14, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Here there is evidence of Paul grounding his words in the creation order (Adam first, then Eve) and the fall, rather than in the cultural context of Timothys church in Ephesus. Similarly, 1 Corinthians 14:34 which states that women should keep silent in the churches, is seen, not as a blanket statement regarding women and any speech coming from them, but rather as reinforcing the principle that women should not take on the authoritative public teaching role of the church.

How is a complementarian view applied in the Church? The practical application of complementarianism centers on the ordained offices of the church of elder and deacon. While women are not restricted from the office of deacon because it is an office of service, women are restricted from holding the office of elder and pastor, because this is the office of teaching, of rule, and authority over the congregation. However, this is not a call or command for the marginalization of women. Complementarians strongly emphasize the positive and essential roles women are called to fill, which are seen as equally valuable and vital to the church's health. In a complementarian church, every role and office within that church is seen as open and available to women, except the role of elder.

Egalitarianism

If egalitarianism were to have a motto it would be, full equality in all roles. Egalitarianism, while a minority position in most conservative churches, is a robust and growing view within mainstream evangelical churches as well as liberal churches. This position teaches that gender is irrelevant to a qualifications for any ministry role, including the office of elder and pastor.

Scriptural Foundation

Where do they get this view? Egalitarians argue that the overarching narrative of Scripture, particularly the redemptive work of Christ, supersedes any perceived gender restrictions.

They highlight Galatians 3:28 which says, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Egalitarians teach that this verse ought to be interpreted as the definitive statement on the new order in Christ, which abolishes all distinctions within the Church, including those based on gender, making all roles within the Church equally eligible for both men and women.

They also point to the examples of women in ministry found in the NT. Phoebe, who is described as a diakonos (deacon or minister) of the church in Cenchreae in Romans 16:1. They believe Junia is called an apostle in Romans 16:7. They point to Priscilla and Aquila who instructed Apollos in the way of God in Acts 18:26, demonstrating an authoritative teaching role. They point to the promise of prophecy in Joel 2:28 which says, Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and then are eager to point out that Phillips daughters prophesied in Acts 21.

What do they do about the hard texts in 1 Tim. 2 and 1 Cor. 14? According to them, they do not ignore the restrictive passages but offer alternative interpretations that harmonize them with the rest of Scripture. For 1 Tim. 2 they say the restriction is contextual, addressing a local problem in Ephesus, such as women teaching heresy or usurping authority, or even just being disruptive in nature. For 1 Cor. 14 they say the passage is seen as addressing disorder in worship, disruptive questioning or cultural customs, rather than prescribing a blanket ban on all public speech from women. Some more critical egalitarian scholars also argue these passages werent written by Paul at all.

So in an egalitarian church it is often the case that youll not only find women in authoritative leadership over the church, and in teaching positions within the church, but youll find women pastors in the church as well.

So what have we seen so far? While the complementarian positions holds to equality in worth and a distinction in roles, the egalitarian position holds to equality in worth as well as gender roles being interchangeable between male and female. Now that these majority positions have been covered in some detail, lets move onto to the minority positions.

Soft Complementarianism

This position, often found in the more progressive wings of complementarian churches and does have some overlap with complementarianism. This position maintains the gender restriction only for the ordained teaching role in the lead pastor. But apart from that role, these churches seek to maximize the role of women in all other areas.

A soft complementarian church will often allow women to teach mixed gender adult groups in Sunday school, various Bible studies, and on Sunday mornings as long as the woman teaching states she is not exercising final, authoritative, pulpit-level teaching and that she is remaining under the ultimate authority of the male eldership. It will often emphasize the spiritual gifts of women and hire non-ordained leadership roles to utilize those gifts fully, usually going by other labels as opposed to the traditional ones, like ministry director and the like, instead of pastor.

Patriarchalism

This position, often found in the far right wings of complementarian churches is the most restrictive position well cover tonight. Sometimes referred to as Gospel Patriarchy, this view does have some overlap with complementarianism. But it puts forward a system that emphasizes the comprehensive nature of male headship, that extends far beyond the ordained offices of the church. While complementarianism primarily focuses on the principle of male headship for the office of elder and pastor, patriarchalism applies the principle of male headship to all spheres of life, particularly in the family and in the public square.

Because male headship is applied to all spheres of life, the role of women is generally restricted to just the home. This often leads to a strong discouragement of women pursuing careers outside the home, so that a wife can focus on her family. In the church this translates to a firm opposition to women teaching mixed adult groups, even in non-ordained capacities, and a general emphasis on female silence and visible submission in the form of a head covering in worship.

Those then, are the four main positions on the role of women within the Church.

Conclusion

This debate is a complex and highly charged discussion, driven by not only different approaches to Scripture, but different political views as well.

To me, there is only one faithful option in this list, and that is the position of complementarianism. Here are a few reasons why I think this.

I think the egalitarian position is unbiblical. Its fueled by liberal theology and modern gender agendas within liberal politics. Yes we affirm Gal. 3:28, that in Christ there is no male or female. But we must see that verse in the context of Pauls letter to the Galatians rather than a blanket description about gender. In context then, Pauls point is that both men and women are held prisoners under the law (3:23), both are justified by faith (3:24), both are set free from the bonds of the law (3:25), both are sons of God in Christ (3:26), both are clothed in Christ (3:27), and both belong to Christ as heirs according to the promise (3:29). Pauls point is not that maleness and femaleness are abolished in Christ, but that sexual difference neither moves one closer to God nor makes one farther from Him.

As for soft complementarianism, I also think it is unbiblical. Because it only seeks to apply the gender restriction to the office of the senior pastor. While not as far left as the egalitarian view, soft complementarianism is too far left from the Bibles view on these things. Which, seems to give the impression to me that it is a sort of half compromise with modern cultural thought.

And as for patriarchalism, I think this too is unbiblical. Because the whole position, to me, seems to be rooted not in the Bible but in a far right response to the egalitarianism of the liberals as well as the soft complementarianism of mainstream evangelicalism.

Now, be sure to hear me. Im not trying to be center on this issue, as if I believe being right or left are both bad. Being center is not my aim here. I want to be biblical. Thats my only concern. I do think complementarianism is the most biblical option on this topic, and that the others are merely a reaction or overreaction to it. I am a complementarian because[1]

I believe the issue is about created order not accommodating culture or reacting to culture.

I believe the issue is about function and role, not simply ordination.

I believe the issue comes down to this: the complementarian cause would be far more successful in the family and the church today, not if women sit down, but if men actually stood up.

[1] Kevin DeYoung, 9Marks of Healthy Biblical Complementarinism, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/9-marks-of-healthy-biblical-complementarianism/