THE TRUTH REAL CHANGE FEBRUARY 8, 2015
HOW DO I LIVE THE TRUTH? PHILIPPIANS 2:12-18 FEBRUARY 8, 2015 TEACHING PLAN PREPARATION > Spend the week reading through and studying Philippians 2:12-18. Consult the commentary provided and any additional study tools (such as a concordance or Bible dictionary) to enhance your preparation. > Determine which discussion points and questions will work best with your group. > Pray for our pastors, the upcoming group meeting, your teaching, your group members, and their receptivity to the study. HIGHLIGHTS BIBLICAL EMPHASIS: Paul encouraged the Philippian Christians to make their salvation evident in their daily living (2:12-13). With lifestyles that contrasted sharply to people around them, they were to serve as shining examples of Christianity (2:14-16). Paul gave himself as an example of selfless, sacrificial service for Christ. He humbly indicated he had Christ s attitude, for he was willing to offer himself to the fullest extent in service for Christ. TEACHING AIM: As a result of today s study, you will learn that living the truth includes 1) obedience (Phil. 2:12-13); 2) attitude (Phil. 2:14-16); and 3) sacrifice (Phil. 2:17-18). 2 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. 1 What is the best job you ve ever had, and why did you love it? 2 On the other hand, who has a story about a terrible job experience? What made it so bad? 3 No matter what your profession is, your primary responsibility as a follower of Jesus is to live a life of obedience to God that helps people see Jesus. Take a few minutes to come up with a list of some of the obstacles (i.e. stress, busyness, clashing personalities) that makes this hard to do in your dayto-day life. People may disagree with our faith, but they cannot argue with a life that has been changed by the Truth. Ministry comes before the message. When we pour out our lives in sacrificial obedience to God it communicates a strong apologetic to our world. Sure, there s a time for logical arguments, but the outpouring of the gospel through our lives is a very compelling argument to believe in the life-changing power of Jesus. UNDERSTANDING Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic. > Have a volunteer read Philippians 2:12-13. How do we live obediently to God, according to Paul in this verse? 3 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
What negative impact could Paul s absence have had on the church s obedience and continued growth? What positive impact did Paul hope it had? Immediately following his instruction on imitating Christ s humility and service (2:5-11), Paul called for the Philippian Christians continued obedience to God, even without him in their midst. It would have been easy for the church in Philippi to become dependent on Paul s leadership and teaching, to the point that his absence not to mention his possible death would threaten their spiritual growth. To prohibit this, Paul encouraged them to continue to invest in their relationship with God. What are we saved for? What is the evidence of the change God s power makes in our lives? Paul was not teaching that believers can accomplish sanctification through their own efforts alone, for God is working in them for His good purpose. Believers pursue God s will and the promotion of the spiritual life in themselves as God empowers their activity. Paul didn t advocate passivity in the Christian life, in which believers do nothing and God does everything for them. Rather, God works in believers and believers actively work. God doesn t work in us because we have worked. Just the opposite is true. Because God works, we therefore work. Read Philippians 2:12 again. When you think about your relationship with God, what produces an attitude of fear and trembling in you? Why are these characteristics essential to spiritual growth? When we reflect on the truths of Scripture the gospel, our dependency on God, the Holy Spirit s presence and power in our lives, etc. a natural response is awe, or fear, which leads to worship. Such an attitude increases our desire to pursue Christ and grow in Him. 4 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
How are we able to work out our salvation according to verse 13? What is particularly encouraging about this verse? Verse 13 gives us the how of verse 12. God is the One who is inspiring us to accomplish His will. God s work in us provides both the motivation and the ability to accomplish His will. We should never forget that God is directing our lives as well as the life of His church to bring about His desired purpose. However, He does desire and expect our cooperation in this endeavor. We can cooperate with Him in any number of ways, but the way emphasized in this lesson is very important. We can cooperate with God in bringing about His will by faithfully living the Christian life, being shining examples of His love as we ll see in the next set of verses. What is your responsibility and what is God s responsibility for achieving His good purpose? What are some reasons that believers might fail to grow spiritually? For Paul, sanctification was working out what God was working within. That is, sanctification is a combination of human effort and divine activity. Throughout his writings, but especially in the passage under examination, Paul linked human striving with God s power in the pursuit of spiritual maturity. He called believers to self-activity by virtue of God s powerful working in them. Paul instructed the Philippian church, that in his absence they must diligently work out their own salvation. Their obedience isn t to be understood in the sense of following rules but of being completely devoted to Christ. > Have another volunteer read Philippians 2:14-16. 5 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
Why are grumbling and arguing so harmful to the church and its witness to the world? What happens in a church when grumbling and disputing attitudes are prevalent? According to verse 15, what are better attitudes for us to demonstrate? Grumbling and questioning are qualities symptomatic of a faith that is defective. Paul was instructing his readers to live as God s children, and he specifically stated that this meant not grumbling or questioning. Instead, the Philippians were to do everything without exhibiting these qualities that undermined unity among God s people. So that we can present a vivid contrast to those who are not children of God, we are to refrain from complaining or arguing and should seek to be pure and blameless, people whose lives are above reproach. This does not mean that we are perfect, but rather that we are committed to becoming the people God wants us to be. What are specific ways we can shine like stars (v. 15)? Why is this a fitting image of living the Christian life? What should be our motive to be shining examples of Christian living? What is your motive? Pagans of the first century presented a distorted view of life as it should be lived. Paul desired believers to present a corrective to this twisted way of life. Christians were to shine forth as bright stars on a dark night to show the way of truth to their distorted generation. We shine as believers when our Christian lifestyle stands out as different from those of lost people around us. We not only must believe, but we also must behave in a way that the light of Christ shines brightly and steadily before others. 6 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
In verse 16, what does Paul reveal is the key to shining brightly for Christ in our world? What are some different ways we can cling to the gospel, the message of life? Holding firmly to the gospel (v. 16) is the key to shining brightly in our world. We are to be faithful to gospel truths and are to demonstrate the good news in our living. If Paul s friends held to and displayed the truths of the gospel, when Christ returned the apostle would have grounds for glorying. The Philippians would offer evidence that his ministry had been effective and had yielded positive results. He would not be disqualified as a runner in a race, and the results of his labor would not be rejected as worthless. Each person bears personal responsibility for sharing the light of the gospel with others. People genuinely committed to Jesus will show it by what they do and how they grow spiritually. > Have a final volunteer read Philippians 2:17-18. What do you understand Paul to be describing when he mentions being poured out as a drink offering? How did Paul s personal sacrifice relate to the Philippian believers? What do you think Paul sacrificed in order to minister to them? In what way did Paul model shining with the light of Christ in these verses? Paul s words indicate that he was aware of the very real possibility that he would suffer martyrdom for the cause of Christ. He referred to the possibility of such a death in sacrificial terms. Verse 17 presents the Philippians as the priests, their faith including their 7 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
support of Paul as the sacrifice, and Paul s blood as the accompanying drink offering. Thus Paul viewed the Philippians sacrifice as primary and his own sacrifice as secondary, even as the drink offering was secondary to the primary sacrifice upon which it was poured. He considered it a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ, in the same way Christ suffered on our behalf. APPLICATION Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives. 1 Paul challenged the Philippian Christians to live in a way that their faith in Jesus was evident to people who watched their lives. Can people say the same thing about you? Why or why not? 2 What step can you take this week to make your faith in Christ and the power of the gospel more evident to others? 3 In what ways are you consistently demonstrating your faith in (commitment to) Christ? P R A Y As you lead in a closing prayer, invite your group members to confess silently to God areas where they fall short in working out their salvation and shining for Him. 8 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
FOLLOW UP Midway through this week, send a follow-up email to your group with some or all of the following information: > Questions to consider as they continue to reflect on what they learned this week: What have you heard from God so far this week? What have you done with what you have heard? How have you been more aware of the spiritual growth happening in your life this week? What is one area relationships, finances, church engagement, etc. in which the Spirit has convicted you of your need to take a more active step toward spiritual transformation? > A note of encouragement, following up on any specific prayer requests mentioned during your group gathering. > The challenge to memorize Philippians 2:14-16. 9 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
COMMENTARY FEBRUARY 8, 2015 PHILIPPIANS 2:12-18 2:12. In light of Christ s superlative example of selfless service, Paul exhorted the Philippian believers to demonstrate their salvation in their daily lives. The Greek word rendered so then connects Paul s admonition with the preceding presentation of Christ as Christians Model of the mind-set or attitude they were to have. The phrase my dear friends literally is my beloved ones. It expressed Paul s warm affection for the Philippian Christians. Notes Obedience was an essential element in Christ s mind-set (see Phil. 2:8), and Paul acknowledged that his friends had obeyed God s message through him. They had always obeyed by accepting the gospel and living by its demands. If the phrase not only links grammatically to obeyed, then the meaning is that Paul wanted his friends to continue their obedience to God even though he was not present with them. If the phrase links to work out, the emphasis is that Paul urged them to go on demonstrating their salvation in their daily lives even more in his absence. The Philippian Christians were to work out [their] own salvation with fear and trembling. The Greek term rendered work out means practice. It can have the sense of completing or finishing something. Believers cannot work to gain or retain salvation. Rather, they are to give evidence of their salvation in their daily living. The phrase your own probably refers to each individual s experience of redemption. If individual church members are putting their redemption into practice and thus moving it toward fulfillment, the church as a whole will be doing so. The phrase with fear and trembling conveys the idea of a reverent caution that does not rely on self but realizes the need for God s help. The attitude of fear and trembling is the polar opposite of arrogance and pride. 2:13. Paul reminded his friends that they were not left to their own inadequate resources in demonstrating their salvation. God was present to work in each of them and in the church collectively to motivate them (produce the desire or will) and to enable them to work out (literally, work ). The Greek term translated working and to work out gives us our word energize 10 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
COMMENTARY FEBRUARY 8, 2015 and has the sense of efficient energy or power. God in believers enabled them to work effectively on behalf of (for) His redemptive purpose. God s purpose is that people experience salvation from sin and grow toward spiritual maturity. As the Philippian Christians lived out their salvation, God continually worked in them to ignite the determination (or choice) to further His redemptive purpose and to enable them to follow through. Notes: 2:14. Having Christ s mind-set and demonstrating it in the church s fellowship would preclude grumbling (expressing indignant complaints, whispering secretly) and arguing (disputing, wrangling). The Greek word translated arguing can have the sense of questioning or doubting. One approach is to see grumbling as private complaints and arguing as public disputes. Both terms indicated self-assertiveness, which was the opposite attitude of self-giving that Christ modeled. 2:15. Dispensing with grumbling and arguing would enable the Philippian Christians to show themselves blameless (without defect, beyond reproach or criticism), pure (innocent concerning evil; sincere in motives), and faultless (spotless in God s sight). Paul piled up terms to emphasize the character believers were to have as children of God members of His family by grace through faith. The Philippian Christians lived in a crooked (wicked, unscrupulous) and perverted (twisted, distorted) generation. The word generation referred to the believers hostile, pagan environment. In the spiritual darkness of a sphere ruled by evil (the world), they shone like (or were seen as) stars. The light they gave came from Christ within them, the radiance of grace and love that could dispel the darkness of sin and ignorance. 2:16. Paul urged his friends to hold firmly to the message of life the gospel of Christ. The Greek term rendered hold firmly is in the present tense, meaning to go on holding. The verb can mean to hold fast to or to hold out (something) in the sense of displaying or presenting. Paul may have intended both shades of meaning: Believers were to be faithful to gospel truths and were to demonstrate the good news in their living. 11 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church
COMMENTARY FEBRUARY 8, 2015 If Paul s friends held to and displayed the truths of the gospel, when Christ returned the apostle would have grounds for glorying. The Philippians would offer evidence that his ministry had been effective and had yielded positive results. He would not be disqualified as a runner in a race, and the results of his labor would not be rejected as worthless. 2:17-18. Tactfully, Paul presented his attitude as modeled on Christ s mind-set of selfless service. He used an image from the Jewish sacrificial system. A drink offering, usually a cup of wine, was poured out on the altar in connection with the sacrifice. Evidently Paul considered the Philippian believers faith (or faithfulness) to be their sacrifice and service offered to God. Paul was willing to pour out his life to God on the Philippian Christians behalf as an act of worship. He willingly and gladly would give himself for others, following Christ s model of self-sacrifice. Four times in verses 17b-18, Paul used forms of the Greek term that means rejoice or rejoice with. He did not mean he was happy with his circumstances and thus his friends should be happy. Rather, they were to share his solid confidence that no matter what happened, he and they were held securely in God s grace. 12 Real Change Brentwood Baptist Church