notes

Disclaimer

This page was automatically converted from a module that was shared prior to the release of Published Pages. Additionally, the arc below was auto-converted from the arc created by the author (which used the old module), and so it is possible there are misplaced logical relationships.

notes 1452680587938 Disclaimer This page was automatically converted from a module that was shared prior to the release of Published Pages. Additionally, the arc below was auto-converted from the arc created by the author (which used the old module), and so it is possible there are misplaced logical relationships.

Notes

2012-01-24 08:52:06

2012-02-04 12:47:25

Central Idea : Knowing that we are God's children, fully justified and transformed, we are to work by God's desire and strength to increase His glory, pointing to Him through a radically different life that shines in a twisted and perverse culture. Summary: Because of the fact that everyone will someday bow the knee to Christ (vv. 2:1–11), we should work hard to show the results of our salvation. Christ, in a one-time event, has justified us by penal substitutionary atonement. Now, because of the perfection that the Father sees us with, we get to enjoy the work of increasing the glory of God. This is not to get more love from the Father, but we already perfectly and completely draw from His infinite oceans of grace of love. It is rather to show how fully Christ has saved us. And He is for us, giving us the desire and strength to please Him. That is our identity. Because of that identity, we are to live a radically different life in the midst of our twisted and perverse culture. Christianity does not escape the world, but redeems it. We are God's children, and we are on proactive rescue mission with Him, a mission to make disciples, knowing our identity and innocence by His grace. Grumbling and complaining destroys the rescue team, and reveals idolatry in our hearts that indicates Christ is not the center, He is not our Lord. Notes: Charge : "work out your faith with fear and trembling" (v. 12d). Why? Because it is God who is working in us to give us two things: The desire to please Him The strength to please Him There are only two religions: Salvation is a reward for your hard work Salvation is the result of someone else's work, we are rescued — this is good news! You can't work on your salvation or for your salvation, work out your salvation. "Therefore" in verse 12: connecting this charge back to 2:1–11, in light of everyone someday bowing their knee to Christ, work out your salvation. Jesus is Lord, so everything needs to change in light of that. God cares about obedience with right motive — driven by a passionate love. Delight, but not duty; a recognition of what Christ has done. You cannot see a forgiven person whose life is not changed. We have issues with grace. We want to think that we've earned our salvation. But by working out our salvation, we are working out our rescue. We are already rescued from the sea, sitting on the deck of the rescue boat, looking at the water we were pulled from that we threw ourselves into, feeling the strong hands of the rescuer. We can't earn our rescue, it's already ours. The promise (v. 13): God is working in us. Many people are just living the v. 12 life: work out your salvation, like it depends on you. Breeds self-righteousness. Others are just living the v. 13 life: let God handle it all, I can just kick back and relax. This breeds laziness. What is salvation? Justification : a one time event where God captures our heart and rescues us from condemnation. From that moment on He sees us in the perfection of Christ: just as if we've never sinner and just as if we've always obeyed. This is entirely God's work (Eph. 2:8–9) Sanctification : Process of working out our justification. God is still doing the work, but we are also doing our part. Our sole drive and motive and aim is to increase God's glory. There is nothing we can do to increase or decrease God's love, just like adding or subtracting anything from infinity still results in infinity. We work to show the results of justification, but God gives us the power and desire to do it (v. 13). We should avoid the error of basing our justification on our sanctification. We get out of justification and sanctification what God puts in. "Work out what God works in" A secret to growth: God is for you! God is at work in us: Giving us the will and desire to follow Giving us the power to follow "Grace is opposed to merit, but not effort." Two truths that ignite revival: justification (we are saved!) and sanctification (God is for us!) Charge : "Do all things without grumbling or questioning" (v. 14) Purpose? So that we can be blameless and innocent This is huge, that grumbling and questioning would prevent us from being blameless and innocent. Grumbling and questioning just seem like such small things, yet we should strive for their absence in order to be blameless and innocent, to be "children of God without blemish". We should not grumbling and question for the purpose of: Being blameless Being innocent Being children of God Being a light shining in a crooked and twisted generation The manner by which we shine as a light in the world is "by holding fast to the word of life" (v. 16a). "Word" is the Greek Logos, the same Word that John uses to describe Christ in John 1. "Life" if the Greek "Zoe", the spiritual life. Thayer and Smith's Greek Lexicon offer more insight into the implications of Zoe: of the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic "logos" and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever. So we could rephrase "holding fast to the word of life" as "holding fast to Christ, who models and supplies all fullness of a spiritual life devoted to and blessed by God". The Geneva Study Bible further defines "the word of life": "The Gospel is called the word of life, because of the effects which it produces" While grumbling and complaining may seem like minor offences, the full explanation of its implications implies something much deeper brewing in our hearts. Grumbling and complaining come from a heart of discontentment. A heart whose idols are threatened. We do not trust that those circumstances which threaten our idols are the best things that Christ gives us in the moment. In that moment, we orbit around our idols, not Christ. And since Christ is not our sun, we are with stain, with blemish, rebelling against our Father like the prodigal son, and covering our light by blending in with a crooked and perverse generation. Is the church playing offense or defense? More on vv. 14–18: Reminder of Identity : "children of God". We are on mission with our dad. A missionary is a disciple: someone who follows Jesus and joins Him on His mission. Healthy disciples reproduce. If we understand our sin and God's holiness, and that God has called us to be His children, we will reproduce. If we are focusing on reproducing because of what Christ has done in us, then we the church needs to have an offensive personality. We are going out and proactively making disciples, not shrinking back and playing defense. Reminder of Context : "in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation" Cities are strategic Christianity is outside the confines of culture. We live in the midst of culture, but we live a radically different life than culture thinks we should. The church in Silicon Valley has been playing defense. What's the solution? Christ working through us: we are the lights shining in the world (v. 15), holding fast to Him (v. 16), which is the only way this will happen. Reminder of Mission : Church is a network of relationships on a mission. Our mission: "Making disciples to impact the city for Jesus", or "We save lives". We need to have an offensive strategy. Our mission is either impossible, difficult, or done. We know it isn't impossible because we see people come to know the Lord, we also know that it isn't done. So it's in the stage of difficult. But we serve a completely powerful and loving God whose mission is to bring people back to Himself. He has way more resources and power than we'll ever be able to comprehend. It's amazing to go on mission with the Creator. "Be a theromstat, not a thermometer." Set the culture, don't reflect it. Grumbling destroys the mission. It reveals a lack of understanding of our identity, and makes us blend in with the world around us. Our world grumbles, but we live radically different lives in the midst of culture because we are God's children and we have a mission to bring others to Him. Questions: Why is that the knowledge of God working in us to please Him should spur us on to "work out our faith with fear and trembling"? What does it mean to "hold fast to the word of life?" What work do you want God to do in your heart this year? I'm still unsure about how vv. 17–18 fit in with this passage.

10000000102344 102344 Notes 2012-01-24 08:52:06 2012-02-04 12:47:25 Central Idea : Knowing that we are God's children, fully justified and transformed, we are to work by God's desire and strength to increase His glory, pointing to Him through a radically different life that shines in a twisted and perverse culture. Summary: Because of the fact that everyone will someday bow the knee to Christ (vv. 2:1–11), we should work hard to show the results of our salvation. Christ, in a one-time event, has justified us by penal substitutionary atonement. Now, because of the perfection that the Father sees us with, we get to enjoy the work of increasing the glory of God. This is not to get more love from the Father, but we already perfectly and completely draw from His infinite oceans of grace of love. It is rather to show how fully Christ has saved us. And He is for us, giving us the desire and strength to please Him. That is our identity. Because of that identity, we are to live a radically different life in the midst of our twisted and perverse culture. Christianity does not escape the world, but redeems it. We are God's children, and we are on proactive rescue mission with Him, a mission to make disciples, knowing our identity and innocence by His grace. Grumbling and complaining destroys the rescue team, and reveals idolatry in our hearts that indicates Christ is not the center, He is not our Lord. Notes: Charge : "work out your faith with fear and trembling" (v. 12d). Why? Because it is God who is working in us to give us two things: The desire to please Him The strength to please Him There are only two religions: Salvation is a reward for your hard work Salvation is the result of someone else's work, we are rescued — this is good news! You can't work on your salvation or for your salvation, work out your salvation. "Therefore" in verse 12: connecting this charge back to 2:1–11, in light of everyone someday bowing their knee to Christ, work out your salvation. Jesus is Lord, so everything needs to change in light of that. God cares about obedience with right motive — driven by a passionate love. Delight, but not duty; a recognition of what Christ has done. You cannot see a forgiven person whose life is not changed. We have issues with grace. We want to think that we've earned our salvation. But by working out our salvation, we are working out our rescue. We are already rescued from the sea, sitting on the deck of the rescue boat, looking at the water we were pulled from that we threw ourselves into, feeling the strong hands of the rescuer. We can't earn our rescue, it's already ours. The promise (v. 13): God is working in us. Many people are just living the v. 12 life: work out your salvation, like it depends on you. Breeds self-righteousness. Others are just living the v. 13 life: let God handle it all, I can just kick back and relax. This breeds laziness. What is salvation? Justification : a one time event where God captures our heart and rescues us from condemnation. From that moment on He sees us in the perfection of Christ: just as if we've never sinner and just as if we've always obeyed. This is entirely God's work (Eph. 2:8–9) Sanctification : Process of working out our justification. God is still doing the work, but we are also doing our part. Our sole drive and motive and aim is to increase God's glory. There is nothing we can do to increase or decrease God's love, just like adding or subtracting anything from infinity still results in infinity. We work to show the results of justification, but God gives us the power and desire to do it (v. 13). We should avoid the error of basing our justification on our sanctification. We get out of justification and sanctification what God puts in. "Work out what God works in" A secret to growth: God is for you! God is at work in us: Giving us the will and desire to follow Giving us the power to follow "Grace is opposed to merit, but not effort." Two truths that ignite revival: justification (we are saved!) and sanctification (God is for us!) Charge : "Do all things without grumbling or questioning" (v. 14) Purpose? So that we can be blameless and innocent This is huge, that grumbling and questioning would prevent us from being blameless and innocent. Grumbling and questioning just seem like such small things, yet we should strive for their absence in order to be blameless and innocent, to be "children of God without blemish". We should not grumbling and question for the purpose of: Being blameless Being innocent Being children of God Being a light shining in a crooked and twisted generation The manner by which we shine as a light in the world is "by holding fast to the word of life" (v. 16a). "Word" is the Greek Logos, the same Word that John uses to describe Christ in John 1. "Life" if the Greek "Zoe", the spiritual life. Thayer and Smith's Greek Lexicon offer more insight into the implications of Zoe: of the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic "logos" and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever. So we could rephrase "holding fast to the word of life" as "holding fast to Christ, who models and supplies all fullness of a spiritual life devoted to and blessed by God". The Geneva Study Bible further defines "the word of life": "The Gospel is called the word of life, because of the effects which it produces" While grumbling and complaining may seem like minor offences, the full explanation of its implications implies something much deeper brewing in our hearts. Grumbling and complaining come from a heart of discontentment. A heart whose idols are threatened. We do not trust that those circumstances which threaten our idols are the best things that Christ gives us in the moment. In that moment, we orbit around our idols, not Christ. And since Christ is not our sun, we are with stain, with blemish, rebelling against our Father like the prodigal son, and covering our light by blending in with a crooked and perverse generation. Is the church playing offense or defense? More on vv. 14–18: Reminder of Identity : "children of God". We are on mission with our dad. A missionary is a disciple: someone who follows Jesus and joins Him on His mission. Healthy disciples reproduce. If we understand our sin and God's holiness, and that God has called us to be His children, we will reproduce. If we are focusing on reproducing because of what Christ has done in us, then we the church needs to have an offensive personality. We are going out and proactively making disciples, not shrinking back and playing defense. Reminder of Context : "in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation" Cities are strategic Christianity is outside the confines of culture. We live in the midst of culture, but we live a radically different life than culture thinks we should. The church in Silicon Valley has been playing defense. What's the solution? Christ working through us: we are the lights shining in the world (v. 15), holding fast to Him (v. 16), which is the only way this will happen. Reminder of Mission : Church is a network of relationships on a mission. Our mission: "Making disciples to impact the city for Jesus", or "We save lives". We need to have an offensive strategy. Our mission is either impossible, difficult, or done. We know it isn't impossible because we see people come to know the Lord, we also know that it isn't done. So it's in the stage of difficult. But we serve a completely powerful and loving God whose mission is to bring people back to Himself. He has way more resources and power than we'll ever be able to comprehend. It's amazing to go on mission with the Creator. "Be a theromstat, not a thermometer." Set the culture, don't reflect it. Grumbling destroys the mission. It reveals a lack of understanding of our identity, and makes us blend in with the world around us. Our world grumbles, but we live radically different lives in the midst of culture because we are God's children and we have a mission to bring others to Him. Questions: Why is that the knowledge of God working in us to please Him should spur us on to "work out our faith with fear and trembling"? What does it mean to "hold fast to the word of life?" What work do you want God to do in your heart this year? I'm still unsure about how vv. 17–18 fit in with this passage. notes

Arc

2012-01-24 08:52:06

2012-02-04 12:47:25

editing

Philippians

Philippians 2:12-18

NT

esv

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,

so now, not only as in my presence

but much more in my absence,

negativepositive

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

temporal

comparison

for it is God who works in you,

both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

actionpurpose

ground

[Therefore] Do all things without grumbling or questioning,

that you may be blameless and innocent,

children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation,

[where] 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.

situationresponse

Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

ideaexplanation

actionmanner

locative

inference

discourse

10000000102344 102344 Arc 2012-01-24 08:52:06 2012-02-04 12:47:25 editing Philippians 2 12 2 18 Philippians 2:12-18 50 NT esv i621402 i621403 i621404 i621387 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, i621405 i621406 i621388 so now, not only as in my presence i621389 but much more in my absence, negativepositive 2 i621390 work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, temporal 1 1 comparison 1 1 i621407 i621391 for it is God who works in you, i621392 both to will and to work for his good pleasure. actionpurpose 2 ground 1 i621408 i621393 [Therefore] Do all things without grumbling or questioning, i621409 i621394 that you may be blameless and innocent, i621410 i621395 children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, i621411 i621396 [where] you shine as lights in the world, i621412 i621397 holding fast to the word of life, i621413 i621398 so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. i621414 i621415 i621399 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, i621400 I am glad and rejoice with you all. situationresponse 2 i621401 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. comparison 1 1 ideaexplanation 1 actionpurpose 2 actionmanner 1 locative 1 ideaexplanation 1 actionpurpose 2 inference 2 1 1 1 esv 25 a 50 discourse