Misquoting Philippians Pt. 2
In part one of our "Misquoting Philippians" series, we tackled Philippians 1:21. Part two concerns itself with Philippians 2:12-13, a confusing (and terrifying) passage, to say the least. This is one of those passages that often gets misquoted, mishandled, and misapplied. And I would attribute to context, that is, we have a difficult time grasping the text's context. So, let me give you some context.
Philippians 2:12-13 is just a small part of a large section in the letter that stretches from 1:27-2:18. In that section, Paul wants to get across one thing to the Philippian Christians–that their manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. What that looks like for Paul is unity, selflessness, humility, obedience, and righteousness. Put another way, Paul is concerned with the gospel implications for unity, selflessness, humility, obedience, and our position before God as justified sinners.
Those topics because they play an important role in what it means to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (v. 12). Each of these topics can stand alone as essential characteristics of the Christian life, but they need to be centered on what God accomplished for us in Christ. Otherwise, we can easily slip into legalism about those very things.
Unity
As we proceed to understand Philippians 2:12-13, we must take a closer look into Paul's first concern, which was unity. Any consideration of unity should begin with the acknowledgment that love is hard. Love is hard because, to quote C.S. Lewis:
"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable…The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell."
I think Lewis is right. When we love, we open ourselves to the possibility of painful heartbreak. And since unity necessitates love, and since we approach loving with a fair amount of reluctance in order to guard ourselves, unity becomes hard to achieve. Especially in the church. We, the church, say we love, but too often our actions betray our words.
This is particularly evident in our tribalism. We come across as accepting and open-handed, but we do tend toward gravitating to those who share the same age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and personality traits. I love how Anne Lamott put it, “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
That's putting it rather bluntly, but she's certainly on to something. The antidote to tribalism is love informed by the gospel. Why? Because gospel love integrates. It moves toward others in a grace soaked posture and disposition because it recognizes that everyone is broken and that God is a missionary God. He comes to the disenfranchised and marginalized and adopts them into his family.
I think most churches fail at unity. But as a quick aside, let me say this, there is a big difference between being welcoming, warm, and loving, and accepting others at their best and worst. We fail at unity, not only because we are tribal, but also because we forget we are all image bearers. Let me give you an example. Look at John 8:1-11:
They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
No name, just a status. Adulteress. Not a she, but an it. Not a person, but a thing. Not a woman, but a harlot. She’s an object, not an image bearer. If we are going to have unity in the church, we must recognize that all, saint and sinner alike, are image bearers. This is important because, as image bearers, everyone has a relationship with God. Either you are under law or under grace, “in Adam” or “in Christ.” What this tells us is that we are bound to God, and each other. I hope this changes how we approach unity because it has implications for our sanctification and growth in grace.
It’s not typical for us in the church to think of relational sanctification. I like to call it relational holiness. The biggest threat to relational holiness is disunity, and disunity affects sanctification. Relational harmony is the fertile soil in which relational holiness can grow. This is why, in Philippians 4:2, Paul asks Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord. It was their issues that divided the Philippian church. Agreement on the finer points of doctrine, while important, should take a back seat to looking out for the interest of others.
Paul says it himself, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others" (2:1-4).
Selflessness, humility, and obedience
If that wasn’t enough to get us to work toward unity, consider what Paul says next, "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 a 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 the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (2:5-11).
That should flat-out wreck us. Using Christ as an example, Paul is telling us that the pathway to unity is not self-preservation, but self-forgetfulness. It looks like Christ emptying himself, but not of any of his attributes. Christ emptied himself of the form of God to reveal God in the form of a servant and human being. So what Paul masterfully does is present Christ as an example of selflessness, humility, and obedience for the Philippians and us today to follow to achieve unity.
Essentially, Paul is saying, “Guys, strive to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Agree. Avoid self-ambition, and in humility look out for the interest of others because that’s what Jesus did.” Think about this for a moment. Paul is calling all his readers, then and now, to not only watch their heart, but also to be sure that actions follow their inner attitudes. Be selfless, be humble, be obedient, but make sure actions follow your feelings.
But we got to be careful here because we can easily slip into legalism. If we take Christ as just moral exemplar, then we miss what Paul is saying. Paul is grounding his command of having the same love and same mind in what God did for us in Christ. This is a command that comes from the gospel. The gospel reality has to come first, then the obedience should follow. The gospel produces obedience. All commands must be Christ-centered and our response to those commands gospel-driven.
So, Paul places the example of Christ before the divided Philippian church. He exhorts them to pursue selflessness, just as Jesus was selfless. They should pursue humility and the interests of others, just as Jesus refused to exploit the power that his equality with God gave to him and instead demonstrated his deity in the role of a servant. The Philippians should pursue obedience, just as Jesus was obedient to the point of death. Each exhortation, each command is delivered in light of Christ.
Our position in Christ has to precede our performance for Christ.
Reversing the order
This is why we misquote Philippians 2:12-13. We reverse that order. We live as though our performance precedes our position in Christ. This is why Christianity differs from all major religions. All major religions say, “Obey, therefore you’re accepted,” but Christianity says, “You’re accepted, therefore obey.” Reverse the order, and you lose the gospel. Reverse the order, and you lose Jesus.
But here is our problem, deep down inside we believe we can do it. We read, “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,” and say, “Challenge accepted, Paul.” We take “work out” to mean “work for.” That’s not gospel. So, we come to Philippians 2:12-13 and completely forget that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” We completely forget what Paul says in Philippians 3:
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing 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.
There it is, “the righteousness from God that depends on faith,” not works. We so desperately want our good works to define us and get us in God’s good graces. But we can’t. That’s why Paul follows up verse twelve with “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Essentially, Paul is saying, “Guys, you’re only working out what God is working in.” Isn’t that freeing to you? It is to me.
Let me be clear about something, I am not opposed to effort, I am opposed to earning. Paul wants us to make efforts toward obedience, but even our effort is accredited to God. God willed the works, he will work through us, and he will one day complete them. All God, from first to last. That’s gospel. Paul says, “obey,” but all we are doing is what God enables us to do. God provides both the will and ability to work out what he is working in.
I want offer a word of caution here. We need both verses, twelve and thirteen. Stress verse twelve and you end up a legalist. Stress verse thirteen and you end up lawless. You need both. And I am not talking about balance, these verses don’t teach that God meets us halfway. It’s all God, from beginning to end. He initiates and he sees things through to the end.
So, take a deep breath and rest. Deeds don’t determine your destiny. God is working. If he called you, he will complete you.
Look for Part 3 next week.
Philippians 2:12-13 is just a small part of a large section in the letter that stretches from 1:27-2:18. In that section, Paul wants to get across one thing to the Philippian Christians–that their manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. What that looks like for Paul is unity, selflessness, humility, obedience, and righteousness. Put another way, Paul is concerned with the gospel implications for unity, selflessness, humility, obedience, and our position before God as justified sinners.
Those topics because they play an important role in what it means to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (v. 12). Each of these topics can stand alone as essential characteristics of the Christian life, but they need to be centered on what God accomplished for us in Christ. Otherwise, we can easily slip into legalism about those very things.
Unity
As we proceed to understand Philippians 2:12-13, we must take a closer look into Paul's first concern, which was unity. Any consideration of unity should begin with the acknowledgment that love is hard. Love is hard because, to quote C.S. Lewis:
"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable…The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell."
I think Lewis is right. When we love, we open ourselves to the possibility of painful heartbreak. And since unity necessitates love, and since we approach loving with a fair amount of reluctance in order to guard ourselves, unity becomes hard to achieve. Especially in the church. We, the church, say we love, but too often our actions betray our words.
This is particularly evident in our tribalism. We come across as accepting and open-handed, but we do tend toward gravitating to those who share the same age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and personality traits. I love how Anne Lamott put it, “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
That's putting it rather bluntly, but she's certainly on to something. The antidote to tribalism is love informed by the gospel. Why? Because gospel love integrates. It moves toward others in a grace soaked posture and disposition because it recognizes that everyone is broken and that God is a missionary God. He comes to the disenfranchised and marginalized and adopts them into his family.
I think most churches fail at unity. But as a quick aside, let me say this, there is a big difference between being welcoming, warm, and loving, and accepting others at their best and worst. We fail at unity, not only because we are tribal, but also because we forget we are all image bearers. Let me give you an example. Look at John 8:1-11:
They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
No name, just a status. Adulteress. Not a she, but an it. Not a person, but a thing. Not a woman, but a harlot. She’s an object, not an image bearer. If we are going to have unity in the church, we must recognize that all, saint and sinner alike, are image bearers. This is important because, as image bearers, everyone has a relationship with God. Either you are under law or under grace, “in Adam” or “in Christ.” What this tells us is that we are bound to God, and each other. I hope this changes how we approach unity because it has implications for our sanctification and growth in grace.
It’s not typical for us in the church to think of relational sanctification. I like to call it relational holiness. The biggest threat to relational holiness is disunity, and disunity affects sanctification. Relational harmony is the fertile soil in which relational holiness can grow. This is why, in Philippians 4:2, Paul asks Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord. It was their issues that divided the Philippian church. Agreement on the finer points of doctrine, while important, should take a back seat to looking out for the interest of others.
Paul says it himself, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others" (2:1-4).
Selflessness, humility, and obedience
If that wasn’t enough to get us to work toward unity, consider what Paul says next, "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 a 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 the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (2:5-11).
That should flat-out wreck us. Using Christ as an example, Paul is telling us that the pathway to unity is not self-preservation, but self-forgetfulness. It looks like Christ emptying himself, but not of any of his attributes. Christ emptied himself of the form of God to reveal God in the form of a servant and human being. So what Paul masterfully does is present Christ as an example of selflessness, humility, and obedience for the Philippians and us today to follow to achieve unity.
Essentially, Paul is saying, “Guys, strive to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Agree. Avoid self-ambition, and in humility look out for the interest of others because that’s what Jesus did.” Think about this for a moment. Paul is calling all his readers, then and now, to not only watch their heart, but also to be sure that actions follow their inner attitudes. Be selfless, be humble, be obedient, but make sure actions follow your feelings.
But we got to be careful here because we can easily slip into legalism. If we take Christ as just moral exemplar, then we miss what Paul is saying. Paul is grounding his command of having the same love and same mind in what God did for us in Christ. This is a command that comes from the gospel. The gospel reality has to come first, then the obedience should follow. The gospel produces obedience. All commands must be Christ-centered and our response to those commands gospel-driven.
So, Paul places the example of Christ before the divided Philippian church. He exhorts them to pursue selflessness, just as Jesus was selfless. They should pursue humility and the interests of others, just as Jesus refused to exploit the power that his equality with God gave to him and instead demonstrated his deity in the role of a servant. The Philippians should pursue obedience, just as Jesus was obedient to the point of death. Each exhortation, each command is delivered in light of Christ.
Our position in Christ has to precede our performance for Christ.
Reversing the order
This is why we misquote Philippians 2:12-13. We reverse that order. We live as though our performance precedes our position in Christ. This is why Christianity differs from all major religions. All major religions say, “Obey, therefore you’re accepted,” but Christianity says, “You’re accepted, therefore obey.” Reverse the order, and you lose the gospel. Reverse the order, and you lose Jesus.
But here is our problem, deep down inside we believe we can do it. We read, “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,” and say, “Challenge accepted, Paul.” We take “work out” to mean “work for.” That’s not gospel. So, we come to Philippians 2:12-13 and completely forget that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” We completely forget what Paul says in Philippians 3:
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing 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.
There it is, “the righteousness from God that depends on faith,” not works. We so desperately want our good works to define us and get us in God’s good graces. But we can’t. That’s why Paul follows up verse twelve with “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Essentially, Paul is saying, “Guys, you’re only working out what God is working in.” Isn’t that freeing to you? It is to me.
Let me be clear about something, I am not opposed to effort, I am opposed to earning. Paul wants us to make efforts toward obedience, but even our effort is accredited to God. God willed the works, he will work through us, and he will one day complete them. All God, from first to last. That’s gospel. Paul says, “obey,” but all we are doing is what God enables us to do. God provides both the will and ability to work out what he is working in.
I want offer a word of caution here. We need both verses, twelve and thirteen. Stress verse twelve and you end up a legalist. Stress verse thirteen and you end up lawless. You need both. And I am not talking about balance, these verses don’t teach that God meets us halfway. It’s all God, from beginning to end. He initiates and he sees things through to the end.
So, take a deep breath and rest. Deeds don’t determine your destiny. God is working. If he called you, he will complete you.
Look for Part 3 next week.
Rev. Mike Hernandez serves as the senior pastor of Crossroads Presbyterian Church. He is a graduate of Trinity International University (B.A.), Knox Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) at Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando. He has written for Gospel-Centered Discipleship and is a member of the National Association of Scholars.
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