Phil. 2:1-161If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. (Philippians 2:1‑16)
That as believers we are " to walk and to please God" is a truth which none who have known the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ for themselves will be disposed to deny. But the admission of this truth in very few minds perhaps amounts to more than a vague and general impression that piety is to mark the conduct of a Christian; without any very definite reference to any rule or example to which his walk is to be conformed.
The design of this paper, by the Lord's help, is to give definiteness to this rule, in statement at least; trusting to His grace to give it power in the heart.
The special subject of the Epistle to the Philippians is the walk of the believer here in this world, journeying toward heaven; and in consonance with this, it unfolds the springs of his energy and the final issue of his course; interweaving with it his true and proper experience by the way. It presents the practical and earthly side of the Christian's heavenly calling.
In chap. 2:15, 16, the rule, the force of which we are seeking, is given. " Blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life."
The definiteness of this rule receives its illustration from what Christ Himself was in His walk down here in this world; though the apostle himself could add, with rare devotion, " Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample." If this exhortation to be " blameless and harmless" is to be anything more with us than the words of a book, we must know that it is a tone of spirit that goes along with personal devotedness to Christ, and is never found apart from the soul's intimacy with Him who, having given it rest from its heavy burden, now says, " Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart:"-and who had just before said to His disciples, " Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
But the relationship in which, through grace, we stand to God, comes into the force of the rule; for we are to walk as " sons of God," according to the exhortation in Eph. 5:11Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; (Ephesians 5:1), " Be ye therefore imitators of God (μιμηται) as children beloved." The privilege (and who can estimate it highly enough?) and the responsibility are coupled together. It was what Christ was as Son of God that stamped its character on His whole walk through this world, and gave it its entire contrariety to the world: as He said, " Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world." But, then, it is with no less definiteness said of believers, " Now are we the sons of Gad;" and it is added, " Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." The rule of our walk, then, in this part of it, has its force in us when we daily and habitually bear in mind what infinite grace has made us, and are found going on through the world as the sons of God to the home of glory, where Christ has gone before us.
But we are also to be " without rebuke"-or cause of blame or reproach-, " in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation." Separated from the world, in its separation from God and its coming doom, is what every Christian will glory in being; but all will not, alas! allow the thought that there should now be a personal moral separation from its principles and aims, its habits and maxims, its character and course. But what is the meaning, then, of those words of our Lord and Master, (John 17,) " have given them thy. word, and the world bath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." While in His own example He gives the ground of the world's hatred of Him, when He says, "Me it hateth, because I testify of it that its works are evil," " What communion hath light with darkness?"
Hence, in our rule it is added, " among whom ye shine as lights in the world." The effect of grace is thus expressed in Eph. 5:88For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (Ephesians 5:8): " Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord;" and the exhortation founded on it is, " walk as children of light." And in the Epistle of Peter, " That ye should show forth the praises (virtues) of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." This also has its illustration in the walk of the Lord Jesus here on earth; as He said, " I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." There is no such thing as being " lights in the world," except as we are practically living the life of Christ, and are walking in that path which He has marked out for us. To be " lights in the world," we must in spirit and act express, according to our feeble measure, what He was here in the world; as it is said, " Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ." And hence the apostle could say, " Ye are our epistle, known and read of all men." But it is well to be reminded that we are not true, or worthy, epistles of Christ, unless Christ can be livingly read in us by the world through which we are passing.
" Holding forth the word of life;" as the heavenly bodies hold out their light, and are only seen by the light they give. So here " the word of life" is looked at as reflected in the life and walk of the believer; as our Lord says, " Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Such is the rule we are to walk by, such is to be our aim.
But let me ask the question, is this the definite conception that we have constantly before our minds of what a Christian should be in his walk? Is this the rule that I propose to myself for the daily, hourly regulation of my life? Is it with me a matter of definite thought (to say nothing of attainment) that I ought, as a Christian, as seen by others, and most seen by those who see me most, to be blameless and harmless, a son of God, without rebuke, shining as a light in the world, and holding forth the word of life? Do I recognize this as my standard? It is something to have the aim right. It is frightful to think how much truth we admit-that is, do not deny-and how little of its practical power we express One looks at the example of Christ, at the course of the apostle, at the simple and unstrained statements of the legitimate effects of the principles of the Gospel, and what, in truth, were those effects, as seen in the Acts and in the Epistles; and then looks round on those who admit, and glory in admitting, that there is no lower, standard than the Scriptures for the ascertainment of what a Christian should be in standing and privilege, in hope and in walk; and the survey brings home a kind of aching into the soul, a chill of almost hopelessness upon the heart, at the thought of what once WAS, and what now is, as to the practical legitimate effect of the same unaltered truths, professed and believed, and oftentimes believed, it maybe, to be adequately expressed
It may be want of faith in the writer, his infirmity; but with this thought before his mind, it is hardly possible for him to look at any exhortation or practical truth of the New Testament-at anything almost beyond the unmixed grace of Christ in the salvation of a sinner-without this feeling. It is, I admit, no part of the Spirit's work to produce despondency; for to the end will He be here to take of the things of Christ and show them to us: and whatever else may fail or decay, " Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever." But, I repeat, it is a great thing to have before our minds fairly and honestly the true standard. I may then come short and fail; but if the standard be corrupted or lost, all is gone; there is no hope. If it were always in the recollection that the imitation of Christ is the true rule of a believer's walk, while, as it may be readily supposed, it would abate any feelings of self-complacency, as if we had already attained, it would also elevate our aim; and that, I again repeat, is something gained. For as it has been quaintly said, " He will shoot higher who aims at the stars, than he who only makes a tree his mark."
But the rule, so far as it has been hitherto disclosed, is only the didactic expression of what is presented in the living example of our Lord in the previous part of the chapter. In whatever way the love of Christ is in truth brought home to our hearts, we get by it a lever that raises at once our aims and spirit and walk above this world. It was the kindness of the Philippians in supplying the apostle's necessities
during his imprisonment for the Gospel's sake, that awakened, as it were anew, his sense of the wonderful love of Christ, and set the springs of his admiration and gratitude flowing anew. Hence he says, " If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy that ye be like minded," &c. This is the ground of his exhortation and entreaty, and it is according to the vividness of our apprehension of these heavenly motives that we are in possession of the secret springs of power to answer in any sense to this earnest entreaty, The more the heart is found dwelling on these things, the more the force of the moral exhortation is enhanced, and the greater the power to obey it.
In looking at the precepts of the divine word in contrast with the spirit of the world, and the temper and bearing that are so natural to us as men, how do they bear enstamped upon them the impress of heaven! The treasures of grace which the Gospel unfolds, and the love by which redemption was wrought, are not more divine than the morality which it enjoins. And real subjection of heart to its wonderful, yet simple, precepts, however little estimated by man, is the way to bring the blessed temper of heaven into the soul and the witness of heaven into the walk. What blessed affections are these: " having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." What channels are here opened for the flow of that living grace in the soul which a participation of the divine nature gives: " Let nothing be done through strife, or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." How fruitful of heavenly rest to our inner hearts, and how Christlike in its effects on others, if the every day principle of our action, were " look, not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."
But we have yet to look at the marvelous summing up of all this in the presentation of the mind which was manifested in the Lord, as the ground and exemplification of the exhortation, " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." Fundamental as are these truths, (ver. 6-11), to the divine person of the Lord, and much as they might detain the heart in the richness of their elucidation, they can only be taken up now, as they are presented, as furnishing the ground of the exhortation, " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." And 0, if this were only our aim! If it were only the purpose of our hearts I-to say nothing of our attaining-if it were but present as a monition to our spirits, what fruits of peace would it bring, and what a correction of all that troubles a spiritual mind in its fellowship with others in the church of God would it afford I May I, for its own sake, possess and cultivate this mind, even if I were alone in the pursuit!
The exhortation having been given, it was necessary that the example, in which alone it could be seen in perfectness, should be given also. It is, then, the self-renouncing, obedient, mind of the Lord Jesus which is presented as that which we are to cultivate.
As divine in His nature, as the Son of God, He had claim to perfect equality with God; but as appearing in this world for the accomplishment of redemption, as man, his condition in it was marked by entire and absolute self-renunciation. He humbled Himself to become man; and as man, He further humbled Himself in His obedience. obedience which reached even unto death -" the death of the cross." He came into the world to glorify God-His Father; and hence He came in such circumstances as to present to men nothing but the claims of perfect goodness. There could not have been a perfect test of men's hearts, as to God and goodness, if there had been anything adventitious in the Lord's circumstances as a man, anything that would have appealed to the pride of men, or their self-estimation, or their love of worldly distinctions. But, as we know, the world-and it is unchanged in its estimates-had no heart for the claims of perfect goodness. It had no reverence nor love for the only perfect image of God in His moral character that it ever beheld! It had no place for that lowly man, on whom alone the heavens could open, and the voice of God acknowledge-for Him who is now enthroned at the right hand of God, and at whose humbled name-even the name of Jesus-" every knee shall bow, in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father!"
On earth, as we know, His course began in a manger, and it was ended on a cross! Still in His whole course in the world there was the display of perfect goodness; and on the part of man nothing to prevent his treating it as he pleased; and how he treated it the cross must declare.
There were no worldly circumstances to commend to men this perfect goodness, and therefore it was rejected. There was no tinsel of human vanity to make its appeal to their hearts, and therefore heavenly worth was frowned from their association. There was no savor of a lie to season this perfect truth to the world's taste, and therefore it would not believe it. Alas! for the spirit of the world!
To us, however, it is presented as a walk wholly according to God. The Spirit which was given to Him " without measure" led to no other. " He through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God."
But how shall we be able to show this mind which was in Christ? By always remembering the truth that " Now are we the sons of God," and that " when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Need I add that, " Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure?"
There is no natural elevation of position that presents the ground for this self-humbling, self-renouncing, obedient mind of Christ. I say "obedient mind," because, if it be not this, it will degenerate into " voluntary humility," in which the flesh will take the lead. We must remember that we are " sanctified unto obedience," and that Christ is the example of our obedience, who humbled Himself that He might obey, and then humbled Himself in His obedience. This mind of Christ springs only from the knowledge of what God is-of what Christ is-what the Christian is-and what the world is. And this knowledge is alone fully presented in the cross.
The moral power of the cross must be known, as well as its power to salvation, or we can never be " crucified" to the world, or the world crucified to us. It is this which sometimes brings a thought of sadness in connection with the preaching of the gospel, when conversion is viewed, as it often practically is, the end, instead of the commencement, of the Lord's dealing with souls. It needs but slight acquaintance with the epistles and the character of the church of God to perceive that where the anxiety referred to ends, the apostle's as plainly begins. It is true that " from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum he had fully preached the gospel;" but it is no less true that, in view of the church, his cares and fears, his tears and conflicts began at the point where the saving power of the gospel had taken effect. His " warning every man, and teaching every man, and desiring to present every man perfect in Christ," was with another object than the conversion of souls, precious and near to his heart as that confessedly was. The evangelist may find more excitement in his work, and see the effect of his labor more quickly and more palpably; but he who is feeding the flock of God, however unostentatiously, will no less surely, when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, receive His approval in that " crown of glory which fadeth not away." But I close with a brief quotation, the wholesome words of which some of my readers will recognize as familiar to their minds.
" The danger of the office (i. e. of the evangelist) is, that it has to do with the world; there is much room for carnal excitement, and the office is in honor among men. Hence the reason that the character of the Christian ministry has more tended to this than that within the church, which is more unobtrusive, and is not of honor among men, though highly honored in the sight of the great Head of the church." Among the evils which have arisen to the church from the attempt to unite the two departments of the ministry in one man, may be noticed, first of all, the undervaluing of the pastoral office. Almost all systems that have been formed by men, have been looked upon as a more or less extensive sphere for preaching the gospel; and hence almost all stated ministry has become properly that of the evangelist. The church is not fed; believers are not built up on their most holy faith, because the heart of a minister is more called forth in sympathy to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, than to those who are converted. If, indeed, there be a heart burning with love for souls, and God has given him wisdom to win them, let him take the large sphere that is set before him-" Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel." But it must not be forgotten that whilst the Lord Jesus would have the gospel preached to every creature, that He Himself " loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." (Eph. 5:2626That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (Ephesians 5:26).)