Stand Fast, Work Together

From Philippians 4, we see the Body of Christ, the unseen church, should stand firm together in the truth - but also in love and single mindedness as well, working together to know the truth and put it into action.  So we need to help each other as we work out our salvation.  This means harmony, love, and sound teaching worked out with and among each other...

Philippians 4:1-3

1 Therefore, my beloved and longed- for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.   2 I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. 

Here "eagerly wait" means to expect fully; assiduously and patiently wait for.  We look forward to being before Jesus Christ - changed to be like Him, apart finally from sin!  He has the power to do this, just as to put all under His control as God and man.  I am a citizen of that heavenly country, born from above into it forever...

Philippians 3:20-21

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. 

God Gives Examples to Follow

Where is our mind set?  If on earthly things, then we have taken our eyes off of God and what He has for us and His glory.  We then become His enemies when we live to satisfy our desires instead of Christ's...  So let us find godly men as examples and learn to follow the Christlike things they do, leaving shameful and unrighteous acts behind.

Philippians 3:17-19

17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who set their mind on earthly things. 

Mature Mindset

If we are grown up in Christ, our outlook from this passage must be "We know we are not yet as we should be, and we also do not excuse away sin because we are not there yet."  As far as we are toward that goal, so must we live together in agreement of these things.  Maturity is not anything goes, neither is it condemning others not grown to the same point as we have - it is concern and acceptance as we challenge, encourage, and correct in love.

Philippians 3:15-16

Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. 

Shaken but Not Stirred from Trust

God shakes us up to leave Christ alone as the answer... We must not refuse Him, nor neglect what He offers when we do come to the Desire of All Nations.  By grace we must serve Him with reverence and godly fear.  Do we do this?

Haggai 2:6-7

“For thus says the Lord of hosts:‘ Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, ’ says the Lord of hosts.

Hebrews 12:25-28

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “ Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “ Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 

Determination to Run the Race

This must be the direction of our lives if we truly know Jesus Christ - faces set like flint to run after the goal He sets before us.  We know we are not yet as we should be, and we also do not excuse away sin because we are not there yet.  We have to run life's race by God's rules, not our own.  So, we ask forgiveness in sincerity, get up, and go on, knowing we are not there but not giving up to get closer every day.  We do not dwell on the past (good or bad), but learn from and build on it.  Press on!

Philippians 3:12-14

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Found in Christ’s Righteousness and Resurrection

Am I seen as in Christ, by His righteousness - by faith alone and not by trying to earn that standing?  This is the only way to know what Jesus did when He rose up from death after 3 days, after first suffering for my reconciliation to God.  So I must remember that I too die daily to self and take up that cross as He did - for as I deny myself, He can live in me.

Philippians 3:9-11

and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Gain and Loss

Do I see all that could be advantageous to me as more than just an acceptable loss in comparison to Christ?  Yes!  Knowing Him is far better than anything I could accumulate or try to hold on to.  So all riches, notoriety, and anything else I could have run after are as Paul said here, worthless and what is thrown to the dogs, garbage.  It has no eternal use.  Instead, I have gained Christ Himself, God in me!

Philippians 3:7-8

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. 

No Escape from Judgment Except in Christ

From Hebrews we see that God will shake off all that is displeasing.  This means things in heaven and earth; both angelic and mortal that refuse Him and His Son will be shaken from the new heaven and earth, leaving the holy and pleasing - the things good and unshakeable.  So we must both revere and fear the consuming fire of God who offers love and goodness (grace).  Then let us serve Him as we stand on the solid rock in the approaching storm...

Hebrews 12:25-29

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “ Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “ Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Spiritual Worship of His People

What do we need to do to serve God?  It is not physical action, but transformational obedience - worship in His in dwelling Spirit, joy in Christ alone, and trust in God instead of our own wisdom and strength.  It is not where we grew up (in or out of church), what race or country we hail from, or how religious we act.  It is what God has done for us which we could never do, then our trust and obedience as we point to Him in all things.

Philippians 3:3-6

For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Trust and Obey

Trust and obey; there truly is no other way to be pleasing to God, and so be happy and at peace with Him.  Proverbs and Psalms below show that God ultimately guides our every move, but we must trust and act on what He tells us in order for our hearts and minds to be changed.

Proverbs 16:3, 9

3 Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.

9 A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

Psalms 119:32

I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall enlarge my heart.

Suffering to Glory

This is hope - not a wish or desire, but a certainty of what is to come.  What we suffer now pales in comparison to what God will work in us when we are bought back in our bodies as we are now in our souls.  So we can persevere in patient steadfastness through difficult and troubling times with something far better to look forward to!

Romans 8:18, 8:23-25

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. … 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 

What Do We Live For?

Do we please God?  That is, do we live His way, or for our own unholy self-seeking?  Seeking the things of God as found in the Bible brings inner peace and real life.  This is only possible for those who have His Spirit living in them - for those born a second time from above.  Only they are Christians who have Him in them, and so are able to choose to live rightly each day.  We who are so led by His Spirit are His children!

Romans 8:5-14

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.  12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 

God’s Revelation in Christ

The Bible says things that you cannot understand without God showing you - this is why He lives inside regenerated believers (reborn) as Spirit, to open our minds to His.  Only He knows what He is thinking, just as each of us cannot understand each other's thoughts.  Verse 14 below even tells us that those outside of Christ are unable to know what God says.  It is all foolishness to those who are blind.  We have to have God living in us to know.  There are people in church who do not understand anything in the Bible, and they need to know and admit their sin, turn from it, and come to faith in Christ to be born anew to understand all God has for them...

1 Corinthians 2:9-14

But as it is written:  “ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”  10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

Rejoice and Beware

Do we find real cause to rejoice in our Lord?  This is why believers must encourage and challenge each other to walk with Him, keeping our eyes on the author and finisher of our faith as we both trust and obey.  We need to beware of those opposed to Christ, and so to us, or religion and hate will overtake us.

Philippians 3:1-2

1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.   2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 

For the Work of Christ

The examples of Timothy and Epaphroditus below show a true servant heart in different ways. Timothy was as a faithful and loyal son to Paul in for the Lord's work, and Epaphroditus gave so much of himself in serving that he almost died, not regarding health or wellbeing in his service. Both are examples for us in God's work - selfless and limitless...

Philippians 2:22, 29-30

But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. ... Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; 30 because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.

Like-Minded Care

Like mindedness. How essential to work together for the gospel. So why do many leaders and workers in churches not get along, or even go against each other? Here we see sincere care and service to others are key. When we look only for our own interests, needs, and wants, we stop helping others. This goes against our fallen nature of selfish pride. But we are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ!

Philippians 2:19-21

19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. 20 For I have no one like- minded, who will sincerely care for your state. 21 For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.