Stand Together, Don’t Be Intimidated, Trust Christ
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.
Phil 1:27-30
The Results of Connection with Christ
If there any encouragement from belonging to Christ.
If there is any comfort from his love.
If there is any fellowship together in the Spirit.
If your hearts are tender and compassionate.
Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Phil 2:1-4
Having the Attitude of Christ
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had, who though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to, but instead, giving up his divine privilege; he took the humble position of a slave being born as a human being when he appeared in human form, humbling himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross, wherefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.
Phil 2:5-11
Work On Your Lifestyle To Show the Result of Your Connection With Christ
Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticise you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.
Phil 2:12-18
Sending You Help
Timothy
If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.
Phil 2:19-24
Epaphroditus
Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honour that people like him deserve. For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.
Phil 2:25-30
A couple of you have asked if I am going to give you the answer to the division of the Dear John Letter. Yes I did intend to do that but wanted you to have the fun of trying to divide it first. Rightly dividing the text can make a world of difference, just ask John. If you haven’t made an attempt yourself as yet, the stop at this point; don’t read any further and go back to the last Gem and work out how you would divide John’s letter first. As you are well aware he needs some help and you will enhance your own understanding of biblical text division in the process.
dearjohnIwantamanwhoknowswhatloveisallaboutyouaregenerouskindthoughtfulpeoplewhoarenotlikeyouadmittobeinguselessandinferioryouhaveruinedmeforothermenIyearnforyouIhavenofeelingswhatsoeverwhenwe’reapartIcanbeforeverHappywillyouletmebeyoursGloria
Dear John, I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you! I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy – will you let me be yours? Gloria
Dear John, I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior! You have ruined me. For other men I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?Yours, Gloria
I trust giving you my division of the text will help you see clearly what Paul is doing in this section of Philippians. You can compare it with your division of the text. Once we can see how the pieces go together it makes more sense of Paul’s flow of thought. You know as well as I do that in order to fully understand where someone is going with their train of thought we have to follow the connections. Once we have the big picture sorted out in our minds we can deal with particular verses where there are ambiguities or where there is confusion or controversy.
My recommendation to you is to spend some time reading at least Philippians 2:1-18 over and over in a number of translations. Better still if you can read the matching Greek in an interlinear Greek–English or Greek–Indonesian New Testament to get a feel for the words Paul used. Let the flow of Paul’s thoughts guide you into the depth of what he was meaning. We will spend some time analysing those classic two Greek sentences related to having the mind of Christ which have been translated into seven verses in English (5-11) Limber up your mind to get ready for some deep Bible. If you haven’t made an attempt at your own division of the text yet there is still time and in NZ you have a long weekend to spend on it. “But Ian, we are planning to go away to the beach.” So, that‘s very appropriate, especially on ANZAC Day which is all about making the ultimate sacrifice for others. God’s timing is perfect! It’s time to take in the grandeur of it all first. Right brain the passage first before we use our analytical skills (left brain) to dig deeper.
I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
John 15:11-14