We're studying the book of Philippians in Sunday School. We have been on that wonderful, theologically rich passage in chapter two that details the humiliation of Christ and then His subsequent exaltation by God. I looked up some cross referencing passages that I'll list below. They are by no means an exhaustive list of passages that show God's exaltation of His one and only Son, but these are worthy of long reflection. The cumulative effect they have when taken together are staggering.
Philippians 2:9-11 - For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Isaiah 45:23 - I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
Matthew 28:18 – And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Ephesians 1:18-22 - I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church
Colossians 2:9-10 - For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
Daniel 7:13-14 – “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
“And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
John 3:35 - The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand
Revelation 5:12 - “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
Showing posts with label Phillipians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phillipians. Show all posts
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
The Right Attitude
It's easy to get side-tracked. There are numerous distractions that cause me to let my guard down in the 'attitude' department. Financial pressures, arguing children, discussions about politics at work that take an ugly turn... you name it. Having the right 'attitude' is half the battle.
The Apostle Paul gives us the right words for the right attitude in Philippians 2:3-11 -
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We could certainly never be like Jesus in the manner in which He was able to reconcile us to the Father... but the the believer is obligated to have the same ATTITUDE that Jesus had. That is, the humility, the self-sacrifice, the self-denial and love.
I am going to try something different today: I am going to open my eyes and look out (for the interests of others). I wonder what will happen?
Mark
The Apostle Paul gives us the right words for the right attitude in Philippians 2:3-11 -
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We could certainly never be like Jesus in the manner in which He was able to reconcile us to the Father... but the the believer is obligated to have the same ATTITUDE that Jesus had. That is, the humility, the self-sacrifice, the self-denial and love.
I am going to try something different today: I am going to open my eyes and look out (for the interests of others). I wonder what will happen?
Mark
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Purity and Unity
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. The Apostle Paul wrote these words and we find them in his letter to the Philippians at the beginning of chapter 2.
It shouldn't take too much thought to get to what Paul is trying to convey to the Philippian church, and to us: UNITY. Does this mean we agree on every point? Does it mean we can't have differing opinions? Does it mean we're all mindlessly on the same page marching lock-step with every other Christian? Wayne Grudem makes a good case in his Systematic Theology book that the pursuit of PURITY in the church is tied to UNITY in the church. "We are to work for the purity of the visible church... and we must recognize that this is a process". Because it is a process and during that process different people will have different thoughts and ideas, UNITY is necessary to keep the process going in a healthy direction.
Grudem goes on to say that 'not all churches will respond well to influences that would bring them to greater purity'. Some churches will drift into liberal Protestantism, which are more man-centered and less God-centered. I think we see that all around us... churches that no longer put a premium on the infallable, inerrant Word of God. This kind of thinking is a cancer on the face of the modern church. How do we know if we're drifting into liberalism? Here are a few signs:
1). Our conversations and activities are of little spiritual content
2). There is little or no emphasis on the need for daily individual prayer concerns
3). We've become 'politically correct' instead of 'biblically correct' and replaced words like wretchedness and sin with words like ‘moral deficiencies’ and 'mistakes'.
4). There is little emphasis on the need for repentance and forgiveness
5). There is a severe lack of disciplined study and daily personal reading of scripture
To keep away from the DRIFT, with the help of Christ, we need to wake up every morning determined to set our minds on striving for PERSONAL PURITY and CORPORATE PURITY in the church… and to do so with a spirit of UNITY, letting inconsequential differences no longer divide us.
It shouldn't take too much thought to get to what Paul is trying to convey to the Philippian church, and to us: UNITY. Does this mean we agree on every point? Does it mean we can't have differing opinions? Does it mean we're all mindlessly on the same page marching lock-step with every other Christian? Wayne Grudem makes a good case in his Systematic Theology book that the pursuit of PURITY in the church is tied to UNITY in the church. "We are to work for the purity of the visible church... and we must recognize that this is a process". Because it is a process and during that process different people will have different thoughts and ideas, UNITY is necessary to keep the process going in a healthy direction.
Grudem goes on to say that 'not all churches will respond well to influences that would bring them to greater purity'. Some churches will drift into liberal Protestantism, which are more man-centered and less God-centered. I think we see that all around us... churches that no longer put a premium on the infallable, inerrant Word of God. This kind of thinking is a cancer on the face of the modern church. How do we know if we're drifting into liberalism? Here are a few signs:
1). Our conversations and activities are of little spiritual content
2). There is little or no emphasis on the need for daily individual prayer concerns
3). We've become 'politically correct' instead of 'biblically correct' and replaced words like wretchedness and sin with words like ‘moral deficiencies’ and 'mistakes'.
4). There is little emphasis on the need for repentance and forgiveness
5). There is a severe lack of disciplined study and daily personal reading of scripture
To keep away from the DRIFT, with the help of Christ, we need to wake up every morning determined to set our minds on striving for PERSONAL PURITY and CORPORATE PURITY in the church… and to do so with a spirit of UNITY, letting inconsequential differences no longer divide us.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Clueless
“Now I want you to know, brethren…”, Paul says in Philippians 1:12. It’s a common phrase that the Apostle uses. In this case, he was writing to the church at Philippi to let them know of his condition. With Paul being under house arrest, being in high spirits was the last thing they might be expecting. But, oh no… Paul didn’t want them having wrong thoughts about him or his condition or the progress of the gospel. He didn’t want them being clueless or ignorant of his situation.
Paul uses a similar phrase in Colossians 2:1, “For I want you to know”. And again in 1 Corinthians 11:3, “For I want you to understand”. Or yet in two more places, Romans 1:13 and 1 Corinthians 10:1, “…I do not want you to be unaware, brethren…”. Do you get the impression that Paul did not want the Christians of his time to be clueless, ignorant or unaware? How about in 1 Thessalonians 4:13? “We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren…”. Galatians 1:11: “For I would have you to know…”. The fact that Paul repeats himself (repeatedly), tells me that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing something to us.
Ours is a generation of Christians who are probably the most unaware in all of human history… am I right? Don’t we all (myself included) walk around in our own comfortable Christian bubble, completely oblivious of the spiritual famine around us? We’re unaware and I wonder why. We’ve developed spiritual calluses three feet thick and our hearts are like granite. All the while our relatives, friends and neighbors are running headlong through the wide gate that leads to destruction.
We professing believers (myself included again) are often unaware of our creation around us. We miss a delicate rose, a horse galloping in a field, even a beautiful sunset because from the moment the alarm clock goes off in the morning until our heads land in the pillow at night we are going 90 miles per hour. We ignore a baby's laugh, or are oblivious to an act of kindness - because we rush from one meeting to the next and from one shopping center to another... when one TV show is over we click to the other station. Clueless. Ignorant. Unaware.
“Now I want you to know”, that I plan to make some changes so I don’t remain in my clueless, ignorant, unaware state. Will you too?
Mark
Paul uses a similar phrase in Colossians 2:1, “For I want you to know”. And again in 1 Corinthians 11:3, “For I want you to understand”. Or yet in two more places, Romans 1:13 and 1 Corinthians 10:1, “…I do not want you to be unaware, brethren…”. Do you get the impression that Paul did not want the Christians of his time to be clueless, ignorant or unaware? How about in 1 Thessalonians 4:13? “We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren…”. Galatians 1:11: “For I would have you to know…”. The fact that Paul repeats himself (repeatedly), tells me that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing something to us.
Ours is a generation of Christians who are probably the most unaware in all of human history… am I right? Don’t we all (myself included) walk around in our own comfortable Christian bubble, completely oblivious of the spiritual famine around us? We’re unaware and I wonder why. We’ve developed spiritual calluses three feet thick and our hearts are like granite. All the while our relatives, friends and neighbors are running headlong through the wide gate that leads to destruction.
We professing believers (myself included again) are often unaware of our creation around us. We miss a delicate rose, a horse galloping in a field, even a beautiful sunset because from the moment the alarm clock goes off in the morning until our heads land in the pillow at night we are going 90 miles per hour. We ignore a baby's laugh, or are oblivious to an act of kindness - because we rush from one meeting to the next and from one shopping center to another... when one TV show is over we click to the other station. Clueless. Ignorant. Unaware.
“Now I want you to know”, that I plan to make some changes so I don’t remain in my clueless, ignorant, unaware state. Will you too?
Mark
Monday, March 2, 2009
Worry and Difficulty? Or Joy and Peace?
What do the following words have in common? skepticism, suffering, collapse, problem, crisis, predicament, worry, difficult, trouble, foreclosure, recession.
These are all words that our President of 'hope' used in his speech last week. I listened to part of the speech but had to turn it off for fear of plunging into despair with words like that!
It's no wonder 'joy' is absent from the lives of most people. They have put their trust, faith and confidence in an economic system that can never provide the joy and fulfillment that people are longing for. The things happening before our eyes in our country is a distraction for even the Christian. Even we get caught up in the uncertainty of our times and we lose our joy, or worse yet, we let something else steal our joy.
The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians partially because he was bursting with joy. Paul wasn't too concerned about the Wall-Street-type predicaments of his day - in fact, he mentioned how he'd learned to be content in whatever circumstance he found himself in. Here was a man under house arrest and he was able to maintain his joy and peace regardless of his circumstances.
What brought Paul joy?
1). Reflecting and remembering - Philippians 1:3 - "I thank my God in all my rememberance of you". He no doubt was thinking of how Lydia and the Philippian jailer had been converted in Acts 16.
2). Praying for others - Philippians 1:4 - "always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all". Who doesn't find joy in praying for another brother or sister... especially when we start to see answers to our intercessory prayers?
3). Participating in the gospel - Philippians 1:5 - "in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now". Some of my greatest times of joy have been in sharing the gospel... whether it was a ministry trip to feed and clothe the homeless or doing a bible study in the local jail or delivering Christmas presents to kids whose dads were locked up in prison... or whatever ministry work took place... this is joyful and rewarding participation in the gospel.
4). Confidence in God to bring things to fruition - Philippians 1:6 - "for I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus". Paul had unwavering confidence that God would finish what He started. That really is our only hope, that God will not leave us hanging by a thread or leave us out on a limb. He will finish the work, and that should bring anyone the joy that might otherwise seem elusive.
5). Affection and love for other believers - Philippians 1:8 - "how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus". Paul wanted to be with his fellow Christians. He loved that kind of thing. I often find myself renewed, refreshed and encouraged after I've been with a Christian friend for breakfast. Fellowship with like-minded Christians is a source of great joy.
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Mark
These are all words that our President of 'hope' used in his speech last week. I listened to part of the speech but had to turn it off for fear of plunging into despair with words like that!
It's no wonder 'joy' is absent from the lives of most people. They have put their trust, faith and confidence in an economic system that can never provide the joy and fulfillment that people are longing for. The things happening before our eyes in our country is a distraction for even the Christian. Even we get caught up in the uncertainty of our times and we lose our joy, or worse yet, we let something else steal our joy.
The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians partially because he was bursting with joy. Paul wasn't too concerned about the Wall-Street-type predicaments of his day - in fact, he mentioned how he'd learned to be content in whatever circumstance he found himself in. Here was a man under house arrest and he was able to maintain his joy and peace regardless of his circumstances.
What brought Paul joy?
1). Reflecting and remembering - Philippians 1:3 - "I thank my God in all my rememberance of you". He no doubt was thinking of how Lydia and the Philippian jailer had been converted in Acts 16.
2). Praying for others - Philippians 1:4 - "always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all". Who doesn't find joy in praying for another brother or sister... especially when we start to see answers to our intercessory prayers?
3). Participating in the gospel - Philippians 1:5 - "in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now". Some of my greatest times of joy have been in sharing the gospel... whether it was a ministry trip to feed and clothe the homeless or doing a bible study in the local jail or delivering Christmas presents to kids whose dads were locked up in prison... or whatever ministry work took place... this is joyful and rewarding participation in the gospel.
4). Confidence in God to bring things to fruition - Philippians 1:6 - "for I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus". Paul had unwavering confidence that God would finish what He started. That really is our only hope, that God will not leave us hanging by a thread or leave us out on a limb. He will finish the work, and that should bring anyone the joy that might otherwise seem elusive.
5). Affection and love for other believers - Philippians 1:8 - "how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus". Paul wanted to be with his fellow Christians. He loved that kind of thing. I often find myself renewed, refreshed and encouraged after I've been with a Christian friend for breakfast. Fellowship with like-minded Christians is a source of great joy.
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Mark
Friday, February 20, 2009
What is Living?
Is life supposed to consist of strife and discord, or should there be peace and harmony? Are we to argue and fight? Or encourage and build up? Is our life a repetitious act of kicking, scratching and clawing through the day, only to get up again and do it again tomorrow? Or does our life consist of daily thankfulness, contentment and joy? Are we known by our friends and family as being harsh and brutal, or are we known as gentle and loving? Is our life characterized by arrogance or by humility? Does our life exhibit a lack of honesty, integrity and truth? Or does our life display these attributes? What IS life? Is it godLESS or godly? The Apostle Paul knew what life is: "for to me to LIVE is Christ" - Philippians 1:21
Monday, February 16, 2009
Approving the Things That Are Excellent
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; - Philippians 1:9-10
In Paul’s epistle on ‘joy’, he makes this prayer to God on behalf of the Christians at Philippi. He prays that their love would abound still more and more. Not that these weren’t loving people, because they were - but the love that they possessed and exhibited would overflow. Love is not biblical love unless it is rooted in the truth of the scriptures. Love must be accompanied by ‘real knowledge’ and ‘all discernment’. That means that we must have mature understanding and insight regarding God’s Word. It is much more than a wooden adherence to the Law out of sheer duty. Although strict obedience to God's commands is necessary, there is the important element of genuine heart-felt love for the things of the Lord. It is a complete, whole-hearted, sincere devotion to God and the Holy Scriptures. It is an insatiable desire to quench our thirst with the water of the Word, and we don't stop until we are filled. We are on our way to having knowledge mixed with discernment when we study the Bible as dry and thirsty people. The result brings forth much fruit – the fruit of abounding love.
Not only will we start to grow the fruit of abounding love, but now we will be able to ‘approve the things that are excellent’. This is the development of the skills of determining what is vital; deciding between good, better and best; what’s necessary and what’s unnecessary; separating the important from the unimportant. If we can develop these important skills, we are well on the path to being productive for the kingdom. But it takes a concentrated effort to protect our time well and use it for intense study, critical thinking and, of course, meaningful and fervent prayer for understanding.
In Paul’s epistle on ‘joy’, he makes this prayer to God on behalf of the Christians at Philippi. He prays that their love would abound still more and more. Not that these weren’t loving people, because they were - but the love that they possessed and exhibited would overflow. Love is not biblical love unless it is rooted in the truth of the scriptures. Love must be accompanied by ‘real knowledge’ and ‘all discernment’. That means that we must have mature understanding and insight regarding God’s Word. It is much more than a wooden adherence to the Law out of sheer duty. Although strict obedience to God's commands is necessary, there is the important element of genuine heart-felt love for the things of the Lord. It is a complete, whole-hearted, sincere devotion to God and the Holy Scriptures. It is an insatiable desire to quench our thirst with the water of the Word, and we don't stop until we are filled. We are on our way to having knowledge mixed with discernment when we study the Bible as dry and thirsty people. The result brings forth much fruit – the fruit of abounding love.
Not only will we start to grow the fruit of abounding love, but now we will be able to ‘approve the things that are excellent’. This is the development of the skills of determining what is vital; deciding between good, better and best; what’s necessary and what’s unnecessary; separating the important from the unimportant. If we can develop these important skills, we are well on the path to being productive for the kingdom. But it takes a concentrated effort to protect our time well and use it for intense study, critical thinking and, of course, meaningful and fervent prayer for understanding.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
My Favorite Christmas Story
I imagine every kid growing up has his favorite Christmas story. There was Frosty the Snowman and the Peanuts, of course. But my personal favorite back then probably was Rudolph. For some reason, I alway took a liking to Yukon Cornelius and the Abominable Snowman (or Bumble, as Yukon so affectionate named him).
Now that I've grown up a little, I have some other personal favorite Christmas stories. (I hesitate to call them 'stories', because that term could give someone the impression that they aren't necessarily true). These 'accounts' are found in God's Word. I love the parts in Luke where we learn of the angels and the shepherds and the wise men. But my favorite one is found in Philippians, in the kenosis passage in chapter two:
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This is the essence of the Christmas story.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Mark
Now that I've grown up a little, I have some other personal favorite Christmas stories. (I hesitate to call them 'stories', because that term could give someone the impression that they aren't necessarily true). These 'accounts' are found in God's Word. I love the parts in Luke where we learn of the angels and the shepherds and the wise men. But my favorite one is found in Philippians, in the kenosis passage in chapter two:
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This is the essence of the Christmas story.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Mark
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