Philippians 2a Commentary
You can treat the poor well but still think they are a class below yours. You can help the poor (as is scriptural) but still hold your position as a class higher than theirs. In either case, the only scriptural act is your goodwill or generosity; not your mindset!
Materialism has the core objective of setting self above the rest. Lack of contentment provides the propensity. “I must be better or should be viewed as such”.
Verse 3 dislodges the logical operators, “greater than” and “less than”.
In humility, value others above yourself. Verse 3.
What does it look like in real life? Is it even practical? Don’t let your mind dwell on the fact that you are taller than James. The scripture isn’t talking about physical things here. Mount X is shorter than Mount Y, but who says Mount Y is better than Mount X or vice versa? We are talking about the mindset!
Have the mindset of Christ. We have an example. Jesus made Himself nothing. At His trial before the Sanhedrin, the created slapped the Creator in the face. At His trial before Pilate, He passed another humility test. The created (Pilate) boasted of his power to either crucify the Creator or release Him.
Christ Jesus never responded with, “Who do you think you are?” Of course, Pilate was a mere mortal! On the other hand, Jesus stood in a place of unimaginable power, authority, and heavenly clout. Yet He remained humble! Have the same mindset, Paul orders.
The make-believe world is satan’s world. Deception. Father of lies. “Greater than” or “Less than” are mindset concepts made to oppose the value system of Heaven. You have the value system of Heaven in this chapter: Value others above yourself!
Help others because you value them above yourself, not because they are a class below you – consequently, they must be helped. Rely on Heaven’s value system in your interactions with others. Don’t generate generosity based on this world’s value system.
Has your past generosity passed the “mindset” test? Such exam results – you easily understand why we must continue “to work out our salvation with fear and trembling”! Verse 12.
Verse 13 underlines the point raised in Chapter 1: God began a good work, and He will carry it to completion. Chapter 2 has more meat!
We have an object called purpose on the table. Whose purpose? It is God’s purpose. It belongs to God, entirely. But how does God achieve His purpose? He causes men and women to have desires (or intentions) – and then proceeds to act or implement their desires. Probably even without knowing it (save for the scripture like this one), they have achieved the purpose of the LORD.
Underline 3 keywords in verse 13 (starting with the last one): Purpose, Action, and Desire. Purpose is God’s purpose – achieved through man’s desire and action. The LORD’s purpose is never achieved with desire only; it must be accompanied by action. Mr. Desire and Mr. Action keep the keys to the safe called God’s Purpose. It is never achieved without both!
Verse 14 is yet another test. Do everything without grumbling or arguing. Not “some” but everything!
No one is pure, yet the injunction of verse 14 is an achievable level of blamelessness! The pagan statement that “no one is perfect” drives the point that blamelessness is not achievable. No one should bother. Drop your guns in defeat! But the scripture strongly encourages saints to “become blameless”. World value systems are opposed to godly value systems.
Verse 21 confirms our fears. “Everyone looks for their own interests”. The saint should be different. Timothy is a good example! It is possible to slay the selfishness demon! Look for the interests of Jesus Christ! Never mind the interests of others since they are just as bad as yours! Jesus is the Standard!
Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus are a good example of selfless love – the Spirit of Jesus at work! Such men need to be our heroes!
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