After exhorting the Philippian believers to emulate the example of Christ by way of humility, submission, obedience, and sacrifice, Paul now (Phil. 2:12-18) admonishes them to demonstrate their sonship in a very practical way. Those who have been united to the risen Christ by faith are called the sons of God (John 1:12) and are expected to demonstrate their spiritual union by the way in which they live. God calls upon all His children to give evidence of their relationship to Him through a changed and sanctified life. The exhortation before us is similar to the one stated previously in Philippians 1:27: “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. . .”

THROUGH PERSEVERANCE

            “Wherefore, 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. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13).

            1. Paul uses a term of endearment to address the Philippian believers. He did not regard them as merely lay church members. Rather, they were his beloved friends, his brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. He had a genuine love for them and a great concern for their spiritual welfare. They were God’s beloved sons and daughters, so they were precious to the apostle. This attitude of love and respect should exist among all the saints of God.

            2. The apostle also commends the Philippians for their record of consistent obedience and fidelity to the commands of God. The believers had exhibited a steadfast adherence to the claims of Christ, having a testimony of always abounding in the work of the Lord. Their consistent obedience was not performed just while Paul was present and watching them, but also when he was absent. He calls upon them to continue this practice through faithful perseverance and reverence for God, behaving themselves as citizens of Heaven. Oh, that all of our lives would exhibit such faithful obedience and single-eyed service to the commands of Christ!

            3. The latter part of verse twelve combined with verse thirteen provides us with the inseparable link that exists between Christian perseverance in holiness and God’s preservation of the believer in a state of grace. The perseverance and preservation of God’s elect are twin doctrines that should never be separated if a balance of truth is to be preserved. There are many exhortations in Scripture that address the believer’s responsibility to preserver in holiness such as: “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21); “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14); “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation” (I Pet. 1:15); “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Cor. 7:1); “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). Many people who fail to “rightly divide the word of truth” isolate these passages from their context and other truths of Scripture in an attempt to teach that salvation is in some way dependent upon man’s works. They fail to realize that all of the passages addressing the believer’s responsibility to persevere were directed to those who were already complete in Christ (Col. 2:10), “accepted in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6), and considered by God to be “saints in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:1). Verse twelve of Philippians chapter two is no exception.

            Furthermore, the basis of the believer’s perseverance in holiness is God’s preserving grace. If believer’s were not “kept by the power of God” (I Pet. 1:5); “preserved in Christ Jesus” (Jude 1); and dependent upon the faithfulness of the Good Shepherd “that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24; cf. John 10:27-9) they would lose their salvation everyday. But such is not the case where a balance of truth is preserved and spiritual things are compared with spiritual. It is the height of prideful presumption for a sinner to think that he can somehow add to or complete the finished work of Christ with regards to his salvation. Yet that is precisely what Arminians believe when their heresy is taken to its logical end.

            4. Philippians 2:13 in no way, shape or form teaches that salvation is dependent upon the believer’s works. Good works are the fruit of salvation, not the basis of our acceptance with God (Eph. 2:8-10). The demonstration and maintenance of good works is only possible by those who are already saved by the grace of God. I agree with John Gill’s comment on this verse:

            “. . .Which is not to be understood in such a sense as though men could obtain and procure for themselves spiritual and eternal salvation by their own works and doings; for such a sense is contrary to the Scriptures, which deny any of salvation, as election, justification, and vocation, and the whole of it to be of works, but ascribe it to the free grace of God; and is also repugnant to the perfections of God, as His wisdom, grace, and righteousness; for where are the wisdom and love of God, in forming a scheme of salvation, and sending His Son to effect it, and after all it is left to men to work it out for themselves? And where’s the justice of God in admitting of an imperfect righteousness in the room of a perfect one, which must be the case, if salvation is obtained by men’s works?”

THROUGH POSITIVE ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS

          “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That 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; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain” (Phil. 2:14-16).

            1. Not only were the saints to demonstrate their sonship through perseverance in holiness, but also through the positive attitudes and actions that are outlines in verses fourteen through sixteen. If we are truly persevering in holiness, and God is working in us to accomplish His will and pleasure, then that work of grace should be demonstrated in a very practical way.

            2. We are exhorted to do everything without a spirit of complaining or grumbling about our circumstances. This spirit of contentment and joy should be practiced at home, on the job, in society at large, and in the church. God never gives His children a license to gripe and complain! There is nothing worse than a Christian who is constantly bellyaching and bemoaning their present state of affairs. What kind of testimony are we displaying before the world when all we have to offer them are complaints and gripes! Nor are we to be engaged in contentious disputes, fussing, fighting and arguing with others. Such temperaments and attitudes do not demonstrate the grace of God, neither do they display appreciation for what God has done for us in making us His sons and daughters. I like what Matthew Henry wrote:

            “God’s commands were given to be obeyed, not to be disputed. This greatly adorns our profession, and shows we serve a good Master, whose service is freedom and whose work is its own reward.”

            3. Our goal as sons and daughters of God should be to manifest a testimony of purity and peace. We should strive to be both blameless in our conduct before the world, and harmless in the way we treat our fellowman. Our lives should give off the fragrance of holiness as well as harmony. Our behavior should be such that others would find nothing in our lives worthy of rebuke. This worthy goal may only be reached through self-denial, honesty, and good works as I Peter 2:11-12 implies: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

          4. The world in which we live is crooked and perverse, enveloped in spiritual darkness, and captivated by Satan. If we are to demonstrate our sonship we must shine as lights in the world. Rather than being crooked, our lives should manifest righteousness. Rather than being perverse, our lives should manifest a desire for holiness. Rather than dwelling in the darkness of sin, we ought to shine as lights that reflect the glory of the Son of God. Rather than dwelling in the darkness of sin, we ought to shine as lights that reflect the glory of the Son of God. Rather than blending in with the wickedness of this world, we are called upon to display the radiance of Christ in us. Matthew 5:16 declares: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” I like what Davis Huckabee wrote:

            “A heavenly people ought to be like the heavenly orbs in shining forth and reflecting the glory of God. Alas, how often our selfish, grumbling, disputatious attitudes cloud our testimony over so that the world sees only a discontented person instead of a radiant reflection of the Son of God. Shame on us when we do so.”

            May God give us the grace to live up to the titles, privileges, and duties described in I Peter 2:9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

          5. To further demonstrate our relationship to God and our union to Christ we are called upon to hold “forth the word of life,” meaning that we are to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Christ to others. If we have been born of God and have a genuine love for Him, we should not be ashamed to proclaim the Word of salvation to others. When we consider the deplorable state that men are in we should be more than willing to go to them with the Word of life pointing them to Christ who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Christians are not responsible to save the lost or coerce them to make a profession through psychological trickery. All we are responsible for is simply pointing to the path of life in Christ and then depend upon God to regenerate and justify them. May God enable all His people to not only demonstrate His grace by a sanctified life, but also to display His grace by “holding forth the word of life.”

            6. If the believers at Philippi would obey the admonition given by Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it would mean that he had not labored in vain with regards to his ministry among them. A preacher may sometimes feel as though his ministry is in vain when the people of God do not respond positively to the truth. But there is nothing that cheers the heart of a preacher more than when the truth that he proclaims is practiced by his hearers.

THROUGH PERSONAL REJOICING

            “Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me” (Phil. 2:17-18).

            1. Paul implies that his life may be poured out as a drink offering to God through martyrdom. Yet in spite of such a prospect, he is found rejoicing. Even though Paul was imprisoned and anticipating execution for his faith in Christ, he is found demonstrating his relationship to God in a practical way by rejoicing. He would later write: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (II Tim. 4:6-7). When the saints of God can maintain an attitude of joy in the face of distress and doom it is a sure evidence that they are the sons of God, confident of obtaining their glorious inheritance despite their circumstances.

            2. Paul calls upon the believers at Philippi to rejoice with him regardless what the future might hold. He was trusting in the sovereignty of God and believed that God works “all things after the counsel of his own will” (Eph. 1:11). May God grant us the grace to trust in His sovereign control over all things and rejoice in His counsel regardless of the circumstances we might find ourselves in. Through such personal rejoicing in God we are demonstrating to all those around us that we belong to the Lord and are happy to be under His authority and care.