JP’s Mind

Php 2:12-16  Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).  (13)  [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.  (14)  Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves],  (15)  That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world,  (16)  Holding out [to it] and offering [to all men] the Word of Life, so that in the day of Christ I may have something of which exultantly to rejoice and glory in that I did not run my race in vain or spend my labor to no purpose.

If indeed we are Saved by Grace (Eph 2:8  For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;), then what does Paul mean when he writes to the Philippians to “work out your own salvation with trembling and fear”?  Are the scriptures in conflict? Does salvation come from our effort, and if so then why is the Gospel a message of salvation as a gift of God?

Notice that in this passage Paul does not say, “Work for your salvation” – it is not “work towards acquiring your salvation”, nor is it “work at your salvation”, nor is it “work up your salvation.” It is none of those things. Every true Christian has received salvation through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. They are all in the state of salvation at this moment. Salvation is God’s gift to them, accomplished by Jesus Christ’s work on the cross, what He himself freely and lovingly chose to endure in their place – the wrath of a sin-hating God. That salvation which was accomplished by Christ alone became ours when God opened our hearts and gave us a birth from above, applying all the benefits of the triumph of Christ to us.

Once again, we come to the distinctly different concepts of justification and sanctification, which are too often co-mingled in the single term of ‘salvation’.  Justification is the gift of God through Christ’s sacrifice; sanctification is the process in which those who have been reconciled to God continue to become Christ-like.

John Piper tells us:

The connection between the sinner and the Savior is trust, not improvement of behavior. That comes later. It is this order that gives hope. “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28). The basis of this wild and wonderful hope (the ungodly justified) is “Christ for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4, literal translation). Through faith alone God counts the ungodly as righteous because of Christ. “For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

So, to the passage in question: Paul is writing to the congregation of professing Christians in Philippi who have received salvation (justification). To these saved people he says, “work out your own salvation.” He is not talking about their status of being ransomed, justified, reconciled, forgiven or being clothed in the righteousness of Christ, telling them to work at getting all that. All that is already theirs as a free gift of God; it is all absolutely perfect and nothing needs to be added to it whatsoever. That is accomplished salvation: we have been saved once and for all: that is puncticular salvation.

What Paul is talking about here is linear salvation, progressive salvation, sanctifying salvation, which will not be complete until the day of Christ when we are going to see God and be like him. Paul is urging us here to be promoting that completed full salvation, to advance and encourage that transformation of our lives. “Work at becoming more like the Lord of your salvation.” That is what he is saying.

In other words, full eternal Christ like salvation (sanctification) is not something that is in the atmosphere above and around us – over which we have no control. It is not something that comes upon you when you go into a religious meeting and an atmosphere is created by the music and the lighting and skilful stories and emotional challenges such as going to the front, kneeling and weeping.  The salvation about which Paul is speaking is going on in our thinking, and our decisions, and our enthusiasms, and our affections, and our choices, and in our very bodies today and every day. It is divine ‘work in progress.’ Every part of us is going to be saved and so we are being told to work that salvation out, in other words, work out the implications of it and advance it. Don’t sit back, don’t think to yourselves, “Well, it’s all over. I am saved.” Work at it until it is finished at death. While we live this salvation needs to transform all aspects of our lives. Show a new obedience to God in every part of your life. See what our text actually says, “Continue to work out your salvation.”

Mat 6:5-13  Also when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full already.  (6)  But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.  (7)  And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking. [I Kings 18:25-29.]  (8)  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. (9) Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  (10)  Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  (11)  Give us this day our daily bread.  (12)  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  (13)  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Almost everyone knows the “Lord’s Prayer”, either by acquaintance, or by use and intimate knowledge.  I wonder though, do we really understand what Jesus was teaching us, or do we just accept the litany by rote?

Let us look at the reality of what Jesus was teaching us: not just a prayer to be recited, meaningless and dead in spirit, but a methodology of how we are to pray, what we are to pray for, and strong instruction by direct admonition, or by intentional omission, of how not to pray.

At the beginning of this passage Jesus specifically instructs us not to use repetitious, meaningless prayer, not to pray publically for the sake of being seen praying. We are to pray privately, keeping our prayer between God and ourselves. This instruction, this direct admonition, of what not to do, flies in the face of so many religious practices – Roman Catholicism specifically and many Protestant denominations as well – all who maintain repetitious prayer and reciting of creeds and litanies as part of their corporate worship. I could write exhaustively on this subject alone, however, that is not the point of this post.  For now, let the point stand as made:  Recitation of the “Lord’s Prayer” is meaningless and contrary to the instructions given to us by Christ Jesus.

What I really want to discuss are the elements of the prayer and the reasons Jesus instructed us to pray “in this manner”.

(9) Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

John Piper said:

The most important prayer is that the most important person in the universe do the most important act in the universe.

That is why Jesus put this request at the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer: “Hallowed be your name.”

God is the most important person in the universe – more important than all others put together…The whole-souled act of hallowing God’s name is the most important act in the universe.

To “hallow” means to “sanctify” which in God’s case means to set apart in your mind and heart as supremely great and beautiful and valuable.

“Hallowed be your name” means, “See to it that your name is hallowed. Use your infinite power and wisdom and love to stir up billions of hearts and minds to admire you and prize you above all things.”

(10)    Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

There are two aspects of God’s Kingdom – personal and worldwide:

Mat 6:33 But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

Mat 13:41-43  The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of offense [persons by whom others are drawn into error or sin] and all who do iniquity and act wickedly,  (42)  And will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth.  (43)  Then will the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God) shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears [to hear] be listening, and let him consider and perceive and understand by hearing.

In entreating God to bring His kingdom on earth we seek to let God be the Ruler and King in our lives now. His kingdom is a present reality wherever he rules as King. So when we pray, “Father, let your kingdom come,” we should mean, “Father, rule in my life. Be my king. Get the victory over my anxiety about life’s necessities.” This is the personal dimension of the coming of the kingdom.

Likewise, we are also asking God to draw history to a close and establish his kingdom on the earth.

(11)    Give us this day our daily bread.

Joh 6:35 Jesus replied, I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry, and he who believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst any more (at any time).

This is not referring to food and beverage for your stomach, but for your mind and your soul. It is referring to studying the scriptures of the Bible on a daily basis, and if you seek the word of the Lord daily, He will feed you with understanding of His word.

(12)    And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Matt.6:14-15 – For if ye forgive men (people) their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: (15) But if ye forgive not men (people) their trespasses; neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Forgiveness is a two way street my friends. We cannot seek forgiveness if we cannot give forgiveness. There is so much to write on this subject as well but let me try to be succinct:

Mat 6:14-15 For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  (15)  But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.

Mat 18:23-35 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a human king who wished to settle accounts with his attendants.  (24)  When he began the accounting, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents [probably about $10,000,000], (25) And because he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made.  (26)  So the attendant fell on his knees, begging him, Have patience with me and I will pay you everything.  (27)  And his master’s heart was moved with compassion, and he released him and forgave him [cancelling] the debt.  (28)  But that same attendant, as he went out, found one of his fellow attendants who owed him a hundred denarii [about twenty dollars]; and he caught him by the throat and said, Pay what you owe!  (29)  So his fellow attendant fell down and begged him earnestly, Give me time, and I will pay you all!  (30)  But he was unwilling, and he went out and had him put in prison till he should pay the debt.  (31)  When his fellow attendants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and told everything that had taken place to their master.  (32)  Then his master called him and said to him, You contemptible and wicked attendant! I forgave and cancelled all that [great] debt of yours because you begged me to.  (33)  And should you not have had pity and mercy on your fellow attendant, as I had pity and mercy on you?  (34)  And in wrath his master turned him over to the torturers (the jailers), till he should pay all that he owed.  (35)  So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses.

The point is that if we hold fast to an unforgiving spirit, we will be handed over to the tormentors. We will lose heaven, and gain hell.

The reason is not that we can earn heaven, or merit heaven, by forgiving others, but that holding fast to an unforgiving spirit proves that we do not trust Christ. If we trust him, we will not spurn his way of life. If we trust him, we will not be able to take forgiveness from his hand for our million-dollar debt and withhold it from our ten-dollar debtor.

Paul said in Ephesians 4:32, “Forgive each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” In other words, God’s forgiveness is underneath ours, creates it, and supports it. So that if we don’t give it to others—if we go on in an unforgiving spirit—what we show is that God is not there in our lives – we are not trusting him.

(13)    And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Mat 26:41 All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Jas 1:13  Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one.

Mat 4:1 THEN JESUS was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil.

So God does not do the tempting—he does not put evil desires in our hearts (for he can have no evil desires in his heart)—but he does bring us into the presence of many tests and temptations. In fact, every step we take is a step into the presence of temptation. There is no moment of your life that is not a moment of temptation—a moment when unbelief and disobedience is not a possibility.

The Lord’s Prayer does not teach us to pray against that kind of sovereign guidance. What it teaches us to pray is that the temptation does not take us in. Do not lead me into temptation. Deliver me from the evil that is set before me.

Today I will stand before innumerable temptations. That is what life is: endless choices between belief and unbelief, obedience and disobedience. Nevertheless, I pray almighty God: forbid that I would yield – hold me back from stepping inside the temptation.

… For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

This is an acknowledgement, a rightful acquiescence, of His sovereignty. The kingdom is His, all power is His, and all glory is His. We have no part in adding to His power and glory, nor do we have any business seeking credit for it.

The reason this is so important is because I know of no truth which is more fundamentally pervasive than God’s zeal to be glorified, which means his zeal for us so to think, to feel, and to act as to make him look as glorious as He is. We do not add to His glory – we want to make God’s glory shine. We want to make it visible. The goal of our lives’ should be to live such, that when people know us well enough, they would say, “God is glorious!”

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.

Psa 46:10-11  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.  (11)  Jehovah of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.  Selah.

This passage is so key to a healthy and invigorating relationship with Him.  There are two admonitions in this passage which we should take time to understand more fully.

Be still…

The word translated “be still” comes from the Hebrew term raphah. This word is found in various forms in the Old Testament, with different shades of meaning. It refers to that which is slack, or to let drop, or in some instances, to be disheartened or weak. The meaning would be better understood to say “cause yourself to be weakened or to let go”. In other words, we need to come to a place where we are willing to submit ourselves to God; acknowledging that He is in sovereign control.

In other contexts, those who let their hands “drop” from work are condemned. Those who are disheartened are commanded to take courage. In contexts where “being still” is condemned, we find that certain obligations were being neglected, and God’s people were admonished to take initiative to fulfill their duties.

There are those (myself definitely included) who are far from “still”; they try to “do all the work”. They believe that by “lifting up their hands” and by “taking courage,” they can survive and thrive by the sweat of their own brow. They can do it all on their own, without any divine dependence.

Here is the irony in this term “be still.” While we must take the initiative to fulfill our responsibilities and live our lives, the uncertainties of living in a world of sin and woe will continually challenge us. Personal initiative is no substitute for reliance upon God.

Jas 4:13-16  Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money.  (14)  Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air].  (15)  You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing].  (16)  But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong.

This command — “be still” — forces us to think on two things: that we are finite, and that God is infinite. That being the case, we need to drop our hands, go limp, relax, and “chill out.” Christian people ought to “come, behold the works of Jehovah,” (v. that we may enjoy a calm confidence in him who gave us his Son.

When we realize that we are incapable of controlling life, we can surrender our will to God’s will.  It may be a matter of finally saying we trust Him. This will open the door so that we may experience the fullness of all God wants and has for us. He is our Creator and has a perfect plan for us when we let Him orchestrate it.

and know that I am God…

It is of import to note that this passage does not say “be still and feel your God”.  We are admonished repeatedly in scripture to KNOW God, not to rely on our feelings, but our knowledge. We are commanded to study Him and His word to learn to recognize Him and His works and His truth, not to rely on what we feel is right.

I’ve said it many times; Christianity (faith) is very much an intellectual process.  We have faith in Him not because we ‘feel’ him – feelings ebb and flow like sifting sand.  We have faith in Him, we abide in Him because we know Him.  We know who He is and what He has promised us – knowledge is a foundation of rock.

Jesus tells us that the first commandment is:

Mar 12:30  And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment. [Deut. 6:4, 5.]

The word translated ‘know’ come from the Hebrew yaw-dah’. Meaning ‘discern’, ‘comprehend’, ‘have knowledge’, ‘be learned’.  Amongst those meanings lies my favorite connotation:  familiar friend

Our God is to be our familiar friend. We are to know Him as we would a close friend, or familiy member (our Father).  We are to have knowledge of who and what He is, what He has done and what He would do, just as we would understand and know a person we have lived closely and intimately for our whole lives.

Ultimately the two elements of the phrase ‘be still and know’ play off of each other.  We are able to ‘be still’ – to let drop our hands, to be weak – because we know our God and we know that He is faithful to protect, provide, guide, and love us. On the flip-side, we cannot experience the promises of our knowledge of Him unless we are ’still’, unless we let go and let Him do His work in our lives.