Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Now that Paul has identified the humiliation part of the gospel message, he now moves into Christ’s exaltation. After his resurrection and ascension, the Father exalted him back to his position. We read of this in Daniel chapter 7 and he is back at the right hand of God. He is given the name of salvation and there is no other name that can save and thus there is no name greater. What this passage tells us is that everyone will indeed acknowledge and confess Jesus is Lord whether they believed in this life or not. They will come face to face with the truth and will have no other option but to acknowledge him. This is a message about hope because of the exaltation of Christ. Since he has been raised and exalted, the poor will receive their reward, the oppressed will be vindicated and the righteous will live forever.
Philippians 2:12-13
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
We have the key word “therefore” in this section. This doesn’t mean we forget everything that was just said, rather we need to carefully interpret what follows in light of what was just said. Because Christ was fully God and fully human, because he came and died and was exalted, because of all that, we need to continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. They have obeyed since the beginning, even when Paul wasn’t around they obeyed. They need to continue to do that and the way to do that is to “work out” their salvation. What does that even mean? Well, it’s the Greek word katergazomai meaning to “attain or achieve”. We accomplish and attain salvation with fear and trembling. This is not where we go through life hoping we don’t make the God of the universe angry and he wipes us out. This is a reverent fear. We are in awe of the God of creation and so we attain salvation carrying that awe and respect for God all our days. If we stop having this fear of God, we go wayward and will not attain it. Notice how this is done in verse 13. God works through us so that we continue to do his will. If we stop fearing Him, we stop caring about serving Him and doing His will, we reject His help and stop achieving salvation.
Philippians 2:14-15a
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”
Part of working out our salvation is serving others without grumbling or arguing. When we grumble or argue we are not serving wholeheartedly and thus accepting God’s will. It is God’s will for us to serve others and when we argue or grumble we are pulling tension against his will. The quotation that we become “children of God” is from Deuteronomy 32:5. It is not a direct quotation but it comes from the song of Moses in which Moses declares that those who don’t follow Yahweh are “corrupt and not his children” and they are a “warped and crooked generation”. It was a crooked generation in Moses’ day and every generation thereafter even today. But we must stand out from our generation and being humble and peaceable is a great step.
Philippians 2:15b-16
Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
Shining like stars is reminiscent of the words in Daniel chapter 12. God’s elect, those he has saved are described as shining stars. Holding on to His word is the way in which we shine like stars. As we live our life and we stay true to the word of God, we will naturally shine in this world of darkness. Paul says he can then boast on the day Christ comes because they will be saved. He doesn’t mean he is boasting because he did all this work to save them. Rather, he is boasting in Jesus that He did all this work and Paul was there to carry out the work and it wasn’t for naught.
Philippians 2:17-18
But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
What does it mean to be poured out like a drink offering? Well in the Old testament, drink offerings were poured out daily to God. Paul’s daily service along with the Philippians sacrifice to help him are like an offering to the Lord. They should rejoice with Him that the Lord’s work has been done through them.
Leave a Reply