Philippians: 2
Paul began his letter by addressing the Philippian church’s disunity problem subtly: by addressing the church inclusively, by praying that their love for one another would grow, and by modeling the proper attitude Christians are supposed to have. He now addresses this issue more explicitly in 1:27-2:18, his Exhortation to Unity.
Paul calls on the church to be more unified as it endeavours to live out the gospel (Phil 1:27). Unity can be achieved by recognizing the centrality of the gospel (1:27); it can be achieved by recognizing the blessings that God offers his children (Phil 2:1-2); it can be achieved by putting the interests of others ahead of our own (Phil 2:3-4); it can be achieved by walking according to Jesus’ servant attitude (Phil 2:6-8). Ultimately, it is attained through the synergistic workings of human effort and divine grace (Phil 2:12-13). Most people view “working out your salvation” in v. 12b from an individualistic point of reference (e.g., doing devos), but really, it should be understood here communally. In other words, strictly speaking here, “working out your salvation” is done by serving others.
Having put Christ forward as the quintessential role model for leading a servant lifestyle (2:6-8), Paul then reinforces his message by using two people the church would have been really familiar with: Timothy and Ephaphroditus (2:19-30). One the one hand, Paul describes Timothy as distinguishing himself from other leaders in that he—like Paul—is fully devoted to seeking Christ’s interests first and foremost rather than his own (Phil 2:20-21). On the other hand, he describes how Ephaphroditus risked his own life for the sake of ministry, and, for the sake of helping other people out (Phil 2:30). These are the kind of leaders that the Philippians should hold in high honour (2:29)—rather than those who presently trouble them with their false teaching: à la chap. 3.
In chap. 3 Paul goes after these false teachers—even calling them “dogs” (Phil 3:2). Why are they “dogs”? B/c in preaching obedience to the Mosaic Law they preach a “gospel” of good works (e.g., Gentiles needing to be circumcised). We already saw in Galatians how Paul feels about a “gospel” of good works. Paul told the Galatians that anyone who preaches a “gospel” of good works is damned—under God’s curse (Gal 1:8-9). So in calling them “dogs,” Paul is actually being pretty nice!
In debunking their false teaching, Paul says that if we kept score of ‘Law brownie points,’ he’d win (Phil 3:4-6). But compared to the experience of knowing Jesus Christ personally, Paul counts all of his blue ribbons and trophies for keeping the Law as trash, garbage, as “dung,” literally (3:8).
These legal canines also claim that moral perfection can be attained in this life—which is why Paul takes great pains to assert the opposite: that even he has not reached perfection, and that he expects to use the rest of his life to chase after this lofty goal, never achieving it here on earth but only in heaven (Phil 3:11-14). Question: Why can’t we attain this goal on earth?
After he finishes off the false teachers, Paul returns to the matter of church unity (4:2-9). He offers a number of different ways to work towards spiritual unity: working together to solve problems (Phil 4:2-3), being gentle toward one another (Phil 4:5), praying (Phil 4:6-7), developing a virtuous thought life (Phil 4:8), and trying to emulate Paul (Phil 4:9).
In reflecting on their monetary gift to him (delivered by Ephaphroditus), Paul explains how both the giver of the gift and the recipient benefit from the gift (4:10-19). While Paul didn’t really need their gift, by giving to him the Philippians shared in his affliction; by sharing in his affliction they received apostolic blessing; and by receiving apostolic blessing, they will surely receive divine blessing—God will give back to them accordingly (Phil 4:19; cf. Luke 6:38).