Posts from August 2024

The Paul we meet in Philippians 3 is happy to experience loss, happy to relinquish all the things, all the titles and accomplishments that he once thought made him so important. Paul is happy even to die, because he knows that on the other side of death is resurrection. He knows that in death God is still moving him forward. The whole, long journey of life, for Paul, is the forgetting of what came before and the straining forward to…

How should Paul begin his letter to a confused and stressed-out church in Philippi? He immediately jumps into the deep end of his feelings for them, speaking of gratitude, joy, compassion and fellowship (Philippians 1:3-11). This fellowship comes from the Greek word koinonia, which on one level means, “we’re here together and I’ve got your back.” And on an even deeper level it means true oneness within the church, or as he’ll go on to say in chapter 2: “be…

In Philippians 3, Paul gives us a resumé of sorts, all the reasons he could have “confidence in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3) “Flesh” is Paul’s word for the ego and all its desires, insecurities, and ambitions. He “boasts” of his treasured membership in Israel and of the tribe of Benjamin, as well as his career accomplishments – becoming a Pharisee, being Israel’s greatest crusader against the Church, and being faultless in his obedience to Jewish law. And yet, he considers…

“Work out your own salvation.” This is an interesting thing to hear from the apostle Paul (Philippians 2:12). We usually keep work and salvation in separate arenas. Isn’t Paul the same guy who said that justification comes not through works but through faith? (Galatians 2:16) But here in Philippians 2, “work out” is exactly what it sounds like – hit the gym! Yes, salvation is an event, the event of Christ inserting himself into history in order to remove the…