Phil 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped, 7 But emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men; 8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross. 9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.
In 2:5-8 Paul presents Christ as our pattern. This pattern is not only objective, but also subjective. However, when I was young, I was taught only about the objective aspect of Christ as our pattern. I was told that in His life on earth Christ set up a pattern and that we should follow in His footsteps. Now we must go on to ask where is this Christ who is our pattern. Is He in heaven, or is He in us? Verse 9 indicates clearly that God has highly exalted Christ. Thus, there can be no doubt that as our pattern Christ is in heaven. However, if Christ were only in the third heaven objectively, how could we take Him as our pattern today? It would be impossible. In order for us to take Christ as our pattern, this pattern must be subjective. In Philippians 2 Paul does not charge us to take the objective Christ as our pattern and then imitate Him. Trying to imitate Christ in this way is like a monkey trying to imitate a human being. We should not take verses 5 through 8 out of context. When we consider these verses in context, we see that the pattern is our salvation and that this salvation is God Himself operating in us to save us in a practical way. Although in ourselves we cannot work out our salvation, the One who is able is now operating in us to will inwardly and to work outwardly. Our responsibility is to cooperate with Him. When we cooperate with God's operation in us, we take Christ as our pattern. The word "for" at the beginning of verse 13 indicates that God's operating in us is related to our working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. God operates in us both the willing and the working for His good pleasure. Surely the working in verse 13 refers to the working out in verse 12. We may confess that we are not able to work out our own salvation. Yes, in ourselves we are not able. But God, the One operating in us, is able. Since He is operating in us both the willing and the working, we can work out our own salvation. Paul's word about God operating in us is a indication that the pattern is subjective as well as objective. Doctrinally, the pattern is objective; experientially, it is very subjective.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Philippians, pp. 83-85. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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