T4tU Post #2 – Biblical Theology (Sin and the Fall)

Right...first, an apology. I had intended to batter these first four posts out quickly (maybe even a day each), but then I went on holiday at short notice, and had family to stay in London, so this went to one side for a bit. So by the time I've finished the first four posts, I'll probably be well into my new job (provisionally, I start next Monday). Sorry for those of you who got bored waiting ... who knows if this is worth waiting for! Anyway, on with the show...

Last time, I had a think about Creation, and how it helps understand the place of unemployment – how it fits in with God’s plan of creation, and how it sits at variance with it.

Today, I’m going to spend a bit of time looking at another part of the big bible narrative – sin and the fall.

I should say what I’m trying to do with these first four posts is understand better where unemployment sits in this big bible narrative, the better to understand the deeper biblical issues here, rather than just the superficial presenting issues.

Sin and the Fall

The origin of sin (Genesis 3)

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve rebel against God, and Adam – our first human father – set the pattern that has been that of our race ever since. Amongst the features flowing out of their rebellion were the following:

• God’s judgement on sin: death is now a definitive feature of human existence
• Fractured relationships
• With God – the personal, close relationship enjoyed by Adam and Eve with the LORD is damaged horrendously
• With other humans – there will be constant strife where once there was fellowship
• With creation – the ‘creation mandate’ remains, but the hard work will be met with ‘thorns and thistles’ and the natural course of life will be met with pain. Futility is a feature of life

The nature of sin (Romans 1:21-23)

Paul gives an outline of what sin looks like in the human race:

• Humans have knowledge of God
• Humans choose to ignore God, despite what he’s given them
• Humans do not thank God for what he’s given them in creation
• Humans consequently become hardened towards God
• Humans claim to be wise but are foolish because they do not fear God (cf. Prov 1:7)
• Humans exchange the creator for a created thing

The effects of sin (Romans 8:18-30)

Again following David Wilkinson’s breakdown of the passage (in The Message of Creation), sin has certain effects on creation and our relationship with it.

• This is a suffering creation – suffering is a normal and to-be-expected (although not welcome) feature of it
• This is an expectant creation – it’s limited and it knows it is … it’s waiting for some monumental future event to change things
• This is a frustrated creation – humans are fallen and so can’t play their part in creation properly, and so creation is disjointed
• This is a groaning creation – there is a tension between there being some continuity from this creation to the new creation and there being a massive discontinuity. Redeemed people who have the fellowship feel this tension even more keenly, as this is creation fit for sinners. Like two tectonic plates, as this creation rubs against people bound for the next one, the rumbles build up and at some point, there will be a massive seismic event
• This is a hopeful creation – all of these features are sad and difficult, but point to a future event when creation will be unleashed to be what it is meant to be. It will be liberated by the great liberator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

All of these mean that there is an appropriate way to respond to suffering and difficult situations – not the ‘ostrich’ approach of burying your head in the sand (suffering is nothing), nor rocking in the corner (suffering is everything). I’ll mention a bit more of this when it comes to looking towards the New Creation, but we have a responsibility to recognise the reality and finitude of suffering in this fallen creation.

Also, again we see the inherent frustration in our creation – things don’t work the way they did in pre-fall Eden.

Obviously, this tracks mainly the effects of sin on creation, and the natural outflow for our broken relation with it (I’m following that line because the nature of work is closely tied to the theology of creation we hold, and so the absence of work is informed by that too!). Having said that, being a sinner has other personal effects on us. It makes us rebels and spiritual adulterers, law-breakers and morally dissolute. Sin needs a solution.

God and suffering (Job 38-40)

God’s discussion with Job shows us some key features about God’s perspective on suffering in a sin-wrecked world.

• The LORD is greater than our intellects – He knows what’s going on (and has even allowed it!) … but more than that, he understands why it’s happening
• The LORD is greater than our circumstances – He filled the storehouses with snow, He set the boundaries for the oceans, He made the great beasts of the Earth, He measured out space and time and all there is, was and will be. How quickly do I forget that when compared to my personal situation?
• The LORD is greater than our expectations of Him – He understood what the end would be for Job, what the big gameplan was for the righteous man. And not just in terms of camels and kids at the end of life … but in terms of eternity. His gameplan is of staggering, magnificent scope – and His provision in the eternal-term will be not only sufficient, but outstandingly generous.

So what for unemployment?

So what does all this give us in our understanding of unemployment? Here’s some suggestions…

1. Loneliness is a feature of the Fallen World – human relationships were seemingly irreparably fractured that moment in Eden, and have remained so as we each followed in our daddy Adam’s line. Consequently, a creation intended for companionship and partnership is instead marked by individualism, combativeness, and ultimately isolation and loneliness. Whilst there ought to be some restoration of this in the establishing of the Church, too often, when you’re out of work, you’re stuck with your own company, and confronted again and again with this feature of the fall.
2. Frustration is a feature of the Fallen World – The Creation mandate involved fruitful work, and suddenly, work is no longer fruitful. However, this effect is dulled in the place of employment when you get paid at the end of the month! When you spend your days sending application forms, filling out you CV, attending interviews, and have no guarantee that it will produce fruit, you can feel like a farmer in the worst year for crops. And it’s easy to forget that you’re still working when there is no payslip for the hours you devote to your task. One of the insulating factors, protecting us from realising that this is a frustrating world, doesn’t appear in your bank account each month!
3. Suffering is a real part of this creation, but not a final part of the final creation – we need to be both realistic (hard things will happen) and yet not fatalistic (bad things are not the end of the story)
4. Idolatry is a feature of my sinful heart – We can’t define ourselves by our job … nor by our lack of one. And yet we try to! How often have I started saying, ‘I’m out of work just now …’ and then gone on to apologise for that status, to justify myself in someone else’s eyes? There’s idolatry grasping at my worldview at every turn. I define my existence and am so often controlled by my lack of a job that I have swapped the covenant God for a Jobseeker’s allowance…
5. Sovereignty is an undeniable factor of God’s character – to be honest, it’s easy to say (but not necessarily to hear) – that God’s in control. I’ve heard very few phrases more often from well-meaning brothers and sisters over the last six months. But there’s knowing this is true, and knowing this is true. And to be honest, there’s also a difference to saying it, and knowing it to be true. But God’s sovereignty is more than just ‘He’s got something lined up for you,’ and ‘God’s in Control.’ Oh, so much more. Let’s think about that another day, though…

Right, then. I don’t know I’ve really done this justice, and it’s a bit rambly … but hopefully there’s something helpful in here. As I’ve said previously, the aim of these first four posts is to understand and explain a bit more about unemployment in the big bible story. That way, we can begin to respond to it more biblically later on…

Next time, Jesus and the crux of redemptive history … and what it means for this topic.

T4tU Post #1 - Biblical Theology (Creation)

So here’s the first of the promised posts bringing the bible to bear on my unemployment. As I said before, my hope and prayer is that it’ll help me understand the situation more myself, and give me more helpful things to say and do and pray for others in unemployment in future – to guard against the line of preaching applications that say ‘so go into your office and glorify God by… Oh, and if you’re out of work, keep trusting God.’

The gospel is effective for the whole of life, for the whole of the person, for any person in any situation. As has been said, ‘the whole of the gospel for the whole of the person for the whole of life.’ In line with the Reformation view of life, there is no ‘sacred/secular’ divide, so there must be something more that the gospel has to say to people in my situation*.

In line with a suggestion from a friend, my first attempt at tackling the topic is going to be a sweep of Biblical Theology – what does the story of creation, the fall, redemption and the new creation have to say on the issue of unemployment?

Creation

God is sovereign. God is creator. He made the universe, he made it good, he made it ordered where there was chaos. And into that, he brought humans, creatures of immense dignity because they were made in the image of God (there’s Genesis 1 and 2 for you right there!). But what does that mean?

David Wilkinson suggested that being image bearers is not about God ‘putting an extra part into us’ that the other creatures didn’t get. It’s not like the thread in films like A.I. or Blade Runner which (like all good Sci-Fi movies) are mirrors held up to humanity, the thread which discusses what ‘extra’ feature makes humans humans and robots not. It is about the fact that we are made for relationship – with God! He highlights four features of what humans are ‘made for’:

• God gives us relationship, not slavery
• God gives us community, not isolation
• God gives us the responsibility of a royal steward of his creation, not purposelessness
• God gives us fruitful rest, not fruitless toil

So right from creation, a big part of being made in God’s image is order, not chaos, community, not isolation, and a balance of work and rest – both of which produce fruitfulness. There is immense dignity given to humans, because part of being image bearers means taking on a ‘creation mandate’ (see Genesis 1:26-28), which seems to have some continuity across the Fall.

Part of the challenge of being unemployed is retaining the dignity that is normative to human beings when you have no clear ‘task’ in which to be fruitful (beyond firing off CVs and application forms!).

So where does unemployment map onto this? Where are the touchpoints we can hit when we’re thinking about how to help people who are unemployed? What does creation suggest or explain about the difficulties and opportunities it presents?

1. One of the big problems with unemployment is that it brings chaos into your life where once there was order – you don’t have the structure of a set place to work, you don’t have clear ‘office hours,’ and so on. There is something there that sits quite uneasily and I suspect that is because the process of moving from employment to unemployment is often almost like a ‘decreation.’
2. Where once there was community, now there is isolation. Although the Genesis ideal of Adam and Eve working together maps most closely to marriage, there is a facet that informs us here – it’s not good for us to be alone in our work! One of the great difficulties facing the unemployed is loneliness. One of the most dominant communities in your life (especially, it has to be said, if you live in London) is surgically removed, which means you need to re-examine community.
3. Both work and rest are designed in creation for fruitfulness, not fruitlessness. It’s very hard to rest when you’re looking for work, because there’s always something else you can do. And yet when you do do some kind of work (complete an application form, attend an interview), there is no guarantee it will lead to any fruit (more on this tomorrow!). One of the massive differences I’ve found is that, no matter how hard you work, no matter what you do, no amount of work can guarantee that you will be fruitful in your labours, and no amount of rest seems to help you be refreshed, to stand back and admire the creativity of what you’ve done.
4. The creation mandate to rule and organise our ‘little corner of creation’ is still possible, but the balance shifts – how do take on the ‘royal steward’ responsibility in the whole of your life when you remove your paid employment? How does it now affect your family life, your church involvement, etc.? The mandate was always meant to apply to the whole of our interaction with Creation and not just ‘the work you do to live’. Unemployment forces you to think about this mandate more widely and less tritely (which is a good thing, but a painful thing too!).

Let me quote David Wilkinson again. After a discussion of the creation of humans, he says this:

‘What does this mean for human beings made in the image of God? It says that at the heart of our humanity is the need to be involved in creativity, and the space and time to enjoy the accomplishments of that creativity. We need to ask whether our work reflects this. We also need to affirm the importance of human creativity in music, drama, dance, painting, art, sport, sculpture, film and humour. It is in this that we find what it means to be human.’

So what does that look like when you don’t go to the office each day? What ‘creativity’ can we stand back and admire? Our dignity is found in the fact that we are God’s image bearers, not in performing a specific task. Our role is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever – and that in any situation (Paul’s secret in Philippians 4 is what allows him to be happy with much or little – God’s strengthening. It’s often quoted out of context as a kind of ‘do whatever you can think of and God will gas you up’ motto, when it’s a truth meant to sustain the believer in ministry regardless of the circumstances’). Because God is sovereign, God wants us where He’s got us.

One of the most painful lessons I’ve learned over the last six months is that my dignity as a human is dependent totally on God and not on me. I am, left to my own devices, a somewhat undignified creature, because I play down the image of God and play up my self-worth. Unemployment dents my self-worth … but in light of the doctrine of creation, that’s a good thing. Sometimes my self-worth needs dented (or destroyed), before I remember that I was created in the image of God.

But unemployment also sits out against some of the shape of the way God built creation. Work and rest are often fruitless. Days are often marked by loneliness and isolation, and not community. Life becomes less ordered and more chaotic. It is harder ‘rule and subdue,’ and easier just to coast through life – to ‘react’ as situations present themselves, and not to order life creatively.

Anyway, much of this leads into tomorrow’s post – on to sin, the Fall, and living in a broken creation. We’ll see where this all takes us then!

(Oh, and as a closing note, I’m mainly writing from my perspective, that unemployment arises unbidden, and is an unwelcome situation. I recognise that this isn’t always the case – it’s sometimes a choice and is often the right choice to be out of paid work. However, as I write, what I mainly have in mind is the unwelcome situation of being in forced, uninvited unemployment)

Tomorrow: Sin and the Fall

*Interestingly enough, the day after I introduced the series, I actually got offered a job, which I plan on accepting. God works in mysterious ways… However, I still feel this is a useful endeavour!

Theology for the Unemployed

So it's been a long time since I've posted on here and I reckon it's time to get back into the blogosphere.

I've now been out of work for close on six months, and I'm here to tell you - it's not fun! The joys of being out of work during the worst downturn in decades are extensive - the fact it's an employer's market, so they can treat you how they like; the difficulty of keeping some amount of discipline when your day comprises trawling the same websites applying for the same jobs; the repetative conversations at church which go, 'So have you found a job yet,' 'No.' 'Oh, well - God's in control!' (as if that might come as news to me!); finding yourself watching Dave at two in the afternoon; knowing exactly how this episode of 'Everyone Loves Raymond' is going to work out (Debra shouts, the kids run around, Robert complains about being neglected, mum bakes lasagne and doesn't respect boundaries, dad eats lasagne and makes cutting comments about wife).

Anyway, I got to thinking ... just what does the bible have to say to someone in my situation. I've been working on a few things for other situations, but it struck me that we form a theology of work, and apply our sermons to help those in offices, schools, etc., but our applications seem to stop at, 'Don't worry, God's in control.' What do you say (or not say) to someone who's out of work for a long time? What comfort is there? What challenge? What ways can you glorify God whilst unemployed?

So I'm going to try to post a bit over the next few weeks. I think I may try to cover issues such as:

• Identity
• Community
• Pride, shame and humility
• The sovereignty of God
• Grace for every situation
• Hopefulness and Hopelessness
• The resources God gives to a believer

But we'll see what happens. I hope that if nothing else, it'll force me to think these things through and be a more Christ-like jobseeker. I pray that it might be useful to someone else, too - whether in the future as I seek to counsel others in this situation, or to someone reading this now. But we'll have to see what pans out...

Watch this space!

'Living as Stewards of God's Resources' (11/3/09 Bible Study - Philippians 4:10-23)

So last night, we finished the letter of Philippians.  I think I've learned a lot and encountered a lot of new challenging material over the course of the 9 studies - as I said in week 1, Philippians is a letter about Jesus, about the gospel, about partnership and about joy ... probably in that order.  If you want to download the handouts (both the study questions and the session summaries), you can now get them on the APC Website here.

Often, we summararily ignore the last few verses of Paul's letters because, after all, they're regularly just personal things that don't necessarily have any value for the modern day church, yes?  Well, in actual fact if we do that with Philippians (or any book of the bible, for that that matter!), we miss some key practical applications to gospel workers - which is to say, all Christians!

1. Gospel workers and their situation (vv10-13)

It's worth noting that v13 is one of the most oft-quoted promises by Christians, but oh, so often, out of context - it's generally read as a triumphalist, 'God will award you whatever you want, you can walk through walls or swallow fire if you have enough faith,' kind of promise.  God's strenght becomes a bit like Popeye's ... stuff in the spiritual spinach and off you go with anvils on the biceps of your soul.  But if we think it means that, we do the context of Paul's letter a sever injustice.

Paul, remember, is stuck in prison, perhaps awaiting an execution order.  It's easy to say, 'I can be content with much or little' when we have much!  But the true test of veracity is if we can say that when we're down, when we've got little or are hungry!

No, Paul doesn't want the Philippians to be Spiritual Popeyes...rather, he's telling them that he has uncovered a secret - how to survive as a gospel worker faithfully and consistently working for the gospel, irrespective of the outward circumstances.  He's not saying that you'll be immune to hardship, or not notice it like some weird monk ... rather that our outward circumstances don't control whether or not we're faithful in our gospel ministry.

Paul unveils the secret that allows him to do this - not untapped reserves in ourselves, but in the God who will strengthen you to do what he's asked you do in the situation he's asked you to do it.  The emphasis is not on what I can do, but on the one who strengthens me.  This is not a verse about making triumphant demands of God...but of contented service of God.  We should serve faithfully in the situation we're in now, rather than spend our lives demanding a different situation tomorrow.

2. Gospel workers and their temporary resources (vv14-17)

Paul is encouraged that, since day one of their faith, the Philippians have supported his ministry (probably financially) - even when they were in the very first days of being a church (Paul went straight onto Thessalonica from Philippi ... and they supported him there), and even when Paul was something of an anathema (as he was in Thessalonica, and also currently in prison - yet they're still willing to be associated with him).

However, his focus is not on the giftst hey give as an end in themselves, but rather what their gifts can acheive (namely, the furtherance of gospel work).  Their sacrifice of their temporary resources can enable a profit that'll stick in their account for all eternity - and will keep on growing!

The important thing is to make sure we take the resources God gives us and invest them in something of eternal significance.  Giving money is not an end in itself - instead Paul gives a different measure of succes.  Has your investment returned the eternal fruit that the gospel brings?

3. Gospel workers and their God (vv18-23)

Finally, Paul points out that the gifts they have given to Paul operate also as a beautiful offering to God.  But Paul is clear that their offering is acceptable (which suggests that some offerings that look like this can be unacceptable!).  The reason that it is acceptable and pleasing to God is that it is evidence of a heart devoted to the same things that God's heart is devoted to (see 1 Samuel) - the growth of His kingdom and the honour of His name.

Gifts can be unacceptable to God if they are to further any other kingdom - especially our own kingdoms and names and reputations.  God hates unacceptable gifts.  Question: do we worship our money and what it can do, or do we worship with our money and other resources?

The Philippians are giving in such a way that they need to hear the reassurance of v19 - so sacrificially that they need to know that God will meet their needs.  They are giving beyond their means to support gospel work, and so they need to know that their needs will be met from a guaranteed bank - a bank of eternal blessings, guaranteed by Jesus' sacrifice.  Paul is teaching not prosperity, but rather stewardship.

So Paul is not focused on the need, but on God who supplies strength for the ministry. Not on the gift, but on the eternal significance it can have. And not on prosperity, but on stewardship and trust.

4. In Conclusion...

Paul closes off the letter with a few comments that allow him to bring home some central truths that have underpinned all that he's said.

• The key sign that we're on the right track is this: that God is getting the credit He deserves

• The gospel is so massively effective, it has even infiltrated into the very court of the Emperor himself!

• The only reason we can live this life is because of the mercy of Jesus

• That Jesus is both our Lord (master of the universe) and Christ (God's chosen rescuer) - so we really need him!

'A Strange Fellowship and an Uncertain World' (4/3/09 Bible Study - Philippians 4:2-9)

Almost there with Philippians...not much left in volume, but considerable depth!  Paul begins to wrap things up with three directions for the Philippians:

1. When there are divisions in the church, there is a core to keep (vv2-3)

It has often been said, 'The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing' (variously attributed, but said to me most often by UCCF staffworkers in my CU Committee days).  That is the essence of what Paul is telling the church here.  It seems that Euodia and Syntyche are Christians - they are, after all, co-workers, partners in the gospel, and the passage seems to indicate that their names are written in the book of life.  As far as Paul is concerned, they have not gone so far as to be regarded as heretics or currently destructive to the church.

However, the problem seems to be that they have allowed some issue of secondary, tertiary or lesser importance cloud out the major issue, the main thing.  That is a problem for the church - when a minor issue gets so much airtime that it distracts the church from the core issue - the progress of the gospel.

Think of it like this.  Sally and Jake go on a roadtrip from New York to Seattle - a journey of some 2400 miles.  They have consulted Google Maps, installed their SatNav, mapped out their route and take off.  Everything is progressing fine, and for days they are on target - the plan is to take a week to get there.  However, on day five, at about four in the afternoon, they decide to stop for coffee.  Sally wants to go to Starbucks, and Jake to Dunkin Donuts.  Apart from the fact that Jake is far wiser, they quickly become heated in their discussions.  So much so that they miss their exit from the interstate, and end up heading south to Salt Lake City by mistake.  Whilst they agreed on the essentials, they allowed a minor decision to cloud that goal, and so got pulled off target.

Paul tells the Philippians to 'get their head on' ... the other members should get alongside Euodia and Syntyche, in order to help them back on track, and the focus on the fact that the core to keep is the gospel - it's a helpful flag for us that if we're distracted from this task, from the centrality of the gospel, then minor issues have undoubtedly become too major!  The command for the other members to help them out rings with last week's command to walk closely with those who imitate Christ, as it's the best way to expose where we aren't thinking with the mind of Christ.

2. When the World Seems Uncertain, There is One to Trust (vv4-7)

The key truth Paul wants them to remember here is this: Jesus is not far away.  This is true in at least two senses:

• He is not unimportant or insignificant to everday live
• He is not disinterested in this world, nor will he be away long before he comes back as Lord of all creation

It might seem that Jesus' work and word are far removed from real life today, but nothing could be further from the truth.  In an uncertain world, there are two ways to go:

• Live as if Jesus is far removed from rela life, and so be anxious and uncertain all the time
• Live recognising that Jesus is significant for every feature and moment of life ... and so pray, ask God and give thanks to him with regards to all the things that would otherwise make us anxious!

How much we pray as individuals and churches show how much we trust that Jesus is significant to our lives.  How much we worry as individuals and churches shows how much we assume that Jesus is irrelevant - we can be verbal Christians and practical atheists!

the result of living in trust that Jesus is significant and involved in everyday life will mean the peace of God will set up camp all aroudn our hearts and minds to protect us from uncertainty - it will transform our affections, decision making, the things that make our hearts flutter or swell - they will all be surrounded by an impregnable wall of certainty, and so protect us not from the things that make us anxious in this world, but from anxiety itself.

3. When you become a Christian, there is a life to live (vv8-9)!

Paul sets up two features of the Philippians' lives that should be lived in a particular way:

• Think Character-forming thoughts.  The things the Philippians are to focus their minds on (compare 3:19) are not eight individual thoughts, but a character of things to think about - thoughts that will shape a type of person, a Christ-like person.  thoughts that will bring a church together, because they mark the mind of Christ.  Thoughts that will focus the church on the things of the gospel.  They are a means to an end, not an end in themselves - so fix your mind on things that will shape your character this way!
• Live the habit-forming gospel.  The Philippians have received the gospel, essentially Jesus Christ, from Paul et al - and they are to make these an everyday habit.  The gospel is passed on to transform lives, not merely produce changed status.  Again, we see the gospel is not informational but transformational.  What are our habits?  Are they gospel habits?  Do we every day attempt to put into practice the truth of the gopsel?

Essentially, Paul wants it said of the Philippians what was said once of John Bunyan: 

'Prick him anywhere; and you will find that his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him.  He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his soul is full of the word of God.'

If they live this life, there is a great guarantee.  Just as the peace of God would guard them as they trust that Jesus is significant to and interested in the world, then the God of peace will be their constant companion as they live gospel-transformed lives.  What a blessing!

'Walk Like a Philippian' (25/2/09 Bible Study - Philippians 3:12-4:1)

Various problems afflict the church, both from outside its walls, to the sometimes more dangerous and always more insidious internal challenges.  What are the major challenges to the church, what are the things that could steal away her joy in Christ Jesus?

Last week, Paul highlighed one particular group who threw up a real challenge to the joy of the Philippian church - the 'Mutilators'.  These were people within the church who, whilst accepting Jesus as their Lord and saviour (superficially at least), claimed that you then needed the 'old badges of identity' that came with the people of God, or you were not really an insider.  Paul called them out, and answered them with the doctrine of Justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone.

This week, Paul smokes out two more groups intent on hijacking the joy of the Christian church - the 'Perfectionists,' who claim to already be the finished article, Christianly speaking, and the 'Enemy Collaborators' - the people who have their crosshairs firmly fixed on the cross of Christ and anyone clinging to it.

In order to help the Philippians to set up the guards they need, he gives them four stances for a Christ, four careful guards - Christian disciples must sprint, march, walk and stand still.

1. Sprint towards your destiny

Paul begins by painting a word picture of an athlete straining, always straining for the finishing tape.  He asserts that he is by no means the finished article, but instead paints a different picture.  He has heard the starter's gun of his justificastion, he has his eyes boring into the finishing tape, and so what does he do while he's between the two markers?  Wait for the adjuticator to bring him his prize whilst he has a can of coke and some chicken nuggets?  No, he runs ... and runs hard!  The picture is like that last stretch of an Olympic sprint race, where the competitors not only run their hardest, but also l-e-a-n forward in order to eek out the most from the race that they possibly can.

Paul is batting away the Perfectionists using the doctrine of Sanctification.  And he asserts that, like the sprinter in the race, the disciple being sanctified (made more like Jesus) must always drive themselves hard alongside the work that God is doing in us (1:6).  Being sanctified involves sweat, strain, effort on our part.

Often, I slip into thinking that I've basically arrived as a Christian.  Yeah, I'm not perfect, but all that's really left to do is a little tweaking.  I've been trained, I've done the hard yards, but that's behind me now.  I can ease off, not try hard.  Paul is having none of that.  That's as crazy as Usain Bolt deciding mid race he needn't bother do anything but walk the rest of the way.  For the Christian, our start was certain (justification), our endpoint is certain (salvation), but that doesn't give us an excuse to amble along the way - easing off is not why we're in the race!

2. March in step with your identity

The little verse 16 gives us another picture to protect the Christian - Paul is telling them literally to 'march with your identity'.  When a soldier marches out of time with his platoon, it's really painfully obvious very quickly - and it does his platoon a real disservice, making them look amateurish.

That's what Paul wants Christians to do.  You know who you are - you're a firm and certain Christian - so your life should march in time with that.  If you're out of step with who Jesus has made you, it'll be really obvious, it'll make Jesus' work look amateurish and do him a real disservice before the world.  Christians should want to march in step with their identity.

3. Walk closely around accurate 'casts' of Jesus

The third picture involves walking.  It's an indication of how we can see more clearly when we're not marching in step with our identity.  Paul's not being big-headed or proud.  In fact, he's telling the Philippians to walk close to people who know they're not the finished article ... because this shows humility and thus the mind of Christ.  This is one of the ways that we can expose how we don't always think with the mind of Christ (v17 is a bit of a bookend of the idea of 'having the same mind, the mind of Christ' in 2:5).

If we're walking close to people who are seeking to map their lives onto Christ more and more accurately, it'll help us to see where we're out of step.  Just as a soldier marching on his own can march at whatever pace he likes and not see if he's out of time, a Christian going solo is far more likely to live with unrepented-of-sin.  When a soldier marches alongside his platoon, and the whole platoon is focussed on their captain setting the tempo, it's much easier to see the things that aren't right in the march, and sort them out quickly before they become a problem!

So look for people who are accurate 'casts' of Jesus, modelled closely on him ... and march beside them, walk around from them, pick up your pace from them.

4. Stand absolutely still in your Lord and Saviour

The last picture is given in the light of a description of enemies of Jesus' saving work.  Christians ought to stand absolutley still in their Lord and Saviour.  After all, he's the one who's coming to get us back again one day.  He'll take us to an eternity spent with him in the New Creation.  He's the one who instigated the starter's gun on our Christian life, and he's the one who'll give us the prize at the finish line - he's the one that guarantees that our end is not destruction, as it is with enemies of the cross.

So why would you want to step outside of Jesus, rely on anyone or anything else, if he's the one who's done this and is going to do that?  Why would you even wobble outside of that safe place, that guarantee, that perfect relationship?  So stand absolutely still.  You get your passport from Heaven (cf. 1:27), so wait in expectation for the day the letter arrives with the stamp of your chief official on it, summoning you back to home base.  When he does, he'll use all the power of 2:9-11 to transform our grimy bodies into ones just like his own resurrection body, and we'll be with him, safe and secure forever.  So stand still.

Four instructions for Christians under a barrage of attacks: sprint, march, walk and stand.  Four things to pray for help with this week.  Let's sprint with real effort at our sanctification, let's march with real precision with our identity, let's walk with great closeness to Christ-like disciples and let's stand with absolute stillness in our Lord and Saviour.

Some useful resourceage...

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'Living with Jesus on the Balance Sheet' (18/2/09 - Philippians 3:1-11)

Some passages of Scripture feel like a true Godsend.  And some biblestudies are so exciting because you can see the lights go on when people begin to grapple with the text and see what God actually says therein.  Last night was one of those studies!

If you were to answer the question: 'what makes you a Christian?' what would you say?  Sometimes, when we think about all things that go towards making us a Christian, and what makes us certain that we're right with God, we can get a bit panicky ... but what if I'm not saved?  Thinking like this is a pointer that we are relying on a gospel that is fundamentally skewed compared to the true Gospel preached by Paul and the other apostles.

Having encouraged the Philippians to rejoice in gospel partnership, to rejoice when the gospel goes forward, to rejoice in the humility of Christ and humble unity of believers, to rejoice when gospel effort is seen not to be pointless, he now uses the command to rejoice in a new way - he uses it as a safeguard, as a warning, as a protection for the Philippian Christians.  We don't often use joy that way.  But by rejoicing in the Lord, the young Christians will be guarded against some incredibly destructive pseudo-gospels.

Beware of the Dogs (vv1-6)!

Paul is scathing in his terminology of this particular group in the church.  They are not only being told off - they are being villified!  So what's the difference here from the people in 1:15-18?  Both groups are opposed to Paul.  Why, with one group, does he shrug his shoulders and say 'Bring it on,' whilst with the other gets the full-bore holy flame-thrower treatment?  The difference is this: the gospel.  In Chapter 1, although their motives were wrong, their message was right.  On the other hand, here, the message is fundamentally flawed.

It seems that on view is the question: what makes you into the true people of God (if you look at the comparison he makes between v2 and v3, the 'real circumcision,' the issue of true worship and so on point to the concept of the true people of God)?  On the one hand, we seem to have the circumcision party of Colossians, Galatians and so on - the group that said, 'Yeah, great, we accept Jesus as saviour and Lord ... but now, you've got to do all of the old Jewish things, too.'  So they weren't denying the message of the gospel per se ... rather, they were subtly adding to it - Jesus alone is not enough.

In effect, Paul is describing traditional religious thinking - that Jesus is core, but Jesus is not sufficient.  I know that sounds crazy...but it's the way most of us end up thinking, especially in the conservative church.  We try to catch God's eye with our great service in the church, our active prayer life, our daily quiet times.  We end up thinking we're doing God a favour by being on His team.  That's the state of our hearts!  And for this type of thinking, Paul reserves very strong words!

So what do the real people of God look like?  They worship in the Spirit of God (look at John 4 for more discussion of this), they cheer in Jesus rather than anything else, and they are not persuaded by outward things of their rightness with God.

Paul goes on to list five ways that, if we were playing the game of boasting in outward things, he could win hands down.  If we were playing 'Righteousness Top Trumps,' you would want the Paul card.  And these five ways of boasting are often ways we boast, too!

1. Tradition and outward signs of membership of the people of God
2. Heritage of connection with the people of God
3. Outstanding knowledge of the bible and personal ministry
4. White-hot passion for God's reputation
5. Studious moral obedience

In Christ Alone (vv7-9)

The main issue for the people of God is this - how can we be made right with God.  As Mark Driscoll once said ... the gospel starts with the idea, 'God hates you and it's going to go really, really bad [for you] for a very long time.'  How can we get God's anger turned away from us?  Well, it used to be that Paul used the things listed above to convince himself that he was right with God.  If you can imagine a balance sheet where the 'gain' column contains things that counted towards you being right with God, and the 'loss' column contained things that detract from that, then he had the above things in the 'gain' column.

But then Jesus blasted onto his balance sheet.

And Jesus went straight into the gain column ... and if Paul tried to keep the old things on the balance sheet, they'd not add on in the gain column.  Rather, they'd detract from his status with God.  Because if he did that, he'd be saying to God: God, I don't want you to look at me and see Jesus in all his perfection, and sacraficial efficiency.  I want you to see me and my good bits.  Problem: if we ask God to see me and my good bits, he'll also see my sinful heart, and I'll get punished for that.  I can't be selective - either I ask God to look at me and see Jesus (that's what 'righteousness by faith' seems to mean), or I can ask God to look at me, and hope (vainly) that I'll match up, somehow.  God either sees sinful me or sinless Jesus.

So living with Jesus on the balance sheet means everything else needs to get stripped off the balance sheet - none of the other other things should be kept on.  Here are the three options:

1. Ignore Jesus, keep my balance sheet with my 'good stuff' on the gain column.  This is living as a secular non-Christian.
2. Accept Jesus onto my balance sheet, but try to keep my good stuff in the gain column, too.  This is living as a religious non-Christian.
3. Accept Jesus onto my balance sheet, recognise he is hyper-valuable, and so boot every other thing that I might boast of, that I might cheer in, off the sheet in tota, onto the separate sheet entitled 'Dogfood.'  This is living as a Christian.

Faith in Jesus makes this kind of living accessible.  That means staking my eternity that Jesus has done it all - not a belt and braces approach, not a Jesus-plus approach.  Staking my eternity that what God says is true and will happen - those who take Jesus onto their balance sheet will get the benefit of eternity as right with God.

Clear sky thinking (vv10-11)

The last couple of verses hide some incredible truths.  Paul warns us that in the light of this instruction regarding living with Jesus on our life's balance sheet, we ought to have the clouds in our thinking blown away.  He says three things:

• Justification this way gives me a clear relationship with Jesus that I can enjoy right now
• Relationship with Jesus now means that I have a clear pattern of life to emulate and anticipate - suffering and maybe even death - for the moment
• This pattern of life is emulated because our main desire is to get to the same destination as Jesus any way we possibly can - the bodily resurrection of the dead later, which I can long for now.

Unfortunately, this is uncomfortable teaching.  If I examine my heart, when I talk about discipleship, and use phrasiology like 'I want to be more like Jesus,' I mean that I want to be like Jesus in his ability to teach, to be like Jesus in his authority, to be like Jesus in his ultimate victory.  In a sense, this is a kind of 'over-realised eschatology' - I want what Jesus got later, whilst ignoring what his life looked like first.  If I say I want to be more like Jesus, I have to be prepared for my life to map more and more closely onto his.  My pattern of life must be expected to look more an more like his pattern of life.

This is something that is backed up by the teaching of Jesus ('...take up your cross and follow me,'), by the teaching of the New Testament, and by the empirical proof of the life of the great saints (the martyrdom of the apostles, the life and death of the likes of Stephen and Paul).  So in terms of discipleship ... do I really want to be like Jesus?  Because that's what I need to pursue with the white-hot zeal for Jesus if I want to get to that final destination of resurrection...

That's living with Jesus on the balance sheet.

STOP PRESS - if you want to download the handout, go here.

'Who Was Jesus?' (15/02/09 Youth Group - Mark 6:31-56)

In youth group on Sunday evenings, our main teaching focus has been to work our way through Mark's gospel.  We've taught in a variety of ways, and htis week, I spent fifteen minutes unpacking who Mark paints Jesus to be in this passage, and then got the young people to design a newspaper front page communicating the big themes of the passage.

As a way in, I used that modern preacher's favourite tool, Google.  Type in the phrase 'Jesus was...' and hit 'search,' and the top ten returns include the following:  Jesus was...

• Gay
• Muslim
• A vegetarian (and wanted the rest of us to be too)
• An only son (thank, Mr Springsteen)
• A *#@^ (can't actually write what one page claimed him to be!)

And that was just on the top page of returns!

So who does Mark claim Jesus is?  Mark sometimes gets a bad press for being rougher round the edges than the other gospellers - all in a rush to get to Easter, so that he misses Christmas, always using the word 'immediately,' and generally only drawing the sketchiest of pictures of Jesus compared to Matthew, Luke and John.  But Mark is actually building a rich tapestry of who Jesus really was, and to miss that as merely reporting the things he reports is to perform a great injustice.

Three things from this passage (which features some of the more famous miracles and stories) which Mark seems to suggest point to Jesus' mindblowing identity, and one significant problem.

Signpost 1 - Jesus is God's True and promised Shepherd

Throughout the OT, the picture of a shepherd for God's people again and again gets brought up.  More than just a sandle-wearing, dung-smelling, woolly-jumper-making bumpkin, the biblical shepherd is put in place to care for God's people, to gather the lost sheep, to lead them in a way that kept them safe from destructive idolatry, to teach them the character and redemptive action of God.  Moses and David were both pictured as prototypical shepherds.  But by 1 Kings 22, we see the leaders of God's people are poor and abusive shepherds who effectively enjoy lamb kebabs every night.

And then in Ezekiel 34, God promises to punish the old shepherds for their failure, to gather in his lost and scattered sheep and to send 'King David' as the perfect shepherd - he'll keep them safe and lead them to safe, abundant pastures.  For King David, read 'God's King'

So when Mark uses the phrase 'he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd,' he lifts a phrase right out of the OT (Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17, etc.).  He's putting us on notice that something special is going on here.  And what's his logical progression when he sees this?  Does Jesus feed them?  Yes, but not at first.  His compassion on these lost sheep is to gather the people and to teach them.  Jesus cares for people, he gathers them, he leads them, he teaches them.  Jesus is God's promised true shepherd.

Signpost 2 - Jesus is Lord of the new Exodus

Three times, we're told that the people are in the wilderness.  Jesus provides bread out of (practically) nothing.  People are fed by 'God's Shepherd' and have more than enough to satisfy them.  There are twelve baskets gathered up left over to remind the disciples of Jesus' provision.  All of this points to something big going on.  Mark is claiming that a new Exodus is happening here.  And who's in charge?  Who's Lord of it?  Jesus.

A new people of God are being assembled, and they, as previously, are being provided for and rescued in the wilderness.  But now, the Exodus leader is Jesus.  He's rescuing a new people, providing God's avenue of redemption.

Signpost 3 - Jesus is God Himself come to rescue His people

Having sent the boys out across the lake, Jesus prays on the mountain, and, looking out, He means 'to pass them by' (note the use of Exodus language - see Exodus 15:16).  So he walks out to them.  Across the water.  Understandably, they're freaked out.  So how does he reassure them - what does he say is his identity?  'It is I.'  But in Greek, he uses exactly the same form of words as Exodus 3:14 - 'I AM'.  Jesus is claiming to be God.

So not only is Jesus someone special - he's someone extrodinary.  Mark seems to be using Exodus language to point us to Jesus being God himself come to rescue His people.  That's huge.  We can't just write him off as a useful teacher, whose teaching we can pick and choose from.

We see a Jesus who's instigating a new rescue event.  A Jesus gathering lost people.  A Jesus who is the true shepherd, the Exodus Lord, God himself.  We can't shrink him down.  Mark is setting the agenda very methodically and rigorously - we can't use the phrase 'I've always thought of Jesus as...'

The Problem - hard hearts

Despite this picture, these signposts, the disciples are still confused.  Mark gives us a pointer that the feeding of the 5000 should have woken us up to a bigger truth - it was meant to tell the disciples something of Jesus' identity.  That's why he performed that miracle in the first place.  We'll find out more in a chapter or two when the same thing happens again, and Jesus precipitates the crisis point for Simon Peter and the others.  But for now, their hearts just aren't big enough to take in God's truth.  They can accept some small part of who Jesus, but they're just not ready to see him as God himself come to rescue.

Tune in next time for more on that problem...

But for now, what do we do with this Jesus?  How can we properly respond to a Jesus who's not just there to tell us how to be nicer or better ... but a Jesus who is God?

'Living with Generation Twister' (11/2/09 Bible Study - Philippians 2:12-30)

Sometimes, studying God's Word takes a lot out of you.  From the preparation to the prayer to the study or sermon itself, it feels like you're wading through treacle.  Not because God's Word is unclear - it is an orthodox and much neglected Christian doctrine that the Bible is able to be understood, because the Spirit who inspired it also works in believers to illuminate its meaning (see Mark Thompson's book, A Clear and Present Word for a helpful explanation of that).  No, God's Word is able to be understood by His people.  Sometimes, though, it's just not easy to understand.  And more than that - teaching God's Word is more tiring than it should be!  Because it is a spiritual undertaking, and we need God's enabling, we're often utilising muscles that have atrophied through laziness or disuse.  Studying God's Word can take a lot out of you.  So it was with last night's study.

Having said that, there was a cornucopia of delights in what is a very tough passage.  At first blush, it seems that Paul is advocating a 'works' theology - 2:12 says 'work out your salvation with fear and trembling.'  But the passage is rich with Old Testament allusions, and has taught me much.

One of the major questions on view is this - how can the church live in the midst of this broken and sordid generation?  A quick search of Google trends yesterday revealed that the top searches and websites accessed included various sites dealing with shopaholism [sic], pictures of a celebrity breastfeeding, and a Major League Baseball player who knowingly had unprotected sex with his girlfriend whilst HIV positive.  What does the church do in this generation?

vv12-13 ... Work it Out!

I suspect these verses are prone to much misunderstanding - Paul's leading line, after all, is to work out your salvation.  So often, though, Paul uses the language of salvation to represent a future blessing for God's people, as well as a current one.  We're often pretty loose with our theological terminology - but Paul seems to have on view the salvation of Romans 13:11, which is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  To be nearer now than then, we can't have it yet!  Anyway, it seems that Paul is commanding Christians to work hard in concert with God's Spirit to live in a way that's moving towards our final destination - salvation and eternity with Jesus - and not away from it.  The obedience of faith, as Paul describes it often in Romans.

And we're only able to do that because God energises us.  We need God's energising both to will and to do.  That is - to want to do what is pleasing to God, and then to do what we now want to do!  Paul is clear in Romans 3 that no-one, of their own volition, wants to seek after God, to do what is pleasing to Him.  So we need God's energy to want to do what is pleasing to Him.  But in Romans 7, and Matthew 26:41, even when our spirit is willing, our flesh may be weak ... so we need God's energy to actually do what's pleasing to Him, too.

All of this harks back to Ezekiel 36, where God promises a radical heart transplant - only then will His people truly and voluntarily walk God's way.

But for us living between the final two waymarkers of Salvation History - Jesus' ascension and his return to judge the living and the dead - we are living with new hearts, but fighting against the remains of our old life.  We need God's energy for this fight, but we need to 'get our head straight and get stuck into' the battle to live God's way, too.  It's tiring, it's awkward, it's unpleasant.  But it's what god empowers us to do.  We do it with fear and trembling, because we are conscious now of the reality that everyone will see later - that the Jesus who has steralised the instruments for God's heart transplant is the Lord of the universe (2:9-11), and so deserves humble honour.

vv14-18 ... Old Israel, True Israel

Clearly underpinning these verses is the identity and purpose of Israel - God's Old Testament special people.  Paul warns the Philippians not to grumble, mumble and question, reminiscent of Exodus 16.  The problem there was not simple doubt nor humble question-asking - but rather outright failure of trust.  The questions they asked stemmed from doubting God's goodness and forgetting his deliverance.  When that goes, everything else is up for grabs.  That's why grumbling is a symptom of something serious in the church - it generally stems from disbelieving God's goodness and forgetting his salvation.  It can rip a church apart - leadership is questioned, sin is tolerated, power games are played.  That's why it's such a serious issue.

But instead of being like old Israel, the Philippians are exhorted to be like true Israel.  Paul implicitly recalls Isaiah 49:5-6, where the Lord's servant Israel is painted as having a bigger mission than just building up God's existing saints.  He is meant to be a 'light to the nations,' so that whoever is willing to join himself to the LORD can be brought into covenant relationship with Him.  Israel is to be separate from the world, yes; but separate so that the world can see the wonder of being able to live at peace with the God of the universe, and want to join in!  Israel singularly failed at this, but Jesus succeeded.  Recognised by Simeon in Luke 2, he proclaimed himself the Light of the World (John 8), but here, that role is passed onto Christ's people in the world.

The generation they (and we!) sit in was both twisted ('crooked,' ESV) in that it is angled away from God, but also twisting ('twisted', ESV) in that it actively seeks to turn others away from God.  It is Generation Twister.  But the way God's people are to deal with that?  Neither withdrawal, smugness and condemnation, nor immersion, compromise and ultimately being twisted away from God.  But to behave as God's special people were always meant to - to stay separate, in order to draw outsiders into the people of God!  Woah.  What a truth, what a role.

And when that starts to happen, it's vindication that the gospel is working as its meant to.  There's nothing more frustrating in Ultimate Frisbee than running fifty or sixty yards, being in the clear, and looking back to see no throw coming your way.  Similarly, Paul doesn't want to get to the endzone (when Jesus comes back again), and see that the effort in gospel work is pointless.  But conversely, if Philippi Presbyterian starts working not like Old Israel but true Israel ... well, that's a cause to cheer.  Even if, to get to the endzone, it means him giving up his life.  

That's the importance of gospel work.  And that's a shocking reminder to all of us involved in ministry (read: every Christian) not to give up at the least discouragement, or weariness.  We do that all too easily.  After all, it's not worth it?  No, Paul says, it's worth it and more - invest in gospel work, so that when you present your charges to Jesus, the gospel is seen to be effective.  Don't let yourself get in the way of it!

Humbling.

Paul gives two case studies, well known to the Philippians.  First, Timothy, who was proof positive that gospel work was not wasted - that it had proved effective in his life (and he exhibited 'the mind of Christ' mentioned in 2:1-4).  Second, Epaphroditus, who was a living example of someone who understood that gospel work must progress, even if what it takes for the message to progress is the death of the messenger.  Kobe Bryant played a game for the LA Lakers last week with severe flu, and still put up 19 points against the form team in the league, needing IV fluids at half time.  But he knew this match was too important to deprive his team of their best chance.  Same goes for the people of God.  The gospel is too important to stop its progress because I can't take one for the team.  That's why Paul highlights Epaphroditus.

I guess there's lots in this passage, and it's not comfortable for us.  But it is vital transformative information as we learn how to live not on our own, but as Christ's church in Generation Twister.  We look forward to the day of salvation, when we can say:

'New heart - check.  The will to please God - check.  The ability to act out that will - check.  Gospel work - that's not been in vain.  I've seen that every effort I've put up, no matter how weak and insignificant has been taken up by God and multiplied a hundredfold in terms of Kingdom effect.  What a mighty God we serve!'

'Living as Gospel Citizens' (4/2/09 Bible Study - Philippians 1:27-2:11)

So here I am on my first post on my shiny new blog.  I guess there'll be a variety of stuff on here.  But in particular, I'm hoping to blog about the content of each bible study I lead, and talk or sermon I give, in order to help me crystalise the main lessons from the passages in my own heart.

Last night, we had our fourth study in Philippians (well, third in Philippians, plus one in Acts 16).  We reached the key-note passage, Paul's description of Jesus' humiliation and exaltation.  Dick Lucas says he thinks 1:29 is one of the key verses in the whole book.  

I think the whole passage (1:27-2:11) drops down out of Paul's instruction in 1:27 - 'so live in a manner worth...' (ESV).  In fact, it seems to be that the Greek word used is 'be a citizen of the gospel,' more literally.  I guess this was particularly poignant for the church in Philippi, people proud no doubt of their Roman citizenship.  Paul seems to want to subvert the loaded idea of being a citizen.  Christians are citizens not of Rome, the US or the UK, but of the gospel.  He's leading on from discussing the priority of gospel work for every Christian in 1:12-26.  And here, he's realistic that that will be opposed.

So what is a gospel citizen?  Well, they're a wrestler (1:27) with other gospel citizens, against gospel opponents and for the goal of the gospel; a signpost (1:28) to gospel opponents that everyone gets something eternal from God (salvation or destruction) on the last day (I wonder whether in the same sense as John 3 and John 16 - producing conviction that, God willing leads to repentance - but I'm not sure), in the way we wrestle together for the gospel; and a mimic of Jesus - our pattern of life maps onto Jesus'.  Suffering first, glory later.  And suffering is paired with belief as a grace-gift from God - the same word-root is used as God's merciful allowance that we might 

The side-along support of Jesus, the strength-infusing love he shows, the partnership with the spirit all produces a gut-wrenching reaction in the believer that leads to having the very mindset of Christ.  So Christians are not proud-minded, but humble minded.  But what makes Christians different from any other group, who happen to look out for one-another?  Isn't it all just 'in group mentality,' as Richard Dawkins would have it?

Well, in 2:6-11, we see a stunning description of Christ Jesus, the hero, the theme of the book of Philippians.  Not a sappy, wussy, girly Christ.  But the Christ who flung stars into orbit, who waterproofed the ocean basin, who carved the teeth of the crocodile and the muscles of the boa constrictor.  This Christ was voluntarily humilitiated to become 'wrapped in our clay' as Wesley put it.  More, to be obedient to death.  More, to allow his own creatures to drive nails in his hands, push thorns in his scalp, forcibly draw the last rasping breath from his mouth.  And because of this voluntary humiliation, he was exalted by God the father.  He is reigning now as master of the universe, and one day, that reality will be clearly seen by all, and acknowledged on every lip and through every knee.  The gospel is about Jesus being Lord, and in his humiliation and exaltation, bringing glory to God.  The wonder of the gospel is that his voluntary humiliation gives us time now to bow voluntarily, rather than being forced to bow later.

But all this is not merely for theological reflection, for PhD writing and the like.  It's written to encourage Christians to live Christianly.  Paul brings out this theological heavy artillery in order to attack the seeds of pride, latent in Philippi.  Pride and independence are seeds that can ruin a church.  They are the root of sin, and as such, must be shot in flames.  Christ, the model gospel citizen, became humble.  That humility enabled us to be rescued, and to suffer like him.  If even he didn't demand his positional rights, and that humility won so precious a prize for us, would we so quickly destroy his church with our pride and independence?  No.  Have the mind of Christ.