MINISTRY: With The MIND Of CHRIST-VII
—Philippians 2:12-13(2:1-18)
Attention:
'Sure, No Problem':
A young executive was leaving the office late one evening when he found the CEO standing in the secretary’s office, in front of the office shredder, with a piece of paper in his hand, & a puzzled look on his face.
The CEO catches the eye of the young man & says to him, “Young man, I appreciate everything you do for our company. I know it’s late, & you need to get home, but if you would help me with something for just a couple minutes, I would really appreciate it.”
The CEO continued, “This is a very sensitive & important document here, but my secretary has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work?”
“Certainly,” said the young executive. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, & pressed the start button.
“Excellent, excellent!” said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the shredding machine. “Thank you so much, young man, I just need one copy.”
Oops!
Direction given without explanation is very poor direction!
Decisions made in ignorance are very poor decisions!
God’s people, individually & gathered as the Church, are EXPECTED to minister with the highest level of wisdom, understanding, & trustworthiness...WITH The MIND Of CHRIST JESUS, their Savior & Lord!....in Whom alone “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge”(Col. 2:3)....
It’s one thing to know Jesus as your Savior, but it is quite another to live by His direction as your Lord!
Need:
The apostle Paul counseled the Philippian church to minister empowered with the mind of Christ Jesus.
God’s people are to minister with the mind of Christ Jesus.
How do God’s people minister with the mind of Christ Jesus?
4 characteristics of ministry with the mind of Christ Jesus.
So far in our study of Php. 2:1-18, we’ve found that:
‘MINISTRY: With The MIND Of CHRIST’...
1. ‘LOVES As JESUS LOVES’(:1-4)
2. ‘GIVES As JESUS GIVES’(:5-8)
3. ‘RECEIVES AS JESUS RECEIVES’(:9-11)
....TODAY we’ll begin looking into verses :12-18, where we’ll find....
4—MINISTRY with the mind of Christ ALSO...
DEMONSTRATES A CHRIST-EMPOWERED WALK(:12-18)
Explanation:(:12-18)
:12—“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear & trembling;”
:12a—“Therefore, my beloved,...”
‘True Christians’ have been permanently transformed(‘born again’) & fitted for heaven by means of their faith on God thru Christ Jesus.
•The Christian’s personal faith in God, is a testimony to the fact that, they indeed love God(Mk. 12:30)...That is, God is “beloved by them.
Mk. 12:30—“‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, & with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.”
1John 4:10, 19—“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”....“We love Him because He first loved us.”
•And so, ‘true Christians’ are obviously “beloved” of God!
•And that is a source of great encouragement to them(us).
“Beloved”—agaphtov—Adj. Vocative Plural Masc.—1) Beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love. Strong—Beloved.?From—agapaw—To love (in a social or moral sense); perhaps from agan(much) [or compare bge aw-gab'--To breathe after, i.e. To love(sensually)a primitive root].
•Agaph[noun] love, is selfless love, which cannot be turned in on itself [by fleshly desire].(R.H. Mounce).
:12b—“...as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,...”
“Therefore” as a result, of Christ’s actual coming in the flesh(2:5-11), true Christians are instructed & directed to CONTINUE in their godly “obedience.”
•The backdrop for the expected outcome of godly “obedience” is: Our ‘LOVING As JESUS LOVES’(:1-4); ‘GIVING As JESUS GIVES’(:5-8); & our ‘RECEIVING AS JESUS RECEIVES’(:9-11).
•That instruction & direction comes to each individual Christian, by means of the Holy Spirit of God, who resides within them, by their faithful trust in Christ(2Cor. 1:21-22; 2Cor. 5:4-9).
•An “obedience” in Paul the apostle’s “presence” is MADE MORE SURE in his “absence.”
•Such “obedience” is more certain WHEN we approach our “salvation” with personal heart-felt “fear”, trepidation, & concern...RATHER than, feeling ‘pressured’ to do so from outside.
•To live out your Christian faith “obediently” WITHOUT the constant goading of others, is a proof of the reality of your “salvation”!
EXAMPLE—•A child that is raised by godly parents, will be ‘familiar’ with the church & Christian doctrine. They will be ‘familiar’ with right versus wrong by God’s standard. But even though they may have been raised encompassed by Christian truth, as that child grows, he or she eventually becomes personally answerable to God for the fallout of their own sin nature.
•Once a child reaches his or her individual ‘age of accountability’, Mommy & Daddy are still responsible for their children, yet they are not held answerable for what has then become their child’s responsibility!
•What we call the ‘age of accountability’ is not a particular, or set age!(?How many of us have been taught to believe that the age is 12?). That time is only known decisively by God!
•Throughout their lives, Mommas & Daddies are to ALWAYS be sensitive to their children’s spiritual awareness/consciousness, no matter their children’s age!
•When a child has the capacity to comprehend personal sin & sinfulness, then they become personally accountable to God!...They will either trust Christ completely or walk away from Him, although prayerfully, a child’s lack of trust may be temporary.
•At & beyond the child’s ‘age of accountability’, they are held individually responsible for owning their own spiritual consequences!
:12c—“...work out your own salvation...”
•As with the family of God at Philippi, so ALL of God’s people are expected to continue to openly put their godly direction into godly action....They “work out” God’s intent for them, thru their “salvation” in Christ.
•Each Christian’s “salvation” is intended by God, to be aisely, guardedly, confidently, & devotedly, “worked out” thru each Christian’s particular calling from God!
:12d—“...with fear & trembling;”
•Each of us must answer to God. And He is perfectly good!
?So why are you afraid of His wrath against you?
•People who DON’T KNOW God personally, are fearful OF God?
2Cor. 13:5—“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.”
•Being “disqualified” for the Christian life, means that a person has willingly chosen anything & everything other than Jesus!
•Preventing Jesus Christ from being “in you”, happens only when a person refuses to trust Jesus as their Savior & Lord!
*Those who are truly ‘God’s people’, are those who are NOT so much “fearful” OF God....Because they know that, not only is He the ultimate Judge of all things....
•God is ALSO the greatest Advocate for those who have chosen to belong to Him!
•God is His people’s Advocate because in God’s perfect & infinite wisdom, He has given all authority of judgment to His Son, the glorified Jesus!(Mat. 28:18; Jn. 3:35; Acts 10:42, etc)
•By God’s graciousness, that is accepted/enabled thru His people’s individual faith in Christ, God the Father saves people, FROM hell!
•As a consequence of God’s grace, God grants an eternal place IN heaven, to anyone, of any era, who consciously & willfully choose Him, by faith in Christ!
•Even though all God’s people consist of undeserving sinners, BY FAITH, they are saved from the unavoidable judgment upon their sin, which would otherwise have earned them eternal death(Eph. 2:8)!
**Jesus paid that debt for those who are faithful!
*So instead of being “fearful” OF God, God’s people are “fearful” of FAILING their Advocate, the GOD, they love!
*And so, God’s people approach their work in the Lord, VERY SERIOUSLY!
•And because of that, they boldly & courageously “work out ‘their’ own salvation” accountably, “with fear & trembling.”
“Fear”—fobov—Noun Masc. - Genitive Sing. Masc.—1) Fear, dread, terror—1a) That which strikes terror; 2) Reverence for one's husband. Strong—Alarm or fright; from a primary febomai(to be put in fear). Used 47X.?English = ‘Phobia’.
“Trembling”—tromov—Noun Masc. - Genitive Sing. Masc.—1) A trembling or quaking with fear; 2) With fear & trembling, used to describe the anxiety of one who distrusts his ability completely to meet all requirements, but religiously does his utmost to fulfill his duty. Strong—A "trembling", i.e. QUAKING With FEAR. Used 5X--Mk. 16:8; 1Cor. 2:3; 1Cor. 7:15; Eph. 6:5; Php. 2:12.?English=‘Tremor’(?)
1Cor. 15:58—“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
1Cor. 6:19-20—Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, & you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body & in your spirit, which are God’s.”[which belong to & come to us from God]
1Cor. 9:24-25—“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things....”
1Pet. 2:11—“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners & pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,”
Ps. 2:11—“Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling.”
1Cor. 2:2-5—the apostle Paul says,—“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ & Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, & in much trembling. And my speech & my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit & of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
1Cor. 2:2-5—the apostle Paul says,—“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ & Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, & in much trembling. And my speech & my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit & of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Php. 1:27-30—“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come & see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, & not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, & that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me & now hear is in me.”
:13—“for it is God who works in you both to will & to do for His good pleasure.”
The ‘true Christian’s’ approach to the sure & promised possession of his/her salvation(:12), is that “GOD” Himself indeed “works in you” to accomplish God’s own “good”, perfect, & Divine desire.
•We are compelled to glorify GOD, but NOT ourselves!
•And yet God is NOT a narcissist! Only created beings can be narcissistic, including Satan himself!
*There is NO aspect of your life, that Christ does not & should not touch!
•One of the most damning things about CATHOLICISM, is that those who are involved in it, & those who are influenced by it, come away with a deeply residing & tenacious belief & supposition, that the Christian life is about ‘SOLEMN RITUAL’....
•That is to say, your heart swells with ‘touchy-feely’ emotional good heartedness about your ‘religious’ experience in the cathedral! You ‘feel good’ about your confession to the priest. You ‘feel good’ about taking part with others of similar belief. Your heart ‘FALSELY’ convinces you that you’ve had a deeply life-changing religious experience!
Please bear in mind that even ‘good Baptists’ can be victims of the lie of ‘solemn ritual’ as well!
•However, YOUR ‘FEELING GOOD’ is NOT the ‘end all’ of your life’s intention!
•Instead, we SHOULD live “for” “GOD’s” “good pleasure”!....To do otherwise, openly reveals a person’s ‘self-elevation’, & conceit, & flesh-driven, worldly thinking.
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Remember the CEO’s experience with the ‘shredder’-copying machine!
God’s people, individually & gathered, are EXPECTED to minister at the highest level of wisdom, understanding, & trustworthiness...WITH The MIND Of CHRIST JESUS....
AND....
....MINISTRY: with the mind of Christ...
4. DEMONSTRATES A CHRIST-EMPOWERED WALK(:12-18)
1. LOVES As JESUS LOVES(:1-4)
2. GIVES As JESUS GIVES(:5-8)
3. RECEIVES AS JESUS RECEIVES(:9-11)
Pnt# 4-A(2:12-13) only! presented 02/22/2026am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
