Narrative lectionary for Sunday, 25 May 2014
Lectionary Scriptures for:
Philippians 1: 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ;
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the
overseers [a] and servants[b]: 2 Grace to you, and peace from God, our Father,
and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God whenever I remember you, 4 always
in every request of mine on behalf of you all making my requests with joy, 5
for your partnership[c] in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until
now; 6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is even right for me to
think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart,
because, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News,
you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how I long
after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.
9 This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in
knowledge and all discernment; 10 so that you may approve the things that are
excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ; 11
being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God.
12 Now I desire to have you know, brothers,[d] that the things
which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Good News;
13 so that it became evident to the whole palace[e] guard, and to all the rest,
that my bonds are in Christ; 14 and that most of the brothers in the Lord,
being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of
God without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ even out of envy and strife, and
some also out of good will. 16 The former insincerely preach Christ from
selfish ambition, thinking that they add affliction to my chains; 17 but the
latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the Good
News.
18 What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether in
pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. I rejoice in this, yes, and will
rejoice.
Footnotes:
a. Philippians 1:1 or, superintendents, or bishops
b. Philippians 1:1 Or, deacons
c. Philippians 1:5 The word translated “partnership” (koinonia)
also means “fellowship” and “sharing”.
d. Philippians 1:12 The word for “brothers” here and where
context allows may also be correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or
“siblings.”
Philippians 1:13 or, praetorian
Commentary on Philippians 1:1-18a by Michael Joseph Brown
We often speak of Philippians in terms of being a friendship or
joyful letter from the apostle to one of his congregations.
What we often skip over is that this is one of his prison
letters (see e.g., Philippians 1:12-14). This overlooking of the social context
flattens our reading of the text, missing a crucial component necessary to its
proper interpretation.
Prisons or jails in the Roman world were nothing like our modern
institutions. Often no more than a glorified pit meant to keep people for a
short period of time, ancient prisons forced prisoners to look outside of their
place of bondage to get even their simplest needs met. Food is a great example.
Without the assistance of those outside of the prison, the jailed would have
starved to death. Thus, when Paul speaks indirectly of the Philippians’
assistance throughout this letter, he is referring not only to their spiritual
encouragement but also to their material support.
Paul begins this letter in an interesting fashion. He begins by
calling himself and Timothy douloi Christou Iesou (“slaves of Christ Jesus”).
The only other place where he explicitly uses this fashion of self-presentation
is Romans 1:1. Although some debate still exists, a growing consensus among
scholars is that this is a form of self-address used intentionally by Paul to
evoke a connection in the mind of his readers, in both cases largely Roman,
between the familia Caesaris (the imperial household) and the familia Dei (the
household of God).
In both cases, the status of doulos or slave is one of honor. In
the imperial household, slaves served as the bureaucracy of the government.
They were state officials and even provincial governors, occasionally
exercising more influence and actual power than those of senatorial status. In
short, to be a member of the imperial household, even as a slave, was to be a
person of derived status. Derived because the status of the slave was based on
the status of his master, the emperor. Because the slave was an extension of
his master, whenever he spoke it was the same as hearing it from the master
himself.
Paul is saying that the same is true when we belong to the
familia Dei. As an apostle, which he means more in the sense of missionary than
as some definitive office in the church, Paul is the mouthpiece of Christ his
master. He does not speak on his own behalf. He speaks on behalf of God through
Christ. Yet, even in this conceivably innocuous status indicator something
important arises, the question of power.
The problem of power is more ancient than the text we are
considering. Power is manifest wherever two or more humans are gathered
together and construct any kind of relationship. Its deeper and darker
qualities emerge as soon as the omnipresent factor of inequality raises its
inconvenient head. If power is defined roughly as the ability to make a claim
on life, then the range of the presence of power may be broadened to include
the notion that power is coextensive with life itself. To be alive, in any
sense, is to make some claim. To be alive is to exercise power in some degree.
The most common conception of power is coercive. Coercive power
is the ability to produce intended or desired effects in one’s interactions
with the surrounding environment. It operates so as to make the other a
function of one’s ends, even when one’s aims include what is thought to be the
good of the other. It is a one-sided and non-mutual conception of power. It is
a notion of power that has heavily influenced traditional Christian conceptions
of God. This conception of power is congruent with the Cartesian understanding
of a substance as that which requires nothing but itself in order to exist. The
philosophical strength of this coercive power is that it is derived from the
self and from God and not from other members of the community.
The term power is indicative of worth or significance. Under
coercive power the worth of an individual is measured by the range of that
individual’s ability to influence others. The correlative approach is that the
practice of relational power both requires and exemplifies greater size than
that called for by the practice of coercive power. Since the capacity to
receive an influence is a necessary component in the actuality of relational
power, the principle of size is applicable to the experience of undergoing an
effect. It is the factor of value or size that enables us to attribute power to
the experience of receiving an influence derived from others.
Our readiness to take account of the feelings of another is a
way of including the other within our world of concern. Our reception of
another indicates that we are or may become large enough to make room for
another within ourselves without losing our distinctive identities. It is
congruent, at least, with the horizontal understanding of Christian love (i.e.,
the love brothers and sisters felt in koinonia, often translated as “community”
or “partnership”).
The aim of relational power is not to control the other. In
fact, it argues that the greatest possible good cannot emerge under conditions
of control. The aim is to provide those conditions of the giving and receiving
of influences such that there is the enlargement of the freedom of all the
members to both give and receive. It is a partnership. This enlarged freedom is
the precondition for the emergence of the greatest possible good which cannot
be predetermined nor controllable. The commitment within relational power is
not to each other but to the relationship, which is creative of both. It is a
commitment to the koinonia or partnership and not merely to one or the other.
This idea of the higher commitment is one that we should reflect on this day.
PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Holy Lord,
May our love overflow more and more with knowledge and full
insight to help us determine what is best, so that we may be pure and blameless
in the sight of Jesus Christ. Amen.
HYMNS:
“Alleluia! Sing to Jesus” by W. Chatterton Dix (1866)
1. Alleluia! Sing to Jesus;
his the scepter, his the throne;
Alleluia! his the triumph,
his the victory alone!
Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion
thunder like a mighty flood:
"Jesus out of every nation
has redeemed us by his blood."
2. Alleluia! Not as orphans
are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! he is near us;
faith believes nor questions how.
Though the cloud from sight received him,
when the forty days were o'er,
shall our hearts forget his promise:
"I am with you evermore"?
3. Alleluia! Bread of angels,
here on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! here the sinful
flee to you from day to day.
Intercessor, friend of sinners,
earth's redeemer, hear our plea
where the songs of all the sinless
sweep across the crystal sea.
4. Alleluia! King eternal,
Lord omnipotent we own;
Alleluia! born of Mary,
earth your footstool, heaven your throne.
As within the veil you entered,
robed in flesh, our great high priest;
here on earth both priest and victim
in the eucharistic feast.
“Give me Jesus” by Fanny Crosby, 1879
1. Take the world, but give me Jesus,
All its joys are but a name;
But His love abideth ever,
Through eternal years the same.
Refrain:
Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
Pledge of endless life above!
2. Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Sweetest comfort of my soul;
With my Savior watching o’er me,
I can sing though billows roll.
Refrain:
Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
Pledge of endless life above!
3. Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Let me view His constant smile;
Then throughout my pilgrim journey
Light will cheer me all the while.
Refrain:
Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
Pledge of endless life above!
4. Take the world, but give me Jesus.
In His cross my trust shall be,
Till, with clearer, brighter vision,
Face to face my Lord I see.
Refrain:
Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
Pledge of endless life above!
“Lord, be glorified” by Bob Kilpatrick (1978)
1. In my life Lord
Be glorified, be glorified
In my life, Lord
Be glorified today.
2. In Your church, Lord
Be glorified, be glorified
In Your church, Lord
Be glorified today.
3. In my heart, Lord
Be glorified, be glorified
In my heart, Lord
Be glorified today.
4. In my praise, Lord
Be glorified, be glorified
In my praise, Lord
Be glorified today.
CHORAL:
“Pilgrim’s Hymn” by Stephen Paulus
1. Even before we call on thy name
To ask thee, O Lord,
When we seek for the words to glorify thee,
Thou hearest our prayer;
Unceasing love, O unceasing love,
Surpassing all we know.
Glory to the father,
and to the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit.
2. Even with darkness sealing us in,
We breathe thy name,
And through all the days that follow so fast,
We trust in thee;
Endless thy grace, O endless thy grace,
Beyond all mortal dream.
Both now and forever,
And unto ages and ages,
Amen
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John Wesley’s Notes Commentary for:
Philippians 1:1-18
Verse 1
[1] Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the
saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Servants — St. Paul, writing familiarly to the Philippians, does
not style himself an apostle. And under the common title of servants, he
tenderly and modestly joins with himself his son Timotheus, who had come to
Philippi not long after St. Paul had received him, Acts 16:3,12.
To all the saints — The apostolic epistles were sent more
directly to the churches, than to the pastors of them.
With the bishops and deacons — The former properly took care of
the internal state, the latter, of the externals, of the church, 1 Timothy
3:2-8; although these were not wholly confined to the one, neither those to the
other. The word bishops here includes all the presbyters at Philippi, as well
as the ruling presbyters: the names bishop and presbyter, or elder, being
promiscuously used in the first ages.
Verse 4
[4] Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request
with joy,
With joy — After the epistle to the Ephesians, wherein love
reigns, follows this, wherein there is perpetual mention of joy. "The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy." And joy peculiarly enlivens prayer. The
sum of the whole epistle is, I rejoice. Rejoice ye.
Verse 5
[5] For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
The sense is, I thank God for your fellowship with us in all the
blessings of the gospel, which I have done from the first day of your receiving
it until now.
Verse 6
[6] Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Being persuaded — The grounds of which persuasion are set down
in the following verse.
That he who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it until
the day of Christ — That he who having justified, hath begun to sanctify you,
will carry on this work, till it issue in glory.
Verse 7
[7] Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because
I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and
confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
As it is right for me to think this of you all — Why? He does
not say, "Because of an eternal decree;" or, "Because a saint
must persevere;" but, because I have you in my heart, who were all
partakers of my grace - That is, because ye were all (for which I have you in
my heart, I bear you the most grateful and tender affection) partakers of my
grace - That is, sharers in the afflictions which God vouchsafed me as a grace
or favour, Philippians 1:29,30; both in my bonds, and when I was called forth
to answer for myself, and to confirm the gospel. It is not improbable that,
after they had endured that great trial of affliction, God had sealed them unto
full victory, of which the apostle had a prophetic sight.
Verse 8
[8] For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in
the bowels of Jesus Christ.
I long for you with the bowels of Jesus Christ — In Paul, not
Paul lives, but Jesus Christ. Therefore he longs for them with the bowels, the
tenderness, not of Paul, but of Jesus Christ.
Verse 9
[9] And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more
in knowledge and in all judgment;
And this I pray, that your love — Which they had already shown.
May abound yet more and more — The fire which burned in the
apostle never says, It is enough.
In knowledge and in all spiritual sense — Which is the ground of
all spiritual knowledge. We must be inwardly sensible of divine peace, joy,
love; otherwise, we cannot know what they are.
Verse 10
[10] That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may
be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
That ye may try — By that spiritual sense.
The things that are excellent — Not only good, but the very
best; the superior excellence of which is hardly discerned, but by the adult
Christian. That ye may be inwardly sincere - Having a single eye to the very
best things, and a pure heart. And outwardly without offence - Holy, unblamable
in all things.
Verse 11
[11] Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by
Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through
Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God — Here are three properties of that
sincerity which is acceptable to God: 1. It must bear fruits, the fruits of
righteousness, all inward and outward holiness, all good tempers, words, and
works; and that so abundantly, that we may be filled with them. 2. The branch
and the fruits must derive both their virtue and their very being from the all
- supporting, all - supplying root, Jesus Christ. 3. As all these flow from the
grace of Christ, so they must issue in the glory and praise of God.
Verse 12
[12] But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things
which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the
gospel;
The things concerning me — My sufferings. Have fallen out rather
to the furtherance, than, as you feared, the hinderance, of the gospel.
Verse 13
[13] So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace,
and in all other places;
My bonds in Christ — Endured for his sake.
Have been made manifest — Much taken notice of.
In the whole palace — Of the Roman emperor.
Verse 14
[14] And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by
my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
And many — Who were before afraid.
Trusting in the Lord through my bonds — When they observed my
constancy, and safety not withstanding, are more bold.
Verses 15-16
[15] Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some
also of good will: [16] The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely,
supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
Some indeed preach Christ out of contention — Envying St. Paul's
success, and striving to hurt him thereby.
Not sincerely — From a real desire to glorify God.
But supposing — Though they were disappointed. To add more
affliction to my bonds - By enraging the Romans against me.
Verse 17
[17] But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the
defence of the gospel.
But the others out of love — To Christ and me.
Knowing — Not barely, supposing.
That I am set — Literally, I lie; yet still going forward in his
work. He remained at Rome as an ambassador in a place where he is employed on
an important embassy.
Verse 18
[18] What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence,
or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will
rejoice.
In pretence — Under colour of propagating the gospel.
In truth — With a real design so to do.
-------
Narrative Commentary for Thursday, 29 May 2014
Lectionary Scriptures for:
Philippians 2:1 If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ,
if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender
mercies and compassion, 2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the
same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3 doing nothing through rivalry or
through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; 4
each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the
things of others.
5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who,
existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be
grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the
likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming
obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also highly
exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; 10 that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and
those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only
in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to
work, for his good pleasure.
Commentary on Philippians 2:1-13 by Michael Joseph Brown
What is an interesting, even if somewhat troubling, aspect of
this text is the emphasis the apostle places on like-mindedness.
He writes, “If there is any encouragement in Christ, any
consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy,
make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full
accord and of one mind” (Philippians 2:1-2). The troubling aspect focuses on
Paul’s intentions in making this statement. Is he calling for unanimity or
uniformity? You may ask, “What’s the difference?”
The difference lies not in how the words are commonly used, but,
I would argue, in the emphasis each one evokes. Unanimity seems to emphasize
something along the lines of consensus, which may (or may not) allow for the
particular commitments of each individual. Uniformity seems to emphasize a
militaristic or dogmatic context in which difference is not highly valued and
sometimes is openly attacked. I know it’s a narrow distinction (and there is
probably a better way to express what I am attempting to communicate), but some
sort of difference in emphasis needs to be negotiated, if Paul’s words are to
be taken as a responsible or potentially destructive understanding of koinonia,
the fellowship we share together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
The answer may be found in the next two verses where Paul
denounces self-interestedness for the purpose of mutual support and community
cohesion. As in last week’s passage, the question of power lies just below the
surface of the apostle’s statements. Are we to see him as advocating hierarchy
over against relationality? As I explained last week, power as relationally
understood is our ability to receive one another into our lives, it “indicates
that we are or may become large enough to make room for another within
ourselves without losing our distinctive identities.” This is probably why the
Christ hymn is such a powerful example for the author and ourselves as readers.
“Let this thinking [phroneite] be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus,” is the more literal way to translate the passage. Phronesis was
a sort of practical wisdom in ancient philosophy that focused on how one
conducts one’s self in the world. It might be more helpful for us to understand
it as a way of being or disposition towards the world. Bryan Garsten in his
2006 book, Saving Persuasion, explains it this way, “By judgment I mean the mental
activity of responding to particular situations in a way that draws upon our
sensations, beliefs, and emotions without being dictated by them in any way
reducible to a simple rule.”
At any rate, it is not the kind of thinking that subserviates
itself to dogmatism. In the case of Christ, it was a manner of thinking that
one could easily call counterintuitive. “[H]e … did not regard equality with
God as something to be exploited” (2:6). Trading divinity for humanity was
counterintuitive. Even more, “taking the form of a slave,” is clearly not
something the average person would have desired or endorsed (2:7). Elsewhere,
Paul points out such counterintuitivity. He says, “Indeed, rarely will anyone
die for a righteous person -- though perhaps for a good person someone might
actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were
sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7-8).
He also says, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to
shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God
chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to
nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God” (1
Corinthians 1:27-29). In other words, thinking like Christ means more than adhering
to established dogma or longstanding social expectations. It can, in fact, mean
the exact opposite.
God acts in ways that frequently defy our norms, as God did in
the Christ event. Likewise, Christ Jesus modeled this activity by choosing
debasement as the vehicle for his exaltation. He did this out of humility
(Phil. 2:8). This is probably the same type of humility the apostle means when
he calls us as readers to take on this dispositional humility as well (2:3).
Uplifting and caring for one another is the kind of mindset members of the
church must have. This, I think, tilts the scale more toward unanimity than
uniformity.
Yet, it is important to remember that Paul is not entertaining
contemporary American ideas of individualism. His world was one in which the
individual was considered vulnerable without membership in and protection from
the group. Group membership was commonly considered necessary for survival.
Yet, group membership did not wipe out individuality totally. In Paul’s day,
not all Jews practiced the same type of Judaism, but they still considered
themselves Jews. What a Jew in the diaspora like Paul did would have been
different from one living in Jerusalem, for example. The point the apostle
appears to be making is that the church can achieve unity without demanding
uniformity by following the example of Christ and embracing a practice and
mindset of humility.
Adherence to norms and dogma contradicts working “out your own
salvation with fear and trembling” (2:12). When one knows the rules, then there
is no need to choose. Likewise, without the burden of choice, there is no need
to fear. Having the mind of Christ means embracing the ability to choose acts
that seem blatantly counterintuitive. It means something as odd as not looking
“to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (2:4).
PRAYER OF THE DAY:
God of love,
With praise we celebrate Jesus Christ, who humbled himself so
that every knee should bend and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.
HYMNS:
“Like the murmur of the dove’s song” by Carl P. Daw (1981)
1. Like the murmur of the dove's song,
like the challenge of her flight,
like the vigor of the wind's rush,
like the new flame's eager might:
come, Holy Spirit, come.
2. To the members of Christ's Body,
to the branches of the Vine,
to the Church in faith assembled,
to her midst as gift and sign:
come, Holy Spirit, come.
3. With the healing of division,
with the ceaseless voice of prayer,
with the power of love and witness,
with the peace beyond compare:
come, Holy Spirit, come.
“That priceless grace” by Emmanuel F. Y. Grantson
1. That priceless grace, that priceless grace,
that priceless grace, which gave me life:
Jesus' life is priceless grace.
That priceless grace is life for me.
2. That priceless blood, that priceless blood,
that priceless blood was shed for me:
Jesus' blood is priceless grace.
That priceless grace is life for me.
3. That painful death, that painful death,
that painful death took sins away:
Jesus' death is priceless grace.
That priceless grace is life for me.
3.That precious word, that precious word,
that precious word, which brought me light:
Jesus' word is priceless grace.
That priceless grace is life for me.
“O day full of grace” by John Michael McCluney
1. Oh day full of grace, which we behold,
Now gently to view ascending;
Thou over the earth thy reign unfold,
Good cheer to all mortals lending,
That children of light in every clime
May prove that the night is ending.
2. How blest was that gracious midnight hour,
When God in our flesh was given;
Then flushed the dawn with light and power,
That spread o'er the darkened heaven;
Then rose o'er the world that Sun divine
Which gloom from our hearts hath driven.
3. Yea, were every tree endowed with speech,
And every leaflet singing,
They never with praise His worth could reach,
Though earth with their praise were ringing.
Who fully could praise the Light of life
Who light to our souls is bringing?
4. As birds in the morning sing God's praise,
His fatherly love we cherish,
For giving to us this day of grace,
For life that shall never perish.
His Church He hath kept these thousand years,
And hungering souls did nourish.
5. Pass on to thy close, O Whit-Sunday,
With sunlight about thee beaming,
And scatter thy blessings on thy way,
As brooks through the meadows streaming
E'er leave in the wake the woods and fields,
In beauty and fruitfulness dreaming.
6. With joy we depart for our fatherland,
Where God our Father is dwelling,
Where ready for us His mansions stand,
Where heaven with praise is swelling;
And there we shall walk in endless light,
With blest ones His praise forth telling.
CHORAL:
“Children of Peace” by Anne Kilsofte
WE ARE CHILDREN OF PEACE
VERSE ONE: PEACE
We are children of peace.
We are the children of the world.
We are children of peace.
We are the children of the world
VERSE TWO: FRIENDSHIP
We are children of friendship.
We are the children of the world.
We are children of friendship.
We are the children of the world
VERSE THREE: WAR
We don't want war anymore.
We are the children of the world.
We don't want war anymore.
We are the children of the world.
CHORUS:
Listen people everywhere - hear our song.
Come and take somebody's hand, sing along.
The choice is ours - what will we do?
It's up to me, it's up to you.
VERSE FOUR: JUSTICE
We are children of justice.
We are the children of the world.
We are children of justice.
We are the children of the world.
VERSE FIVE: COMPASSION
We are children of compassion.
We are the children of the world.
We are children of compassion.
We are the children of the world.
VERSE SIX: LOVE
We are children of love.
We are the children of the world.
We are children of love.
We are the children of the world.
CHORUS:
Listen people everywhere - hear our song.
Come and take somebody's hand, sing along.
The choice is ours - what will we do?
It's up to me, it's up to you.
VERSE SEVEN: MUSIC
We are children of music.
We are the children of the world
We are children of music.
We are the children of the world.
VERSE EIGHT: LOVE
We are children of love.
We are the children of the world.
We are children of love.
We are the children of the world.
CHORUS:
Listen people everywhere - hear our song.
Come and take somebody's hand, sing along.
The choice is ours - what will we do?
It's up to me, it's up to you.
VERSE NINE: WAR
We don't want war anymore.
We are the children of the world.
We don't want war anymore.
We are the children of the world.
FINAL CHORUS:
Listen people everywhere - hear our song.
Come and take somebody's hand, sing along.
The choice is ours - what will we do?
It's up to me, it's up to you.
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John Wesley’s Notes-Commentary for:
Philippians 2:1-13
Verse 1
[1] If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any
comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
If there be therefore any consolation — In the grace of Christ.
If any comfort — In the love of God. If any fellowship of the
Holy Ghost; if any bowels of mercies - Resulting therefrom; any tender
affection towards each other.
Verse 2
[2] Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same
love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Think the same thing — Seeing Christ is your common Head.
Having the same love — To God, your common Father.
Being of one soul — Animated with the same affections and
tempers, as ye have all drank ill to one spirit.
Of one mind — Tenderly rejoicing and grieving together.
Verse 3
[3] Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Do nothing through contention — Which is inconsistent with your
thinking the same thing.
Or vainglory — Desire of praise, which is directly opposite to
the love of God.
But esteem each the others better than themselves — (For every
one knows more evil of himself than he can of another:) Which is a glorious
fruit of the Spirit, and an admirable help to your continuing "of one
soul."
Verse 4
[4] Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on
the things of others.
Aim not every one at his own things — Only. If so, ye have not
bowels of mercies.
Verse 6
[6] Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God:
Who being in the essential form — The incommunicable nature.
Of God — From eternity, as he was afterward in the form of man;
real God, as real man.
Counted it no act of robbery — That is the precise meaning of
the words,-no invasion of another's prerogative, but his own strict and
unquestionable right.
To be equal with God — the word here translated equal, occurs in
the adjective form five or six times in the New Testament, Matthew 20:12; Luke
6:34; John 5:18; Acts 11:17; Revelation 21:16. In all which places it expresses
not a bare resemblance, but a real and proper equalitg. It here implies both
the fulness and the supreme height of the Godhead; to which are opposed, he
emptied and he humbled himself.
Verse 7
[7] But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Yet — He was so far from tenaciously insisting upon, that he
willingly relinquished, his claim. He was content to forego the glories of the
Creator, and to appear in the form of a creature; nay, to he made in the
likeness of the fallen creatures; and not only to share the disgrace, but to
suffer the punishment, due to the meanest and vilest among them all.
He emptied himself — Of that divine fulness, which he received
again at his exaltation. Though he remained full, John 1:14, yet he appeared as
if he had been empty; for he veiled his fulness from the sight of men and
angels. Yea, he not only veiled, but, in some sense, renounced, the glory which
he had before the world began.
Taking — And by that very act emptying himself.
The form of a servant — The form, the likeness, the fashion,
though not exactly the same, are yet nearly related to each other. The form
expresses something absolute; the likeness refers to other things of the same
kind; the fashion respects what appears to sight and sense.
Being made in the likeness of men — A real man, like other men.
Hereby he took the form of a servant.
Verse 8
[8] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
And being found in fashion as a man — A common man, without any
peculiar excellence or comeliness.
He humbled himself — To a still greater depth.
Becoming obedient — To God, though equal with him.
Even unto death — The greatest instance both of humiliation and
obedience.
Yea, the death of the cross — Inflicted on few but servants or
slaves.
Verse 9
[9] Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name:
Wherefore — Because of his voluntary humiliation and obedience.
He humbled himself; but God hath exalted him - So recompensing his humiliation.
And hath given him — So recompensing his emptying himself.
A name which is above every name — Dignity and majesty superior
to every creature.
Verse 10
[10] That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
That every knee — That divine honour might be paid in every
possible manner by every creature.
Might bow — Either with love or trembling.
Of those in heaven, earth, under the earth — That is, through
the whole universe.
Verse 11
[11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
And every tongue — Even of his enemies.
Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord — Jehovah; not now "in
the form of a servant," but enthroned in the glory of God the Father.
Verse 12
[12] Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in
my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling.
Wherefore — Having proposed Christ's example, he exhorts them to
secure the salvation which Christ has purchased.
As ye have always — Hitherto.
Obeyed — Both God, and me his minister.
Now in my absence — When ye have not me to instruct, assist, and
direct you.
Work out your own salvation — Herein let every man aim at his
own things.
With fear and trembling — With the utmost care and diligence.
Verse 13
[13] For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do
of his good pleasure.
For it is God — God alone, who is with you, though I am not.
That worketh in you according to his good pleasure — Not for any
merit of yours. Yet his influences are not to supersede, but to encourage, our
own efforts.
Work out your own salvation — Here is our duty.
For it is God that worketh in you — Here is our encouragement.
And O, what a glorious encouragement, to have the arm of Omnipotence stretched
out for our support and our succour!
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