Philippians 2:1-15

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

July 29, 2020

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

We have recently been sharing with you about the five Christology chapters in the New Testament, namely John Chapter 1, Ephesians Chapter 1, Philippians Chapter 2, Colossians Chapter1, and Hebrews Chapter 1. We previously shared from John Chapter 1 and Ephesians Chapter 1. In this message we will look at Philippians, Chapter 2, Verses 1-15. First, a little background.

The city of Philippi was founded by Philip, the father of Alexander the Great in the year 368 B.C. It later became a distinctly Roman Colony. Paul first came to Philippi on his second missionary journey about 52 A.D. His on-site ministry at Philippi is recorded in Acts 16, Verses 6-40. That was the result of the vision of a man of Macedonia who had appealed to Paul to come over and help them. Philippi was the major city in Macedonia, just northeast of Greece.

Acts 16:9, "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us."

Acts 16, which records Paul's evangelical ministry to the Philippians, is perhaps a premiere example in the New Testament which shows the universality of the appeal of Christ. His relationship to the Church at Philippi centers around three people ... Lydia, the seller of purple, who was a successful business woman; the slave girl with a spirit of divination who was used by her masters to tell fortunes; and the Roman jailor. These three people were of three different nationalities. Lydia and the slave girl were from opposite ends of the social and economic scale. Lydia was both financially prosperous and socially independent. This slave girl was neither.

Scripture records the conversion of both Lydia and the Roman jailer and his household. Although it is not specifically mentioned in Acts 16, I believe that the slave girl, after her deliverance, also was converted. Acts 16 demonstrates the ability of the Gospel to penetrate into the hearts of people from all walks of life. There's a great lesson here: There's nobody so good that they don't need to saved, but there's nobody so bad that they can't be saved! These three recipients of Paul's ministry (Lydia, the slave-girl, and the Roman jailer) epitomize all whom the Jews held in contempt - women, slaves, and Gentiles.

Acts 16:13, "And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither."

At that point in time there were very few Jews in Philippi, such that there was no Jewish synagogue. Note that the Scripture does not speak of any Jewish men; only women went there to pray. The fact that the women went to pray on the Sabbath seems to imply that most of the women were Jews. As a generality, women are more sensitive to the things in the spiritual realm, both good and bad. We might remember that in John, Chapter 4, Jesus first revealed Himself to a Samaritan woman. Perhaps we also should note that this prayer site was out of the city limits. Does that mean that prayer was illegal inside the Roman-dominated colony of Philippi?

Acts 16:14-15, "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us." 

She offered them the hospitality of her home, which they accepted.

Thyatira was about 240 miles from Philippi ... quite a distance from her home where she was born. Apparently Lydia at that time was a widow. Otherwise she never would have unilaterally invited the mission team of Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke to stay in her house. Perhaps after becoming a widow she had moved to Philippi because her business was more profitable there. 

Philippi was the chief city in Macedonia. Macedonia represents the business mind, and Philippi means "getting gain," which is the chief motive of business.

Acts 16:16, "And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:"

Soothsaying is another word for fortune telling, which comes from a root word which means "frenzy." They would go into almost like a fit, and in this frenzy they would become totally distorted.

As the mission team was going to the place of prayer, probably to give further teaching to these new believers, a slave girl with a spirit of divination met them. The Greek word makes clear that this was a girl, not a grown woman. This appears to be the same place of prayer where they earlier encountered Lydia. That is typical of the way the devil works. Whenever the Lord is about to do a great thing with some people, the devil tries to interrupt the Lord's purpose. The spirit of divination literally means a "python spirit." In Greek mythology, the great serpent, Python lived in a cave near Delphi and guarded the Oracle there. People believed that this oracle provided divinely inspired wisdom to humans, so Greeks associated the python with divine inspiration. When Luke says that this girl had a python spirit, he means that people believed that she could tap into divine powers for wisdom and guidance; that she was, in essence, a human intermediary for evil powers. In reporting this, Luke clearly sees problems on two levels. First, the girl's owners have enslaved her for the purpose of enriching themselves. Her owners dictated her every action and confiscated any money that her efforts produced. Second, the spiritual powers to which this girl had access were demonic. Such people generally spoke with the mouth closed, uttering words completely out of their control and were known as "ventriloquists."

17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

The demon within her knew of Paul and announced through her who Paul was and what he was doing. Paul's response was the same as the response which Jesus made to the possessed man in the synagogue at Capernaum. This man had said to the Lord, "I know who you are, the Holy One of God...." As was the case with Jesus, Paul did not want this kind of message coming from a demon-possessed person lest the people think that his own proclamation of the Gospel was associated with Satan.

The words that came out of the slave girl's mouth were 100% true. But this was a subtle and dangerous attack. Satan wanted to infiltrate this infant church just beginning at Philippi. This was an attempt to get people to believe she was part of their group and that their power was from the same source as hers. Satan is the father of lies, but he will use the truth if it suits his purposes. He presents himself as an angel of light. The problem was that it came from the wrong source. Every word that Balaam spoke in Numbers 22 and 23 were also 100% true, but Balaam is called a false prophet in the Book of Jude.

Many years ago a presumed Christian prophesied over my wife and me together, as one. The words he spoke were 100% true. Some years later, however, a solid man of God and personal friend of ours, who had a genuine deliverance ministry, told me that brother prophesied by a spirit of divination. On another occasion, in 1974, I went with another local elder to a conference in Ohio. While there, the number one man of about 100 different churches across the country prophesied over me. He had never seen me before and I had never seen him. Every word that he spoke over me was 100% true. Then he proceeded to tell me about my wife. Every word that he spoke about her was also 100% true. But he never at any time saw her. That church group turned out to be a cult and the Lord soon smote their number one leader.

Mega-churches or any church which focuses on numbers of people will have well-known musicians, Hollywood stars, or sports stars to speak in their church, and they will appear to have the face of an angel, but they have the morals of an alley cat.

18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

"Being grieved" means Paul was "deeply troubled." Note that it even took the Apostle Paul many days to discern the spirit of divination. How long does it take you or me today to discern a spirit of divination? Note also that Paul spoke to the demonic spirit, not to the young girl.

Many similar forms of slavery exist throughout the world today. Peddlers of sex and pornography often use enslaved children, both male and female, for their purposes. In some cases, they kidnap the children. In others, they buy children for a small price from impoverished parents. The gambling industry wants people to be addicted. Then consider the liquor, drugs, pornography, and music industries; these people know they are destroying people and enslaving people ... so why do they do it? Money! Anyone who thinks that slavery ended with the American Civil War is sadly mistaken.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 speaks of divination and several other related occult practices as being an abomination to the Lord.

Acts 16:19-21, "And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans." 

The masters of the slave girl accused Paul and Silas of being Jews, which of course was true. It was not illegal to be a Jew, but those accusers were hoping to stir up anti-Semitic sentiments among the officials and the crowd. The people did not accuse Paul and Silas of being Christians, because Paul and Silas had just begun to introduce Christianity to Macedonia, and the people, for the most part, had no idea that they were Christians or what that means.

Paul's accusers did not specify what customs Paul advocated that were not lawful. If they could make a general charge like that stick, then they would find it unnecessary to defend more specific accusations.

I recently read a blog on the internet about occult practices dabbled in by our children today. 

I quote ... "A survey was done of 1,700 high school kids ... 416 admitted to having involvement with Ouija boards. This is not some harmless board game like Chutes and Ladders, rather, it's a slippery slide that could easily plunge a person into the realm of the underworld! 

Out of 1,700 surveyed, 321 admitted to having some involvement with astrology/horoscopes, which originated way back at the Tower of Babel. The Bible calls it "observing of times" and it's repeatedly forbidden in the Bible as a demonic, occultic practice! It's a counterfeit guidance system which makes a mockery of God's Holy Spirit, Who promises to lead and guide us in all things. God help the believer who dabbles in such things!

192 of them admitted to involvement with palm reading to tell future events ... the ultimate insult to our God Whom we are supposed to trust with our future. All these snares are instigated by Satan. What's more disconcerting about these figures is that this survey was done in a Christian School!

The problem is that parents aren't involved enough in their children's lives, and don't know where they are or what they are doing. These things are doorways to darkness, and it's time for parents to be aware!" (end quote)

Paul wrote his Epistle to the Philippians some ten or twelve years later when he was in house arrest in Rome for two years and where he was free to impart the gospel to all who came to him. Philippians contains no quotations from the Old Testament. Another characteristic of this Epistle is that the word "joy" in its various forms occurs some 16 times. Because there are no chapters in the original text, let us first read 

Philippians 1:29-30,

"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake; Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me." 

Christian suffering, as well as faith, is a blessing. It is given as a gift or privilege. Jesus said, in Matthew 5:11-12, 

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

Now let us turn to the first 15 verses of Philippians 2. 

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,

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

The major danger which threatened the Church at Philippi was and is the danger of every church or fellowship over all of time ... the danger of disunity. Disunity was the first problem that Paul addressed to the Church at Corinth. Disunity opens the door to every other possible error. How does disunity gain a foothold in any church? It starts when several believers become eager to carry out their own personal plans and purposes. The greater the enthusiasm, the greater the danger of several believers colliding in their plans. The very first word that I shared publicly was, "Appropriating the Christ in Others." I do not remember any part of that message, which may have been technically correct, but at that time in my journey with Christ I probably had very little experiential knowledge of that topic. But to appropriate the Christ in others requires each member to understand both our own function and calling and the function and calling of other members of the Body of Christ. Except for a few rare situations, what we see today is that each member of the Church is doing what is right in their own eyes. That results in gross disunity.

Continuing in Philippians, Chapter 2 and Verse 3, 

3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Verses 3 and 4 give us the three great causes of disunity and discord: strife, vainglory, and selfishness. "Strife," in some other versions of the Bible, is translated as "selfish ambition, contention, intrigue, or faction." Great men of God are always filled with a sense of unworthiness and inadequacy. A true revelation of the worthlessness of the natural man (or even Christian man's fleshly efforts to please God) in His sight has always been a necessary prelude to anointing for true service. The "I cannot" of Moses; the "Woe is me" of Isaiah; the "I am but a child" of Jeremiah; the "I am a sinful man" of Peter; the "In me dwelleth no good thing" of Paul, are typical confessions of all who have been called of God and anointed for ministry (diakonos, or servanthood). Then from, Amos 7:14-15, "Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto My people Israel."

"Vain glory" can be translated as "personal prestige, self-conceit, or vain conceit." Verse 4 gives an exhortation or warning to avoid concentrating on King Self. Concentration on self inevitably results in minimizing the interests of others. Personal prestige for many people, even Christians, is a greater temptation than financial wealth. Many so-called teachers or preachers have amassed multi-millions of dollars from undiscerning Christians, who flock to all of the big conferences and TV broadcasts. Human nature likes to be admired, respected, known by name, to be considered a great man of God, to be flattered, to stand on the stage behind a pulpit, and to have others seek their opinion, advice, or counsel. Many years ago I heard of a man who would not pray for you unless you gave him $2000.

Everyone knows that John the Baptist said, concerning Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease." For every Christian minister I have heard who quoted that verse as it is written, I have probably heard seven men quote it the other way ... "I must decrease but He must increase." Well it is possible for me to decrease without Him increasing. Many years ago the Lord gave my wife a revelation concerning how to have a healthy grass lawn ... not by focusing on getting rid of the weeds but by focusing on making the roots of the good grass strong and healthy. That procedure is very evident with zoysia grass. Very few weeds, if any, can emerge in zoysia grass.

Back to Philippians, Chapter 2, Verse 5 ... where Paul starts to focus on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In many ways, Verses 5-11 might be the greatest and most moving passage that Paul ever wrote about Jesus. Greek is a richer language than English. Where English has one word to express an idea, Greek often has several words, which rarely mean entirely the same thing. Every word in Verses 5-11 were carefully chosen to show both the reality of the manhood and the reality of the Godhead of Jesus.

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

The word "let" means "allow." In other words we must not be ruled by our natural, carnal mind but by the mind of Christ. Note that a colon follows at the end of verses 5, 6, 7, and 9. A colon, in Scripture, means that what follows explains or amplifies what has just been said.

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

The word, "being," describes the very essence of a man, that which cannot be changed and which cannot be taken away from him. Jesus was by nature in the very form of God. It means that Jesus was unchangeable and essentially God. The word, "form," means the essential form of something which never changes. Another translation of Verse 6 is: "He did not regard existence in equality with God as something to be snatched at."

7 But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

The phrase, "made Himself of no reputation" means "He emptied Himself." Jesus, voluntarily and willingly, gave up the peace and glory of divinity in order to become man. The phrase, "was made in the likeness of man," means He "became like a man." The phrase, "was made," describes a state which is not a permanent state. The word, "servant," is the Greek doulos, which means a slave. 

8 And being found in fashion [or appearance] a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name:

Jesus humbled Himself. James 4:10 says, 

"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up."

1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time:"

The great characteristics of the life of Jesus were humility, obedience, and self-denunciation. These same three characteristics must be the hall-marks of every Christian. Selfishness, self-seeking, and self-display destroy our likeness to Christ and our fellowship with each other. We Christians likewise must become obedient unto death to King self. We must deny our self, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. Of course the specific outworking of the cross may well be different for each of us, but the end product will always be the same ... Christ in you, the hope of glory. Many verses tell us that only the man who humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14; and others.)

As a consequence of the sacrificial love of Jesus, the Father highly exalted Him and gave Him a name which is above every name. What is that name? It is the Lord Jesus. The name, "Lord," means "master" or "owner." It is a name that commands respect. A new name in Scripture marks a new and specific stage in a man's life. Abram became Abraham; Sarai became Sarah; Jacob became Israel. The promise of the risen Christ to him that overcomes is the promise of a new name. This is recorded in both Revelation 2:17 and in Revelation 3:12. That promise is not given to a born-again Christian but only to the overcomer.

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Jesus is and always will be the Master and Owner of all life. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. All overcomers will make up a kingdom of priests and all overcomers will become lords (with a small L) in the sense of ruling and reigning with Christ in the Millenium. But all kings and lords, along with all of creation, will one day bow to the Lord Jesus Christ.

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This is one of the most important verses in the Bible. The purpose of God, from before the foundation of the world, was and forever will be that one day, called the Day of the Lord, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. These four words, "Jesus Christ is Lord," became the first creed that the Church ever had. That is a simple but all-embracing creed. Over the centuries men have tried to expand on that simplicity to define more closely what it means; but that has just caused arguments and divisions. Paul said, in

2 Corinthians 11:3, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 

The day will come when all men will call Jesus Christ Lord, but they will do so to the glory of the Father. The whole life and work and purpose of Jesus is not for His own glory but for the glory of the Father.

1 Corinthians 15:27-28 says,

"For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith, all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him.

And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all."

Therefore, the follower of Christ must always think of others, not of himself, not for his own glory but for the glory of God.

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.

"Work out your own salvation." The Greek word for "work out" always has the idea of bringing to completion, to a full and complete and perfect conclusion. Don't be satisfied with a partial salvation. This is the exhortation for each individual Christian. Once we are born again and baptized with the Holy Ghost, we then, and only then, enter into the race and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).

13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

The Greek word for "worketh" and "to do" is the same verb. It is always used of the effective action of God. Any work of God always brings about the purpose for that work. The whole process of salvation is the action of God. God's purposes and His actions cannot be frustrated or remain half-finished. We could not even begin to seek Him unless He had already found us. The beginning of the process of salvation does not depend upon man or any human desire. To continue that process also depends upon God. Finally, the end of the process of salvation within us depends upon God.

But there is another side to this. Without the cooperation of man, God's purposes tragically can be lost for an individual. Any gift and any benefit must be accepted and received.

Romans 10:13-17,"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

"The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis, a Benedictine Monk, was written in 1429 but first published in 1892. To "imitate" means "to copy, to emulate, or to follow the example of." Other than the Bible, no other book has been written in so many different languages. I have never read that book so I am in no position to comment on its contents. However, I can make a general comment. The reading of ANY book, including the Bible, will not necessarily, in and of itself, make any one a "better" person or more like Christ. Yes, we should definitely read the Bible, but it is possible that someone can read the Bible without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and receive only a lot of information. "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life" (2 Corinthians 3:6).


14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Now for a few practical out-workings or signs that we Christians have received and accepted the amazing grace of God ... The truly Christian life must be a continual progress in our journey toward the fulfillment of "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Although Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we should be changing every day from glory to glory. That is one sign that we are working out our salvation with fear and trembling ... a fear based on our desire not to grieve or disappoint the Lord.

Another sign of a changed life in Christ is peace without murmurings or questionings. This is very important. Instead of murmuring, complaining, and questioning, as God's chosen people did when they came out of Egypt, we should always say, "Yes, Lord, thank you, Lord." After the Lord told Abraham to go and sacrifice his only son, Isaac, Abraham never questioned the Lord, never complained; he just voluntarily obeyed and trusted the Lord in all things. Just a few days after the Lord sovereignly apprehended me, I did not understand what had happened in my life. But I remember saying to myself, "Surely this is the peace that passes all understanding." One more sign in the life of a Christian is the sign of purity. Paul says that as a result of trusting the Lord, voluntarily, in perfect submission to the will of God, we are to be blameless and harmless, without rebuke. The life of a Christian should be of such purity that no one can find anything about us that is subject to blame or which to find fault. Jesus said, in Matthew 5:48,

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." 

With man, that, of course is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."

What an amazing God we serve! Amen.