II.POSITION.

III.OFFICE.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

I.The believer's SPHERE — in a dark world, a perverse age.

II.His OFFICE — to dispense knowledge, grace, life.

III.His DUTY — to hold forth, etc., by precept — example.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

1. In speaking of duties, we must remember that there is no conflict between them. They all harmonize. They are so related that we cannot fully perform any one of them without being led on to the performance of others.

2. All our duties may be classified around three entrees.(1) Our duties to God. These relate (a) to worship and (b) to service. They are contained in the first table of the law.(2) Duties to our fellow beings. These are contained in the second table of the law.(3) Duties to ourselves. These relate to securing a title to heaven and a fitness for heaven. They are practically secured when we bind the two tables of the law together.

3. Are we as Christians in the world fulfilling the plan and purpose of God? Are we blameless and harmless? Are we the sons of God? Do we shine as lights? Are we consumed with zeal for our Father's house, and are we constantly about our Father's business?

(A. H. Moment.)

(H. W. Beecher.)

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

1. This if taken generally is impossible. Even Christ did not live without blame (Hebrews 12:3). The best people are subject to most blame, for wicked people will quarrel with them.

2. But the meaning is so behave yourselves that you give no occasion of offence to your own conscience, or that of others.

II. HARMLESS. The property of Christians is to do no harm, because our nature is changed. The gospel makes us Came. Among birds, the wicked are likened to ravenous eagles, the Christians to harmless doves; among beasts, the one are like lions, the other like lambs; among plants, briars — lilies.

III. Christians that are blameless and harmless are THE SONS OF GOD.

1. The ground of this is the love of God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1).

2. Those who are His sons —(1) He renews to do His will and commandments (1 Peter 1:16).(2) He gives them the spirit of prayer (Acts 9:11), by which we have constant access to Him (Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 3:8).(3) He affords them sweet consolation (Romans 5:1).(4) He saves from overmuch carefulness.

3. God's sons live without rebuke.

IV. The blameless and SONS OF GOD LIVE IN THE MIDST OF A CROOKED AND PERVERSE NATION.

1. The nature of this crookedness.

(1)It is in the will (Jeremiah 27:13; Matthew 23:37).

(2)In the affections. Men love their bane.

(3)In the life.

(4)As regards religion.

2. The signs.

(1)Bring thyself to the rules of God's truth; if thou do it unwillingly and shun the means of salvation, it is a sign thou art crooked.

(2)Do you tremble when the rules are applied to your lusts and corruptions.

3. The cure.

(1)Obedience to God's ordinance.

(2)Especially when young.

(3)Keep good company.

(4)Pray with the Psalmist (Psalm 119:5).

4. Why are Christians so placed?

(1)God hereby shows His power in that He can and doth preserve His children among lions.

(2)That condemnation of the wicked is hereby justified. They cannot say they were "without good examples."

(3)That ungodly men may be won.

(4)That Christians may be refined.

5. Directions for Christians so placed.

(1)Remember your calling as sons of God: don't disgrace it.

(2)Observe the people with whom you converse.

(3)Beware how you give them offence.

(4)Be warned by the example of David.

(5)Look to the duties of the second table.

(6)Use a loving carriage towards all.

V. In the midst of this nation THE SONS OF GOD ARE TO SHINE AS LIGHTS.

1. Light is —

(1)Excellent, showing the excellences of all creatures.

(2)Pure.

(3)A most comfortable thing in darkness.

(4)A quality of the surest motion.

(5)Hath a secret influence wherever it is. Herein Christians resemble light.

2. How to be a light.

(1)Communicate with the chiefest light.

(2)Use the means.

(3)Have no connection with the unfruitful works of darkness.

(4)Follow the example of those that He lights.

(5)Pray that thy light may grow more and more unto the perfect day.

(6)Enlighten thy brethren.

(R. Sibbes, D. D.)

I. WITHOUT HYPOCRISY BEFORE GOD, acknowledging and confessing ourselves such in His presence as we are in truth, without lessening the good which there is, without also hiding interior defects with the paint and false colouring of our artifices, imitating the coarse fraud of our first father, who, having renounced the naked simplicity in which he had been formed, wished to disguise himself before that sovereign Majesty by covering himself with fig leaves.

II. NOT TO COUNTERFEIT BEFORE MEN, giving up frauds, pretences, and dissimulations, crooked and equivocal ways, which the people of the world use, to make their neighbours believe of them the contrary of what they really are.

III. GENTLENESS AND MEEKNESS OF MIND; it is not easily irritated, or if irritation should sometimes arise, it is soon appeased, and in reality loses the remembrance of the offences that have been committed against it.

IV. FREEDOM FROM CURIOSITY; it only employs itself on its own business; and, entirely turned within, does not observe very carefully what passes without, from whence it is neither suspicious nor distrustful.

(J. Daille.)

2. Communion on some level man would have, and so the gods of the Gentiles played the part of the murderer, the adulterer, etc. "Sons of God blameless and harmless" was quite a new collocation of ideas. The sons of God up to that time had been too largely the tyrants, deceivers, roysterers of the world.

3. The atheism of the times was largely a reaction against these degrading conceptions. The mind of all thoughtful men was thoroughly unsettled when Christ appeared, and by living as the Son of God effected a revolution. The seed of this revolution is in vers. 5-11. God dwelt among men at last not corrupting, thieving, or destroying, but healing, purifying, blessing. The end of God is to surround Himself with sons after this pattern.

I. SONS OF GOD: THE NATURE OF THIS RELATIONSHIP.

1. The sons of God are clearly distinguished from the world. It is a title which man as man has no right to share.

2. But how does this square with the doctrine of universal Fatherhood taught, e.g., in Hebrews ii? Children and sons are not coordinate there. The latter is higher than the former, although the former is the base out of which the latter is evolved. In the home the natural relation is one thing, and confers certain rights and claims. The spiritual relationship is another, that is the condition of the child as a being of will, thought, and affection with regard to the parent. And so man may be a child of the Great Parent, but sensual, rebellious. To such God fulfils a Father's duties and feels a Father's sorrows; but sons they are not until the spirit of sonship be in them.

3. This is what regeneration means. It is the carrying up the child's relation through all the higher powers and faculties, and yielding to God the child complete (1 Peter 2:1-11; 1 John 3:1-4). It is in view of this that our Saviour delivers to Nicodemus the deepest doctrine of His kingdom. The new birth is the only way by which the unfilial child can pass into the freedom, joy, and spiritual life of the son.

II. THE MANIFESTATION OF SONSHIP AND ITS FRUITS.

1. Blameless and harmless (1 Peter 2:18-25; 1 Peter 3:8-18; 1 Peter 4:12-19). Goodness is the most powerful appeal to man. Revenge may terrify, but forgiveness will awe and control. In the multitude there is a hidden sense of the beauty of goodness that only wants appealing to by some act of goodness. Bold men stood and trembled before an agonized child as they never trembled before the foe. Why? Because goodness, patience, faith, are heavenly.

2. There is nothing exclusive in this sonship — "Holding forth the word of life," that men may live also. The sons are to be magnets to draw the children to the Father, that they may be received as sons.

(Baldwin Brown, B. A.)

(J. Daille.)

(Homiletic Monthly.)

(Homiletic Monthly.)

(J. L. Nye.)

     4281   stars
     4287   universe
     4836   light, and people of God
     6115   blame
     6130   corruption
     6610   adoption, descriptions
     6611   adoption, privileges and duties
     7115   children of God
     8211   commitment, to world
     8322   perfection, human

Philippians 2:13-15

     8765   grudge

Philippians 2:14-15

     5550   speech, negative
     6163   faults

Philippians 2:14-16

     5178   running
     5694   generation

Philippians 2:15-16

     7027   church, purpose

January 17. "It is God which Worketh in You" (Phil. Ii. 13).
"It is God which worketh in you" (Phil. ii. 13). God has not two ways for any of us; but one; not two things for us to do which we may choose between; but one best and highest choice. It is a blessed thing to find and fill the perfect will of God. It is a blessed thing to have our life laid out and our Christian work adjusted to God's plan. Much strength is lost by working at a venture. Much spiritual force is expended in wasted effort, and scattered, indefinite and inconstant attempts at doing good. …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

April 28. "For it is God which Worketh in You" (Phil. Ii. 13).
"For it is God which worketh in you" (Phil. ii. 13). Sanctification is the gift of the Holy Ghost, the fruit of the Spirit, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the prepared inheritance of all who enter in, the greatest obtainment of faith, not the attainment of works. It is divine holiness, not human self-improvement, nor perfection. It is the inflow into man's being of the life and purity of the infinite, eternal and Holy One, bringing His own perfection and working out His own will. How easy, how …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

July 11. "For it is God which Worketh in You" (Phil. Ii. 13).
"For it is God which worketh in you" (Phil. ii. 13). A day with Jesus. Let us seek its plan and direction from Him. Let us take His highest thought and will for us in it. Let us look to Him for our desires, ideals, expectations in it. Then shall it bring to us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Let Him be our Guide and Way. Let us not so much be thinking even of His plan and way as of Him as the Personal Guide of every moment, on whom we constantly depend to lead our every step. …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

November 30. "In Lowliness of Mind Let Each Esteem Other Better than Themselves" (Phil. Ii. 3).
"In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves" (Phil. ii. 3). When the apostle speaks of "the deep things of God," he means more than deep spiritual truth. There must be something before this. There must be a deep soil and a thorough foundation. Very much of our spiritual teaching fails, because the people to whom we give it are so shallow. Their deeper nature has never been stirred. The beatitudes begin at the bottom of things, the poor in spirit, the mourners, and the hungry …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

May 28. "He Humbled Himself" (Phil. Ii. 8).
"He humbled Himself" (Phil. ii. 8). One of the hardest things for a lofty and superior nature is to be under authority, to renounce his own will, and to take a place of subjection. But Christ took upon Him the form of a servant, gave up His independence, His right to please Himself, His liberty of choice, and after having from eternal ages known only to command, gave Himself up only to obey. I have seen occasionally the man who was once a wealthy employer a clerk in the same store. It was not an …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

June 6. "He Emptied Himself" (Phil. Ii. 8, R. V. ).
"He emptied Himself" (Phil. ii. 8, R. V.). The first step to the righteousness of the kingdom is "poor in spirit." Then the next is a little deeper, "they that mourn." Because now you must get plastic, you must get broken, you must get like the metal in the fire, which the Master can mould; and so, it is not enough to see your unrighteousness, but deeply to feel it, deeply to regret it, deeply to mourn over it, to own it not a little thing that sin has come into your life. And so God leads a soul …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Palm Sunday
Text: Philippians 2, 5-11. 5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an 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 fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10 that …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Work Out Your Own Salvation
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.'--PHIL. ii. 12, 13. 'What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder!' Here are, joined together, in the compass of one practical exhortation, the truths which, put asunder, have been the war-cries and shibboleths of contending sects ever since. Faith in a finished salvation, and yet work; God working all in me, and yet I able and bound to work likewise; …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Willing Sacrifice
'That I may have whereof to glory in the day of Christ, that I did not run in vain neither labour in vain. 17. Yea, and if I am offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. 18. And in the same manner do ye also joy, and rejoice with me.'--PHIL. ii. 16-18 (R.V.). We come here to another of the passages in which the Apostle pours out all his heart to his beloved Church. Perhaps there never was a Christian teacher (always excepting Christ) who spoke more about …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Plea for Unity
'If there is therefore any comfort in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassions, 2. Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3. Doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; 4. Not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.'--PHIL. ii. 1-4 (R.V.). There was much …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Copies of Jesus
'Do all things without murmurings and disputings; 15. That ye may be blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world, 16. Holding forth the word of life.'--PHIL. ii. 14-16 (R.V.). We are told by some superfine modern moralists, that to regard one's own salvation as the great work of our lives is a kind of selfishness, and no doubt there may be a colour of truth in the charge. At least the meaning …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Paul and Timothy
'But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. 20. For I have no man like-minded, who will care truly for your state. 21. For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ. 22. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a child serveth a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the gospel. 23. Him therefore I hope to send forthwith, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me: 24. But I trust in the Lord that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Paul and Epaphroditus
'But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need. 26. Since he longed after you all, and was sore troubled, because ye had heard that he was sick. 27. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28. I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Descent of the Word
'Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus: 6. Who, being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, 7. But emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.'--PHIL. ii. 5-8 (R.V.). The purpose of the Apostle in this great passage must ever be kept clearly in view. Our Lord's example is set forth as the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Ascent of Jesus
'Wherefore also God highly exalted Him and gave unto Him the name which is above every name; 10. That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; 11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'--PHIL. ii. 9-11 (R.V.). 'He that humbleth himself shall be exalted,' said Jesus. He is Himself the great example of that law. The Apostle here goes on to complete his picture of the Lord …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

July the Fourth Emptying Oneself
"He emptied Himself." --PHILIPPIANS ii. 1-11. In Mr. Silvester Horne's garden a very suggestive scene was one day to be witnessed. A cricketer of world-wide renown was playing a game with Mr. Horne's little four-year-old son! And the fierce bowler "emptied himself," and served such gentle, dainty little balls that the tiny man at the wickets was not in the least degree afraid! And the Lord of glory "emptied Himself," fashioning Himself to our "low estate," and in His unspeakably gentle approaches …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Your Own Salvation
We have heard it said by hearers that they come to listen to us, and we talk to them upon subjects in which they have no interest. You will not be able to make this complaint to-day, for we shall speak only of "your own salvation;" and nothing can more concern you. It has sometimes been said that preachers frequently select very unpractical themes. No such objection can be raised to-day, for nothing can be more practical than this; nothing more needful than to urge you to see to "your own salvation." …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

The Exaltation of Christ
I ALMOST regret this morning that I have ventured to occupy this pulpit, because I feel utterly unable to preach to you for your profit. I had thought that the quiet and repose of the last fortnight had removed the effects of that terrible catastrophe; but on coming back to the same spot again, and more especially, standing here to address you, I feel somewhat of those same painful emotions which well-nigh prostrated me before. You will therefore excuse me this morning, if I make no allusion to that …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Consolation in Christ
You will remember, my dear friends, that the Holy Spirit, during the present dispensation, is revealed to us as the Comforter. It is the Spirit's business to console and cheer the hearts of God's people. He does convince of sin; he does illuminate and instruct; but still the main part of his business lies in making glad the hearts of the renewed, in confirming the weak, and lifting up all those that be bowed down. Whatever the Holy Ghost may not be, he is evermore the Comforter to the Church; and …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 7: 1861

The Temper of Christ
PHILIPPIANS ii. 4. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. What mind? What sort of mind and temper ought to be in us? St. Paul tells us in this chapter, very plainly and at length, what sort of temper he means; and how it showed itself in Christ; and how it ought to show itself in us. 'All of you,' he tells us, 'be like-minded, having the same love; being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory: but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

The Mind which was in Christ Jesus. Rev. George Wood.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." PHILIPPIANS ii. 5. The Saviour left His followers an example that they should tread in His steps; and His example in everything that appertains to His human nature, is not only practicable but essential. We cannot imitate His power, or His wisdom, or His miracles, or His sufferings, or anything in which His Divine nature was manifested or employed; but we can imitate His meekness, His patience, His zeal, His self-denial, His superiority …
Knowles King—The Wesleyan Methodist Pulpit in Malvern

How to Keep Passion Week
(Preached before the Queen.) Philippians ii. 5-11. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

2 Cor. Iii. 5
Not that we are sufficient of our selves, to think any things as of our selves: but our Sufficiency is of God. THE Apostle, in this Epistle, was led, by the cunning Management of some evil-minded Persons amongst the Corinthians, to asset his own Apostleship; and his own Right to be their Director and Instructor, as He had been the Founder of their Church, and of their Faith. But lest they should think that He boasted of himself above measure; as if from Him, considered by Himself, came all their …
Benjamin Hoadly—Several Discourses Concerning the Terms of Acceptance with God