The Full GospelSample

Worth the Work // The Gospel According to Philippians

It’s all about Jesus. Every page and passage of Scripture points to who He is and what He has accomplished through His life, death, and resurrection. Now, as people who have been rescued from darkness and death, we have the responsibility to live in such a way that our lives paint a picture of His perfect love. So what does that look like? Philippians tells us this:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus … Philippians 2:5 NIV

Once we make the decision to follow Jesus, our lives are meant to be all about Him. The places we go, the words we say, the things we do, and the thoughts we think, are all meant to be directed by and devoted to Jesus. It’s why the classic question, “What would Jesus do?” will never go away.

As His followers and members of His family, we have been commissioned by God to do for others what Jesus has done for us. If we want to be confident in our ability to know what Jesus would do, we have to be crystal clear about what Jesus actually did. And that’s what the letter to the Philippians says next:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8 NIV

Jesus was humble. Even though He is God, He did not use His divine power or authority to stockpile privilege for Himself. Instead, He chose to disadvantage Himself in order to serve us.

He became a human so we could become one with Him! He walked alongside sinful and messy people. He washed the feet of His disciples the same night they turned their backs on Him. And He laid down His life on the cross, as an act of love for us and obedience to His Father. That’s what love really is: choosing to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others.

And because Jesus perfectly fulfilled the two greatest commandments—to love God and to love others—we are told:

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 NIV

Jesus humbled Himself and has been exalted by His Father. His name is now above every other name. There is no country or continent where the name of Jesus has not been spoken.

Scripture has made clear time and time again, Jesus was more than a man. He is God in the flesh, Immanuel, God with us. And because of His goodness and love, He chose to step out of heaven and into history to rescue us from sin, repair our relationship with Him, and restore our purpose as members of His family.

So now what? What do we do? Once again, we find the answers to those questions when we keep reading.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13 NIV

In light of who Jesus is and all He’s done, we are to keep obeying and doing the stuff God tells us to do. As obvious as this might sound, it is worth repeating over and over again.

Oftentimes, the hardest thing for us to do as human beings is choose to obey God when what we want is something different than what He has commanded.

When our top priority and focus is pleasing God, we’re able to continue obeying Him. And thankfully, we aren’t alone in our efforts. As we grow our relationship with Him, God works in us. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God works within usto will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

He gives us the desire, the will, and the ability to act according to His good plans for us and for the world. This means there will be things you used to have no interest in, but you now want to do. And there will be things you used to not be able to do, that you now are capable of doing.

God is working within you to make you more like Jesus.