The Pulpit Commentary — Philippians — Section 91

~elestial, terrestrial, and sub-terrestrial. Of these cl11ssc~ not one sh:ill h11vo his knees nnbont, '!'hey are also repr_esented as confessing wi t,h their tongues. Of the cl:i:;l!Cs named not ono shall have his tongue unused in confoH3ion. To think of involuntary adoration on the part of some, is to mar the lancruaae. All are to renrler to Christ tho ~pecially C?rist,ian confession-they are to confe~s thaL Jesus Christ is Lord, specially rnvested with power to complete tho work of redemption. They are to render tho adoration to Christ to the praise, not of God's justice, but of God's fatherhood. Dogmatic inference from this passage cannot be drawn with certainty. All that we have to do is to allow the language, in all its majesty, to have its due weight in our minds alongside of other language that is used in Scripture with regard to the last things.-R. F. Vers. 12-18.-Exliortation,. I. PERSONAL WORK FOR THE PmI.IPPIANS. 1. How he exhorts them with pleasure. "So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence." The exal- tation of Christ, which is the subject of the three foregoing verses, is specin.1\y fitted to be an encouragement to the duty of humility. It is not this, however, that be now specifies, in descending from the sublime Example. He rather lays bold on that "obedience" which was the soul of the humiliation, and on the name" Saviour" which marked the exaltation. And upon these he makes his exhortn.tion to turn. For tbo firijt time he addresses them as his "beloved." It indicates his drawing closer to them. He has a complimentary word to say to them. They had in the past obeyed, not him-for it is no mere personal request that he has to make-but the gospel of which a statement follows, and which is referred to as the Word of life. They had always obeyed, i.e. both when he was present and when he was absent. Into this form, then, he throws his exhortation. They were to make their future, as they had made their past. 'l'hey were not to make their obedience to the gospel dependent on bis presence with them. An obedience as in his prese11ce would have meant negligence in bis absence. Nay, they were to make bis absence a stimulus to greater exertion. 'iVhen they had not his help they were to feel the greater need of rousing themselves to action. 2. The work of salvation. (1) What it ·is. "Work out your own salvation." It is thought of as a work that is our own, i.e. pertaining to ourselves and going on in our nature. It is what is known as' character, what is impressed on our nature, according as we are obedient to the will of God. It is thought of as that which bas a beginning, progress, and end. We are to work it out from the beginning n.11 through to the end. It is thought of as that which has its starting-point in the nature io. a state of sin. 'l'he end is only to be reached in conflict with evil, and in the salvation of the' nature from evil. Salvation of the thoughts. It belongs to us as thinking beings to think out the great thoughts which God has given for our instruction in the Bible. We have to think them out, so as to get the full advantage of their quickening influence in our being. This is part of the gren.t work which God has appointed us to work out. It is saving work, inasmuch as we need to be saved from the darkness of our minds. We need to be saved from an unworthy conception of God. There is nothing which more bespeaks our elevation than that we think aright of God. It is a work of no little difficulty to rise above such gross notions of God as are derived from our senses, our passions, our sellim partialities, and to think of him as the Father of our spirits, who has high and kind thoughts regarding us, who is interested in our well-being, who is ever present with us to inspire us, to strengthen us, to waken up our hfe, who rebukes us and is grieved when we do wrong, who commends us and is glad when we do w~ll; to think of him especially as the God of salvation, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has made infinite sacrifice for us, who makes to us offer of boundless grace, who is seeking by every means to compass our salvation. 1No need to be saved from an uuworthy conception of human life, from thinking that it consists in the abu_ndance of thincrs which we possess, that it is to be spent in idleness or plea.sure, that 1t bn.s not issu:s beyond lkath, It is no easy task to come.to th? full realizat~on ?f the thought that our lifo derives its significance from our bemg tried, from 1t bemg mtenJ.eJ. to bo a service rendered to God, the workincr out of a Divine plan, the unselfish seeking o[ the good of others; duri vcs its significance especin.lly from ~hris~ having ~ss0ciate,l );iimself with it, having brought back its old value, and having g1Vea it an tucreascd 88 THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILlPPIANS. [oit. n. 1-.10.