This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Philippians” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, December 8, 1991.

Our scripture reading begins this morning in the book of Numbers. This is Numbers chapter 28. We begin in Numbers this morning, the 28th chapter, the first verse. Let us hear the word of God. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire for a sweet savor unto me shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season. And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire, which ye shall offer unto the Lord.

Two lambs of the first year without spot, day by day, for a continual burnt offering. For one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even.

And a tenth part of an ephah, a flower, for a meat offering, mingles with the fourth part of a tin of beaten oil. It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai for a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire under the Lord. and the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of a him for the one lamb and in the holy place that shall cause the strong wine to be poured unto the Lord for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even as the meat offering of the morning and as the drink offering thereof thou shalt offer it a sacrifice made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord. On the Sabbath day, two lambs of the first year without spot and two tenths meals of flour for a meal offering, a meat offering, mingled with oil and the drink offering thereof. This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath beside the continual burnt offering and his drink offering. And in the beginnings of your months, ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the Lord, two young bullets and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot and seven ten deals rather three ten deals of flour for meat offering mingled with oil for one boy and two ten deals of flour for a meat offering mingled mingled with oil for one ram and the several ten deal of flour mingled with oil for a meat offering unto one lamb for a burnt offering of sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord.

And their drink offering shall be half a hen of wine unto a bullock, and the third part of a hen unto a ram, and a fourth part of a hen unto a lamb. And this is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year. And one kid of the goats for a sin offering unto the Lord shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering and his drink offering.”

I’m turning over to Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, verse 17 and also 18. This is Philippians 2, 17 and 18. Yea, and even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye rejoice, and rejoice with me.

Let’s pray together now. Our Father, remind us of our responsibilities in the world. Encourage us in our service to you in the midst of humanity to seek the good even of this nation in which we dwell. Strengthen us, Lord, in our resolve to do what is right, and that for the benefit of those around us. And help us, Father, in that we would rely upon that heavenly citizenship which you have granted us by grace, that we might be good citizens of this land in which we presently live. Our Father, we do ask for our nation, for our leaders. We pray, our Father, that there may be a consciousness of righteousness and a turning away from sin. We ask, Lord, that we might be an encouragement in this direction by the strength of character which is developed in us by your mercy. We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.

As we look at the seventeenth verse of Philippians chapter two, we are confronted with the unlikely, the uncommon devotion of the Apostle. Seeing things as they are, from the perspective of the Apostle, confronts us with just how upside down things seem to be from his point of view. The way in which he approaches matters, the way in which he approaches life, the way in which he approaches others, seems to be so unnatural. Here then is an uncommon, an extraordinary expression of devotion and piety, as that devotion and piety is directed towards these people to whom he presently writes.” By Paul’s contention, looking at the previous verse, verse 16, and reading into that seventeenth verse, Paul’s contention is this.

He seems to be saying that his joy in the day of Christ will be affected by the progress in sanctification amongst these Philippian believers. The progress that they make in their own devotion, in their holiness, in their responsiveness to the gospel. Now, working beneath the surface of his words, The Apostle is appealing to these folks on the basis of their great love, their unquestioned love for him. And he is saying that because of that love, they would not wish to be a disappointment to him, nor cause him any embarrassment on the day in which Christ returns. He charges them to hold fast the word of life in that sixteenth verse, to the end, that in the day of Christ they may have cause to glory, because I did not run in vain, nor toil in vain. But even more, even more than their love for him is their love their professed love for Christ. And Paul is suggesting in the language that he uses that this love that they bear to him and this love that they bear even more for Christ should be constraining them to live in such a way that they prove no embarrassment either to Him or their Savior when their Savior appears. But this they most certainly will do. They will, in fact, prove to be an embarrassment to the Apostle, to Jesus Christ, if they fail to hold fast the word of life, the opening words of that sixteenth verse. Now, what does the apostle mean when he implores these Philippians to hold fast the word of life?

Well, in actual fact, these words that begin the sixteenth verse round out, sum up, and complete a long list of statements that began back in the twelfth verse of the second chapter. Beholding fast of the word of life from verse sixteen, has the same essential properties as the working out of your own salvation with fear and trembling in verse 12. In other words, the apostle is driving at one and the same thing. Failure to hold fast the word of life equals a failure in working out your salvation with fear and trembling. But note the progression as you move from that twelfth verse towards the sixteenth verse. For one phrase will build upon another. Our failure to work out our salvation will also mean that we fail with respect to God’s good pleasure coming to expression in us. there will be the failure of the realization of the will of God in us. Verse 13.

And moving on, put in negative terms, then in verse 14, this spells itself out in the multiplication of grumblings and disputings amongst these Philippian saints mentioned in verse 14. As the grumblings and the disputings multiply, there is the failure, the compounding of the failure of these Philippians to work out their salvation in fear and trembling, to have the good pleasure of God realized within them as well as His will. This means, then, that the people will contradict, by their lives, by their behavior, the blamelessness and the innocence which is theirs as the children of God, as lights in the world, mentioned, spoken of by the Apostle in verse 15. Thus it is, as we move from verses 12 through verse 16, considering this concatenation, this chain, of descriptions and imperatives that are laid out in front of us, we are face-to-face with the prospect of robbing Paul, and even more, Christ Jesus Himself, of their joy in the last day. Having looked at verse twelve, having gone back that far, we haven’t gone back far enough, have we?

Because even more specifically, these Philippian Christians will disappoint their Apostle and disappoint their Saviour, causing them shame in the end if they fail to exhibit that mind of Christ, that attitude of Christ that the Apostle has spelled out for them in verses 5 through 11.

Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Now, it’s important here to pause momentarily, that we do not misunderstand what Paul is driving at. For he is not here speaking about something that you don’t have. Rather, he is speaking here of something that you do have and have been given by grace. Think of what he says in another text, 1 Corinthians 2, verse 16, where he tells those Christians, we have the mind of Christ. So when he encourages the Philippians to have that mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, he is merely telling them to have in themselves fully developed that which was given to them by grace.

Now, most specifically, the apostle here is calling upon these saints to demonstrate amongst themselves a loving unity. That’s how he builds up to that fifth verse in the second chapter. He wants demonstrated within them, within their midst as a congregation, this loving unity that should be peculiar to the people of God. Therefore, the particular exposition or explanation of all that he enjoins upon them in verses twelve through sixteen arises out of this attitude of Christ, which he has set before them in verses five through eleven.

Here is the explication, the explanation of the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is working itself out specifically as these people work out their salvation with fear and trembling. And the explanation of that salvation, which they are working out with fear and trembling, is nothing less than the mind of Christ, which is expressed in them. And what is that mind of Christ?

Well, read about it. Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, nor emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. So working out of your salvation is the making of yourself a servant, like unto Christ, for the sake of others.

The Father’s good pleasure is nothing less than this. Verse 13. His will is nothing less than this. Grumblings and disputings contradict, essentially, at the very root, this attitude and mind which is found in Christ. The blamelessness and the innocence of the children of God is expressed specifically here, as they, like unto Christ, become servants for the sake of others. It is precisely in this way that they appear as lights in the world. Verse 16. It is precisely in this way that they hold fast the word of life. But you see, these saints at Philippi are suffering from severe internal problems. An infection has invaded the body. And this infection threatens the saviors and the apostles rejoicing over them at the end of the age.

Here’s how it’s working itself out. These people love Paul. No dispute about that. They love Paul. And they possess a love for Jesus Christ. But they are having a great deal of difficulty loving one another. Now note just how much they have loved Paul. This church is commended by the apostle. It has been generous, generous to a fault. It stands out above other churches in its generosity.

You might turn over to the fourth chapter, the fifteenth verse, where Paul says this, and you yourselves also know Philippians that at the first preaching of the gospel after I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone.

Here is the description of the singular interest these Philippians have taken in Paul’s ministry. Such has been their loving involvement in this ministry that Paul, even at the beginning of this epistle, the first chapter, the fifth verse, commended them because, he says of them, they participated in the gospel’s proclamation from the first day until now. And by that he means that they have contributed to his ministry. These Philippians, therefore, have been a model of benevolence. They have given specifically to Paul and to the cause of the gospel.

They have shown themselves to be servants of the Apostle, and presumably servants of Jesus Christ. But their attitude toward the Apostle and toward Jesus is one thing. Their attitude toward one another is something else altogether. To be sure, times are rough. At the end of the first chapter, Paul is acknowledging the persecution that has come to the saints at Philippi. They are now suffering for the sake of the gospel. He recognizes that. They are now victims, being assaulted by unbelievers. But in the midst of their distress, they have turned on each other.

Paul is telling them, as you have proved to be servants to me, and as you wish above all to be servants of Christ and servants of God our Father, so you must be servants of one another, even to the point, hear him now, hear him now, this is the crucial issue. even to the point of suffering gladly in your service to one another, remembering all the while your Savior, who suffered gladly for you. Here, then, is the summary of the apostle’s appeal leading into that seventeenth verse in the second chapter of Philippians. And now, how marvelously, how incredibly he presents himself in relationship to these whom he loves. He tells these Philippian believers, beloved of him in graphic language, just how far he is willing to go for them. For all of them.

You hear his words? The New American Standard gives a good reading of this verse. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You see why I read from numbers chapter twenty eight this morning. You catch a glimpse of what the apostle is doing with this sort of vocabulary. These words are taking us back to that Old Testament text and its description of the morning and evening sacrifices and the sacrifices of the weekly Sabbath and the monthly sacrifices and even the periodic festival sacrifices. Did you know, as we went through the reading from Numbers chapter twenty-eight, how each one of these sacrifices are spoken of in relationship to an accompanying libation or drink offering. Description of things as he uses this image out of the Old Testament.

He will make the Philippians those who are performing the service, who are actually offering the sacrifice out of their faith. It is the sacrifice and service of their faith, that sacrifice by which they demonstrated their faith in their gifts to Him. You can go back to the fourth chapter of Philippians and look at what Paul says in the 18th verse there, where the sacrificial language is used once more. But I have received everything in full, he says, and have an abundance, and I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. So, the sacrifice and service of the Philippians faith is nothing less than the offering that they have presented on Paul’s behalf. But in this scenario, their offering is the chief offering. Their offering is tantamount to the whole burnt offering.

While Paul now portrays himself as the drink offering, he portrays himself as a minor aspect of the sacrificial service that is being performed, that aspect of the service that was meant merely as an adornment to the chief offering, the whole burnt offering. as something that was merely meant to be an aid in that offering, in order that the sweet aroma that went up to God might be enhanced.

Now, I want you to note in this the remarkable humility in the man. He is making himself the least, even in the sacrificial service. Surely the most important part of the sacrifice is that then which is attached to the Philippians and their service on Paul’s behalf, that Paul makes himself the mere drink offering, the mere libation. He is willing then to look upon himself as a minor part, a mere adornment to their sacrifice.

That’s how far he’s willing to go in his love for them. But how ironic. For the pouring out of that wine as the drink offering at the sacrifice for Israel was indicative of the pouring out of blood. So, while Paul’s language suggests to us that the apostle is merely presenting himself a minor aspect of the sacrifice that belongs to the Philippians, he is doing the full nine yards. To the point of being willing to be poured out with respect to his life and his life’s blood on their behalf. The man is willing to die for it.

If you have not addressed that question, you cannot love. I will be perfectly blunt about it. You will spend your life looking for love. You may spend some time even thinking that you found love. But love isn’t found unless there is a giving up of one’s life. What compounds Adam’s sin in the garden? It was his unwillingness to die for Eve. He wouldn’t do it. Do you want to know if you love someone? Will you die for them? Will you give your life up for them? Don’t bother me with your language about love if you’re not willing to do that. I’ll say it bluntly. You are a liar.

How ironic, then, This man is willing to make the supreme sacrifice, his very life, and yet he sees that sacrifice of himself as subordinate unto and in the service of these whom he loves. How unlikely, how upside down how uncommon, and yes, from the appearance of things, how unnatural. How out of keeping with the common course of affairs, the common way of thinking, Paul’s attitude is. What do you think of this guy? What about the natural response for someone who finds himself in the situation that Paul finds himself in?

These Philippians had proved to be congratulatory of him. They loved him regardless of what they thought of one another. Wouldn’t it be enough that they loved him after all? So why in the world would I damage, even threaten to damage, my relationship with them? Why would I even bring up matters like this? Why would I make an issue of their behavior? How many then go through life contending themselves with the flattery that is heaped upon them? and refuse them to criticize those who so revere and worship them.

My friends, this is no kindness, and most certainly it is not love. It is pure, absolute, unadulterated vanity. It doesn’t consider sings in the light of the coming day of Christ, but is merely content with and dotes upon the worshipful adulation of fond supporters. It is important that we mold our constituency, that we keep our constituency happy. Therefore, you don’t want to get too direct with them. You don’t want to speak about their failures or their sins.

You see, the apostle refuses, out of his love for these people, to allow matters between him and them to descend to such a level. but further in this of central and most important consideration. The apostle refuses to allow his present disappointment with these Philippians or his concern for their standing in the future day of Christ to mitigate his present service for them. He isn’t going to serve them any less, because there is this threat to him in the day of Christ. He isn’t going to serve them any less presently, because they are proving to be, in some respects, a disappointment to him.

And how is it with us? Isn’t it true of you that when you are faced with disappointment in others, that your zeal and your commitment to those people seems to dry up? Your interest in serving them is absolutely and completely submerged within you? And what about the threat that we might not get anything out of the deal in the end? that there is the prospect that we might run in vain or toil in vain, then are we not doubly drained of any zeal for service on behalf of these people who are so ungrateful and unresponsive?

And look at Paul. His response is so uncommon, seemingly unnatural. His response is supernatural. Christ is seen in this man. The Christ who is not deterred by a band of disciples and their multiple failures. A Christ who is not himself threatened by the diminishment of his joy in the last day. But despite present disappointments and that threat, nevertheless, out of a pure faith and confidence in his father’s purpose and out of a pure and faithful love, offers himself up completely for the sake of his people. We’ve talked about love. I’ll end with liberty. You want to be free? Let me direct you to a free man. Completely unintimidated by the threat of death and the fear of failure. Completely. What a trophy to God’s grace.

Wouldn’t you like to be like him? Even more, don’t you want to have the mind of Christ? What a gospel is ours, how rich the love, how broad the freedom, that you confer upon those you love, O God. May we delight to the full in this which you have given to us, namely, a love that comes from above and a freedom that is born in the Son of God himself. Hear us, our Father. Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.