Philippian Studies Part 9

St Paul dreads exceedingly for the Philippians the incursion of "error and misunderstanding"; the advent of a mechanical rigorism of rule and ordinance, and (as we shall see in later pages) the subtle poison also of the specious antinomian lie. How does he apply the antidote? In the form of an appeal to them to be sure to not to "lose their glory in the Lord"; and then he writes a record of his own experience in which he shews them how his own Pharisaic treasures had all been cast away, or willingly given up to the spoiler; and why? Not for abstract reasons, but "because of the surpa.s.singness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord"; because of the irresistible and infinite _betterness_ of His discovered glory, seen in the atoning Cross and the Resurrection power.

Let us "arm ourselves likewise with the same mind." We have countless perils about us in our modern Christendom, things which only too easily can trouble the reason and sway the will away from the one "hope set before us." Let us meet them, whatever else we do, with the Moravians'

prayer. Let us meet them with obedience to the Apostle's positive injunction, "Rejoice in the Lord."

ii. The pa.s.sage bids us remember the profound connexion between a true "knowledge" of the Lord Jesus as our Atonement and a true "knowledge"

of Him as our Life and Power. Both are here. In ver. 9, so it seems to me, any unprejudiced reader of St Paul's writings must see language akin to those great pa.s.sages of Romans and Galatians which put before us the supreme question of our Justification, and which send us for our whole hope of Acceptance before the eternal Judge, whose law we have broken, to the Atoning Death of our Lord Jesus Christ. In those pa.s.sages, demonstrably as I venture to think, the word "Righteousness"

is largely used as a short term for the Holy One's righteous way of accepting us sinners for the sake of the Sinless One, who, in our nature, was "made a curse for us," "made sin for us," "delivered for our offences," "set forth for a propitiation," that we might be "justified from all things" in our union with Him by faith. If so, this is the purport of similar phrases here also. St Paul is thinking here first of the discovered glory of Christ as the propitiation for his sins, his peace with G.o.d, his refuge and his rest for ever against the accuser and the curse. That comes first, profoundly first.

But then we have also here the sequel truth, the glorious complement.

Here is Acceptance, wholly for Jesus Christ's most blessed sake. But this is but the divine condition to another divine and transcendent blessing; it is revealed as the way in to a knowledge of this Lord of Peace, a deep and unspeakable knowledge of Him, such as shall infuse into His disciple the power of His Risen Life, and the secret of an inward a.s.similation of the soul to the very principle of His Death, and shall be the path whose end shall be His glory.

St Paul here bids us never put asunder what G.o.d hath joined together.

"Never further than the Cross, never higher than Thy feet"; there may we be "found," "in Him"; unshaken by surrounding mysteries, and meekly resolute against fashions of opinion. Let us be recognized for those who truly know for themselves, and truly commend to others, that blessed "Justification by Faith" which is still, as ever, the Beautiful Gate of the Gospel.

"'Tis joy enough, my All in All, Before Thy feet to lie; Thou wilt not let me lower fall, And who can higher fly?"

But then let us be known as those who, accepting Christ Jesus as our All for peace, (whatever we may have to "consider to be loss" that we may do so,) have clasped Him also as our Hidden Life, our Risen Power, our King within.

"O Jesus Christ, grow Thou in me, And all things else recede; My heart be daily nearer Thee, From sin be daily freed." [17]

Always at the atoning Cross;--yes, every day and hour; "knowing no other stand" before the face of the Holy One. Always receiving there the Risen Life, the presence inwardly of the Risen One, the secret power to suffer and to serve in peace;--yes, for ever yes; "to the praise of the glory of His grace."

So, and only so, shall we live the life of real sinners really saved; "worshipping by the Spirit of G.o.d, exulting in Christ Jesus, and confident, but not in the flesh."

[1] The reader may be aware that Bishop Lightfoot's theory of the connexion of thought at the beginning of ch. iii. is different from that advocated here. He thinks that St Paul dictated on continuously _till the close of_ iii. 1, and was interrupted there, and then began _de novo_ with iii. 2, entirely on another line. In this view, the words about "writing _the same things_ unto you" refer still to _Christian unity_, on which St Paul was going to dilate further, but a sudden pause occurred, and the theme was dropped. With reverence for the great expositor, I cannot but think this unlikely. It a.s.sumes that St Paul was curiously indifferent to the sequence of thought in an important apostolic message, which a.s.suredly he would _read over again_ before it was actually sent. A theory which fairly explains the pa.s.sage, and meanwhile avoids the thought of such indifference, seems to me far preferable.

[2] The words obviously may be rendered, "_Farewell_ in the Lord"; and so some take them, explaining that St Paul was intending to close immediately, and so wrote his "Adieu" here; but then changed his plan.

This is very unlikely however. See below, iv. 4: _Chairete en Kurio pantote_. The "always" there scarcely suits a formula _of farewell_, while it perfectly suits an injunction _to be glad_. And that pa.s.sage is the obvious echo of this.--A.V. and R.V. both render "rejoice,"

though R.V. writes "or, _farewell_" in the margin. St Chrysostom in his comments here explains the pa.s.sage as referring to the Christian's joy (_chara_). The ancient Latin versions render _Gaudete_ (not _valete_) in _Domino_.

[3] I thus render _rhythmically_ the rhythmical Greek (it is an iambic trimeter): _emoi men ouk okneron, humin d asphales_. It is probable that the words are a quotation from a Greek poet, perhaps a "comic"

poet; the "comedies" being full of neatly expressed reflexions. For such a quotation, probably from the "comedian" Menander, see 1 Cor. xv.

33: _phtheirousin ethe chresth homiliai kakai_: "_Ill converse cankers fair morality._"

[4] The reading _pneumati Theou_ (not _Theo_) _latreuontes_ is to be preferred.

[5] _Datreuien_ means first to do servants' work, then to do religious "service" (so almost always in LXX. and N.T.) and sometimes specially _priestly_ duty (see e.g. Heb. xiii. 10). This latter may be in view here: we Christians, born anew of the Spirit, are the true _priests_, and we little need to be made Jewish proselytes first.

[6] The _sarx_ in St Paul is very fairly represented by the word "self"

as used popularly in religious language. It is man taken as apart from G.o.d, and so man _versus_ G.o.d; then by transition it may mean, as here, the products of such a source, the labours of the self-life to construct a self-righteousness. It is hardly necessary to say that, in such contexts as this, where it stands more or less distinguished from the _pneuma_, it is not a synonym for "the body." Sins of "the flesh"

may be sins purely of the mind, as e.g. "emulation" (Gal. v. 20).

[7] I thus attempt to convey the emphasis of the words _ouk en sarki pepoithotes_, which is not precisely as if he had written _en sarki_.

[8] _Peritoue_: a dative of reference, a frequent construction with St Paul. See Rom. xii. 10-12 for several examples together.

[9] See Trench, _Synonyms_, - x.x.xix., for the special meanings of _Israelites_, the member of the Covenant-people; _Ebraios_, the Jew who was true to his inmost national traditions; and _Ioudaios_, the Jew merely as other than the Gentile.

[10] The article is absent; but context leaves no doubt of the special reference here.

[11] In solemn contrast but with perfect consistency, from another point of view--that not of the Pharisee but of G.o.d--he can point out elsewhere that "no flesh" can possibly claim "righteousness" on the ground of fulfilment of code and precept. See especially Rom. iii. 19, 20. But his business here is to meet the legalist on the legalist's own ground.

[12] Notice the _plural_; as if, miser-like, he had counted his bags of treasure. And then see the contrasted _singular_, _Xemian_: he finds them all _one ma.s.s of loss_.

[13] _Skubala_: the Greek etymologists derived the word from _kusi balein_, "to cast to dogs." Otherwise it is traced to a connexion with _skor_, "excrement."

[14] Practically, he means "that I _might_ gain," in the past transaction of conversion and surrender. He thinks the past over again.

[15] Lit., "faith of," _pisteos Christou_. This use of the genitive with _pistis_, to denote its object, is frequent. Cp. e.g. Mark xi.

22; Gal. ii. 16, 20.

[16] Even as the benefit of food is conditioned to us by our (not buying but) eating it.

[17] See the whole hymn (rendered from Lavater's _O Jesu Christe, wachs in mir_) in _Hymns of Consecration_, 295.

"We will dwell on Calvary's mountain Where the flocks of Zion feed, Oft resorting to that fountain Open'd when our Lord did bleed; Thence deriving Grace, and life, and holiness."

_From the Moravian Hymn-book_.

_CHRISTIAN STANDING AND CHRISTIAN PROGRESS_

"I want that adorning divine Thou only, my G.o.d, can'st bestow; I want in those beautiful garments to shine Which distinguish Thy household below.

"I want, as a traveller, to haste Straight onward, nor pause on my way, Nor forethought nor anxious contrivance to waste On the tent only pitch'd for a day.

"I want--and this sums up my prayer-- To glorify Thee till I die, Then calmly to yield up my soul to Thy care, And breathe out, in faith, my last sigh."

CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT.

CHAPTER IX

CHRISTIAN STANDING AND CHRISTIAN PROGRESS

PHILIPPIANS iii. 12-16