2005 Issue 4 - The Model for Witness: The Person of Christ - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 2005 Issue 4 - The Model for Witness: The Person of Christ - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/5

THE MODEL

FOR

WITNESS

THE

PERSON OF

CHRIST

philippians :

1 30

Joe

Morecraft

III

Jesus

Christ carne not only

to die for our sins, He

carne to preach

and

teach

and

bear

witness

to the gospel,

and in so doing to

draw people

to Himself as their Lord

and Savior.

He was

moved

by an all-consuming

desire

to glorify His Father

and

by a deep compassion for lost

sinners that

moved him

not only to want

to reach

them by

His words but to

shed

His own

blood

for

them

that

they

might be

saved from everything tha t

was

separating

them

from God and life

and joy. He

had the

world on

His heart

and so He sacrificed Himself for the life of the world,

John 6:51, becoming

obedient

to the point

of

death,

even

death on a cross, philippians 2:8, to purchase for God

with

(His)

blood people from every

tribe

and

tongue and

people and nation,

Revelation 5:9.

When Jesus saw multi tudes of people lost in sin, He

felt compassion

on them because

they were like

sheep

without

a shepherd, Mark 6:34. He taught His

disciples

that compassion ought to

be

extended to

everybody,

even our enemies,

Matthew

5:43-48,

Luke

10:30-37.

The

word compassion, splangna, literally refers to the

upper viscera: lungs,

heart, liver,

denoting warm

tender

affections and concern. Jesus felt compassion when

He

saw

people distressed, oppressed, downcast,

hurting,

hungry,

ignorant, blind, leprous, demon-possessed, in

debt, grieving,

guilt-ridden,

abusing themselves.

All

kinds of human

suffering, physical and

spiritual, caused

by human sin,

drew

out Jesus' compassion; and His

compassioh

always

moved

Him

to action, to

do what

He

could to

relieve

their

need

and to save them from sin and

all its consequences.

For

instance, when He

saw

a

woman

grieving

over her

dead son, He did

not wait for her

to

ask

for His help, He was moved

in

His great

heart by

her grief

to turn

her darlmess

into light and

her sorrow

into joy by

raising her son from the dead.

Because

of His compassion

for

poor, lost sinners,

He

carne

to seeb

and

to save those

who

are lost, Luke

19:10. The Gospel of Luke especially

highlights Christ 's

compassion by pointing

out

tha t Jesus is

concerned

for lost

people, for l i t t le people, for

people

insignificant in the

eyes of the world, for women like Mary, Elizabeth, Anna,

9

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COUNSEL

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Mary and Martha, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susan

the

widow

of

N ain,

the little elderly crippled woman,

widow

who gave all she

had,

the daughters of Jerusa

who wept for Jesus as

He

went

to the cross, for chi ld

for the poor, for the disreputable. And

He

told

them

parable saying, "What man among

you,

if

he has

a

hund

sheep

and has

lost

one

of them, does not leave the nin

nine

in

the open pasture,

and

go

after the one

whic

lost, until

he

finds it? And

when

he

has found

it, he

it

on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And

when he comes ho

he calls

together

his friends and his

neighbors,

sayin

them,

'Rejoice

with

me,

for

I

have found my sheep w

was

lost ' I

tell you that

in

the

same way there

wil

more joy in heaven over

one

sinner who

repents,

than

ninety-nine righteous persons

who

need no repentan

Lube 15:3-7.

In

this

way

the

life

of Jesus Christ is the model

for

witness in this

world: because of his compassion for sinn

he

totally

consecrated Himself

to

the accomplishmen

their salvation. Christ 's life was one of

self-sacrific

dedication to the

salvation

of

s inners The

Son

of M

carne

not

to be served but to serve, and to

give

His li

ransom

for

many,

Marl,

10:45.

That

is

what

heart-

compassion does to

a

believer: it moves him or he

become totally dedicated to

the

salvation of sinners

be consumed

with the desire to

be

used

by God

to

somebody from their sins, anybody

Our

children

neighbors

Our

husband or wife

Our parents

Our

fam

members

Our

fellow

employees or

students

or teach

Anybody

1

(Phil ippians

2:5-11)

THE SUPREME MODEL

O

CHRIST

A. (2:1-4)

THE APPEAL FOR CHRISTLIKE

WITNESS

If you are to be effective in

the

spread of the gospel

must live a

Christlike

life of

love, putting the

intere

welfare and

eternal destinies

of others above your

interests

and

welfare.


2/5

Rev Joe Morecraft

Paul roots his

appeal

in four things: encouragement

in

Christ through the apostolic word, the comfort of

mutual

love

and of Christ's

love

'for us, fellowship in the

Holy Spirit, i.e., the

believer's

conscious

experience

of

the Spirit's indwelling and activity in his life and in the

church, and

affectionate

sympathy and deep

feelings

of

compassionate yearning and action grounded

in

the

Lord's

sympathy for His church.

This

fourfold

appeal

leads

to

a

fourfold result in the

church: being likeminded, having

the

same love, being of

one accord, of

one mind. Thus undesirable features in the

life of the church

will be removed and

unity and harmony

will

prevail in an otherwise fragmented church unprep ared

to

be Christ's witness

in this world. If evil

tendencies

and

divisions in the church are to

be

avoided, we must possess

lowliness of mind

and

humility toward

God and

each other,

the recognition of our

total

dependence upon

Him

and

to

place

the interests

of others above our own

interest.

We

are

not to

be

so preoccupied with our own concerns

that

we

fail to see the Christian virtues in others, avoiding on

the

one

hand

pride

in

our

own

moral attainments,

and on

the other hand, unmerciful fault-finding

in

the

lives

of

others.

B

(Philippians 2:5) THE EXHORTATION TO

CHRISTLIKE

WITNESS

Let this

mind be in you which is also in

Christ Jesus.

Think about things the way Christ thinks about things.

Let

your

whole

inner

life be shaped and filled

y

those

ideas, thoughts,

motives

and priorities that fill the inner

life

of

Christ in His humanity.

Love

what He

loves,

hate

what He hates. Be as focused

and

as

consumed

and as

devoted as He was and is to

the

salvation of a world of

sinners

from

sin

and

death.

Be willing to

humble

yourself

as Christ

did

and to sacrifice yourself as Christ did

in

order to be used of God to save those who are lost. Be

one

with

Christ

in the

great

work

of

salvation.

Display in

your church fellowship in an unforgettable and convincing

manner

that you

share

Christ's

spirit and attitude

and are

controlled y the pattern of self-effacement and humility

which His incarnation and cross

supremely

exemplify.

Ralph Martin, PHILIPPIANS, Tyndale.

C

(Philippians

2:6-11) THE

EXAMPLE

OF

CHRIST

Jesus' entire life was

one of self-sacrificing

dev.otion

to

the

salvation of lost people. He humiliated Himself

for

our salvation,

2:6-8, because it was required if He was

to bear away the full weight of sin and its consequences

from His people. God highly

exalted

Him so that He

could administer this accomplished

salvation

leading to

the

whole world bowing before Him and confessing His

lordship, 2:9-11.

1. Christ existed in the form of God,

i.e.,

He continue

in

His

existence

from

eternity to eternity. God's

form

is

that

which m l ~ e s Him unique. In His Essence He i

incomparable.

The point is that

before and after

Hi

incarnation, Christ

is everything

God

is To

say

that

Chris

is in

the

form of God is to say

that

He was God before

Hi

incarnation, remains

God

after His

incarnation, and

wil

always be God throughout eternity. He who is in the form

of

God

is

God and

only God,

in

full possession

of

all o

God's perfections.

2.

Christ did not regard equality with God a

thing

to

be grasped.

This does

not

mean

that

Christ

surrendered

equality

with

God when He became a

man.

Equality

wit

God does

not

refer to His essential

equality

with

God

but to His equality as far as His being publicly treate

and

honored

and praised as God's equal. Christ did no

consider

this something to

cling

to, but He could an

did give it up to

humiliate

Himself to become a huma

being

for our

salvation. For you know

the

grace

of

ou

Lord

Jesus,

that

though

He

was

rich,

yet

for your

sak

He became poor, so that you

through

His poverty migh

become

rich, Corinthians

8:9.

This

speaks of a

spiri

of pure unselfishness and self-sacrifice. This was th

state

of mind

that led Jesus to give up all

this:

simple

selfless, self-sacrificing love.

l

3. Christ made Himself of no

reputation.

Som

translations

have he

emptied

himself, which

expressio

is

not

only the root from which most heresies regarding

the

incarnation have grown, it is a

mistranslation of

th

Greek

word,

ekenosen:

(See

Benjamin B

Warfield'

book,

THE

PERSON AND WORK OF

CHRIST,

pp

569.) In

the four

other

instances

when

the

word

is

use

in the NT, Rom. 4:14, I

Cor.

1:17 9 :15 and

Cor.

9:3

ekenosen is used

figuratively meaning

to

make of

no

account or

to

make of no reputation. If we translate

the

word

in phil. 2: 7

according

to its usage in the NT

the

word

here

simply means that Christ made Himsel

of no account, of no

reputation,

not asserting His divin

prerogative, but took

the

form of

a servant: The

fac

that Christ took the form of a servant

does

not in any wa

involve a laying aside of the form of

God. And

He di

this for our salvation.

4

Christ

humbled or

humiliated

Himself.

He

humiliate

Himself

y becoming

subject

to the demands and

curses

o

His own law and y being

obedient

His

whole life on eart

to that

law

in

all

His

thoughts, actions and

suffering,

eve

to the very limit of the shameful death

on

the cross fo

our salvation. The lowest point of His

humiliation,

Hi

death and burial, was at the same time the highest poin

of

His saving work along with His resurrection from

th

dead.

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be

MOdel

for Witne.J J

6.

Christ

became obedient unto death even the death of

the

cross. This

obedience is a

certain

evidence of

His

deity,

for

only a divine being can accept death as obedience;

for ordinary

men

it is a necessity. As the obedient

Son

of God,

Christ chose death

because of

His

love for

the

Father's

redeeming

purpose and for the world which He

came to save. His death is

the outward

and

visible sign

of

the inward and

spiritual

devotion

to

God's

purpose

which

had characterized His

whole

earthly

life,

(Martin,

p.

103),

and of

His

dedication to saving poor lost sinners

who

cannot

save themselves

and

who not worthy of such

dedication. The

cross is the

most

hideous

and cruel

form of

execution.

But

Christ voluntarily chose the cross

for

our

salvation. This sinless Savior

endured the curse

of

separation from God in the place

of

His people that

they

might

be reconciled

to

God

and

welcomed back

into

fellowship

with

God on the basis

of

His atoning death.

Christ's self-sacrificing dedication

to

the salvation

of

sinners

is

our

supreme

model

for

life and mission and

witness. He calls us and empowers us

to

have

as

our goal

being as

dedicated to

saving people

(individuals,

families,

cultures) from sin as

Jesus

was.

D. (Philippians 2:12-13)

THE POWER

FOR

FOLLOWING OUR MODEL

Our

ability to

follow Christ's example is from God

alone.

The

indwelling

Spirit

of

Christ

fully

equips

and empowers us for doing God's will in life and in the

fellowship of the

gospel. We work

out in our daily

lives

what the Spirit

works

in us: the will and the ability to do

what

pleases God.

II. (Philippians

2: 14-16)

THE SPECIFICS REQUIRED

IN FOLLOWING

OUR MODEL

Our mission, like Christ's, is 1:0

shine

like stars in the

midst of a

d r l ~ and

depraved generation:

1).

By living

as

blameless

and

pure

children

of God, vs. 16;

(2). By

holding out the word of life to this generation, vs. 16; and

3). By giving this

mission top priority in our

lives,

just

as Christ did, vs. 17.

A.

(2:

14) In

the life

and mission

of

the

church beware

of grumbling

and

disputing,

i.e.,

rebellion against God

as

Israel of the

OT

did

in

the Wilderness

and dissensions

among the

members

of

the

church rooted in pride and

envy. Such petty

rivalry

reveals that those involved

are

more

concerned

with

themselves than

they are with the

mission and glory of Christ.

B. (2:16)

The Corinthian

church is

called upon to set

its own house in order so that God's mission for them as

a witnessing community, a fellowship of the gospel, may

3

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be fulfilled. They must show themselves irreproach

living a life at which no

finger of

criticism may

be poin

M ~ r t i n , p. 114) and simple, unmixed and pure with re

to

evil.

In

their character

and

conduct

there must

b

evil

blotch which could

be

criticized y an outsider

there must be no non Christian trait in their

lives

by w

they have been

contaminated y

the world. Rather

are to

live

and act as sons and daughters

of

the living

in

the midst

of

a

c r o o l ~ e d

and

perverse

generation,

i.e

world surrounding the church

in

which the church

and witnesses is a society morally warped

and

spirit

perverted.

Yet

we

are to live

and

witness

in

the

mid

this world, for t is only

there

that

true

Christian wi

can

be borne

and

influence for

Christ effectively

exe

The church's

influence as a witnessing

communi

described in the language of the influence of

light

dark place. Martin,

p.

116. We are

to light-bear

Matthew

6: 14-16. We are the light of the world in

sense that

we

are the vessels in which

THE

Light o

world

shines

forth, John 8:

12.

C. (2:

16)

We are

lights

in

this

dark world

only

as

we

fast and hold forth

the

word of

life.

We

are to

re

firm in (our) adherence to the trutll of the gospel, to

it fast as

a

torch-bearer

would grasp securely

the

he carries, and to let no o]Jposition daunt (our)

spir

Only

as we

firmly 'hold

fast '

to

the

gospel

truth ca

effectively

'hold t

forth.'

-Martin, p. 117. If we do

hold fast and hold

forth

the

word

of God, on the fina

of judgment we

will

find

that

we

have

run the race o

In vaIn.

III. (Philippians

2:17-18)

THE MODEL

OF

APOSTLE

PAUL

God has graciously given, us

in the

rest of this cha

three secondary models

to

help us see the exact

n

of our devotion to Christ, of

true C h r i s t l i l ~ e n e s s

and

participation in the

spread of the gospel: Paul,

Tim

and Epaphroditus.

Paul's life was a joyful

and continual pouring

and sacrifice of himself in the advance of the

go

Everything

was second

to that.

Paullqngs

to

be

us

God in the salvation and sanctification of

sinners

the

return

of

Christ,

he does

not

want to

have

appe

to

have

run and

w o r l ~ e d

in

vain.

In fact, in this

P

most personal reference in the entire epistle, he see

probability of

his

martyrdom

for

Christ and

the go

He speaks of himself as being poured

out

as a d

offering

upon the

sacrifice and

service of your

faith,

yet his

words

about the pouring out of

his

life's bloo

the

altar

of

sacrifice in

the service of

Christ

are

full

o


4/5

Rev Joe Morecraft

based on his glad submission to God's will for his life. He

wants his readers to share

that

joy in suffering for Christ

as a

privilege not

a

burden.

To be pouted out as a drink

offering

denotes, in

sacrificial terms, a violent and bloody death. He compares

his life-blood shed

in

death to the libation of wine or

perfume which

was

poured

out in the ... rites

of

a sacrifice

to a

pagan deity:

- Martin, p. 119.

However it

was the philippians' faith

that

experienced

the sacrifice

in behalf

of Paul. Paul's sacrifice of

himself

in their

behalf

would not

have

been complete

without

the offering of their faith in their closeness with him

by

their active

financial

support

of

his

ministry of

the

gospel.

They

proved the genuineness of their faith in

their

sacrificial

contributions to Paul in his

ministry

and

suffering.

Therefore,

because

of the

knowledge of

the

philippians'

sacrificial

devotion to the spread of the gospel

and the salvation

of the lost, and

because

of

the

privilege

of suffering for

the

sake

of

Christ and the salvation

of

the

lost, and

the

prospects of

a

martyr's crown, Paul is

full

not

of

anxiety

but of joy.

As

Ignatius

prayed,

Grant

me nothing more than that I be

poured

out to G od: For

Paul, to

live is Christ and to die is gain,

1:21,

because

by it Christ is magnified and the

gospel

proclaimed:

Martin, p.

121

A. (Philippians 1:19-26)

Paul

glorifies

Christ

by being

so

devoted

to

Him

and

to the spreading of His gospel

that

he

is

willing to go to

any

length

to please

Him

and

to

advance His

kingdom

whether

life or

death.

Paul

summarized his

entire life

in one word-Christ . He was the source, goal, content,

sustenance,

motive and joy of

his life. Without

Him

life

meant nothing. Is there anything in your life

that

you

desire

with a

greater intensity than to know Christ

and

to

serve

Him?

B

(I

Corinthians 9:16-23)

For if I

preach

the

gospel,

I have nothing

to

boast of, for I

am

under

compulsion;

for woe is

me

if I

do

not preach the gospel. For if I do

this

voluntarily,

I

have

a

reward;

but if against my will,

I have a

stewardship

entrusted to me. What then is my

reward?

That,

when

I

preach

the

gospel,

I

may

offer

the

gospel without charge,

so as

not

to make full

use

of my

right in the gospel.

For though I

am free from all men,

I

have made myself

a

slave to all, that

I

miiht

win the

more.

And to the Jews I

became

as a Jew,

that

I miiht win Iews:

to those

who

are

under

the Law as

under

the

Law, though

not being myself

under

the law, that I might win those

who

are under the law; to

those who

are

without

the law,

as

without law, though not being without the law of

God

but

under

the

law

of

Christ,

that

I might

win those who

are without law. To

the weak

I became

weak, that

I might

win the weak; I have become all things to all men.

that

may

by

all means

save

some.

And I do

all

things for th

sake of the gospel,

that I

may

become

a fellow partaker

o

it. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run

but only one receives

the

prize? Run in

such

a way

tha

you

may win.

IV.

(Philippians

2:19-24) THE

MODEL

OF

TIMOTHY

A.

(2:19-20)

Paul tells the philippian

church that

he intends

to sen

Timothy

to

them so

that

Paul can

be

encouraged

about

th

true condition

of

the church.

He sends

Timothy

as hi

trusted friend,

companion and

representative.

Paul sends Timothy

because he

can

trust

Timothy

because I have no one else of

kindred

spirit who

wi

genuinely

be concerned

for your

welfare.

I have no on

else

who is heart

and soul with me.

He

has a genuine an

anxious

concern

for your

spiritual

condit ion: Other

are

anxious

about

their own welfare,

Timothy's anxiet

was for the welfare of others. His large heart was trul

burdened with

the burdens

of

others.

B.

(2:21)

There was no other

person that

Paul could count on a

this point in time but Timothy,

for

they all seek after thei

own

interests,

not those

of

Christ

Jesus.

... in

a

world o

selfishness and self-seeking, Mat. 6:32, i t is

such

a rar

thing

to

find

a

man like

Timothy

who is

really

anxious t

promote the

welfare

of other

people,

and to give himsel

to

a

fatiguing journey and to the resolving of persona

quarrels

in

the philippian church:

- Martin, p.

125.

C.

(2:22-24)

Paul

reminds

the philippians

that

they

are fully awar

of Timothy's proven worth

that he

served with me in th

furtherance of

the

gospel like

a

child serving his

father

You know that Timothy has stood the test and show

himself

to be a

man of sound

character

and

worthiness. n

Martin,

p.

126.

Paul

loves

him

as

his

beloved

and faithfu

child

in

the Lord, I Cor. 4:17. He and Timothy

bot

served

as

slaves

of

Christ

in the

extension of the gospel.

V

(Philippians

2:25-30) THE MODEL OF

EPAPHRODITUS

A.

(2:25)

Paul also

informs the philippians

that he

is

als

sending Epaphroditus to them

to

minister

to

them

in

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The MOdelfor WitneJJ

Paul's absence. He recommends him highly to them as my

brother, i.e.,

fellow

believer

in

Christ,

my fellow

worker,

i.e., fellow worker in the cause

of

Christ and the

gospel,

my fellow soldier, i.e., my comrade in arms in

conflict

and

persecution

for

the

sake

of the gospel,

who

is also

your messenger and

minister

to my need.

He

is a

true

servant,

leitourgos, who

offers

his daily life

and calling

as a liturgy to God

for

the

benefit

of the church.

B. (2:26-27)

Paul is

sending

Epaphroditus because

he

was longing

for you all and was

distressed

because you had heard that

he was

sick. He had

an ardent

desire

to

the

point of

agony to

minister

to the

spiritual

wellbeing of the church

at

philippi.

The word, epipothon,

translated longing,

is the

same word

used of Jesus' agony in Gethsemane,

Mat. 26:37,

and denotes

great

and

painful mental

and

spiritual

agony:

He

had

such

compassion

for the

philippian Christians that he was

greatly

distressed when

he

found

out that

they

were

concerned about him

because

he

was

sick.

His

yearning for

the church in philippi as a

persecuted community,

takes

his yearning for his fellow

believers

as a

sign of

his

desire

to aid them in their

struggle

against the enemies of the gospel. - Martin, p. 131.

Although Paul

reassures the

philippians

that

his

sickness

is

over

by the mercy of God,

his

sickness was se r ious -he

was sick

to the point

of

death.

A similar phrase is used

in vs

30

which is used of Christ's death on the cross in

2:8 obedient

to

the

point

of

death, but

unlike Christ,

Epaphroditus' life was spared-God had mercy on

And

Paul

rejoices in

this for p a p h r o d i t u s ~ death

w

have

added grief to

his

imprisonment.

C. (2:28-30)

Epaphroditus is

to

be welcomed

in

the Lord wi

gladness,

i.e., with

unalloyed

joy

which

characteri

welcome in

the church of Christ. -Martin, p.

132.

to be welcolTled

and

highly valued because of his ste

Christlike character

and his total devotion to

the

of the

gospel-receive

him in the Lord with all joy

hold men

like

him in

high

regard. Why? Because he

close to death

for

the

work

of Christ, risking

his l

complete what was deficient in your service to me

hazarded

his

life

and exposed

himself to great dange

loving his

life

unto death, in the advance of the g

of

Christ.

Paraboleusamenos is a gambling

Epaphroditus staked his life

for

the

service

of Chr

the

interest

of the apostle

and

on behalf of the

philip

community

whose

lack of help

was

unavoidable

since

were many miles away. - Martin, p. 134.

Such a word brings its own challenge and rebuke to an eas

going Christianity which m a l ~ e s no stern demands, and calls fo

no limits of self-denying, self-effacing sacrifice. Here is a ma

who g ve little thought to personal comfort o r safety in order

t

discharge his responsibility.- Martin, p. 134

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COUNSEL of CH LCEDON

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2005 Issue 4 - The Model for Witness: The Person of Christ - Counsel of Chalcedon