by Dr. Lloyd T. Anderson Pastor, Bethany Baptist Church, West Covina, Calif.
TUESDAY-THURSDAY RADIO OUTLINES Philippians 2 :H 8 T h e J o y o f ('h rin t-M in d e d n eH *
T h u s f a r w e have seen how the apostle Paul exalts in a life iden tified with the assured successes of the gospel. Linked with its fortunes, he rides his circumstances in victory. But the viewpoint hitherto has been from the manward side, and there is another point of view. How does the gospel look to one who has not fallen a victim to sin? Has it anything to offer one who has escaped man’s pre dicament or whose position was from the beginning superior to it? Paul makes this daring shift in viewpoint as he discloses the Christ-mindedness of verses 5-8. There one looks at the death-life principle of the gospel from the Godward side. The joy it affords is one into which Christ Himself en tered. It is a sobering thought that ever before the gospel presented its opportunity to man, it unfolded an opportunity which God Himself wel comed. The joy latent in its eternal message was considered first in the counsels of the Godhead, and embraced before the foundation of the world by Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is, therefore, nothing arbi trary about the conditions which the / gospel imposses upon wayward man. The condemnation of sin and the necessity of repentance are both ex pressions of the love which the gospel reveals. Love works on the death-life principle; it grows by its self-giving. Its choice of the cross is natural. Man should obey the gospel, therefore, not because it is the only means of escape from the penalty of sin, though that is true. He should obey the gospel for the same reason that Christ was obedient to it, because this is the way of abounding joy. And when man’s obedience partakes of this Christ- mindedness, the fountain of his joy
will spring, not f r om the circum stances of his deliverance, but from the heart of God. Christ-mindedness, then, is that attitude which sees in the cross, not the necessity only, but the privilege also — the sure way of self- realization for the sinner as it was for the Son of God. THE APPEAL SUPREME (w. 1-11) “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterfalls” (Psalm 42:7 ASV). Like appeals to like, and on this prin ciple so beautifully stated by the psalmist, Paul proceeds to dig beneath the surface of that which is funda mental in the Christian experience. 1. I ts B asis (v. 1) Paul appeals to that which is basic: The fourfold occurrence of the phrase “if any” reveals those characteristics which in the eyes of Paul mark a Christian experience as genuine. He does not ask for shibboleths of doc trinal statements or reasoned explana tions. Rather, he asks for evidences which stem directly from within, ex periences which show the immediacy of their fellowship with Christ and flood the whole of their being with the warmth of his love. He digs under the surface of outward professions for their “encouragement” in Christ, the “tender persuasiveness” of their love, for their “partnership” with the Spir it, and for all that is sweet and ten der in their emotions. Thus he escapes the tragedy of superficial appeals which are the blight of so much ex hortation today. “Deep calleth unto deep.” God always appeals to the best there is in us. 2. I ts J oyful N ature ( vv . 2-4) Paul pleads for an overflowing cup 18
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