Philippians 2:...
‘So then my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.'
“Work hard to show the results of your salvation - obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” NLT
In an hour when much of the North American church is having its leadership purged, a purity within is arising that presses for God's holiness to be manifested in and through His body.
We see from the Apostle Paul's writing to the church at Philippi the heart he carries in his personal commitment to the cause of Christ and one he desires for those He stewards to also hold.
Paul does not have the luxury of living within the community of believers in Philippi, but this does not diminish his heart or his sense of oversight for them. He carries them in the place of prayer and through his writing, exhorts and instructs.
We, in the North American church, have the privilege (right now, anyway) of gathering as a Christian community without restrictions. Pastors are given oversight to herald and preach the word of God, to be instant in season and out of season whether it is convent or not. Called to instruct, correct, admonish, and encourage, we are “to show people in what way their lives are wrong. And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.” The Amplified Bible (2 Ti 4:2).
We hold the same understanding and urgency we find from Paul’s warning as he continues in 2 Timothy 4: from the Amplified Bible…
3 For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold,
4 And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions. 5 As for you, be calm and cool and steady, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fully perform all the duties of your ministry. While we might not all be graced to be evangelists, we are all called to make disciples. Are we faithful stewards over the things that have been entrusted to us? Are we diligently working while it is light, knowing the night comes when no man can work?
Paul writes that in the absence of his presence, he desires for this obedience (not to him but to the gospel He preaches) to be held to and worked out for the Philippians' ongoing salvation.
The early church lived in a time of ongoing persecution and suffering to name the name of Jesus Christ. Culturally, life would have been hard for those without position or power and community provided a source of strength and encouragement.
Commitment works out character that is tried and tested in life. It is in this place of community our character is tested and proven. Our character is only revealed as it is pressed.
It is in community that we find encouragement and accountability, that we are provoked to love and good works, and that we find communion around a common cause. The Book of Hebrews exhorted the believers not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. the purposes of our Lord. This community, these intimate relationships, served to strengthen and support the believers through a time of persecution.
Who we would be individually if we lost the right of community? In my years as a Christian, I've experienced two distinct revival seasons within the church. As I consider where and what the church is giving itself to now in the prayer and worship movement, I trust that it is truly igniting hearts that are able to remain steadfast and immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord. Individuals who find their union with God extending into a deepening union with others.
“For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him and then helping you do what he wants.” Living Bible, Philippians 2:13