Obey and Love

The Apostle Paul is first known as a warrior against the Christians in Rome, and then later as one of the greatest advocators of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul’s mission, dissimilar to Christ’s, was to bring the message of salvation to non-Jews, also referred to as gentiles. There has been a great deal of discussion surrounding the overall message of the letter Paul wrote to the church at Philippi. Several ideologies arise from the Philippi letter. One of the primary themes of the letter is the message of obedience; another is Paul’s directive to imitate Christ; and it also addresses the problems Christians were having in the Philippi church. Therefore, the letter provokes conversations on how the old-testament law is positioned and its relationship to obedience, and how the halo of love influences the dynamics of both.

Background

The citizens of Philippi were mostly gentiles. This is assumed because the city did not have a Jewish Synagogue; therefore, indicating that the Jewish communities were either sparse or non-existent. Most of the citizens were retired Roman soldiers and the community was overall well established and ran smoothly. On one of Paul’s missionary journeys, the church was founded. Paul was affectionate towards the Philippians and wrote the letter for several reasons. He wanted to update them about his own condition. He was in prison in Rome; although, he was comfortable and lived in a small cottage and could freely converse about the Christian message to all who came to visit. He also wrote to thank the Philippian church because they had given him a generous gift, and finally, to address issues of selfishness, fighting among one another and other negative characteristics (Copeland). Some scholars argue this letter is not as important as others and its message is undervalued (Marchal). However, there are many who disagree, including Marchal because of the intensity of the messages and the reflection of the pastoral posture of Paul.

Philippians contains a passage of scripture reverenced by most Christians as a profound statement of Christ’s humility and humanity. The Catholic Church includes this passage found in Philippians 2:6-11, twice yearly as part of resurrection week, Palm Sunday and Good Friday. Scholars refer to these verses as a hymn and consider this section as the most critical of the Philippians letter. However, Marchal in his article “Expecting A Hymn, Encountering An Argument: Introducing The Rhetoric Of Philippians And Pauline Interpretation” presents a compelling analysis of why people should move away from this narrow viewpoint and consider the overall importance of the entire letter and its Rhetorical implications (Marchal 246). However, because of the importance of the hymn’s significance, particularly verse 6 in which Marchal chose to use a translation of the Bible that refers to Christ as emptying himself, the author discusses it extensively. Verse 7 continues by examining the humility and humanity of Christ as it explains that he becomes like a servant or another interpretation, like a slave. This presents one of the reasons that Paul writes this letter so that the Christians at Philippi would imitate Christ’s humility.

As the hymnal aspect of the letter progresses, attention is paid to verse 8 which speaks of Christ and his obedience. He obeyed God, his father. This was his destiny and the reason that he was born or created. This message complements verse 5 which asks the Philippians to have the same attitude of Christ. In the KJV of the Bible, it reads: “Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus.” A clear instruction to Philippi believers is to obey and to take on the characteristics of Christ. A natural reinforcement to verse 5 is verse 12; it reiterates the necessary compliance of continued obedience. Marchal in his article complicates the hymn more by the implication of the Pauline theology in his analysis. When incorporating this theology, the political climate of the era and Paul’s reasons for writing the letter are more than originally thought. On the instruction of obedience, it is assumed that Paul is asking the followers to be obedient to Christ. However, the article argues that since Paul is the author of the letter and he instructs the reader to be obedient whether he is present with them or not present, that he is saying that he and not Christ, is to be obeyed (Marchal 250). This interpretation supports that the hymn is a Rhetorical argument persuading the readers to obey Paul. There is no consensus of agreement on this idea.

A Servant of Slavery

He became nothing. This is the interpretation of verse 9 in the second chapter of Philippians after it is explained in the preceding verse that Jesus who embodies the nature of God, despite this, he becomes nothing in order to be a human servant-slave (Gupta 2). There are several theological explanations of what verse 9 means as it depicts Christ as a slave. Gupta’s article explains four of them; the first is Ebed Yahweh (Jesus) theory is that this verse positions Christ as merely God’s servant; the next is Cosmological theory that Christ’s humanity causes him to be subject to demonic forces placing him in a position of slavery; then the Anthropological theory says that Christ came to redeem the world, he is the world’s slave and came to be its servant; the final theory is a political explanation; that the comparative use of slave-servant symbolism is that of Christ giving up his rights and divinity (Gupta 3). These theological responses all encapsulate the essence of Paul’s desire to impress upon the Philippian Christians that servant-hood is reflective of having an attitude of humbleness. Gupta’s concluding thought on this leans more towards the Cosmological theory, but that Christ has ultimate victory because of his death and resurrection (Gupta 3).

When a person is willing to be a slave for the sake of Christ, this is a result of spiritual positioning. This type of slavery is produced out of love and obedience. It promotes a commitment of being a slave to the things of God. The willingness to be a servant-slave cannot be overlooked, and to that, the attitude of servant-hood manifest itself as being “obedient to death” (Edmonds SJ 1) is an incredible act of love and obedience. Paul often describes himself as a slave to Christ. In this, he is emulating the attitude of Christ.

Love That Obeys

The ability to adopt a loving demeanor and attitude is important to the journey of obedience. As the Prophet Samuel explained to King Saul when he was impatient and did not wait for Samuel to offer sacrifices to God, the correct thing to do; he in his arrogance offered sacrifices to God which were unacceptable, and Samuel admonished Saul with the now-famous words “to obey is better the sacrifice” (The Holy Bible 15:22). Saul fell victim to pride and this resulted in his relationship to God diminishing in his heart and replaced by selfish ambition, which is also a problem Paul addressed in his Philippians letter. As the attitudes of arrogance, selfish ambition and foolish pride take up residence in people’s hearts, love is pushed aside. Although people obey others for many reasons, on a spiritual level it is difficult and perhaps impossible to consistently obey God without loving him.

Titus and Sofrani in their article about the psychology of love explain love as both divine and human. “Love is divine. It is also human. The heart of Christianity is found in the love or charity (.agape) of God above all things, and in the love of neighbor as self, as put in the synoptic Gospels (Mark 12:30, Matthew 22:37, Luke 10:27): (Titus 1). The divine nature of love is the driving force behind the ability to obey even when it does not make sense. In John 14:15 Jesus says “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (The Holy Bible - NIV). Even here Jesus equates unconditional love with obedience. However, it is this love which “makes possible human love of God, neighbor, and oneself. Since human love is both divine in origin and human in expression, we are constantly reminded that because of the effects of sin, the divine likeness is wounded in humankind” (Titus 1). In Philippians 2:12-13, Paul, addressing his audience as friends, tells them to basically keep being obedient as they have been in the past. That in doing so God will help them as they seek to work even harder towards their goals of salvation and obedience.

Modern Biblical Law – What does it mean?

The law spoken of in this context is not motivated by human legislation or by judicators to ensure that individual rights are upheld and rules are adhered to. The law spoken of is the divine law of God. Scholars believe that this law is something that God himself wrote. It includes the Ten Commandments given to Moses and the Pentateuch which is the first five books of the Old Testament, also known as the “books of the law” (Martin 278). The law has special characteristics and can be looked upon also as spiritual attributes of God. These attributes are suggested as “holy, good and its essence is love” as mentioned in several instances in the biblical passages in the books of Romans and Galatians. These are the positive aspects of the law, but Martin also introduces the negative aspects of the law which suggests that the law is a curse. This is because sin is associated with breaking the law, and in some instances breaking the law means death, but not necessarily physical death, but separation from God (Martin 278).

There are many discussions about Old Testament law and if the Messianic Christ abolished it. Most are interested in the Apostle Paul’s dialogue concerning this. Brice L. Martin in his article “Paul on Christ and the Law” addresses different answers to his question “How does Paul view the status of the law now that Christ has come?” (Martin 271). He begins his discussion on what others believe regarding if the law has been done away with. He notes that when “the messianic age” began it canceled the law (272); the cosmological explains that rules belong to a secular world and that angels have authority over the law; the salvation belief is that the law was terminated once Christ was accepted. Martin’s view is that the law has been terminated, “but in the special sense that the condemnation and enslavement that the law brings is ended for the believer” (272). Martin’s position is that the law is terminated but not without theological consequences. What has ended is lawlessness.

The Law and Obedience

Although lawlessness has ended, obedience to the law has not. Even though Christ fulfilled the law, to be without the law is chaotic. What the law does is keep things in order. Martin is quoted as saying, “But the law as an expression of the will of God is not ended, nor is its demand on the Christian ended” (Martin 279). Jesus admonishes his followers to obey his commands. Some of his commands were radical, such as loving your enemies and being kind to those who hate you. Jesus advocated a life of peacefulness and minding your own business. His kingdom was intangible, and not what many Jewish citizens hoped it would be. They were concerned with the demise of the Roman government and had hoped that Jesus’ kingdom was a worldly one and would destroy their oppressive enemy. However, Jesus was at a much higher level than that.

Jesus respected the law and instructed his followers to do the same. In Mark 12:17 the Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus into saying something that could be taken as treason, so they asked him if Christians should pay taxes? Jesus discerning their purpose asked the Pharisees for a coin and then asked whose picture was on the coin. The Pharisees answered that it was Caesar’s picture on the coin. Jesus’ response was to give to Caesar what belongs to him and to give to God what belongs to him. In saying this he respected the authority of the law. This supports that Jesus believed that Christians should obey judicially based laws.

There are certain laws however, that were abolished upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, the law surrounding sin and guilt offering through the blood of animals without blemish was taken away by the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus’ blood when he died on the cross (Martin 276). However, other laws, such as loving your neighbor, and not murdering maliciously, not committing adultery, not to lie or steal are laws and principles which did not disappear when Christ died (Exodus 20:1-17). In the book of Romans in the sixth chapter the writer asks a rhetorical question when he asked did Christians have the right to continue to sin since Christ sacrificial death redeem them from the law? Paul answered strongly with the words, “God forbid” (Romans 6:2). Just because believers are free because of God’s grace, it doesn’t mean that the law can be ignored. That would be chaos. The law and obedience to it are purposeful and are the measurement of righteous living.

However, although the New Testament speaks extensively about the law and whether or not to obey it, it does not explain what the law is. An investigation into the Old Testament will reveal hundreds of things to do, and not to do. Of course many are archaic and based on the culture of the day. What is important in the discussion on obeying the law is the attitude of faith and belief in adopting the overall concept of the law. This concept is that by faith in the author of the law, who is God, its proper application is revealed to the believer as his faith prospers and grows (Martin 276).

Instructions in the Bible to obey the law do become a little convoluted and confusing if not understanding the contextual element. It is impossible to fully obey the law, to be fully righteous. For those who have accepted Jesus and the Messiah, it is their faith and their acknowledgment of it and their subsequent request for forgiveness and repentance that saves them from the curse of the law, which is death. However, for non-messianic Jews, they are still under the curse of the law, because they are trying to “work” their way into salvation (Martin 278).

Philippians 2:12-18

This passage of scripture follows the predominant hymn in the preceding verses. However, the importance of why Paul wrote these sentences in his letter should be included along with the significance of the entire letter to the Philippi church. The loving posture as a pastor is clear in this letter as Paul writes. His love for this church and all the churches he founded on his extensive missionary expeditions are close to his heart. Even though he is physically a far distance away, he sends a letter through his friend and prodigy Timothy. This letter was sent in love, a loving admonition to a family of believers whom he loved.

What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing (The Holy Bible Phil 2:12-18)

Even if I am executed here and now, I’ll rejoice in being an element in the offering of your faith that you make on Christ’s altar, a part of your rejoicing. But turnabout’s fair play—you must join me in my rejoicing. Whatever you do, don’t feel sorry for me.

Christian theology dictates that love supersedes law and obedience. Love demands obedience to Christ’s law. Christ is asked what is the most important law stated in God’s commands, and he answers that the first law is to love God above all, and the second one which is similar is to love your neighbor as you love yourself (The Holy Bible Matt. 22:36-40). The direction to love also brings about the holy attitude of adherence to the law resulting also in obedience.

Works Cited

Copeland, Mark A. "The Epistle To The Philippians." 2011. Executable Outlines. Web. 16 Feb 2014

Edmonds SJ, Peter. "The Letter of Paul to the Philippians." Thinking Faith (2009): 103. Web. 16 Feb 2014

Gupta, Nijay K. "To Whom Was Christ A Slave (Phil 2:7)? Double Agency And The Specters Of Sin And Death In Philippians." Horizons In Biblical Theology (2010): 1-16.

Marchal, Joseph A. "Expecting A Hymn, Encountering An Argument: Introducing The Rhetoric Of Philippians And Pauline Interpretation." Interpretation: A Journal Of Bible & Theology (2007): 245-255.

Martin, Brice L. "Paul On Christ And The Law." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (1983): 271-282. Web. 16 Feb 2014

The Holy Bible. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2010. Print.