Humiliation to Glory Philippians 3:17‐4:1 Sermon by Dan Schrock February 24, 2013 Lent 2 17
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.19Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus 21 Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. 4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
I In this part of Philippians, Paul says Jesus Christ is a “Savior.” We and other Christians in the world often say Jesus is our Savior. It’s one of our favorite ways of talking about Jesus. “Jesus saved me from my sins,” we might say, “and he can save you from your sins too.” Through his death, Jesus offers to save humanity from sin. So it might surprise you to hear that “Savior” is not one of Paul’s favorite words. In fact, this is the only time Paul uses the word Savior in any of his undisputed letters.1 He uses the word “Lord” at least 175 times, but the word “Savior” only once. It may also surprise you to hear that here in Philippians 3:20, Paul is not thinking about sin. The problem that Jesus saves us from in verse 20 is not sin. In fact, nowhere in Philippians does Paul use the standard Greek word for “sin,” hamartia. He talks about sin in Romans, mentions it 4 times in the letters to the Corinthians, 3 times in Galatians, and once in 1 Thessalonians. But he does not use that word hamartia in Philippians. So we have two oddities. Philippians 3:20 is the only time Paul calls Jesus a Savior; and even then, sin is not the human problem that Jesus saves us from. Paul affirms that Jesus Christ does save us from something, but that something is not sin. What’s going on here? 1
The undisputed letters are Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon; scholars don’t agree about the authorship of Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus. The author of Ephesians, who may not have been Paul, uses “Savior” (Gk. sōtēr) once, in 5:23.
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