Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Philippians, often regarded as the friendliest of Paul’s letters, expresses a great confidence in God and a great hope for his work among his people. Paul fully expects, in verse six, that God, having begun a good work in the Philippians, will continue it, bringing it to completion. Where does Paul draw this confidence from? In verses eight and following, it is because the Holy Spirit has bound Paul and the Philippians together. They have heard about Paul’s various trials and have still stood with him. They have heard he is doing well and have not given up in thir care for him. Whether times are easy or difficult, there they are.
In Paul’s opinion, and we confess this text is inspired by the Holy Spirit, the love and care the Philippians have is from God and is not focused just on Paul but spreads to others. They are actively discerning what is good, and working in accord with that.
Does this mean we can safely assess godliness based on actions? No, we can’t say that. But we can get some indicators of character and encourage faithful dependence on Christ, just what Paul does here.
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