June 19: Get Growing

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

Some of us remember when we were young; we were always the wrong size. Girls were often taller than the boys and wanted to shorten their height. Boys of course had the opposite problem. Shoes with high or low heels provided only temporary relief. At some point in life when gravity takes its toll, we grow in the wrong direction. Wouldn’t it be nice if spiritual growth were equally inevitable? It can come, but not by command. We cannot just “Get Growing!” but following basic principles will help.

• First Principle: strive (2:12-13). The Bible led us deep into the mystery of the Godhead in presenting our Lord, Who, existing in the form or essence of God (v. 6), laid aside the rights of Deity to take the form of servant-hood (v. 7). In His death on the cross (v. 8), He opened the way to heaven for us. He now dwells in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Hence, salvation in its fullest sense now resides within us. We are to agonize (the Greek word for “work”) to obey God in our witness to the world. We are not alone in this endeavor because God “agonizes” (v. 13) in us to help us fulfill His will and good pleasure. We strive mightily to be living examples of Christ’s ideal for believers.

•Second Principle: shine (vv. 14-16a). Releasing the salvation that resides within us will produce a holy light in the world. Jesus, we recall, commissioned believers to be like a beacon on a hill (Matt. 5:14), providing light and moral direction in a wicked and perverse world. The moral light is nothing less than the Word of Life (v. 16), God’s inerrant standard in a world which has abandoned all absolute standards except one, the belief in their own sincerity as sufficient to carry them to heaven.

Paul realized his stake in their lives. Their bold steadfast stand for Christ validated the truth of his own preaching. They were his offering to Christ and proof he had not lived a useless life.

• Third Principle: suffer on (3:10-12). We cannot grow spiritually without identifying ourselves with Christ, and we can only know the power of His resurrection as we lay down our lives for Him. Above all, Paul wanted to be a part of the resurrected group to meet Christ in the air, the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6), and be spared the horror of the second death. In spite of his life of sacrifice, he still yearned to be “conformed” to Christ’s death. He used the same word in speaking of Christ’s being in the “form” of God (v. 6). His identification with Christ was as complete as he could make it. In the Bible, suffering is one of God’s ways to help us grow spiritually, not a sign of His displeasure.

• Fourth Principle: stretch on (vv. 13-14). Anyone living in the past, whether the past be victorious or shameful, lives in bondage to former ways. Our only option is to stretch out to what lies before us, reaching for the glories in store for us. Our “high calling” in Christ is motivation enough.

• The Fifth Principle: walk on (vv. 15-19). God has provided rules in His Holy Word. Jesus is our example in being obedient to death. Further, we are enabled and empowered through the Holy Spirit. As we walk, we note fellow pilgrims who tread the same road. We mark and avoid those who sell themselves for fleshly pleasures. Their lives identify them as enemies of the cross (v. 18). Their final destination is assured by their earthly shame.