3. _Pre-eminent because there is no other name that has the
mysterious virtue of saving as this._
+III. The power of the Saviour's name.+--1. _In saving the sinner._
2. _In commanding the homage and worship of all, and in eliciting the
universal acknowledgement of His deity_ (vers. 10, 11).
+We learn a lesson of humility.+--1. _Because Christ humbled Himself
for us._ 2. _We should humble ourselves on account of past sins._
3. _Humility leads to exaltation._
_Christ Worthy of Universal Homage._--1. The Lord Christ, having
abased Himself for our redemption, was exalted by the Father to the
highest pitch of glory. 2. The name which is above every name is said
to be given to Christ, because His Divine majesty, before hid, was
now manifested and the human nature so highly honoured that that
person who is man is true God, and is to be acknowledged as such.
3. However small a part of the world acknowledge Christ to be the
Lord, His glory will grow till all reasonable creatures in heaven,
earth, and hell subject themselves to Him, and the giving of Divine
honour to Him does in no way impair the glory of God the
Father.--_Fergusson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 12, 13.
_Salvation--God's Work and Man's Care._
+I. Salvation is a personal blessing.+--"Your own salvation" (ver.
12). If Christ died for all, then he died for me and I may be saved.
It matters little if others are being saved unless I am saved myself.
It is impossible to be genuinely interested in the salvation of
others unless we are saved ourselves. Salvation deals with the
individual; it gathers its trophies one by one. "I have read of some
seas," writes Bunyan, "so pure and clear that a man may see the
bottom, though they be forty feet deep. I know this river is a deep
river, but it is not said that we can see no bottom." The comparison
implies that a man with good eyes may see the bottom. So, then, we
shall look down through these crystal streams and see what be at the
bottom of all. The bottom of all is that we might be saved. "These
things I say," saith Christ, "that ye might be saved." What a good,
sound bottom is here! This salvation admits man to a wealth of
blessings impossible to estimate. Salvation should therefore be
sought by every man earnestly, believingly, promptly.
+II. Salvation needs constant personal care.+--"Work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling" (ver. 12).
1. _The Christian worker is surrounded with spiritual perils._--The
apostle has referred to these perils in warning the Philippians
against pride, selfishness, faction, and vain boasting (vers. 3, 4).
To secure his salvation the believer must not only work, but work
with circumspection, with vigilance, with fear and trembling. "God
does not give the flower and the fruit of salvation, but the seed,
the sunshine, and the rain. He does not give houses, nor yet beams
and squared stones, but trees, rocks, and limestone, and says, 'Now
build thyself a house.' Regard not God's work within thee as an
anchor to hold thy bark firmly to the shore, but as a sail which
shall carry it to its port. Fear thy depression and
faint-heartedness, but take courage at thy humility before God"
(_Lange_).
2. _Personal care the more necessary when deprived of the oversight
of a loved teacher._--"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence"
(ver. 12). The Philippians had shown a spirit of ready obedience both
to the apostle and to God, and they are urged to increased diligence.
The apostle's "absence did not make the obligation less imperative,
but it demanded more earnestness and vigilance from them in the
discharge of the duty. His voice and person were a guide and
stimulant and excited them to assiduous labour, so that his presence
among them wrought like a charm. And now that he was not with them,
and they were left to themselves, they were so much the more to
double their diligence and work out salvation with fear and
trembling--with distrust of themselves, earnest solicitude in every
duty, humble reliance on Divine aid, with the abiding consciousness
that after all they come far short of meeting obligation" (_Eadie_).
+III. Salvation is a Divine work.+--1. _God is pleased to work in us
to create a right disposition._--"It is God that worketh in you to
will . . . of His good pleasure" (ver. 13). The desire for salvation
and the disposition and the to seek it come from God. As the sun
warms the earth and helps the flower to grow and bloom, so the Spirit
of God warms the heart and calls for the growth and blossom of
Christian graces. God does not take out mental and moral apparati and
put in a new set, like the works of a clock; but He encourages us to
use the powers already within and breathes upon us the vitalising
influence of His Spirit, so that we produce results in harmony with
His will.
2. _God is pleased to work in us to confer the moral ability to
work._--"God worketh in you . . . to do of His good pleasure" (ver.
13). Some men have ability to do great things, but have not the
disposition; others may have the disposition, but not the ability. In
the work of our salvation God gives both the disposition and the
power. Because God works in us we may work; because He works in us we
must work out our own salvation. The means of salvation are within
our reach; it is our part to use them. How does the miner get out of
the pit? There is a string at the bottom; he pulls it; a bell at the
top rings; a rope, worked by a steam-engine, is let down, and in this
way he ascends to the top. A man gets down into the pit of trouble;
he cannot get up himself; he must ring the bell of prayer; God will
hear it and send down the rope that is to lift him out. Man can do
nothing without God, and God will do nothing without the willing
co-operation of man.
+Lessons.+--1. _Salvation is possible for every man._ 2. _Salvation
may be secured by man yielding to the Divine influences working
within him._ 3. _If man is not saved, it is his own fault._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._