Phil. 2:15 That you may be blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as luminaries in the world, (16) Holding forth the word of life, so that I may have a boast in the day of Christ that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.
In verse 15 Paul refers to "children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation." As children of God, we have God's life and nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Being children of God with the divine life and nature, we are luminaries which reflect the light of the sun (Christ). As such, we are without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation. "Without blemish" is the total quality of being blameless and guileless. The Greek word translated perverted means warped or twisted. There can be no doubt that today's generation is twisted and warped. In this kind of generation we should shine as lights in the world. In verse 16...The Greek word for "holding forth" also means applying, presenting, offering. As God's children, we need to present the word of life to others. If the Philippian believers did this, Paul would be able to boast in the day of Christ that he had not labored in vain. The day of Christ is the day of the Lord's second coming.… In that day all believers will appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the reward each deserves (2 Cor. 5:10). Whether or not his labor was actually in vain would be determined by the deeds of the believers in Philippi. Suppose the believers there did all things without murmurings or reasonings and thus became blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a warped and twisted generation. Suppose, moreover, that the saints in Philippi were shining forth as luminaries in the world and presented the word of life to those around them. If such were their situation, Paul would be able to rejoice and even boast at the time of the Lord's coming back.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Philippians, pp. 108-109. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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