The epistle to the Philippians is the epistle of Spiritual energy. Vigor marks it in every chapter. Recounting in this letter his own experience the apostle Paul shows what had been his course from the time of his conversion. Thirty years had passed since he had been met in grace by the Lord of glory on the road to Damascus. Then he had counted all but loss for Christ, and now he shows that his judgment of matters had never changed. He reckons nothing as worth while save what was connected with Christ and His glory and His interest on earth.

Energy, GO, as it sometimes put, marks the whole epistle, and we may look at the chapters briefly with that word before us. GO OUT is what comes before us in the first chapter. Go out for Christ. Fellowship in the gospel had been shown by the believers at Philippi and the apostle commends this in them. He rejoiced that the gospel was preached. Even though some were preaching it of contention and strife, yet Christ was proclaimed, and this caused Paul to be glad. The good news was being told, that good news which has Christ Himself as its center and circumference, and if Christ was made much of (even by some whose motives .were not unmixed), that was what the servant of the Lord earnestly wished.

"Go out." Happy it is if we can get people to come to halls or meeting rooms or homes to hear the Word. But a fisherman goes to the water to catch fish. So we find in the Book of The Acts that the glad good news .was told by the messengers of God in the market place, by the river side, in the temple, in the synagogues and wherever a heading could be had. Oh, for more of this gospel "GO" with all of us. I have heard of some young Christians who meet monthly and send gospel booklets through the post to people of their town. This is good. A tract given to a passer-by or dropped in a letter box may be the means of carrying the light of grace to some needy soul. Ten or twelve houses might be called at month by month and a gospel magazine be given or loaned. These are some of many ways in which the truth may be brought before the weary or in which the sinful may be warned. It is a good thing to seek to tell the story of God's salvation every day to some one in some way or another. Go out with the gospel and Go on telling it while life shall last. Paul never lost his interest in the story. Some of his last words to a younger servant of Christ were, "Do the work of an evangelist." Go down may be said to be prominent in the second chapter. Go down like Christ. His wonderful pathway is brought before us in something of its beautiful detail by the Spirit of God. We view Him in His Godhead glory. There was nothing to be grasped after higher than that which was His eternal majesty. But He to whom all belonged and whom the angels served "made Himself of no reputation." Veiling His Godhead glories He took upon Himself the form of a servant. And not that of an angel but that of a man. He "was found in fashion as a man."But lower still the Lord of glory would journey. He had come to do the will of God in its entirety and to save lost and sinful man. And so we see Him become obedient unto death, death in its most shameful form, "even the death of the cross." Down, down, down He went, glorifying God in every footfall of His wonder-pathway.

Now we know Him highly exalted, and that soon every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord, but while we wait for that day we are called to "follow His steps." The exhortation to us is, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." He is our Great Exemplar. We are to learn of Him who is meek and lowly in heart, to seek the glory of God and the blessing of others in all our earthly way.
How different is this to the self-seeking so natural to us all! But the new nature is ours by grace and the Holy Spirit has been given to us so that something of the life of Christ may be expressed in us.

With Adam and Eve the opposite to the obedience and lowliness of Christ was seen. They were tempted by the desire to obtain something higher than that which God had given them. "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil," was the suggestion of the serpent. And ever since there has been in their descendants by nature the same desire. No one is willing to go down. The endeavor is to attain a position of eminence in the world. It is forgotten or unknown that Satan is the Prince and the God of this world and that Christ has been cast out of it.

Self-esteem, self-satisfaction, self-seeking mark the fallen creature. The desire to have one's own way at all costs produces jealousy and envy and hatred and malice. These are the very contrast to all that was seen in our Lord. The flesh and all its works have been judged by God and are to be judged by us. And the Holy Spirit dwelling in us will enable us to produce something of the lovely fruits which are well pleasing to God, something of the life of Jesus manifest in our mortal flesh.

Go on to Christ seems to be the key note of the third chapter. The apostle Paul is seen pressing forward. Christ has won his heart and nothing will satisfy him until he reaches Christ in glory. The Lord Jesus had laid hold of him in His rich grace and had saved him from his course of sin and antagonism. But not only so He had taken hold of the apostle in order that he might be in glory with Him and like Him-a suited companion .for Him.

"We rejoice in Christ Jesus," said the apostle. He had turned from all that he was as a man in the flesh and found his joy in Christ. Henceforth he had no confidence in the flesh. Religious he had been, but his very religiousness had led him to try to stamp out the name of Jesus from the world. In grace the Saviour had met him and had made him a chosen vessel unto Himself to bear His name far and wide for the blessing of sinners. Now Christ was all to him. He wanted nothing which was not linked with Him. If any one had a right to boast in the flesh he had, but everything that he had been was counted rubbish, so that Christ alone might be his gain. Christ was his righteousness, Christ was his object for his life here, Christ was his goal in glory, and Christ was his expectation from heaven.

He desired to have nothing which was not labeled CHRIST. And he would not be detained here, he was pressing forward that he might reach Christ Himself in heaven. He knew that it was for that he had been taken up by Christ and his earnest ambition was to be with Christ, and while he waited for this glorious consummation he was seeking the glory of Christ and the welfare of all His own in the world.

"Not counting milestones," as it has been said, he was ever pressing on. He kept the goal in view, "the prize of the calling of God on high in Christ Jesus." To be with Christ was far better than .aught else. The only one thing to live for was the interest of Christ in His loved ones on earth, and if it were for their help he would stay with them, and knew that this would be the result of his appearing before Caesar.

The longing of the apostle for the Philippians was that they should be of the same mind as himself. The danger with them, and it is the same with us, was that .earthly things should fill their thoughts. And he warns them of th's because there were some who had crept in among the believers who were controlled by fleshly motives, and minded the things of time and sense.

GO THROUGH with Christ. It is this thought which is found expressed in verse 13 of chapter 4. "I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me." We have not to run in our own power. Indeed, we have none. Any strength we may think we have is only weakness, for it will hinder our dependence upon the Lord. As we know our powerlessness we learn to lean on Christ alone, and draw from Him the strength we need moment by moment.

Affection for Christ will not keep us. Peter loved the Lord dearly. But being prayerless and trusting in his own strength, he failed dismally and denied the Lord he loved. The Lord had warned him of his danger, but being self-confident he did not believe that it was possible that he would break down. Wonderful was the grace of the Lord which restored him and enabled him to strengthen his brethren after his recovery. But the record is given that we may learn not to trust in ourselves, in our affection for Christ or any supposed quality of our own. If we do we shall break down as Peter did. It is striking that in Scripture histories we may see that if a man was remarkable for any quality he was likely to fail in that very particular. So Abraham, the man of faith, went down to Egypt in time of famine. Moses, the meekest .man, became angry with the people at the waters of Meribah. Job, the most patient man, cursed his day. Samson, the strongest man, gave away the secret of his strength and became a prisoner among the Philistines. Solomon, the wisest man, became foolish indeed in the matter of his many wives. And other instances might be adduced showing clearly that which we may judge to be our strong point may prove our danger. We cannot trust ourselves at all.

But Christ is all-sufficient in all circumstances. So Paul had found Him. He had been hungry, he had been in plenty. He had been full and he had suffered need. But in every state he had learned to be content. Not that he was satisfied with himself. No, but he had a well-spring of satisfaction within and he was not dependent on outside circumstances. He had graduated in the school of adversity and had proved the power of Christ at all times and wherever he was. Let us then Go Out for Christ, Go Down like Christ, Go On to Christ, Go Through with Christ. So shall we glorify His Name. Inglis Fleming