“The day of Christ” is found in Philippians 1:6,10 and 2:16. It takes one in thought to the heavenly rather than the earthly scene. The Apostle Paul looked forward to the day of Christ. He had joy in the Philippian saints as he saw what grace had already wrought in them, and then he looked forward to the time when they would be with Christ, and all would be completed in them.
“Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy. ... Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:4,6).
After that he writes about his desire for them that they would abound in knowledge and intelligence so as to approve the things that are excellent to the end that they might walk without a wrong step until that glorious day — the day of Christ. Such should be our desire also. Sad to say, we do fail and take wrong steps, but if we were walking close to the Lord, it would not be so.
God has made provision for us if we fail. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). But the Word of God does not suppose that we must fail. Just think of all the provision that we have in order to walk pleasing to Him: We have been saved and brought to God in perfect peace; we have the Word of God as a perfect guidebook; we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us for power; we have the Lord Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest to succor us when we are weak. How little we avail ourselves of the resources we have in Christ to walk pleasing to Him! Not that we should ever expect perfection in the flesh: Such ideas are wrong and only tend to exalt self — to give confidence in the flesh. We should have no confidence in the flesh, but we can say that when we do fail, it was our fault and our own lack of watchfulness. That blessed day — the day of Christ — is soon coming. Then all shall be perfect and the work begun in us shall be complete, but let us seek to walk pleasing to Him in view of that day.
The Apostle had labored in the gospel and suffered for it at Philippi (Acts 16), and these dear saints had been the fruit of his labors. After they were saved, they had taken an active interest in the gospel; they had shown their fellowship in it from the first day they were saved. They were willing to share in its trials and conflicts. Then he writes to encourage them to walk blamelessly before the unsaved and to show them the way of salvation: “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain” (Phil. 2:14-16).
Paul looked forward to the time when he and all the saints would be with Christ—when he would see the fruit of his labors. The beloved Apostle put this forward as a motive for their going on in faithful testimony. That will be the time when the results and fruit of all our labors will be manifest. We can then look forward with joyful anticipation to the day of Christ. Our work for the Lord cannot be correctly appraised now, but in that coming day of glory it will be seen in His light. Surely the day of Christ presents a different thought than the “day of the Lord,” which speaks of the subjugation of all on earth to His righteous rule.
P. Wilson