Philippians, Chapter 1

"You've got mail!"

Imagine the book of Philippians as a letter addressed to us, as Christians in the 21st century, composed by a dear friend and mentor who had previously spent time among us, teaching and instructing us, and equipping us to stand on our own as Christians and as a church body.  In a manner of speaking, that's what the book of Philippians and the other epistles are.  Although originally written almost 2000 years ago, they still hold incredible relevance and application for our lives today.  Compiled together as the Holy Bible, the Word of God "is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires(Hebrews 4:12)," and it "is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17)."

Philippians 1

1 This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.

   I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons.

2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

• 6 - This is one of those verses we may know by heart, and quote regularly, but hear it again in the voice of a man imprisoned for his faith, writing it as an encouragement for others.
• It is God who began the work with us.
  • Romans 9:16 - "So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it."
  • Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."
  • Ephesians 4:13 - "This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ."

7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.  9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10  For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 

• 10 - What really matters?  Romans 12:2 - "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

• 11 - The fruit of our salvation is the right standing with God we have through Jesus Christ, not by our own works.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:30 - "God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin."
  • Philippians 3:9 - "I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith."

12 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.

• Paul had personally witnessed, and benefited from, God's miraculous deliverance in the past.  By this point in his ministry, he had truly knew and trusted that "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28)."
• He chose to see his imprisonment not as unfair, but as part of a bigger picture.  As a Jew, he would have been keely aware of the story of Joseph's imprisonment in Egypt, and of the resulting circumstances (Genesis 39:19-50:21).  Joseph told his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people (Genesis 50:20)."

15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. 19 For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.

• Like the parable of the sower (Mark 4:26-29), the key piece here is the seed being planted -- the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The "farmer" may have any number of motivations to plant, but ultimately, it is God who causes the seed to take root and grow (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).
• Can you see this happening today?  Have you ever discerned a minister or televangelist to be preaching out of financial motivation or out of a desire for fame?
• The question that matters is -- Is Jesus Christ being preached?
• Mark 9:38-41 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”  39 “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. 40 Anyone who is not against us is for us. 41 If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.

20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

• Paul's attitude was that of looking at his circumstances as a win-win situation, effectively eliminating any fear of death.  Jesus had said, "Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear (Luke 12:4-5)."

• If you know that you have right standing with God, then you should have no fear of what lies beyond death.  In the Old Testament story of Daniel's friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, this attitude was dramatically exemplified as they faced possible death in the fiery furnace for refusing to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue.  They boldly and confidently declared, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.  But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up (Daniel 3:16-18)."
• Paul's desire to be with Christ was secondary to his longing to see others saved, even to the extent of being willing to be "cut off from Christ" if it would have the result of saving his fellow Jews (Romans 9:3).
• Do we have that kind of love and passion for others?

25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.  27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 

• 27 - Although we live here on earth, we are already citizens of Heaven, by way of adoption.  Jesus told His disciples they were "no longer part of the world (John 15:19)."  One of these disciples, John, later went on to write in one of his letters, "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.  For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.  And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever (1 John 2:15-17)."

• What does it mean to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ?  Paul clarifies this in his letter to the Colossians, "We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.  Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better (Colossians 1:9-10)."

• The good fruit our lives produce include the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  It is this growing fruit in our lives, in our attitudes, in how we handle our circumstances and relationships, that speak of our faith in far greater ways than our mere words ever can.  Jesus said, "You'll know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:16-20)."

28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. 29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.

• 29 - Trusting in Christ is a privilege, but so is suffering for Him.  This type of suffering doesn't necessarily refer to all suffering in general, but any type of suffering associated with being a Christian, be it physical persecution, mocking, scorn, or losing friends.

30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

• Paul's letter to the church at Philippi, written from his bonds and his solitary cell, communicated a message to all of us that we would do well to take to heart in our journey of faith.  No matter our status or position in life, no matter how great or terrible our present circumstances, no matter where we've been or what we've yet to go through, always remember "we are in this struggle together."

As we are beginning to see, Paul's attitude toward his circumstances set the tone for his letter to the Philippians, a book that is sometimes referred to as "The Gospel of Joy," for the deep joy permeating Paul's words.  Next week, as we look at chapter 2 of Philippians, we will discuss the attitude of joy that enabled him to endure his sufferings, and that was a motivating factor in Jesus' patient and meek endurance of the cross.

We're in this together, and the joy of the Lord is our strength.