PHILIPPIANS
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Please turn in your Bibles this evening to Philippians chapter 1 as we continue our study through the Word of God and we begin a new book, a letter or epistle that Paul wrote to the church in Philippi. For some background information before we get started, Paul visited Philippi on his second missionary journey and during that time we know for certain that a woman named Lydia and her family were saved as well as the Philippian jailer and his family, besides others of course. You can read of this in Acts 16:14-34. The timeframe for this first visit was around 51 AD.
Philippi was a Roman colony and enjoyed all the benefits. It also was an important city in eastern Macedonia (Northern Greece). The area was important for its gold mines and its soil that was very rich, it was very fertile. Philippi was also located on the main road from Rome to Asia, the Via Egnatia, which made it a strategically important city.
Paul is the author of this letter to the Philippians, written from his imprisonment in Rome, probably around 61 AD, some 10 years or so after his first visit to Philippi and the establishment of the church there. As we saw in our study in Ephesians, Philippians is one of the four prison epistles that Paul wrote, along with Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon.
People today are focused; their lives are consumed with trying to be happy. They are trying to fill that void and find happiness by buying the latest gadget, the newest car, they might party hearty, look for that perfect job and still not be happy. Thus, we have books, seminars, counseling and yet, for most people they cannot attain happiness because of the situations that come their way. And in the end they come to the conclusion of Solomon, the preacher, who said, “‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher; ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’” Ecclesiastes 1:2.
In this little 4-chapter letter, some 104 verses, Paul uses the word “joy” four times, (1:4, 1:25, 2:2, 4:1). He uses the word “rejoice” eight times, (1:8, 2:16, 2:17, 2:18, 2:28, 3:1, 3:3, 4:4). And he uses the word “glad” two times, (2:17, 2:18). In fact, this letter has been called, “The Epistle of joy!”
Now some of you may be thinking, “That’s great for Paul, but he doesn’t know what I am going through now! No one knows the trouble I’m in!” Let’s turn that around for a minute, you don’t know the trouble Paul was in – he was in prison, chained to soldiers 24 hours a day, seven days a week! It was not ideal circumstances at all! Then how could Paul speak of joy, how would he rejoice in the situation and situations that he was in?
Because joy, biblical joy is not based upon outward circumstances but an inward reality that God is in control and He will use the situations in our life for His glory and our growth. Thus, divine joy is available to every believer if they would only receive it into their lives. David Hocking put it this way. He said, “There is ‘joy’ in the midst of trial when we understand God’s purposes and realize what He is accomplishing in our lives.” So with that said, let’s begin reading in Philippians chapter 1, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening as we begin our study in Philippians.
Here is the key to experiencing joy in our lives – being a bondservant or DOULOS (doo’-los) in the Greek. If you do not submit to the authority and control of Jesus in your life, joy will elude you! Paul, and his son in the faith, Timothy, freely surrendered their lives unto the Lord, then served others and then they were last on the list. You see – JOY IS: JESUS, OTEHRS, YOU! And Paul is writing to the saints in Philippi or those who had been set-apart by God, those who are saved not some bogus concept of what some say that saints are. They say that you have to be dead to be a saint and in your life minister to people and in your death done so many miracles, and then the church can vote on making you into a saint. No, Paul is writing to living people, those whose lives where touched by God!
He also is speaking to the leadership in the church. Paul speaks of “bishops” or EPISKOPOS (ep-is’-kop-os) in the Greek and it means, “to look over or upon” an overseer. This word is synonymous with the term “elder” and “pastor” or “shepherd.” We see this in Acts 20:28 where Paul tells us, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” He is speaking to pastors here. Paul doesn’t speak of “elders” or PRESBUTEROS (pres-boo’-ter-os) in the Greek, and the elders dealt with the spiritual matters of the church, they assisted the pastor. In Acts 20:17 we are told, “From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.” Thus, all bishops or pastors are elders but not all elders are pastors or shepherds of a flock. Paul then speaks of “deacons” or DIAKONOS (dee-ak’-on-os) in the Greek and deacons tend to deal with the physical maters of the church. You can see this in Acts chapter 6 as men were raised up to wait on tables and minister to widows in the church. You see, God does things decently and in order!
And again we see Paul mention in his introduction the Siamese Twins of the New Testament, “grace and peace.” Folks, you can never experience the peace of God in your life until you first make peace with God through Jesus Christ. It is a gift of grace or unmerited favor! You cannot have peace until you first receive His grace!
Paul is in prison and yet, his focus is not on himself, but on others as he thanks the Philippian Christians for their love, their generosity towards him! And as Paul prayed for these believers it filled his heart with joy as they were working together to bring the Gospel message to the lost.
How many of us have started a project and not finished it? I’m sure we all have experienced that in our lives. Thus, when it comes to our Christian life we tend to lose hope as we fall short of our goals with the Lord. But Paul has total confidence that the work that God started in the Philippians, their salvation, He will bring to completion, their glorification. And what Paul says of the Philippian believers he is also saying to us. Paul, in Colossians 3:4 tells us, “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Folks, when God saves us He does so completely and eternally and you can take that to the bank!
Do you doubt that? Do you think it is too hard for God and He might not complete the work? Listen to what Jesus said in John 6:37, 39, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out . . . This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” Also, in John 10:27-28 Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” And lastly, Paul said in Romans 8:37-39, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Think of it like this, as the nineteenth-century commentator, F. B. Meyer put it, “We go into the artist’s studio and find there unfinished pictures covering large canvases, and suggesting great designs, but which have been left, either because the genius was not competent to complete the work, or because paralysis laid the hand low in death; but as we go into God’s great workshop we find nothing that bears the mark of haste or insufficiency of power to finish, and we are sure that the work which His grace has begun, the arm of His strength will complete.” Don’t disbelieve, but believe! God will finish what He has started!
Paul lived what he believed and his love was not just empty words, these believers were in his thoughts and in his heart! It is as John said in I John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” You see, Paul was not better than they were, they all received the same grace and as he defended the Gospel so too the brethren in Philippi were!
Paul is some 800 miles away from them, it has been some 10 years or so since his first visit and yet his love for them is still rich, it is still deep as when he was first there with them and established the church. Now, why did Paul pray for their love to grow? Because AGAPE love, unconditional love will never fully be attained in this life. It doesn’t matter how much love you have, when compared to Jesus and what He manifested in His earthly ministry, we need much more in our lives than what we have!
Paul wants their love to grow, to super abound or excel in “knowledge” or maturity and “discernment” or being able to judge things correctly. An example of sloppy agape is given to us in I Corinthians 5:1-7 where we are told, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles — that a man has his father's wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” Obviously that was wrong. Now the way to grow in love and to grow in the Lord is by being in His Word, for Paul told Timothy, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17.
Paul also wants them to be “sincere” or EILIKRINES (i-lik-ree-nace’) in the Greek and it speaks of being “judged by sunlight, tested as genuine.” When our actions are held up to the light of the Son of God, to His Word, will there be cracks in it? Paul tells us in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Expose your life to the Word of God because if you don’t, if you try to cover your faults, when tough times come, the cracks will show and not only will you see them, but also those around you!
How do we bear fruit in our lives as Christians? By abiding in the giver and sustainer of life, Jesus Christ and fruit will then naturally be produced in your life, it will be real. Jesus said in John 15:4-6, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
This is important and Paul wants them to know, to understand this, he wants their attention. Do you think there are accidents with God? Do you think God ever says “Oops”? Not at all and that is Paul’s point here. You can look at the situation he is in and think God is not in control, how could He be? But Paul turns it around and says that his imprisonment didn’t stop the work of God but actually moved the Gospel message forward. The word “furtherance” is PROKOPE (prok-op-ay’) in the Greek and it speaks of advancement, progress like that of an army or expedition. And Paul lists two ways this happened to prove his point to the Philippians who may be discouraged seeing Paul in prison. Here are those two reasons:
A. PALACE GUARD OR PRAITORION
(prahee-to’-ree’on)
Paul, being a prisoner, was chained to a Roman soldier and these chains were about 18 inches long, but he was never alone. Every 6 hours a new soldier would replace the old one and so, in two years time, Paul had a large captive audience to witness to, they could not run away, they were guarding Paul and because of the witness of Paul and the love of God, many of the Imperial Guards of Rome were saved!
B. ENCOURAGED OTHERS BY
HIS EXAMPLE
Paul, being under house arrest, could have visitors, and as the brethren came and saw Paul, saw people getting saved, even the soldiers guarding Paul, they were strengthened in the faith, they were bold in their witness because they saw that nothing could stop the Gospel message from going forward, not even chains!
Thus, instead of complaining about the situation we find ourselves in, look at Paul’s example, be encouraged by it, for God is not chained nor is the Gospel message. Rejoice in what God is doing even if you don’t understand that situation you are in, for there are no accidents with God, He has a plan, He has a purpose for what we are going through!
Just to encourage you more, listen to what John MacArthur said about John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress. He tells us:
John Bunyan’s preaching was so popular and powerful, and so unacceptable to leaders in the seventeenth-century Church of England, that he was jailed in order to silence him. Refusing to be silent, he began to preach in the jail courtyard. He not only had a large audience of prisoners, but also hundreds of the citizens of Bedford and the surrounding area would come to the prison daily and stand outside to hear him expound Scripture. He was silenced verbally be being placed deep inside the jail and forbidden to preach at all. Yet in that silence, he spoke loudest of all and to more people than he could have imagined. It was during that time that he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, the great Christian classic that has ministered the gospel to tens of millions throughout the world. For several centuries, it was the most widely read and translated book in the world after the Bible. Bunyan’s opponents were able to stop his preaching for a few years, but they were not able to stop his ministry. Instead, they provided opportunity for it to be extended from deep within a jail in the small town of Bedford to the ends of the earth.
- John MacArthur
As Paul was in prison there were those that were glad, they wanted to surpass Paul in the work and with him out of the picture, they had it made. It was a selfish ambition, they were exalting self, it was for show in a sense on their part. On the other end were those who preached the Gospel out of love, not looking to make themselves look good but to build up the kingdom of God. Now please understand the message they preached was not a false gospel, it was their motives that were wrong. And Paul didn’t care about their motives, why? Because God would deal with that, they were believers, they were preaching the Gospel message, and for Paul that was the bigger picture and it should be for us also. You see, Paul’s imprisonment couldn’t stop the spreading of the Gospel and neither could wrong motives on some of the believers and thus, Paul rejoiced!
This was not a fatalistic attitude by Paul, he knew God was in control and yes, going before Nero did not look good, but he knew the Philippians were praying for him! Paul did not live to promote or preserve himself, but the Lord, Jesus Christ! So whatever happened, God was in control and Paul could rest in that. It is as one writer put it in regards to Paul’s life, “My body will be the theater in which Christ’s glory is displayed.” That means no matter what happens!
Paul knew that to be absent from the body he would be present with the Lord, (II Corinthians 5:8). The one he loved, the one he gave his life for he would be with and thus the dilemma. To remain on this earth and minister to the brethren, minister to the lost or be with the Lord. Paul desired to be with Jesus but also realized the work that was still needed and so while martyrdom is a possibility here, he also tells the Philippians that he expects to be spared and minister to them, which did occur. Paul was released for a time and then imprisoned again and martyred for his faith by Nero at God’s appointed time, not Nero’s! It was time for Paul to go home and he finished the race and was received up into glory in around 66 AD.
What about you, what can you say? “For to me, to live is money?” Or, “For to me to live is a new car?” Or, “For to me, to live is that promotion?” May we be able to say as Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21. You see, death for the Christian is really just moving day as our spirit and our soul separate from our body, this temporary dwelling place or tent, and we receive our new body, a mansion made in the heavens, made by the Lord. It is as Jim Elliot said who was martyred for his faith at a young age. He said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” May we not forget that.
Let’s compare this life with the life to come and see what we have, and as we do, you are going to wonder why we fight so much to remain, for there is a striking contrast between the two.
| REMAINING HERE | DEPARTING TO BE WITH CHRIST |
| A temporary residence, a tent. | A permanent abode, a mansion. |
| Suffering mixed with joy. |
Joy unmixed with suffering. |
|
Suffering for a little while. |
Joy forever. |
|
Being absent from the Lord. |
Being at home with the Lord. |
|
The fight. |
The feast. |
|
The realm of sin. |
The realm of complete deliverance from sin. |
VERSE
27
The Greek word Paul uses for “conduct” is POLITEUOMAI (pol-it-yoo’-om-ahee) and the idea is “to behave as a citizen.” Philippi was a Roman colony and thus enjoyed all the benefits of Rome. Thus, the people were not only proud of this but they also obeyed the rules of Rome so they would not lose their statues with Rome. Paul is calling the Philippian believers to a higher standard for they are citizens of heaven and thus they should walk according to the high calling by which they have been called. To live as faithful citizens of heaven according to God’s Word. Think about it, one of the greatest testimonies we have to a lost world is our integrity, that what we believe has impacted our lives in such a way that it is manifested in what we say and what we do!
Paul also gives them some words of encouragement and accountability. He calls for them to conduct themselves in a godly way whether he is there or not but he also tells them he is watching them. Why is that, did Paul not trust them? Not at all, but again, it has to do with accountability. We should all be accountable to each other so that if we start going astray, doing something that is not pleasing to God and we don’t see it, or don’t want to see it, a brother or sister in the Lord will let us know it in love! In fact, Paul tells us we are one in Spirit, the Spirit of God. We are one in mind, we have the mind of Christ. And we are “striving together” and the Greek word that Paul uses is a compound Greek word that is composed of a preposition, SUN (with) and the noun ATHLEO that speaks of competing in a contest, such as a sporting event. It is the term from which we get our English words “athlete” and “athletics”.
Here’s the thing. We are a team working together for a common goal, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, seeing the kingdom of God grow. We are working together, giving it our all. Now, for example, Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings. He plays football on a team and yet, at times he doesn’t run the routes all out. He gives a half-hearted effort. Sometimes he walks off the field before the game is over while the rest of the team is still playing. Sometimes he doesn’t even know what play is being run and walks off the field to the sidelines when he is suppose to be the receiver on the play. The outcome is that it affects the whole team, not just Randy Moss and that is Paul’s point here, we are working together as Christians for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
VERSE
28
Paul wants the Philippian believers to remain focused and not be “terrified” or startled by the enemy. Paul uses the Greek word PTURO (ptoo’-ro) and the idea here is of an uncontrollable stampede of startled horses. Horses can be startled by something as small as a bee and the same is true for us as Christians and Paul wants them to stay focused, not be startled by anything the enemy might throw at them be it persecution or even imprisonment or death! Remember what Paul said in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Thus, as you stand firm against the enemy it shows to them God’s judgment upon them, eternal punishment. It is as Paul said in II Thessalonians 1:4-10, “so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.”
Not only does it show their eternal punishment but our salvation because persecution shows we are His. Persecution should not be discouraging to us but it should be encouraging. Paul said in Colossians 1:24, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church.” In Galatians 6:17 Paul tells us, “From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Folks, the enemy will be destroyed and our salvation is secured in Christ because God is the one bringing these outcomes to pass! It is as Jesus said in John 3:16-20, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
VERSES
29-30
I don’t know how often you hear this in churches today but not only has God, in His sovereign grace given to us the gift of faith to believe but also He has given to us the privilege to suffer for His sake! Paul tells us in Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Also, Peter tells us in I Peter 4:12-16, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” Thus, we should not be surprised when difficult times come as Paul tells us, “that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this.” I Thessalonians 3:3.
Paul, in a sense, is saying to the Philippian believers, “Brothers and sisters in the Lord, for you and for me the battle is on; let us not lose heart but let us do something great for the Lord!” Paul is trying to encourage them not because persecution might come but it has come and more is coming so don’t give up, don’t fall back, it is time to stand up and fight for the faith which has been entrusted to us! And may we not just stand up and fight for the faith but may we do it with joy in our hearts!
Let me close this evening with this story. We are told:
Principal Rainy, of whom a child once remarked that she believed he went to Heaven every night because he was so happy every day, once used a fine metaphor about a Christian’s joy. “Joy,” he said, “is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the King is in residence there.”
Who is on the throne of your heart? You can tell by the flag that is being flown over your life! May it be joy, may you rejoice in the Lord and the work He is doing no matter the situation you find yourself in as Paul did!