The church of Christ
At Granby, MO
SERMONS | LIBRARY | REFERENCES
Philippians Chapter 1
1:1, “Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:"
Paul established this church somewhere around 49 and 50 AD. This congregation was about 10 years old.
Timothy is named with Paul as a co-worker and a co-worker with status because he referenced Timothy in his salutation. Normally Paul would mention fellow workers at the end of his letters, but he chose to mention Timothy at the beginning. This suggests Timothy may have had an active hand in producing this letter. Paul was under house arrest in Rome when this letter was written, and Timothy as most likely present when the letter was written.
It has been suggested that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was poor eyesight. If this is the case, Timothy may have written as Paul dictated.
Timothy started his ministry as a general helper during the work that John Mark had done with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Now he's kind of come along and matured and has a more important responsibility.
Paul is an Apostle and Timothy is an evangelist. Paul's authority came because he was selected by Christ. Timothy's authority came because he was selected by the elders and was commended into service by the laying on of Paul’s hands. Both men had authority in the church as men gifted with particular roles as leaders. So in relation to the church they were leaders with authority. However, in relation to Christ, Paul says they were slaves whose only task was to do God’s will.
Paul referred to Timothy and himself as bond-servants of Christ. In the first century, when someone owed a debt they could not pay, it was common to enter in to an arrangement with one’s creditor where they would serve as a slave for the period of time required to pay their debt.
In 1 Peter 2:15-17, we read where Peter gave instructions to Christians to conduct themselves as bondservants of God, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men — 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.”
When Jesus offered His life and died for the sins of man, He paid the sin debt everyone owed. Man sins and forfeits fellowship with God. The only penalty God will accept is disfellowship, which is referred to in scripture as death. Jesus paid that sin debt when He died for us. Therefore Christians owe Jesus a debt which can never be paid. Christians owe their lives to Jesus and literally are indentured servants of God. Peter commanded us to act like bond-servants. So it’s only proper for Paul to introduce Timothy and himself as indentured servants of God. The word in the Greek is “doulos” which literally means “slave” or “bond-servant”
Phil 1:1, “…To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”
This congregation of the Lord’s church is mature. It has elders and deacons. This congregation had been meeting for about 10 years when this letter was written.
Philippians 1:2, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Grace is God's benevolent disposition toward man that compelled Him to plan and complete man’s salvation through Jesus Christ. Grace is term which encompasses everything that God has done to save us. The world was created. He made the promise to Adam. He destroyed the earth with the flood, but He saved Noah. He sent prophets who spoke of a Messiah to come. Jesus came and He preached the gospel of the kingdom, He performed miracles, He died on the cross and was resurrected. God is longsuffering and allows time to respond to His plan for redemption.
Grace as a comprehensive biblical term represents everything God graciously did on man’s behalf so that man could be reconciled to fellowship with God.
Peace is the result of Grace in a sinner’s life when they obey God. Peace is the benefit that flows from God for being saved.
No guilt, no fear, no shame and no condemnation are all components of peace in a Christian’s life.
This grace and peace is said to come from both God and Jesus Christ. Paul places them both on the same plane since they are both God and they are both the only source of grace and peace.
Paul has greeted the Philippian Christians and he offers a blessing which he uses in other letters. Romans chapter 1, I Corinthians 1 and II Timothy 1 mentions the same greeting: grace and peace. This blessing expresses a universal truth applicable to all churches for all time. Grace and peace come from God the Father and God the Son and bestowed on those who believe that God the Father sent God the Son.
Philippians 1:3-11
Thankfulness and Prayer
Verse 3-4 “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy…
How many times are we thankful for those who we help guide to the truth? What a great blessing it is when someone responds to the call of the gospel and we helped them find it. This congregation at Philippi is successful and productive. Paul, no doubt, was very thankful for them and made sure he mentioned them to God in his prayers regularly.
Of note here is Paul gave the credit for the success of that congregation to God in his letter. There is no hint of personal pride whatsoever in his attitude.
Verse 5, “for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now”
The fellowship they share in the gospel is something Paul treasures. This congregation grew from a handful of Christians on a riverbank to a fully mature congregation of the Lord’s church in about ten years. And from day one, they have grown and flourished.
Verse 6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
Paul goes from referring to their faithfulness and their generosity in the past and present, to what he prays and desires for them in the future. Paul is confident God will bring them to full Christian maturity ready for the coming of Christ.
Based on their faithfulness and development so far, Paul expresses confidence that God who has accomplished the spiritual growth in them, will continue to fully mature them as Christians in the future.
Paul has greeted them, he has expressed his love, gratitude and joy over their extraordinary faithfulness and is now expressing his confidence and hope for where he wants them to go in the future. Paul is setting the stage here for the letter of continued growth and maturity that he is going to send them.
Verse 7, “just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.”
When parents have children who are obedient and acting right, they often encourage them by telling them and letting them know they love them. It is only right for us to encourage and build up success and good behavior in those we love. It is right for us to encourage them and point out their successes. It is a way of letting them know their efforts have not gone unnoticed and it motivates them to keep up the good work and to set higher goals for their achievements.
“I have you in my heart “ For the Greeks the heart referred to more than simple emotion. The heart was part of the mind and feeling and will as well. Paul did simply feel affection for them. They were part of him in that they were in his thoughts. His love for them affected his feelings and his decisions.
This love of the heart Paul felt for them was reciprocal. He says they are his partners in “chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel”. This close association resulted in the mutual feeling that they were partners with him in the work of the gospel including his imprisonment.
Paul's deep affection for the Philippians is easy to understand. Nothing caused them to waver in their constant help of his preaching mission. Not even Paul's imprisonment had caused them to cut off their support.
Verse 8 “For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.”
The significance of this passage cannot be overstated. As stated earlier, this affection of the heart to the Greeks goes way beyond any simple emotion.
Paul bound this close feeling he had for them with the same feeling Jesus Christ has for them. Paul is telling them that Jesus Christ loves them in the same way he does.
Paul could rather have said that along with the heart of Christ Jesus I long for you. This is a powerful statement describing perfect union of all faithful believers. Paul said he has no yearnings for them apart from the Lord. Paul said his pulse beats with the pulse of Christ. Paul said his heart throbs with the heart of Christ. Paul's profession of love for the Philippians was on a level with Jesus Christ.
It is no small thing to encourage the faithful by telling them they are loved equally by both the teacher and by God. There can be no greater expression of love and encouragement for a congregation of Christians striving in an environment hostile to Christianity such as this one.
Verse 9-11, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Paul said here, he prays for them and he does so often and with joy. In these verses he shares the content of these prayers on their behalf. Now in verse 9 he prays that their love grows according to knowledge, in other words his prayer is that their love grows according to knowledge. Not simple affection or attraction based on feelings but the kind of love motivated by the knowledge of God's will and expressed and guided by wisdom from above.
Love for God growing according to knowledge is the deeper more devoted love that grows as we come to fully realize the totality of who God is and what He has done for us.
Love for one another grows according to knowledge in that we learn to develop the love that compels us to deny ourselves for the good of another person. The more we learn of the Christians around us, the more our capacity for love grows. As we get to know each other, our love for one another grows with that knowledge. And at the same time, as our knowledge of God grows, the love we have for Him grows and because of that, our capacity to love each other grows with that.
The Greek word for “Love” in verse 9 is “Agape” which is that benevolent love which compels one to act on the behalf of another even when it means to deny ourselves.
As we understand more what this Agape love is we see it is a combination of knowledge, wisdom, faith and hope.
A knowledge of God's will teaches us we must love God and our neighbor as self, Mark 12:30-31. We know that agape love is based on a decision not a feeling. I'm going to love you because it is the right thing to do, I'm going to love you in the way that God loves me. Agape love loves because it knows and obeys God's will, not because the object of love is necessarily worthy or desirable.
Agape love understands how to express this love to edify the object of love and to honor God.
Paul expounds on this kind of love in Romans 14 where he speaks of the mature Christian strong in the faith avoiding harm to a less mature, weaker Christian in knowledge.
Paul says if he has a brother that thinks eating meat is a sin, he will avoid hurting his weaker brothers
Conscience by abstaining from meat as well. Paul explains in this context that there is nothing wrong with eating meat, but if his brother feels it is sinful and it hurts his conscience then he would never eat meat again to protect him from stumbling in his faith.
Romans 14:19-21, “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.”
In I Corinthians 8:1 Paul says that knowledge not guided by love leads to pride. Love not tempered by knowledge and wisdom is often unfruitful and can lead to sin.
In 1 Corinthians 8:1 Paul illustrates this by using the example of eating meat offered to idols. Corinth was the location of all kinds of pagan worship. There were goddesses of love and fertility which were nothing more than prostitution rings. Then there were other pagan gods that people offered meat to as sacrifices. The so-called priests used this meat to entice the citizens to their temples. Citizens could get a free meal after the meat was sacrificed to the idols. It was a common practice in these times to dispose of the meat sacrificed to idols as food for the citizens.
A mature knowledgeable Christian knows that idols mean nothing and the meat is just meat. But a less knowledgeable Christian may believe the meat that had been offered to idols is defiled and therefore sinful to eat.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13, “Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.
4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
7 However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.“
Verse 10, “that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,”
There is some disagreement in the way this verse should be rendered from the Greek. Young’s literal translation renders it thus:
Philippians 1:10, “for your proving the things that differ, that ye may be pure and offenceless — to a day of Christ”
The Greek word for “excellent” or “differ” is “diaphero”. This word has more than one meaning depending on the context in which it is used.
The NASU renders this passage thus: Philippians 1:9, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment”.
This Bible student feels it was the intent of the author to say he wanted them to be able to tell what the difference between what is good and what is not as their knowledge increases. A good paraphrase of this might read thus:
Philippians1:9-10
“This is my prayer for you:
that your love will grow more and more;
that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love;
10 that you will be able to know the difference between what is important and what is not and choose what is important.”
The rendering of this verse as “that you may approve the things that are excellent” assumes one to be able to know what is excellent in order to approve of it. Both renderings by inference require the same knowledge and essentially say the same thing.
One thing is sure; Paul wanted the Philippians to grow in knowledge to avoid offense in living the Christian life. And this bible student feels this is the important message for us today.
Paul really expounds on the quality of the kind of love God expects of the mature Christian in 1 Corinthians 13, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that love believes all things, love hopes all things, in the sense that Agape love seeks to believe in hope and the best of others.
It would be terrible thing to go through life and you're like your first emotion is suspicion. It's not a good
life when your first go to emotion is suspicion.
And when it says love believes all things that doesn't mean that mature love is gullible to the point that one will accept any lie, but will believe all things until proven otherwise. Agape love will believe in the goodness of people until something happens to demonstrate untrustworthiness.
Agape love is not suspicious or fearful. It is not negative or critical. It is given with an open heart and an open mind in hope that it will be accepted and cherished. This is the kind of love that Paul prays they will cultivate and practice.
Verse 10 of Philippians chapter 1says the development of this kind of love within their Christian character would serve them well on the day of judgment, the day when Christ returns.
Love casts out fear of judgment. The loving person does not fear judgment. Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Jesus does not say knowing all the teachings are how all men will know they are disciples. He simply says Agape love is how all men will know they are disciples. Agape love is visible. Agape love works.
This is the mark that Jesus is looking for. And this is the kind of love that Paul prays they will cultivate.
Verse 11, “being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Paul writes if this kind of love results in being filled with the fruits of righteousness made possible through Christ. Which then renders glory and honor to God.
The fruit of righteousness are all the good things that come from being a faithful Christian. Galatians 5:22-24, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control…”
The Christian with Agape love becomes filled with the fruits of the Spirit. Mature faithful Christians grow to be patient, trusting, humble, civil, generous, meek, forgiving, righteous, persevering, long-suffering, all words that describe love.
The fruits of righteousness are the manifestation of agape love in the Christian’s life. The fruits of righteousness are the benefits of agape love in the Christian’s life. The fruits of righteousness in the Christian’s life are Agape love revealed for all to see.
Recall John 13:35, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have [agape] love for one another."
Paul greets a church for which he clearly has great affection. His thoughts of them provoke him to give thanks to God. The way they conduct themselves assures him that Christ is at work in them and will complete the process of change that he has begun.
He misses them and he thanks them for their help and gifts noting that in the way they share in his mission work and he prays that they continue to grow in Christian love because it is in this way they will honor God and maintain, not earn, their salvation. Christians can never earn salvation, but they do maintain it.
This ends the brief greeting and prayer sections of Philippians. The next section will focus on Paul's personal affairs and circumstances.
Philippians chapter 1:12-26.
Before getting to the point of his teaching in this letter Paul will inform them of his own present condition and circumstances. He wants to tell them a little bit about what's going on with him before he gets into the main part of his teaching.
Verse 12, "Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,"
Paul describes both the bad and the good of his situation. He knows that his readers are aware of the circumstances of his imprisonment and its injustice. He was arrested for no cause and was kept in prison for two years without any formal charges being laid against him. He was then transferred to Rome as a criminal and was put in jail for an additional two years waiting for his hearing.
However, his circumstances have produced some good results.
he says in verse 13, “so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else”
In Acts 28:16, we read concerning Paul’s arrival in Rome, “When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.”
He had only one guard in house by himself. At the beginning when Paul was brought to Rome he was put in house arrest and there was just one guard that was on a rotation guarding him. It is suggested by some scholars he was later transferred to the guard room of the praetorian guard whose offices were located in the Emperor's Palace. As his trial date got closer they transferred him to quarters where the court was.
This would explain his contact with and his influence on the praetorian guard as they witnessed and heard the discussions and the prayers and the teachings of Paul and those who visited and stayed with him.
Evidently the guards conversed and listened and learned and shared Paul’s teachings with the other guards.
Paul was about to appear in the highest court in the known world to explain and defend the gospel and his role in preaching it.
Paul was going to be in front of the emperor, the most powerful person in the entire world and the people that were going to be in that courtroom would be influential people within the empire
Paul was going proclaim the gospel to the most powerful people in the Roman Empire. That is an opportunity that he could not have managed by himself.
Jesus in Mark 13:9-10, is quoted as saying, “But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. 10 "The gospel must first be preached to all the nations”
And then in Luke 21:12-15, Jesus said, "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. 13 "It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. 14 "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.”
No one like Paul had ever appeared before Caesar. This was going to be quite an event and it had those involved talking about it. This included the praetorian guard.
The Praetorian Guard was a very special group of guards. They were the Emperor's personal guard. This guard consisted of nine cohorts with a thousand men in each cohort. According to Tacitus, a Roman historian, each man was hand-picked. You were chosen and had to be of Italian birth. They received double pay and special privileges. Each soldier ranked as a Centurion when serving with regular Legion. When they were dispatched to go with the legions their rank was Centurion and were automatically in charge of a hundred soldiers. T
They wielded great influence in the state. Through the guards involvement and interest the information about Paul and the gospel spread throughout this elite section of the Roman military and beyond to the citizens of Rome because these people had families and relatives.
This is the progress that Paul speaks of and as he will mention later, rejoices in.
Verse 14 he says, "and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear."
Paul’s continued proclamation of the gospel, despite his imprisonment along with the interest of the Praetorian Guard emboldened other Christians to speak out.
It appeared that as the trial drew near Paul's vindication and freedom was assured. The perception that Paul would be released and the gospel not outlawed as a result of his trial gave the many Christians in Rome the courage to proclaim the gospel publicly and to do so without the fear that they would be arrested for it.
In verse 15 he says, "Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will: the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel, the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me to distress in my imprisonment."
Within the church among Christians there's trouble taking place and he describes it here. Paul describes two groups who are involved in similar pursuits but they have different motivations. One group he says in verse 14 who have been motivated by Paul's imprisonment and the interest in the gospel that it has caused and has enabled them to become more courageous in their preaching to their neighbors and to others in the city. They were motivated by their confidence and love for Paul as their teacher and their example for Christ.
Another group in the church is preaching out of envy. This other group that Paul refers to is also preaching the gospel but they have a different motivation and goal in mind. Their motivation is envy and strife. Envy of Paul's success and renown despite his imprisonment.
At this point Paul is the most famous Christian in the Roman Empire. He is going to appear before the Emperor. The motivation of the jealous should be love of lost souls or the desire to serve God but these men want to compete with Paul in order to get into the spotlight. They evidently wanted some attention for themselves. Their objective was not to convert the loss but to somehow create envy and jealousy and division in Paul's heart.
They probably thought that Paul would react to their success as they were reacting to his, in other words they were jealous of his success and they figured if they'd succeed Paul would be discouraged. Paul was in jail and they were free.
Paul doesn't denounce or even rebuke them. He simply describes their true motivation by selfish ambition.
Their envy of Paul's success causes them to desire his failure and suffering.
These people want the gospel to succeed and they want souls converted to Christ but they want the credit for this success to come to them instead of Paul.
In verse 18 he says, "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice."
Paul explains what could be a very discouraging situation: that some believers are preaching the gospel in order to provoke him to jealousy while he's in jail.
But Paul has his eyes on the bigger picture. He is focused only on what matters. Paul describes what this matter looks like through the eyes of faith. What seems like disorder and acting with improper motives becomes an opportunity to rejoice.
Looking back at Isaiah 55:11 we read, “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. “
Paul recognizes that if the gospel is preached no matter who's preaching it it'll produce results. When a person with a pure heart completely out of love preaches the message there'll be a return. Likewise a person preaching it because they want the recognition it will also bring results. Paul says he us happy for that.
People are being saved and that is what's important.
In verse 19 he says, "For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."
Paul also considers his upcoming trial through the eyes of faith. He's confident that he will not be condemned but rather set free. And he's confident for two reasons. He depends on the prayers on his behalf and he's confident that the Lord will provide him with the words and explanations and the proper responses as well as the clear mindedness and confidence he'll need to face the highest court in the empire.
Paul trusts that Jesus will deliver on the promise made to all the Apostles in Luke 21:14-19,
"So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 "But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 "Yet not a hair of your head will perish. 19 "By your endurance you will gain your lives. “
In verse 20 Paul goes on to write, "according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by my death."
Whether Paul’s set free or not his higher goal, again seen through the eyes of faith, is that he not say or do anything that will undermine the gospel or dishonor Christ.
his goal is that whether he is set free or found guilty and sentence death, Jesus will be honored and recognized. This higher ideal above living or dying can only be seen through the eyes of faith.
Now that Paul has updated the Philippians about the condition of his ministry he's going to move on to describe the dilemma he faces because of the condition he find himself in.
In verse 21 he says, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." In verse 20 Paul states that whether he lives or dies he wants to honor Christ. In verse 21 he completes the thought by declaring that remaining alive continues his complete devotion to Christ and dying sends him to his reward in Christ; one way or another his aspirations are all about the Lord Jesus.
In either situation Christ will be the main focus of his existence. Whether he continues to live and serve here or he dies and goes to be with Christ. Either way is profitable for Paul.
This realization however presents Paul with a dilemma which he goes on to explain.
Verse 22, "But if I'm to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake."
Despite his dire circumstances; four years in prison; possible execution; yet he sees his situation in a totally positive light no matter what happens. If he is freed he looks forward to being active in the ministry of the Gospel. He'll be in Rome where there has been great interest in the gospel, even at the highest level. In Philippians 4:22 we will read of Christians in Caesar’s household.
Paul still has a lot of work to do. The seed has been planted, people are responding. If Paul is set free he has a lot of opportunity to spread the gospel and save souls.
In addition to this there are many Jews who have been converted when he first arrived, Acts 28:24, not to mention the many Christians already in Rome.
Doubtless after having been in prison for four years he must have been anxious to minister directly to churches instead of writing them brief letters and said so in chapter 4, verse 1.
He then mentions the other option possibly facing him and that's execution. However he does not refer to it in negative terms. His reference to execution simply states that its results, again seen from the eyes of faith, are positive. Should Paul be executed it would mean a different kind of freedom, his spirit would be released from his body and his life would be released from the prison of his flesh to be eternally with Christ.
So his choices are, I'm set free and serve Christ, or I'm set free by death and I'm with Christ. Now being set free to be with Christ he said this would be his personal desire because it would be better for him.
This then is the dilemma, his desire to remain and continue the ministry or to be with Christ in heaven. He acknowledges that he desires to do both with his departure to be with Christ being the more desireable of the two options.
He then describes the way he has settled the matter in his own heart, he says being with Christ in heaven would serve him best. It would mean the end of work and the end of his suffering. But remaining would serve the church best and he knew in his heart that this was necessary and he was fully prepared to carry on.
We read verse 25 and 26 where he says, "Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again."
Paul says that he is convinced that remaining and ministering to them to grow and encourage their faith is more necessary and thus this is most likely going to take place. This is not a prophecy here Paul is merely stating that when regarding the two options he's convinced as far as a faithful experienced Apostle can be sure, that remaining to serve the church is the better option for now. He even looks ahead and describes the situation when he would finally be released and be physically among them once again. His presence will strengthen their faith, bring them joy and will enable them to be even bolder in proclaiming the gospel.
Paul describes his present condition and future hope of release to encourage the Philippians to envision a time when he will once again be with them and look forward to the positive spiritual impact that this will have on them.
In the following verses Paul begins the major thrust of his epistle which is an encouragement for the Philippians to pursue greater maturity in Christ.
This next section outlines six examples of Christian maturity.
Beginning in verse 27 of chapter 1 Paul will encourage them to make a continued effort to mature in Christ and he provides them with six examples of Christian maturity they can follow in their quest to grow and be more mature spiritually.
The first example he gives is that the mature Christian stands firm.
In verse 27-28 he says, "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you're standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents- which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God."
Paul is coming off of his comments about those who were preaching the gospel in order to make him jealous. Some were preaching out of love while some were preaching out of envy. They thought they would make him jealous if they were preaching successfully and they supposed Paul would be jealous of that because he was confined to prison and couldn't be out doing what he normally did.
Paul's response to these in a previous verse where he states that no matter the motivation, if the gospel is preached it'll have its effect and in this he rejoiced.
Whether you preach the gospel with good motives or bad motives, as long as the gospel is being preached he's happy and it will bring back fruit.
He uses this sinful attitude by some as a bridge to make a first exhortation to the church concerning their conduct. He you conduct yourselves in a different manner.
He says their conduct should be worthy of the gospel and inline or reflective of the gospel and its message and its subject which is Jesus Himself.
They should be doing things in the correct spirit. Their conduct should be such that whether Paul is released or not their conduct will be appropriate. He thinks he'll be released and eventually be with them in person but he's saying to them even if he is not he
wants them to act in a mature way and not like those with bad motives. He’s telling them not to be like them.
This first example of spiritual maturity he describes is the ability to stand firm in the face of opposition. He says it's possible to stand firm in opposition because they all share the same spirit.
They can all stand firm because they're united in one mind. They all believe the same thing as being the truth from God, which is the gospel and so their ability to stand firm against opposition is based on the fact that they all share the same spirit, the same truth, and the same mind about what God has taught.
They are all working toward the same goal and that is to maintain the teaching or the content of the gospel.
Paul said, “one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel”
When there's an article in front of the word it means the entire body of the teaching of Jesus.
He urges them to maintain the teaching and content of the gospel against change or compromise.
Paul says to do these things without fear is a sign of their growing maturity in Christ. They don't get worked up, they don't lose their confidence just because there's some opposition.
This shows they're growing maturity in Christ and is the reason that Paul rejoices when he thinks and prays for them. When Paul sees them going through problems like this and knows they're standing firm, they're not giving in, they're not quitting, this gives him great to joy.
In addition to this he says standing firm without fear of their opponents indicates two things: first of all the destruction of their opponents. If their attackers cannot frighten them to change course or abandon their faith it's an indication their attackers have lost the battle.
And secondly, it's the confirmation of their salvation, if what they believe to be true provides them with the strength to stand firm against their enemies.
They're standing firm. They're not letting the enemies destroy them or discourage them or get them to quit. Paul says when you're not quitting when you're standing firm it means what's inside of you is greater that what's inside of them. They may seem bigger and more powerful. They may seem to have the upper hand but the fact that they're not able to destroy you demonstrates that eventually they're going to lose and it also shows that eventually you're going to win.
It demonstrates your faith is true and it'll be realized and the promises that God has made to you and the ultimate promise of being with Him in heaven will come to be.
In verse 29 and 30 he says, "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me."
Paul adds this observation as a way to both encourage them to remain standing firm against those who are attacking them and also put into a larger spiritual context the suffering that they are experiencing as disciples of Jesus.
Paul explains that suffering is not in opposition to faith and this is very important to understand. Christians should be aware that suffering for Christ is not a failing on God's providential care for His children or some kind of aberration in the Christian experience.
Some Christians errantly think that when they become a Christian they are going to live a sheltered life. They think becoming a Christian means no more suffering.
Paul is addressing this idea that suffering as a Christian somehow is wrong or unusual or shouldn't happen. Paul makes it clear that suffering is not in opposition to belief.
Suffering in various ways for example attacks on our faith like these Philippians were experiencing, or perhaps the loss of friendship or family conflicts because of our faith or the emotional and physical discomfort felt as a result of resisting temptation. It's hard to resist temptation, it's painful to fight the flesh.
Sometimes Christians suffer actual violence against themselves because of their faith. These are all natural elements of the Christian experience and life,
They're not exceptions to the rule, rather they are the rule. Paul summarizes this section about standing firm by stating that God is the source of all that the Philippians are experiencing.
God is in charge of everything, God permits everything. Paul says to them God has sent Christ to atone for their sins and thus make salvation possible.
God has provided the faith or the teaching of salvation in the gospel. God is the one that provided that and not man.
God has chosen and sent the Apostles like Paul to teach them the gospel.
God has permitted them the privilege of experiencing suffering on account of their faith. It's not that God directly sends the evil but God permits it in our lives.
God doesn't send evil. God doesn't ever tempt us to sin, but He permits us to suffer. We suffer because we live in a fallen world.
We suffer because mankind is sinful we're victims of crime and corruption and human error. We suffer because of our faith in Christ in the same way that Christ suffered to save those who would eventually believe in Him.
So as believers we get to experience a little of what Jesus experienced, the spirit, the understanding of who God is, the joy of knowing that our sins are forgiven and that God will welcome us into the heavenly abode.
Jesus knew and experienced these things and we get to experience those things.
Jesus experienced suffering rejection and so Paul says He's allowed you to suffer some of the things that Jesus suffered: rejection, difficulty, opposition.
And he says if you stand firm as a consequence and suffer for your faith you are experiencing the complete life of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
This student of God's word gratefully acknowledges the work and scholarship of James Burton Coffman and Mike Mazzalongo's lessons on Paul's letter to the Philippians.
