Sunday Morning Service

Philippians 1:3-30

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“The Ministry Lens” • 3.9.14 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- We looked at the introductory material regarding the church in Philippi last week. The first church in Europe was founded by Paul and his fellow missionaries about 12 years prior to this letter.

- Her first converts included a business woman named Lydia, a formerly demon possessed girl and a Philippian jailer. From that group, the Lord grew a body of believers.

- Over time, the church's growth necessitated the establishment of Bishops and deacons, overseers and people gifted with helps and practical administration.

- By all accounts, there is much to be thankful for in this church, and yet, as with any church, there is always a way to grow! This chapter begins to set that tone for us.

- Note these divisions within our chapter today.  

I. Paul's Prayer (v.3-11)

II. Paul's Perception (v.12-26)

III. Paul's Plea (v.27-30)

Text

I. Paul's Prayer (v.3-11)

• Philippians 1:3-6 : "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 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;" : Whenever the Philippian church came to Paul's mind, great joy and gratitude filled his heart continously! What a wonderful thing to have said about you!

- Their church was a blessing to Paul! Every time he prayed and made requests for them, joy and gladness were present. Why was this the case?

- They had partnered with Paul and were fellow workers in the work of the gospel. That's what fellowship means. Their resources, interests and investments were the same.

- The church had received the gospel personally and then invested themselves in the work of the gospel so that others could experience what they had.

- This had been their enduring exercise. From the very first day that Paul came into their lives, they had come right alongside of him.

- They had given monetarily and materially, but it was their heart to join in the gospel ministerially. In that first day, there was excitement and a fresh experience of being forgiven in Christ.

- Later, when Paul went through the travails of being imprisoned, their resolve to work remained constant even to that present day! Their past and present contained a precious testimony.

- They had been faithful in good and bad times. Paul knew confidently that God had done this in them.

- He began a good work in them when they heard the gospel and received it as truth. His Spirit baptised them and brought them into a transformed life.

- He gifted them to participate and focused their attention on what they could do. Then, He moved upon them to do it.

- They didn't need Pastoral motivation or spiritual manipulation. They simply responded to God and a work in them was born!

- God had begun something good in their life and He would be responsible for perfecting that in their life until the day of Jesus Christ.  What is the day of Jesus Christ?

- That is the day when all things are accounted for and Christ's people will be rewarded!

- The Philippians may not have seen much reward at this time, but that beautiful work was being perfected toward a time when God would bring it up to remembrance and reward them for it!

- Perhaps you wonder about your contribution toward the ministry. God never forgets and will bring the good work in us to completion as well!

• Philippians 1:7,8 : "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. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ." : Paul thought correctly about them. He wasn't overstating their importance.

- They were dear to Paul and close to his heart because of their steady witness. In his chains of imprisonment or in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, they were joint partners with Paul.

- It would have been convenient to silently step away from Paul during his time in prison. But not the Philippians! They were steadfast in their support, even moreso during the difficulty.

- They supported him in his chains as much as when Paul answered their questions about the gospel and worked until that gospel was confirmed or established in a person's life.

- We get a bit of an insight into Paul's ministry here, as there was a time when Paul had to be an apologist, answering difficult questions that arose from the word.

- Then came the patient care necessary to see if a person has been established in the gospel. The work is confirmed as they make godly choices as the rule.

- They were sincerely engaged, which gave them a share the affection of Jesus Christ.

- There is another thought on this that some believe Paul to be expressing. As a minister of the gospel, Paul had taken on a new set of affections. They were the Lord's affections!

- It was the affection of Jesus Himself that was emanating from Paul's heart. It wasn't Paul per se, but the Lord whose heart yearned for the church of Philippi.

• Philippians 1:9-11 : "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." : The language indicates that this was always his prayer for them! Perhaps it'd be wise for us to pray this way for each other!

- Paul could have asked for anything, but called upon the Lord and requested that the type of love that God had, agape, would increase in measure, exceeding expectation. What a great prayer!

- If there is one great need in our body, it will always be the necessity for our love to grow, first toward the Lord and then toward one another! May it abound more and more!

- None of the characteristics of the fruit of God's Spirit remain stagnant. Each fruit, joy, peace, patience, etc., can increase when love grows!

- But notice the connection between their love and their information. Let their love exceed expectation in knowledge and discernment.

- "Knowledge" refers to precise and correct understanding and "discernment" refers to perception and coginition. The KJV uses the word "judgment" and the NIV employs "depth of insight."

- This love of theirs was not to be without these characteristics. Knowledge and discernment were not to keep them from loving, but it was to guide how their love should properly respond.

- The type of love that God has for us and that He gives to us to express toward others, is a love that seeks out what is best for the person upon whom it is directed.

- They are to love in order to approve the things that are excellent. "Approval" comes from a word that speaks of testing for authenticity.

- Consider those terms: Knowledge. Discernment. Testing. Love sounds like a lot of work!?

- Their love distribution was to consider that which was of the very best outcome. Why? in order that they would be sincere and without offense.

- "Sincerity" speaks of withstanding the heat of scutiny, as when a product is inspected under duress. What will the light of day or the heat of the moment reveal about that product?

- "Without offense" might literally mean not having anything to strike against you with! When the Greeks used this word elsewhere, it also referred to a road that was smooth.

- Loving people with correct knowledge and judgment would keep them whole and without any strike against them in the day of Christ!

- A person who simply through affection, approves of anything that makes another feel good will necessarily be hypocritical when questions arise and responsible when things go awry!

- God wants our love to point people towards the very best, so as to avoid that situation!

- They would be filled to the full with the fruits of righteousness, the results of a righteous life, begun in them and brought to pass by the Lord.

- Every good work, in it's inception and in it's use by God's people, including the work involved in loving someone, happens as a result of His grace in a person's life. What is the purpose?

- In order to bring glory, weight and praise or honor to God!

II. Paul's Perception (v.12-26)

• Philippians 1:12-18 : "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice." : It's interesting how faith can change our perception of a given situation. By all earthly accounts, Paul's imprisonment, however lenient, still cast a shadow over him.

- His detractors had a field day with the news of his current situation. Paul wasn't concerned with how people viewed things. He did however want the Philippians to know the truth!

- This circumstance of imprisonment actually, if you can believe it, furthered or advanced the cause of the gospel! The word "evident" speaks of what can be plainly recognized!

- Everyone could see that this was the case. His imprisonment was not on account of his testimony in Christ!

- The entire Palace guard that stood watch over Paul knew what a real criminal was like and their inevitable conflict with Paul would only occur on Christological grounds.

- Some have posited that these men were the intelligence community of their day. Paul's imprisonment exposed the gospel to the men closest to the top!

- Consequently, those who were aware of the situation among the guard who were now believers, were more outspoken about the Lord! They were encouraged by Paul's boldness!

- Yes Paul knew that some were preaching from poor motives. There were some who were envious or jealous of Paul. Some were contentious and others were kind.

- Those who were motivated by envy and strife proclaimed Christ from selfish ambition, a word borrowed from the political arena, where the promotion of self is the highest goal.

- They weren't pure in their motives. They simply wanted to stick it to the Apostle Paul. They figured that this would get him!

- Paul is not discounting their motives and he is certainly not turning a blind eye to false gospels, which he would have flatly condemned!

- These people were preaching the right gospel with the wrong motive. That would be dealt with by the Lord. Paul was simply happy that the Lord's name was being exalted.

- He could have let that bother him, but sought instead to look on the right side. If God saved someone through a less than honorable ministry, he would surely move them on eventually anyway!

- Beside that, there were those who preached from goodwill because of the genuine call that Paul had. Their heart was to join in and do what he could not presently do!

• Philippians 1:19,20 : "For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." : Whatever was going on now, the Philippians' prayers and God's Spirit were helping him along and it would lead to his true freedom. What was his true freedom?

- It's something that Paul earnestly expected. The word means to watch with outstretched neck! "Their almost here, just around that corner!"

- Paul waited, as one in great suspense, for a day when he would stand without shame, but with all boldness, to have Christ magnified in himself.

- Whether that occurred in his "life" as he spoke to people, wrote inspired letters or evangelized cities or in a martyrs death where only a few would hear his last words.

- In either event, he would seek to use his body to declare the greatness of Jesus!

• Philippians 1:21-26 : "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.  For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again." : For to me. This was Paul's perception of life.

- Another man would look at the current events and the state of preacher's poor motivations and be discouraged. In effect, they would find their lives, their identities, stripped away.

- Paul wasn't able to serve in the way that he had before, but nobody could take his life away.

- His life wasn't found in service or in activity. It wasn't found in him at all. Life, Paul's being, meant Christ. Jesus was at the center of his thinking and the motivation for his acting.

- The Messiah, God's annointed One, had so infiltrated his life, that for Paul, there was no longer a separation between where Jesus began and Paul ended! It all coalesced into one.

- When Christ is your life, then death is gain or an advantage because that is the only mechanism that propels me closer to Him. There is nothing else in life that ends this way!

- If your life is riches, you die having lost everything. If your life is pleasure, you die never having been satisfied. If your life is career, you die with no benefit. Only in Christ do you gain!

- Paul's life was tied up in Christ, but continuing to physically live meant more that he could do for the Kingdom. When you die, you cash it all in! There is no possibility for fruit in heaven!

- Our fruitfulness is tied to our earthly pilgrimage! This presented a conflict for Paul. He's hard pressed, a word used for what happens in a cattle pen when they press together to feed.

- "I would like to be loosed like a ship from it's port and be with the Lord. That's a thousand times better!" Have you learned to say that? Is there anything of that in your desire?

- Paul is not contemplating ending his life on his own as though this choice were real. He is emphasizing that a love for eternity drives his heart, but a love for ministry drives his life!

- When he thinks about continuing on earth, he knows that it will be a benefit for them! His life meant that their faith and joy would continue to advance. They would rejoice greatly at that!

III. Paul's Plea (v.27-30)

• Philippians 1:27-30 : "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me." : Let your behavior fit the belief that you hold! "Worthy" speaks of an axiom, which is to say that it refers to something that is assumed to be true.

- When you say you are a Christian, certain things are just naturally thought to be a part of your life, while others are naturally not!

- "Live this way whether I'm with you or not!" Paul says, "Let me hear that you are always standing fast in one spirit." Let me hear of your spiritual persistence!"

- Paul wanted to hear of their singleminded pursuit for the faith of the gospel! "Striving together" is defined as "to strive at the same time with another!"

- When I think of that phrase, I think about a successful tug of war team. They are united when they call out their "1-2-3" and then as one person, pull upon the rope!

- Paul wanted to hear more. He wanted to hear that they were done with fear! Nobody and nothing anybody can do causes a fright in your soul.

- Some believe that persecution was beginning to spread as a result of the rise of Caesar worship in the Roman Empire. That trouble would prove them to be saved!

- Adversely, their persecutor's hope to cause fear is a proof of their being lost.

- What a gift! The Philippians had been called to believe and to suffer for the Lord's sake! They could relate to Paul's conflict of considering their fruitful life or their home in Christ.

Conclusion

- When Paul prayed for Philippi, he prayed that God's love would be manifest more and more, with knowledge and discernment, so as to approve the best course in each life.

- When Paul considered his situation, he perceived that God was working and exposing the gospel to a new audience that needed to hear it.

- When Paul plead with the Philippians, he called upon them to act like Christians, no matter the consequence. Will you be moved by these things?

- Will you pray for a greater love for the things of God, a clearer vision of your place in life and a resolove to be known as a Christian where you live, by the choices you make?

- May His Word do in you a good work today!