A good verse to summarize the book
of Philippians is verse 6 of chapter 1, “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.” The church at Philippi
was one of the few that partnered with Paul and supported him financially. This church was knitted together with Paul in
his mission to spread the gospel. The book of Philippians also has the same
elements of the parable of the sower and the seed that many of the epistles
contain. Paul discussed their fellowship or participation in the gospel in the
first chapter. This begins by believing
the gospel ourselves and its transforming power in our own hearts. That is the kingdom of God within us. Then we begin sharing the gospel with
others.
In chapter 2, Paul described the
kingdom of God in our hearts and how we should have an attitude of a servant
like Christ. In chapter 3, Paul
elaborated on the two ditches on either side of the road of our Christian
walk. These are the two types of soil
described in the parable of the sower: the stony ground and the seed sown among
thorns. In chapter 4, Paul talked about
how we can maintain the peace of God in our lives from the God of peace. He also described his partnership with the
Philippian church in giving and receiving to advance the spreading of the
gospel.
Philippians 1:1-2 “Paul and Timothy,
bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in
Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul begins his letters to the
churches with the same greeting: grace to you and peace from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ. When we
understand the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, we will have
peace. Peace comes to us when we know
that He has forgiven us of the sins of our entire lifetime. Many Christians believe their past sins are
forgiven but their present or future sins are new offenses to God. This type of thinking will only give peace
until the next time we sin.
Philippians 1:3-8 “I thank my God
upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine
making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in
the gospel from the first day until now, 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; 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. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long
for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.”
Our fellowship or participation in
the gospel begins when we hear the gospel and believe it and are born
again. God comes to dwell within us by
the Holy Spirit. God began His good work
in our lives when we received Jesus and His grace. We then begin to share the gospel with
others. Our lives as believers are
determined upon how we respond to the gospel.
As we hold fast to the gospel, God will bring His work to completion in
us until the day of Jesus Christ. This
can be looked at in two ways. God will
bring His work to full completion in our lives when we receive a new body on
the day the Lord returns. The day of Jesus
Christ is also the day that Jesus Christ is fully revealed in us now. We cannot put everything off for the
future. Christ is to be revealed in us
now. We are to partakers of His grace so
that Jesus is revealed in us; that is the confirmation of the gospel in our
lives.
Philippians 1:9-11 “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.”
This love is our love for God,
birthed within us when we see how much He loves us and has forgiven us of all
our sins. Our love toward God grows as
we abound in the knowledge of His love and mercy for us. We begin to approve the things that are
excellent, so that we may be sincere and without offense before other
people. What things do we approve or
acknowledge? God has come to dwell in us
and He has given us His free gift of righteousness apart from our works. As we affirm these truths, we are filled with
the fruits of this free gift of righteousness.
These are the fruits of the Spirit: love for God, joy and peace. As we see how much He has forgiven us, we
extend that grace to others. Then we are
filled with the other fruits of the Spirit: patience, kindness and gentleness
toward others. We begin to exercise self-control
so that we don’t hurt others.
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, 13 so that it has
become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains
are in Christ; 14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having
become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without
fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife,
and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from
selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but
the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the
gospel. 18 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.”
Even though Paul was in prison, he
rejoiced that the gospel was being preached.
His imprisonment had emboldened many of the believers to preach the
gospel. Some were preaching from wrong
motives; others preached from the right motive of love for God and people. Paul was going to rejoice either way; as long
as Jesus was being preached. The
greatest motivation is to be so excited about the love and grace of God that
you want to tell others. No minister
will have to encourage you to witness to others. Knowing that God has forgiven us of the sins
of our entire lifetime makes us so grateful to Him.
Philippians 1:19-26 “For I know that
this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the
Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 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. 21 For
to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But
if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my
labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am
hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which
is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is
more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know
that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of
faith, 26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in
Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.”
Paul said that to live is Christ and
to die is gain. If we live, let Christ
be revealed in us and let Him be magnified in our bodies. That is the essence of the Christian life:
allowing Christ to live His life through me.
If Paul were to die, he counted it gain, as he would be with the
Lord. While we live on in the flesh, let
us be fruitful for Him, helping to share the gospel with those who have not
heard and to build up one another so that we are all more effective witnesses
for Him. Paul believed it was more
beneficial at this point for him to stay alive, so he was trusting that God
would deliver him through the prayers of the believers and the power of the
Holy Spirit.
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, 28 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. 29 For to you it
has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to
suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw
in me and now hear is in me.”
We will suffer persecution from
those who are trying to earn right-standing with God through their own good
works. Their attempts at earning God’s
favor stem from either pride or ignorance of God’s free gift of righteousness
by grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.
They will not understand the love and joy we have experienced through
His grace. Our conduct should be worthy
of the gospel of Christ. Jesus Christ
has come to dwell in us by the Holy Spirit; our attitudes and lifestyle should
reflect that He is alive in us. What is
the faith of the gospel? Jesus paid the
penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime.
He has set our sins aside and is dealing with us through His grace and
kindness. He has made His home in us.
Our salvation is secure. We must strive to hold on to these truths in a world
that does not embrace these truths. We
hold on to these truths even when we fail; He still lives in us and has
forgiven us. We share that grace and love
with others. This is our fellowship or
participation in the gospel.
Keith Oliver
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