I, Timothy Nathanael, a doulos (bondservant) of Christ, love you all in the Spirit. This love and concern for you will not be stopped because of the wall; it will shine brighter because of this wall!
“The most dangerous thing is our dream of what the church should be, because this keeps us from loving the church as it is.” ___Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We who serve the body of Christ get to see the Saints at their best and worst. At times, loving on them is an act of will instead of a lifestyle. How easy this walk would be if only the church was exactly what I think it should be: If my fellow believers were more lovable all of the time; if they were only more like me; listen to the teachings I listen to; read the Book I read, and see this Christian walk just as I see it. I will ask you to overlook my little sins and short comings, but please forgive me as I judge yours as if you lost your salvation or never had it in the first place. As I have told you before, you can always see where I am by reading Phish Bowl. This time, I’m going to give you a heads up: I’m diving deep into the book of Acts. I want to know what the church is supposed to look like, not by some group of believers or by some book with the ABCs of a good church. Dr. Luke set out in a two volume set (the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the apostles) to set down the foundation of what Christ did and what He will do with His church through the Holy Spirit.
Now the good news: I’m not going to dump a truck load of facts that will over feed you. Every commentary has an introduction and over the last month I have read a lot of them. Some have been as short as 5 pages and others, as long as one hundred plus pages. Besides reading a lot of back ground stuff, I have only gotten to Acts 1:14. I am not ready to give you a complete study of this yet, but I will tell you this: we are going to spend a lot of time in this book. I am not talking one or two teachings. I’m thinking of over a year in this book! Let me wet your whistle!
The Book of Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. The book of Acts is remarkable in many ways. It is a bridge between all of the Gospels and the Epistles. The last recorded fact about Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew is the Resurrection, which is recorded in Acts 1. In the Gospel of Mark, the last recorded act of Jesus is the Ascension, which is also recorded in Acts 1. In the Gospel of Luke, the last recoded fact is the promise of the Holy Spirit. That is also in Acts 1. In the Gospel of John, the last recorded fact is the second coming of Christ. You guessed it---that is also in Acts 1. It is as if the four Gospels had been poured into a funnel, and they all come down into this jug of the first chapter of the Book of Acts. Also, the great missionary commission, which appears in all four Gospels, is confirmed in the Book of Acts.
The Book of Acts records the beginning of the Church, the birth of the Church. The book of Genesis records the origin of the physical universe. Acts records the origin of the spiritual body which we call “the Church”. OK, I’m going to stop there and we are going to pick up in Acts 1:1-2:28 next month.
I am grateful to our Lord that He has blessed brothers who also desire to know Jesus deeper. We are called to dive into His Word and serve His church behind the wall. We know that the walk He has called us to is a call to die to self daily. In past Phish Bowls, we have been blessed by some of their teachings and this month, Brother Bobby G. has helped me out by sharing his teaching of Philippians 1:3-11. As I study and we get ready for Acts, please enjoy this work of love.
The Foundations for Paul’s Joy
An expositive look at Philippians 1:3-11
As I was studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I noticed that “joyfulness through adversity” was the predominant theme throughout this epistle. And after studying the apostle’s experience at Philippi, I couldn’t help but see the great worth and significance of this attitude of joyfulness, and after studying this epistle, it is evident that joyfulness belongs in the very heart of adversity.
In Acts 16, we see that Paul, while at the Port of Troas, received a vision from God. And in his vision, he saw a man asking for help in Macedonia. As Paul and his traveling companion, Silas, entered Macedonia and stayed in its leading city, which is Philippi.
While both Paul and Silas were preaching the gospel in the streets of Philippi, they encountered a slave girl possessed by a demon of divination. This girl would use her ‘power’ to tell people certain events that would happen in their future (much like the astrology section in a newspaper). Well, in doing so, she made her owners a lot of money.
It so happened, as Paul and Silas were preaching, this slave girl would follow them and would mock them by telling the people that these men were servants of the Most High God and had come to teach the people the way of salvation. After a few days of this, Paul, being fed up with her mockery, turned toward her and said to the demon, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, come out of her.” And Scripture says that it came out that very hour.
The owners of this slave girl saw what had happened to her and that this method of making money had now come to an end. So they riled up the crowd and forced Paul and Silas to the center of the city and had them stand before the rulers and the magistrates. The owners told the magistrates that Paul and Silas were disturbing the city as well as advocating them to accept and practice manners and customs that Romans could not perform. After this, the rulers had Paul and Silas stripped and beaten with rods. Then they were taken to prison without having received treatment for their wounds.
Just as a side note: this punishment is mentioned in two of Paul’s letters. Chronologically, the first was written in 1 Thessalonians 2:1, “But though we had already suffered and were shamefully treated at Philippi…,” and the second was written in 2 Corinthians 11:23-25, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one- I am talking like a madman-with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned.”
After studying Acts 16 and taking those understandings to my study of Philippians 1:3-11, such words as “thanks”, “joy”, “partnership”, “affection”, and “grace” really stood out in this passage. I couldn’t help but notice the love and the commitments that Paul had for his Christian brothers and sisters at Philippi. And as I was studying the passage I noticed three foundations for Paul’s joy. The first was his Attitudes about the church (vv. 3-5); the second was his Beliefs concerning the church (vv. 6-7); and the third was his Communication and Prayer with the church (vv 8-11).
The first foundation of Paul’s joy was his Attitude that he had about the church. As I studied verses 3-5, I found three different attitudes that he displayed throughout these three verses: thankfulness, joyfulness, and honor. Let’s first read this passage and then discuss these attitudes which had become a blessing to Paul in his ministry: I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
The first attitude he mentions is thankfulness, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.” The question I have for you as a believer is, “how can anyone feel thankful during times of affliction, persecution or suffering?” My answer is this: In verse one, we see that Paul is a servant (gr. Doulos- bondservant or slave) of Christ; he is also an apostle (a messenger or an ambassador) of Christ and His teachings. Paul taught that which he learned from Christ. So it is my guess that Paul learned either from Christ or second hand, the teachings that are known as the beatitudes. Let’s go over the last two: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt. 5:10-11) Paul understood an important concept when it came to “joyfulness in the midst of adversity,” and that concept is this: earthly sufferings earn heavenly blessings. Repeat that statement over and over! This is a must for us as Christians; that we engrave this concept in the front of our minds and in the front of our hearts.
The second attitude we see that Paul had concerning the church is joyfulness, “always and in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.” Now I don’t want you to think that Paul faced only adversity in Philippi. There were some great moments of spiritual victory during this portion of Paul’s ministry. For instance, after being stripped and beaten, Paul and Silas were then put in prison, and as they were singing hymns and praising God, there was an earthquake. Immediately, the jailer passed out and the doors of the jail were opened. When the jailer had finally come to his senses, he saw that the doors were opened and thought that the prisoners had escaped, so he drew out his sword to kill himself, and as he did, he heard a voice in the background say, “we’re still here!” Once the jailer saw that Paul and Silas were still in their cell, having marveled at their integrity, he asked them, “What must I do to be saved?” And the Scriptures say that the jailer and his whole household believed and were baptized. Paul must have remembered these events and he took joy in how the Lord worked in him and through him.
The third attitude Paul displayed in these three verses was an attitude of honor, “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Paul felt honored that they were his partners in the gospel. That word for partnership (gr. Koinonia) is the same word that we use for fellowship. Paul’s thought of what fellowship should consist of was that it be used to strengthen the believer as well as train him how to use the Scriptures to lead others to the gospel and to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. That is what partnership in the kingdom of God is. These people were his partners as well as his brothers and sisters. These people were his eternal family. The Philippian church members were the people he was proud to have as his family. So the question to be asked is, “who is my true family?” “Who are those people with whom I need to participate in order to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ?” Pray that the Lord reveals these people to you and that He places them in your life. Pray for fellow laborers, and seek to be united with them in one mind and one spirit (2.2).
The second foundation for Paul’s joy was his Beliefs that he had concerning the salvation of the believers of the church. These beliefs are found in verses 6-7, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” The beliefs that the Apostle Paul had of the church are: 1) Justification always leads to Glorification; and 2) The Church was fulfilling their duties in defending and confirming the gospel.
The first belief Paul shares with the believers of the church is that Justification always leads to Glorification. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” This is a dominant theme in his epistles and this belief is found in such places as Romans 8:30 “…and those whom he justified he also glorified,” and in Ephesians 1”13-14, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.”
There are a couple of theological terms which we need to discuss before continuing: The first term is justification. I would define this ‘event’ as “the removal of sin in a person’s life by imputation of Christ’s righteousness.” This means that God declares that person “RIGHTEOUS!”
The second term is glorification. I would like to define this term by quoting Philippians 3:21, “[Christ] will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” Glorification is the final process of salvation in the believer’s life. As Christians, we will one day be given a perfect (sinless, deathless, painless) life, body, soul, and spirit. And we will spend eternity in that perfection with our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The point we need to understand is that the one (justification) always leads to the other (glorification). This is good news for us as believers because we have the surety (boldness and confidence) that we have eternal life. Those of us who fear that because of a sin which we have committed we can no longer be loved by God, or that because of our faithlessness we feel that we might have lost our salvation (1Timothy 2:13). We need not trust our feelings; rather, we need to trust the Word of God.
Now, please pay attention! I do not say this so that you may sin recklessly. If you are saved, you have been called to righteousness; not sin! I only hope that this gives you boldness in your faith as well as confidence in the faith of others whom you love. If I have a family member who has been justified by God and in the midst of spiritual warfare he has fallen into sin, that does not mean that God had undeclared him. That is not scriptural! However, we cannot think that by the grace of a RIGHTEOUS GOD we have a license for unrighteousness. That is equally unscriptural! Ephesians 2:10 says that God has prepared good works for us to walk in. This should be the goal for the Christian life - walk in those good works and in so doing – Glorifying God! That is why Paul had “joyfulness in the midst of adversity” – because he walked in the good works of God’s grace and he saw the Philippian church doing the same.
The second belief that Paul had shared with the church is The Church was fulfilling their duties in defending and confirming the gospel. “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” Let me take a moment and define the terms defending and confirming.
The Greek word for defending is apologia. This is where we get our word for apologetics, which is “the defense for our belief.” I believe that we defend the gospel of Jesus Christ by using the Word of God. For instance: In the first chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews, the author was teaching his audience the “supremacy of Christ over angels.” He defends his view by using seven quotes from the Scriptures.
Now please note that in order for us to defend the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to know the gospel – as well as all other scripture. It is vitally important that we study God’s Word!
The Greek word for confirming this is bebaiōsei. Its original meaning was “to make stable.” And by the power of the Holy Spirit we remain stable throughout trials and temptations. We confirm the gospel by our actions as we remain strong, stable and joyful throughout our circumstances.
The power of the Holy Spirit as seen through the actions of Paul was his confirmation that the gospel he believed in and lived according to was from God.
Remember: defending – by words; confirming – by actions.
The third and final foundation of Paul’s joy was his Communication and Prayer that he had with the church. And these are: 1) His statements are testified by God as true; and 2) his prayer for them is ‘growth spiritually’. We see these in verses 8-11, “For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
I love the boldness of Paul in his statement, “God is my witness.” My prayer is that every thought we think, every word we say, and every action we perform can be witnessed and signed by God as ‘well done faithful workers’.
Another area that Paul displayed boldness in was his prayers for the churches – especially the churches of Ephesus, Colossi, and of course, Philippi. I know that if one of my brothers or sisters asks for me to intercede for them in a certain area of their life, whether it would be for healing or for financial relief, I will immediately pray that God would answer according to the physical or tangible need. However, this is not the way that Paul would pray. He would pray that God would reveal Himself to that person in a greater and deeper way and that He would use that opportunity and experience to draw that person to Himself, in order that person would grow spiritually. Paul knew how to pray!
In Paul’s prayer for the Philippian church he prays for four areas of growth in their life; 1) growth in love; 2) growth in knowledge and discernment; 3) growth in holiness; and 4) growth in fruit production.
The first area which Paul prays for growth in the believer’s spiritual life is growth in love.
When a believer learns to love others as Christ loves them that person displays the very nature of Christ. We discussed earlier about our need to confirm the gospel by our actions, and there is no greater action than that of love.
The second area of growth which Paul prays for is growth in knowledge and discernment. And again, as we discussed earlier, we have a need to defend the faith – and the gospel – by the use of God’s Word. And in order to do that, we need to have a knowledge and an understanding of what the gospel is. Paul’s prayer was that their love may abound (more and more) along with their knowledge in order that they might learn to approve that which is Christ like.
The third area in which Paul prays for is growth in holiness. There is another term, which goes along with justification and glorification that I would now like to discuss, and that term is sanctification. If justification is the initiation of our salvation and glorification is the completion of our salvation, sanctification would, more or less, be the journey of our salvation. It would be proper to say that growth in holiness equals growth in sanctification. And as we progress in sanctification, we progressively display more and more of the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives. Sanctification is another key theme in all Paul’s epistles (along with all Scripture).
The fourth and final area of growth in which Paul intercedes for the church is growth in fruit production. Let’s go over a few verses in which I’m sure most of us are aware of : Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.” Now, the more we produce these fruits in our lives, the more glory we bring to Christ. And one of the motivating factors for me to produce godly fruit is the hope which I have that one day I might receive – from my Lord Jesus Christ – the saying, “well done my good and faithful servant!” And I pray that this is or will become the motivating factor in your determination to bear fruit for the glory of Christ.
In conclusion, Paul longed for each Philippian Church member to grow in the joy of Christ, as he had done so, in the midst of adversity and wickedness. His words display the very essence of what it means to have joy at all times throughout this very temporary life. We should cherish the teachings he longed for us to learn through these verses and use them to bring glory to Christ.
Have you experienced this same joy of salvation which Paul had? Please allow me to share with you the heart of the gospel. As humans we all have a nature to do wrong, and all of us have acted upon that very nature. The Bible calls it sin, and it says that we are all guilty of sin, and that sin separates us from a God who loves us and created us for a special purpose. The Bible also says that sin causes death; this means a physical death as well as a spiritual death. When we stand before a perfect, righteous, and just God on the Day of Judgment, and have died with that sin in our lives, we will receive a punishment of separation from God for all eternity in a place called hell.
However, God has provided a way so that no man may come to that fate on that Day. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world. Jesus lived a perfect life (one without sin) and was crucified upon a cross. When He died at that cross, he removed every sin from every person who would put their trust in Him (and those who put their trust in Him would become children of God.) Have you placed your trust and life in Christ and made Him your Savior and your Lord? If not, it is my belief that He is knocking at your heart’s door right now Answer it, invite Him in your life and experience the joy of salvation.
I want to thank Bobby G. for teaching this month. I hope it blessed you as Bobby blesses my walk behind the walls.
Saints…find your calling in Christ. “Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my past”. Psalm 119:105
The first step in knowing our calling is to get to know God intimately through His Word and let Him guide us through it in everything. “God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for learning the literature and science of the time.” Daniel 1:17
God has given each of us special aptitudes and abilities. These help us to see the kinds of things that we should be doing. My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus.
As for me:
Baseball is going well. It looks like the team is going to make the play-offs. We have had fun for the most part.
Work: still slow for me. I need a lot of prayer in this area as I trust our Lord to guide my path and supply the need of P.B.M. and myself. Jesus is once again working out in me the love of the world. We who are douloses need to rely daily on the Lord. He is my daily bread. I need to use this time to study and serve His people with joy, without the grumbling. I need to remember that no man can take my bunk and the chow hall is going no where. I sent myself to prison and He has chosen to use me to serve the saints, not to work a worldly job, but to be set apart for Him.
Now, may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all.
“The most dangerous thing is our dream of what the church should be, because this keeps us from loving the church as it is.” ___Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We who serve the body of Christ get to see the Saints at their best and worst. At times, loving on them is an act of will instead of a lifestyle. How easy this walk would be if only the church was exactly what I think it should be: If my fellow believers were more lovable all of the time; if they were only more like me; listen to the teachings I listen to; read the Book I read, and see this Christian walk just as I see it. I will ask you to overlook my little sins and short comings, but please forgive me as I judge yours as if you lost your salvation or never had it in the first place. As I have told you before, you can always see where I am by reading Phish Bowl. This time, I’m going to give you a heads up: I’m diving deep into the book of Acts. I want to know what the church is supposed to look like, not by some group of believers or by some book with the ABCs of a good church. Dr. Luke set out in a two volume set (the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the apostles) to set down the foundation of what Christ did and what He will do with His church through the Holy Spirit.
Now the good news: I’m not going to dump a truck load of facts that will over feed you. Every commentary has an introduction and over the last month I have read a lot of them. Some have been as short as 5 pages and others, as long as one hundred plus pages. Besides reading a lot of back ground stuff, I have only gotten to Acts 1:14. I am not ready to give you a complete study of this yet, but I will tell you this: we are going to spend a lot of time in this book. I am not talking one or two teachings. I’m thinking of over a year in this book! Let me wet your whistle!
The Book of Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. The book of Acts is remarkable in many ways. It is a bridge between all of the Gospels and the Epistles. The last recorded fact about Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew is the Resurrection, which is recorded in Acts 1. In the Gospel of Mark, the last recorded act of Jesus is the Ascension, which is also recorded in Acts 1. In the Gospel of Luke, the last recoded fact is the promise of the Holy Spirit. That is also in Acts 1. In the Gospel of John, the last recorded fact is the second coming of Christ. You guessed it---that is also in Acts 1. It is as if the four Gospels had been poured into a funnel, and they all come down into this jug of the first chapter of the Book of Acts. Also, the great missionary commission, which appears in all four Gospels, is confirmed in the Book of Acts.
The Book of Acts records the beginning of the Church, the birth of the Church. The book of Genesis records the origin of the physical universe. Acts records the origin of the spiritual body which we call “the Church”. OK, I’m going to stop there and we are going to pick up in Acts 1:1-2:28 next month.
I am grateful to our Lord that He has blessed brothers who also desire to know Jesus deeper. We are called to dive into His Word and serve His church behind the wall. We know that the walk He has called us to is a call to die to self daily. In past Phish Bowls, we have been blessed by some of their teachings and this month, Brother Bobby G. has helped me out by sharing his teaching of Philippians 1:3-11. As I study and we get ready for Acts, please enjoy this work of love.
The Foundations for Paul’s Joy
An expositive look at Philippians 1:3-11
As I was studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I noticed that “joyfulness through adversity” was the predominant theme throughout this epistle. And after studying the apostle’s experience at Philippi, I couldn’t help but see the great worth and significance of this attitude of joyfulness, and after studying this epistle, it is evident that joyfulness belongs in the very heart of adversity.
In Acts 16, we see that Paul, while at the Port of Troas, received a vision from God. And in his vision, he saw a man asking for help in Macedonia. As Paul and his traveling companion, Silas, entered Macedonia and stayed in its leading city, which is Philippi.
While both Paul and Silas were preaching the gospel in the streets of Philippi, they encountered a slave girl possessed by a demon of divination. This girl would use her ‘power’ to tell people certain events that would happen in their future (much like the astrology section in a newspaper). Well, in doing so, she made her owners a lot of money.
It so happened, as Paul and Silas were preaching, this slave girl would follow them and would mock them by telling the people that these men were servants of the Most High God and had come to teach the people the way of salvation. After a few days of this, Paul, being fed up with her mockery, turned toward her and said to the demon, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, come out of her.” And Scripture says that it came out that very hour.
The owners of this slave girl saw what had happened to her and that this method of making money had now come to an end. So they riled up the crowd and forced Paul and Silas to the center of the city and had them stand before the rulers and the magistrates. The owners told the magistrates that Paul and Silas were disturbing the city as well as advocating them to accept and practice manners and customs that Romans could not perform. After this, the rulers had Paul and Silas stripped and beaten with rods. Then they were taken to prison without having received treatment for their wounds.
Just as a side note: this punishment is mentioned in two of Paul’s letters. Chronologically, the first was written in 1 Thessalonians 2:1, “But though we had already suffered and were shamefully treated at Philippi…,” and the second was written in 2 Corinthians 11:23-25, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one- I am talking like a madman-with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned.”
After studying Acts 16 and taking those understandings to my study of Philippians 1:3-11, such words as “thanks”, “joy”, “partnership”, “affection”, and “grace” really stood out in this passage. I couldn’t help but notice the love and the commitments that Paul had for his Christian brothers and sisters at Philippi. And as I was studying the passage I noticed three foundations for Paul’s joy. The first was his Attitudes about the church (vv. 3-5); the second was his Beliefs concerning the church (vv. 6-7); and the third was his Communication and Prayer with the church (vv 8-11).
The first foundation of Paul’s joy was his Attitude that he had about the church. As I studied verses 3-5, I found three different attitudes that he displayed throughout these three verses: thankfulness, joyfulness, and honor. Let’s first read this passage and then discuss these attitudes which had become a blessing to Paul in his ministry: I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
The first attitude he mentions is thankfulness, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.” The question I have for you as a believer is, “how can anyone feel thankful during times of affliction, persecution or suffering?” My answer is this: In verse one, we see that Paul is a servant (gr. Doulos- bondservant or slave) of Christ; he is also an apostle (a messenger or an ambassador) of Christ and His teachings. Paul taught that which he learned from Christ. So it is my guess that Paul learned either from Christ or second hand, the teachings that are known as the beatitudes. Let’s go over the last two: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt. 5:10-11) Paul understood an important concept when it came to “joyfulness in the midst of adversity,” and that concept is this: earthly sufferings earn heavenly blessings. Repeat that statement over and over! This is a must for us as Christians; that we engrave this concept in the front of our minds and in the front of our hearts.
The second attitude we see that Paul had concerning the church is joyfulness, “always and in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.” Now I don’t want you to think that Paul faced only adversity in Philippi. There were some great moments of spiritual victory during this portion of Paul’s ministry. For instance, after being stripped and beaten, Paul and Silas were then put in prison, and as they were singing hymns and praising God, there was an earthquake. Immediately, the jailer passed out and the doors of the jail were opened. When the jailer had finally come to his senses, he saw that the doors were opened and thought that the prisoners had escaped, so he drew out his sword to kill himself, and as he did, he heard a voice in the background say, “we’re still here!” Once the jailer saw that Paul and Silas were still in their cell, having marveled at their integrity, he asked them, “What must I do to be saved?” And the Scriptures say that the jailer and his whole household believed and were baptized. Paul must have remembered these events and he took joy in how the Lord worked in him and through him.
The third attitude Paul displayed in these three verses was an attitude of honor, “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Paul felt honored that they were his partners in the gospel. That word for partnership (gr. Koinonia) is the same word that we use for fellowship. Paul’s thought of what fellowship should consist of was that it be used to strengthen the believer as well as train him how to use the Scriptures to lead others to the gospel and to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. That is what partnership in the kingdom of God is. These people were his partners as well as his brothers and sisters. These people were his eternal family. The Philippian church members were the people he was proud to have as his family. So the question to be asked is, “who is my true family?” “Who are those people with whom I need to participate in order to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ?” Pray that the Lord reveals these people to you and that He places them in your life. Pray for fellow laborers, and seek to be united with them in one mind and one spirit (2.2).
The second foundation for Paul’s joy was his Beliefs that he had concerning the salvation of the believers of the church. These beliefs are found in verses 6-7, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” The beliefs that the Apostle Paul had of the church are: 1) Justification always leads to Glorification; and 2) The Church was fulfilling their duties in defending and confirming the gospel.
The first belief Paul shares with the believers of the church is that Justification always leads to Glorification. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” This is a dominant theme in his epistles and this belief is found in such places as Romans 8:30 “…and those whom he justified he also glorified,” and in Ephesians 1”13-14, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.”
There are a couple of theological terms which we need to discuss before continuing: The first term is justification. I would define this ‘event’ as “the removal of sin in a person’s life by imputation of Christ’s righteousness.” This means that God declares that person “RIGHTEOUS!”
The second term is glorification. I would like to define this term by quoting Philippians 3:21, “[Christ] will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” Glorification is the final process of salvation in the believer’s life. As Christians, we will one day be given a perfect (sinless, deathless, painless) life, body, soul, and spirit. And we will spend eternity in that perfection with our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The point we need to understand is that the one (justification) always leads to the other (glorification). This is good news for us as believers because we have the surety (boldness and confidence) that we have eternal life. Those of us who fear that because of a sin which we have committed we can no longer be loved by God, or that because of our faithlessness we feel that we might have lost our salvation (1Timothy 2:13). We need not trust our feelings; rather, we need to trust the Word of God.
Now, please pay attention! I do not say this so that you may sin recklessly. If you are saved, you have been called to righteousness; not sin! I only hope that this gives you boldness in your faith as well as confidence in the faith of others whom you love. If I have a family member who has been justified by God and in the midst of spiritual warfare he has fallen into sin, that does not mean that God had undeclared him. That is not scriptural! However, we cannot think that by the grace of a RIGHTEOUS GOD we have a license for unrighteousness. That is equally unscriptural! Ephesians 2:10 says that God has prepared good works for us to walk in. This should be the goal for the Christian life - walk in those good works and in so doing – Glorifying God! That is why Paul had “joyfulness in the midst of adversity” – because he walked in the good works of God’s grace and he saw the Philippian church doing the same.
The second belief that Paul had shared with the church is The Church was fulfilling their duties in defending and confirming the gospel. “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” Let me take a moment and define the terms defending and confirming.
The Greek word for defending is apologia. This is where we get our word for apologetics, which is “the defense for our belief.” I believe that we defend the gospel of Jesus Christ by using the Word of God. For instance: In the first chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews, the author was teaching his audience the “supremacy of Christ over angels.” He defends his view by using seven quotes from the Scriptures.
Now please note that in order for us to defend the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to know the gospel – as well as all other scripture. It is vitally important that we study God’s Word!
The Greek word for confirming this is bebaiōsei. Its original meaning was “to make stable.” And by the power of the Holy Spirit we remain stable throughout trials and temptations. We confirm the gospel by our actions as we remain strong, stable and joyful throughout our circumstances.
The power of the Holy Spirit as seen through the actions of Paul was his confirmation that the gospel he believed in and lived according to was from God.
Remember: defending – by words; confirming – by actions.
The third and final foundation of Paul’s joy was his Communication and Prayer that he had with the church. And these are: 1) His statements are testified by God as true; and 2) his prayer for them is ‘growth spiritually’. We see these in verses 8-11, “For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
I love the boldness of Paul in his statement, “God is my witness.” My prayer is that every thought we think, every word we say, and every action we perform can be witnessed and signed by God as ‘well done faithful workers’.
Another area that Paul displayed boldness in was his prayers for the churches – especially the churches of Ephesus, Colossi, and of course, Philippi. I know that if one of my brothers or sisters asks for me to intercede for them in a certain area of their life, whether it would be for healing or for financial relief, I will immediately pray that God would answer according to the physical or tangible need. However, this is not the way that Paul would pray. He would pray that God would reveal Himself to that person in a greater and deeper way and that He would use that opportunity and experience to draw that person to Himself, in order that person would grow spiritually. Paul knew how to pray!
In Paul’s prayer for the Philippian church he prays for four areas of growth in their life; 1) growth in love; 2) growth in knowledge and discernment; 3) growth in holiness; and 4) growth in fruit production.
The first area which Paul prays for growth in the believer’s spiritual life is growth in love.
When a believer learns to love others as Christ loves them that person displays the very nature of Christ. We discussed earlier about our need to confirm the gospel by our actions, and there is no greater action than that of love.
The second area of growth which Paul prays for is growth in knowledge and discernment. And again, as we discussed earlier, we have a need to defend the faith – and the gospel – by the use of God’s Word. And in order to do that, we need to have a knowledge and an understanding of what the gospel is. Paul’s prayer was that their love may abound (more and more) along with their knowledge in order that they might learn to approve that which is Christ like.
The third area in which Paul prays for is growth in holiness. There is another term, which goes along with justification and glorification that I would now like to discuss, and that term is sanctification. If justification is the initiation of our salvation and glorification is the completion of our salvation, sanctification would, more or less, be the journey of our salvation. It would be proper to say that growth in holiness equals growth in sanctification. And as we progress in sanctification, we progressively display more and more of the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives. Sanctification is another key theme in all Paul’s epistles (along with all Scripture).
The fourth and final area of growth in which Paul intercedes for the church is growth in fruit production. Let’s go over a few verses in which I’m sure most of us are aware of : Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.” Now, the more we produce these fruits in our lives, the more glory we bring to Christ. And one of the motivating factors for me to produce godly fruit is the hope which I have that one day I might receive – from my Lord Jesus Christ – the saying, “well done my good and faithful servant!” And I pray that this is or will become the motivating factor in your determination to bear fruit for the glory of Christ.
In conclusion, Paul longed for each Philippian Church member to grow in the joy of Christ, as he had done so, in the midst of adversity and wickedness. His words display the very essence of what it means to have joy at all times throughout this very temporary life. We should cherish the teachings he longed for us to learn through these verses and use them to bring glory to Christ.
Have you experienced this same joy of salvation which Paul had? Please allow me to share with you the heart of the gospel. As humans we all have a nature to do wrong, and all of us have acted upon that very nature. The Bible calls it sin, and it says that we are all guilty of sin, and that sin separates us from a God who loves us and created us for a special purpose. The Bible also says that sin causes death; this means a physical death as well as a spiritual death. When we stand before a perfect, righteous, and just God on the Day of Judgment, and have died with that sin in our lives, we will receive a punishment of separation from God for all eternity in a place called hell.
However, God has provided a way so that no man may come to that fate on that Day. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world. Jesus lived a perfect life (one without sin) and was crucified upon a cross. When He died at that cross, he removed every sin from every person who would put their trust in Him (and those who put their trust in Him would become children of God.) Have you placed your trust and life in Christ and made Him your Savior and your Lord? If not, it is my belief that He is knocking at your heart’s door right now Answer it, invite Him in your life and experience the joy of salvation.
I want to thank Bobby G. for teaching this month. I hope it blessed you as Bobby blesses my walk behind the walls.
Saints…find your calling in Christ. “Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my past”. Psalm 119:105
The first step in knowing our calling is to get to know God intimately through His Word and let Him guide us through it in everything. “God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for learning the literature and science of the time.” Daniel 1:17
God has given each of us special aptitudes and abilities. These help us to see the kinds of things that we should be doing. My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus.
As for me:
Baseball is going well. It looks like the team is going to make the play-offs. We have had fun for the most part.
Work: still slow for me. I need a lot of prayer in this area as I trust our Lord to guide my path and supply the need of P.B.M. and myself. Jesus is once again working out in me the love of the world. We who are douloses need to rely daily on the Lord. He is my daily bread. I need to use this time to study and serve His people with joy, without the grumbling. I need to remember that no man can take my bunk and the chow hall is going no where. I sent myself to prison and He has chosen to use me to serve the saints, not to work a worldly job, but to be set apart for Him.
Now, may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all.
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