In this this letter, Paul is writing to a church in the city of Philippi. This is a group of people that Paul knew well because this was a church that Paul helped established through one of his missionary journeys through this area. Paul had strong relationships in this church. He had strong affections for this church and they had strong affections for him. And when Paul wrote this letter it had been about 10 years since he helped establish this church. And so there was about a decade of relationship between him and this church.
Sometimes we see in Paul’s letters to a local church that he writes to correct them or even lovingly rebuke them but in this letter he is simply writing to encourage them and spur them on to continue to live their lives for one purpose: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And one of the things that is important for us to understand as we enter into this book is the circumstances that Paul is in as he is writing. We are going to learn later on in this chapter that Paul is in jail or in house arrest. And the reason that is important is we get to see how Paul views his life even in light of these difficult circumstances.
Verses 1-2
As Paul writes to this church body in Philippi and to the leadership within this church, Paul immediately begins by speaking of His identity. He speaks of the role that defines Him and the relationship that defines Him. He immediately begins by speaking of what his life is all about. And not only His life but also his friend and ministry partner Timothy who was with Paul during this time.
Paul describes him and timothy as “servants of Christ Jesus.” Your translation might slaves or bond-servants.
When Paul says he is a servant of Jesus Christ, he is saying, ‘I belong to Christ. I hold no rights to my own life. My life belongs to Him. My purpose is about Him. My thoughts and words and energy and passion and hopes are about the person of Jesus Christ.
Paul is saying when you think about me don’t think about me. Think about the one I belong to.
We can become so used to New Testament writers using the phrase a servant of Christ, a slave of Christ (it just becomes intro words) we can lose sight of the significant statement that is being made. My life is not my own.
Verse 3-5
Here we begin to see the relationship Paul has with the people of this church. He is thankful to God for them. This isn’t a surface level gratitude but a deep-rooted gratitude. His memories of his relationship with these Christians in Philippi doesn’t just end in memories but it is connected to his prayer life. “Every time I remember you, I thank God for you.”
Here we get glimpse of Paul’s prayer life. It is a prayer life that is not simply focused on his own needs but a prayer life that is focused on how God is at work in other people’s lives and he finds joy in that. He finds joy in knowing that the power of Christ and the Gospel of Christ goes forth in other people.
That is how you know you have a Gospel-centered life when the works of the Gospel in other people’s life excites you. When it brings joy to you. If you want to fan the flame for the passion of the Gospel in your own life, spend time simply thinking about all the people in your life who are living out the work of the Gospel and thank God for them. Begin to develop a heart of gratitude because the Gospel is going forth.
In verse 5, Paul is thankful for their partnership in the Gospel. That is the root of his gratitude. Your translation may say because of your “participation” in the Gospel or your fellowship in the Gospel. I like how the New Living Translation translates these verses: “Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.”
Paul’s joyful prayers about the church in Philippi is rooted in the fact that this church has partnered with Him in seeing the Gospel of Christ proclaimed. From the first day this initial group of people had an outward mindset and as Paul went out, they went out with him in Spirit praying for him (as we see in chapter 1 verse 19), financially giving to him (as we see in chapter 4 verse 15) and then actively doing the work of proclaiming the Gospel which resulted in their suffering or persecution as Paul says in 1:29-30.
Charles Spurgeon said, “(Paul) longed to spread the Gospel; so did they. He was earnest to carry it to the regions beyond; so were they. If he preached, they would be there to encourage him. If he held special meetings, they were ready to help. If money was required, every man was ready according to his means, without pressing. Each one felt as earnest about the work as did his minister. They were enthusiastic for the furtherance of the gospel. They were heartily with him where he most valued their sympathy.”
Paul had an affection for this church and this church had an affection for him. It wasn’t simply because they liked each other relationally. But they had a special bond. A special partnership.
That word “partnership” in verse 5 comes from the Greek word “κοινονια” which simply means “to have something in common.” And the thing they had in common was the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is what brought them together. This is where their love grew out of. This is what grew their affection for each other. They had the common bond and fellowship in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The same should be with us. Our bond with each other shouldn’t just be a social bond. A relational bond. But it is a bond rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our unity in this body should be about the work and person of Jesus Christ. This thing that will keep us in partnership with each other as a church body, in fellowship with each other as a church body is our love for Christ and our committed to the Gospel of Christ.
One of the great verses on church unity is found at the end of Philippians 1 verse 27 in which Paul encourages this church “let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”
Their unity with each other and their partner with Paul was found in the fact that they were rooted in the Gospel.
May that always be true of us here as a local church. That our affection for each other, our joy with each other, our unity in each other is rooted in us living out the hope of the Gospel and proclaiming the hope of the Gospel.
Verse 6
This is one of the those verses that I often run to in my own life because it is one of the great statements of hope for us as Believers in Jesus Christ.
What God started in you, God will finish in you.
The work that God began in our moment of salvation, He will continue to the day that Christ returns. When God saved us from the penalty of sin, when He made us into new creations and gave us eternal life, His work was not a one time work. But He is continually at work in our lives like a potter shaping the wet clay that will soon become a beautiful pot. The potter doesn’t leave the unshaped and unfinished clay on the the potter’s wheel to dry out and crack but he works to bring it to completion. In the same way, God is at work in our lives. The theological word for this is sanctification.
Romans 8:29 tells us that God is in the process of conforming us into the image of His Son.
And this work that God is doing is a lifetime work. It will not be completed in this life. But it will be completed when we see Christ face to face. And Paul is using these words of encouragement to spur on the Philippians who are actively engaged in the work of the Gospel. And he is saying, ‘just as you have been involved in Gospel work from your first day until now, God has been at work in you from the first day until now. Be encouraged church of Philippi what you are doing is not from your own strength and wisdom. What is being accomplished in you and through you is not from your own ability. But it is God who is at work in you to conform you to the image of his son and to also accomplish His will and purposes through you.’
They may look at Paul being in prison and they may look at the suffering they are experiencing and wonder, ‘has the work of the Gospel been hindered, Has the work of the Gospel been stopped.’
I imagine for the Philippians that there were days that the work of the Gospel was discouraging work. They weren’t seeing any fruit. In fact, all they were seeing was persecution.
Maybe you experience the same thing. You have been sharing your faith with the same person for years and their heart will not respond. Or you have been praying that God would give you the opportunity to share the Gospel and seems like it comes slowly. And Paul is saying, ‘don’t give up!’ God is at work in you and God is working through you.
Verse 7-8
Listen to how Eugene Peterson gives a modern paraphrase of these verses: ‘It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!’
Paul is saying, ‘I am not just making up these feelings to make you feel good. I have seen the work of Christ in your life. I have seen you actively partner with me in the work of the Gospel. I have seen the fruit of the Gospel of Christ in your lives.
This is how you and I can encourage each other by not only praying for each other, and be thankful for each other as we partner in the work of the Gospel but we speak it in each others lives: Can I tell you how I see the Gospel of Christ being lived out in your life? That will spur us on. That will also unify us as a body as we are encouraged in the the work of the Gospel being accomplished in us and through us.
Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians is “I see you living out the Gospel, I see God working in your lives—keep going.” But Paul also understands that their ability to be a part of the work of the Gospel isn’t found in their own strength and power. Which is why Paul ends this section this way:
Verses 9-11
Paul is exhorting this church that as they continue in the work of the Gospel, as they partner with each other and as you partner with him, to not stop growing in your love for God and your love for others.
Why is Paul exhorting them to continue to grow in their love? Because their passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and their work in the Gospel of Jesus Christ comes out of their love for Jesus Christ. Not out of human strength and desire.
He is saying, ‘Do not stop growing in your love for God and one another because that is where your fellowship with God and your fellowship with each other is rooted.’
Sometimes we can become so focused on the task of the Gospel of the Christ or we become so focused on the work of the church or consumed in the activities of the church that we let begin to lose our love for Christ and lose our love for one another and when that happens we lose our heart and passion for the Gospel of Christ.
And we can move from a Gospel centered church to a church of activities. And our joy becomes not in that the Gospel is going forth but that our activity is being accomplished. This is where a church can become disunified. This is where a church can fall into division and conflict. When our love for Christ no longer becomes the thing that unites us; when the Gospel of Christ no longer becomes the thing that partners us, we simply become focused on our own agenda which will always lead to division.
We become religious people doing religious stuff no longer producing the fruit of the Gospel.
When we grow in love for Christ that is going to lead us to pursue knowledge of Christ and gives us ability to discern the will of Christ. And out of that love and knowledge and discernment, you are going to be able to know and live and approve the most excellent way—the way that God desires for you to live according to His will.
As we grow in our love for God we will grow in our love for each other and we develop the heart of God that others may know Him, we become Christ-centered, Gospel centered people.
And Paul says in verse 11 that a life committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the love of Christ results in spiritual fruit that is produced by Christ. Your life doesn’t have to be a façade in which we are saying outwardly. “I hope my life is about Christ when inwardly you are producing nothing.” But rather a life pursuing Christ and committed to the work of Christ will produce the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ.
May that be true of us.