Introduction
We’re starting a new series of sermons today on Paul’s letter to the Philippians. And this book is often a favourite among God’s people, because it contains many of their favourite verses.
In today’s passage, there’s verse 6 where Paul writes that he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Christians like that verse because it re-assures us that our salvation is safe and secure, because God will continue to work in us and to keep us to the end. Then there’s verse 21 where Paul says that for him, to live is Christ and to die is gain. And so, he teaches believers that we can face death with confidence, because death is not the end, but it’s the beginning of the life to come with God our Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour. Death is not a loss, but a gain.
And then there’s the marvellous hymn about Christ in chapter 2:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
And right after that hymn of praise to Christ, there’s verses 12 and 13 which teach us that we’re to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, because it is God who works in us to will and to act according to his good purpose. God is at work in us to make us more and more willing and able to do his will here on earth.
And there’s verse 8 of chapter 3 where Paul says that he considers everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. All the things that an unbelieving world boasts in are nothing compared to the privilege of knowing Christ. And then there’s verse 12 where Paul says he presses on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me. And Paul continues to say in verse 14 that he presses on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called him heavenwards in Christ Jesus. God has called us heavenwards. That’s where he is; and he’s calling us to join him there; and he has sent Christ to take hold of us and to bring us there. And so, according to verse 20 of chapter 3, our citizenship is in heaven. That’s where we now belong and our life on earth is to reflect the glory of heaven above. And we eagerly await our Saviour to come from there; and when he comes — we’re told in verse 21 — he will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. And so, we should stand firm in the Lord.
And how often have we read the words of verse 4 of chapter 4 where Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always? And he says it again: Rejoice! And how often have we read the words of verse 6 of chapter 4 where he tells us not to be anxious about anything, but in everything — by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving — present your requests to God? And God’s peace — which transcends all understanding — will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And how often have we reminded ourselves that we’re to think about whatever is true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable and excellent and praiseworthy. And there’s verse 12 of chapter 4 where Paul tells us that he has learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. He can do everything through him who gives him strength.
Many of our favourite verses are found in this short letter. And so, we can look forward to studying these things — with God’s help — in the coming weeks.
Acts 16
The background to this letter is found in Acts 16. That’s where Luke tells us that Paul and his companions travelled around the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the Roman province of Asia. Then, when they tried to enter the province of Bithynia, the Holy Spirit once again prevented them from doing so. So they passed by the region of Mysia and came to the seaport of Troas. And while they were there, Paul had a vision of a man in Macedonia, who begged them to come and help them. Macedonia was just across the Aegean Sea from Troas. And Luke tells us that Paul regarded the vision as a word from the Lord and that God was calling them to preach the gospel to the people in Macedonia. And so, that’s where they headed for next. And going across the Aegean Sea to Macedonia meant that they were entering Europe. The gospel was being brought here for the very first time. And Paul and his companions ended up in Philippi, which was a Roman colony and the leading city of that district.
And Luke tells us how they went down to a river outside the city on the Sabbath Day, where they expected to find a place of prayer. Paul’s usual habit when he arrived in a city was to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day to preach the gospel to the Jews who had gathered for worship. That’s what Paul usually did. But it appears that there wasn’t a Jewish synagogue in Philippi. There needed to be at least ten Jewish men to form a synagogue. And when there weren’t enough men to form a synagogue, whatever Jews there were in a city would meet for worship near a river. So, when Paul and his companions went outside the city to the river, they were looking for the outdoor, make-do, synagogue.
And it turned out there was a group of women there. And Paul preached the gospel to them. And we’re told that there was a woman named Lydia; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. Isn’t that an interesting way to put it? Our sinful hearts are — by nature — closed to the gospel. Our sinful hearts are hard and the good news cannot penetrate unless God sends his Spirit to open our hearts to the message. And so, if you’re a believer today, you owe it to God, who sent you someone to tell you the good news; and who sent his Spirit to open your heart so that you could believe. And Luke tells us that Lydia and the members of her household were baptised. She and the members of her household became the first members of the first church in Philippi.
And then Luke tells us about a slave girl, who began to follow them and to shout about them. She had an evil spirit in her and the evil spirit enabled her to predict the future. And her owners made a great deal of money from her ability as a fortune-teller. But the way she followed Paul and his companions and shouted about them began to bother Paul. And so, he turned to her and — in the name of the Lord — he commanded the evil spirit to come out of her. And right at that moment, the spirit left her. Luke doesn’t tell us whether the woman was converted to faith in Christ. However, the fact that her story comes immediately after the story of Lydia’s conversion suggests that she too became a believer and a member of the new church in Philippi.
However, the slave girl’s owners were not pleased at what had happened, because the girl could no longer earn any money for them. And so, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place to accuse them before the authorities of being trouble-makers. And the magistrates gave orders for Paul and Silas to be stripped and beaten and flogged and thrown into prison. And the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
And that night, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. And suddenly there was an earthquake, which shook the jail. The cell doors fell open and their chains became loose. When the jailer saw the open doors, he assumed his prisoners had escaped. He was therefore going to kill himself, rather than face the wrath of the magistrates. But Paul shouted out to him that they were still there.
The jailer was still frightened. And he asked Paul and Silas what he had to do to be saved. And they replied that he needed to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in him and you will be saved — you and your household. And Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him; and that very night, he and his household were baptised. And the jailer washed Paul and Silas’s wounds and brought them into his house and set a meal before them. And the next day, Paul and Silas were released. And there were more members for the new church in Philippi.
And about ten years later, Paul was being held as a prioner by the Romans. It’s likely this was his imprisonment in Rome which we read about at the end of the book of Acts. However, some of the commentators think he’s perhaps being imprisoned in Ephesus or Casesarea or Corinth. In any case, wherever he was being held, the members of the church in Philippi sent to him one of their members — a man named Epaphroditus — to take care of Paul’s needs and to bring Paul a gift of money from the congregation. And, having received their gift, Paul wrote to the church in Philippi to give thanks to them and to send them a message filled with words of comfort and encouragement and rebuke and exhortation and teaching. And his letter to them, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has been kept for us and for believers in every generation. And we can look forward to studying it together because this is God’s word to us today.
Verses 1 and 2
The opening eleven verses can be divided into three parts. There’s the opening greeting in verses 1 and 2. Then Paul gives thanks to God for them in verses 3 to 8. And in verses 9 to 11 he records his prayer for them.
The opening greeting is similar to the greetings we find in Paul’s other letters. However, you’ll notice that he includes Timothy in the greeting; and he refers to Timothy and himself as servants of Christ Jesus. The word he uses — which is translated ‘servants’ by most English translations — should really be translated ‘slaves’. King Charles and the members of the Royal Family and other wealthy people have servants. Their servants are employees with all the rights of other employees; and they can resign at any time and take up another career. But slaves in ancient times had no rights. Slaves had to do whatever their master wanted. Their job was to do their master’s will and to carry out their master’s plan.
And that’s how Paul and Timothy regarded themselves: slaves of Christ. They were not lords and masters, but servants and slaves and their calling in life was to do their master’s will. And so, it speaks to us of their devotion to the Lord Jesus. But it also speaks to us of their humility. They were ones who served.
And this is reinforced by the fact that Paul does not refer to himself as an apostle, which is how he normally referred to himself in his letters. He would normally refer to himself as an apostle in order to remind his readers of why they ought to listen to him. They ought to listen to him because he’d been set apart by Christ to be an apostle. But in this letter, he does not call himself an apostle, but a slave. He is humbling himself.
And this is not the only place where he stresses humility. In chapter 2 we have Paul’s hymn of praise to the Lord Jesus. And what did he say about the Lord Jesus? Though he is the Son of God — and therefore equal to the Father — he made himself nothing and took the very nature of a slave.
And so, Paul highlights Christ’s humility; and he highlights his own humility. He’s not a lord and master, but a servant and slave. And the reason he emphasises humility is because it’s clear from what he says in the letter that there were some in the church who were complaining and arguing with one another. And he mentions Euodia and Syntyche near the end and how they needed to agree with one another in the Lord. And in chapter 2 he commanded his readers not to do anything from selfish ambition and vain conceit, but to be humble and to consider others better than yourselves. Paul is saying to them that they need to be humble towards one another, instead of lording it over one another. They need to follow his own example of humble service to Christ. And they need to follow Christ’s example of humble service to his Father in heaven. We’re not to be proud and argue with one another. We’re to be humble towards one another.
And then, in the second part of verse 1 Paul addresses his letter to the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi together with the overseers and deacons. When we hear the word ‘saint’ we sometimes think of significant leaders in the church. So, there’s St Peter and St Paul from Bible times and St Patrick and St George from later times. Or if someone does something kind for us, we might say, ‘You’re a saint.’ And so, we describe good people as being saintly. However, when Paul refers to saints, he’s simply referring to believers. Every believer is a saint, because the Greek word translated ‘saint’ can also be translated ‘holy’ or ‘holy ones’. And the word holy simply means ‘set apart’. Something or someone who is holy has been set apart.
And believers have been set apart by God to belong to him. So, think of the whole population of the world: everyone who has every existed. And God has set apart some of the whole population of the world to belong to him. That is, he has graciously and freely chosen them and he wants them to be with him forever and forever in the new heaven and earth. And having chosen them, he calls them through the preaching of the gospel; and he opens their hearts to respond to the message and to believe in the Saviour. And by choosing them and by calling them and by enabling them to believe, God sets them apart from the rest who do not believe. And then, he fills them with his Spirit to make them more and more holy. That is to say, he fills them with his Spirit to make them more and more willing and able to obey God.
So, a saint is a believer. The word overseer is just another word for an elder. And the deacons are what we call the members of the Congregational Committee. And so, Paul addresses this letter to the believers at Philippi together with the members of the Kirk Session and Committee. He’s addressing the whole church: the lay people and the leaders. And the reason he addresses the whole church like this may have something to do with the trouble in the church and the way people were complaining and arguing. But the whole church should not be divided, but united.
And as Paul normally does, he pronounces a blessing on his readers: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is God’s kindness towards sinners. And God’s kindness towards sinners leads to peace. And when Paul refers to peace, he’s probably thinking of the Old Testament word for peace: shalom. And shalom conveys the idea not only of peace, but of a sense of well-being and contentment and rest. Because of God’s grace, because of his kindness to us in Christ Jesus, all is well and we don’t need to anxious or afraid. And so, Paul wants his readers to experience God’s gracious help in their lives and to possess that sense of deep-down contentment and peace which comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verses 3 to 8
After Paul’s greeting, he gives thanks to God for the believers in Philippi. He says in verse 3 that he thanks his God every time he remembers them. And in all his prayers for all of them, he always prays with joy.
And why does he give thanks to God for them and pray for them with joy? He gives two reasons. And the first reason for his joyful thanksgiving was because of their partnership in the gospel. So, take a look at verse 5 where he mentions their partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
The word translated ‘partnership’ can also be translated ‘fellowship’ or ‘communion’. Think back to what I said a couple of weeks ago about the communion of saints, which refers to the way believers are united to one another under Christ; and are called to share in each other’s gifts and graces and we’re to help one another in practical ways.
And when Paul refers to their partnership with him, or their sharing with him, in the gospel, he’s referring to all the ways they have supported him in his gospel ministry from the time he first preached the gospel in Philippi right up to the present time.
Take a look at verse 15 of chapter 4 where he mentions how, in the early days of their acquaintance with the gospel, when Paul set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with him in the matter of giving and receiving except for them only. So, they began to support him right from the beginning of their acquaintance with the gospel.
And then in verse 18 of chapter 4 he mentions the gifts he received from Epaphroditus. So, Epaphroditus had come to Paul with gifts from them.
And if you look now at verse 7 of chapter 1, he says that it’s right for him to feel joyful thankfulness for them, because they have shared in God’s grace with Paul whether he was in chains or whether he was defending and confirming the gospel. When he refers to how they share in God’s grace with him, he could be saying that they have all experienced God’s gracious salvation. But it’s more likely that he’s again referring to their practical support for his ministry: God had graciously called him to this work; and they are supporting him in it. And they supported him, not only in those times when he was out and about and preaching the gospel, defending and confirming it, but they also supported him in those days when he was in chains and in prison. They supported him through good days and through bad days.
None of them were apostles. None of them had been called to go from place to place to preach the gospel, as Paul had been called. But they could be Paul’s partners by supporting him and his work with their money.
And whenever we send money to help missionaries and others who preach the gospel, we are partnering with them. God may not have called us to go, but we can support those who have been called by providing them with the finances they need to fulfil their calling. Just as the believers in Philippi shared what they had so that Paul could continue his work, so we can share what we have with missionaries and others who preach the gospel so that their work can continue.
So, the first reason for his joyful thanksgiving was because of their partnership in the gospel. The second reason for his joyful thanksgiving was because he was confident that God would complete the good work he began in them. God is not like us. We often begin a good work with enthusiasm, but our enthusiasm wanes over time. Someone is all set to get fit and they go running every night for a week or two. And then they stop. Someone sets out to decorate a room, and they start to prepare the room by removing the old wallpaper and sanding the old paint. But it’s all too much effort and they stop. Someone is going to learn a new language and they get the details from the college and even register for a class. But then they stop. We start things all the time and we stop them without finishing. But God is not like us. When he starts a job, he finishes it.
In the beginning, he began to create the world and he did not stop until it was finished. And when he begins to work in his people, he does not stop until the work is finished. God began his good work in the believers in Philippi when he sent Paul to preach to them and when he opened their hearts to respond to the message and when he enabled them to believe. He began his good work in them. And he will continue to work in them until the day when Christ returns to earth in glory and with power and they are glorified in God’s presence.
And God will do this for all of his people. He enables his people to repent and believe. And then he continues to work in their lives to renew them in his image and to make them more and more willing and able to do his will here on earth. And though the work will not be finished in this life, God will bring the work to completion when Christ returns and we’re made perfect in body and soul and are brought into God’s presence to be with him forever.
What God begins in us, he brings to completion. And that means our salvation is safe and secure, because it does not depend on us, but on him. If it depended on us, and on our effort and determination and zeal and commitment, then there would be no hope for us, because our effort and determination and zeal and commitment go up and down. But our salvation does not depend on us, but on God, who is able to keep us to the end. And he uses the ordinary means of grace — the things we do here on Sundays — to strengthen our faith and to enable us to persevere in the faith. He works through these things to keep us. And he will continue to keep us and to work in us until Christ comes again.
And so, Paul gives thanks to God with joy, because the Philippians are supporting him and because he’s confident that God will continue to work in them until the work is complete.
Verses 9 to 11
I have to be brief now. In verses 9 to 11 Paul records his prayer for them. What is his prayer? That their love will abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Every husband loves his wife, but often his efforts to demonstrate his love go wrong, because he doesn’t know what his wife really wants or what pleases her. He buys her an apron, when what she really wanted was some flowers. He takes her to McDonalds, when she really wanted to go to a proper restaurant. Love without knowledge just gets you into trouble. And so, Paul prayed for the believers in Philippi that they would know how to love one another. That is to say, that they would know how God wants them to love one another. And so, that’s Paul’s prayer for them.
And he goes on to say that he prays that their love will abound in knowledge and insight, so that they will be able to discern what is best. He wants them to understand what really matters.
And he prays that their love will abound in knowledge and insight, so that they will be pure and blameless until the day of Christ and filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. What does being pure and blameless mean? What does it look like? It means loving one another. We are pure and blameless when we love one another the way that we should. And when we love one another, then we will produce the right kind of fruit. We’ll do the things which God wants his people to do. And the result of loving one another is glory and praise to God.
Conclusion
This is Paul’s prayer for the members of the church in Philippi. Though they demonstrated their love and support for Paul by sending him a gift, they nevertheless needed to learn how to love and support one another there in Philippi.
And Paul’s prayer for them shows us what’s important and what we should aim to do. We should aim to love one another, because this is God’s will for us. This is always his will for us. Nothing we do for God will count for anything, unless we love one another, just as Christ loved us and gave up his life for us. And even as we make this our aim, we can look to the Lord for the help we need, because we know that he who began a good work in us to make us like Christ will carry it on until the work is done.
Sermons and Stuff 