Philippians 1(12–26)

Introduction

We began to study Paul’s letter to the Philippians last Sunday evening, when I reminded you of the background to the letter, which we find in Acts 16. During one of his missionary journeys, Paul received a vision of a man in Macedonia, calling him to come over to Macedonia to help them. Paul took this as a word from the Lord and he and his companions crossed the Aegean Sea and entered Europe for the first time. They travelled to Philippi, which was a Roman colony at the time and the leading city of the district. On the Sabbath, Paul found a group of women who had gathered by the river for prayer. Paul began to tell them the gospel; and the Lord opened the heart of Lydia to pay attention to the message and to believe in the Saviour. She and her household were baptised and became the first members of the first church in Philippi.

Paul then cast out an evil spirit from a slave girl who had been following Paul and his companions. We assume she too was converted and added to the church. The slave girl’s owners were not pleased with Paul, because they used to make money from her ability to tell fortunes by means of the evil spirit. And so, they dragged Paul and Silas into the market-place and accused them before the magistrates of being trouble-makers. Paul and Silas were then beaten and flogged and imprisoned. But during the night, there was an earthquake which frightened the jailer and Paul and Silas were able to explain to him the way of salvation. The jailer believed and he and his family were baptised. And they too were added as members of the new church in Philippi.

Paul and Silas were released the next day and left Philippi to continue their missionary journey. But about ten years later, Paul was imprisoned by the Romans. When the members of the church in Philippi heard about his imprisonment, they sent one of their members — a man named Epaphroditus — to bring Paul a financial gift to help him. Though Paul was a prisoner at that time, he was not being held in a cell. He was really under house arrest and, though he was chained night and day to a Roman soldier, he was allowed to receive visitors. Having received their gift, Paul wrote to thank the Philippians for their gift and to send them a message filled with words of comfort and encouragement and rebuke and exhortation and teaching. And the letter he wrote to them is the letter we are now studying.

In the opening verses, Paul gave thanks to God for them and he recorded his prayer for them. He wanted their love to abound more and more in knowledge and depth of understanding, so that they would discern what really matter and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, having produced the right kind of fruit in their lives, which means loving and serving one another as we should, instead of paying attention to our own interests only.

Today we come to verses 12 to 26 of chapter 1 which can de divided into two parts. In the first part, Paul reassures his readers in Philippi about his present circumstances. In the second part, he sets out for them his attitude to life and to death. What is his attitude to life and to death? Take a look at verse 21 where he says: ‘to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.’ So, the whole of my life is for Christ; and while I go on living in this world, I will continue to serve him. And death is not a loss, but a gain, because when I die I will depart this life to enjoy everlasting life in the presence of Christ my Saviour. And what could be better than that?

And so, let’s turn our attention to these two parts. Firstly, in verses 12 to 18, he reassures his readers about his present circumstances. And secondly, in verses 19 to 26, he sets out for his readers his attitude to life and to death.

Verses 12 to 18

As I say, Paul is not being kept in a prison. He’s probably under house arrest and can receive visitors such as Epaphroditus. But still, he’s chained to a guard day and night. We know that he’s chained, because he mentions his chains in verse 13. And he describes himself in his letter to the Ephesians — which was also written when he was being held captive — as ‘an ambassador in chains’.

Now, if you were being held like that — kept under guard day and night and chained to a guard — what do you think you would say about your circumstances if you were writing to the rest of us in Immanuel? I’m sure many of us would moan a little, wouldn’t we? We would complain a little about our circumstances. We’d want our friends to know just how awful things are for us, because we all like a bit of sympathy, don’t we? We like to get a bit of sympathy from our friends; and we want them to write back to encourage us. And often when I visit people who have been unwell, they will tell me about what they’ve suffered; and how difficult it is for them; and how they’re finding it hard to cope. And there’s nothing wrong with that. God has not made us blocks of wood which cannot feel anything. And so, there’s nothing wrong with telling one another when things are hard for us.

And since that’s what most of us are like, what Paul says about his circumstances strikes us as remarkable. He’s been take captive by the Romans. He’s under house arrest. He’s in chains. There’s a guard with him constantly. But when he writes to the Philippians, he’s not looking for sympathy from them. In fact, he’s writing to reassure them. He wants them to know, not what an awful time he’s having, but how what has happened to him has served to advance the gospel. Do you see that in verse 12?

He wants to reassure them that good has come out of his present trouble. God has done what he always does for his people; and he’s worked all things together for good. Paul’s missionary journey may have been brought to an end. His freedom may have been taken away from him. His ability to go where he likes and to preach where he likes may been taken from him. But nevertheless, God is still at work; and God has been able to bring good out of his present difficult circumstances.

And notice two words in particular. Notice the word ‘really’. What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. One of the commentators suggest that this word almost means ‘surprisingly’. What has happend to me has surprisingly served to advance the gospel. So, what a surprise this is! We all thought this was awful, because Paul has been taken captive. All our plans for Paul and his ministry have been ruined. It’s terrible news. But what a surprise! What a surprise, because God has brought good out of this.

And notice the word ‘served’. What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. The Greek word Paul uses means ‘come about’. So, the advancement of the gospel has come about because of what has happened to him. We might say ‘turns out’. Turns out that the gospel has advanced because of my circumstances.

And it’s not that the gospel has advanced in spite of my circumstances. It’s that the gospel has advanced because of my circumstances. And this has come about because of God, who is able to work all things together for good. Think of the Old Testament story of Joseph and how Joseph’s brothers intended to do him harm when they sold him into slavery. But it turns out that God intended it for good, because Joseph ended up in the right place at the right time to save God’s people from famine. And it turns out that God intended Paul’s imprisonment for good, because his imprisonment has advanced the cause of the gospel.

We need to remember, when we face difficult circumstances, that our God is sovereign. He’s the great King who rules over all that he has made; and nothing is too hard for him. And he’s able to use the things that happen to us for his own good purposes.

And notice that things happen to us. We’re always trying to do things and to be up and active. And we make our plans to do this and to accomplish that and to overcome this problem and to reach this goal. However, more often than not, things happen to us. Things we did not plan, things we did not anticipate, things we did not want. Things happen to us, because we are not sovereign. We don’t control our life the way that we think we do. But God, who is sovereign, uses the things that happen to us for good. So, we need to remember this as we live our lives and especially whenever we face difficult circumstances and troubles and trials. God has sent these things into our lives for good.

And so, how had the gospel advanced? Paul tells us the gospel advanced in two ways. The first way is in verse 13, where Paul says that as a result of what had happened to him it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that Paul was in chains for Christ.

When he refers to the palace guard, he’s referring to the guards who were guarding him. Paul was probably chained to a guard day and night. And we can imagine how one guard might be on duty for several hours; and then another guard takes over; and then another takes over. There was always a guard with Paul. And while Paul doesn’t actually say that they became believers, he does say that the whole palace guard and everyone else came to understand that he was in prison because of Christ.

No doubt Paul spoke to them about the Lord Jesus Christ. But no doubt as well it became clear to them by the way Paul behaved that he was not like other prisoners. Other prisoners might have been murderers and troublemakers. They were lawbreakers. But it would have become clear that Paul was not a lawbreaker. He had not murdered anyone or stolen anything. He was not trying to stir up trouble for the emperor. He was, in fact, a law-abiding citizen. And no doubt it became clear to them that Paul wasn’t foul-mouthed like the other prisoners; and he didn’t insult them or criticise then or malign them in any way as other prisoners might have done. He wasn’t like that. And perhaps, when each guard came off duty, they would go back to the barracks and talk to one another about this strange prisoner, who was not like any other prisoner they had ever come across. And they might have asked one another why it was that this man was now in chains. And in this way it had become clear to them and to everyone else that he wasn’t in chains for breaking the law, but he was in chains because of Christ.

Our life and the way we live our life speaks to the people around us. If we behave just like everyone else, then our life says to them that we’re just like everyone else. But if we behave as Christians should — if we live obedient lives; and if we seek to honour Christ in all we do and say; and if we love and serve the people around us — then our life says to them that we’re not the same as everyone else. There’s something different about us. And who knows? Who knows? Maybe one day they’ll come and ask you to explain to them why you’re different from everyone else. And in this way it will become clear that it’s because you serve Christ the Saviour.

As a result of what had happened to Paul it had become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that Paul was in chains for Christ. That’s the first way the gospel advanced. The second way is in verse 14 where Paul says that, because of his chains, most of the brothers had been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

And this is remarkable, because you’d think since Paul was now in prison, the other believers would have been more afraid to speak the word of God. They would have been more afraid, because they too might end up in prison like Paul. Think of the Lord’s disciples, who fled when the Lord was arrested, for fear that they too would be arrested if they were seen with him. But Paul’s imprisonment did not make the others more afraid, but more courageous. Who would have believed it? But this is what happened.

Now, Paul goes on to explain that while some of the brothers preached Christ out of goodwill, there were others who preached Christ out of envy and rivalry. We don’t know what exactly was happening, but perhaps there were some who were envious of Paul’s reputation and success as a preacher. Wherever he went, crowds of people listened to Paul and lots of people were converted under his ministry. And we can imagine some of the other preachers envying Paul’s success. And now that Paul was in prison, this was their chance to take over from Paul and to become known as the best preacher since Paul.

And sure enough, Paul goes on to say about them in verse 17 that they preach Christ out of selfish ambition. He also says they want to stir up trouble for Paul while he’s in chains. It’s not clear how they could stir up trouble for him, but that was clearly their intention.

‘But what does it matter?’ Paul asks in verse 18. ‘What does it matters?’ Now, I don’t think he means that it doesn’t matter when people try to stir up trouble for preachers. And I don’t think he means that it doesn’t matter when people preach out of envy and rivalry and selfish ambition. I don’t think he means that a preacher’s motives don’t matter. A preacher should be aiming for God’s glory and not their own glory. But I think he means it doesn’t matter to him personally. It doesn’t matter to Paul what they do to him, because he knows he can count on God to work all things together for good. He knows that God can bring good out of their envy and rivalry and selfish ambition.

So, it doesn’t matter to Paul personally. And the important thing, the thing that matters most, the most important thing is that whether someone is preaching from false motives or from good motives, Christ is still being preached. And that’s what matters most.

Christ is being preached. And whenever Christ is preached, God is able to open the hearts of men and women and boys and girls to enable them to pay attention to the message and to believe in Christ for salvation.

I’m reminded of the story of Balaam from the book of Numbers. Balaam was some kind of prophet and he was on his way to meet Israel’s enemies, who wanted Balaam to curse God’s people. And God was angry with Balaam and sent an angel to stand in his way. Balaam could not see the angel, but his donkey could and it stopped. Balaam began to beat his donkey, because he couldn’t understand why it had stopped and refused to go any further. But then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey and enabled it to explain to Balaam about the angel of the Lord in their way. And the point is that if God was able to speak through a donkey, then he’s able to speak through anyone to accomplish his purposes. Nothing is too hard for him; and he’s able to use Paul’s rivals to save sinners. And so, the thing that matters most is that Christ is preached.

Verses 19 to 26

Paul did not write to the Philippians to complain about his circumstances, but to reassure them that what had happened to him turned out for the advancement of the gospel, because the whole of the palace guard and everyone else has come to see that he’s in chains for Christ; and Christ was being preached and that’s what matters most. In the second part of today’s passage, Paul sets out for his readers his attitude to life and to death.

He says at the end of verse 18 that he will continue to rejoice. He’s rejoicing that Christ is being preached and he will continue to rejoice, because he knows that — through their prayers and through the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ — what has happened to him will turn out for my deliverance.

That’s how the NIV translates what he wrote. The ESV says something similar. But if you take a look at the footnote next to the word ‘deliverance’ in the NIV, you’ll see that it says the word translated ‘deliverance’ can also be translated ‘salvation’. In fact, not only can it be translated ‘salvation’, but it is usually translated ‘salvation’ in the New Testament. The Greek word Paul uses is the one he normally uses to refer to our salvation. When it’s translated ‘deliverance’, it gives the impression that Paul is thinking about being released from his chains. So, he will rejoice, because he knows that — through their prayers and through the help of the Spirit — he will be released from his chains. And you can imagine how the translators are putting themselves in Paul’s sandals and they’re thinking to themselves that they would want to be released if they were in chains as Paul was.

But Paul is not rejoicing about that. He’s rejoicing because he knows that — through their prayers and through the help of the Spirit — what has happened to him will turn out for his salvation. He’s thinking about his salvation. That is, he’s thinking about his ultimate salvation, or about the consummation of his salvation, when he is finally brought into God’s presence in the life to come and when he will finally be freed not only only from the guilt of sin, but from the power and even the presence of sin. Whenever we first believe in Christ, we are saved from the guilt of sin. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ, because we are pardoned by God and accepted as right in his sight the moment we first believed. And then, through the rest of our lives, the Holy Spirit works in us to renew us in God’s image and to make us more and more willing and able to obey God. And so, the Spirit helps us to overcome the power of sin in our lives. But that work will not be finished until we are glorified in the presence of God in the life to come. When that time comes, we’ll be freed completely from the power of sin and sin will not longer be present in our lives. We will never ever sin again.

That’s the salvation Paul is referring to: the consummation of his salvation in the life to come. And he’s able to rejoice, because he knows that what has happened to him will not prevent him from reaching eternal life in the presence of God. It will not prevent it. In fact, what has happened to him will result in his salvation.

How is that possible? It’s because of what I’ve already said about how God works all things together for good. He’s able to take our troubles and trials and sorrow and sadness and use them to help us to persevere in the faith.

I was listening to a podcast on the means of grace this past week with a minister who is originally from Northern Ireland, but who is now living and working in the USA. And he said something very interesting. The means of grace — or the means by which God works graciously in his people to bring us to salvation in his presence — are the reading and preaching of God’s word; the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper; and prayer. God uses these ordinary things to do something extra-ordinary in our lives. But that’s not the interesting thing which this minister said. Every Presbyterian minister and elder confesses this. The interesting thing is that he said some reformers said that God uses our troubles and trials as a means of grace. Just as God works through the preaching of his word, and through the sacraments, and through prayer, so he also works through our trials to build us up as believers. That’s what some reformers said. But other reformers disagreed. They said that troubles and trials are not really a means of grace. However, when we go through troubles and trials, they drive us back to God’s word, which is a means of grace. Because of what we’re suffering, we pay greater attention to the reading and preaching of God’s word, because we’re waiting for a message from the Lord to help us.

And so, Paul does not think his imprisonment will prevent him from from reaching eternal life in the presence of God. It’s just the opposite. His imprisonment, his troubles and trials, will result in his salvation. It will lead to it. And that’s because our suffering causes us to turn to the Lord and to his word for the help we need.

And Paul refers to the prayers of the people and the help of the Spirit. This is one of the reasons why we have the prayer meeting on Wednesdays. We’re able to pray together for one another and especially for those who are sick and suffering. We pray for those we know in this congregation and for believers around the world who are facing troubles and trials. And we pray for the Holy Spirit to help them, so that they’re not crushed by their trials, but that God will use their trials for good.

And Paul is hopeful that he will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage from God, so that now as always Christ will be exalted in his body, whether by life or by death. So, he’s in chains. Who knows what might happen to him? The emperor may decide to release him or to execute him. But whether he lives or dies, the one thing Paul wants to do is to exalt Christ. He wants to honour Christ whether he lives or dies.

And this is where we come to the remarkable statement in verse 21: ‘For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.’ And he immediately goes on to explain what he means. If he goes on living, then that will mean fruitful labour for him. He means that, if he goes on living, he will continue to devote himself to serving Christ, because Christ means everything to him. But then, if he does not go on living, if he dies, if the emperor gives the order and his life is taken from him, then all that will mean is that he will depart from this life to be with Christ, who means everything to him. Death is therefore not a loss, but it’s a gain, because to be with Christ is better by far than anything else.

Tim Keller, a presbyterian minister and author from the USA, died just last week. And lots of people are posting on the internet things he said or wrote. And this quotation jumped out at me: ‘All death can now do to Christians is to make their lives infinitely better.’ I’ll repeat that: ‘All death can now do to Christians is to make their lives infinitely better.’ Paul believed that, didn’t he? My life will be infinitely better when I die, because I will be with my Saviour.

We love him, don’t we? We love him; and we want to see him. For now, all we have to look at are little bits of bread and a drink which we receive at communion to signify his body. But we long to see him with our own eyes and to be with him. And that’s what will happen when we die.

And so, we’re not afraid to die, are we? Those who do not believe and who have no hope are afraid to die, because this life is all they have. But we know that even the best parts of this life are nothing compared to the joy of being with Christ in the life to come. And so, we can look forward to death. We’re not to seek it, of course. We have no right to end our lives. But we’re not afraid of death and we can look forward to it, because death will only make our lives infinitely better.

And yet — and I have to be brief — Paul says that while he desires to depart and be with Christ, he knows it is more necessary for the Philippians that he remains alive. Paul wants to be with Christ. That’s his heart’s desire. But he knows that it’s better for the Philippians that he remains alive, so that he can work with them for their progress and joy in the faith.

Do you see what he’s doing here? He’s doing here what he will instruct the Philippians to do in chapter 2. Instead of looking to his own interests, he’s looking to their interests. It’s better for Paul that he should go to be with Christ. That’s what he wants for himself. But he’s not going to be selfish. He’s not going to put himself first. He’s going to put them and their needs before his own. So, I’d love to go and be with Christ, but I’m willing to stay here and minister to you.

And in this, he’s copying the example of our Saviour, who did not think of his own interests, but of our interests, when he did not save his own life, but gave it up for us and for our salvation. Instead of saving his own life, he gave it up to pay for our sins so that through faith in him you can have forgiveness and peace with God and the hope of everlasting life.

And the Saviour — who put you first — calls on you to do the same and to put the interests of others before your own interests. He calls you to love and serve the people around you. And in the way you will bring glory and honour to him.