Philippians 2(19)–3(11)

2:19–30

Today’s passage begins with Paul referring to Timothy and Epaphroditus. Timothy was one of Paul’s co-workers who used to accompany him on his missionary journeys; and he’s mentioned in the book of Acts and in most of Paul’s letters. And then, at some point, Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to oversee the work there. And while Timothy was in Ephesus, Paul wrote the letters to him which we now know as 1 and 2 Timothy and which we studied together a couple of years ago.

We don’t know anything about Epaphroditus apart from what is recorded for us here in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It seems he was a member of the church in Philippi and he was sent from the church with a gift for Paul and to help him in his work.

You’ll see from verse 19 that Paul hoped to send Timothy to Philippi. It’s possible the Philippians were expecting Paul to send Timothy to them immediately. However, Paul makes clear that while Timothy will get there, it won’t be immediately. He hopes to send him soon, but not straightaway. And Paul repeats this information in verse 23, where he says he hopes to send him ‘as soon as I see how things go with me’. Paul, you’ll remember, was under house arrest. It’s possible the Roman Emperor might set him free. However, it was also possible that the Roman Emperor might order his execution. So, Paul wasn’t sure what the future held for him. And so, it makes sense for him to keep Timothy with him while he waits to see what would happen to him. Even though Paul was effectively a prisoner, he was allowed to receive guests; and no doubt Timothy was a great help to him while he remained under guard.

Between verses 19 and 23, Paul praises Timothy. ‘I have no one else like him’, he says about Timothy. ‘I have no one else like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.’ And therefore he’s one of the rare individuals who puts the interests of Christ before his own interests. Instead of putting himself first, he puts Christ first. And, of course, in practice that means putting the needs of Christ’s people above his own needs. And Paul says that Timothy has proved himself in the way that he has served with Paul in the work of the gospel. Timothy was one of Paul’s constant companions and he was a faithful co-worker in the gospel. He was therefore someone Paul could depend on.

Paul then refers to Epaphroditus in verses 25 to 30. While Paul wants to keep Timothy with him for a little longer, he thinks it’s necessary to send Epaphroditus back to Philippi. But it’s not because Epaphroditus has been a disappointment or a hindrance. We know that because of the way Paul speaks of him. He calls Epaphroditus his brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier. So, they are brothers in the faith, members together of God’s family. By referring to him as his fellow-worker, he means that Epaphroditus has helped him in his apostolic work. And by referring to him as his fellow-soldier, he means that they have contended together for the faith. They are brothers-in-arms, standing together and suffering together to defend the truth of the gospel and to proclaim the good news to all. And Paul also describes Epaphroditus as ‘your messenger’, because the believers in Philippi sent Epaphroditus to Paul to take care of his needs on their behalf.

And so, Paul is not sending him back because he’s been a disappointment or hindrance. And he tells us in verse 26 that Epaphroditus longs for the believers in Philippi. And he’s distressed because they had heard that he was ill. In fact, not only was he will, but he almost died. And so, the Philippians had heard about his illness and they were anxious about him. And their anxiety about him has distressed him. He’s upset because they’re upset and he wants to return to them so that they can see that he’s fine now. As Paul says, God had mercy on Epaphroditus so that he recovered. And now he wants to return home to put their minds at rest. And Paul is happy to send him home so that when they see him they may be glad and have less anxiety. And when he returns they should welcome him. In fact Paul tells them to honour men like this, because he almost died for the work of Christ.

When Paul says in verse 30 that Epaphroditus made up for the help they could not give, he’s not criticising them. He’s not saying Epaphroditus had to make up for their shortcomings. He’s merely making the point that he was acting on their behalf. They couldn’t all leave Philippi and come to Paul. But Epaphroditus was able to come on their behalf.

Application

So, Paul mentions Timothy and Epaphroditus. But why does he mention them here? What’s the point in mentioning them at this point in his letter?

Here’s the reason: Timothy and Epaphroditus are two more examples for us to follow. The best example we’re to follow is the example of the Lord Jesus who did not think of his own interests only, but of our interests, when he came down from heaven to earth to save us. Instead of putting himself first, he put us first when he came to earth. And not only was he prepared to come down to earth as one of us, but he was prepared to suffer and die for us. He did not come to be served by us, but to serve us and to give up his life for us. And so, we should have the mind of Christ among us. We should be like him.

And we should be like Paul, shouldn’t we? Paul said that for him, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul regarded death as gain, as an advantage, because if he died, he would depart from this life to be with the Lord which is better by far than anything else. Do you remember the Tim Keller quote? ‘All death can now do to Christians is to make their lives infinitely better.’ So, it would be better for Paul personally if he died, because he would go to be with the Lord. But it would be better for the Philippians for him to remain alive, because then he could continue to work with them for their progress and joy in the faith. And so, while it was better for him personally to go to be with the Lord, his preference was to remain alive so that he could serve them. That’s what we’re to be like.

So, we should be like Christ. And we should be like Paul. And we should be like Timothy, who took a genuine interest in the welfare of the believers in Philippi. He’s one of those people who does not look to his own interests, but to the interests of Christ and of Christ’s people. He was ready to go to see the Philippians, but he was also ready to stay with Paul. He was prepared to go wherever he was needed. And so, instead of thinking of himself, he thought of others and what they needed. Does Paul need me? Then I’ll stay with Paul. Do the Philippians need me? Then I’ll go to them.

And we should be like Epaphroditus, who risked his life and who almost died for the work of Christ.

So, someone needs our help. They need us to do something for them or they need something from us. And sometimes we make excuses. And we make excuses, because it will take up too much of our time or it will mean hard work for us, when we were hoping to rest and relax. And so, we make excuses, because we put ourselves first. But here’s Epaphroditus who was prepared to come and help Paul on behalf of his fellow believers in Philippi. He didn’t make excuses. He didn’t ask them to send someone else. He went when he was asked, even though it meant risking his life. He put the interests of others before his own interests. And here’s Timothy who was prepared to go wherever he was needed, because he put the interests of others before his own. Here’s Paul who preferred what was best for the Philippians and not what was best for himself. And here’s the Lord Jesus, who came to serve us.

Our attitude should be the same as theirs. We should have their mind among us. And so, we should look to the Holy Spirit to help us every day to say ‘no’ to self. We should look to the Holy Spirit to help us to deny ourselves. And we should look to the Holy Spirit to renew us more and more in the image of our Saviour, so that we will think like him and behave like him and give ourselves to love and serve the people around us.

3:1–6

Let’s move on to the second part of today’s passage which is verses 1 to 11 of chapter 3. And it begins with Paul calling on his readers — and that includes us — to rejoice in the Lord. He means: praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, because the Lord has done great things for us.

This recalls what we were reading last week when he told us to do everything without complaining or arguing. So, don’t be like the Israelites in the wilderness in the days of Moses who complained and argued all the time. Don’t be like them. Instead of complaining and arguing, you should be glad and rejoice. And in verse 1 of chapter 3 he once again commands us to rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord. Praise his name.

And then he says that it’s no trouble for him to write the same things to them again. Now, we might think he’s referring to the command to rejoice in the Lord. So: I’ve already told you to rejoice; and it’s no trouble for me to write the same thing again. So, rejoice in the Lord!

However, when he says that it’s no trouble for him to write the same things again, it’s more likely he’s referring, not to his command to rejoice, but to what he’s about to say. It’s no trouble to Paul to write to them again about the false teachers, whom he refers to in verse 2 as dogs and men who do evil and those who mutilate the flesh. It’s no trouble for him to warn them again about those false teachers. And it’s a safeguard for them. Do you see that at the end of verse 1? For their own safety, he wants to repeat his warning to them about these false teachers.

Presumably when he was with them in person, he warned them about the false teachers. And now he wants to remind them of his warning so that they’re not taken in by what the false teachers were saying.

From the way Paul describes them, it’s likely that these false teachers were what are known as Judaizers. That is, they were Jews who had become members of the Christian church. However, they were teaching people that in order to be saved, faith in Christ is not enough. Faith in Christ is not enough, because you must also be circumcised. So, in Acts 15, for instance, we read about some men who came from Judea to the church in Antioch and said that unless the believers are circumcised, you cannot be saved. And in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he referred to the circumcision group. These were people who were teaching the same thing: in order to be saved, you need to believe in Christ and be circumcised.

Let’s be clear: the true gospel is that sinners are justified — pardoned and accepted by God — through faith in Christ alone. Faith in Christ is all that is needed. But these false teachers were saying that sinners are justified — pardoned and accepted by God — through faith in Christ plus circumcision. The true gospel is that we are saved by faith alone. The false gospel is that we are saved by faith plus circumcision.

And Paul wants to warn his readers about these false teachers. And he refers to them as dogs and men who do evil and as mutilators of the flesh. And by referring to them in this way, he’s undermining how they viewed themselves. He’s saying they are the opposite of what they think they are. So, in Bible times, the Jews regarded themselves as God’s true people. They were God’s true children who belonged to God’s family but the Gentiles were dogs who belonged outside. And no doubt these false teachers now regarded themselves as God’s true people. They regarded themselves as God’s children. But Paul says that they’re not God’s children. They are not members of God’s people. They are only dogs. That is, they are like the Gentiles who are not God’s family.

And they also regarded themselves as those who do what is good, because they were keeping the law about circumcision and they also kept God’s laws about clean and unclean food. In their mind, their works were good works. But Paul says they are only workers of evil.

And they boasted in circumcision. But Paul says that they are those who mutilate the flesh. This morning we were hearing about the prophets of Baal who cut themselves in order to convince Baal to answer their prayers. Well, these false teachers, these Judaizers, are like them because all they’re doing is cutting themselves.

And Paul goes on to say that it is we — and he means true believers — who are the circumcision. We are the circumcision, because true circumcision is of the heart. That’s what Paul says in Romans 2:29. There’s a merely outward and physical circumcision which means nothing. What counts is a circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit cuts away our old, hard, sinful and unbelieving heart and gives us a new heart to trust the Saviour.

And it is we, says Paul, who worship by the Spirit of God. God taught his people in Old Testament times to look forward to the coming of the Spirit, who would enable them to worship the Lord like never before. And the Spirit has now come and he fills all those who believe in the Saviour.

And it is we, says Paul, who glory in Christ Jesus and who put no confidence in the flesh. And in saying this, he’s contrasting the false teachers who glory, or who boast, in their flesh and believers who glory, or who boast, in Christ alone. He’s contrasting the false teachers who were relying for salvation on their flesh and believers who rely on Christ alone.

The false teachers boasted in, and they relied on, the flesh in the sense that they were relying for salvation on themselves and their circumcision. That’s what the false teachers were doing. But, says Paul, we boast in the Lord. We glory in him. We rely on him and on what he has done for us.

And it’s interesting, because Paul goes on to tell us that he himself used to rely on the flesh. In other words, he used to rely on himself for salvation. And the thing is: he had every reason to boast in himself, because his credentials were impeccable. And he gives us his credentials, the things he used to boast about and rely on for salvation.

So, he was circumcised when he was eight days old. And he was of the people of Israel. That is, he was an Israelite. And he was of the tribe of Benjamin. Some tribes were more important or prestigious than others and the tribe of Benjamin was one of the best, because Herod, Israel’s first king, was from the tribe of Benjamin. And he was a Hebrews of Hebrews. This is like the phrases King of kings and Lord of lords and Song of songs. The King of kings is the best king. The Lord of lords is the best lord. The Song of songs is the best song. And the Hebrew of Hebrews is the best Hebrew. This perhaps means that his parents had brought him up to be a good Jew.

All of his credentials up to this point are things he received from his family. The next things he mentions are things he accomplished himself. And so, he was a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the ones who were conscientious about keeping themselves ceremonially clean by a strict observance of all the Old Testament rules and regulations about what you could eat and what you could touch. And then, when it came to zeal for God’s honour, he used to persecute the church. In other words, like Phineas in the Old Testament who killed a man for dishonouring the Lord, Paul was so full of zeal for God that he was prepared to arrest and kill everyone he believed was leading people away from God. And as for legalistic righteousness, he was faultless. In other words, he was blameless. No one could point a finger at Paul and accuse him of any scandalous sin. He had been careful all his life to walk in God’s ways.

Those were his credentials. Those were the things he once boasted about and relied on for salvation. He relied on the fact that he was a good Jew, who always did what was right. In fact, he wasn’t only a good Jew, he was a superlative Jew. He was an outstanding Jew. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

3:7–11

However, take a look at verse 7 now, where Paul says that what was once to his profit, he now considers loss for the sake of Christ. So, these credentials of his — all the things he mentioned in verses 4 to 6 — were the things he once boasted about and relied on for salvation. But now he realises that those things count for nothing when it comes to salvation. They count for nothing.

And he goes on to say that he now considers everything — everything he once boasted in and relied on — he now considers everything a loss compared to what? Compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. All those things he once boasted in and relied on, he now considers rubbish. Those things were once so important to him; but now they mean nothing to him. And they mean nothing to him now, because now he knows Christ and he has gained Christ. So, if you imagine a list of all his losses and a list of all his gains. In the list of his losses, he puts everything he once counted on. In the list of his gains, there’s only one thing. But that one thing which is on his list of gains is Christ. And having Christ outweighs everything else, because when the day of judgment comes, he will be found in Christ; and all of his sins and shortcomings will be covered over by the perfect obedience and goodness of Christ.

Let me try to explain what Paul is saying here about the difference between a righteousness from the law and a righteousness from God. If someone has done all the right things, then they can expect God to say to them on the day of judgment: ‘You have done everything right.’ And they can expect God to give them eternal life as a reward for having done everything right. ‘You have done everything right and here’s your reward.’

The problem though is that no-one — apart from Christ — has done everything right. No-one has done everything right. Everyone’s life is a mixture of good and bad: they have done what’s right, some of the time, but not all of the time.

Now, there are some people like the rich, young ruler in the gospels who think they have done everything right. They really they they are blameless. But they’re mistaken, because the Bible is clear that all have sinned; and the Lord made clear to the rich, young ruler that he too had not done everything right. So, some people may think that they’ve done everything right, but they haven’t really. And most of us know that we’re a mixture of right and wrong and good and bad. And our own conscience tells us when we have done wrong.

And that means, if we’re relying for eternal life on our own ability to do all the right things, then we haven’t a chance of entering eternal life. If we haven’t done everything right, then God will not say to us on the day of judgment: ‘You have done everything right.’ He won’t say it, because it’s not true. And so, what good will being circumcised on the eighth day do anyone? What good will being an Israelite do anyone? What good will being from the tribe of Benjamin do anyone? What good will any of Paul’s credentials do anyone when no one has done everything right?

But Paul’s no longer relying on himself. Now that he knows Christ, he’s relying on Christ. And when the day of judgment comes, he’ll be found to be in Christ. All of Paul’s sins and shortcomings will be covered over by the perfect righteousness — the perfect obedience and goodness — of Christ.

And if you’re a believer, if you’re trusting in Christ, then even though you have done most things wrong, even though you may have done everything wrong, God will treat you as if you’ve done everything right. And God can do that for you, if you’re a believer, because Christ shares his perfect righteousness — his perfect obedience and goodness — with all who trust in him. Christ covers his people with his own perfect obedience so that when the day of judgment comes, it’s as if God can’t see our sins and shortcomings. All God can see is Christ’s perfect obedience and goodness which is covering us.

So, knowing and believing in Christ means God will treat us as if we’ve done everything right for the sake of Christ. And knowing and believing in Christ also means knowing the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. The words to focus on here are ‘becoming like him’. When anyone trusts in Christ for the first time, their old sinful way of life dies and they are raised with Christ to live a new kind of life. And it’s a life of suffering, but it’s also a life of obedience to God. And so, we become more like Christ, who was obedient to God the Father even to the point of death on a cross.

And knowing and believing in Christ means we will attain to the resurrection from the dead and eternal life in the presence of God, where we will see God in the face of Christ and share his happiness forever and forever.

Conclusion

Paul writes about the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. Knowing Christ is of surpassing greatness because God treats us as if we’ve done everything right; and we’ll become like him; and we’ll be raised from the dead to live with him forever.

But notice this one last thing before we finish. Paul listed his credentials: all the things he once relied on. He mentions his nationality: he was an Israelite. He mentions his family: he was of the tribe of Benjamin and his parents brought him up to be a good Jew. He mentions the ceremonies he underwent: he was circumcised on the eighth day. And he mentions his good life: he was a Pharisee and he was zealous for God’s honour and he was blameless in his conduct.

And people today rely on the same things. They rely on the fact that they’re born into a Christian country like Northern Ireland. They rely on the fact that they were born into a Christian family and they were brought up in a good way. They rely on the fact that they were baptised or they’re a communicant member of the church and their name is written on the church’s cradle roll or communion roll. Or they rely on their good life and the good things they have done. They’re tried to do what’s right.

All of these things are good things. But no-one should rely on any of these things for eternal life, because the only thing that counts for eternal life is faith in Christ, who loved us and gave up his life for us to pay for our sins before rising from the dead to give us life.