1:13,14
Paul’s imprisonment had resulted in his being able to preach to the whole palace guard. He was able to tell people why he was in prison. See how this happened. They would all know why Paul had been imprisoned, so he would then have an open door to explain to them why he considered this a small price to pay for being a follower of Christ, and then what being a follower of Christ meant. God had arranged the circumstances so Paul could preach. We can be always worrying about circumstances, we would do better to trust in God and see how He wants to use the circumstances to further His work through us. Paul’s imprisonment had also resulted in many other Christians being emboldened to preach the gospel all the more.
1:15-17
The Philippians would have heard tales about what was happening in Rome, and to Paul in particular. There were people preaching the gospel, but not all were doing so from right motives. Some were, ie out of love. This could be love for Paul and love for Christ. They knew what motivated Paul and so were inspired to devote themselves to the same cause, spreading the good news. But others had impure motives. Maybe they were jealous of Paul, or saw an opportunity to advance their own cause. These people were almost certainly part of the church and were preaching the gospel, otherwise Paul would not have been happy at all, but they did so to make trouble for Paul.
No comments:
Post a Comment