Philippians 1:25,26 - Joy in the faith

1:25,26

Paul wants to reassure the Philippians and is convinced that he will do so. This is based on how he sees the needs of the Philippians. He wants to see their progress and joy. We all know that maturing in Christ, becoming better Christians is a goal for each one of us, and of we have responsibility for other Christians we should be seeking their progress too. However, joy should also be our goal, for ourselves and for others. As has been said many times, joy is a major theme of this letter. We should be seeking to build a people who are full of joy in the faith. Notice the words “in the faith”. It is not some superficial joy, or one grounded in circumstances. Rather it is grounded in faith in Christ.

Paul intended to visit the Philippians again. Why would this cause them to “glory in Christ”? They would see that God was indeed looking after them.

Philippians 1:21-24 - To live is Christ, to die is gain

1:21-23

“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. Paul had a completely different perspective on the situation. Believing in Jesus is not just accepting a set of ideas, nor is it just a feeling, an emotional reaction. It is about being committed to the Son of God, to the One who conquered death and paid for all our sins. So, this life now is all about living for Jesus, playing our part in fulfilling the great commission. Now see that in v22 Paul says “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me”. He has no doubt about the matter. If God lets him live then his life will bring forth fruit. Note that in John 15 Jesus says that if we abide in Him we will be fruitful, not that we might be fruitful. So faith in Christ affects this life. But it also means that death holds no fear, for death is not the end, it means that we will be with Christ and that is “far better”. So from a purely self-interested perspective for Paul death is the more favourable option by far.

As an aside, people often talk about seeing loved ones again after we die. Now we will see those who die in Christ, but the prospect of this is never given as a motivation in the Bible, at least I cannot think of any off hand. The motivation is being with Christ, being like Him. Just something for us to ponder.

1:24

Paul thinks that it is better for the Philippians if he remains alive here on earth. Acts 28 leaves Paul still in captivity. We do not know for sure what happened, but the likelihood is that Paul was released, then rearrested sometime later and put to death after that.

Philippians 1:19,20 - All for good

1:19,20

There are a number of interesting things about verse 19. First, note how prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit go together. Moreover, Paul mentions their prayers first. One might think that all he needs is the work of the Holy Spirit, and if he did need prayer his own prayers would be sufficient, but instead he puts their prayers first. Prayer is in many ways a mystery, but Scripture makes it quite clear that prayer is essential, and praying for each other is essential, and there are some things that God will not do unless we pray. This is the way God has chosen to work so we should follow it.

Next, he refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of Jesus Christ”. Before the cross Jesus said He had to return to the Father so that another counsellor could be sent. The Holy Spirit represents Jesus.

Then there is the phrase “turn out for my deliverance”. Does this mean eternal deliverance (ie salvation)? It seems unlikely. The next verse (20) makes it clear that what is uppermost in Paul’s mind is that Christ will be honoured in his body, in his life. Whether this happened through his being released or his being put to death was not his prime concern. Being faithful to Christ and proclaiming the gospel was his prime concern.

Philippians 1:18 - Rejoice

1:18

However, while the Philippians might have been worried, Paul was not. His overriding concern was that the gospel was preached. As long as it was the right message then he was happy, whatever the motives of the preachers. Now this does most definitely not mean that motives do not matter, but we need to see that the motives of men do not stop God’s plans. The Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus, but in the end they were just playing a part in God’s plan of salvation being fulfilled. We need to learn to trust God in all circumstances, and to rejoice in all circumstances. This is a theme of this letter. One of the keys to this is having right motives, having our hearts set on the right things. Paul’s heart was set on seeing the gospel of Christ preached, this was one of the key reasons why he was able to trust God and rejoice even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Philippians 1:13-17 - Preaching Christ

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.

Philippians 1:9-12 - Prayer

1:9-11

Paul wants their love to increase, in knowledge and depth of insight. Love needs to increase, but we have such a shallow and limited view of what love is. See that Paul prays that their love will abound in “knowledge and depth of insight”. It is based on knowledge and discernment, it is not just an emotional feeling.

Then we are told why he prays for them to have this. It is so that they can make right decisions, and be pure and blameless on the day of Christ. This does not mean we are saved by any merit of our own, but that Christ’s work in us is brought to completion. We need to make right decisions, wrong decisions can lead to all sorts of problems and get us, and others, in enormous trouble.

If we do this we will be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ. Righteousness is a judicial matter, and “legal” verdict made by God because of the blood of Christ, but it is one which bears fruit on our lives. And all this is to the praise of His glory.

1:12

Paul now seeks to reassure the Philippians about his present state. He was in prison, probably in Rome. Presumably the Philippians had heard about this, and word may have gone to Paul that they were concerned about the situation. Paul is not that concerned at all! In fact he sees that what had happened has helped to advance the gospel. Remember that when Paul went to Jerusalem almost everyone else was warning him against going (eg Acts 21:10-14). In Acts 20:22-24 Paul declares the motivating force in his life. His going to Jerusalem resulted in his ending up in Rome.

Philippians 1:7,8 - Relationship

1:7

Paul was in chains in Rome. He was held in captivity, waiting to see what would happen next. The Philippians may have been worrying about him, but Paul’s concern has been for them. How can he not be worried about what is happening to him? Because they all share in God’s grace. God’s grace transcends circumstances, it is greater than circumstances. As Paul says in Romans 5:2, we stand in the grace of God, it is the environment in which we live.

1:8

Paul wants his hearers to know the love he has for them. Remember that in 1 Cor 13 Paul writes that if we have not love we are nothing, no matter what gifts we might have or exercise. We all know that Paul is the great theologian of the New Testament, but in all his letters, and in Acts, it is apparent that his relationship with the people in the churches was crucial as well. And he loves them with the affection of Jesus Christ. This could mean he loves them with the same affection that Christ loved His disciples and loves the church. Or it could mean that the love of Christ is flowing through Paul to the Philippians.