All for Christ (Philippians 1:1-11)

Introduction

The European city of Philippi became a Roman colony in 42 BC. Caesar Augustus transformed the city into a city for army veterans. The retired soldiers enjoyed special benefits from Rome for all their years fighting for Rome. “Gospel” refers to the message a herald of Rome who would give news of Roman victory. So, in Acts 16, when Paul and Silas preach the gospel in Philippi, it would be like walking into the local VFW waving the Chinese flag.

Paul likely wrote this letter in AD 60-62 from Rome during his first imprisonment. His main purpose seems to be to thank the church and encourage them as Christ’s VFW to continue working out the work of Christ in their lives.

The Passage

Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:1–11

Summary of the Passage

In verses 1-2, Paul introduces the main characters in his letter. First, he introduces himself and Timothy as slaves of Christ. Second, he addresses the church in Philippi along with their officers. Lastly, Paul blesses them with the blessing from the triune God (v.2).

In verses 3-8, Paul explains his prayers of thanksgiving for church. Whenever Paul prays for them, he thanks God for them (v.3). All of those prayers are joyful prayers, not disappointed prayers (v. 4). He then gives 4 reasons for these joyful prayers. First, he has such joyful and thankful prayers because they fellowship around the gospel (v. 5). Second, Paul is confident that God will mature them; his prayers are not in vain (v. 6). Third, Paul has the church in his heart because they fight for the same gospel (v. 7). Fourth, Paul desires the church with the gut-wrenching love of Christ (v. 8).

In verses 9-11, Paul describes his requests of growth for the church. He prays that the church will have a love that grows into discernment and understanding (v. 9). This discerning love will have three effects. First, the church will be able to approve what is excellent. Second, because they know what is excellent, they can live both sincerely and blameless until Christ’s second coming (v. 10). Third, this discerning love displays the fruit of righteousness planted by Jesus, which gives God glory (v. 11).

The Slaves, Saints, and Spirit of Christ (1-2)

Paul addresses the church in Philippi, who he calls saints. Notice the difference in titles. He and Timothy are slaves of Jesus while the church are saints. He also addresses the two types of officers in the church—pastors and deacons. In the first verse, all you need for a church are saints to worship, pastors to lead, and deacons to serve. What positions in church do we think are necessary today? If they are necessary, why didn’t Paul mention them?

Paul greets them with the grace and peace from God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, some have rightly asked, where’s the Holy Spirit? I side with Jonathan Edwards that the Holy Spirit is the grace and peace. When the Philippian church or Friendship Baptist church lives according to the Father and Son’s commands, it is the work of the Spirit.

The Prayers, Affection, and Fellowship of Christ (3-8)

Paul seeks to share this gift of God with his prayers. Notice how joyful and thankful his prayer is. I believe such joy and gratitude can only happen because Paul has the affection of Christ, and the church shares the fellowship of Christ. Affection is actually a bad translation. The KJV does it better and says the “bowels of Christ.” The same gut-wrenching love Christ has for the church, Paul has. We will see what this love means throughout the letter: sacrifice, humility, unity around Christ, service. If you have the affections of Christ, you probably have bruises for it.

The church responds to Paul’s love for them with fellowship (v. 5,7). The church surrounds around the good news of Jesus, no longer the good news of the emperor. They aren’t ashamed of Paul making a fool of himself for Christ. The church faced social sacrifice for fellowshipping with Paul. There were a lot of temptation to just let Paul rot in prison, but the church didn’t budge. Today, what would cause a church to be tempted to no longer fellowship and defend a leader like Paul? A nice reputation? Comfort?

Notice, in the NT letter known for joy, you can already see reason for it—the people didn’t just say “I love you” or “let’s fellowship.” They changed the way the loved to love like Jesus. They changed the way they fellowshipped to make sure that it’s all about Jesus.

Our Goal and Glory for Christ (9-11)

Paul’s prayer and confidence is that God would finish what He started with the church (v.6). In verses 9-11, we see a glimpse of what this finished project would look like. It would look like love with a head and brain. Biblical love is not the same thing as sentimentality even though we use the word “love” for both. A mom may refuse to spank her 3-year-old because she says she loves him. But God defines the love of a parent in Proverbs 3:12 as someone who spanks their 3-year-old. Paul wants intelligent love, not sentimental love because the church can be easily manipulated with sentimentality. A church gets a review on Facebook that it is “unloving to ____.” The ___ could be children, women, singles, motorcycle riders, or traveling circus performers. It doesn’t really matter. But a sentimental love lacks the understanding and discernment to respond biblically. Most churches after facing an accusation like that will redefine everything they do. They will start programs, hire staff, overhaul their website in order to gain the approval of ____. But they shouldn’t be receiving other’s approval in the first place! They should be approving what is excellent, which can only happen with eyes of discernment looking at the Bible. When Christians love with an obedient heart, they will bear righteous fruit, which was planted by Christ.

Conclusion

            Look at the fruit of this church over the last 50 years. Is it righteous? Was their excellence? Has there been discernment? If the answer is yes to all three, then you can say there has been love.