Philippians Chapter 1: Life in Christ
Paul was absolutely the greatest letter writer in history. Thirteen letters in the New Testament were written by the apostle Paul. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he shared his heart while sitting in a Roman prison somewhere around 62 A.D. We are going to look at the one he wrote to the church of Philippi in Northern Greece. This was a church that he had started about ten years earlier. It was the first church in Europe and it was doing well. And Paul’s young disciple Timothy is in Rome ministering to him while he is in prison.
Philippians chapter one, verse one: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus in Philippi, together with the overseers and the deacons, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Whenever I do get around to writing a letter, I will usually include something like “I hope you and your family are doing well at this time.” Paul also shows concern for the health of his friends. And he acknowledged his own health problems showing he cared about the physical needs of the human body. But look at where his emphasis is in verse two. “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” What a marvelous prayer Paul is offering for God’s people. And that includes us. You say, “Why? How come?” Because we have been the recipients of God’s grace. If we believe in Christ as Lord and Savior, we become sons and daughters of God, members of God’s family and members in the kingdom of God. And it is to these that He chooses to extend His grace. Accepting the grace of God offered in Jesus Christ and His finished work is not a way to earn heaven but it is to these God has promised to forgive and accept into His eternal presence. God’s mercy caused Him to refrain from condemning us for our original lostness and God’s grace caused Him to provide from Himself the means whereby we could be born into the family of God.
Without grace and mercy, we would be under the old system of laws and judgment and if that were still the case, the greeting of verse two might read something like this, “Judgment and guilt and rejection be upon you from a holy God who cannot tolerate your sin, so shape up.” Once in a while we need to pause to thank God for the marvelous gift of salvation that He has given to us. And what about peace? Jesus not only provided our peace with God by His death and resurrection, He gave us something out of His own personal possessions. He said, “I will gladly give to all of you who follow me, my peace.” John 14:27: “My peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give unto you.” It is as though He is saying, “My peace is genuine, do not be troubled or afraid.”
Paul calls us “saints.” How do you describe a saint and what do you have to do to become a saint? Do you have to see a vision or belong to the Catholic Church and be recognized by its leader, the pope? You do not earn sainthood, nor is it granted to you by another human being. It is a gift of God. The Greek word “haggeoi” means holy in the sense of being set aside for God. It is saying that we are a special people, exclusively set aside for His purposes and glory. How come? Do not miss it. We have a new position because we are, verse one, in Christ Jesus. It is my only claim. In Christ Jesus I am acceptable to God. My position before God as a Christian is not based on any inherent goodness in me or the quantity or quality of my deeds since becoming a Christian. My position or standing before God is totally dependent upon and assured by my “in Christness.” John’s gospel says, “I am in Christ and Christ is in me.” Paul in his Ephesian letter points out, “Before the creation of the world it was determined by God that when we are in Christ, we become the chosen ones.” Our chosenness is in our “in Christness.” God the Father chooses to save those who receive His Son, those who are placed “in Christ” by the Holy Spirit of God.
Now look at verses 3-5. Paul begins to express his gratitude to these people. Every time he prays, he prays with joy in his heart because they are partners in the gospel ministry. What a great group of people. What a great church. What a tremendous challenge for us as a church to be partnered up with the likes of the apostle Paul and with Jesus Christ. Paul’s joy, verse 6, is based on his confidence that God who began the work in them when they became believers will carry on His purposes for each one of them to completeness, not just haphazardly, until the day of Jesus Christ. The good work begun by God is the action God took at the time of our conversion--the implantation of the Holy Spirit into each one of us. We need to take time to thank God for the wonder of what we have. A young Oswald Chambers had the privilege of a personal meeting with D.L. Moody. Moody asked Oswald, “Young man, are you sure you’re going to heaven?” Oswald said, “I hope so.” Moody says, “John 5:24, take a glance at that and read every word of it. ‘He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me HATH eternal life and shall not pass into condemnation.’ Read it again,” he said. “Do you think you’re going to heaven?” “I think so.” “Read it again.” He read it again. He got it! “Yes, I understand. I believe.” And the interesting thing to me is D.L. Moody partnered with God and the result was Oswald Chambers. Oswald Chambers partnered with God and his life and writings have blessed many. Partnering with God is the key. We can partner with God and be used for His glory. Notice that it was God who began the good work. God authored our salvation. God gave us our forgiveness. God will sustain us and God will work in and through us and He will complete His work in us.
God’s work for us began when Christ came into our hearts. His work in us began as we believed in Him and now God’s Holy Spirit living in us enables us to become more like Christ as we walk with Him in partnership and the Holy Spirit is our counselor and our guide. I love this sixth verse because it leaves us no room to doubt or fear. I hope every one of us has this memorized--“He who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ.” The bottom line is not my strength, not my fortitude, it is God’s faithfulness and the confidence we can have in His faithfulness.
With chains dangling around his wrist and elite troops guarding him, what can he do? It seems hopeless. He seems destined to living a useless, inconsequential life, stuck in a Roman prison with no great activity to look forward to or great adventure to excite his senses. But Paul teaches us that it does not have to be that way. Even when there are limitations put on us we can still be useful for God. What does he do? First, he shares what he does have. He shares the grace and love of Christ with all who were near him. He did not have possessions to share so he shared himself and His Lord. He shared the gospel. At an earlier time, recorded in Acts 16, when Paul was in Philippi attempting to plant a church, he was thrown into prison. He had a lot of prison experiences. In the middle of the night he and Silas were having their own little praise and worship service and the other prisoners were listening. And suddenly a violent earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. The prison doors flew open, we read, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer saw this and knew he could not prevent all these guys from escaping so he decided to kill himself. In those days, if you were a head jailer and someone escaped you paid a heavy price—your life. But before the jailer could kill himself Paul assured him that no one had left. It appears from the context that Paul and those with him deliberately chose to stay in order to spare the life of this man. Having already heard Paul teach about God and His Son Jesus Christ, when he saw such unusual behavior by these prisoners, he said, “What do I have to do to get into this kingdom of God and be saved?” He gave his life to Christ right there in that jail. He became one of the foundational members of the Philippian church. Because of Paul’s sharing the gospel in a difficult situation, a key member was added to the Philippian church.
Next, we can show love and care. Look at verse 8 and notice certain words of Paul. “For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.” The words of a person reveal a lot about his or her character. He has strong feelings toward these people. They are in his heart. He longs to be with them with great Christian affection and he wants the best for them. In verse nine, he wants them to have the knowledge, insight, and discernment that all work together to move them to maturity in Christ Jesus. He cares about them enough to want the best for them.
The third thing is prayer. Listen to this man’s prayer. “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.” He prays that their love may abound. I ask myself, how does love abound? How did Jesus Christ love? He gave of Himself for the benefit of others. The cross is the ultimate example of His giving. How did Paul love? With Christ’s grace, the same way. In Romans chapter nine, verses two and three, Paul says that he has great sorrow and unceasing anguish in his heart for the welfare of his people. “I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Jesus Christ.” That is pretty heavy. That is caring love. Let me read it to you again. Can you sense the great sorrow and unceasing anguish in his heart? “I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers.” The same sacrificial love that was inherent in Christ was now active in Paul. When there is nothing else that can be done, Paul’s actions demonstrate that we can always share, care, and pray.
Paul prays (vs. 9 and 10) that his people in Philippi would be wise and discerning. Some of them had apparently become either proud or nitpicky. Later in chapter two when he asks them to stop complaining and arguing and in chapter four he even mentions the names of two contentious ladies. Whenever you have a problem in a relationship, you do well to stop complaining and go to praying for that person. If you are sincere, it is bound to change you and it will probably help the relationship. The end result, the last part of verse 11, will be to the glory of God. “Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of Christ Jesus, giving Him the glory.” If we truly seek the glory of God with nothing else on our agenda, God will bless us and He will hear our prayer. That means focusing on what really matters--Jesus Christ and being filled with the fruit of righteousness (verse 11). What a great example this is for us, for the children of God. Paul lets us into his innermost being in this prayer.
How much care can we have? Starting with verse 12, we see Paul is still in chains, yet the only thing that he has on his mind is the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is what he is living for. They put Paul in chains to shut him in and shut him up. And neither one of those things was accomplished. So, what happens? Paul teaches every guard that was chained to him (v. 13). They change them frequently, so all the guards got to hear the gospel. The whole palace guard, the elite troops of the emperor, as well as many others, begin to realize that Paul is in prison because of his walk with Christ. He was not a threat to anyone. Because of his imprisonment, a negative, suffering, unhappy, testing experience, what happened? All sorts of people are being reached with the gospel of Christ--people who would never otherwise hear. Is it not strange how God works, sometimes? Paul’s arrest and his imprisonment, it is believed he has been in prison about two years at this point in time, have resulted in the gospel moving out in many new directions. And look at his mindset. His current circumstances were not as important as what God was doing. When Paul got a vision of how God was working in such a unique way, he rejoiced.
When you know who you are, what you are doing, and where you are going, you can put up with anything. Let me say that again. When you know who you are, a child of God, what you are doing, serving the Lord Christ, and where you are going, heaven and Christ’s presence, you can put up with anything. And that is Paul’s attitude. What a tremendous thing. We may not be in prison right now, but we all feel times of discouragement, indecision, joblessness, whatever it might be, difficulties, family conflict, you name it. How we act in those situations reveals what we believe and where our hope really is.
The next paragraph is one that as I read it I say, “Paul, I wish you hadn’t said that.” Verse 15: “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. The latter do so in love, but the former ones out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.” That troubles me. Verse 18: “But what does it matter? Christ, the important thing is being preached and I will rejoice and I will continue to rejoice.” I have a rough time with that. Paul has a lot more maturity than I have. Whenever I see some of these guys living hypocritical, dishonest, even immoral lives preaching the gospel and seeing people come to Christ because of their preaching, it bugs me. It really does. I think there ought to be a consistency between our doctrines and our deeds. It just does not seem right that good results can come from a divided heart. But Paul sees the importance of preaching the gospel of Christ in a land that otherwise would not hear it. And for this he rejoices. In recent years I have learned to accept the words of Paul and rejoice whenever the gospel is preached. Of course, I would prefer it be preached without misleading and contradictory behavioral baggage but I will rejoice if someone comes to Christ no matter who is preaching—for salvation is a God thing, anyway. Evangelists, pastors, and missionaries do not save anyone; God does the saving. And if He is able to use the preaching of a less than perfect, maybe even overly ambitious, preacher to prick a sinner’s heart, then so be it. I have learned that some people have come to know Christ through scallywag, rascal evangelists—not because of them but because of Him. And I had better rejoice for those people. Does this excuse immorality, deceit or malice? No! Maybe, just maybe God is trying to show me that He can use even some despised things to bring glory to His name. You want a good illustration of this? In Numbers chapter 22, verses 21-34, what does God use? A donkey! God can use simple things to confound us when we are not doing what we ought to do.
Paul begins to share his philosophy not just for tough times but for all of life. Paul has had a tough, but exciting, useful and rewarding life and he wants to finish well. The older I get, the more this needs to be my goal. Verse 20: “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but will have sufficient courage.” It is his desire to commit himself to have faith and trust in God’s ability to work out His will in his life “so that now as always Jesus Christ will be exalted in [him] whether [he] lives or dies.” Why? Verse 21: “For to me to live is Christ.” It is sad to see many drop off along the way. One of the most influential persons in my early Christian life, a close friend in college and seminary, turned away from God. I got together with him in California years later, just a few months before he died as an alcoholic. We had a great visit and shared some of the good times we used to have together, but as soon as I mentioned anything that was even close to being spiritual, he shut it off and walked away. That was a sad day for me.
Have you memorized this verse? “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” To those who do not believe in God, life on earth is all there is. Naturally, this reduces most people’s goals to popularity, power, position, pleasure, the almighty buck, and a myriad of other mundane and temporary things. With Paul, the essence of life was knowing and walking with Christ. And since Paul was ready to die for Christ, he was ready to live for Him. That is what it takes. If you are not ready to die for Christ, you are not ready to live for Him.
Now I have to ask each one of you to answer this important question. If you cannot say with Paul, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” how would you say it? “For me to live is_____, and to die is _____.” Fill in the spaces. I have asked young people this in my various ministries and many times they gave me some spiritual-sounding cliché because they knew I was a pastor. “We must be nice and tell the pastor what he wants to hear at all times otherwise we might hurt the man. Or he will think less of us.” But if you talk to them awhile they will say, with tears in their eyes, they want one of two things--fun or popularity. That is it. Fun or popularity. I say, “I know that. I knew it all along. I have been young. I have been there, done that, felt that way.” That is very natural, but we need to ask ourselves today, how will we fill in that word? “For me to live is entertainment?” Is life really just about engaging our senses? “For me to live is money?” The majority of Lotto winners end up in family battles and breakups over the money? And one of the greatest kings of Wall Street said at the end of his life, “The money I made enslaved me. The money I made made a slave out of me.” For me to live is power? Whether you are a king or queen with a whole nation at your whim and disposal, it does not matter. You cannot take it with you. Queen Elizabeth cried out on her deathbed, “All my kingdom for an inch of time.”
Some think it is about possessions. Let me tell you a true story about a wealthy billionaire who gave some specific instructions about how he wanted to be buried. He wanted to be propped up in the front seat of a beautiful Rolls Royce convertible with a cigar in his mouth, golf clubs in the back seat, bags of money to the side, case of fine whiskey on the passenger seat. As he was being lowered into the grave with all of this stuff surrounding him, one of his best friends looked at the spectacle and said, “Man, that is really living.” Ummm? You mean the purpose of life is to have enough stuff so that you can be buried with a lot of it when you die? It is not about things or possessions. Listen to Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:19, 20): “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” That billionaire was a fool! What good is it if we gain the whole world but lose our own souls (Matthew 16:26)?
Is Christ alive in you, today? If so, how obvious is it? Can you think of someone about whom you can say, “I know that for that person to live is Christ.” Think of anybody like that? Ollie and I were talking about this and I thought of her dad. He is a man about whom I can say for him to live was Christ. No sacrifice was too great, no gift was too costly, no care that he would not share, nothing else on his agenda. His business was only a means to an end to serve God. She told me about a missionary named T.J. Box. He was one of the early missionaries for Evangelical Alliance Mission and when Ollie was a kid he used to come to the house and have lunch on Sundays after worship service. Ollie said that when he came to the house, she thought God had come. Do you think there is someone somewhere who is looking at you today and saying, “I think for that person to live is Christ.” Is it going to be possible for that to possibly be said about you? Because that is what it is about. Can you say with Paul, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
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