Philippians

Chapters 1-6

The Holy Spirit is always in control.  Paul, on his second missionary journey, traveled as far as Troas on the northwest coast of Asia Minor, across the Aegean Sea from Greece.  Planning to minister in Asia, Paul’s, mind was changed one night by a visit from a vision, urging Paul to, “Come over to Macedonia, and help us (Acts 16:9).  Paul immediately set sail for Macedonia with Timothy, Luke, and Silas.  On the Sabbath, the missionaries went down by the riverside where a group of women gathered to pray.  One of them was Lydia, a seller of purple goods.  When she accepted the gospel message, she became the first know Christian convert on the continent of Europe.  Often called the Epistle of Joy, the letter gives us further insight into the wonders of a believer’s walk with Christ.

Chapter 1 –Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer.

Paul opens with his customary salutation of grace and peace to all the saints, with the bishops and deacons (vv.1,2).  He describes himself and Timothy as “bondservants,” slaves who voluntarily turned their lives over to their masters.  What is extraordinary is that this term “bondservant” meant a total submission of the individual to his owner – he had no rights of his own.  His will was the will of his master.  We nod our head in agreement when we are called to be fellow bondservants, but it is little wonder that many of us have no joy in our Christian experience when we do not submit to the authority and control of the Lord Jesus Christ!  Paul wrote to all the saints, who included all of the men and women  in the small congregation and included their spiritual leaders the bishops as well as the servant leaders, the deacons.

1.            Giving Praise To God For Others – 1:3-8

The first way we can experience joy in our attitudes towards others is by learning to praise God for other people.  Paul had a continual attitude of praise in his heart when he thought of the Philippians,  and continually acknowledged them in prayer to God.  It is very hard to  have much joy in our relationships with others if we do not learn to give thanks to God for them.  One of the ways we can relate to others is in prayer for their needs.  Paul did so with a heart full of joy (v.4).  Something else we can learn from his example is that Paul prayed for them whenever he thought of them.

He praised the Philippians because of their close work with him as partners in spreading the Word (v.5).  Even Paul needed the encouragement of fellow Christians sharing the difficult work of preaching the Good News to a hostile crowd.  Often we see the new born-again Christians full of fire and eager to share the Word, while older, more “mature?” believers are content to sit back and think, “now, let somebody else do it.”  V. 6 is important here – “And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until the day it is finished on that day when Christ comes again.”  The original Greek translated “began” as “has begun” and refers to salvation itself.  When God begins the work of salvation in a person, He finishes and perfects that work..  The verb “will continue” (will complete), points to the eternal security of the Christian ( John 6:39,40,44; Rom. 5:10; 8:29-39; Eph. 1:13,14).  “When Christ comes again” refers to that day of the Judgment Seat of Christ (the Bema Seat), when the final aspect of salvation takes place, rewards are bestowed and believers are glorified.

V.9 – Paul expresses the depth of his love for these dear brothers and sisters with the tender compassion of the Lord Jesus.  Paul prays for them but doesn’t ask for wealth, comfort, or freedom from trouble for them.  Instead, he asks that “their love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding.”  Is this how we pray for others, or do we pray for the things of little consequence and lasting value?  Do we pray for God’s will in all things?  Instead, Paul prays that they would grow in knowledge and understanding (discernment), that they may remain perceptive, always attempting to distinguish right from wrong.

V.11 – What is the “fruit of your salvation?”  (A) The fruit that salvation produces is righteousness, being declared holy and blameless before our God and the assurance of our salvation through the indwelling H.S..  God continues this work in us (Sanctification) to that final day of salvation, our glorification in heaven.

Paul’s Joy that Christ is preached vv.12-19

Far from being bitter over the circumstances of persecution and imprisonment in Rome, he rejoices because he knows that all that is happening is part of God’s perfect plan and is actually working for good, giving the Christians in Rome confidence and boldness in their stand with Christ.  Paul loves his Lord so much and is so dedicated to Him, that he is willing to overlook those who preach because of bitter jealousies against him.  All that matters is that Christ is preached.

Paul’s Life For Christ – vv.20-26

In spite of the circumstances surrounding him in his Roman prison, with the full expectation of death awaiting him, he knows that the Philippians are praying for him and that the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit is with him and will deliver him.  He certainly is not afraid of death and prays that “there would be no shame in anything he does and that he would always be bold for Christ and that his life would honor Christ, whether he live or die (v.20).”  Paul utters one of the great statements of the Christian faith –v.21 –“For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better.”  “  Which one is better, living for Him or dying for Him (v.22)?”  Isn’t it something we all cry out for sometimes, just to finally be in heaven with Christ and leave all of the suffering, pain, and horror of this world behind.  Yet there are so many yet to be lead to Christ;  Family, friends and a world full of others yet to be saved.

Live as Citizens of Heaven –vv.27-30

“…You must live in manner worthy of the Good News about Christ, as citizens of heaven.”  We are to live a life of integrity- to live consistent to what we believe, teach and preach.  The original Greek for “You must live” is a word that translates into “a matter of being a good citizen.”  What is our motivation for being good citizens of heaven?  We are to conduct ourselves as being worthy of the Gospel of Christ.  In the context of the paragraph, it seems that he is referring to suffering at the hands of those who oppose the Gospel.  Paul knows that these believers will suffer for Christ and encourages them to “stand side by side, fighting together for the Good News (v.27).”

V.29 is important to understand.  “For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for Him.  It is for Christ that we suffer and this a privilege from God the Father.  It is the very thing we need to build our lives and to give us positive evidence of our relationship with Him.

Chapter 2 – Unity Through Humility

V.1 – “Is there any encouragement” is better translated, “Since there is so much encouragement in Christ, since His love has such a tremendous persuasiveness, since the H.S. brings us all together in such a wonderful fellowship, and since there is so much tender affection and mercy in Christianity, we should all be able to get along in happy harmony with one another.”  All of this behavior is unity based on our common devotion to Christ.

V.2 – Paul desires a little bit of heaven right here on earth.  He asks the believers to fill the cup of his joy to overflowing –how?- by agreeing whole heartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose.  There seems to be a problem in the church and we will see that in chapter 4; two women can’t seem to get along.  We can safely say that the two problems of the Philippian believers were unity and joy.

V.3 –Paul would have a difficult time with today’s “it’s all about me” world.  Here he is admonishing the believers “not to be selfish but to be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.”  When we look at Jesus, we get the proper perspective.  Who are we to think we are better when compared to Christ?

The key verse in this whole chapter and a principle of joy is verse 5 – “Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.”

What is that attitude?  Christ existed from all eternity as God –He is God in the truest sense of the word.  He always was, is, and will be equal with God.  Positionally, while equal with God in everyway, He was able to freely relinquish His position and give Himself to a world condemned in sin.  He went so far as to humble Himself by dying on the cross.  To be like Him (like-minded) really means to see things as He would see them, and respond as He would respond, to have the same love to others that the Lord has shown to us.

V.12 is often misinterpreted.  “…you must be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.”  The NKJV reads, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”  The question is, does “work out your own salvation” refer to the salvation of your soul and that salvation can be earned by works?  Throughout his writings, Paul emphasizes that salvation is not by works but by faith alone in Christ Jesus.  So, what does this mean?  It could mean that we are to live out the salvation we already have by living lives of holiness.  It may, and probably does, mean the solution to their problem in Philippi.  Their church was full of arguing and strife.  Paul had given them the remedy to fix it.  Now they are to apply the remedy by having the mind of Christ.

V.13 –It is possible for them to work out their salvation because it is God who works in them giving them the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.  It is only God who can enable us to do it!

Paul ends this part of his letter with the admonishment to live clean, honest lives, as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people.  In contrast and as examples, we are to let our light shine brightly before them.  He urges them to hold tightly to the word of life.  It means to get a firm grip on it, letting the Word of God be the pattern of our life in a dark world.  Paul is all of that!  He is living his life as a drink offering, literally meaning a cup of wine poured out on an animal sacrifice and the steam of the wine vaporizing, rising up to God.  His life was being poured out on the Philippians sacrificial service to God.

Chapter 3 – The Priceless Gain of Knowing Christ

“Whatever happens…rejoice in the Lord.”  Continual joy should be the theme of every Christian’s life!  One commentator suggests that “perhaps we are not experiencing joy is because we have not learned the sphere in which we are to rejoice.”  Other places in Scripture (Rom.5:3-5; James 1:2-4) tell us to look at the trials and hardships of life with joy knowing that they will produce maturity in our lives.  Here Paul does not tell us to rejoice in circumstances, difficulties, problems, or blessings, but “in the Lord.”  What he is suggesting is that in spite of the circumstances of life, there is no abundant joy apart from Christ.  To rejoice in the Lord is the key to the message of the Book of Philippians.  Christ is our joy!

As we have seen before in other texts, one of Paul’s main problems was the opposition from the Judaizers.  His language here is strong as he describes them as “evil doers, mutilators of the flesh who say you must be circumcised to be saved (v.2).  They argued that Gentile converts must be circumcised in order to be saved because this was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen.12:3).  Paul argues in Romans 4:9-13, “For we say, faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness…and that he is the father of those who also follow in his steps of the faith which he had while uncircumcised.”  In other words, Abraham and all who believe by faith as he did, are saved and declared righteous.  Today we do not face the opposition of Judaizers who demand circumcision, but we do face the similar problem of legalists who demand some outward, human effort in order to be saved.  We have seen in other passages that this might include baptism for salvation, speaking in tongues or any other human effort, which is in addition to the work of Jesus.

Paul argues that “only we who worship God in the Spirit” are the ones to be saved (v.3).”  It is never about what we do, but what Jesus did for us. 

q       What does he mean by “worship in the Spirit?”  Worship is the essential characteristic of a Christian and means to give respectful spiritual service to God, while “Spirit” should have a small “s,” to indicate the inner person.  These are the ones who are really circumcised, that is, “cut off” from all others, separated for Christ In Christ, by Christ.

Paul urges us, by giving examples of his early life as a Jew, to not live in the past and boast of past accomplishments.  He considers these “Worthless because of what Christ has done (v.7).”  The NKJV translates this to say, “What things were gain…I have counted as loss.” The word for gain in the Greek means “profit” and “loss” is also an accounting term meaning business loss.  He is in essence making a spiritual spreadsheet wherein all of his Jewish religious credentials he thought were in his profit column, were actually worthless and damning.  For a true believer, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  Christ isn’t just some abstract “head knowledge,” He must be the Lord of everything in our lives.  Everything!  All else is garbage and useless to hold on to, so that we may have Christ and become one with Him.  Our faith must be radical and we must put Christ our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Advocate, our Hope, first over everything else in our lives.

q       Why?  Because God’s way of making us right with Him depends on our faith in Christ alone as Savior.

q       The Result?  V.10 –“I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead.  I can learn what it means to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead” For a Christian, the Resurrection of Christ is everything and He wondrously allows us to share in it.  As Christ died for the purpose of redeeming sinners, so we too have the same purpose; not in dying, but willing to do so to share the gospel with the lost.

Pressing Toward the Goal

VV. 12-14 - Paul uses the analogy of a runner to describe the Christian’s spiritual growth.  The believer has not yet reached the goal of Christ likeness, but like the runner in a race, he must continue to pursue it.  Why?  So that someday we will finally be, all that Christ saved us for and wants us to be.  How?  “By focusing all of our energies on achieving that goal; forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, we strain to reach the end and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.”

V.20 – “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus lives.”  It is our home and our names are already registered there (Luke 10:20) and our inheritance awaits us there.  “We are” indicates that right now, this very moment we are citizens of heaven, already positionally seated with Christ at God’s right hand.  All that is His awaits us there!  This is where Christians find their joy, in the things above.  We are on this earth waiting for the return of the Savior to take us home, where we receive our glorified bodies and the fullness of our inheritance as His bride.

Chapter 4- Paul’s Appeal For Harmony

Paul begs Euodia and Syntche, two prominent women in Philippi and probably leaders of two opposing factions, to settle their disagreement because it was threatening to tear apart the church.  V. 3 – in addition to being citizens in heaven, believers already have their names written in the Lambs Book of Life.  In eternity past, God registered all the names of the elect in that Book which identifies those inheritors of eternal life (Rev.3: 5; Rev. 17:8; 20:12; Luke 10:20).

Paul urges us with reassuring words, to be full of joy in the Lord, considerate in all we do, not worrying about anything, instead, praying about everything.  When our heart is in the right place, so is our mind.  He urges us to tell God what we need, and thank Him for all He has done.  Too often, we ask but forget to praise.  Knowing we can come to the Father with any need brings us joy and God’s peace, which no human accomplishment can equal.

How should we live the Christ life and experience His joy?       VV. 8,9 – We are to concentrate our thoughts on what is true, honorable, and right.  We are to think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable, things excellent and worthy of praise.  We are not simply to talk about these things and sit on our hands; we are to put them into practice if we want God’s peace.  “For I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (v.13).”  In sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in good times and in bad, we can do all things because Christ strengthens us through the indwelling Spirit.  “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.