The Joy-Filled Book of Philippians {Part 1}
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.”
The opening words of Paul to his friends in Philippi have held a special resonation within my heart during this season of sheltering in place… Grace {God’s unmerited favor}… Peace {that passes all understanding}… Father {daddy, the One who loves us}… Lord {the One I have committed my life to}… Thank {in everything}… My God {Jehovah, Yahweh, Creator, Sustainer, my Joy}… Remembrance {I miss you}… You {my friends}… Words that too often I gloss by with no recollection, I sit for a moment today and reflect, for if the book of Philippians had a verse of summary, this just might be it.
For the past two months, I have had the blessed opportunity to teach the entire book of Philippians to a group of women that I truly love in an online format. As I so often see Him do, God has aligned each week of the book to speak into the situations that have rattled our nation and the world since 2020 began. It has been a great study and one I hope to never forget. So here I am, taking the step of transferring my chicken-scratch teaching notes into a narrative form to share with you and to also have for my own future recollection. I pray it blesses you.
Who are these people?
Understanding the characters of our story is always an important first step to understanding a letter written between them. So, here’s a little run-down to help you remember. If you are not familiar with these Bible stories, I’ve included scripture references for your reading pleasure.
Paul — Remember the devout Jewish guy named Saul who stood by as Stephen was being stoned (Acts 7:58) and was terrorizing and persecuting the early church? Then, while he was traveling on the road to Damascus a light from heaven shone on him, threw him to the ground, and said “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?… I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” And then he was blind and, after a man named Ananias preached Christ to him, he became a devout missionary for Jesus. Also, he changed his name to Paul. (Read Acts 9 for more info!) Well, that’s the author of our book! Paul is now in prison in another city for preaching about Jesus and this is one of his “prison epistles” — a letter he wrote while in prison to his friends/churches he helped to start.
Timothy — Paul’s “child in the faith.” Timothy and Paul are close friends and missionary companions. (see 1 and 2 Timothy)
The Philippian Church— In Acts 16, we read the story of this church in Philippi that Paul had the privilege of helping to start. This was a Roman colony in Macedonia. Philippi is where we meet Lydia, a seller of purple, who hosted Paul and held church in her house. Here we also have the story of the time Paul and Silas were in jail for casting a demon from a slave girl and they began to sing and pray in the night and an earthquake freed them from their chains. Paul frequently checked on the churches he planted and loved and the Philippian church was no different. This book was written about ten years after Paul first met and began worshiping/partnering with the Philippian church. He visited them a few times over the years during his famed missionary journeys.
The Women — Since I lead a women’s Bible study, I like to take a look at the women we meet along the way. Paul calls out several women for being faithful ministers to him and to the church throughout Acts and this book. We see Lydia and others being hospitable and playing instrumental roles in the growth of this church. I am so thankful for the ways God allows women to serve in His church!
Epaphroditus — A messenger who went back and forth between Paul and the Philippians bringing financial gifts and letters.
Philippians 1:1–11
“(1) Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: (2) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (3) I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, (4) always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, (5) in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. (6) 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. (7) 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 are partakers of grace with me. (8) For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. (9) And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, (10) so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; (11) having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
{I encourage you to read the passage above. Really read it. Read it again. Don’t gloss over it because it might be familiar.}
So here we are, welcome to the book of Philippians! Did anyone else read verse 8 and say, “YES! I get this! God alone knows how bad I long to have fellowship again — in person, in a close circle, with hugs, and without masks!” When I read this verse the first week of teaching this study I wanted to shout this aching pain within my heart from the rooftops: “I miss being with God’s people!” Sheltering in place has been so hard. So, so utterly hard. When Paul wrote this book, he was in prison. He truly meant this. God alone saw his struggle and desire to be with those he loved. He, as we should, was concerned that his brothers and sisters in the Lord were doing OK and wanted to encourage them in their walk. But, alas, here I have started my outline of the book of Philippians and immediately gotten the verses out of order so I will rewind back and take it from the beginning.
“(1) Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: (2) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
We spoke earlier about the authors of this book, Paul and Timothy, and the Philippian church they are writing to. This book is a letter and was meant to be read in its entirety in a single sitting {something I encourage you to do — doing so has been really awesome for me!}. The letter was for the whole church, from the overseers and deacons to all of the saints who attended and Paul uses the first verses to set this stage. I love how he addresses everyone as equals before the Lord — the Bible is for each of us. I also love how he reminds them of the unity they have through Christ as His saints. In this book, we will see a lot about fellowship, unity, and partnership in Christ and let’s just say Paul fully shows himself in support of a unified body who fellowships together regularly and loves one another.
Paul and Timothy use the term “bondservants” to describe their own relationship to Christ Jesus, and their relationship to the church. Paul doesn’t use this opening statement to say, “Hey, it’s me, Paul — the guy who started your super successful church!” but rather takes a humble state of being Christ’s servant. A bondservant in that day wasn’t just a servant. It was more a term used for one who is a slave devoted to his master for life. Similar phrasings in Hebrew in the Old Testament were used to describe Moses, David, and others as being a “servant of the Lord.”
“(3) I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, (4) always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, (5) in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. (6) 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.”
Paul thanks God for each member of this church. In fact, his posture about them is thankful anytime he thinks about them. So let’s turn this one to ourselves… How different would my attitude toward my life group, church, friends, etc be if everytime they, individually or collectively, came to mind I said a joyful prayer of thanksgiving for these people? We throw this verse out on greeting cards like a cliche phrase but Paul meant this with sincerity. When he thought of the Philippians, he prayed thankfully for them. Every prayer was peppered with thankfulness and joy. Every time they came to mind. He just did not allow his mind to rest in gossipy, self-seeking, or angry places when it came to his church friends in Philippi. We are going to see in these passages that the Philippians held a special place in Paul’s heart and I would challenge us that maybe this posture of gratefulness for these friends is part of the reason for that.
Paul is able to thank God for the Philippians because he knows that God is, and will continue, working in them. He has seen their participation in the gospel and he sees the fruit of their faith. He has seen their faithfulness to the gospel work for years and it brings him immense joy.
Paul confidently states in verse six that he knows God will complete the work He began in them. Paul knows he serves a faithful God and he knows he can trust this faithful God with the hearts of those he loves. This verse is such a beautiful declaration of God’s faithfulness that we can say and pray over ourselves and one another. We can be confident that, whatever our circumstances, God will continue to work in us and will perfectly complete that work. This truth can provide such comfort to those of us going through a struggle season — God has not left us hung out to dry — He is working in us to perfect (The meaning of this word is “to mature.” Nowhere in scripture are we led to believe that God will make people perfect while here on earth.) us until we see Jesus face to face.
“(7) 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 are partakers of grace with me. (8) For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”
Paul sees the Philippians as equal participants in this gospel work — both in the good and in the bad. We are going to see this verbiage again later in this book, where Paul sees these people who live far away from his imprisoned self as being right there with him, sharing in Christ’s work. He doesn’t see himself as someone above them or who has “one up” on them spiritually but as workers together. He knows that seeing him imprisoned is tough on the Philippian people, as it is tough on us to see those we love going through impossible circumstances. What a joy the Philippians have to share in Paul’s ministry!
In verse 8 he goes on to express how much he misses them. If 2020 has helped me feel anything with Paul it is this. I have truly missed the fellowship of the saints. Separation from those we love is hard, whether by imprisonment or by coronavirus.
So I am going to park here for just a second and pose a question. What should I do if I don’t feel this inner longing to be with other Christians or attend church? Often our desire to be with other believers is fueled by our time spent with them. I’m not going to lie, falling out of the “habit” (Hebrews 10:25) of being in church every week while sheltering made it harder to go back consistently at first and the less community I had through sheltering the less I began to believe I needed. Then one day I processed that my cup was empty, emptier than it has been in a very long time, and a major reason for this was lack of fellowship with others who love Jesus. But what if the church has hurt me? Wronged me deeply? What now? Oh my precious friend, I am so sorry. I am not sure there are many more vulnerable places to be hurt than within the church. I’ve been there — I’ve been hurt in the church. I’ve gone through counseling to overcome things. I’m not going into these things in this article because it is irrelevant to my point. The church is Christ’s bride and one day it will be perfect and blameless but that won’t happen on this earth. Also, as Jesus talks about, there will forever be tares in the church to steal, kill, and destroy, constantly working against unity and love in the body. If you are a Christian, God calls you to find and embrace a church that loves Him, loves others, and preaches His word faithfully (see Hebrews 10, “don’t forsake…as is the habit of some”). Seek out godly counsel to work through the struggles of your past so you can love and worship with your brothers and sisters in the Lord.
“(9) And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, (10) so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; (11) having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Paul’s prayer of thanks moves into a prayer of request. He prays that the Philippians would love each other “more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that [they] may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.” True love is seated in true knowledge and discernment. The more we know someone the more and better able we are to love them. To discern with love and without knowledge is false and to discern with knowledge but without love is hypocrisy.
We are called to love:
- Love between people — the more I know someone (whether good or bad), the deeper my love should grow. The bond I have with my husband, my best friends, my family is deep and strong because I know their true selves and choose to love.
- Love for those not like us — opening my heart and mind to learn and know more about those from other races, backgrounds, and cultures helps me to know how to love them better.
- Love for those who have hurt us — now this is a tough one, but I have seen time and again that hurt people hurt people. Seeking to understand the pain our enemies/frenemies have faced/are facing can help us begin to love them instead of becoming bitter.
- Love for God and Jesus — the more I see myself and my sin in light of the gospel and Christ’s work on the cross the more I love and appreciate His work and gift for me.
- Love of the Bible — the more I study and see the miracle of scripture the more I love and appreciate God’s word.
- Love for non-believers — the more I see my sinful heart only saved by God’s grace and mercy the more able I am to show this love to others.
Knowledge and discernment also help us to approve excellent things, and to live a sincere and blameless life. The more we understand the things of the Lord the greater our desire should be to obey God. And the more we know and discern with love and sincerity, the more we will see fruit in our lives that brings Glory to God alone (v 11).
Final Thoughts…
So, my friend, as we wrap up today’s text, I encourage you to do a few things:
- Pray faithfully for believers in your life, with joy and thankfulness
- Pray for knowledge and discernment about the things of the Lord
- Ask God to show you any lies (places lacking knowledge and discernment in your life) you have believed about God, His word, yourself, and others
Until next time…
{Here’s part 2: https://medium.com/@nutrition.ellen/the-joy-filled-book-of-philippians-part-2-8-a1c6c051d242?sk=f79503906e8d456aa290dbcb1575bfd51}
Resources:
- The Bible, New American Standard Version (KJV, NKJV, Amplified, NIV, ESV also used as reference)
- The Book of Philippians by Jo Saxton
- Count it All Joy by Kay Arthur
- Various Bible commentaries as desired
