A Walk Through Philippians: Chapter 1
Why is Philippians called the "Epistle of Joy?" How can we examine the attitudes set forth in this letter and apply them to our own lives? How can we see Christ as the supplier of all things for us?
Unshakeable Joy in Hardship
This is the letter Paul the Apostle wrote to the church in Philippi from his prison cell. To care so deeply about building up and tending to the body of Christ whilst in the midst of persecution amazes me. I want to be like that as a man under God. Philippians is commonly referred to as the happiest book in the Bible, or the “Epistle of Joy” for the attitude with which Paul writes. How can one have so much security in a place where death seemed not just a possibility, but a probable outcome? Because of Paul facing what he thought at the time was his own mortality, his soul poured forth through the power of the Spirit with earnestness and desperation. He was not sitting in a high rise ivory tower, writing to the church from a physical place of comfort and serenity, he was writing the most encouraging and joy-filled letter in the New Testament from a place in which most of this feelings-governed age would not find even an ounce of happiness. There are four meaty chapters that divide this letter, and while Paul’s original letter did not contain chapters and verses, the chosen divisions from the early church fathers present it in a beautiful and sequential way. Each chapter has an overarching theme, and different supporting theses. Over the next four weeks I will be diving into each chapter, and expositing Paul’s message to the church at Philippi. This is one of the most beautiful books in the entire Bible, and I hope you are as excited to read these as I am to write them.
Joy of Iron
It is very evident just from the first few verses that Paul’s attitude is set on something. Elation comes to mind when I read verses 3-5. Paul is in prison for the sake of the gospel and yet his heart sings with thankfulness and joy. When he prays to God on Philippi’s behalf, he is filled with the deep joyfulness that only comes from a heart full of the grace of God. From day one until the day Paul wrote this letter, God has been working in the church at Philippi, changing the hearts and affections of its people to worship Him as well as awakening others to repentance. Because of this, Paul encourages them in their faithfulness. I love the language Paul uses here in this sequence of verses. His first words of thankfulness, then stating one of the most powerful promises in all of scripture in v. 6, then acknowledging the situation of his imprisonment, but continuing to encourage them nonetheless is mind blowing (v. 3-11). No one in 21st century America thinks this way. I often find my faith faltering and my trust in God becoming shaky at the slightest inconvenience. For example, over the past few months I have been experiencing consistent car trouble, and every time another issue surfaces, I am filled with anger, I begin to ask God why He’s allowing this to happen, I worry about being able to work, how much it will all cost to fix, and much more. I must humbly admit that my world falls apart way too easily. O, I wish to have to ironclad faith in God that allows the heart to sing in the midst of strife and persecution! The promise is there, so we must cling to it when hardship does come. In verse 6 Paul writes “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” This faith strengthening and perspective giving promise is one that has held me in many times of struggle. The God who saved me out of my sin through the power of His Son, did not pull me out of the muck to merely clean me off and set me on my own way. No! He has chosen me, washed me, made me His own, and promises to KEEP me forever. He will never let me go, there is nothing I can do to loosen the grip of grace that rests upon me. The same is to you, Christian. You will be kept forever! So Paul wants the church and us to know that because we are chosen and going to be kept, that we can stand firm in God as partakers of His grace, and no matter the circumstance, we can rejoice knowing the state of our eternal position before God.
Glorious Purpose
After saying all this, Paul states the reason why his persecution is happening. His prayer for us in verses 9-11 is beautiful, encouraging, and also lays down the purpose of God’s saving of sinners. Our love for God and each other must grow in knowledge and discernment, for the goal of being able to approve what is excellent. Paul speaks not of an aimless love, but an intentional, personal, and deeply knowing type of love. This love for God’s people penetrates facades and stokes the fire of accountability and builds strong bonds of trust. This same love for God allows us to know Him deeply by His word, to trust Him more and yield to His purposes and plans for all of us, and to grow in our faith. This love is accomplished for a purpose, however. This securing, growing, knowledgeable, and discerning love has a goal to accomplish in and of itself: to the glory and praise of God. That’s what all of this is about, church ministry, personal ministry, sanctification, justification, election, God’s grace, God’s love, all of it. Everything God has accomplished on behalf of the human race is aimed at bringing Himself glory. God is ravenous for His own glory, and He has created the universe in such a way that echoes the brilliance of who He is. God’s glory permeates everything. The world does not revolve around me, Jesus dying for my sins has nothing to do with my merit, God saving me out of darkness has nothing to do with me, God’s creating of the wonder of the Earth and the stars and galaxies all point to His glory and nothing else. His glory is the main goal of the universe, and those 7 words at the end of verse 11 – “to the glory and praise of God” – cannot be merely passed over, for they are what everything else stands upon.
Christ Honored in Living and Dying
Paul reasons in verses 19-26 that He won’t die in prison (this time), but wants the church and us to know why He thinks the way He does. Paul’s attitude is set so definitely towards heaven and fellowship with Jesus that he a) is unashamed of his situation b) desires nothing more than Christ being honored in his life and death, and c) wants to be killed in order to fellowship with Christ forever. What if our faiths all looked like this American Christians? What if we held on more tightly to Christ than anything else, so much so that our very lives could be threatened and we would wish them away in our looking forward to the reward? O, how I pray that the Lord would break us free of our comfortable lives, where we don’t have to worry about where our next meal will come from, or whether we can keep the house cool during this heat wave, or whether we can worship publicly as Christians. We have so many comforts that we cling to in such desperation. We are swayed easily by the lures of worldly things. It’s time to become who we are declared as in Christ! We must be united in this attitude that Paul has. We must live as though this world is not all there is. We must live as sojourners, looking forward to a heavenly country. We must live as though the gospel is the most important news in the universe. We must live fearless in the face of persecution, knowing to live is Christ and to die is gain. To die would be far better, to depart and be with Christ would be ideal, but to live for now means fruitful labor for the work of the gospel (v. 22). That is the mark of a Christian life dedicated to God. O Christian, I plead with you to live in the light of the gospel, to let go of the comforts to which you so tightly cling, and to long for heaven as a thirsty traveler longs for water in a dry and weary land. Long for Christ, see Him as more worth your time and energy and comfort and passions. See Him as the fruit of your labor, see Him as the final treasure you seek, see Him as the satisfaction of the deepest desire of your heart, and let your life sing with the same heart and same mind as the believers who have gone before you. Christ, your hope in life and death.