Joyful Captivity - Philippians 1:1-2

Introduction

Introduction:

Background of Philippi

Submission to the Spirit

Second missionary journey

Paul had wanted to take the Gospel to Asia, but was prevented by God through a dream from going in that direction. Rather, God directed him to go to Macedonia, where the first place he would go would be the city of Philippi.

Here Paul has demonstrated that his ministry really is not his own, he is captivated by Christ and compelled to do and go where Christ directs him. Paul has no personal autonomy, but rather has submitted to the Lordship of Christ and the leadership of the Spirit within his life.

Gospel Engagements

Met and encountered people from different backgrounds

Lydia

Slave girl

Jailer

These people warmly welcomed him and supported his continued work of ministry among other churches.

It’s now been several years since he has planted the church at Philippi and now he is sitting in prison, probably in Rome.

The Philippians have sent Epaphroditus to go help him and to bring some funds to help further his ministry. However, Epaphroditus got sick on his way to Paul. Eventually he made it to Paul but was ready to return home quickly because of his illness. So Paul sent him back with this letter.

Paul loved this group of people for their love of Christ, for their love of him, and for their love for one another despite their differences. Paul is sending this letter that is overflowing with joy and thanksgiving for Christ and for their partnership in the gospel.

However, Paul has also heard that there are some possible divisions occurring in this sweet fellowship. So Paul is writing to tell them of the joy he has in them as partners with him in the gospel and to encourage them to continue to grow in their love for Christ and for one another. One of the main themes we see in this short letter is the fellowship of the gospel.

Philippians 1:3–5 (ESV)

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Philippians 1:9 (ESV)

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

Philippians 1:27 (ESV)

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Philippians 2:4–5 (ESV)

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

Philippians 2:14 (ESV)

Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

Philippians 4:2 (ESV)

I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

Philippians 4:5 (ESV)

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

Philippians 4:14–15 (ESV)

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.

Paul wants to encourage them to remain united and to grow in this fellowship and partnership with one another around the good news of Christ Jesus.

So this morning, we are going to look at his introduction and see how he is setting the stage to show us how our joy in Christ is tied in with our love for both Him and for one another and how we can grow in our fellowship and unity with one another through the gospel.

Read Philippians 1:1-2

Philippians 1:1–2 (ESV)

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

True joy is found in serving King Jesus and His people

The Greek word for servants is Doulos, which literally means “slave.”

What is interesting here, is that while Paul may mention other people in his introduction, he has never included someone else in his own personal description. He will normally start with himself and describe who he is and why he is writing, and then he might include others who are with him while he is writing.

However, here, he links both himself and Timothy together as servants or slaves of Christ Jesus.

It is easy to pass over the introductions and get right into the letter, but Paul is intentionally setting the foundation of this letter through his introduction to his audience.

Paul wants them to know of the joy he has and where that source of joy is coming from.

Joy inSubmission to Christ

First, we see that his joy, despite being imprisoned in Rome, is in his enslavement and submission to Christ.

This can boggle our minds as we value and highly esteem self-autonomy and freedom.

One might ask, what kind of salvation is this that would cause you to be a slave of someone else. We might say, that does not sound like salvation at all.

Yet, Paul is saying that true joy and freedom actually lies in enslavement to Christ.

Why? Because we are all going to be slaves of someone, the question is, which master are we going to serve. No one is truly free the way we might think of freedom. Even those who are free, are slaves to their appetites and desires which will abuse them and destroy them.

You may be a slave to success or money, which will end up destroying all your other relationships because it will demand your utmost attention and devotion to achieve. It might be affection, romance, reputation or respect and you will be constantly terrified about what others might think of you.

Ultimately, every master other than Jesus will exploit you and disappoint you - Dennis Johnson, Reformed Expository Commentary on Philippians.

The early church father, Chrysostom commented on this passage: “One who is a slave of Christ is truly free from sin. If he is truly a slave of Christ, he is not a slave in any other realm...”

Jesus is a master who will truly free us from sin and give us true freedom as we submit ourselves to Him.

Matthew 11:29 (ESV)

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Yes, we are called to submit to Christ and follow His commands, but His commands will be for our good and will not burden us in the same way that our sinful and selfish desires and ambitions will. We will actually find rest and freedom being enslaved to Christ in a way that our own self-autonomy can never provide.

Again, Paul wanted to go to Asia, but God redirected his steps and from this letter, we can see that he was grateful that God redirected him. This is a church that gave Paul joy and he would have missed out on this joyful relationship if he had not submitted himself to Christ.

Joy in Gospel Unity

If we are slaves to Christ, imagine what this will do for our fellowship with one another.

It would change how we love one another. If we are slaves to Christ we will begin to see ourselves as servants to each other rather than trying to be lords over each other.

Matthew 20:26 (ESV)

It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

When his disciples began to argue over who would have the seat of honor next to Christ, Jesus teaches them that true greatness comes through serving each other, not having the seat of honor or power.

We can easily forget this reality and begin to make the church serve us rather than us serving the church and putting the needs of others ahead of our own.

the reason why churches experience conflicts and splits:

James, the brother of Jesus, tells us this same thing:

James 4:1–3 (ESV)

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Our quarreling and divisions come from seeking our own self interests.

However, James also gives us the antidote to the quarelling and divisions.

James 4:6–7 (ESV)

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The antidote to the problem of exalting ourselves is to humble ourselves and to submit ourselves to God.

if we see ourselves as slaves to Christ, we will no longer fight for our rights but will seek to submit ourselves to Christ as Lord and to seek to love his people even when it is hard.

But here’s the great promise, that when we humble ourselves, God will give us grace. He will meet all our needs as we seek to put the needs of others above our own.

Joy in Gospel Partnership

If we are slaves to Christ it also changes how we see ourselves as partners along with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We can be tempted to see the church as something that exists for my own personal benefit. As long as its meeting my own desires and needs, then I’ll keep going and supporting it, but as soon as my needs are not being met, we begin to find somewhere else where our needs will be met.

However, the Christian life is not about having my needs and desire met. Its about being bought by the blood of Christ and living as someone who belongs to Him alone.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV)

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

This is where the Gospel changes how I view myself and how I view my brothers and sisters around me. Because Christ has died upon the cross for me, I no longer belong to myself, I belong to Christ and am His to command.

I do not get to choose how I serve or what I do, rather it is Christ who chooses where I am and how He wants me to serve others.

As we go into this new year, God is going to be leading the church as a whole and each of us individually to be a part of His plan to glorify Himself and to be on mission to reach our community and the world.

There might be times when someone will come and ask if you would be willing to serve in a particular ministry or on a certain committee or to give towards a specific mission. What I tell people when I come to them to ask them if they would serve somewhere is, don’t give me an immediate answer. Pray about the invitation. Do not simply say yes because you might feel guilty of saying no. Also don’t say no because you just don’t want to do something.

Pray and seek God’s guidance to what is being asked of you because if we are slaves to Christ, then He is the One who gets to make the decision. If He tells you no to something it is because He has somewhere else for you to serve. But If He says yes, then follow Him in obedience even if it’s something you are not comfortable with.

God has called each of us here to FBC because He is using us to serve one another and to accomplish His purposes. And let me say, even if He calls you to something you are not comfortable with, know if you obediently follow Him, He will fill your heart with more joy than you could possibly imagine. It probably won’t be easy, but it will be joyful!

God has often given me the greatest joy when I followed Him into areas where I did not feel comfortable or even qualified, because I got to experience His power and grace in an incredible and miraculous way. When I gave up rights to myself and partnered with my fellow brothers and sisters in the way God wanted me to, I experienced more joy than in doing what I thought I wanted to do.

Be willing to give up rights to yourself in order to serve each other and to serve the Christ who has bought you with His blood!

It’s been said, many Christians are just Christian enough to be miserable. That means, they’re Christian enough to claim to believe in Christ, but they have not given total Lordship over to Him. They continue to remain Lord over their own life, thinking they know best what will make them happy. And because of that they are missing out on the joy God has for them.

Paul knew that true joy was found in being a slave to Christ because only Christ could give true freedom, meaning, and purpose to our lives.

Perhaps you are here this morning and you have been a believer for a while, but you are still trying to maintain control over your own life. Perhaps you are scared of what might happen if you gave control over to Christ. Christ is calling you into an abundant life by fully and completely submitting yourself to Him as Lord of your life. Could life get hard and uncomfortable? Sure. It certainly was that for Paul. But Paul experienced a level of joy incomparable to what we experience when we try to maintain control of ourselves.