PHILIPPIANS 1:1-5

Fellowship in the Gospel

Context

This is a letter sent from Paul the apostle to the Church of Philippi. This letter to the Church of Philippi shows the extreme love that Paul had for this church. He shows joy and happiness towards this church even while he himself is prison. It emphisis the joy we ought to have towards other faithful Christians.

PHILIPPI (Φίλιπποι, Philippoi). An important Roman colony in the province of Macedonia, where the Apostle Paul planted a church. Philippi was located about nine miles from the Aegean coast and the local port of Neapolis (41°00´N; 24°16´E). The city was situated along the Gangites River (a tributary of the river Strymon). This fertile location was a great place to plant a church strategically. We can read about the plantingof this church in Acts 16:9-21. Lydia,

This area was predominatly gentile in nature it was a roman nation. Bring this they recieved various exemptions, rights, and privelges from the Roman empire.

Philippi was covered as a city by cults of every kind of false religion. many of which worshipped egyptian gods and roman deities. Yet Paul still preached the gospel here with great success for the glory of God. This even involved the first time that Paul would be imprissioned.

This letter is being penned by Paul while he is imprissioned another time latter in his ministry. It is important to note that Paul emphisis the importance of our heavenly citizenship is far supierior to this world. With this kind of view of the world around us it will help us show the surpassing joy of knowing Christ crucified to all our neihbors, as death is only a gain to the believer.

verse 1

Paul. Who is Paul? Paul writes his identity in this text as a slave/servant of Jesus Christ. THat in Pauls jewish days, of when he participated as a jew, ethnic descendant of Abraham, he was a slave of sin. But now his identity is made a new after a marvelous interaction on the road to damascus. Acts 9:1-6, 17-20

Acts 9:1–6 NASB95

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”

Acts 9:17–20 NASB95

So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Timothy. Another Slave of Christ. Timothy was born of a jewish woman and greek father but by irth would be seen as a jew. He was one that the Apostle Paul himself chose to be accompanied by.

Christ Jesus. This is the 1st of the 3 times that Christ Jesus is used in this sense. Now immideatley we should marvel at the fact that we have two Jews who now follow Jesus Christ. The title of being a slave to Jesus is one of significance to the character ofJesus Himself. It raises the posistion of Jesus in relation to the believer. Jesus is the master, commander, and leader of the Slave. Let usbow our knee to Jesus, our master.

Saints. This is the visible church in Philippi. Those that have proclaimed faith in Jesus, been baptized, and taken the Lords table. They have their identity in the same onewhom these two Jews have found their slavehood. after this saying we see the 2nd use of “Christ Jesus”

Overseers. Here we see that Paul is writting this message to not only a home group, a bible study, or a scism of solo Christianity. But instead he is writting to a church. An orginized, intentiuonally, planted, and founded Church. It has its own leadership in the form of Overseers. A Overseer is a leader who watches over, directs, cares, teaches, and is accountable for an assembly of believers. These are the pastors or elders of the church. Those Men that have the weight of this calling are to be obeyed, prayed for, listened to, respected, and honored. Hebrews 13:17

Hebrews 13:17 NASB95

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

Deacons. Here we see that Paul in the orginization of the church also has deacons. Deacons are seen in a very similar light to that of Elders/Overseers. Instead of a posistion of leading, tending, and teaching the souls of the Church, the deacons are to care, serve physically those that are in their local body, and love them in a unique way. The Elder is seen as teacher and Gaurdian of the Church, the Deacon should be seen as a person called by God to serve the physically needs of the church. They are complementary towards each other, Pastor & Deacon. 1st Timothy 2:8-13

1 Timothy 2:8–13 NASB95

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.

Verse 2

Grace to you. A common way of greating the Church in the days of Paul

It is important to remember that those that havebeen saved, and are considered brothers and sisters in Christ, have peace and grace only in God Himself. I can’t portion grace to others, But the living Water, Jesus Christ can. We see the 3rd time Jesus Christ is mentioned in this short proximity. Can we see how Paul uses Jesus as the main point of all his letters.

Verse 3

Paul gives his thanksgiving. This is amazing to consider when we know where Paul is at when he is saying that he is giving thanks to God. He is in prison. And this is not a fancy nice get away prison but a prison in rome that treated those that were captive with harshness, pain, and torment. This is not an enjoyable place for Paul.

But he is thankful for the rememberance of the church of philippi. He is thinking about the grace and the peace that is present in this church, he is thinking about how God in His sovereign plan has placed Paul in this place of torment, and that in this torment the gospel is going even furhter than prior to his chains.we will see this in coming texts.

How can we have thanksgiving in our lives.in our griefs.in our hardship. in our torment. do we see it as a inconvinience, or do we see it as a way that God has put us there for the advancment of the Kingdom of heaven? We must seek to at all time preach the gospel that saves to ourselves to that we can allways be present in the moment of pain to preach it to those that are watching and listening.

Verse 4

Always. Here we seehow we ought to be praying.to the person that says “when i wake up I pray on my knees, and i know i am good because of it” we must consider that it is good to be more formal in our personal ways of worshiping God, but a prayerful life should be one that does not clock in and clock out when our knees touch the ground. we must be a praying people.all the people of the church. Apostles, Prophets, and so on were not expemt from this, neither are we many years past there expiration. Hebrews 13:15

Hebrews 13:15 NASB95

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

pray with joy.again remember the context that this is being written in. In prison Paul finds it joyful to pray to God. And not only pray to God, but to Pray to God for OTHERS! In the time of Paul having hardship, i am sure he prayed for himself,but it is recorded that he was praying for others in this time. We are so quick to pray only for ourselves in times of good and in times of bad. but when was the last time that we prayed with joy for others in the midst of our shortcomings, our afflictions, our darknesses.

Verse 5

Here we see why it was with joy that Paul lifted those induviduls up in prayer. It was because they had fellowship.

Fellowship in gardening? fellowship in breakfast? fellowship in knitting? fellowship in hobbies? NO NO NO! it is fellowship in the gospel of Jesus Christ.their fellowship is that they all have lived with Christ, died with Christ, had their sin laid on Christ, and have been risen with Him!

You brothers and sisters, we dont have fellowship in hobbies, in escatology, in favorite sports, in vehicles, in workplace, but onlyin the gospel do we find the very grounds of our fellowship!

This is from the first day of our faith until now. Do not let qurells, disagreements, frustrations, quick judgements, misunderstanding and the varying spread of what the enemy seaks to plant in our minds hurt the fellowship that is found only in the gospel. Do not forget the that fellowship that was their at first, because it remains today.