Spread the Gospel

Philippians is often known as the letter of rejoicing. In the next few weeks, we will see why Paul rejoiced, but to give you the short answer, Paul had a close walk with God. While in prison, the Holy Spirit was ministering to Paul and bringing him joy from within despite his circumstances of being chained. He was optimistic because he knew that the gospel changes everything!

You probably have heard, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” In Philippians 1, we see Paul taking the “lemon” of imprisonment and making "lemonade” by God’s Spirit and grace. Instead of the Gospel spreading coming to a standstill because of his imprisonment, the Gospel was spreading like wildfire. Paul’s obstacles and his disappointments had become God’s appointments. While in prison, Paul had the opportunity to preach Christ and the Gospel in the very place he had desired, Rome.

His desire was not realized as he had envisioned, for instead of coming to Rome as a preacher, he went as a prisoner who would be given a pulpit in prison to preach to Roman guards! God's ways are ALWAYS higher than our ways!

Paul took the word disappointment, changed one letter, and came to recognize his imprisonment as "His Appointment!" Instead of focusing on what looked like disappointment to the saints at Philippi, he set his mind on the things above and was enabled by the Spirit to recognize His appointment! Paul's Christ-centered, Gospel-centered mindset allowed him to turn lemons into lemonade (so to speak)!

From our perspective, Paul could have easily cried, “Woe is me!” He could have written a novel about how tough his life has been because of the gospel. Instead of focusing on his adversity, he makes a spirit-filled conscious to focus on Christ.

The word furtherance in KJV means “pioneer advance.” It is a military term referring to the army engineers who go before the troops to open the way into a new territory. Instead of finding himself confined as a prisoner, Paul discovered that his circumstances opened new areas of ministry.

God still wants us to take the Gospel into new areas. He wants us to be pioneers, and sometimes, He arranges circumstances so that we can be nothing else but pioneers. In fact, that is how the Gospel originally came to Philippi! Paul had tried to enter another place, but God had repeatedly shut the door.

God sometimes uses strange tools to help us pioneer the Gospel. In Paul’s case, three tools helped him take the Gospel to the palace guard.

First were the chains. Little did the Romans realize that the chains they affixed to Paul’s wrists would release him instead of binding him! He did not complain about his chains; instead, he consecrated them to God and asked God to use them for the pioneer advance of the Gospel. And God answered his prayers.

To begin with, these chains gave Paul contact with the lost. He was chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day! The shifts changed every six hours, meaning Paul could witness at least four men daily! Imagine yourself as one of those soldiers, chained to a man who prayed “without ceasing,” constantly interviewing people about their spiritual condition and repeatedly writing letters to Christians and churches. It was not long before some of the soldiers were saved.

But the chains gave Paul contact with another group of people: the officials in Caesar’s court. He was in Rome as an official prisoner, and his case was critical. The Roman government would determine the official status of this new “Christian” sect. Was it merely another sect of the Jews? Or was it something new and possibly dangerous? Imagine how pleased Paul must have been knowing that the court officials were forced to study the doctrines of the Christian faith!

"Paul’s imprisonment for Christ did not bind the gospel but helped to release it. This has been the case throughout history. The suffering of Christians increases the cause of Christ."

Sometimes, God must put “chains” on us to get us to accomplish a “pioneer advance” that could never happen any other way. The secret is this: when you have a single mind caused by “chains,” you look upon your circumstances as God-given opportunities for the furtherance of the Gospel, and you rejoice at what God is going to do instead of complaining about what God did not do.

Paul’s chains not only gave contact with the lost but also gave courage to the saved. Many of the believers in Rome took fresh courage when they saw Paul’s faith and determination (v. 14).

The second tool that Paul saw to spread the gospel was his critics. The churches in Philippi were divided. Some preached Christ sincerely, wanting to see people saved. Some preached Christ insincerely, wanting to make the situation difficult for Paul. The latter group was using the Gospel to further their selfish purposes.

Paul aimed to glorify Christ and get people to follow him; his critics aimed to promote themselves and win their own following. Instead of asking, “Have you trusted Christ?” they asked, “Whose side are you on— ours or Paul’s?” Unfortunately, this kind of “religious politics” is still seen today. Churches and preachers compete with one another and have lost sight of the heavenly prize of getting to know Christ and being like Christ.

When you have a Christ-centered mind, you consider your critics another opportunity to further the Gospel. Paul was able to rejoice, not in the selfishness of his critics, but in the fact that Christ was being preached! There was no envy in Paul’s heart.

Criticism is usually tough to take, mainly when we are in difficult circumstances, as Paul was. How could he rejoice even in the face of such diverse criticism? He possessed a Christ-centered mind! Verse 19 indicated that Paul expected his case to turn out victorious because of his friends' prayers and the Holy Spirit's help.

Because of his chains, Christ was known (v. 13), and because of his critics, Christ was preached (v. 18). But because of Paul’s crisis, Christ was magnified (v. 20)! It was possible that Paul would be found a traitor to Rome and then executed. Paul’s body was not his own, and his only desire was to magnify Christ.

Does Christ need to be magnified? After all, how can a mere human being ever magnify the Son of God? Well, the stars are much bigger than the telescope, and yet the telescope magnifies them and brings them closer. The believer’s body is to be a telescope that brings Jesus Christ closer to people. To the average person, Christ is an unknown historical figure who lived centuries ago. But as the unsaved watch the believer go through a crisis, they can see Jesus magnified and brought so much closer.

Paul was not afraid of life or death! Either way, he wanted to magnify Christ in his body. No wonder he had joy! He confesses that he is facing a difficult decision. To remain alive was necessary for the believers’ benefit in Philippi, but to depart and be with Christ was far better. Paul decided that Christ would have him remain, not only for the “furtherance of the Gospel” (v. 12) but also for the “furtherance and joy of [their] faith” (v. 25).

What a man Paul was! He is willing to postpone going to heaven to help Christians grow, and he is ready to go to hell to win the loss to Christ! (Romans 9:1-3)

The aim of your life is not to build a nest egg. The objective of your life is not fifteen seconds of fame on TikTok. The purpose of your life is more than leisure and fun. The aim of your life is that you might be gloriously like Christ and stand before the Father in purity and blamelessness and righteousness and glory forever.

No matter how you look at it, nothing can steal your joy if you possess a Christ-centered mind!

Will we allow the Gospel to refocus our dreams? Will we allow this vision of standing righteous in Christ before the Father in glory to become our prayer, our longing, and the goal and aim of our lives? Will we allow the Gospel to reprioritize our lives? Will we allow the Gospel to become the most essential thing in our lives?

Let us go and spread the gospel with a Christ-centered mind!