Philippians Men’s Bible Study: Part 4
Philippians: Men’s Bible Study • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Recap of Philippians
Recap of Philippians
Philippians is written by the Apostle Paul to the Church of Phillipi
The purpose of the letter is to encourage the Philippian Church in their faith because of their gospel partnership.
Paul is aiming to point them to Timothy, a faithful servant who can also serve and lead them in the ways of Christ.
4 weeks ago, we saw this emphasis on gospel partnership
2 weeks ago, you looked at God completing the work he began in you, not because of your faithfulness, but his.
This week then, at least to start, we are going to turn our attention to Philippians 1:7-8.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
First, before we do anything else. We need to ask the question, what do we observe in Philippians 1:7-8?
Philippians 1:7-8 Observations
Philippians 1:7-8 Observations
The goal of observation being the interrogation of the text? The asking of the 5W’s -who? what? when? where? why?
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Observations that should be noted:
Paul holds the Philippians in his heart.
Paul notes that the Philippians are partakers with him in grace, mentioning his imprisonment and defense and confirmation of the gospel.
God is a witness to Paul’s feelings for the Philippians
Philippians 1:7-8 Interpretation
Philippians 1:7-8 Interpretation
Interpretation is telling us what the text means, specifically to its original audience.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
What way is it right for Paul to feel about the Philippians? It is right for him to feel confident that God will complete in them what he began.
6 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.
What is the connection to Paul’s holding the Philippians in his heart and this confidence about their completion? It is because they are partakers with Paul in God’s grace. They have partnered with him in grace, despite the shame of his imprisonment. For the ancient world was a culture of honor and shame. We still see this in much of the Middle East in both Muslim countries, as well as the nation of Israel. So, this partnership through this, is a display of their sharing in the same grace of God together.
Likewise, they are partaking with Paul in grace as they labor with him to both defend and affirm the gospel of Jesus.
What is the correlation then finally with Paul’s feeling, this holding the Philippians in his heart, the yearning for them with the affection of Christ Jesus have to do with his confidence in God’s completion of what he began? It is because of the visible grace that is at work in them and their being bound together because of this grace.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:7-8 Application
Philippians 1:7-8 Application
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
How are we then to apply this today?
God’s grace is first then meant to be visible in our lives. Grace that is visible in its confirming and defense of the gospel. That is if we have rightly believed in Christ and Christ alone for our salvation, that it was nothing of us, but his completed work, then God’s grace is to be working outward in our lives. In our confession of this gospel, our defending of this gospel. In our relationships with others built on this gospel.
This visible grace in us and others is to then also be our confidence of God’s continuing the good work began in us. Our confidence lies not in religious ceremonies, such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, but God’s visible grace at work in us and working out in us in what we believe and how it is transforming us.
God’s grace in both ourselves and others is to create a yearning for one another as we are partakers of the same grace. God’s grace in others is to be a strong bond of unity around that same grace seeing God’s regenerate work in one another.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
