Philippians 1:3-12

Introduction

We continue our study of Philippians by looking at Paul’s introductory portion of the body of the letter. This early section of the letter will let us (and the original audience) know why Paul appears to be writing to them.

Philippians 1:3-11

This section is typically called the “Thanksgiving and Prayer” section of the letter. Paul did this in most of his letters after the greeting.

The thanksgiving portion of Philippians is similar to other letters, but also unique.

Compared to Colossians 1:3 “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,”

We see Paul thanking God for them. But uniquely Paul says, “I thank God” rather than “We thank God” even though in both cases Timothy is a co-signer on the letter.

In Philippians he also only thanks God, and leaves off “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Compared to 2 Thessalonians 1:3 “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.”

Compared to Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.”

All this to say, Paul’s thanksgiving differed from letter to letter, indicating how personal these words were to each congregation. It should also make us ask if the particular phrasing means anything specific.

Paul says that this thanking of God happens every time he prays for the Philippians and that these prayers bring him great joy.

Do you have someone (or a group of someones) that bring you joy when you pray for them? Someone that you thank God for every time you pray for them?

Paul says in several of his letters that he is constantly thinking about and praying for each congregation. But the Philippians are the only one he says brings him joy. Why?

Because of this unique partnership that him and the church have had “since the beginning”. This is apparently in reference to the events of Acts 16.

From what we know about partnerships in the ancient world, it makes sense that this was a financial partnership.

The church would have formed a type of patronage with Paul, providing him with finances and supplies as needed. In exchange, he would have his own portion of the partnership to uphold. This line from Paul seems to indicate that the Philippians were very consistent in their giving. But perhaps something had disrupted it?

Vs 6 seems to be a reference to this whole ordeal where Paul seems to give a rather “passive” reference to whatever was started will be “brought to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”. Paul is connecting their giving (or “good work”) to their spirituality. What they do now, will be “finished” (and rewarded?) when Christ returns.

This is an important reminder that our good works, while they do not save us, do reflect us spiritually. As Paul points out here, whatever good works we do, we ought to persevere in them by the power of God who began them in us.

Vs 7-8 is a powerful statement of Paul’s love for the Philippians. It is unrivaled in all of the other letters.

He binds them to himself through this partnership language - they share in his imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel. Both of these things are evidence of a shared grace.

Think about that - something like imprisonment was viewed by Paul as a “grace”, and one worth sharing in.

Vs 8 is remarkable. In several of his letters, Paul lets the recipients know how much he cares for them and longs to see them. But the Philippians? “I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” How much does Jesus love us? That’s how much Paul loved the Philippians!

To quote another of Paul’s letters - do you love the church as much as Christ loves the church? Paul did!

Vs 9-11 is one long sentence. In case you didn’t know, Paul LOVED run-on sentences. This is his prayer for the Philippians

He wants their love to abound more and more

with knowledge and all discernment

so that (cause and effect!) they may approve what is excellent

and so (more cause and effect!) be pure and blameless for the day of Christ

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ

to the glory and praise of God

How do we grow our love for one another? Through knowledge and discernment. This allows us to approve what is excellent. When we do what is excellent, and grow in love, we are naturally filled with the fruit of righteousness (of the Spirit). this makes us pure and blameless when Christ returns. And all of it is so that God may be glorified and praised.

Philippians 1:12-18: Getting down to business

With the expected thanksgiving and prayer out of the way, Paul now turns his attention to the matters at hand: why he was imprisoned.

Paul wants the Philippians to know that his imprisonment was for the advancement of the Gospel.

This makes us wonder: what did they think was the reason Paul was imprisoned? Did they really think he had committed a crime?

If he had committed a crime, this would have been grounds for ending the partnership and any financial responsibility with Paul.

This ordeal really highlights how early persecution in the Church, such as arrest, brought up real questions. Were missionaries and apostles like Paul still doing their jobs, if whatever they were doing was getting them arrested? On top of that, if Paul is getting “paid” to preach, how can he possibly be doing that while imprisoned?

Paul answers these objections by building a theology of mission that transcends basically any limitations.

He says that his imprisonment has led to the Gospel being preached to the imperial guard. Everybody needs to hear the Gospel, even those who are hard to reach, like prison guards, and going to prison just so happened to be a really great way to reach them!

I’d imagine the Philippian jailer listening to this letter read aloud and saying, “I understand that. Paul’s imprisonment here allowed me to hear the Gospel!”

No matter what situation we find ourselves in, good or bad, we should see it as an opportunity God has placed us in to share the Gospel with those around us.

The second theological upside of this imprisonment is that it had actually emboldened other Christians.

If Paul could go to prison for preaching boldly, so could they!

Sometimes a little healthy competition can really motivate a team, or in this case the church, to keep going.

However, this “competition” should always be viewed positively. We are all on the same team, expanding the kingdom together. But Paul acknowledged that some of the Christians weren’t doing that.

Some brothers were preaching “form envy and rivalry”. What could they be envious about? Maybe that Paul is becoming well known? That his suffering and potential martyrdom could appear to bring him glory, and they want some of that?

It may be the case that they had sent negative reports back to the Philippians, telling them that Paul had committed a crime and that’s why he was in prison. If Paul could be put “out of the way”, maybe they’d become the next big missionary? Maybe they’d get the financial support? It’s hard to know for sure.

Whatever the case, it clearly hurt Paul and made his imprisonment that much more painful. It never feels good to be lied or gossiped about. Trying to “clear your name” with those you love most can be incredibly frustrating.

And yet, through all this, Paul proclaims an incredible truth: whatever the motives, at least Christ is being preached. Wow!

That’s not an easy thing to say. But it shows that Paul prioritizes the Gospel above everything else. And it also shows that the kingdom of God will not be hampered by the motives of men.

It takes great humility to find joy in the Gospel coming from the lips of someone who has hurt us or other people. It’s also a good reminder that even from the lips of false teachers, some truth may come out, and this is something we should pray is watered and nourished (elsewhere probably, but nourished nonetheless).

For Paul, these envious brothers may have wanted to become the next big preacher and were willing to drag his name through the mud to get there, but he didn’t care - as long as Christ was being preached. And for that, he rejoiced.

I have found myself before complaining about how certain Christians do things. And I certainly have questioned their motives. My friends will gently remind me, “Yeah but at least the Gospel is being preached.” The Holy Spirit has a funny way of being able to work through anything and anyone.

Conclusion

In this brief passage Paul develops a theology of mission that really eliminates many excuses for not proclaiming the Gospel. No matter our physical condition, or our spiritual condition, the Gospel can and should be proclaimed everywhere. Paul is also placing a lot of faith in God’s sovereignty with this theology. Whereas we might see prison, or arrests, or any other negative situation as negative, Paul flips this thinking on its head and says, “There is no bad situation that God can’t work through.”

I don’t think Paul wanted to get arrested. I don’t think he wanted to go through all the trials that he endured. But he was able to realize that God was putting him in those situations, not for failing, but to succeed. I like to use this illustration: how many of us would appeal an apparent injustice against us as far as it could go, not caring if we actually won the case in the end, but rather for an opportunity to share the Gospel with every lawyer, judge, jury, and executioner that we could along the way? Oh and be joyful about it? That’s what Paul is getting at here - and it’s precisely what I think he did.