Intro to Philippians

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 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.

Good morning Living Word! I pray that you all had a wonderful Christmas week. We had a lovely Christmas Eve service last Tuesday. It has been a wonderful blessing to now be in this room as we look to provide more opportunities to serve our community, share the love of Christ with them, and believe God to bring people to himself, so that this room can be filled with people seeking after the Lord together.

Today we are starting a new series of sermons in which we will go through the entire letter of Paul to the Philippians. How many of you have actually listened to sermons through an entire book of the Bible? This type of preaching and study is called “expository” teaching. It is where we go verse-by-verse through a passage of Scripture so that we can understand how the verses relate to each other.

There are three rules for determining what the meaning of a passage is: Context, Context, and Context.

I spoke about this a little bit in our “Christ Builds His Church” series when we talked about how the church is tasked with holding to the truth of Scripture. That truth gets distorted when we take a word or phrase from the Bible, out of the context of how it is used, and apply a different meaning to it that more aligns with how we want it to mean.

I hope that as we go through the book of Philippians in this way, it will be a blessing to you as together, we seek to understand in context what God is saying to us through the Scriptures.

Let’s look at some background information on this letter to the Philippian church.

The letter to the Philippians is one of a set of letters known as the “Prison Epistles” (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, & Philemon). Scholars believe it was written somewhere between 60-62 AD during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome. This imprisonment is what is happening when the Book of Acts ends.

The city of Philippi was likely named after the Macedonian King Philip, who was the father of Alexander the Great. The Romans took over the city in the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC. It again played an important role in history after the death of Julius Caesar when Caesar’s heirs, Marc Antony and Octavian (who later became Caesar Augustus, the same Caesar Augustus who took a census of the entire Roman world, sending Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem where Jesus would be born), defeated the forces of the assassins, Brutus (et tu Brute?) and Cassius, in 42 BC at the Battle of Philippi. Due to its geographical location and importance to the Roman Empire, Philippi was a place of influence and likely wealth.

Philippi was considered the first European city where Paul preached the gospel. We will actually be looking at the origins of the church in Philippi as we start working through the text today.

The main theme throughout the entire letter is “Joy in the Lord.” The word “joy” is found 5 times in the book while the word “rejoice” is found 9 times. Fourteen times in just 4 short chapters the Apostle mentions some form of joy. The significance of Paul writing about joy while being in prison should not be lost on us. How often do we lose all sense of joy when we are facing hard times in our own lives?

Joy is not the only theme to be found. As I have been studying the letter to the Philippians and looking at other resources about the book, the subject of humility is also woven through the whole of the letter. We will see Paul describe the humility of Christ in chapter 2 along with a few other examples of people showing humility. We will also see a call from Paul to consider others and their needs above our own.

So today, instead of providing a big idea for this specific sermon, I want to give you what I think is the big idea for the book of Philippians, which will be our series title:

Big Idea: Joy through Humility

So, let’s get started through our passage!

Philippians 1:1-2

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.

Paul starts off this letter by introducing not only himself, but also Timothy who was likely with Paul and Silas when they first visited Philippi in Acts 16. The apostle describes Timothy and himself as “servants of Christ Jesus”. Some translations say “bond-servants”. The word “doulos” in ancient Greek for a long time was translated as “slave”, however, because of the awful history of the United States and chattel slavery, almost all modern translations read as “servant” instead of “slave”.

The image that Paul is trying to convey is one of complete commitment and submission to Christ. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul tells his readers that they are to glorify God with their bodies because:

1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a

“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.”

When we call Christ the Lord of our lives, we no longer belong to ourselves. Actually, we no longer belong to our sinful natures. The work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds gives us new life in Christ. That new life takes us out of our slavery to sin, where we do whatever we want to do, or are driven to do things based on the opinions of others. When we have been pulled out of the spiritual death of sin and been given spiritual life in Christ, we have been purchased, bought with the price of Christ’s blood on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all who would repent and believe on the Lord Jesus as their Savior.

Jesus himself said in Matthew 16:

Matthew 16:24-25

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

This should be the image that we get every time we read Paul’s introductions in his various letters and calls himself a “servant” of Christ. Paul had denied himself, put away his selfish thoughts and desires in order to be fully submitted to the Lord, giving everything he has for the glory of God.

Next Step: Am I willing to give up everything I desire to follow Christ?

This epistle is addressed to “all the saints in Christ Jesus” who were a part of the church at Philippi. Paul is simply stating that he is speaking to all the believers in Christ. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions have often put sainthood to particular people who have lived extraordinary lives for God. However, Paul is calling every believer in Jesus a saint. He does the same thing in 1 Corinthians when referring to the believers in Corinth, even though that church was full of trouble and dysfunction.

Paul also includes the “overseers and deacons” in his address. This gives the impression that the church had seen quite a bit of growth since Paul had first started the church as there was an obvious need for leadership and oversight in the church.

Here in verse 2 Paul gives his typical blessing that he uses at the beginning of just about every single one of his letters pronouncing not only grace but also peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This should serve as a reminder to us that all of the grace that we receive in this life is from God above. From the grace he has given us in forgiving us of our sins, to the everyday grace of breathable air. Both of those things are a grace from the Father.

When we have true peace in our lives, it is because we have put our hope and faith in God and his Son. We have talked a lot about peace in the past few weeks with Advent. When Paul gives this greeting he is telling his readers that he is praying for continued grace and peace to them from God.

Philippians 1:3-4

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy…

In most translations of the Bible, this verse begins a section titled “Thanksgiving and Prayer.” After finishing the salutation of his letter, Paul tells his readers that he gives thanks to God for them. This letter is much different than some of the letters that Paul had sent to churches that he had help to start.

One such letter with a much different opening is his letter to the Galatians. Immediately after his salutation in that letter, he begins to blast the Galatian readers for being so easily deceived and pulled away from the true gospel by false teachers.

In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul takes a moment to say that he was thankful for them and then pleads with them to stop the arguing and divisions that were happening within that church.

(Meme GIF about Paul’s letters to Galatian and Corinthian churches)

The Philippian church did not seem to have as severe problems as the churches in Corinth and Galatia seemed to have. This letter comes off as more of a commendation and cheering on of the church in Philippi. We can see that there is an obvious affection for this church as Paul speaks of his joyous prayers for them. Again, this shows a completely different tone from Galatians and 1 Corinthians. I believe we can reasonably infer that the Philippian church was much more faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and was less inclined to follow after false teachers.

Philippians 1:5

…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Paul states that the church in Phillipi had “partnered” with him in the gospel “from the first day until now.” As I stated in my introduction to this sermon, the first days of the Philippian church are found in Acts 16 and were very eventful.

Paul had been working his way through modern-day Turkey preaching the gospel to those who would hear it. The text says that they were forbidden or not allowed to preach in a couple areas by the Spirit of God. Very interesting that God would not allow Paul preach in those areas. However, when Paul and his companions had made their way to Troas, Paul had a dream of a Macedonian man urging Paul to come to the people of Macedonia to help them.

After being in the city for a few days Paul and his companions went out to the river on the Sabbath where they met Lydia, the trader in purple cloth. After hearing the gospel proclaimed by Paul, Lydia and her entire household were baptized.

In the following days, Paul’s group was followed by a demon-possessed girl who harassed them. This demon spirit within the girl was one who used divination, or told fortunes, so that the girl’s owners made a lot of money off of her. Paul got so annoyed by this girl that he cast out the fortune-telling demon causing the slave girl’s masters to report Paul and Silas to the authorities who had them beaten and thrown in jail.

That night as Paul and Silas were praising God in the jail, there was an earthquake that opened the doors of the jail. The jailor thought that everyone had escaped and almost killed himself before Paul let him know that none of the prisoners had escaped. The jailor and his entire household came to faith in Christ and were baptized. The jailor also took care of Paul and Silas’ wounds from their beating and gave them food as a sign of his gratefulness to them.

If you want to read more in depth of the beginning of the Philippian church, I would encourage you this week to read through Acts 16.

Next Step: I will read Acts 16 this week.

Paul is expressing his gratitude to God that those events were the beginning of a partnership for the gospel that carried on even as Paul was in prison for preaching the gospel. We will see later on in this letter that the Philippian church had actually sent resources to Paul in order to help him carry on his work even from prison.

It is hard not to be thankful when people are willing to help you out. I can think of so many times in my life where I was not expecting any help, and yet resources came. When we were attending a church about 5 years ago, I was unemployed and Emily had been dealing with some major anxiety that made it impossible for her to work. Luckily she was able to pull from her saved up vacation/leave time so we could still pay bills. We were not sure how we were going to afford presents for Christmas for the kids, let alone for each other. Out of nowhere, the pastor came up to me on a Sunday after church and handed me an envelope saying that someone in the church had anonymously given him the envelope to give to us. Inside that envelope was a cashiers check for $500.

Not only that, but on Christmas day, after we had opened all of our presents and were getting ready to leave the house to go down the street and have dinner with my parents, I opened the door and there was a big bag with three big presents in it, one for each of our kids.

I don’t know exactly who gave our family those gifts that year. But I cannot wait to get to heaven to find out and personally thank them for how they helped my family in a very hard and dark time. Emily and I cried a lot that Christmas, so thankful for the generosity of others who were willing to give to help us out.

Next Step: I will look back with thankfulness at how God has provided for my needs.

Philippians 1:6

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.

The apostle speaks of the “good work” that God had started in the Philippians. The old Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon called this work:

“the work of divine grace in the soul that is the operation of the Holy Spirit.”

Paul was confident that the work of salvation that God had started in the hearts of the Philippian Christians was not something that God would start and then neglect.

Psalm 138:8

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Since God’s love endures forever, Paul could be confident that God would not leave his work in the Philippians unfinished. God does not abandon his work after he starts something like we humans are so often found doing.

How many of us have started a project more than a year ago that is still not finished? How many of you haven’t touched that project since you started it?

The Almighty God does not get tired or bored with a project. He does not lose energy so as to be unable to complete the task. He also doesn’t run out of resources to complete the project.

God will complete his work in us on the day when Christ Jesus returns in glory. That is the hope we have in Christ. Remember, the biblical definition of hope is not wishing for a desired outcome, but is the confidence and assurance that God keeps his promises and will do what he says he will do! We can know with confidence that God will finish his work in us even when our lives feel so chaotic and unsure. God is sure. He is our stability in the storm, the foundation that will keep us anchored in truth.

One of my favorite worship songs is called The Lord is My Salvation by Keith and Kristyn Getty. I love how this song speaks to the fact that God keeps his promises, that when he starts something he will complete it.

The grace of God has reached for me

And pulled me from a raging sea

And I am safe on this solid ground

The Lord is my salvation

I will not fear when darkness falls

His strength will help me scale these walls

I'll see the dawn of the rising sun

The Lord is my salvation

Who is like the Lord, our God?

Strong to save, faithful in love

My debt is paid and the victory won

The Lord is my salvation

My hope is hidden in the Lord

He flowers each promise of His Word

When winter fades, I know spring will come

The Lord is my salvation

In times of waiting, times of need

When I know loss, when I am weak

I know His grace will renew these days

The Lord is my salvation

Who is like the Lord, our God?

Strong to save, faithful in love

My debt is paid and the victory won

The Lord is my salvation

And when I reach my final day

He will not leave me in the grave

But I will rise, He will call me home

The Lord is my salvation

Who is like the Lord, our God?

Strong to save, faithful in love

My debt is paid and the victory won

The Lord is my salvation

You may be here today and you don’t know if God has started any great work in your life. Perhaps you know that you are not submitted to Christ, but instead are caught in the slavery to sin. You may recognize that the path you are on, the things you do have only hurt you and those around you, or could do that in the near future. Your life has been all about you, what you want, what you desire, what you believe will make you happy. Jesus can show you a better way. Through Christ you can find contentment, thankfulness, and a joy that goes beyond just the desires of today.

Next Step: I will submit my life to Christ.

If that is you making that declaration today, the elders and I will be available to you after service to talk with you, encourage you, and to pray with you about what it means to follow after Christ and serve him with your whole heart. This life was not meant to be done alone and so we want to be able to help you in this journey of following after Christ.

Let us pray.

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