Philippians 2

Philippians 1:7-11

Welcome back and tonight we will be continuing our study of the book of Philippians so if you brought your copy of God’s word with you go ahead and turn there we are in chapter one tonight. So an important thing about reading and interpreting God’s word is not just the context of the time it was written or the author or the recipient of the book, but also the other verses around it. That is why you might notice I will often begin a sermon with a brief recap of what we discussed last week because we as believers should never take verses of Scripture as isolated pieces of work. They all work together to form the message God is teaching us. With that said, last week we talked about three main things. Pauls identity as a servant of Christ, Pauls love for the church of Philippi, and lastly Pauls confidence in God to finish the work that He had started in them. Now as we jump into verse seven tonight Paul begins giving us the reason that he has for such love and confidence.

Philippians 1:7–8 “just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.”

Paul begins to tell the Philippians why it is that he has such a deep affection for them and it is because of what God is doing through them. The Philippian church based on these statements from Paul was not one that sat back and watch the world fall around it. It was active in its fight for the faith. Paul says that they are partakers of grace with him just as they are partakers of his chains and his ministry. The exact specifics of what the Philippians were doing here are not said. One possibility is that they financially supported Paul. This is likely true as we said this is a thank you letter for a gift that he received from them. I doubt though that this is all they did to support Paul. I would wager that when they heard of his imprisonment they probably gathered to pray for him and ask for God to deliver him and thus were partners in his chains mourning and praying for him looking forward to his release. Also though it says they are partners in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. These believers I would say likely were active in sharing and defending their faith. They did not just leave it up to Paul. It was not that Paul blew into town shared Christ with a few people and it was not still just those same few people that were at the church getting this letter. No it is likely that those Philippians went out and told people the good news. They confirmed the gospel that Paul had been arrested for their in Philippi saying that it was the truth and that others should receive it as they had. They also are said to be defending the gospel. We talked about what happened to Paul at Philippi. He was beaten and imprisoned for the sake of the gospel. Do you think that hostility went away when he left? No, these believers were having to fight to defend the gospel. They were likely also imprisoned at times or questioned by those around them. Their friends and family who were all pagan were wondering why they were abandoning the old ways for this gospel and some were likely offended by it. Yet they continued to follow in Pauls example and defend the gospel and because of this Paul says they are partakers in the grace with him that they are working together for the kingdom of God and will receive the rewards of such work together. This is the behavior that I pray that you have when you go out from here. It is easy while you are here or while you are talking with me to act as a Christian and act like you live this way out in the world but what are you doing when you are not here? First, I ask that you pray for me. As I am working to lead this group and help you to grow in your faith I want to ask that you pray each week for me and ask God to help me to do it. It is easy for you to assume that I have everything together and don’t need any help but I am just a man like anyone else and I need God to work through me and to lift me up when I am low and keep me moving forward. Secondly, I ask that you work with me in the defense and conformation of the gospel. Go out from here and live it out. Live how God has called you to live being different from the world around us and be prepared to face criticism for it. People around you likely won’t like that you don’t talk about the crude things they do or that you don’t go to the same places and do the same things as them. Be prepared for that push back and ridicule and be prepared to tell them about why you don’t live like that. Be prepared to tell them you have been called out of sin and shame and redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. That He lived, died, and rose again so that you don’t have to live in the sin of the world but can live in this higher calling. And be prepared to tell them that same calling is being made to them. That God is extending the hand to them to repent and have faith in Christ as well and live different from the world around them.

Most importantly though Paul gives us the ultimate truth of his love for the Philippians when he says that he longs for them with the affection of Christ. Paul is saying that the deepest reason for his love for them is because they are in Christ and Christ is in him. That he loves them out of the love that Christ gave him. We should love those who are around us out of the overflow of the love that Christ has given us especially other believers. We so often are quick to turn on our fellow believers and fight amongst ourselves judging one another or being impatient with those who are not quite as mature in the faith and this does nothing but hurt our cause. Dear believer love your brothers and sisters in Christ with a great love, with the love that Christ has given to you that though you were a sinner, an enemy of the Lord, He willingly died for you and called you by name to be His. Let us pass that same level of love and patience and kindness on to our brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that they may hurt you at times and there will be moments in your life where you feel like the church is not where you should be. But have such a love for your fellow believers that you long for them as Paul did. That you pray for them and look forward to being with them because you know just as Paul did that you are united in Christ.

It is this very love then that leads Paul to his prayer in the next few verses.

Philippians 1:9–11 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

There are two aspects of this that I want to look at, first we will see what Paul is doing and then we will look into the actual content he is giving. First then, Paul here has been telling his dear friends in Philippi about his deep love for them and now he is telling them he is praying for them but not just that he is praying in a generic sense, no Paul is telling them exactly how he is praying for them right now. When was the last time you told your friend that you loved them? When was the last time that you told them that you were praying for them even in a generic sense? Worse yet, when was the last time you actually did pray for your friend not because they were going through something or asked you to but just because you thought of them and wanted to pray for them? We can be so ver selfish with our prayers and I am just as guilty of it as anyone else. We focus in on everything that is happening to us right now and forget about all of the people that we love. We should daily though be praying for our fellow believers, pray for your friends, pray for your church, pray for the believers across the world that live under persecution for their faith. And when you pray for those who are around you then let them know. Shoot them a text or call them or just next time you see them tell them that you prayed for them and tell them how you are praying for them. Encourage them with your love for them. Look I get it that it can feel a little awkward sometimes to tell your friend you love them or to talk to them about something serious like how you are praying for them. A little something about me is that I am not a naturally emotionally expressive person. I often forget to tell people that I love them or tell them how much they mean to me. So know right now that I am right there with you having to remind myself to do it, but we are called to be encouragers to our brothers and sisters in Christ. To lift them up when they are low and help them feel Gods love, joy, and peace. Be that for someone. Even if you don’t think they need it, you don’t know what is going on in their lives completely. Be like Paul here and share your love and prayers with those around you.

Now let’s look at the content of Pauls prayer. Paul here that their love abounds. He is praying that the Philippians grow in their love for one another and continue to spread the love of Christ. This section of scripture reminds me a lot of when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was and His response was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and the second is like it to love your neighbor as yourself. Our faith is one that is fueled by love. First, we have a great love for God and out of that great love for God pours out a great love for His people. This is what Paul is calling the Philippians to, to have this great love for God and His people. This is what I call you to as well today, fill yourself with a love for God, let love abound in your life so that it naturally pours out and flows to His people. Paul does not call for this to be a blind love though. No he calls for the love to be in knowledge and discernment. Know why you love God. Study His word to know Him better so that you can love God not simply because I told you to but because you have seen He is good. Paul also calls them to love with discernment which I think is especially valuable in todays times. We are called to love the people who are around us and unfortunately there is a faction of the church, meaning all who claim to be Christians, who want to eliminate repentance from the gospel in the name of love. They say that telling people they must change from who they are is unloving, but Gods word says to us that it is the most loving thing we can do. David Martin Loyd Jones a doctor and pastor who I really enjoy once said that removing repentance from the gospel and bringing people into the church without it is like a doctor simply giving morphine to a dying patient without addressing the ailment. While it may seem like compassion on the surface it is actually cowardice because the truly compassionate thing would be to treat the ailment no matter how difficult it may be in order to save the life. We are called to tell people the full gospel which includes repentance. You then are called to love discerningly. To love the person yet still call them out of sin when it is in their lives, both the believer who sins and the unbeliever who has never repented before. We are called to love them both and call them to repentance.

Why then are we called to such things? So that we may approve what is excellent and be without offense. When we abound in love for God and for His people then we will grow in Christ. As I said we are trying to focus in on sanctification a lot this year and Paul tells us that one such way to do it is to abound in love. If we are filled with a love for God and His people then we will begin to reject the things of the world and cling to God and church. We will sink deeper into His word and then live out a more pure life continuing to eliminate sin more and more as we go. Paul ends though with an important reminder here. This process that is happening in us when we are being purified it is not that we are working and cleaning ourselves up. No it is that the deeper we sink into God the more love of Christ that abounds in us, the more the Spirit conforms us to Christs image. As we become more like Christ the more fruits of His righteousness we will see. We must remember that it is still not our own righteous works but it is Christ who works through us. And finally it is important to remember that this is all done for the glory and praise of God. That since it is not I who has done the work but God who works in and through me it is not I who should receive the glory but all glory honor and praise should always be directed to God.