Philippians Sermon Notes - Week 3
Intro’s:
Text
Phil 1:18b-19
Moreover, he is dependent on the Philippians’ prayers, particularly their prayers that God will supply him with the sustaining presence of the Spirit, so that he may take this step successfully.
On the other hand, it is important to recognize that God ordains the prayers of his people as a means through which to accomplish his purposes, including his purposes for the perseverance of Christians in the faith and for their ultimate salvation.
My eager hope and expectation
Not be ashamed
He expected God would give him the grace so that he would not be put to shame in his confession here and now. The Roman trial was another opportunity for him to triumph in Christ. In no way would he fail. Christ would give him the strength.
Christ would be magnified
He hoped that he would have the courage to live or die as a true Christian should. Paul’s ministry encompassed both living and speaking, and he needed courage for both. He had enjoyed success before, but now he faced greater tests. He expected to end as he began, courageous in his witness.
To live is christ, to die is gain.
The statement “to live is Christ” is magnified by the statement “to die is gain.”
Thus, “to live is Christ” must mean that Paul so totally wanted to glorify Christ that as long as he lived everything about him was to point people to Christ.
This was accomplished in part by the chains which were “manifested in Christ” (1:13); but even if he were called to die, it would be an occasion for Christ to become prominent. Death was a gain because he would see the Lord, enjoy him, and no longer endure the difficulties he was called to bear on earth.
Paul’s Inner World (Phil 1:22-26)
Paul is putting the interest of others before his own.
Paul urges the Philippians twice in the letter to look to him and to others like him as examples (3:17; 4:9). Here, then, Paul provides an example to the Philippians of what it means to put “the interests of others” above one’s “own interests” (2:4), an admonition that the disunited Philippians needed to hear (2:14; 4:2).
Since Paul knows that the way of Jesus is the way of service (cf. 2:5–11), he is convinced that his own preferences will be put aside so that he can remain and continue with the Philippians for their progress and joy in the faith. Paul is not merely musing on his own crisis; he is giving the Philippians a model of the service-driven life.
The Progress of their faith and joy
This advancement of its faith was also called a joy. Both “progress” and “joy” are modified by “in the faith.” As the Philippians matured in their understanding of Christ, their joy in the faith would deepen and would be encouraged. This thought is repeated in v. 26.
The Response
Opponents?
The universal nature of the gospel presented a problem to Gentiles, who had their own religions, and to Jews, who wanted the Gentiles to accept Judaism. The result was that Paul suffered at the hands of both groups, and the church at Philippi would do so as well
Why?
Themes
Battle:
Desires and Passions
Citizenship in Heaven
Philippi prided itself on being a Roman colony, offering the honor and privilege of Roman citizenship. Paul reminds the congregation that they should look to Christ, not Caesar, for their model of behavior, since their primary allegiance is to God and his kingdom.
The noun form occurs in 3:20 in calling the Philippians to appropriate ethical conduct. There he stated that “our citizenship is in heaven.” No doubt the readers would have associated the word with the Roman citizenship which they prized so much. This was Paul’s way of reminding them of the obligations of people who participate in a society. In this case, the society was of Christians whose strongest ties were in heaven.
Words
“eager expectation”
The noun “eager expectation” (apokaradokia) is unusually strong, as Paul’s use of it in Romans 8:19 shows.
Josephus, the Jewish historian and younger contemporary of Paul (b. A.D. 37/38), for example, uses the verb to describe how in the moments before the Roman armies attacked the Galilean city of Jotapata, which he was assigned to defend, he “breathlessly awaited (akpekaradokei) the hail of arrows.”
Structure
The second structural question relates to the three movements within the section. The question is whether they should be seen as three different ideas or two. Those who see three separate units argue that the grammar suggests them. The first unit is 1:18–20, which is one sentence in the Greek text. The second unit is 1:21–24. This contains the section about life and death and is introduced by “for” (gar), as is the first section. The third unit is 1:25–26, which is one sentence in Greek introduced by the expression “and having this confidence.”
This arrangement is quite possible, but a two-unit arrangement makes better sense in light of the parallels and the thematic structure of the passage. Two basic parallels confirm the flow of thought. The main verb of 1:18b–19 is “I know,” and that same verb is repeated in 1:25.
Book of Acts Timeline
Paul Before the Sanhedrin (Jerusalem)
Taken to Caesarea before Felix
Paul’s Response
Felix and Paul
Festus succeeds Felix (two years later)
Paul Appeals to Caesar
King Agrippa Visits Festus
Paul
Paul shares his testimony (Acts 26:12-18)
Paul Sails for Rome (Acts 27)
Storm and Shipwreck
Shipwrecked at Malta
Paul arrives at Rome (Acts 28:11-14)
Paul meets with Jews (Acts 28:17-28)
The Book of Acts Concludes (2 years)
Timeline:
After three months probably indicates March (c. A.D. 60), when, after the winter, it became safe to navigate the Mediterranean.
Post Acts:
First Clement 5.7 (written A.D. 95, perhaps the earliest known orthodox Christian writing after the NT) speaks of Paul preaching in “the limits of the west,” which probably indicates his fulfilling his desire to preach in Spain (see Rom. 15:24). That would point to his release from the first Roman imprisonment.
5By reason of jealousy and strife Paul by his example pointed out the prize of patient endurance. 6After that he had been seven times in bonds, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, had preached in the East and in the West, he won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith, 7having taught righteousness unto the whole world and having reached the farthest bounds of the West; and when he had borne his testimony before the rulers, so he departed from the world and went unto the holy place, having been found a notable pattern of patient endurance.
The church historian Eusebius, writing in A.D. 325, cites the tradition that Paul was freed from confinement and carried on a further ministry until he was arrested and placed in a second Roman imprisonment, at which time he was martyred (Ecclesiastical History 2.22)
Paul having been sent bound from Judea to Rome, made his Defense, and was acquitted of every Charge
1 FESTUS was sent by Nero to be Felix’s successor. Under him Paul, having made his defense, was sent bound to Rome.8 Aristarchus was with him, whom he also somewhere in his epistles quite naturally calls his fellow-prisoner. And Luke, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, brought his history to a close at this point, after stating that Paul spent two whole years at Rome as a prisoner at large, and preached the word of God without restraint.2
2 Thus after he had made his defense it is said that the apostle was sent again upon the ministry of preaching, and that upon coming to the same city a second time he suffered martyrdom.4 In this imprisonment he wrote his second epistle to Timothy, in which he mentions his first defense and his impending death.
Baker Encyclopedia
Last Years. The evidence gathered from outside of Acts is not at all clear as to whether or not Paul was released from his imprisonment. If the Letter to the Philippians was written during this period, it can be inferred that Paul had some concern that he might be executed (cf. Phil 1:19–24; 2:17). On the other hand, he sounds rather confident that he will be released and will be able to see the Philippians again (1:25, 26; cf. also Phlm 22).
Peter in Rome
The facts as they can be recovered point to certain tentative conclusions: Peter did have some type of ministry in Rome, though the extent of it cannot be known. However, it is doubtful, in light of the early testimony to his preaching ministry V 2, p 1667 p 1667 there, that he was merely passing through Rome when caught in Nero’s pogrom. Therefore he most likely spent the last years of his life in Rome and there suffered martyrdom under Nero, perhaps the reverse crucifixion as tradition states.