What an Encouraging Life!

Background

This is the second sermon in this series on Philippians. Today we are focused on Philippians 1:12-18. Turn to that passage in your Bibles and join me in reading God’s word.

Philippians 1:12-18 “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,”

Our previous sermon discussed Paul writing the letter to the Philippians as an expression of his joy at their friendship for him and commending their faith. Today we see Paul giving an account of his current status. Before we get into that, let’s review some history.

Paul founded the church in Philippi on his second missionary journey. The initial believers were women, Lydia being the most prominent. It was here that Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten with rods, and chained in an inner dungeon because they expelled a demon from a servant girl.

John McRay wrote in Christian History:

Roman imprisonment was preceded by being stripped naked and then flogged—a humiliating, painful, and bloody ordeal. The bleeding wounds went untreated as prisoners sat in painful leg or wrist chains. Mutilated, bloodstained clothing was not replaced, even in the cold of winter.

Most cells were dark, especially the inner cells of a prison, like the one Paul and Silas inhabited in Philippi. Unbearable cold, lack of water, cramped quarters, and sickening stench from few toilets made sleeping difficult and waking hours miserable. Because of the miserable conditions, many prisoners begged for a speedy death. Others simply committed suicide.

Paul and Silas, in contrast, were praying and singing hymns, in the middle of the night, and were miraculously freed. Through their witness, the Philippian jailer and his family were saved. So Paul has a deep connection to Philippi.

We also know, from scripture, that God promised Paul he would go to Rome. What Paul wasn’t told was the manner of the journey. By appealing to be tried in front of Caesar Paul was arrested, chained, mocked, shipwrecked, snake bitten, marooned…I would want a refund for this cruise. That brings us to Paul’s situation in our passage. A situation that leads us to the conclusion “In Christ, our life circumstances serve to strengthen our witness, strengthen others' witness, and lead to Christ preached.”

Life Circumstances and the Gospel

Paul’s Incarceration

Paul’s conversion and his various missionary journeys do not lend themselves to “lived happily ever after.” Many of us would not desire to follow in Paul’s footsteps. His current imprisonment is no exception. The mention of the Praetorium Guard, in these verses, leads many scholars to think Paul is writing from Rome. There are two other options but the consensus is he is in Rome.

He is in prison, awaiting trial, which was the most common form of incarceration in the Roman world. The chains he mentions would have been used to chain him to at least one, if not two, Roman guards. The guards would rotate on a set schedule - every four hours and no more than every eight hours. He is allowed visitors but he is not free to move about Rome.

The majority of us will never know what it means to be chained like Paul. The following excerpt is from an ex-inmate’s story.

“I'm going to tell you honestly. The first thing that I was aware of when I walked out of the doors and sat in the car and realized that I wasn't handcuffed. And for all the time I've been in prison, every time I was transported anywhere, I always had handcuffs on. And that moment right there was … the most emotional moment that I had. Even when they told me that the governor had signed the papers … it didn't set in until I was in that car and I didn't have those handcuffs on.”

Paul hoped to be released but, at this point, he was still in chains. And yet, as in Philippi, Paul did not allow his circumstances to dictate his attitude or his faith. He kept his eyes focused on Jesus. So much so, that every guard within hearing heard the Gospel. Anybody within hearing heard the Gospel. Paul preached Christ so much that everyone, including the imperial guards, knew the real reason for his imprisonment was because of Christ.

Don’t misunderstand. Paul was not some super saint that transcended the physical world and was unaffected by it. He was just as human as you and I. He was joyful and content but he was also angry, despairing, beset by physical ailments. The difference in Paul’s life was his recognition that no matter his condition or feelings Christ was supreme. He was a slave to Christ and knew that his life was not his own.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”

The Greek used in verse 13 says “My bonds in Christ.” Some translations say “for Christ,” some say “because of Christ.” Paul knew all the human reasons and machinations for his imprisonment but he also recognized the real reason. He was in these chains because that is where God wanted him. He was in Christ, doing the work of Christ. As long as he was in these chains, he would preach the Gospel to all. Paul knows that, “in Christ,” is the safest place to be in any circumstance.

You have to wonder how many times the guards that were chained to Paul heard the Gospel? You have to hope that however many times they heard, they, and the others, responded.

How they affected the church

It would be easy to set Paul up as an example of a true saint and follower of Christ. It would be easy for others in the church to look at Paul and say, “What a wonderful Christian. I wish I could be like him!” It would be easy to turn away by claiming, “That is Paul’s calling but it is not mine.” But that is not what the local church did.

The local church looked to Paul and realized that, in spite of his circumstances, he was bold for Christ. Verse 14 tells us this inspired them to be “much more bold, to speak the word without fear.” Notice that Paul doesn’t say they started to speak the word but that they became much more bold in speaking the word.

The church was already preaching the word and spreading the Gospel but, apparently, they had become timid in their manner. Paul’s example helped them turn their focus away from their opponents and to their Savior. That change in focus allowed the Holy Spirit to increase their boldness in speaking the word. If Paul could be bold in his chains, they could be bold in their freedom. This was also intended to encourage the Philippians who were facing their own persecution.

They witnessed, first-hand, Paul’s declarations in 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 4:8-12 “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.”

2 Corinthians 4:15-18 “For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

The church that, “in Christ,” was the place to be despite their circumstances.

How they affected others’ preaching

It is interesting how the increased boldness of others to preach was motivated. Verses 15 - 18 tell us, “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,”

Some people were truly concerned about Paul and were blessed by his example. They knew the love Paul had for Jesus, the love he had for other believers, and the love he had for the lost. This resonated with the love in them and they became more bold because of their love.

Others were hoping to cause Paul problems. They became more bold in order to make Paul feel his circumstances more keenly. Maybe they were among the ones that looked down on Paul because of his appearance, lack of rhetoric, and the fact that he was a prisoner. Maybe, they were what as known as “sheep stealers.” Trying to make themselves more important by taking followers and new believers from Paul.

We need to be careful with the envious preachers. This is not a case of heretics or false preachers bringing a false Gospel. These were saved disciples of Christ that were preaching the true Gospel from the wrong motives.

Recall the words of Jesus in Mark 9:38-40 “John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us.”

And the words from Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:3 “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.”

In all of this Paul is rejoicing. Is he rejoicing because of his chains? Is he rejoicing because of his imprisonment? Is he rejoicing in the motives of the other believers? No, in all of it Paul was rejoicing because right motives or wrong the Gospel was being preached.

His joy was found “in Christ” as the Gospel spread.

How can our circumstances be effective

The foundation of Paul’s joy, the church’s witness, and our lives is contained in the phrase “in Christ.” If our circumstances can and should be used to further the spread of the Gospel then we need to understand what it means to be “in Christ.”

Mari -Anna Stålnacke writes: “When we abide in Christ, God lives and moves in us and through us. Then itʼs not us anymore who do good works. Itʼs Christ in us. Itʼs not us doing great works. But God does it by our hands, our shoulders, our feet, our mouth!

Hence each of us has an important part of Godʼs mission. But it still is God who is working in us, through us, for us. Thatʼs why God is who gets the glory! But we get Godʼs grace that frees us to rest while he works through us. The whole world is not on our shoulders but in Godʼs strong hands.”

John Piper has excellent insight into abiding in Christ based on John 15:1-4 ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

“Active abiding is the act of receiving and trusting all that God is for us in Christ.”

“Abiding in the vine means receiving and believing and trusting the words of Jesus.”

“Nothing of any spiritual, eternal significance is possible apart from this abiding in the vine.”

“Abiding proves whether the attachment to the vine is coursing with life or is merely artificial and external.”

“The branches are being cared for (to make them maximally fruitful) both by internal life flowing to us from the vine and by a vinedresser, who with his very painful scissors or saw cuts us and hurts us, so that by these painful providences in life we experience the fullest possible impact of the inner life of Christ.”

“The whole design of our not being the vine, but being utterly dependent branches grafted into the vine, is to give glory to God. The bottom line is, hour by hour, let us receive and rest in and trust and savor and enjoy Christ’s word and love and joy while we submit externally to the merciful providences of God.”

In other words, all of our lives - heart, soul, body, and circumstances belong to God to be used for his glory. The things that happen in our lives are not random and not intended to make us miserable. They are opportunities to experience the joy of the Lord through our witness and the joy we gain from seeing others grow through the witness of our circumstances.

In Christ, our life circumstances serve to strengthen our witness, strengthen others' witness, and lead to Christ preached.