Phil 1:19-30 text part 3
Notes
Transcript
Paul and the believers are Philippi...
Paul and the believers are Philippi...
One of the most important things I remember from last week was the truth Paul said that all that had happened to him was used to further the Gospel message.
Remember verses 12-13
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
Paul was blessed that even hardship served to promote the gospel, all that He went through allowed the gospel to be shared and lives to be changed. Paul was ok with that....
He would have liked to have not been under arrest, but this made it bearable.
He was also excited at how far the gospel had been communicated because of his imprisonment, it had served to allow even for Caesar’s guard to know His truth.
So lets move forward and finish this chapter....
19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Now we’ve backed up and looked over verses 19 and 20 again, just a little bit of a recap so we will start there.
V 19-20
19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
Like we shared last week, Paul fully expected to be delivered from his imprisonment, and we know looking historically that he was, but will be arrested again in the future that will not turn out well.
But look at what Paul says here,I know that it was through your prayers and the help of the Spirit … The word “know” here has an air of confidence if you will, Paul was certain.
Please know that the church and the Spirit work in harmony together for God’s glory.
At this point in time, Rome had no disagreements with Christians or the their faith, but that would change in the future.
And as we creep into verse 20 we see that Paul was sure of His salvation. He says that he would not be at all ashamed… He confidently confessed Christ as Lord, He wanted to be bold in how he lived....this was the direction of our life. Thus all He wanted was Christ honored in His life.
12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold,
19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,
Now lets move on to verses 21-24
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Paul like I said while ago , wanted to glorify our Lord with His life, and he expected He would do so in life and or death.
And so when Paul says for to me to live is christ and to die is gain, it is different than what the world would say… Normally one would says that life is gain and to die is Christ ( since we are in Him)
But Paul says this , reversing it, at death the Christian gained more of an intimate relationship with the Lord , the statement to live is Christ is magnified by the statement to die is gain....
Paul often spoke in terms of His life being better because it was in Christ. Remember his words to the church at Galatia..
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
and then the fruition of it all is in heaven...
4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Paul wanted everything in life and death to point and reflect Christ… Part of this is being made a reality that He is under arrest for the gospel.
Now lets move on to verse 22-24
22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
These verses describe Paul’s dilemma and then his resolution to his concerns.
The result of his continued physical life, Paul was certain would be fruitful labor. We know this because Paul was not idle, he was on fire for God and no matter what he was about God’s business.
So with life, He had work to do. He had a God given mission to take the gospel to the ‘gentiles”.
But it is here that Paul posed a troublesome question of his choice.... listen he says .... “Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.. I am hard pressed between the two...”
I would think here that as Paul was getting older he was thinking about His future life in Christ, there in heaven. he longed to see the Savior and perhaps others who had gone on into glory.
But while he longed for, even wanted heaven as we see there at the end of verse 23,
Verse 24 tells us that Paul knew his existence with them was needed more right at the moment....
Friends, never underestimate the importance of your life here on earth. God has you hear for a reason, it most assuredly means the advancement of the gospel in some way to benefit your church and your savior.
So perhaps stop and and yourself, how can and will this happen in my life?
Pray. (and when you have your answer) 2. Serve
Now lets jump over to verse 25
25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
So Paul kind of looks back at what he’s said here, He uses the term “convinced of this...” The glory of Christ wold be best obtained if God allowed for him to stay here, if even for a little while, His physical existence would be used to finish the mission for which God has called him.
He wouldn’t leave this world until it was God’s will. Paul lived for others, He knew their needs ( they needed teaching, discipleship, and direction) and he knew what the world around him needed (to help advance the mission of the gospel).
The church at Philippi needed his direction, his help, to help them see the false and move forward with the good.
That word progress here refers to how the church would benefit by having him around, but the advancement of their faith would bring joy.
As the church’s faith advances, their work, mission would deepen and their joy would definitely increase...
It would give them confidence to further take the gospel...
V 26
26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
Paul’s return to them would help them to overflow in joy, and thus they would have ample cause to glory in Jesus.
They would glorify God because they loved Paul, he was the one who brought the gospel to them, so there is a special place in their heart for Him, they longed to see him again. And remember they are the ones who had ministered to him in his need, They sent an offering through Epaprahidites
He says at the end ‘…because of my coming to you again...” His words express his optimism.. without a doubt he knew he would be out and able to visit them again
Philippians, Colossians, Philemon Paul’s Confidence of Future Ministry (1:25–26)
This passage suggests that Paul anticipated a visit to Philippi upon his release. The same expectation occurred in Colossians and Philemon.
Now verse 27
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
Paul changes his tone here and words, no more about the upcoming visit and such persay.
Now his direction is toward a Christ like character.
He is calling them to appropriate conduct.... let your manner of life… Now this is a little different, Paul usually uses the verb “walk” to describe christian conduct. But here it is convict yourselves as those proper citizens of heaven.
Act like the one you represent.
You are the citizens of the Kingdom of God, and as such you have responsibilities as a citizen. In Phil 3:20
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Philipi was a church that understood like Paul the value of Roman citizenship, but even more so, to have a greater citizenship, our ties are to heaven, we must act like it.
As such, they were to stand as those contending for the faith.
V 28
28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
Here they contend for the faith, without fear… without being frightened, The fact that the church stood and continued to thrive would be a clear witness to their destruction but to believers it was a sign of our sure salvation.
and now we come back to verses 29-30
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Two fold thought… here, you have been given the joy to believe but also to suffer for the sake of the gospel.
Paul speaks straightforward about christian suffering. He implies that it was a privilege.
So what does Paul mean...
Paul knows that suffering is something that will happen, their would be a time when they, and others would suffer because they followed Christ.
The world hated Jesus, why shouldn't we expect for the world to hate us as well.
The church at Philippi witnessed Paul’s suffering on behalf of Christ and the body of Christ, but the greater joy is that suffering draws us closer in our faith.
I love what Paul says
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
Now verse 30
30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Paul’s life provided a model for suffering, he used a sport term here, “struggle”. They would struggle in the same what He had.. not meaning they would be imprisoned but it could happen.
But the fact is suffering is universal, any across time who stand with Christ could face suffering, but it is not a bad thing, for in the struggle we can attest to the grace of God in the course of our battle.
They had witnessed it in Paul’s life, it was evident it could happen in thier life, in fact expect it. But hold on to Jesus.
Right now Christians are being persecuted because of the truth that God is the author of life and all life is precious. We stand against abortion and are hated becasue of it
in a world that hates Jesus, we must stand with Jesus.