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# Philippians 1:3–8
## Opening: Paul’s Thanksgiving
As we move on this morning in our study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we find Paul following his normal pattern of thanksgiving and prayer.
This week we will look at his statement of thanksgiving about the Philippians, and next week we will look closely at his prayer for them.
After the standard salutation and greeting, Paul’s letters typically included a statement of thanksgiving and a prayer for the recipients.
In this instance he is thanking God for the fellowship of the saints at Philippi, and their participation in the gospel.
This, in turn, will lead him to examine the foundation of their fellowship and of his joy—the work of Christ in them.
In short, what God has done, and is doing, is the theme of this passage.
[Read 1:3–5]
In the last lesson we talked a bit about Paul’s close relationship with the Philippian church, and that comes through even more in this section of thanksgiving.
Before we get into the details of this passage, there are a couple of things worth pointing out.
### Thankful Remembrance
The first is Paul’s general attitude of thankfulness regarding fellow believers and the work of Christ in them.
He finds himself regularly thinking about them, and joyfully thanking God for them, and for the work of Christ in them.
What things give you joy as a believer?
What do you rejoice in?
Do you take joy in growing in personal holiness, conquering indwelling sin, and evidences that your are growing in maturity to become more like Christ?
You should!
But looking at Paul’s attitude here causes me to ask, “Is the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in other believers a source of joy to me? Am I thanking God for the things I see him doing in their lives?”
We live in a very narcissistic culture and it is easy for us focus exclusively on ourselves—our needs, our growth.
Paul’s words here, and in his other letters, should challenge us to pay closer attention to what God is doing in the lives of other believers around us—particularly in the context of the local church.
It should bring us when we see them growing in grace, and the knowledge of the truth.
We should be thanking God for the grace that he is displaying in those believers who’s lives he has knit with our own.
### Joyful Prayer
The second thing to notice, is the frequency of Paul’s prayers for these believers.
The believers in Philippi are a constant subject of prayer for Paul.
He remembers them fondly, and frequently.
He is regularly praying on their behalf.
We may be faithful to pray for specific needs as they are requested or mentioned on the prayer chain, but do we go beyond that?
Do we pray for them to pursue righteousness, and grow in grace; to resist temptation and to trust god in adversity?
We should.
> “[Prayer] is not simply a listing of the requests we have, it involves entering into other’s situations, needs, triumphs and failures, and carrying them into the presence of God.” — Sinclair Ferguson
I pray for myself, that I would grow in holiness, that I would rely more fully on his grace, and that he would guard my heart from temptation.
Yet, how often do I pray that for others?
It is vital that I do so!
We need one another.
It has rightly been said that there are no “Lone Ranger” christians.
To be a believer is to be a part of the body, working together, supporting one another, and all depending upon Christ, the head.
I think, if we apply this consistently, it will greatly effect our prayers for one another.
## The Cause of Paul’s Joy — Partnership in the Gospel
As Paul remembers the Philippian believers and prays for them, it is with joy.
Why did the Philippian church have this effect on Paul?
It was because of their “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
This word, which is rendered in the ESV as “partnership”, is the word κοινωνίᾳ which is often translated as “fellowship”.
It refers to participation together, or sharing in something.
In this instance their fellowship together is “in the gospel”.
This is the source of Paul’s joy.
Their participation in the gospel has two aspects.
It is practical, and it is relational.
### Gospel partnership is practical
The Philippians partnered with Paul in supporting his ministry of advancing the gospel by providing for his material needs.
Paul uses this same word κοινωνίᾳ several times throughout his letters to refer to contribution of funds for the care of the saints and and the support of the ministry.
He uses the verb form of the same word in 4:15 to describe the financial and material support the Philippians had given him.
Partnership in the gospel has a very practical side.
The apostle John, in his first letter, ties our love of Christ to our love of believers as it is expressed in care for their practical needs (But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 1 John 3:17).
An essential part of our fellowship and ministry together is the giving that takes place when we gather.
One of the reasons for which Paul is writing this letter is to thank the Philippians for their continued participation in supporting his practical needs.
### Gospel partnership is relational
More importantly though, gospel partnership is relational.
Its greatest effect is on our relationship to God.
The Philippians have taken part in the gospel by being united to Christ.
They have become partakers of—or participants in—the grace of God by responding in faith to the gospel.
At the moment of regeneration, we are made partakers —“partners” to use the term here—in the work of Christ.
We share in his death and resurrection by dying to sin and being raised to spiritual life as a new creation.
We now have fellowship with God.
In Christ we also have fellowship with one another.
As believers, we are in partnership together in the gospel.
Christ not only draws us to himself, but also draws us to one another.
Our common love for Christ, and our shared commitment to his kingdom bind us together.
Commitment to Christ goes hand in hand with a commitment to his people.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:40 that a love for the brothers is love for him.
(‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’)
I am often struck, as I gather with you all on the Lord’s day or in small groups, how very different we all are.
We have widely varied personalities, interests, and backgrounds.
Yet some of my closest bonds are with the people sitting in this room.
It is because we are united in the most central thing of all, our identity in Christ.
### Their partnership is ongoing
Paul also mentions that the Philippian’s partnership was ongoing.
Other’s had, no doubt, partnered with Paul for a time, but they had eventually stopped, or faded away.
However, Paul gives thanks that the Philippians partnership has continued “from the first day until now.”
They were faithfully consistent in supporting Paul.
Their lives were also consistent.
They were not only professing to be believers, but they were faithfully living lives that demonstrated the work of grace in their hearts.
And this remained true of them.
The early church father Polycarp, approximately 50–70 years after this letter was written, also wrote to the Philippian church.
In the opening of his letter we find this.
> “I rejoiced with you greatly in our Lord Jesus Christ, …that the steadfast root of your faith which was famed from primitive times abideth until now and beareth fruit unto our Lord Jesus Christ” (Polycarp to the Philippians 1:1–2 AFL-E)
All those years later, the Philippian church was still known for their faithfulness, and the fruit they bore.
Their lives were true portraits of the grace of God.
The faithfulness and continued growth of the Philippian believers was a cause of joy to Paul and those whom God had placed in leadership over them [cf.
Hebrews 13:17].
In short, the reason Paul was so joyful about the Philippians is because the work of Christ was on full display in their lives.
This is NT christianity.
It is not church buildings, or steeples topped with a cross, nor hymns, or the name over the door that identifies a NT church.
It is people who live lives that have been transformed by the gospel and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
It is those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, those who share in the sufferings of Christ, who love one another like Christ, who humbly serve like Christ, and who seek to live lives patterned after the commands of Christ.
## The Foundation of Paul’s Joy — Christian Assurance
What if Paul’s joy is misplaced?
What if the Philippians fail to persevere?
Will his rejoicing prove to be futile?
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