Pastor Nate continues our study through the Bible in the book of Philippians.
[00:00:00] You are listening to the Through the Bible Studio series with Pastor Nate Holdridge. Join us as we continue our study through the New Testament book of Philippians. Here's
[00:00:13] Nate. The descriptive word for the Book of Philippians is the word joy. Paul wrote a letter of joy to the Philippian church and of course this is
[00:00:26] contrasted with many of his other epistles. The letter that he wrote to the Galatian church for instance a letter in which he had to defend the gospel with everything within him or his letters to the Corinthian church where there was much correction and doctrinal confusion. His letter to even places like Ephesus where he was explaining the great
[00:00:55] richness that we have in Christ Jesus or his treaties on the gospel and the Book of Romans or the high Christology from the Book of Colossians wherever you might be. Each epistle and letter from Paul carries with it a different tone but is Paul wrote to the Philippian church. This letter is a letter of absolute joy and really in one sense this letter
[00:01:23] is a glorified Holy Spirit inspired in the canon of scripture. Thank you, note from a prisoner apostle named Paul who in Rome imprisoned was so thankful that the Philippian church had sent financial support and a wonderful pastor named
[00:01:47] the paparaditis to minister to him and as a result of their care and their concern and their love Paul wrote a thank you letter under the inspiration of the spirit back to the Philippian church
[00:02:02] and this letter even though it came from imprisonment is a letter filled with absolute and wonderful joy. And so because of that what we have are these special glimpses into the heart of Paul the Apostle because he has no major doctrine to confront or correct
[00:02:22] he has no major word of correction or rebuke for the Philippian church. He's able to simply emote but as he does again under the inspiration of the spirit we learned some absolutely wonderful things from Paul from his life and from his heart in this first section
[00:02:42] verse 1 all the way through verse 11 we see the real heart of Paul for this special church in Philippine and why he saw them as a special group of believers but first of all we see in verse 1 the authors of this little epistle.
[00:03:01] Paul and Timothy servants of Christ Jesus to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippine with the overseers and deacons grace to you and peace from God our Father verse 2 and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:03:19] So we have the introduction to this epistle and first of all we notice that the letter is from number one Paul the Apostle now it is interesting that here Paul does not mention his apostleship.
[00:03:34] He leaves it blank he just says Paul and Timothy he usually reserved the title for letters in which he was either going to correct or letters in which he was going to instruct but here as a friend as a companion as a thankful man he writes back as a missionary reporting to his sending church and they would know him by his name no title was necessary.
[00:04:01] Now it is obvious from this letter that Paul wrote this letter from prison in verse 13 of chapter 1 we see that he was in chains and that he administered to the palace guard in later in chapter 1 and also in chapter 2 we discover that Paul was considering his imminent death.
[00:04:24] He believed that death was possible on his horizon as a result of this imprisonment and it appears that this is the imprisonment that Paul experienced in Rome and this was a very lonely time for Paul we learn in second Timothy chapter 4 verse 16 he says at my first defense which would have been here no one stood with me but all for sook me.
[00:04:51] And so this was a lonely time he says to Timothy in second Timothy 1 verse 17 he says ones of force when he arrived in Rome he saw me out very zealously and he found me something that Paul rejoiced over that someone actually came and looked for him.
[00:05:08] And so what we'll discover later in this letter is that the Philippian church it's a man named a papariditis with a financial gift and this had greatly blessed and administered to the heart of Paul.
[00:05:21] Now we also see that this letter is from Timothy likely mentioned by Paul because of Philippians new Timothy Timothy was there when the Philippian church was birthed in Acts chapter 16 just a wonderful birth of the Philippian church.
[00:05:37] And so he mentions Timothy as you know in part of the authorship of this letter but this is of course coming from the pen of Paul.
[00:05:50] Perhaps Timothy operated as a scribe but at the very least they knew him and it's two verse 1 the saints in Christ who are in Philippi with the overseers and the deacons.
[00:06:04] Now of course this doesn't mean that Paul is writing this letter to the super spiritual people in Philippi called the saints.
[00:06:12] No, this is anybody who is in Christ Jesus he says the saints in Christ Jesus and then he tells them who are at Philippi.
[00:06:22] So what's a unique title, a unique introduction. The reason why it's so unique or interesting is that the city that this church lived in the city of Philippi was a very proud city.
[00:06:37] Geographically it was on a road between Europe and Asia, a very strategic city.
[00:06:44] Years earlier around 42 BC this city had been taken for Rome conquered and made into a colony city.
[00:06:55] And this means that residents of this city were citizens technically of Rome itself and they had the rights that came with being a citizen of Rome.
[00:07:08] And so because these citizens of Rome would move to Philippi and be there they had what was called the italic right.
[00:07:17] And so their land was treated as Italian soil and so this would be a very proud kind of city, a very proud place to live.
[00:07:29] And so Paul he speaks to them and says listen you are saints in Christ Jesus and you are at Philippi.
[00:07:38] In other words Paul is letting them know listen your citizenship here on earth might be in Philippi but your real citizenship is in heaven.
[00:07:48] You are saints in Christ Jesus and he includes the overseers or the bishops and the deacons.
[00:07:55] These are the pastors and the deacons who are spiritual men caring for practical matters in the church.
[00:08:02] He includes them in this description or in this address which means that the church in Philippi at this time was a very organized and developed church.
[00:08:12] They had pastors, they had deacons, they had structure to them.
[00:08:17] And then he tells them verse 2 grace and peace from our God and Father and the Lord Jesus Christ a very typical greeting from Paul.
[00:08:28] Now in verse 3 he immediately moves into this warm remembrance of the Philippian church.
[00:08:34] He says I thank my God in all my remembrance for you.
[00:08:39] Always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.
[00:08:46] And so he mentions in verse 3 and 4 just this wonderful remembrance and this wonderful joy that he had every single time he prayed for the Philippian church.
[00:08:58] Every single remembrance that he had of them was a positive remembrance.
[00:09:03] To be honest this kind of person in life for this kind of church in life is beautiful and rare.
[00:09:12] Ten years had separated Paul from the establishment of the Philippian church.
[00:09:18] The time that he walked into Philippi and looked for a synagogue to preach in, found that there weren't enough Jewish men to warrant a synagogue.
[00:09:27] And so he went to the river side where a small little pocket of Jews gathered together, a Lydia, a prominent and wealthy woman being one of them.
[00:09:37] He preached the gospel a few of the women gave their lives to the Lord and then almost immediately a demonically oppressed and possessed slave girl began to cry out as she followed Paul in his companion saying truly these men are servants.
[00:09:56] The right message but the wrong messenger and Paul and Paul turn and rebuked the demon drove it from the woman.
[00:10:05] But she was owned by masters who used her for fortune telling and so they were displeased with what Paul had done.
[00:10:12] They threw him into prison and there at night at midnight it tells us that Paul and Silas in act 16 were singing songs of praise to the Lord as they were locked up in the silence.
[00:10:25] Up in the stocks down in the bottom most part of the prison.
[00:10:29] And in the night, the earth shook and the bars of the prison were opened and their chains fell off of them. They were set free.
[00:10:40] And there's the wonderful recounting of the Philippian jailer who when he opened his eyes because he'd been sleeping, he saw that the gates of the prison had been opened and assumed that the prisoners had escaped.
[00:10:55] And he pulled out his sword to fall on it and commit suicide. And Paul said, do not harm yourself. We are all here.
[00:11:02] And he was so impressed with that, with the singing, with the story, with all that had been shared with him up to that point.
[00:11:12] And he said, what must I do to be saved? And Paul told him, repents and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household will be saved.
[00:11:22] And so the early establishment of the Philippian church, but we are now 10 years down the road from that moment.
[00:11:29] And Paul is 800 miles away, but every remembrance that he had of this church was positive. Every remembrance of you, he said, I thank God for.
[00:11:41] And in every prayer of mine, for all of you making my prayer with joy, there was just joy within his heart over the Philippian church.
[00:11:50] And again, not everyone in life is going to elicit this kind of emotion from us. But like David with Jonathan, when he said to Jonathan that your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women as a eulogized Jonathan,
[00:12:07] either there was a close bond between David and Jonathan, there was a close bond between Paul and the church in Philippi.
[00:12:15] And there will be moments in life where we have this kind of connection with people. And so Paul just began to with joy, rejoice over this Philippian church.
[00:12:28] And then he began to list the reasons for his great joy. Number one is found in verse five, he said because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
[00:12:44] Reason number one for celebrating the Philippian church and the mind of Paul was because of a partnership in the mission of the gospel that they took with him.
[00:12:57] Notice what he said in verse five, because of your partnership in the gospel. In other words, they weren't merely friendly with Paul. There wasn't just simple camaraderie with Paul.
[00:13:08] There was a sharing of a greater mission. And that greater mission was the communication of the gospel throughout the world.
[00:13:18] You know, I know a lot of guys who have gone to war physically and of course as a pastor, I know many men who have gone to war in a spiritual kind of sense in the body of Christ.
[00:13:30] And I think the bond is very similar. There's a connection with those that you have gone to physical war and battle with.
[00:13:38] And I think that connection is very similar to the connection that people who have a kingdom priority, who step out in ministry and plow into new territories or lead churches or lay down their lives to serve the Lord.
[00:13:56] There is a camaraderie and a fellowship with those who partner in the gospel that is very strong.
[00:14:04] And you know, he says, you partnered with me from the first day until now.
[00:14:10] You know, that first day back in act 16 when Lydia gave her life to the Lord, it's like the Philippian church just shot out of a cannon and engaged in the work that God was doing in presenting the church.
[00:14:25] And presenting the gospel to the world especially through Paul the Apostle.
[00:14:31] And the way that the Philippian church did this frankly was financially.
[00:14:35] Are they prayed? They joined with Paul but the thing that he rejoices over in this letter is the way that they financially backed the work of God through his life.
[00:14:48] And so the Philippian church, this lifestyle of being all about the work, the partnership of the gospel.
[00:14:59] That was Paul's number one reason for rejoicing over this Philippian church they were givers but he had another reason as well.
[00:15:06] Verse 6, he said, and I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
[00:15:17] He also rejoiced over the Philippian church because as he looked at them and observed them, it was obvious to him that God had started a work in their lives.
[00:15:27] You know, they had been saved, they had begun as a church.
[00:15:31] God was working in them as they gave this gift to Paul and Paul was certain when he looked at the Philippian church that this work would be completed by God.
[00:15:42] He says, I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
[00:15:51] Now I think sometimes we co out this verse and just sort of say it to almost anyone.
[00:15:56] You know, I'm sure that God is going to complete the work that he began in you.
[00:16:01] And in one sense that is wonderfully true.
[00:16:05] The sovereign hand of God, he holds us in his strong and mighty right hand.
[00:16:10] He will complete the work that is in us.
[00:16:13] But I think Paul was able to say this concerning the Philippian church with such strong confidence not just from a theological place of understanding but because he looked at the Philippian church and he saw the trend in their lives.
[00:16:29] And he was so glad at the progress they were making and he really believed that the work that had begun in them would continue in them.
[00:16:40] And so just a wonderful thing Paul rejoicing, reason number two because of Christ's work in them.
[00:16:49] And it's so wonderful to realize that God finishes what he starts.
[00:16:54] So unlike me, I'll start a million projects around my house and those projects will sit unfinished.
[00:17:03] Sometimes I'm ashamed to admit for years but God himself he is a finisher.
[00:17:10] He starts a work and slowly but surely he finishes that work in all of its detail.
[00:17:19] And so a reason number two, the work of Christ in them, but he goes on in verse seven.
[00:17:25] In talking about this joy that he had when every prayed for the Philippian church and he said it is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart.
[00:17:37] For you are all partakers with me of grace both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
[00:17:49] And so Paul looks at them and he says listen this is another thing that causes me to rejoice and hold you close to my heart he says because you are partakers with me of grace in my imprisonment
[00:18:05] and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
[00:18:08] I think what Paul was saying is that there was something about the Philippian church where as he suffered, you know, there he is in chains, there he is in the defense and the confirmation of the gospel.
[00:18:23] And he talks about this and he says to the Philippian church, you know, I just rejoice over you because I sense that you're partaking in kind of experiencing
[00:18:34] all of that right alongside of me. You're with me in this, you're experiencing this with me.
[00:18:45] He sends them by his side and his chains in his defense and in the confirmation of the gospel.
[00:18:53] And in one sense it's true they experienced this persecution in their church.
[00:19:02] They saw Paul beaten immediately for the sake of the gospel and with a little beautiful work that began out at the riverside, outside of Philippi, immediately found opposition and their leader thrust into prison.
[00:19:20] And so Paul says to them, you have suffered right alongside of me. They were co-sufferers more than just co-laborers which is wonderful.
[00:19:29] They were co-sufferers together which is so wonderful in the mind and heart of Paul because he could have looked at his suffering as being incredibly alone.
[00:19:40] He could have said, whoa is me. He could have felt as if no one else could identify with the great burden and pain that he was experiencing.
[00:19:50] But for Paul his suffering in his mind was not alone. The Philippian church they were with him. He did not see himself like Joseph in the pit alone or Daniel in the lion's den alone or Elijah at the Brook Charath alone or Jesus on the cross alone.
[00:20:08] Paul saw himself as going through his trial and struggle with the Philippian church.
[00:20:15] And this is such a wonderful thing that the Philippian church gave to the Apostle Paul.
[00:20:21] And I want you to notice that. I want you to notice that because part of the reason that Paul felt this way about them and said,
[00:20:29] you are partakers with me of grace in the imprisonment and defense and confirmation of the gospel.
[00:20:36] Part of the reason that he was able to say that about them or one of the things that motivated him to rejoice over them for suffering with him is that they had supported him financially.
[00:20:48] And I found that when we are generous with one another, when we care for one another financially, it's one of the strongest statements of support that a person can make.
[00:20:59] Recently in a small group that my wife and I attend one of the families in the group has begun going through a financial trial. It's a minor financial trial but it is a real financial trial.
[00:21:15] And somewhere in another I heard about this small little gesture from one member in our group to them of just financial support.
[00:21:27] And I heard a their response which was just so thankful, they were so humbled.
[00:21:34] And in the course of this, one of the other people in our group they explained a time in their lives when God had provided for them in a small way through the care and concern of some Christian friends.
[00:21:49] And the things that they reported just really touched my heart because they explained that they really just sensed in that moment that they were not alone.
[00:21:59] That they were not alone, that there were these other people out there but more importantly that God saw them and it just gave them this sense and this feeling like we are not alone, we are cared for.
[00:22:11] And this is I think a very missionary kind of thing when you're out there serving the Lord or in prison like Paul or you're just trying to live the Christian life when you get that sense that someone else is supporting you.
[00:22:24] It just totally blesses your heart and that's what Paul was saying we are co-suffering together for God verse 8.
[00:22:34] Now another reason is my witness how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
[00:22:42] You know another reason that Paul in every remembrance was thankful and in every prayer was joyful.
[00:22:49] Another reason is simply the work of God inside of Paul's life and inside of Paul's heart. He says, you know God is my witness.
[00:22:58] You're in for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. In other words he knew that God had done something inside of his heart and the love of Christ, the affection of Jesus was inside of Paul and just this amazing force of love that had been embedded inside of Paul's heart.
[00:23:20] Now in verse 9 he goes on and he actually talks about this prayer and what it is that he was praying.
[00:23:27] We know that it was filled with joy, we know that it was filled with thankfulness but here he actually writes out his prayer and I always love when Paul tells us what he's been praying for because it strengthens me at least in my own prayer life to know the kinds of things that this very godly man brought before the Lord.
[00:23:48] He says in verse 9 he says, and it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so he doesn't want them to just have this loose, you know no standards attached to it kind of love.
[00:24:06] We love everybody and so there's no standard. No he says I want you to have a love that abounds more and more with knowledge and all discernment but the first part of his prayer was if he wanted the love from the Philippian church to increase.
[00:24:21] Now I think this is a fascinating prayer because he in one sense isn't an overly spiritual person in prayer.
[00:24:34] If you've ever heard or prayed a prayer that is just so overly spiritual it's like I don't even know if God himself can understand what this person is trying to pray as they cry out to God just oh God
[00:24:47] you are so wonderful and mysterious and just this on and on and on just kind of thing where you really never have a request. No Paul had a request but on the other hand his request was not just a physical kind of thing, you know and it's okay to pray for sickness and all of that but here Paul was praying for something that was very spiritual
[00:25:15] and very important that their love would increase. That this ultimate mark of maturity for the Christian, that we would be known as disciples of Christ by our love that that would increase and rise in their midst.
[00:25:31] Paul said in Colossians 3 verse 14 above all these things put on love which is the bond of perfection.
[00:25:40] And in many of his letters first Corinthians, first Thessalonians, second Thessalonians Colossians Ephesians he speaks of faith and hope and love.
[00:25:50] And so the agape love of the believer he wanted to see that increase in the Corinthian church they had this love but he wanted to see it increase which is so opposite our natural tendency to self preservation.
[00:26:05] This was supernatural self giving love but he also goes on in says in verse 10 I'm also praying for you that you may approve what is excellent and this is discernment that you may understand or discern what really matters and what is best.
[00:26:25] Discern, approve what is excellent. You know love is a mature attribute but so is being able to discern. Discerning what is right, discerning what is good.
[00:26:38] Solomon said when he became king in Israel he said God give me discernment that I might know the difference between good and evil.
[00:26:49] I'm like a little child before this nation show me and help me to be a good and righteous judge. And so knowing should I serve God where should I serve God, where should I give to God's work you know and all of that that's where discernment comes into play.
[00:27:10] And so praying for discernment asking God to give you discernment and he says in verse 10 to be pure and blameless for the day of Christ he prayed for their spiritual and physical purity.
[00:27:23] I know this is a prayer that as a father I pray quite often for my children filled verse 11 with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
[00:27:40] I pray for them to be a fruitful people until the day of Christ. So loving people discerning people, pure people and fruitful people to the glory and the praise of God.
[00:27:57] What a wonderful life of prayer Paul demonstrated towards the Philippian church. And there he is picture him in his prison cell where in his apartment under house arrest.
[00:28:09] There he is busy about his father's work. He can't plant a church himself but he can pray for the body of Christ and this was his prayer for the Philippian church. God bless you and amen.