Written ~ 09-30-2024
Read Philippians Chapter One
Philippians 1
Welcome to the Book of Philippians! This book is probably one of the favorites for many people. Some very well-known verses are in this book, so these next few days should be quite uplifting as Paul continues to give us clear instructions on how we are to live for Christ and how our behaviors must reflect the Lord.
Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Philippi. The church of Philippi was located in Macedonia (Greece), Philippi was a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. Paul and his companions, Silas, Timothy and possibly Luke travelled through this region during Paul’s Second Missionary Journey – this trip is recorded in Acts 16:1-40. Paul didn’t stay in Philippi for very long, in Acts 16:12 it says, “…we stayed there several days…” Those “several days” must have had a significant impact on the new believers in Philippi as we will see in the first few verses of Philippians chapter one.
After Paul gave his greeting to the believers, leaders, and deacons in Philippi he goes straight into a prayer of thanksgiving for them.
Philippians 1:3-6…
3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
After Paul left Philippi, it sounds like the Good News message of Jesus caught on like wildfire and the believers there spread the Gospel message and continued to do so even now. So, Paul was filled with overwhelming joy from the enthusiasm they displayed when preaching the Gospel message. In verse 1:6, Paul said it was God who began the work in them… Have you ever felt like you can’t “preach” the Good News message of Jesus? Let’s simplify the word “preach” shall we? Looking over the definition of the word preach I found that, yes, it is to deliver a sermon. But it is more than just that… it also means to urge acceptance, and to exhort in a tiresome manner, to advocate earnestly. So, when our behaviors and the way we speak is in line with Scripture, the way we live our lives is a sermon about the wonderful name of Jesus. When we speak to someone about Christ, there needs to be an urgency to our message, the time of Salvation is now. The word exhort means to make an urgent appeal, that means our lives must always reflect the face of Jesus, we cannot grow tired in serving the Lord, we must reach as many people as possible to further the Good News of Jesus Christ. To be an advocate means we are to plead the cause of another, to support and promote the cause of another. This is what the believers in Philippi did. They promoted with great urgency the cause of Christ. Because of their consistency in spreading the Gospel message their ministry thrived and grew. And Paul was thrilled! When God begins a work within you, He will finish what He started. When we stop fighting against what God has planned for our lives and let His will shine through our lives, people will be drawn to the Lord.
Paul prays for these believers, the prayer in verses 1:9-11 is a great one to personalize and pray over your family and your friends…
Philippians 1:9-11…
9 “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”
One thing I need to point out, at the time Paul is writing this letter, he is still in prison in Rome. Sounds like he has been there for some time now, but instead of complaining about his circumstances, he is praising the Lord all the more.
Philippians 1:12-14…
12 “And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.”
All right… let’s bring Paul’s attitude into your situation, whatever you are going through right now. Maybe take a moment, grab a sheet of paper, or if you have a journal of some sort, grab that… write down those things that wake you in the middle of the night, write down those things that when you get up in the morning they are the very first things you think about with dread, stress or anxiety. What are those things you dwell on throughout your day that cause you to be disheartened, write them down. Then, think about what Paul is saying to us in these verses. “Everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.” In Paul’s situation, in prison, in chains, he was praising the Lord. His attitude of praise overshadowed everything he was going through. And people were getting saved. Everyone knew he was in chains, from the palace guards to the other prisoners, to the people of Rome, they all knew his circumstances were not that great. I’m sure the presumed attitude would have been complaining and griping about the circumstances he found himself in. Perhaps you find yourself under the weight and pressure of your circumstances. Look over the list you wrote out, what is your attitude towards those things? Just by seeing them on that sheet of paper, does it increase your stress or anxiety? What if we apply the attitude of Paul to those things? People were being saved because they saw a man chained and imprisoned, someone who had every reason to cry out in despair and fight against his circumstances with anger and hostility, but that was not what he was doing. He was praising the Lord in His circumstance and spreading the faithfulness of the Lord to everyone he encountered, and his message and reflection of Jesus is what everyone heard and saw.
When you and I show the “world” that we have the Lord helping us and guiding us through a difficult situation, people will take notice. When we are shining the light of Jesus even when the “world” knows the difficulties we are having, people will want to know how we do it. One of the greatest temptations is for us to show, in our actions, in the words we speak, in the look on our faces, that we are going through some hard stuff, just so we will gain someone else’s sympathy and agree with us that we’ve got it rough. It’s easy to bring everyone down to our level of pain and anguish, stress, and anxiety, when the only behaviors people see from our lives, are those negative things. If we want people (especially those closest to us) to have confidence in the Lord, we must have confidence in the Lord. Paul’s boldness and confidence even in his situation came from the Lord… so by his countenance of praise, not only were people being saved, but they “gained confidence and boldly spoke God’s message without fear.”
Philippians 1:20-26…
20 “For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So, I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what He is doing through me.”
When Paul was writing this letter, he didn’t know how much longer he would be in prison. That’s just like you and me, we may not know how long our painful circumstances will last, but just like Paul, we need to live with expectation and with hope that we can remain unashamed to live fully for Christ no matter how long the stressful and painful circumstances continue. Paul longed to be with Christ (that should be every believer’s longing), but Paul knew that for now it was better for him to be alive and live wholeheartedly for the Lord so the fruit of his labor could continue to grow. In verse 1:25 Paul said, “I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow…” Paul had purpose, he had a calling on his life that gave him confidence to carry on. If it meant that his life would bring more people to the Lord and that his life helped believers grow in the knowledge of the Scriptures and helped them to experience the joy of their faith, then he longed to stay alive as long as possible. Verses 1:23-24 say, “I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.”
Each of us have a purpose, a God given purpose. Each of us have a specific calling on our lives. Do you know what yours is? The believer’s purpose is to spread the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Your specific calling would be spreading that message in a way which best suits your personality. God created you with purpose. God created you with a calling. If you’re not sure what that looks like for you, you should ask Him to reveal those specifics to you!
Philippians 1:27-30…
27 “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God Himself. 29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for Him. 30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.”
This last exhortation from Paul in chapter one is jammed packed… read it through one more time… think about everything he is saying here… Look at your own life… How are you demonstrating the things Paul is encouraging us to do in your own life?
- Live as citizens of Heaven
- Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ
- Stand together in one spirit
- Stand together in one purpose
- Fight together for the faith – which is the Good News
- Don’t be intimidated by your enemies
- Your enemies will be destroyed
- You are going to be saved by God Himself
- You have the privilege of trusting in Christ
- You have the privilege of suffering for Christ
- We are in this struggle together
As believers, we are to live as citizens of Heaven… if we were to conduct ourselves with the full realization that our citizenship now belongs to Heaven, how would our actions and behaviors change? We are no longer a part of this world, yet we do live in it for now. We should look different; we should present ourselves differently. We are set apart.
Colossians 3:12-13 (Amplified Version – AMP)…
12 “So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper]; 13 bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive.”
If we use Paul’s life as an example to follow, if we were to live as citizens of Heaven and if we realize we are to be set apart… our testimony would become powerful and those around us will be drawn to Jesus because of our actions.
The Spirit of the Lord and the light He shines through us should be an ever-present mark on our lives. Do you walk in the Spirit of the Lord? Do you allow Christ’s light to shine from within?
It’s time my friends, to get our lives right with the Lord, to grow in knowledge and understanding, to gain confidence and speak boldly about Jesus Christ.
“May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”
~AMEN~