Chapter
2: verse 19 – Chapter 4: verse 1
We
continue our journey through the biblical book of Philippians. Let us
review where we have been. We are taking the theme ‘Transformed by
Joy” and we saw in our first session how Paul found joy through
participating with the Philippian church in the work of the gospel.
He was instrumental in founding the church in Philippi, and now he
was in prison, they were doing their best to take care of him.
In
our second session we talked about the joy found through endeavor. He
encourages the church to find unity through lifting each other up in
their prayers and concerns… through endeavoring to truly be a
community with Christ at their center.
Last
time we talked about ‘Joy through Obedience’ and saw how Paul
lifted up the life of Jesus Christ as the greatest example of serving
and joyful obedience we could ever have. Paul urges us to ‘follow
him following’ Christ. This time I’m calling our session ‘Joy
through faithfulness’ and we will take a look at Philippians
Chapter 2:9 through Chapter 4:1.
We
begin by Paul talking of two of his most faithful friends in the work
he had been doing, Timothy and Epaphroditus (verses 19 through 30)
I hope in the Lord
Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news
of you. I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for
your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those
of Jesus Christ. But Timothy's worth you know, how like a son with a
father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope
therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; and I
trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.
Still,
I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus-- my brother and
co-worker and fellow soldier, your messenger and minister to my need;
for he has been longing for all of you, and has been distressed
because you heard that he was ill. He was indeed so ill that he
nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me
also, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. I am the
more eager to send him, therefore, in order that you may rejoice at
seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. Welcome him then in
the Lord with all joy, and honor such people, because he came close
to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for
those services that you could not give me.
Timothy
is mentioned many times in the New Testament letters as being Paul’s
young companion. He is mentioned in connection with the churches in
Thessalonica, Collosae, Corinth and Ephesus. He was with Paul when
the church in Philippi was founded and was well known to them. We
have two letters in the New Testament that bear Timothy’s name.
Our letter began with greetings from ‘Paul and Timothy’.
Timothy’s great use was that whenever Paul wished information or to
send advice to a church and could not go, then Timothy was always
prepared to be the messenger. And Paul had total trust in Timothy –
and commends him for being whole-hearted in his service of Christ.
Epaphroditus
was a member of the Church in Phillip whom they had sent to be with
Paul during his time of imprisonment. Their intention was that he
should probably stay with Paul till such a time as he was released.
Unfortunately, whilst in Rome he had taken seriously ill, and almost
died.
Communications
in the Roman world did not include telephones, e-mail or texting. It
could take a while for information to travel from place to place. It
sounds as though the Philippians had heard something about
Epaphroditus being unwell, but had not had the whole story.
Paul
speaks highly of him, and encourages them to receive him home with
the honor he deserved. He had literally put his life on the line for
the sake of the gospel. It was probably Epaphroditus who took this
letter we are studying to them.
His
words about both Timothy and Epaphroditus remind us of the joy that
faithful friendship can bring to our lives. If we are fortunate in
our lives to have those kind of trusting and fulfilling relationships
with a few truly good friends, then we are truly blessed.
From
speaking in a personal way about two good friends, Paul now offers
some advice about some matters that seem to have been troubling the
church at Phillippi. They have to do with the way Paul saw Christian
faith as being a matter of receiving the grace of God, rather than
observing outward rituals or having to do with where you were in the
social or spiritual pecking order.
God’s
grace, found through faith in Jesus Christ, was something that
transcended all barriers, welcomed everybody and Paul became angry
when folk tried to impose restrictions and create ‘insiders and
outsiders’ amongst the people of God. Grace was something to be
rejoiced in, and something that had changed his own life in dramatic
ways.
Let
us look at verses 1 through 6 of chapter 3.
Philippians 3:1
Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write the
same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a
safeguard. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of
those who mutilate the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision,
who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have
no confidence in the flesh-- even though I, too, have reason for
confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in
the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of
the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of
Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the
church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Paul
begins with the words ‘Finally’ and then goes on to speak for
another two chapters! We preachers like that observation because we
feel it gives us license to speak as long as we feel like it! However
the Greek sense of the word is not ‘and so to finish…’ as it is
to say ‘and so now lets get down to business!’.
And
the business Paul wants us to get down to is ‘rejoicing’. Not
that he isn’t about to say some hard things, but before he does he
wants to remind his readers that whatever he is saying to them, he
offers it in order that their joy may be complete.
There
was a problem that had arisen in Phillip and many other churches. It
had to do with an ongoing debate that was taking place. ‘How Jewish
was Christianity meant to be?’ Jesus was a Jew and the first
disciples were all Jews. They presumably had submitted to all the
conventional Jewish customs such as circumcision.
There
were those in the early church who therefore believed that in order
to be a ‘true’ Christian, then it meant having to be circumcised
as well as observe other Jewish laws, such as those about what you
could eat and what days you should observe as holy.
For
Paul, this imposing of the Jewish customs that he believed Christ had
transcended, was something that robbed the gospel of it’s true
power. The whole reason for Christ’s death was to do away with
empty ritual and sacrifice and bring in a new era of grace, in which
people were accepted by God, not because of what they put themselves
through, but because of what Jesus had done for them.
People
were placed into a right relationship by faith, by grace and by
trusting in the action of the Holy Spirit to renew them and create
order out of the chaos of their lives. To return to a religion of
law and ritual, of circumcision and external actions, would be a huge
step backwards.
And
he didn’t care how loudly his critics complained, or how great
their credentials were. As far as Paul was concerned, they just
didn’t get it! Here’s how the Message Bible transliterates verses
2 and 3.
“Steer clear of the
barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All
they're interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I
call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to
work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as
we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know
it”
Lest
anybody should doubt his own sincerity he reminds them of his
personal pedigree. If anybody was in a position to make a judgement
call on the place of rituals and circumcision then it was him. He had
been circumcised in the right way at the right time. He was a
descendant of Israel, the special name God had given to Jacob. He was
a Benjamite. The tribe of Benjamin were the aristocracy of the
nation. King David had been a Benjamite. They were the elite. He was
a Pharisee who had taken his duties with the utmost seriousness. His
heritage was as purely Jewish as any purely Jewish person could
possibly be.
What
did he make of his privileged position? Not a lot! He tells us in
verses 7 through 11.
Yet whatever gains
I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More
than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing
value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered
the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I
may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my
own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in
Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know
Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his
sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain
the resurrection from the dead.
Though
at times Paul may appear rather obscure, here he speaks plainly. All
of the power and prestige and position that he once knew, he now
counted as nothing but garbage. Why? Because through his relationship
with Jesus Christ he had found something that was infinitely more
valuable.
And
it was a relationship based upon his faith, not on his ability to
live up to the expectations of the laws he once so rigidly sought to
obey. He talks about ‘not
having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one
that comes through faith in Christ’.
I
cannot help here but think of Martin Luther’s great struggle that
gave birth to the reformation. Luther struggled so hard to find
acceptance from God and did everything that the teaching of the
church expected of him. It left him empty, despairing and desperate.
He
wrestled with the scriptures and in particular with the Book of
Romans. Through that study the realization broke through to him that
Christianity was not about his ability to meet certain standards or
prove himself worthy of God’s acceptance. It was through accepting
that he was helpless and that Jesus Christ alone could be his
salvation in this life and the next that he found peace. The
watchwords of the Reformation became ‘saved, by grace, through
faith’.
We
have been talking in Philippians about joy. When we realize that
there is nothing we can do for our salvation except rest upon the
grace of God, then it can be a tremendously liberating thought.
I
can’t speak for everybody, but I known in my own experience I have
had those times when sub-consciously I have believed that my
relationship with God was built upon my ability to do the right
things (or avoid doing the wrong things). It as though I had a
report card and needed to get just enough check marks and gold stars
upon it to get me through the ‘God’ test. Then God will hear my
prayers. Then things will go well with my life. Such is a highly
addictive view of religious life that reinvents itself in every
generation.
Paul
is warning the Philippians that to return to such a ‘righteousness
by the law’ way of being would sap away all their joy and leave
them in a worse state then they had been before ever hearing of Jesus
Christ. Their acceptance by God had nothing to do with ceremonies
and rituals and who they were and where they were from and who they
knew… all of that was just so much garbage! Instead they were
called to trust and have faith in God’s grace.
One
aspect of that grace was the forgiveness they found through Christ’s
death upon the Cross. The other side was the hope that could flood
their lives through knowing the power of His resurrection. Paul
writes in verse 10 “I
want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing
of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death, if somehow I may
attain the resurrection from the dead.”
Paul
was aware that even his experience of Christ, amazing though it was,
was still incomplete. There was more he had to learn. He had not
fully been transformed by resurrection love. He was willing to face
whatever life may bring his way because of his allegiance to Christ.
Somehow it was all leading somewhere glorious, even though his words
could not adequately describe what that looked like! Never mind if he
didn’t have all the pieces in the jigsaw… he was pressing on!
Which
just happens to be the focus of our next verses… 12 - 16
Not that I have
already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press
on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one
thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what
lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly
call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be
of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this
too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have
attained.
Joy
through faithfulness. Pushing ahead to a goal that will only finally
be seen when it is reached. The key words in this section are “I
press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His
own.”
Paul is enthused by the gospel because he had this unwavering belief
that He belonged to Jesus Christ simply because God was a God of
grace who desired that all people should know the love of Jesus
Christ and the workings of the Holy Spirit within their lives.
The
King James version translates the latter part of this key verse 12
“that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of
Christ Jesus.” (Phi 3:12 KJV). As
a fan of British cop shows the word ‘apprehend’ has definite
meaning! Villains are the ones ‘apprehended’ and put into custody
by the good guys. It is as though Paul were saying; “I want to be
in the custody of the gospel message because I have been arrested by
Jesus Christ. I am held captive by Christ’s love; He has
apprehended me through His Holy Spirit”
So
he encourages us. Hold On. Stand firm. Don’t be distracted. Not
by things outside of themselves, like folks demanding they follow
Jewish regulations, nor by the struggles inside themselves, desires
which Paul, in our next passage, describes as ‘appetites’.
Finally
(in an English sense, not a Pauline one) Chapter 3 verse 17 through
to and including verse 1 of Chapter 4.
Brothers
and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live
according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of
the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell
you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the
belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on
earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from
there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will
transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the
body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all
things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I
love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this
way, my beloved.
Whenever
Paul spoke about the grace of God it seems there those who managed to
twist it. Their argument went something like this. ‘If we can’t
do anything to earn God’s good favor then what we do doesn’t
really count for anything. Grace covers everything, which means that
we can live however we please!”
Paul
challenges this twisted idea by inviting them to look at the way he
was living. Had grace led him to living a careless or immoral life?
Look at Timothy… had it affected him that way? What about
Epaphroditus? Or any other of the Christian leaders they saw as great
examples of faith? Had their experience of grace led them to feel
they could live however they please?
It
broke Paul’s heart that some had interpreted God’s grace in the
wrong way. Christ had died to set them free, but when they used their
freedom for purposes that were destructive and the opposite of the
humble life exemplified by Christ’s service, it put them in a place
where they stood against everything He died for!
Again
the Message bible confront us with the imagery in this passage. Verse
19 is transliterated… ‘Easy
street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies
their gods; belches are their praises; and all they can think of is
their appetites.’
Paul
isn’t here singling out the sin of gluttony, rather using it as a
crude example of how there were those in the Christian community who
played a dangerous game. They claimed to be following Christ but in
reality were so focussed on the things of this world that their true
commitment was highly questionable!
Earlier
in our letter Paul has used ‘citizenship’ imagery that was
appropriate to the folk at Phillipi, proud as they were of their
connection to the Roman Empire. So he now reminds them that “Our
citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting
a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The
question is sometimes raised as to whether Paul was expecting Jesus
to return to earth in the immediate future. You may have come across
those today who emphasize the ‘Second Coming of Christ’ and
picture the event as something that could be ‘any day now!’ Such
is a view popularized by such series as Tim La Hayes ‘Left Behind’
series of novels.
We
can never know exactly what Paul’s perspective on the future was.
What we can say is that in some of Paul’s earliest letters there
does seem to be the implication that God might be about to blow the
final whistle. However in letters from other later sources, such as
2 Peter 3:8-9 we read ‘Beloved, do not forget this one thing,
that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing
that any should perish but that all should come to repentance’.
To
explore that theme further is way beyond the scope of this study!
What I would stress is that for Paul, whenever or however the world
will come to an end, it is going to be a joyous occasion! Joyous
because it will bring about the final transformation of our world
from being merely full of potential to actually being all that
creation could be! And all of this because of the work of Jesus
Christ!
‘Joy
through faithfulness’. Paul tells his beloved Philippians that to
those who remained faithful there was much to look forward to! He
encourages them to keep pressing forward and not be side-tracked by
those who would steal grace away from their lives. He encourages
them to follow his example and the faithful example of people such as
Epaphroditus and Timothy. Such was a pathway towards experiencing the
joy that characterized his own experience of Jesus Christ.
To
those who seek to live a faithful life Paul offers numerous sources
of joy in this passage.
- There is the joy of close friends who share in our aspirations and are there for us when we need them most.
- There is the joy of knowing we are forgiven by God, not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. We are set free to serve by the grace offered to us through the Holy Spirit.
- There is the joy that comes through knowing that in God’s eyes it doesn’t matter where we are from, who we are, who our friends are, how influential our family may be, what educational attainments we may have attained, what our occupation is, what our income is, how capable we are of getting things right and wrong, all that… says Paul… is garbage. What matters is that we are God’s children and God loves us…just because…
- There is the joy of knowing we are all on a journey of discovery to know Christ ‘and the power of His resurrection’
- There is the joy of knowing that whatever the future may hold, God is taking care of it!
But
there’s more!
Next
Time: Joy through Contentment.