Passing the buck

I haven't had much time for blogging these days. Our lives have not been busier it seems, what with basement renovations, prenatal classes and preparations for Baby, preparing messages, trying to learn Greek, and some other studies thrown in. But I've been enjoying my friends' blogs immensely, so just in case you're not checking up on theirs, here are links to Brandon's and Steve's lastest posts on Philippians. You'll enjoy them.

The 'heavies' post on 'Love for Truth'

Tired of being outdone, I've brought in a few friends of my own to blog on Love for Truth. I may not have the likes of Robert Thomson contributing, but I'll enlist the best I've got! So William Barclay, Warren Wiersbe, Gordon Fee, Markus Bockmuehl, and N.T. Wright, go to it! [Of course, this is all meant in fun. Seriously.]

William Barclay on Philippians 1.12-18

Paul was a prisoner but so far from his imprisonment ending his missionary activity it actually expanded it for himself and for others. In fact, the bonds destroyed the barriers. The word Paul uses for the advancement of the gospel is a vivid word. It is prokopē; the word which is specially used for the progress of an army or an expedition. It is the noun from the verb prokoptein, which means to cut down in advance. It is the verb which is used for cutting away the trees and he undergrowth, and removing the barriers which would hinder the progress of an army. Paul’s imprisonment, so far from shutting the door, opened the door to new spheres of work and activity, into which he would never otherwise have penetrated.

His imprisonment had opened the way for preaching the gospel to the finest regiment in the Roman army. No wonder he declared that his imprisonment had actually been for the furtherance of the gospel. All the Praetorian Guard knew why Paul was in prison; many of them were touched for Christ; and the very sight of this gave to the brethren at Philippi fresh courage to preach the gospel and to witness for Christ.

Paul’s bonds had removed the barriers and given him access to the flower of the Roman army, and his bonds had been the medicine of courage to the brethren at Philippi.

There is a lesson for us here. Paul knew nothing of personal jealousy or of personal resentment. So long as Jesus Christ was preached, he did not care who received the credit and the prestige. He did not care what other preachers said about him, or how unfriendly they were to him, or how contemptuous they were of him, or how they tried to steal a march upon him. All that mattered was that Christ was preached. All too often we resent it when someone else gains a prominence or a credit which we do not. All too often we regard a man as an enemy because he has expressed some criticism of us or of our methods. All too often we think a man can do no good because he does not do things in our way. All too often the intellectuals have no truck with the evangelicals, and the evangelicals impugn the faith of the intellectuals. All too often those who believe in the evangelism of education have no use for the evangelism of decision, and those who practise the evangelism of decision have no use for those who feel that some other approach will have more lasting effects. Paul is the great example. He lifted the matter beyond all personalities; all that mattered was that Christ was preached. (The letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians)

Gordon Fee on Philippians 1.12-18
Quoting J.L. Houlden:

In getting himself put in prison, in Rome above all, he has acted the Trojan horse, entering into the very heart of the Gentile world to which Christ had dispatched him as an apostle.

Short quotes:

…and his lordship over Caesar is already making itself felt through the penetration of the gospel into the heart of Roman political life. Here is one [Paul] for whom the gospel is bigger than his personal role in making it known.

Application of the passage:

It would be easy to dismiss this passage (vv. 12-18) as Paul's simply putting the best possible face on a bad situation. But that would be to miss too much. Paul can write things like this because, first, his theology is in good order. He has learned by the grace of God to see everything from the divine perspective. This is not wishful thinking but deep conviction--that God has worked out his own divine intentions through the death and resurrection of Christ, and that by his Spirit he is carrying them out in the world through the church, and therefore through both Paul and others. It is not that Paul is too heavenly minded to be in touch with reality or that he sees things through rose-tinted glasses. Rather, he sees everything in light of the bigger picture; and in that bigger picture, fully emblazoned on our screen at Calvary, there is nothing that does not fit, even if it means suffering and death on the way to resurrection. Such theology dominates this letter in every part; we should not be surprised that it surfaces at the outset, even in this brief narrative.

Second, and related to the first, Paul is a man of a single passion: Christ and the gospel. Everything is to be seen and done in light of Christ. For him both life and death mean Christ. His is the passion of the single-minded person who has been apprehended by Christ, as he will tell the Philippians in 3:12-14.

Third, Paul's passion for Christ has led him to an understanding of discipleship in which the disciple takes up a cross to follow his Lord. Discipleship, therefore, means to participate in the sufferings of Christ (3:10-11), to be ready to be poured out as a drink offering in ministry for the sake of others (2:17). Paul's imprisonment belongs to those trials for which "we were destined" (1 Thess 3:3) and thus come as no surprise.

Interestingly, these three theological realities are what also make for Paul's largeness of heart. True, he lacks the kind of "largeness" for which religious pluralists contend. Is that because such pluralists have not been apprehended by Christ and the gospel, as God's thing--his only thing--on behalf of our fallen world? Unfortunately, and ironically, such pluralism often has very little tolerance for the Pauls of this world! But in Paul's case it is his theological convictions that lead both to his theological narrowness, on the one hand, and to his large-heartedness within those convictions, on the other--precisely because he recognizes the gospel for what it is: God's thing, not his own. And that, it should be added, also stands quite over against many others who think of themselves as in Paul's train but whose passion for the gospel seems all too often a passion for their own "correct" view of things.

At stake for the Philippians--and for us, I would venture--is the admonition finally made explicit in 4:9: to put into practice for ourselves what we hear and see in Paul, as well as what we have learned and received by way of his teaching. (Paul's Letter to the Philippians, last quote copied from the IVP edition
online)

Markus Bockmuehl on Philippians 1.12-18
Quoting Karl Barth:

To the question how it is with him an apostle must react with information as to how it is with the Gospel.

On verse 17:

Certain others, however, are driven by the poisonous fantasies of jealousy and selfish ambition: in contrast to verse 16, their actions arise not from what they 'know' but what they (wrongly) imagine. They also proclaim Christ, but theirs is a petty, territorial vision; their aim is naked self-advancement. The robe of 'Christian ministry' cloaks many a shameless idolatry. (The Epistle to the Philippians)

N.T. (Tom) Wright on Philippians 1.12-18

The first problem is, of course, that he's in prison. For a travelling apostle to be put in prison must have seemed like a concert pianist having his hands tied behind his back.

The soldiers were used, of course, to the 'gospel' of Caesar—the supposed 'good news' that a new emperor had taken the throne, bringing (so he claimed) peace and justice to the world. Now here was someone out of the blue announcing that there was a different 'gospel': that Jesus of Nazareth had taken the throne of the world, and was summoning every man, woman and child to bow the knee to him. Having Paul in custody meant they couldn't ignore this new message. They were having their noses rubbed into it. And Paul can see that already the other Christians...(the 'family', his brothers and sisters in the Messiah) are taking courage from his example. They can see the impact he's having even on hardened soldiers. Why shouldn't they seize the moment and speak about King Jesus to their friends and neighbours as well? (Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters)

Warren Wiersbe on Philippians 1.12-18

The secret is this: when you have the single mind, you look upon your circumstances as God-given opportunities for the furtherance of the Gospel, and you rejoice at what God is going to do instead of complaining about what God did not do....Paul's chains not only gave contact with the lost, but they also gave courage to the saved. (Be Joyful)

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This post is part of the "Fridays in Philippians" synchroblog.

Unfrustratable joy

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. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice...(Philippians 1.12-18a, ESV).

Allow me a Piper moment: we all want to be happy. We choose the things we'll pursue based on the joy we believe these things will kick back to us. But we're not always happy, which means one of two things has gone wrong. Either we've grasped the thing that was to make us happy, and it turned out it didn't, or our circumstances frustrated our attempts to grasp it, so that the thing we believe will make us happy has thus far eluded us. Obviously the critical matter in this pursuit of happiness is that we choose something that will indeed give us joy when we've attained it, and that we choose something that is attainable.

We have to remember in Philippians that we are reading a letter. And in a letter people sometimes tell their friends how they are doing. That's exactly what Paul is doing in 1.12-26. He tells them how he's doing regarding his present circumstances (vv.12-18a) and regarding his future (18b to 26). The Philippians will be listening with great interest to this part. They know Paul is imprisoned, and they love him dearly. How is he doing? Is he down or discouraged? It must be so hard for him, he always likes to be on the move. He won't even be able to do what he loves the most: preach.

To their relief, the word back from Paul is extremely positive: "I rejoice" (1.18a). How is this possible? How can someone be happy in prison? Even a Canadian prison? Especially when the man is innocent of any crime? Doesn't he know that he has rights that have been violated to be indignant about? What has he chosen to pursue that can give him such joy in such unenviable circumstances, and is attainable in such circumstances?

Thankfully, Paul does not leave us to guess the answer to that question. But before he gives us the answer, he'll fill us in on the details of the situation a little more. First, those outside of Christ are against him, and he is imprisoned under Rome. And secondly, to make matter worse, there are some from the inside, from his own family, the Christians, who are trying to rub salt in his chain-wounds to increase his pain. Some of his own brothers are preaching "out of envy and rivalry...not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment" (vv.15 and 17).

Of course, the situation isn't all bad. Some of his brothers are preaching "from good will" (v.15) and they're doing it "out of love, knowing that [he is] put [there] for the defense of the gospel" (16). Which leads us to the reason Paul gives for his still being joyful in this whole thing:

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice... (v.18).

In that I rejoice. In what? In that Christ is proclaimed. Not only that, but Paul rejoices in every way that Christ is preached. These are the ways that Paul is referring to:

1. Christ is being preached by Paul in prison: "it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ" (v.13).
2. The Lord <1> is using Paul's imprisonment to make the other Christians more confident, so that they are "much more bold to speak the Message without fear" (v.14).
3. Many of these Christians with extra boldness are preaching Christ out of love for both Christ and Paul (vv.15b and 16).
4. Some of these Christians are preaching out of a desire to further afflict Paul (vv. 15a, 17).

So, Paul's greatest goal and passion is Christ, and thus also the proclamation of the good news of Christ. Because that is his pursuit, he is in chains. But because this is his pursuit, he is rejoicing in chains. Paul has chosen a pursuit which cannot be frustrated by any circumstance. He has chosen a pursuit which is the very pursuit of God himself. Thus, the only thing that can frustrate Paul's joy is that which can frustrate the efforts of the Sovereign omnipotent God of the universe:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8.28).

I used to follow hockey. I loved the Winnipeg Jets. I can remember listening to the games on the radio (we didn't have TV!) and wanting them so badly to win. If you know anything about the Jets you know how often I was frustrated! My pursuit of pleasure was consistently being frustrated by circumstances completely out of my control (I couldn't, in good conscience, even pray for them!). So it is with everything else. Wanna live a long life? Be rich? Be successful? Have a family that loves you? All these pursuits can be frustrated in an instant by circumstances we can't manage. But when we adopt God's pursuit as our own, we can be sure, that while life's circumstances remain as uncontrollable to us as they are to everyone else, we have Someone with infinite power and wisdom who will work out every circumstance to the progress of our pursuit.

As Gordon Fee has observed, and as I noted in my one of my first posts in this series, Paul is doing more than just telling his friends how he's doing. He sees in his own situation deep parallels with his friends' situation. They too are suffering from Rome on the outside, and are experiencing some rivalry amongst each other on the inside. Thus Paul is gently offering himself as a paradigm to them and to us. If our common goal is Christ and his Message, no circumstance—persecution or internal tension—can rob us of our joy, for this is God's goal too. When our joy is gone, it is never because of our circumstances <2>; it is always because of our goal.

Notes:
<1> I take it that it is not "brethren in the Lord" (KJV) but "many brethren, in the Lord waxing confident".
<2> I do not say this naively. At least, I hope I don't. In Philippians 2.27 Paul reveals that, if Epaphroditus had died, he would have had "sorrow upon sorrow". We're talking about a deap-seated joy here as in 2 Corinthians 6.10, "sorrowful yet always rejoicing."

A prayer for discernment

Paul, with emotion that many would be embarrassed by, has just told his friends how he yearns for them all "with the affection of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1.8, ESV). And how will Paul's emotional love manifest itself in action? He will pray for their love.

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (1:9-11)

Paul's prayers can speak to us in at least two different ways. First, they can teach us how to pray. This includes the what and why of our prayers. But this prayer of Paul's is also a prayer prayed for us. And prayer is the greatest revealer of one's greatest priorities. When people pray, they ask for what is most important to them. Thus God gives us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Philippians 1.9-11: to listen in as the Apostle to the Gentiles prays a Spirit-inspired prayer for us, revealing to us what the Spirit of God himself wants more than anything else for us.

WHAT PAUL PRAYS FOR

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment (1.9).

(1) He prays for our love to grow. While it is of course true that God wants our love for him to grow, likely the emphasis here is on our love for one another. We base this in part on two passages from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians:

12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10).

In so leading Paul to pray for the growth of their love, the Spirit shows unity of priority with the Lord Jesus, who could tell his followers: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12).

(2) He prays for our love to grow with knowledge. Which seems strange to us, for surely these two things, love and knowledge, could not be prayed for together in the same breath. However, here Paul and the Philippians understand this word knowledge as being far deeper than mere cognition of a collection of facts. Knowledge in this context is the deep, personal, experiential knowledge of relationship—relationship with the God who created all relationships. Knowledge—that knowing of God—which needs continuously to grow until that day when it is perfected by a face-to-face encounter with Christ Jesus:

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

(3) He prays for our love to grow with knowledge and all discernment. "Moral insight into God's will" is the meaning Fee manages to tease out of this word. Along with our love of each other and our knowing of Christ, our discernment and perception is to abound more and more. Colossians 1.9 offers us a good parallel to help us understand:

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

WHY HE PRAYS FOR THESE REQUESTS

(1) The penultimate reason: so that we can choose what is best.

"so that you may approve what is excellent" (1.10a).

When our love for each other grows in deeper knowledge of God and in moral discernment, we will be better and better at choosing or approving what is best <1>. That's what Paul wants for us. That's what the Spirit wants for us. To more and more approve what is best. What is most attractive, what is most valuable, what is most excellent. And to that end the Spirit and the apostle pray. Why? Why do we need help in discerning what is best? Because in Philippians we see a massive upheaval of values.

For instance, in 2.5-11 we are introduced to a King who is pushing a brand-new system of values. Love is in, pride is out. Suffering is in, winning is out. And we are told that God looks at a man stooping to pathetic lows, dying as a weakling slave, and sees the greatest thing he has ever seen (1.9-11). This is a complete upheaval of values! It's a value-system so radically different from what we are used to that nothing short of prayer and the divine power prayer summons will enable us to choose what is now deemed to be best.

As it turns out, this prayer is programmatic of much of the rest of the letter. Let's see how this plays out.

In 1.21-26 Paul is having an awful time trying to decide what is best of two choices: live or die. <2> On the one hand, he knows there's lots for him to do, and so it would be good to keep living. But on the other hand, to die is to live with Christ, and is thus gain. So what does it look like when the prayer of 1.9-11 is making headway in a Christian's life? Discernment as to what is best leads to indecisiveness as to life and death.

In 1.12-26 we see Paul imprisoned by Rome and oppressed by some of the Christians, but he is rejoicing nonetheless. The reason for his joy is that he is discerning what is best (the gospel's progress), which relegates his present discomfort and suffering to a much less significant assignment of value.

We've already alluded to the section of 1.27-2.18. There suffering is seen as a gift (on par with the gift of being able to believe in Christ) in 1.29. Additionally, each of us is instructed to "in humility count others more significant than yourselves" (2.3). No wonder Paul prays that our discernment will grow, for not one of us naturally sees others as being more valuable than ourselves!

In 2.19-30 Paul selects Timothy for a task on a completely different basis from what less-discerning Christians would use. No, King Jesus does not value so much one's gifts and abilities and appearance, but rather one's genuine concern for the welfare of others (2.20). Then Epaphroditus is mentioned, and we are told to honour him (not Sidney Crosby) highly "for he nearly died for the work of Christ" (2.30).

Paul puts before us the language of accounting in chapter 3. Here Paul will look at all his possessions and achievements and he will seek to discern their value. The results are just in, and they're shocking: everything that the rest of his world prized and boasted in turns out to be rubbish by comparison to the supreme value of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord (3.4-11). That's right. Knowing Christ is of far greater value than possessions or achievements. What a word is this for western consumerism!

We can also see that Paul has chosen the future as being of more value than the past. He "presses on" towards it (3.11-21), flooring the gas pedal while everyone else is cautiously riding the brakes. This is why we need to pray 1.9-11 for each other; how else will we learn to live for the future hope when everyone else in the west is living for the here and now?

Finally, in 4.8-9, we see the passage that Paul's prayer has been pointing to all along. Let us pray for each other, that along with our love for others and knowledge of God, our moral insight into God's will will grow, so that

...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

(2) The ultimate reason: so that we will be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

"and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (1.10a-11)

When Paul gets praying like this, you just know that any second you're going to hear him mention the day of Christ. Sure enough, this is where Paul's prayer has been headed all along. Combining this mention with the one in 1.6, we see that the Day of Christ is both the focus and the fuel of Paul's prayers. What is it that Paul sees when he closes his eyes to pray? The Day of Christ!

This is a great secret to help us in our prayers. When we pray for each other, we should picture each other at the Day of Christ! What passion that would give our prayers! And what focus! No more meanderings and meaningless generalities. We'd start praying for our brothers and sisters to grow in discernment, so that they can choose what is best, so that they will be readied for the Day of Christ, "to the glory and praise of God."

Notes:
<1> It's easy to see how growth in discernment would translate into greater success in approving what is excellent. What is less obvious is how growth in love for others and knowledge of God would do the same. This has led some commentators to see v.10 as taking off from the request for discernment only, exclusive of the prayer for love and knowledge. I propose, however, that Paul intends all three requests to result in choosing what is best. The key to this is noticing what is "best" for Paul. As the rest of the post shows, two things that are "best" for Paul are (1) that the Philippians have "the same love" (2.2) by counting "others more significant than [them]selves", and (2) that "knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (3.8) is by far the most valuable thing in Paul's heart.
<2> Of course, Paul is being hypothetical.

Partnership in the gospel and Joy

Topic: Fridays in Philippians

1. Their partnership in the gospel gives Paul great joy in them.

What joy there is in “contending together” for the gospel! I’ve only tasted of this joy, but I long to eat of it to the full. I know that to really live is to live for Christ, which means living for his gospel. Slowly but surely the Spirit of God is graciously shaping this cold heart of mine to see my computer as a gospel computer, my home as a gospel home, my marriage as a gospel marriage, my job as a gospel job, my Bible as a gospel Bible. In the hands of the Holy Spirit these things become nothing more (and nothing less) than gospel tools, and I a gospel human.


Partnership goes together with the gospel—with the gospel of Jesus Christ at least. In other words, the good news of Christ is inextricably bound up with the matter of relationships. The apostle Paul does not break a sweat in trying to force these two things—gospel and partnership—to get along in the same sentence together. While the gospel is a communication and a partnership is more a communion, it is with a natural ease that Paul is able to associate the two together. Indeed, for Paul the great difficulty would not be getting the gospel and the concept of relationships to hold hands, but to build fences.

Paul always tailors his introductions to themes he will bring up later in the letter. Thus we should not be surprised that we are able to trace a thread of partnership through Philippians. As per the title of this post, whenever we catch a glimpse of this partnership theme, we'll keep a sharp eye open for sightings of joy along with it.

Joy in partnering by sharing

This theme is most obviously picked up near the end of the letter.

14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning <1> of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. (4:14-15, ESV)

The church in Philippi partnered with Paul in the gospel by supplying him a gift while he was in imprisonment. Together these Christians pooled their resources together to provide Paul with food and other necessities when he could not provide for himself. And what joy it brought to Paul to experience them sharing with him in this way!

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. (4.10)

So Paul, the recipient of the gift, received joy. According to our Lord's logic that "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20.35), we can therefore expect the givers of the gift to have received no less joy. Our expectations are confirmed in Paul's letter to the Corinthians:

8 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia [which would include the Philippians], 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, 4 begging <2> us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. (2 Corinthians 8:1-5)

This is the joy of partnering in the gospel by sharing, be it sharing our money, our time, our gifts, our skills, or our strength. And this is why Paul can say in 1:4-5, "I make all my prayers for you with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel."

Joy in partnering by suffering

There is another dimension to being partners in the gospel by sharing; there is partnering by suffering. This is what Paul expresses in 3.10 where he expresses his highest goal: "that I may know him [Christ]" which involves "[partnering] in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death." This is ultimate partnership in the gospel, for it is partnering with the very Author and Subject of the gospel in the very act by which this Author gave birth to the gospel in the first place—suffering.

No wonder Paul sees suffering for the gospel as a gift: "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Philippians 1:29, KJV). Grace to Paul is not only that God has given him the privilege of believing in Christ, but also suffering for Christ. Why? Because for Paul "to live is Christ and to die is gain" (1.21). Anything that brings him closer to Christ is something to see as grace.

But this verse (1.29) makes something else clear: Paul does not have the monopoly on this "grace": "For unto you it is given". God has given this gift of being able to suffer for Christ's sake to the Philippians too! They are "engaged in the same conflict that [they] saw [Paul] had and now hear that [he] still [has]" (1.30). So. Paul is intimately partnering with Christ in suffering, and the Philippians are intimately partnering with Christ by this intimate activity—suffering. Which means this: Paul and the Philippians are intimately partnering with each other! By suffering! And this gives all of them great joy:

17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (2.17-18)

This is the joy of partnering in the gospel by suffering. And going back to 1.3-8, our passage under consideration, we can see why their partnership in the gospel brings Paul so much joy:

7 It is right for me to feel this way [joyful] about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. (1.7-8)

A WORD FOR US TODAY

I think I'm now beginning to realize why what we in North America call Christian fellowship seems so distant at times from what the NT associates with fellowship. It's because it is. For the early church fellowship meant partnership. And that partnership was first and foremost between the individual Christian and God, both Father <3>, Son <4>, and Spirit <5>. Then, by necessity, this partnership extended itself to existing between individual Christian and individual Christian, and individual church and individual church. Theirs was a partnership in the thing that both they and God were most passionate about: the gospel, Christ's death and resurrection. By being most passionate about the gospel, they were freed from worshipping their possessions—what everyone else was passionate about. And thus they partnered in the gospel by sharing their possessions instead. Perhaps here lies the problem with our sometimes cold, cool and shallow fellowship: we have lost our passion for what matters most to God, and have regained the passion that matters most to the rest of the world. Maybe that's why no one asks us about our reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3.15). Maybe that's why we're always asking each other what fellowship is.

We are in fellowship with God, in his gospel, and thus we are in fellowship with every other believer who is in fellowship with God. And in this holy fellowship there is great joy. We let John and the Lord Jesus have the final word on the matter:

3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that [y]our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:3-4)

20 "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21)

Notes
<1> It's interesting to note two connections between this verse and 1.5. First there's the partnership connection, and second there's the idea of "the beginning" (4.15) or "first day" (1.5).
<2> This deserves a post all of its own. They were begging to give!
<3> See 1 John 1.3-4 quoted below.
<4> See 1 John 1.3-4 quoted below, and Philippians 3.10 quoted above.
<5> Paul can appeal to the Philippians' experienced "participation (same Greek word) in the Spirit" (2.1).

Partners in the good news

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This is a contribution to the Fridays in Philippians series. Sounds like there will be a few of us posting on this; check it out. I call special attention to Brandon Burley's blog; he's just joined, and his first post indicated that this will be a good thing.
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Here’s the first paragraph in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It’s important, containing some features that are undoubtedly tailored to Paul’s special friends in Philippi. We may come back to them in a later post.

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:1-2, ESV)

Paul then proceeds to give them a thanksgiving report in 1.3-8, which naturally turns into prayer in 1.9-11. For today, we’re staying in the thanksgiving.

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 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. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-8, ESV)

The thing that jumps out at us every time we read this paragraph is the phrase because of your partnership in the gospel. Indeed, that’s the thing that stands out about the whole letter: the gospel. But someone asks, “Whatever happened to the common consensus that Philippians is primarily about Christ?” But that is like saying that Bill Clinton supports Hillary Clinton, not his wife. Christ is the gospel, and the gospel is Christ.

And so Paul is all about the gospel, and the gospel is all about Christ. It’s no wonder, therefore, that Paul is so excited about their partnership in the promotion of this gospel. They are very much involved in the same thing that Paul is passionate about: Jesus Christ and the spreading of the good news about him. This is the stuff that close friendship is made of!

I can’t get over this phrase your partnership in the gospel. It keeps rolling my mind around and around (rather than the other way around!). So I’m going to spend my time on it. But in order to make six statements about their “partnership in the gospel” we need to take a not-so-quick peek at the paragraph as a whole. Hang in there with me. [For those who want to take the scenic route, keep reading. Less patient readers can skip down to "The Short of It".]

THE LONG OF IT

Paul begins his thanksgiving report in vv.3-4, drawing special emphasis to the joy which attends his constant thanksgivings and prayers for them. In verse 5 he states the reason for his joy: because of (for, KJV <1>) your partnership (fellowship, KJV) in the gospel from the first day until now. So you can see that I’m not making this up about the partnership in the gospel phrase being real important.

Then in verse 6 Paul goes deeper still. He takes us deep down into the crawlspace to show us why Christians partnering in the spread of the gospel gives him such joy: being persuaded of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. In other words, the Philippians’ partnership is not a solitary beam supporting Paul’s joy, but rather is further under girded by another stronger and deeper beam, and that beam has something to do with the day of Christ. We’ll try to come back to that in a future post.

Paul starts afresh in verse 7. He looks back to everything he has just said, his joy-soaked thanksgivings and prayers for them and his confidence about them regarding the day of Christ, and says of it all It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart. His joy and confidence is completely appropriate and justifiable because he holds them in his heart. Which wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to us if he didn’t quickly proceed to explain why he holds them in his heart: for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. These two things—his closeness to them, and their closeness to him—taken together, justify his feelings towards them just stated. And these two things, taken together, easily become one: their mutual partnership in the gospel! Whether in Paul’s imprisonment or in his defending and confirming the gospel, the Philippians are backing him up all the way, and doing the same things themselves; all of the Philippians are being co-partners <2> with him.

THE SHORT OF IT

Backing away from the details for a minute reveals a simple point: the Philippians’ partnership in the gospel is both the basis for Paul’s joy over them (vv.3-6) and the basis for his intimate affection for them (vv.7-8). The because in v.7 is the same as the because in v.5. It’s all about partnership in the good news. And now we are in place to state some things about partnering in the gospel:

1. Their partnership in the gospel gives Paul great joy in them.
2. Their partnership in the gospel gives Paul great affection for them.
3. Their partnership in the gospel is through thick and thin.
4. Their partnership in the gospel is the evidence that God is working and will complete working in them.
5. Their partnership in the gospel is an inclusive partnership.
6. Their partnership in the gospel culminates in the day of Christ.

Lord-willing, I hope to touch on each one of these points in future posts. And these posts will be devotional, I promise!

Notes
<1> Though the KJV's "for" could be taken as what Paul is praying "for", there can be no doubt that both Paul and the KJV translators meant "because". Otherwise Paul is praying "for" something that has already happened. The Greek word is epi and can be literally translated here as "in view of".
<2> "Co-partners" (sugkoinonos) being an attractive translation option because it brings out in English the semblance to "partnership" (koinonia,v.5) that exists in Paul's Greek.

The occasion of the letter

Before studying a NT letter, those who are serious about finding joy in the Bible will do this: they will read through the letter several times and try to answer the following questions:

1. Who is writing the letter?
2. To whom is he writing it? Are they primarily Jews or Gentiles? Rich or poor? Mixture perhaps?
3. What is the relationship between the author and the recipients as revealed in the letter? Are they getting along? How close are they?
4. What can we learn about the author's situation and the recipients' situation by putting the clues together from the letter itself?
5. What are the specific occasions behind the letter? Is it something that's happening on the author's side that moves him to write? Or is it something happening to the recipients themselves? Maybe both?
6. What are the various sections to the letter?

Always answer these questions before starting to study one verse in the letter. You can cheat a bit and look at someone else's answers, but it's much more fun to do this on your own and then check your results at the end. Anyone can do this!

In my last post we tried to answer question six. If you look at Steve's posts (follow his links) you will find answers to many of the questions in one through five. But I want to devote a post entirely to the questions of #5.

Why don't you take 15 minutes, grab your Bible and piece of paper and pen, and read through Philippians and see what you can find. Then join me in the next paragraph for the results I found when I did this.

First thing we discover is that something "has happened" (1.12) to the author—Paul. He is in imprisonment: "my imprisonment is for Christ" (1.13). Read all of 1.12-18. Not only that, but it seems he is in imprisonment in Rome. What evidence do we have for this? In 1.13 he mentions "the whole imperial guard (praetorium)". And then in 4.22 he closes: "All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household." Plus there is the converging evidence of Acts 28.

So Paul is suffering for the gospel under Rome, which sets us up for a huge discovery: so are the Christians in Philippi! We quote Paul in full:

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. (Philippians 1.29-30, ESV)

The Philippians as well are suffering for his sake in the same conflict that Paul is presently in. They are, as Paul could say, "all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel" (1.8). Philippi was, after all, a Roman colony (Acts 16.12), despite being situated in Macedonia. As they contend together (1.7, 1.27) for the gospel they are thus struggling against the very same "opponent" (1.28) as Paul is: Rome.

So the Philippians and Paul are suffering together externally from Rome. Hence one of the major themes of the letter is to "stand firm" (1.27, 4.1) and not be "frightened in anything by [their] opponents" (1.28), nor "be anxious about anything" (4.6) because "it has been granted to [them] that for the sake of Christ [they] should suffer for his sake" (1.29). It is in this context that Paul writes "Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all" (2.17).

But that's not all. Going back to Paul's situation, we not only discover that he is suffering from people on the outside (of the Christian family) but he is also suffering from people on the inside (of the Christian family), from his own brothers and sisters:

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. (Philippians 1:15-17)

And then we discover that as with Paul, so are the Philippians. Two sisters, Euodia and Syntyche, are obviously at odds in a prominent and potentially harmful way (4.2-3). Hence the major theme on unity in this letter. The are to stand firm in one spirit, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel" (1.27). They are to be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind" (2.2):

3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

Hear also 2.14-15:

14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

So the central occasions to this letter, the happenings that drove the Apostle Paul in the Spirit to write this letter to the Philippians, were things going on in their lives in both places. Both parties were suffering externally under Rome, and both were facing disunity on the inside. So Paul writes a letter that exhorts them to stand firm for the gospel together. And the centrepiece and heart of his argument is not an argument, but a story. The story of the one who suffered externally from those who should have been on the inside. The story of the Christ who put others interests first, and eschewed all pride, humbling himself, and becoming obedient unto death:

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11).

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Other things:

1. Paul's imprisonment led the Philippians to give him a gift (1.7, 4.15). So Paul also writes to thank them for this (4.10-19), and to re-commend the bearer of the gift (4.18) and the bearer of this letter back to them (2.25-30). In the sense the letter functions as a letter of acknowledgement and a letter of "re-commendation".
2. Paul all too familiar with the Judaizers too, and writes to warn his friends of them (3.1-3), even though these false teachers are likely not in Phillipi (yet).
3. Fee detects a waning in the hearts of the Philippians in their expectation of the coming of the Lord and the future he will usher in. Thus the eschatological theme in this letter (1.6, 1.9-11, 2.16, 3.11-21, and possibly 4.5).

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Additional notes:

• for those wanting more help on studying letters in the NT, or any other genre in the Bible, see the books by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart: How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth, and How to Read the Bible Book By Book.
• again, I am indebted to Fee's commentary for connecting some of the letter's clues for me.

Outline of Philippians

In the spirit of the letter itself, Steve over at Morning Meditations has invited me to blog through Philippians with him on Fridays. This being the first day of posting on this magnificent letter, we start with some introductory comments on the letter as a whole, before moving through its parts in later weeks. I want to pitch in by giving an outline of the letter in this post, and pointing out the occasion(s) of the letter in the next one.

CAVEAT LECTOR ("let the reader beware"): if you don't believe the words "section" or "exegetical" should be used in discussion of the Bible you will find the following vexingly dry! Maybe skip down to the part that says" Wiersbe's Outline".

Exegetical Outline

Introduction (1.1-11)
    Greeting (1.1-2)
    Thanksgiving (1.3-8)
    Prayer (1.9-11)

Report on how Paul is doing (1.12-26)
    With regards to the past and present (1.13-18a)
    With regards to the future (1.18b-26)

Exhortation to steadfastness and unity in light of Rome (1.27-2.18)
    Contend for the gospel against the outside in unity (1.27-30)
    Live out the gospel on the inside in humility (2.1-4)
    The most exalted example of humility (2.5-11)
        Christ’s stooping (2.5-8)
        Christ’s soaring (2.9-11)
    Summary injunction: Work out the gospel (1.12-18)

What next: two exemplar examples are on the way (2.19-30)
    Timothy coming soon (2.19-24)
    Epaphroditus coming now (2.25-30)

Exhortation to steadfastness and unity in light of Judaism (3.1-4.3)
    Beware of dogs (3.1-3)
    Paul as an example (3.4-21)
        Paul tells his story (3.4-13)
            His past (3.4-6)
            His present (3.7-11)
            His future (3.12-13)
        Paul applies his story (3.14-4.3)
            Think like me (3.15-16)
            Imitate me (3.17-20)
            Final appeal: stand, agree, rejoice (4.1-3)

Wrapping up (4:4-23)
    Closing exhortations (4.4-9)
        Exhortation to Christian piety (4.4-7)
        Exhortation to wisdom (4.8-9)
    Acknowledgement of their gift (4.10-19)
        Their gift – Paul’s “need” (4.10-13)
        Their gift as partnership in the gospel (4.14-17)
        Their gift as an offering (4.18-20)
    Closing Greetings (4.21-23)

As you'll notice, the outline is not very catchy, heart-warming, or alliterated. My apologies! What I'm giving is a more or less exegetical outline that started to evolve into a preaching outline but was quickly cut short. And I'm glad it was cut short, for it is more helpful the way it is now. It is best that we all come up with our own preaching outlines. I cannot imagine how horrid it would be to have to preach through someone else's!

This is not to say I won't tweak it at all and re-post it; I'm not entirely happy with it as is. For instance, I don't think the juxtaposition of "Rome" and "Judaism" will bear all the weight it's holding now.

You might ask why some of the sections ignore chapter divisions. Well, while I am sometimes tempted to treat all of chapter three as its own section (as opposed to seeing it go on to 4:3), I am totally convinced that 1.27 to 2.18 is a unit in its own right.

I didn't always think that mind you. When I first outlined this letter on my own several years ago I had Paul starting a new section at 2.1. But then I checked my work against the commentaries (a very wise thing to do—for me at least!) and it didn't take Gordon Fee long to convince me otherwise. Turns out I was in good company, though, as most Bible versions tend to start the major section at chapter 2 (the TNIV and the ISV being happy exceptions).

Fee has influenced much of the rest of the outline as well. The breakdown of the Philippians' gift in 4.10-19 is taken almost verbatim.

For those who do want a preaching outline, Wiersbe has one of the best. Apart from its rigidly adhering to chapter-by-chapter divisions, his outline manages to stay remarkably faithful to the text despite being smartly alliterated and catchy to boot.

Wiersbe's Outline

THE SINGLE MIND—chapter 1
    Joy in spite of circumstances
    Key Verse—1.21
    1. The fellowship of the Gospel—1.1-11
    2. The furtherance of the Gospel—1.12-26
    3. The faith of the gospel—1.27-30

THE SUBMISSIVE MIND—chapter 2
    Joy in spite of people
    Key Verse—2.3
    1. The example of Christ—2.1-11
    2. The example of Paul—2.12-18
    3. The example of Timothy—2.19-24
    4. The example of Epaphroditus—2.25-30

THE SPIRITUAL MIND—chapter 3
    Joy in spite of things
    Key Verses—3.19-20
    1. Paul’s past—3.1-11 (the accountant—“I count”)
    2. Paul’s present—3.12-16 (the athlete—“I press”)
    3. Paul’s future—3.17-21 (the alien—“I look”)

THE SECURE MIND—chapter 4
    Joy that defeats worry
    Key Verses—4.6-7
    1. God’s peace—4.1-9
    2. God’s power—4.10-13
    3. God’s provision—4.14-23

Well, now that Wiersbe and I have both had a crack at outlining this letter, now it's your turn. Do you have any suggestions for improvements? If so I'd sure like to hear from you in the comments below.
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See Steve's first post.