The Final Days of Jesus

The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived by Andreas J. Kostenberger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A excerpt from the book's commentary on Peter after he denied Jesus:

Everything he thought he knew about himself, all his self-confidence and belief in his undying loyalty to his Master, has been shattered and lies in utter ruins. He sees himself as a failure, a liar, a traitor, and one who has just invoked God’s wrath upon himself in denying the Messiah just to save his own skin. Perhaps he recalled Jesus’s earlier words: “Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Not only has he betrayed and denied the man he had trusted and followed for the past three years, leaving him to face his accusers and die alone, but also he has incriminated himself before God’s judgment seat by uttering his curse and oath…Peter knew that his actions had placed him irrevocably (or so he thought) under God’s wrath, while Jesus knew that he must soon experience the full outpouring of God’s wrath so that Peter, and all others who placed their faith in Jesus, would not have to do the same. (118-119)

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Gospel Assurance and Warnings

Gospel Assurance and Warnings by Paul Washer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



  Summary

This appears to be the third book written in the author’s Recovering the Gospel series. The book is divided into two parts, the first on biblical assurance, and the second on gospel warnings.

The author situates his topic as matter of heaven or hell. He is concerned about a doctrine of easy believism that “opens the door for carnal and unregenerate people to find assurance of salvation by looking to the apparent sincerity of their past decision to accept Christ, even though their manner of living contradicts such a profession,” (loc 219). “Contemporary evangelicalism,” he states, “has been grossly affected by a ‘once saved always saved’ teaching that argues for the possibility of salvation apart from sanctification,” (loc 1793).

In the first part he goes through the numerous tests given in 1 John to examine ourselves to see if our profession in genuine. Tests such as whether we walk in the light, confess sin, keep God’s commandments, etc (there is a helpful summary list given at the end of Part One [locs 2911-2]).

If Part One primarily focuses on 1 John, Part Two goes through the conclusion to Jesus’s famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-27. Here we learn that today’s preacher, like the Lord Jesus himself, must give his listeners gospel warnings as well as gospel promises, and that “the idea that it is easy to be saved is totally foreign to the Scriptures,” (loc 3281). “It seems that the evangelical community no longer views conversion primarily as a supernatural work of God wrought through the miracle of the new birth” (loc 4277).


  Evaluation

I agree with Washer’s overall message in the book. A changing life and submission the Lordship of Christ are not optional for the true Christian.

I also agree with him on interpretation of specific texts. He rightly interprets the distinction in 1 John 1:5-7 as being between those who are converted and those who are not. And in Matthew 25.31-46 the hungry, homeless, and naked are indeed “believers who are suffering for the sake of a good conscience before God and their loyalty to Christ,” (loc 1268).

But I do have some criticisms of the book. While I can appreciate that the author is dealing with somber truths, the book’s style does come across as repetitious (perhaps because it’s based on a collection of sermons [loc 51]) and a trifle pedantic.

Moreover there is repeated mention of the ills and shortcomings of evangelicalism. I completely agree with Washer’s assessment, but that didn’t stop me from wondering if he could have achieved the same effect with less recourse to the familiar “modern evangelicalism” refrain. This plus a few more positive and energetic appeals to the transforming power of the gospel would have gone a long way to fulfilling the author’s hope: that in his book readers would “rediscover the gospel in all its beauty, scandal, and saving power” (loc 111).



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Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian

Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian by John Piper

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a remarkable book on racism. Piper has read the popular, academic, and biblical literature with his usual care and insight, and in this book he provides much help to the rest of us Christians who “have not trained [our] powers of discernment in matters of racial and ethnic issues” (45).

Part One (Our World: The Need for the Gospel) opened my eyes to the black-white racial tensions to the south. Here Piper talks about structural versus personal strategies for making racial progress before concluding that a third strategy is needed—the gospel itself. The gospel is able to overcome nine destructive forces (Satan, guilt, pride, hopelessness, feelings of inferiority and self-doubt, greed, hatred, fear, and apathy) in ways that personal and structural strategies can’t touch (87).

Part Two is all about the power of that gospel. Jesus is the end of ethnocentrism. God provided one way to himself through Christ’s blood. This one sacrifice is for everyone. In reconciling all to God it reconciles peoples to each other, as all who believe become one new entity.

Revelation 5.9 teaches us that God intends to have people from every ethnic group (chp 9). Romans 3 teaches us that every people is justified the same way (chp 10). In chp 11 irresistible grace means that no one is too racist to be out of reach of God’s grace. All of these chapters, along with the subsequent ones, show the gospel’s relevance and power to such a large problem as racism.

Piper also has wise words to say about interracial marriage (chp 15), persuasively showing that the Bible blesses, not prohibits, it. Another thorny issue is dealt with in chp 16: the issue of prejudice and generalizing about others based on their ethnicity. Piper suggests that generalizations are unavoidable, and they can be made without falling into racial sin provided that one has a good heart. He offers eight penetrating questions with which to test our hearts in this matter.

Appendix Four usefully takes up the question: “What are the implications of Noah’s curse?”

I’ll let Piper summarize the book for himself:

The aim of this book has been to encourage you to pursue Christ-exalting, gospel-driven racial and ethnic diversity and harmony—espe­cially in the family of God, the church of Jesus Christ. I have tried to argue from Scripture that the blood of Christ was shed for this. It is not first a social issue, but a blood issue. The bloodline of Christ is deeper than the bloodlines of race. (227)

My favourite quotes:

The bloodline of Jesus Christ is deeper than the bloodlines of race. The death and resurrection of the Son of God for sinners is the only sufficient power to bring the bloodlines of race into the single bloodline of the cross. (13-14)

To be a Christian is to move toward need, not comfort. (110)

Jesus’s behavior is like a US Marine caring for a Taliban freedom fighter. (117)

Jesus is the point in redemptive history where the true Israel becomes the church of Christ and the church (Jew and Gentile) emerges as the true Israel. This is the mystery of Christ, now revealed, and it is possible because of the cross. (125)

The ethnic diversity of hell is a crucial doctrine. (135)



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Review: The future of justification

The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright by John Piper

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book a long time ago (early summer maybe?) and I won’t be taking time to review it. Except to say that John Piper has gone to great pains to hear Wright out and understand him. This book is a model for how to disagree with someone.

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Review: The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission

The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission: Promoting the Gospel with More Than Our Lips by John Dickson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Dickson begins with four confessions. I’ll repeat the two that I find most significant. First, when he was a budding evangelist, he was guilty of reducing the gospel to a couple of theological truths, ignoring the fact that the gospel is a story. Second, he “came to assume that the only important means of promoting Christ was talking about him” (22).

Before tackling either of these early mistakes, Dickson grounds mission in the Bible’s most basic doctrine, which is that there is one God (26). And what does this monotheism have to do with mission? “If there is just one God in the universe, everyone everywhere has a duty to worship that Lord” (27). What follows is an exploration of Psalm 96 and Matthew 28.16-20. The following quote pretty much sums up the significance of tying missions to monotheism:

We promote God’s glory to the ends of the earth not principally because of any human need but fundamentally because of God’s/Christ’s unique worthiness as the Lord of heaven and earth. Promoting the gospel is more than a rescue mission…it is a reality mission (35, emphasis added).

Now Dickson is ready to tackle his second mistake, which was to think that the only activity that promoted the gospel was talking. He makes an important distinction between proclaiming the gospel and promoting the gospel (23).

Then he focuses on the example of Jesus. Jesus’ mission is captured perfectly in his words: “to seek and to save what was lost”. Note the emphasized verbs: “Through his preaching Jesus declared that salvation, through his death and resurrection…he would accomplish that salvation, and through the generosity of his social life he embodied that salvation” (51, emphasis added). Dickson calls us to a “‘salvific mind-set’, that is, an outlook on life that cares deeply for the salvation of others” (60).

What other activities promote the gospel besides talking? We can promote the gospel with our praying (chp 4), our giving (chp 5), through the good works of the church (chp 6), Christian behaviour (chp 7), public praise (chp 10), and in daily conversation (chp 11).

In the chapter on Christian behaviour, Dickson has this to say after mentioning the atheists Hitchens, Harris, and Dawkings:

In the end, the only way to dispel the story that Christianity has been imperialistic, arrogant and harmful is to offer a powerful counternarrative in our lives, day by day committing ourselves to Jesus’ vision of a kingdom marked by meekness, peace-making and love. (105)

Dickson handles his first mistake in chapter 8, What is the Gospel?

“The modern media term ‘newsflash’ probably comes closest in meaning to the ancient word gospel” (112). The theme of the gospel is the kingdom of God, that God reigns through Jesus Christ.

To put it in simple and practical terms, the goal of gospel preaching-–and of gospel promoting—-is to help our neighbours realise and submit to God’s kingship or lordship over their lives. (115)

The content of the gospel is the deeds of the Messiah, as shown by a quick analysis of 1 Corinthians 15.3-5. In this passage, there are five parts to Paul’s summary of the gospel (117):
•    Jesus’ identity as the Christ
•    Jesus’ saving death
•    Jesus’ burial
•    Jesus’ resurrection
•    Jesus’ appearance to witnesses

The third part, Jesus’ burial, is especially helpful in showing that the gospel “is not only a theology—a message about atonement and lordship—it is news of events (121).

The Christian gospel was a news report:

The earliest Christians never said simply, “Here’s the message: see if this rings true for you,” or “Try our doctrines and see if they improve your life.” Believers always said, “Look, these things happened in Palestine recently and a whole bunch of witnesses saw them with their own eyes.(122)

Recently, much has been made of the difference in Jesus’ gospel and Paul’s gospel. I like Dickson’s solution:

The connection between Paul’s gospel and the books we call the Gospels is obvious. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all demonstrate Jesus’ messianic credentials before emphasizing his atoning death and glorious resurrection. (123)

The rest of the chapter keeps getting better and better. It is worth the price of the book. But to avoid copyright infringements, I will skip to the author’s summary of the “core content” of the gospel (139):
•    Jesus’ royal birth secured his claim to the eternal throne promised to King David
•    Jesus’ miracles pointed to the presence of God’s kingdom in the person of the Messiah
•    Jesus’ teaching sounded the invitation of the kingdom and laid down its demands
•    Jesus’ sacrificial death atoned for the sins of those who would otherwise be condemned at the consummation of the kingdom
•    Jesus’ resurrection establishes him as the Son whom God has appointed Judge of the world and Lord of the coming kingdom.

To return to the question asked by the chapter’s title, here is the author’s definition from the introduction:

The gospel is the announcement that God has revealed his kingdom and opened it up to sinners through the birth, teaching, miracles, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will one day return to overthrow evil and consummate the kingdom for eternity. (22)

Chapter 12 (A Year in the Life of the Gospel) is an innovative chapter in which Dickson weaves the principles he’s been writing about with some stories he’s combined and tweaked to show us what can happen when Christians live according to a salvific mind-set. Appendix 1 provides gospel sound bites—short responses to different topics that come up in conversation. In Appendix 2 Dickson attempts a modern retelling of the gospel.

This book is undoubtedly the best book on evangelism and promotion of the gospel that I have ever read. I highly recommend it.




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Why Paul got 39 lashes

Paul is not given the thirty-nine lashes by his fellow Jews because he asks them to ‘try’ Jesus in the same way one might try a kebab (2 Cor. 11.24). He is not executed for suggesting that Roman citizens may wish to invite Jesus into their hearts. No, Paul has the courage and conviction to proclaim that the one who is to come again, the Messiah, is Jesus, who has fulfilled Israel’s hopes by being cursed on a cross and raised from the dead.

Michael F. Bird, Introducing Paul : The Man, His Mission, and His Message (Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), pp. 28-9.

Review: The Cross and Christian Ministry

The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians by D.A. Carson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book's five chapters are based on a series of talks. Each one is an exposition of a passage from 1 Corinthians that discusses a topic in relation to the cross. Thus there are chapters on the cross and preaching, the cross and factionalism, the cross and leadership, and so on.

The undercurrent through all five chapters is that Jesus’ cross is the standard, and nothing else. This has radical, radical, radical implications for leadership—and that’s an understatement.

As always, Carson’s expositions mix solid exegesis with devotional warmth and deep pastoral and cultural insight.

I close with a few of my favourite quotes from this book:

On the Corinthians who should have been on a solids diet, not a milk one: “They want nothing more than another round of choruses and a ‘simple message’—something that won’t challenge them to think, to examine their lives, to make choices, and to grow in their knowledge and adoration of the living God” (p.72).

“But part of the reason why Paul’s stance seems alien to many of us is that we have unwittingly become more like Corinthian Christians than like Pauline (that is, biblical!) Christians. Many of are well-to-do and comfortable, with little incentive to live in vibrant anticipation of Christ’s return. Our desire for the approval of the world often outstrips our desire for Jesus’ ‘Well done!’ on the last day. The proper place to begin to change this deep betrayal of the gospel is at the cross—in repentance, contrition, and renewed passion not only to make the gospel of the crucified Messiah central in all our preaching and teaching, but in our lives and the lives of our leaders as well” (p.108).

“How can Christians stand beside the cross and insist on their rights?” (p.125)



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The horizontal dimension of justification by faith

Here's a very important essay by Michael Bird on Justification by Faith and Racism.

A key quote:

To practice any form of ethnic or racial exclusion means that one either does not understand or does not believe in justification by faith.

The horizontal aspect of justification finds surprising emphasis in the NT.

Calvin on the distinction between the Bible and the Word of God

Recently I reviewed Bruce Gordon's biography of John Calvin. This post is part three of a short series of snippets from the book.

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“All the reformers distinguished between the Bible and the Word of God, or Gospel. Scripture contains ‘perfect doctrine,’ which is God’s revelation, but it is not itself the Gospel” (p.104).

References:

Bruce Gordon, Calvin (New Haven [Conn.] and London: Yale University Press, 2009).

Calvin and N.T. Wright

Recently I reviewed Bruce Gordon's biography of John Calvin. This post is part two of a short series of snippets from the book.

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Some of Gordon's summaries of Calvin's teachings would surely coax an Amen from N.T. Wright!

“Christianity…is not about individual salvation but about the glory of God” (p.98).

“Salvation is not about individuals, but about the community of the Church” (118).

References:

Bruce Gordon, Calvin (New Haven [Conn.] and London: Yale University Press, 2009).

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, by Guthrie

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter by Nancy Guthrie


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Meditations drawn from “the writings and sermons of classic and contemporary writers and teachers” to prepare the reader’s heart for Easter. For me, the selections from Ray Ortlund and Tim Keller stood out from the rest. Other contributors include Luther, Spurgeon, Owen, Calvin, Piper, and Sproul.

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Salvation is eternal AND transformational

A quality of salvation is that it's eternal. Another quality is that it's transformational. Just as genuine salvation is something so powerful that it can never be lost, it is also so powerful that it can never be hid. In this way the assurance of eternal security and the necessity of perseverance are maintained.

Impoverish your audience: don’t read this

Con Cambell has an excellent blog series going on preaching evangelistic sermons. It's been helping me.

His last post really needs to be heard. Which is a shame, because evangelists shoudn't need to hear it. His advice? Exegete the text!

Often we have the mindset of, "Oh, I already know what John 3.16 is all about." Don't be so sure. Here's Cambell's list of things the preacher could discover about the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18.9-14) through exegesis, but probably won't without it:

1. The setting is likely one of the two daily atonement services at the temple.

2. The Pharisee does not ask God for anything, but his prayer is really a declaration.

3. Because the setting is likely an atonement service, there are other people present, which means that the Pharisee's prayer publicly denounces the tax collector (v.11).

4. Because the setting is public, the tax collector's standing far off emphasizes his shame (v.13).

5. It was extremely rare for men to beat their chest in public, and they would only do so in an instance of overwhelming grief (v.13).

6. The tax collector asks God TO BE PROPITIOUS toward him (ἱλάσθητί μοι, v.13).

7. And thus, the tax collector is justified in direct connection to propitiation at an atonement service (v.14).

His conclusion:

I think that those things—which can only be understood through really working on the text in its historical and literary context—bring the passage to bear in a way that few evangelistic preachers would allow.

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."

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.