Philippians: Part 1 - Ch. 1

Encouragement In Christ

As we kick off the month of June, we will be looking at two of Paul’s letters this month that fit perfectly into this timeframe. We will be dissecting Paul’s letter to the Philippians and his letter to the Colossians. Both of these letters are four chapters long, which gives us time to tackle these books one chapter at a time and really see what Paul was communicating to these two churches. Today, we will be kicking off our study on Paul’s letter to the Philippians, and this opening chapter shows Paul’s heart for the gospel and the goal that every church should have in mind when sharing the gospel and living for it. I know that all of God’s Word is essentially centered around the gospel of Jesus Christ, however, when it comes to this side of the cross, Paul makes it clear that even after Jesus has come and accomplished His mission on this earth, our hearts should long for Him and desire Him just as much as the people who were waiting for Him in the Old Testament. Why is this letter so focused on the gospel message and not a particular area of improvement that the church needs? The Bible Project tells us this when they state, “The Philippians had sent one of their members, Epaphroditus, to take a financial gift to Paul and to support him in prison. Paul sent this letter back with Epaphroditus to say thanks for the generous gift and address the community.” This letter that Paul wrote back was a way of saying thank you while at the same time, encouraging them in the truth of the gospel by reminding them what the power of Christ should look like in their lives. With this in mind, let’s open up this first chapter to see what Paul has to communicate to the Philippian church. 

Suffering For Christ

To start, Paul opens this letter by thanking God for the work that He has done in the Philippian church and how He has answered his prayers in regard to them. Paul then closes this small opening section by stating this in Philippians 1:9-10 “And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ;” One of the goals of the gospel is that our love would overflow into knowledge and discernment so that we may discover the excellent things that Chirst has for us. What are these excellent things? Paul addresses this just a few verses later. After his thankful and encouraging opening, Paul then tells the Philippians about the priority of progressing the gospel. Paul even uses his own circumstances to illustrate how far we must be willing to go in order to share the truth with everyone who needs to hear it. Just look at how Paul phrases this in Philippians 1:12-14 “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brothers and sisters, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.” 

What an amazing and beautiful response this is to being imprisoned and suffering for the gospel. Paul has humbled himself to the point where he is able to say that even if he has to suffer until death, it will all be worth it for the glorification of Christ and His gospel. Paul even states at the end here that many brothers and sisters in Christ have grown in their courage after hearing about what Paul has struggled through. Just ask yourself for a quick second, do you have this same humility and heart for the gospel? I know I don’t. But I hope someday I will. If I ever suffer even half as much as Paul has, I hope that I can get through it with the same character and response that Paul had by showing that the gospel of Jesus Christ is my utmost priority. Whenever you may be feeling like you are going through a season of suffering, I hope and pray that you would turn to God and ask Him to use all of your sufferings and hardships for His glory and the spreading of the gospel. 

Dying Is Gain

Furthermore, Paul dives deeper into what it means to live for Christ by going beyond talking about just suffering and discussing even death! Many of us have heard this saying of Paul’s before, but I truly wonder if we’ve ever taken it to heart when we’ve heard it. In Philippians 1:21, Paul says, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Think about this saying for a minute. Can you fully agree with Paul that while we are alive, we should live for Christ, and when our day comes to die, it will be of gain for us because we will then be with Christ? This is a momentous statement that, if true, completely erases the sting of death. Dying for Christ is a gain for us because when we leave this earth, we will be with Him for eternity. Paul actually wrestles with this idea as he concludes this chapter. Philippians 1:23-24 says, “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.” Imagine wrestling with the idea about whether or not living or dying would be a better experience for you… Paul is not saying this out of a state of depression or because of suicidal tendencies, rather, he is stating this because of how much he longs to be with Christ for eternity. I hope and pray that the more and more I grow in my walk with the Lord and become sanctified, the more and more I look forward to my death rather than fear it. May God use His word that He gave to Paul in his letter to the Philippians to give you a better understanding of the gospel and to give you a heart that is full of humility in suffering and joy in Christ. 

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Sources

[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/

[2] BibleProject. (2023, September 13). The Book of Philippians. BibleProject. https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-philippians/