Studies in Philippians

1. Studies in Philippians Presentation 02

2. The Structure of the Book Opening and introduction 1:1-2 Paul and the Philippian Church 1:3-26 Thanksgiving, confidence and prayer 1:3-11 Paul’s immediate circumstances 1:12-20 Paul and his prospects 1.21-26 Exhortation and Examples 1:27-2:30 Warnings 3:1-4:1 Encouragement Gratitude and Final Greetings 4: 2-23 Presentation 02

3. First , in v3 Paul thanks God for every remembrance of all of the members of the Philippian church. He is not selective in his praying – i.e. just for those who are doing well or whom he particularly likes. Are there people of whom we can say, 'I thank God for every remembrance of you'? People who have helped shape our lives, and have borne our burdens and shared their lives with us. Tell them you are thankful. And at the same time ask yourself if there are things in your life that cause other people to thank God for you. Does the mention of our name cause a smile or a frown to form on their faces? Presentation 02

4. It can be difficult to thank God for those who have failed us. Their failure can blinker our vision and prevent us from seeing all the good they have done for God in the past. The offence of others can distort our estimate of their worth. Paul begins by acknowledging what was praiseworthy in the Philippians. He does this before he challenges their pride, selfishness and divisive spirit. It is not only good psychology but good theology to praise what is praiseworthy. If we aim to follow Paul’s example we will find ourselves holding may of our Christian brothers and sisters in higher esteem! Presentation 02

5. Paul thanks the Philippians for their ‘partnership’ [Greek ‘koinonia’] in the gospel. They shared in ‘contending for the faith’ [1.27] in seeing suffering as a privilege [1.29] and they wanted to share in Pauls troubles in prayer as well as in other ways [1.19]. The gospel not only draws us to Christ but also to one another. There is a helpful illustration of this truth: Presentation 02

6. The Philippians ‘partnership’ was both material and personal. We often limit our understanding of fellowship to enjoying conversation with other Christians. But Paul recognised a material dimension. The Philippians had dug deep into their pockets to sent him a monetary gift [4.14] to help him personally and to encourage him in his ministry. But they did more. They sent a person, Epaphroditus [2.25]. with their gift. He would care for Paul in prison and be a means of encouragement to him. The church never wastes its resources, when it sends people as well as money to support Christian brothers and sisters in need. Presentation 02

7. Their ‘partnership’goes beyond the personal service they rendered Paul. He is thankful first, for the constancy of their commitment to the gospel, 'from the first day until now' v5, that's quite a testimony! Some Christians blow hot and cold. Their service rises and falls depending upon other commitments and feelings. The kind of constant faithfulness Paul describes here was in very short supply. This kind of consistency when found is to be commended. People who can be relied upon who are always there! Presentation 02

8. Paul points out that their Christian faith does not depend on him or his ministry. His readers will press on in their faith because "he who began a good work within you will carry it on till its completion"v6. Men may start projects they can’t finish but not God.... God has both the resolve and resources to finish what he has begun. God had begin the work in Philippi in a remarkable way. cf. Acts 16.14 whichdescribes how the Lord ‘opened’ Lydia’s heart . Think too of the earthquake God used to bring the Philippian jailer to faith Acts 16.29-34. The focus is on God. The true ground of Christian assurance is not that we are making progress in the faith but that God is making progress in us. This is a great mystery but one which brings not only assurance but reassurance to our hearts . Presentation 02

9. The verb “carry on to completion"v6contains the idea of ‘putting the finishing touches to’. From one standpoint it may seem to us that we have a long, long way to grow in order to attain to the holiness and Christlikeness of life which God wants. But from God’s perspective the bulk of the work has already been done, we are a new creation now, he indwells us by his Spirit now, all of the resources of Christ are in our hearts and at our disposal now. The finishing touches will take time. Presentation 02

10. In the midst of the turmoil of their fellowship marked by soured relationships and struggling selfishness the Philippians needed to be reminded that God refuses to give up on them! Christians are often tempted to give up their faith because either other Christians have treated them badly, or because they have treated other Christians badly and they think God wants nothing to do with them. Paul says, “There is a sign with God’s name on it in the building site of your lives”. It reads, “God at work”. Don’t take your eyes off that sign!” God won’t stop until he’s finished. This truth should bring great comfort to our hearts in times of discouragement and setback. For if such a Mighty Worker is at work in us, can we ultimately fail? Presentation 02

11. Paul now provides a second encouragement to aid them in their Christian growth, he says in v7, "I have you in my heart". This is very important. It stresses the fact that prayer is one of the ways through which God continues his work of grace in our lives. What amazing possibilities this provides for those who are prepared to engage in the costly discipline of intercession. We can also ask, “how much does my growth in grace depend upon the prayers of others; people who have prayed for me when I was discouraged and overwhelmed by my sense of failure?” Presentation 02

12. What Paul seems to be saying in v7bis that God had given him grace to endure the sore trial of imprisonment, grace to fearlessly defend the truth of the gospel, grace to make it known. ‘Yes’, you say, ‘but he was an apostle! Surely he was given special apostolic grace to help him cope?’But there is no such thing, there are no categories of grace. God has no favourites, who can access a first class service of grace. Paul says “you share in God’s grace with me”. The grace which you have seen God give me is precisely the same grace that is available to you. All alike from the great apostle to the most humble believer have access to exactly the same resources. Presentation 02

13. In v8 Paul tells his readers, “I long for you all with the affection of Christ .” It is not enough to tolerate other Christians we need to learn to enjoy their company and miss them when they are gone. Sadly we can sometimes heave a sigh of relief when a particularly troublesome Christian has not come to our church service? The warmth and affection of which Paul speaks, should also include those Christians whom we have not yet met in other parts of the world. Why? Because we are all family. When you meet a Christian for the first time after just a few minutes you can experience strong bonds of love. Why is that? Because you are both united to Jesus. Non-Christian members of our family cannot understand why we can feel closer to these strangers than to our own non- Christian relatives. There is a saying in the West, 'Blood is thicker than water’. But that is not true of the Christian family of which we are a part. Presentation 02

14. The Substance of Paul’s Intercession Paul now prays for their ongoing Christian development. This is the significance of the phrase, "more and more“ v9. We might ask if God is at work in the way Paul suggests why does he feel the need to pray for their development? This thinking can lull us into spiritual indifference. Biblical logic often contradicts human logic. Some say, “If God is a work we can sit back and do nothing”. Pauls argues because God is at work, we have the responsibility to respond to co-operate with him. [This themes is developed in 2.12-13] Presentation 02

15. Paul wants them to grow in love. He assumes the existence of God’s love in their hearts. He does not pray for them to receive it – it is there already. What he prays for is that it should abound, that it should find more and more expression in their lives. To exercise a love that puts others before ourselves is so demanding that it makes us ask, “what are the limits of this love”. This lay behind the question that was put to Jesus – “Who is my neighbour?”. It was a question about limits - how far should we go. Jesus’ reply was devastating, there is no limit, wherever there is need we have a responsibility to care; [Luke 10.25-27]. Love can never say, ‘I have done enough’. And so Paul prays that “love might abound more and more”. Presentation 02

16. Paul prays for this love to grow in“knowledge and depth of insight" v9. He is not thinking of mere intellectual knowledge but a depth of perception and understanding that affects our behaviour. Let me illustrate : When Mary anointed Jesus with expensive perfume at Bethany. [Jn.12.1ff] she was criticised by the disciples for what they considered to be an extravagant waste. But Mary had discerned the meaning of Christ's passion and was anointing him in the light of what she knew lay ahead. Jesus came to her defence saying, "she has done a beautiful thing". Mary, more than any of the disciples, was sensitive to the situation; her love ‘abounded in knowledge and judgement’. Presentation 02

17. A growing love of Jesus means a growing love of others. This does not mean we force ourselves to think others are nice if they are not. Love is very realistic. It is not blind or lacking in judgement. To love others involves adopting Christ's attitude towards them, to refuse to allow their bad treatment of us to affect our attitude to them. When news of the martyrdom of Mr. Abbas Amiri in Iran, reached the West, it was accompanied by this comment: “We Christians seek peace and avoid any kind of bloodshed and we pray for all those responsible for these murders that the Lord would forgive them, just as our Lord Jesus prayed for His enemies from the cross saying., “Father, Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!”  We will not sink into a spirit of mourning because we believe that they are safe and resting in the loving arms of the Lord Jesus”. Presentation 02

18. Paul also prays that they may "discern what is best".The choice between black and white, good and evil is fairly easy. Paul wants his readers to experience the best not second best. As our love and discernment grows we are better equipped to distinguish the good from the less good. Illustration . A well known mister was a very competent pianist. Whenever, he passed his piano he would sit down and play. This was taking up more and more of his time. Now piano playing is not sinful. But God asked him if this was the best use of his time. He got rid of his piano for he discerned what was best.

19. Is our Christian taste improving? Mature Christians have learned the difference between what is legitimate for themselves and useful to others. [ 1Cor 10.23-24 ] Growing up, involves putting away what Paul calls ‘childish things’ [1Cor 13.11]. An adult with a comforter in his mouth is a bizarre picture but some Christians are reluctant to get out of the playpen and engage in costly discipleship – they want a life where it is all comfort and no cross .

20. Paul also prays that the Philippians might be ‘pure and blameless’. The Greek word "pure"is derived from a word which means sunlight. Illustration: when you shop for an item of clothing and express uncertainty about the colour because of the artificial light in the store, the assistant may say, "Take it to the window and see it in natural daylight". So too for Christians, it is in the ordinary light of day to day living that the real test of our lives takes place, when we are removed from the artificial environment of a church service. What do we look like then?

21. Paul’s final petition is that they may be "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ". This is a reference to the fruit that righteousness produces in our lives - to innumerable acts of kindness and service with Christ as the unique source. Lawrence of Arabia was in Paris with Arab friends. He showed them many famous landmarks. They were disinterested! However, their attention was captured by the taps on the bathtub in their hotel. They spent hours turning them on and off, watching the water gush out. Later Lawrence found them trying to dismantle the taps. They explained, “it is very dry in Arabia but with these taps we will always be able to access water”.Lawrence explained that the taps were not the source of the water but merely a conduit. In the same way only as the Christian realises that he is a mere tap through whom the vast resources and power of Christ flows will others begin to benefit. Ought we not to pray, “Lord make us taps through whom the blessings of Christ will flow to others.”