"It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:7-8
Main Readings: 2 Corinthians 8 1-9, John 15 1-17 & Philippians 1 1-11
Related Reading: Psalm 133
Paul’s writing this letter from captivity - he’s under house arrest in Rome. Paul says to the believers at Philippi – ‘all of you share in God’s grace with me.’ The Christian life is designed to be a shared experience. Paul shared his life for Jesus with these people. And this church of Christ at Philippi shared their Christian experience with each other. It was a ‘together’ thing. We see this in verse 1. Paul addresses them as ‘God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers (or elders) and deacons.’ Paul recognises that this church at Philippi had people in those two defined roles. And Paul’s letter is meant for them all – together.
Paul’s not saying, ‘Hey guys, some of you need to listen up.’ These words, then and now, are meant to be received by all God’s holy people equally.’ Cos, we’re all equal. As Christians, we’re all as dependent, as each other, on God’s supply. And together we share in his grace – his free giving through Christ.
In my first message on this letter, we stopped at verse 6. Where Paul says, ‘he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’ That’s a good place to stop. Perhaps not when you’re preaching through Philippians, cos it kinda comes like mid-section! But if our lives rest here, we’ll be resting in the best of places. And if our lives in Christ together rest here, then just wow!
Paul had a very special - together - relationship with this Philippian church. In verse 3, he tells them, ‘I thank my God’ for you. He gave thanks for God’s gifting them new life in Christ. And he gave thanks for God gifting of Paul’s life with them. Now that doesn’t necessarily set them apart from other churches that Paul wrote to. He writes similar things in almost all his letters - in Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Philemon. When we were going through Acts, we saw Paul’s appeal to Caesar. It meant that he’d practically volunteered for this current period of imprisonment. Perhaps, this was one of the reasons. Prison - doing time - was the only place he was gunna find time to pray for all these people!
But what an example he is to us?! Hands up if you find praying easy? Hands up if you get easily distracted when you’re meant to be praying? You start off remembering your brother or sister in Christ – and the hot water their life’s currently in. And suddenly you’re just thinking about the new kettle you need from Amazon! What to do? Well, look closely at Paul’s example here in verse 3. ‘I thank my God every time I remember you.’ So, whenever a thought about you enters my mind, I enter God’s presence and give thanks. Not a mental note to pray for them later. He prayed there and then.
That may help us. A brother or sister in Christ comes to mind - thank God now. Or, perhaps knowing what they’re going through, ask God- there and then - to supply what they need to get through. Not because he needs reminding to give his handouts of grace and strength and whatnot. But because he delights when we faithfully remember how full of grace he is.
In verse 4, Paul says, ‘In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.’ The reason for that joy is in verse 5 – ‘because of your partnership in the gospel…’ All the churches that Paul wrote to were gospel partners with Paul. But Paul had a special relationship with this church, because their partnership with him was special. It was stand-out!
Last time we looked at this church’s beginnings in Acts 16. And observed Lydia. She was a wealthy woman with a big house. As soon as she was converted to Christ, she offered her house to Paul and his friends to stay in. In fact, she didn’t just offer it. She insisted that what she’d been gifted, was to be re-gifted to Christ’s servants. And that seems to’ve set a pattern that this church continued to follow together.
By Acts 18, Paul had moved onto Corinth. He was making tents to pay his way. Then some money came from Macedonia. That’s where Philippi is – in Macedonia. Paul was able to go from having very limited time for church work to devoting ‘himself exclusively to preaching.’ And Paul mentions this Philippian/Macedonian generosity in his letters.
In Romans 15, Paul tells the church in Rome about it. This church group centred around Philippi, were ‘pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem.’ Which Paul was then taking ‘to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there.’ The Philippians supplied it. Paul delivered it. That’s a partnership!
And Paul reminds the Philippians of their support in chapter 4 of this letter. He says, ‘in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.’
‘In the early days… not one church… except you only.’ They were stand-out - from ‘the early days’ of their new life in Christ. Here in chapter 1, we have a similar phrase – ‘from the first day’. Paul says ‘your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.’ They did this from the start of their relationship together with Paul. Why? Because it coincided with the start of them being in Christ.
We’d do the same. We’d back the apostle Paul. Well easy! Cos we’ve got hindsight. We’ve the Acts account. We’ve all of Paul’s letters. We know how successful he was in promoting Project Christ. We’d be mad not to back such a winner. But these Philippians didn’t have the benefit of hindsight in those ‘early days’. They didn’t partner with Paul because they knew he was successful. They partnered with Paul… so that he would be. Hindsight isn’t what they had or needed. Just the foresight to clearly see the need of the present, to promote the church’s future.
Why were they so good at this? Ultimately, what was it down to? Character? Experience? The way that life had moulded and shaped them? Perhaps to some extent. But there was a bigger, better reason. And when Paul wrote to the Corinthians (2 Cor 8) – and held up the Philippians as a shining example – he gave the reason for their generosity, before he said anything else. He wanted them to know the reason. And said, ‘(I) want you to know about the grace that God has given (them).’ Why were they so generous in giving? Not so much because of the way that experience had shaped their lives. But because of God’s grace - the way that he had generously shaped their hearts.
Are you a generous Christian? Credit where it’s due - praise the God of grace! What if you’re like me? I can really struggle with giving away what I feel I’ll soon need. Does that hold me back? I suspect it does. What can I do? I can be hopeful. Because, though I may lack that grace. I’ve a God who gives it. And, in Christ, I’ve always got his ear. He can shape us, and remould us, so that we are more suited to Christian service tomorrow, than we were today. So, I’m encouraged to ask for more. That’s what Paul did.
Last time I mentioned Oliver Twist’s famous line - ‘Please sir, I want some more.’ Oliver asked his cruel master for more because Oliver had a crushing need. We’re the same. We have a great need of ongoing grace. But we’re also different. We have a generous master, in Christ. Paul knew that. Look at him in verse 9. He doesn’t just ask for more. He asks for ‘more and more’. And who is he asking this for. Of all the churches that Paul wrote to, these Philippians were stand-out Christians. They were so together – so close knit and united. So together in their partnership with Paul. So blessed with God’s grace. And yet, Paul prays for ‘more and more’ for them. Surely that’s a bit greedy?! Greedy for grace for God’s holy people? Is that a bad thing? To be so aware of the riches that our God has in Christ – to be so aware of his willingness to pour out his grace upon his people – that we just ask him for more and more. Because we love his people. Paul definitely loved these people.
In verses 3 and 4 he told us the effect they had on him. It’s beautiful. Every time he thought about them it made him thankful and filled his prayers with joy. He’s saying, in effect, ‘when I think of you it makes me so happy!’ That’s the kind of mush you’d find in a love letter. Because this is a love letter. And you may be thinking, ‘Ooh this sounds like feelings – it’s all a bit emotional. Tone it down! We’re reformed evangelicals – not charismatics, don’t you know?! This emotion – this can’t be right.’
Well verse 7 says it is! Paul says, ‘It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.’ Paul knows – we’re in this together. We rely on God’s supply – together. Because of this, Paul says, ‘I have you in my heart.’ I have you in my heart regardless of my circumstances. What a wonderful way to live as a Christian. As Paul says, even when he was ‘in chains’, these Philippians were still together in his heart.
Paul is under house arrest. He can’t leave. He certainly can’t leave Rome. But Paul was so set free by the love of God that is in Christ, that his heart could go anywhere. Rome and Philippi are separated by 800 miles. But Paul could travel there in… well, in a heartbeat.
Feeling like this isn’t wrong. As verse 7 says, ‘It is right.’ And Paul amplifies this strength of feeling in verse 8 – ‘God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.’ You what?! This seems outrageous. So Paul calls God as his witness. He knows that what he’s saying will be hard to take in. Paul’s affection for these people is like the affection of Christ. His point of reference for his own standard of loving is Christ’s standard of loving. How searching? Is that my reference point? So often - more often than not - it is not. But always, it should be.
And the original Greek, Bible word that is translated here as ‘affection’ has deep meaning. It literally means our inwards. In Acts 1 18 we have the graphic description of the death of Judas - ‘his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.’ That word translated as ‘intestines’ there, is the same word translated as ‘affection’ here in Philippians.
Paul isn’t talking about tolerating other Christians. This is not surface level affection. Paul has the inwards of Christ. Paul’s affection for those who shared in God’s grace with him, is deep. By God’s grace, Paul had understood God’s higher, heavenly, calling in Christ.
Cos it’s so easy to go easy on our own brokenness. But the brokenness of others can be so much harder to deal with. But Paul is saying no. Because Christ’s affection says no. We may think that the correct response is to shrug our shoulders and say, ‘their fault – let them get on with it!’ But is that how Christ dealt with our brokenness? No. He sacrificed himself. He gave himself over to death, even death on a cross. What we lacked – he gave. What we needed – Jesus gave freely. And Paul followed Jesus.
Paul’s prayer for those that shared in Christ is detailed in verses 9-11. ‘This is my prayer…’ ‘that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…’ That’s a good thing to pray for – for Christ’s church. Discern-ment - judgement that sees the whole picture. Judgement that’s not misplaced - but well placed. Cos it’s easy to get this wrong. Paul knew it. Cos he had got it wrong.
Pre-conversion to Christ - without faith in his cross - Paul thought he loved God. His knowledge fuelled that thought. His knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures propelled his drive to do for God. But what did he do for God? He undid. He put Christ’s people in prison. He was clueless. Because he was cross-less. All he had in his hands was a big religious stick. And people got hurt.
Post conversion, Paul still had drive. But now he wasn’t driven by what he must do for God. He was driven by what God had done for him, in Christ. And (verse 6) what God was still doing. And what God would yet complete in him. He was driven still. But in a new direction. And Paul was conscious of the need we have to be constantly directed by Christ in our lives together. Loving others properly and appropriately will require discernment. Just one of the long list of things that don’t get handed out at birth! Paul knows that discernment is needed. He knows he needs it. He knows the Philippian believers need it in their shared lives. So, what to do? Pray for it - more and more.
We’ll need in our life in Christ together. What should we do? The same. Pray. For ourselves. For each other. More and more. And we should desire the same result for us together, as Paul had for the church in Philippi. As he says in verse 10 – so as to ‘be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.’ In church life, it’s so easy to get thrown off course by the brokenness of today. But let’s try and deal with today in the light of that day – when Christ will come, and brokenness will be gone for good.
Verse 11 tells us what Christ’s church can look like. ‘Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.’ ‘Fruit… through… Christ.’ It’s so like John 15. There Jesus likens our Father God to a gardener. He wants fruit. I never met a gardener who didn’t. Jesus says, ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.’ ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’
It's easy to read that passage and relate it only to ourselves, as individual Christians. It’s good if we do relate it to ourselves. It’s vital that we do. But do we see more? Jesus didn’t say, ‘I am the vine; you are the branch.’ He said, ‘I am the vine; you are the branches.’ The Christian life is designed like that. Branches - branch against branch. Hand with hand. Together. Shared.
I have a garden. My vegetable patch was recently visited. Unfortunately, the visitor was Lilian - Storm Lilian. I had (notice the past tense) a stunning sunflower. Lilian snapped it. The stem broke away from the root. The plant died almost instantly, and the fruit? – Wasted! My runner beans also experienced that storm. But they fared better.
Because runner beans are a vine plant. From the one root grow lots and lots of branches. Most of those branches look so spindly and weak. It’s so like the church! In early season I sometimes look at those branches and think ‘you’re pathetic – you’ve got no chance of holding up any fruit.’ And then something amazing happens. Those thin branches, as they grow upwards toward the sun, start to intertwine. They wrap themselves around each other. Before long, I’ve not just got lots of individual weak branches. They’re so joined that I can’t separate them. And when the fruit appears, they support each other, so that the fruit is held up.
When the storm hit, my runner bean vine was affected. It looked dishevelled. But it looked alive. All those intertwined branches had held onto each other. They were shaken together. But they stood firm together. And together they were still connected to the root. And together they are (note the present tense) still bearing fruit. So it will be with those that are ‘in Christ’ ‘together’.
When a garden is well tended - and is full of colour and fruitfulness - who gets the praise? The gardener. Paul finishes this section reminding us this. If our church is ‘filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ’, then it must be only ‘to the glory and praise of God.’
Paul’s prayer was for it to be so for those in Christ together at Philippi. My prayer is that it will be so for us – together - in God’s Riverside garden. To his glory and his praise.
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