Joy and Fellowship in the Lord!
Philippians 1:3-8
Introduction: Rejoice
in the Lord always, again I will say it, rejoice! We’ve called our series
in Philippians, “Joy in Serving Jesus!” In this passage Paul is continuing the
greeting to the Philippians. Before we let the news reports discourage or
depress us, let’s remember where Paul is as he writes. He is writing to his
friends while he is under house arrest in Rome, awaiting trial before Caesar. This
is after he had been a prisoner for two years in Caesarea (see Acts 24:27)! Now
in Rome, as he writes, he reflects joy in the Lord, and hope about the future.
We’ve emphasized before that “hope” in the Bible is a confidant
expectation, based on trust in the Lord of History. It isn’t wishful thinking;
it is the joyful expectation of faith. You see how they go together?
Because our hope is sure, we can have joy that goes beyond our circumstances. We
may not see how God is working, but we trust Him.
There is value in looking back, so that we
can be reminded of how God showed His faithfulness in the past. In Deuteronomy,
as the nation is poised on the plains of Moab, and being readied to enter the
promised land, the new generation was reminded of what God did in the past –
forty years earlier when he led them out of Egypt, in preserving them in the
wilderness, and even in giving them preliminary victories on the east of the
Jordan. God had shown himself faithful. That is true as well in our
history as a church. We just had our 85th anniversary. A lot
happened in the world, and the city, and the lives of the people during those
decades! God has worked in this community through this church, as
His Gospel witness. And He has worked in your life and your family as well. God
is good! We learn from the past, we are encouraged by it, but we don’t live
there. Now we look ahead with joyful expectation. We have hope in the
future. At the heart of this paragraph Paul expresses his confidence, “He who has begun a good work in you will
complete it.”
Review the context:
Paul writes this letter as a prisoner, likely the setting that we see at the
end of Acts. Though a prisoner, he is
writing to a church that he knew well, encouraging them to rejoice in
the Lord, even if circumstances were difficult. Paul had a history with
this church. He had been beaten, jailed, and later asked to leave town by the
authorities (Acts 16). We see in this
letter his love for the people, his “shepherd’s heart.” He is writing to
encourage them, despite trials, to rejoice in the Lord. We’ll focus today
on 1:3-8, 3-7 being one long sentence!
NT
scholar Gordon Fee called Philippians a “letter of friendship,” and so Paul,
with the love of a shepherd, writes to his friends in Philippi, his dear
brothers and sisters in Christ, thanking them for their partnership in the
Gospel.
The
BIG Idea: Let God’s work in the past encourage us to
look ahead with joy and hope, as we grow in our love for others. We’ll consider
three perspectives,
1) Look back with joy: Rejoice in God’s faithfulness (3-5).
2) Look ahead with confidence: Rejoice in God’s plan (6).
3) Look around with
love: Rejoice in God’s family (7-8).
I. Looking back with joy: We can rejoice
in God’s faithfulness (3-5). We may not like current
events, but God is in control, and He will continue to be faithful.
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.
“Remember” is a key word in the
Bible. A key theme in the OT is that the Jews were repeatedly called on to remember
what God had done in the past, the Exodus being the paradigm example… He is the God who brought them out with a mighty
hand and an outstretched arm! They were to remember, and they were to teach
the truth to their children. In the NT, as Jesus was preparing to depart, the
disciples were given the Lord’s Supper, and told that the ordinance would serve
as a reminder of Him and His work: “Do this in memory of me…” Remembering
is important since God’s past work shows us his character and reveals his
attributes. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever! He has shown
His love toward us. God, “…spared not
his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also with him
freely give us all things?” Paul here is saying that as he looked back and
remembered what God had done in and through the Philippians, he was
thankful and prayed with joy. There
is joy in remembering God’s faithfulness!
Paul had a history with the Philippians, and
he could remember with joy. He could remember when he first arrived there and
met Lydia with the other women down by the river. God opened her understanding
and she believed what Paul said. He remembered delivering the demon possessed girl,
and then, after he had been arrested, sharing Christ with the jailer and then
with his family. They all believed and were baptized that very night! Something like 15 times in this short letter,
Paul uses the word “joy” or “rejoice.” And don’t forget that he is in chains as
he writes!
Yes, there were struggles: Paul and
Silas had been severely beaten before they were jailed in Philippi, and once
released the team was asked to leave the city after just a short time of effective
ministry. But the connection with the church, the unity in the family, the
fellowship in the ministry continued.
One motive in writing this letter was to thank the church for their partnership
in the gospel, including their financial support (4:18,19). They saw Paul
as a spiritual leader and viewed themselves, and Paul viewed them, as partners,
coworkers in Christ.
Paul could genuinely be thankful for their partnership,
“koinonia,” “sharing”, in the
ministry, “from the first day until now.” They were connected, they were
a team, a family, even when they were separated by long distances. We are a family, and like any family there
have been good times and times of struggle. In the church, we “…bear one
another’s burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ.” We’ve looked in the
past at some of the “one another” statements in the NT, encourage, love, build
up (or edify) one another… bear each other’s burdens. That’s what a family
does! I am thankful to see that manifested in our church. We watch out for
one another, care for one another. We read later in Phil 4:15-18 about
Paul’s experience of partnership with the Philippians…
15 And
you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I
left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and
receiving, except you only. 16
Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I
seek the fruit that increases to your credit.
18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well
supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant
offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
The
partnership between Paul and the Philippians was partly financial. They had
given generously to sustain Paul’s ministry and he was grateful.
God has been faithful in providing for
our needs, and strengthened us in times of testing. He is faithful. He has continued to encourage his people and
to provide for the ministries of this church and He has met the needs of our
missionaries. What has been your experience? I know only a part of
some of your stories, I hope that each of you can look back, and remember with
joy the time you first believed. I trust there are moments you can recall
when God answered prayers, and times when he worked in your life to teach you. He
is good, all the time. He established this church and has used it in this
community. And he has worked in your life as personally as well. Maybe you can
remember times when he answered prayers, and maybe there were times when He
didn’t answer when or how you wanted, but even through trials He was there,
growing your faith. *Let God’s work in the past encourage us to look ahead with
joy and hope and to grow in our love for others.
II. Looking ahead with confidence: We
can trust in God’s plan. Here we see the joy of our hope! (v.6). God has a plan — and it’s better than we
could imagine!
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.
He is faithful, he is trustworthy. Trust
is not always easy. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water they were
terrified (cf. Mt 14:22-33). Matthew tells us that when Jesus spoke, Peter
replied, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water” (14:28).
What happened next is an illustration of faith:
29 He
said, "Come." So, Peter got out of the boat and walked on the
water and came to Jesus.
We
know what happened next, he took his eyes off the Lord, saw the waves, got
afraid, and started to sink. But let’s focus for a minute on step one, getting
out of the boat! That took faith! Jesus said come, and He went. He trusted
Him, he took Him at His word. What
is God asking us to do? He still speaks. At different times and in different
ways God spoke in times past to the fathers through the prophets, in these last
days he has spoken in a Son. We have His Word written. Take Him at
His Word. We can trust Him, entrust ourselves to Him. Trust and obey.
“Being confident of this very thing…” Paul
could pray with confidence and joy as he looked back, rejoicing in God’s work. Yet
he didn’t live in the past. He had a hope for the future. For Paul, “hope” implies a confident
expectation that believed that just as surely as God had worked in the past, he
will bring this story to a glorious conclusion. He is good, and all that He
does is good, all the time. We can trust Him.
“…He
who began a good work in you will complete it…” People are not always
reliable. We start projects with good intentions, but… On the human level we need reminders (2 Cor
8:6, 11). My brother-in-law has a plaque
that says: “Just because a man said he would do something, it doesn’t mean you
have to remind him every six months!” God is trustworthy, he finishes what he
starts. He has a plan for creation, and by grace we are a part of the story.
It is not the work that God has done for
us that is emphasized, but rather the work he has begun in us. Our personal experience of salvation, by
grace through faith, is certainly implied, it is the beginning of a new life.
But by speaking of God’s work in us, the emphasis is on the
transforming, sanctifying work God is doing in our lives, from the
inside out. We’re not yet what we will be, but we are not what we once were. He
who began a good work in you will bring it to completion…
“…until the Day of Christ Jesus…” God has
appointed a Day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. Do we really
believe that? Do we live like it? All of history is moving toward a culmination.
The OT calls it “the Day of the Lord.”
Jesus will return and reward the faithful and judge and unrepentant. For
believers that is Good News! The world lives in denial, thinking their sin is
hidden. Not so. God has appointed a Day in which He will judge the
world in righteousness. And so, we are thankful for God’s gracious
intervention in our lives. For the work that He sovereignly initiated, not
because we somehow earned it or deserved it. We deserved wrath, but in His
mercy, we received grace. From the time you believed, God has been at work in
you! We’ll see an amazing statement in Phil 2:12,13…
Therefore, my beloved, as you have
always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God
who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
We’ll
talk about the details at a later date, but for now notice the connection
between human responsibility and divine sovereignty. Work out
your salvation with fear and trembling… Why? …for God is at work
in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure… It is not just what
Jesus did for us in the past, it is also what He continues to do in us now.
God has begun a good work in us! His work will continue until the Day of
the Lord Jesus Christ. *We should let God’s work in the past encourage us to
look ahead with joy and hope, as we grow in our love for others.
III. Looking around with love: Rejoice in God’s family (7-8). Hear Paul’s heart…
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.
“Just as it is right for me to think this of
you all…” Paul’s love for the Philippians is evident, he says, “I hold
you in my heart…” The language reflects the affection that Paul felt for
the believers at Philippi. God so loves us (cf. Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8).
“…you
are partakers with me of grace…” We are fellow recipients of Grace, the
unmerited favor of God. (We saw this
word in the opening verses). God has extended his grace toward us -- aren’t you
thankful that it is all of grace? I know
I am! If God has so loved us, we ought
to love one another. We are fellow
recipients of grace! We should be gracious to one another…
“…God is my witness, how greatly I long for
you all with the affection of Christ Jesus…” Paul loved Jesus, and his love
for God overflowed in his love for the church.
1 Jn 4:7, 8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and
everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not
know God for God is love.” Jesus told his disciples that love for one
another would be a hallmark of authentic faith: “By this men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another.” What does that look like?
We have Paul’s perspective in I Cor 13,
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant 5 or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth. 7
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things. 8 Love never fails…”
God’s
work in our lives should encourage us to look ahead with steadfast joy, a
confident hope, and sincere love for one another. It should encourage us to
look ahead with joy and anticipation and to grow in our love for one another!
What
is God saying to me in this passage? Look back with steadfast joy, rejoicing
in God’s faithfulness. Look ahead
with confident hope, have faith in His plan.
Look around with love, rejoice in God’s family! *The Big Idea: Let God’s work in the past
encourage us to look ahead with joy and hope, as we grow in love for one
another.
What would God have me to do in response
to this passage? Let’s apply the Word.
1) Look back: Are you assured that God
has begun a good work in you? Maybe you can think back to the time a
parent, or a Sunday School teacher, or a friend a friend in school, shared the
Gospel with you, and you believed. Think back to that time: when you realized,
“I’m clean, forgiven!” Maybe you are encouraged by the growth you see in
your own life… not perfection, but growth, the evidence of God’s work in you.
Or, maybe, you have had some ups and downs, and you hear the whispers of the
enemy, “How could God love you?” God hasn’t gone anywhere. Christ died
for sinners. Like a loving Father, he is there, waiting, calling, ready to
receive you back.
2) Look ahead: knowing that our hope
is sure this same Jesus will return, and that He promises to work
in us, growing our faith and our understanding, making us more like Him. On
that Day, we will be perfected, we will see Him and be like Him, sanctified
fully. Until then, we need to be patient with each other, don’t we? We are a work
in progress, a collection of imperfect people. We all need grace!
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