Bob Josey - The Letter to the Church at Philippi

The Letter to the Church at Philippi

SLIDES

Introduction

In the age in which we live, there is a lot of shallow, empty laughter, but certainly very little real joy. Since there not much real joy, some people have to medicate themselves to forget about their troubles and difficulties. Medicating oneself usually only lasts a short period of time, then reality returns. The more one medicates, the more it usually takes the next time to get the desired feeling or better yet, non-feeling. This reminds me of Deuteronomy 28:29. “…and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways;” They look for joy and peace not knowing they could receive both of them from the Holy Spirit. As part of this letter to the Philippians, Paul understood the need for joy, peace, and God’s divine enablement.

The noun joy is used 28 in the Pauline epistles and 9 times in Philippians. On the other hand, Paul uses the verb rejoice 33 times in the Pauline epistles and 9 times in Philippians. Joy and rejoice means internal cheerfulness, peace, and gladness in the midst of everyday life and problems. It is a state of being not just an emotion. In James 1:2 the apostle says that “believers should “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials…” Joy in the midst of trails. If there was ever an oxymoron, that one certainly qualifies. On another note, Paul uses the term gospel 11 times in the four chapters of Philippians to show the importance of it.

Is obtaining joy important to humans? Men have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:

§ Not in Unbelief — Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote, I wish I had never been born.”

§ Not in Pleasure — Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote, “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.

§ Not in Money — Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said, “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”

§ Not in Position and Fame — Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote, “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.

§ Not in Military Glory — Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”

§ Where then is real joy found? — the answer is simple in Christ alone.

The Bible Friend, Turning Point, May, 1993

The way to find real joy in Christ will become evident as we work through Philippians.

Philippians is the most personal epistle that Paul wrote to a church. We will see as we work through the letter that he loved and appreciated them. The most personal letters he wrote to an individual was to Timothy in 1^st and 2^nd Timothy.

There are basically four reasons for Paul writing this epistle:

1. To thank the Philippian church for their prayers and financial support.

2. To provide comfort in their distress.

3. To correct a practical matter with the two women in chapter 4.

4. To correct false doctrine that was being taught concerning the Mosiac Covenant.

Outline of Philippians

I. Salutation 1:1-2

II. Thanksgiving and Prayer 1:3-11

III. Christ - the Purpose of Life 1:12-30

IV. Christ - the Pattern of Life 2:1-30

V. Christ - the Prize of Life 3:1-4:1

VI. Christ - the Power of life 4:2-30

Please fill out the following chart:

I'm a Saint Yes No Sometimes I'm Not Sure

I'm a Servant Yes No Sometimes I'm Not Sure

No matter what your answers, this chapter is designed to help you discover whether you are right or wrong.

The Letter to the Church at Philippi

1. Salutation (1:1-2)

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:

1:1 The word salutation just means a greeting that occurs at the beginning of an epistle. The word epistle is a letter one person writes to another person. Paul’s salutation was very common in the Greek speaking world that included three parts: the writer, the addressee, and the greeting.

Even though Timothy was named in the salutation, did not mean that he was the co-author of the letter to the Philippian church. Timothy was probably not involved in writing the letter, but may have dictated the letter from Paul. In 1 Thess. 1:1 three names are mentioned - Paul and Silvanus and Timothy. We see throughout the letter that Paul uses the first person singular in the letter portion indication that he is the source of the words. Why add Timothy’s name? The Philippines would probably have had fond memories of the intern, Timothy, who accompanied Paul and Silas to Philippi. Have you ever been in a church who had a minister of music or pastoral intern that everyone loved and did not want him to leave when his training time had ended? Also, when I write and send thank you cards or letters to doners, usually includes Linda’s name even though she did not write it or even read it before it was mailed.

Paul in his salutation Paul called himself and Timothy bond servants of Christ Jesus. He also did this in the salutation in Romans and Galatians. The word Greek translated bond-servant can either be translated bond-servant or slave. The context is the determining factor. Paul and Timothy were certainly not slaves as we think of Southern slaves. In this context the word is used to describe the sole commitment of one person to another. Prior to faith in Christ, a person is a slave to sin and the person has no choice in the matter as Paul describes in Romans 6. Paul called himself and Timothy bond-servants who were committed and the gospel to Christ. He also called himself a bond-servant to those to whom he ministered as seen in 2 Corinthians 4:5.

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.

It interesting that in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, that the translators used the Greek word doulos to describe Moses and other dedicated Old Testament prophets in Ps. 105:26, Jer. 25:4, and Amos 3:7. In Rev. 15:3 John also used the word doulos to described Moses.

Now Paul turns to the part of the salutation that deals with the recipients of the letter, Philippian believers. He calls all of them saints who are in Christ Jesus. The word saint technically means holy one. Those who are separated from the world to Christ who bought them with His’ blood. These are believers who should be separated and dedicated to God’s service. Every believer in Jesus is a saint. God sets apart saints. There are not special saints that have to be approved by some leader or committee. As a matter of fact, all believers are special saints. J. Vernon McGee in his commentary on Philippians found in the commentary set Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, said that “the human family is divided into two groups: the saints and the ain’ts” (Vol 5, p 289)

Saint = a holy one

A holy one = a separated believer to God and away from sin

A little boy attended a church that had beautiful stained-glass windows. He was told that the windows contained pictures of Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke, Saint John, Saint Paul, and other saints. One day he was asked, “What is a saint?” He replied, “A saint is a person whom the light shines through.”

Paul used a prepositional phrase that he coined under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of course. That phrase “in Christ.” This phrase is one of the important phrased in the New Testament. All believers are not only saints but also “in Christ.” Being “in Christ.” is a special mystical relationship that believers have with Jesus. Believes who are “in Christ” make up the body of Christ that have Jesus as their head. In Romans 12:5, Paul says, “…so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

This special mystical relationship that believers have with Christ under the New Covenant that Paul uses the following:

In Christ 36 x

In Christ Jesus 50 x

In the Lord 43x

In Him 3x

In the Beloved 1x

In Jesus 1x

In the last part of verse one, Paul directs his attention to the overseers and deacons. We know what a deacon is, but what in the word is an overseer? Another question is why did Paul separate the overseers and deacons from the other believers who were part of the church at Philippi? Did he separate them to identify as different class of believers who were more important and a step above the other saints in Philippi? The answer is no! Basically, what he was saying was a shout out to those in the congregation who were the leaders whose ministry was to equip “the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;” as Paul outlined in Ephesians 4:12 and to serve the members of the church at Philippi.

Basically, there are three Greek words that are used to refer to the leaders of a church. One is poimain which refers to a shepherd or pastor. The term shepherd has been used for leading people long before the NT was written. Plato called the leaders of the city-sates shepherds who cared for their flock. In the Old Testament God is called the Shepherd of his flock and He called under-shepherds from among men just like He has today in the church. Just like today there are false shepherds, both Isaiah and Jeremiah called out the leaders of Israel who were false shepherds.

Another Greek term is Presbyterous that is usually translated elder. The third Greek word is episkopos which is translated either bishop or overseer. All three words are interchangeable. Each word just has a stress on the function of a leader. An elder refers to one who has experience and dignity. A bishop or overseer refers to one whose function is to oversee the church. An overseer manages and supervises.

The term deacon comes from the Greek word diakonos which means a servant. The deacons were raised up in Acts to help take the load off the pastors so they could do the work of the ministry more effectively.

Philippians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:2 In all of Paul’s thirteen epistles he extended grace and peace in his salutation. Sometimes he added the word mercy. Remember that Grace has two primary definitions. One is unmerited favor as in Ephesians 2:8-9 and the other is divine enablement. Since these believers have already received unmerited favor when they were saved, the definition of grace here means divine enablement. Paul wanted God to extend to the them the power and strength to live every aspect of the Christian life.

There are two kinds of peace. One can have peace with God and also have the peace of God.

Judicial Peace – This is peace with God that is based on the Christ’s sacrificial death. The war with God is over.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…”

Experiential peace – This is a personal peace a believer can experience daily because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. .

Phil 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The Philippian believers have already achieved peace with God when they trusted Christ as Savior. So now, they need the peace of God daily. Peace here basically includes the ideas of wholeness, well-being, prosperity, and security, all associated with God’s presence with His people. Remember that peace is not just a desire that Paul has for the Philippian believers but a reminder that peace is one of the gifts that God grants to believers. It is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

If you have trusted in Christ and Christ alone as you Savior, you have peace with God. You and God are no longer enemies. But do you have daily peace of God in your life? Some Japanese soldiers illustrate this very well. In WWII some Japanese soldiers hid for years in jungles, long after peace was established between the warring nations. Of course, the peace of God come from first the confession of our sin and then obedience to God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Then Paul adds the phrase “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” to stress to the Philippians believers where grace and peace come from. Of course, God’s grace or unmerited favor is what leads to forgiveness of sin to those who trust in Christ as Savor. Grace is also used in the context of daily divine enablement to live the Christian life. Both come only from God. Also, peace with God and the peace of God only come from God. Note that Paul says the Father is God. He said the same about Jesus in this verse. The term LORD here is the equivalent of Yahweh in the Old Testament. Yes, Jesus is Lord or master of His flock but here as in many other places in the New Testament, he is referring to Jesus’ deity. Paul is making it clear here that not only the Father in heaven is God but so is His’ son, Jesus the Messiah, who the Philippians trusted for the removal of their sins and now trust with the Father for daily peace and divine enablement.

Are you trusting the Father and His son, Yahweh Jesus, for divine enablement to daily live the Christian life and for the peace from them that surpasses all human comprehension? If you have moved in the wrong direction away from God, like the prodigal son, it’s never too late to return. Several times in Scripture Yahweh says to Israel. “Return to Me and I will return to you.” The offer still stands today for those who need to return.

SELAH!