Philippians Lesson 1

Philippians Chapter 1:1-7
Chapters 1, 2, and 3 in Motyer

Background:

I remember attending a special set of bible studies that covered Philippians at the Malheur Butte Baptist Church in Ontario Oregon in the late 70s. I’m sure I learned more but the one thing that stuck with me for 30 years was that Philippians does not include correction in the sense that Galatians and certainly Corinthians does. The Philippians didn’t need correction (apparently) but they needed encouragement and a clear sense of the goal of their salvation as a church. There is a little correction for a couple of individual Christians but not for the church as a group.

As Motyer points out, Philippians is largely joyful with the only exception being the fairly sober comments that Paul makes about his mortality and imprisonment.

Philippi, was named after the father (Philip of Macedon) of Alexander the Great. Part of the reason it was made a “colony” (giving it special Rome in miniature status) was that it was the scene of the battle in which Octavian and Mark Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius.

Paul was having trouble figuring out what God’s will was. God was closing doors and not opening them. Finally he had the Macedonian call. It should be encouraging to us that even Paul struggled waiting on God and finding God’s call for his life.

Acts 16:12-15
From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

“Suddenly” God starts to move and Lydia is saved and baptized. She becomes the first member of the Philippian Church. Paul must have been excited since things were looking up and God was moving.

Acts 16:16-24
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

So things were looking up till Paul rebuked a disruptive girl and put her in her right mind. That got them arrested, stripped, beaten, and thrown in jail. And things were going so well. They followed God’s call. They were preaching the word to the Philippians and instead of God protecting them from all harm they end up in prison. I’d be pretty discouraged and probably question why I was there and what I had done wrong. By midnight I’m pretty sure I’d be sleeping. But when the Holy Spirit is moving people do things that they wouldn’t do otherwise.

Acts 16:25-40 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family. When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.

What a start to the Philippian Church. At first Paul can’t get anything accomplished but then God’s direction becomes clear, Lydia is saved and then God uses prison to save a jailor. God doesn’t use a formula. He requires that we pay attention to Him and exercise patience.

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

It is likely that this letter was written fairly late in Paul’s life during his imprisonment in Rome. At points it sounds as if Paul figures he doesn’t have much time left.

I think the way that the Philippian Church came to be makes Paul’s use of “servant” especially appropriate. At that point in his ministry he was certainly working to serve God and, as a servant may not fully understand what his master is up to, Paul seemed to just be along for the ride when he first ministered there. It is a good idea to remember that we are servants. If you start feeling large and in charge then you need to seek God pretty quickly. I pray you’ll repent before you need correction.

Here we find out what anyone who has been a deacon very long has already figured out. Deacons are not saints since they must be identified separately in the salutation along with the overseers (deacon chairmen). Well seriously, we are all saints who are Christians. It is important for us to note this point since the common utilization of the term differs from the scriptural use of the term. We sometimes use it with names like Augustine or Aquinas. Strictly speaking we should avoid this since we may forget that God considers us just as subject to the process of sanctification as Augustine and Aquinas. God sees the end from the beginning and calls that which is not yet as though it were already. You are “in Christ Jesus” can praise Him for His Grace and patience as He works in you to set you apart and make you holy.

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

As we have discussed before, Grace precedes peace. The Grace (undeserved blessing) of God puts us in right relationship to God and Jesus Christ so that we can have peace. Without Grace there is no peace. Without God’s purposeful Grace, you are set in opposition to God. With Grace you have peace, God is your Father, and Jesus is your Lord. Remember that if you call Jesus Lord then you shouldn’t be surprised when He acts as Lord of your life. The Holy Spirit will work in you to set you apart and create a desire to be like God.

Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul is thankful for partners in the gospel. Think of Lydia. She was the first convert and gave them a place to live and I’m sure the jailor continued to work with Paul.

Notice the basis of Paul’s confidence. It wasn’t Lydia and the Jailor’s faithfulness but it was God’s faithfulness that was the basis of Paul’s confidence. It was God who opened their hearts as Acts states clearly. I’d never have any peace in my life if I thought it was all me. Motyer says, “The human will blows hot and cold, is firm and unstable by fits and starts; it offers no security of tenure. But it is the will of God that is the ground of salvation.” God tells me that it is Him working in me. That is a tremendous source of peace in my life. Now it also means that I need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and it means that I’m subject to being disciplined by my Him. He is my Lord and it is my responsibility to follow Him and my being subject to His correction is all part of that. I’m eternally thankful (literally) for His work in my life.

Philippians 1:7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.

This is a personal letter. Paul is in prison missing his friends and yet so deeply thankful for the faithfulness and promises of God. He would love to be out defending and confirming the Gospel with the Philippians but in either case they share in God’s Grace. We have the assurance that God gives in Scripture but we also should be thankful for the assurance that the Holy Spirit places in our hearts. We stand on the rock of God’s revelation in scripture but we also rejoice when we feel God’s work in our hearts. As Scripture says, “Romans 8:15-16 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” The Spirit testifies in Holy Scripture and in the heart of a Christian.

Motyer says, “The great and true doctrine of Christian assurance is thus no friend to pride. The salvation we are assured of is wholly wrought by God for helpless, hopeless sinners.”
We are;

1. not complacent, for our assurance increases as we see evidence of spiritual progress,


2. not lazy, for part of the evidence is our commitment to the gospel, and


3. not independent of one another, for we need one another’s prayers to maintain and further our walk with God.

Motyer says, “Assurance, biblically understood, keeps the saints on their toes.