A verse-by-verse explanation of the chapter.
An overview of the principles and applications from the chapter.
Tying the chapter to life with God.
Historical, geographical, and grammatical enrichment of the commentary.
Suggested step-by-step group study of the chapter.
Zeroing the chapter in on daily life.
“The only way to survive in prison is to abandon all expectations in this world and live for the next.”
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
LETTER PROFILE
CITY PROFILE—PHILIPPI
AUTHOR PROFILE—PAUL
In chapter 1, Paul tells the Philippian believers: Greetings, Philippians. Timothy and I thank you for your fellowship and pray that you may be filled with the fruits of righteousness. Don't be concerned about me. My imprisonment has actually helped further the gospel here, and I know that my afflictions will exalt the Lord. Even though you, too, suffer, I want to encourage you, in your conduct, to be worthy of the gospel of the Lord.
Have you ever watched a football game on television and seen players talking on the telephone? What are they doing? Talking to mom? Ordering a pizza? The quarterback throws an interception, goes off the field, picks up a phone, and starts talking to someone. Who in the world is he talking to? Of course, he's talking to someone in the press box, usually an assistant coach.
Why is he talking to a coach in the press box? Two words: vantage point. The coach in the press box is one hundred yards from the field. From there, way above the field, he can see the whole field at once. He can see the weaknesses in the opposition's defense. He can see what each player is doing on each play. So, after an interception, the coach calls the quarterback on the sideline and says, “Let me tell you why that cornerback intercepted your pass and what to do differently the next time. Next time, run with the ball rather than pass it.”
Now the quarterback may say, “That will never work in a million years.” How does the coach respond? He says, “Trust me. From up here I have a much better vantage point of the whole field than you can possibly have down there in the midst of play.”
In the press box of life, God looks down on our circumstances. God is trying to do for us exactly what the assistant coach is trying to do for that quarterback—give us the big picture.
The apostle Paul grasped the big picture very well. As he wrote Philippians 1, he was about to be tackled for a twenty-yard loss. Under Roman house arrest, chained to a big burly Roman guard, he was waiting trial on a capital offense before none other than the mad man himself—Nero. Yet we find Paul rejoicing. How can he be doing that? How can be full of joy in the midst of adversity? The answer? Vantage point! Like a master quarterback, he's on the phone to God in the press box. He sees his circumstances from God's perspective. Therefore, he has a clear understanding of what is going on on the field and why these things are happening to him.
Getting God's big picture, vantage point, on your problems and adversities can help give you a sense of joy and peace. Philippians 1 will challenge you to rejoice in the midst of adversity by seeing God's perspective. Then like Paul you can rejoice in troubling circumstances.
Our Joy in Troubled Times
MAIN IDEA: God can use our afflictions to further the gospel and exalt the Lord, so we should live exemplary lives in the face of our own afflictions.
Greeting (vv. 1–2)SUPPORTING IDEA: God brings grace and peace to his church.
1:1. The opening has the names Paul and Timothy, yet only Paul was the author of Philippians. Beginning in verse 3, he begins employing the singular I which he consistently uses throughout the rest of the book. Both these men were servants of Christ Jesus. The term servant emphasizes their submission to God's agenda on earth.
The letter is addressed to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi. A saint is not someone who has died but one “set apart for the purposes of God.” Every person who possesses Christ—or more accurately is possessed by Christ—is a saint. Paul is writing this letter to Christian believers, followers of Jesus Christ. Therefore, in Christ means these individuals have accepted him as their personal Savior.
Paul makes special mention of the overseers and deacons. Overseers is another term for elders; some translations say “pastor” or “bishop.” These men were the shepherds of the flock who exercised spiritual oversight over the local church (Acts 20:28). Deacons were church leaders that ministered primarily to the physical needs of the people similar to the activities in Acts 6:1–6.
1:2. Grace and peace is a standard greeting of the time among Christians that appears in most of his correspondence. It would be like saying, “I hope this letter finds you being blessed by the Lord.” Grace and peace are possible only from our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Joy in Prayer (vv. 3–11)SUPPORTING IDEA: Fellowship and love should continue to abound among Christians as they are filled with the fruits of righteousness.
1. Praise for Their Partnership (vv. 3–8)
1:3. Paul had developed a particular fondness for the Philippians as he first preached among them about ten years earlier. The Philippian believers had supported his ministry with monetary gifts and prayer. Someone has said to be “thankful” is to be “thinkful.” The apostle expressed his gratitude to God every time I remember you.
1:4. Friends may tell you that they have been thinking of you. Usually their thoughts are positive, and your heart is warmed. An even greater encouragement comes when someone reveals to you that they have been praying for you. The Philippians' labor in the cause of Christ with Paul had given him much joy. Bill Lawrence, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, once said, “Happiness is based on happenings, but joy comes from relationships.” No doubt the apostle Paul would agree.
1:5. Partnership in the gospel caused Paul's joy. The Philippian Christians had supported his efforts since they had trusted Christ as their Savior during Paul's evangelistic efforts among them from his second missionary journey until the present.
1:6. The apostle is confident of what God has already done and knows that the God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. When God starts a work in our lives, beginning with our salvation, he will finish it. As believers, we are to grow in the Christian life becoming more like Christ each day. This is called sanctification. Spiritual growth should continue in committed believers until the day of Christ Jesus, that is until Christ returns again to the earth as the angels predicted (Acts 1:11).
1:7. Paul makes no apology for his fond affection for the Philippians in being partners in the gospel of Christ. His love for them is not lessened by painful earthly circumstances, nor is their support for him lessened because of his difficulties. They sent Epaphroditus with financial support even to his jail.
1:8. God, himself, is Paul's witness for what Paul has expressed. Paul loved them with the same unconditional love Jesus exhibited during his earthly ministry, setting the pattern for relationships among all Christians.
2. Prayer for Their Righteousness (vv. 9–11)
1:9. Having expressed his love for the Philippians, Paul shares his prayer for their pursuit of Christian growth. Having described their love (v. 7), he prays for it to abound. Love is a primary characteristic of Christlikeness. Yet love is more than mere emotion. Love can increase in knowledge and depth of insight. Knowledge is spiritual wisdom found in Scripture. Insight is application of this spiritual wisdom to practical living. Christian love must be rooted in wisdom from God's Word if we are to love both God and man in greater ways.
1:10. Next Paul prays for discernment of what is best, which is a result of growth in godly knowledge and insight. Discernment here is the ability to discriminate, to examine or test things that differ. As we mature as Christians, our abilities to make choices should improve. We are to base our decisions on Scripture so that the best way is selected. The best way is both moral and ethical before God.
When this pattern is observed, our lives are pure and blameless. These words do not mean perfection or sinlessness. They refer to our motives. Paul prays that these Christians would develop a genuine lifestyle, without hypocrisy, before God and men. As in 1:7, the day of Christ refers to the time when Christ will come for all true believers, his church. Since we do not know when this event might occur, an incentive for living a pure and blameless lifestyle is to be unashamed before Christ should he choose to come at a time when we least expect him. We are to be ready at all times to face him.
1:11. The fruit of righteousness is Christian character or moral qualities that glorify God. Paul described these inner characteristics in Galatians 5:22–23 as the fruit of the Spirit. Our righteousness comes through our faith in Christ. As he transforms our lives, we become more like him. A relationship with Christ is necessary to achieve fruit in the Christian life. Therefore, since God is at work in us, the glory and praise belong not to us but to God.
Joy in Adversity (vv. 12–30)SUPPORTING IDEA: Afflictions can actually help further the gospel. Given the gift of suffering for Jesus, you should make sure your lifestyle is worthy of the gospel.
1. Adversity Advances the Gospel (vv. 12–18)
1:12. Paul points to his own persecution and his present imprisonment in Rome. Instead of hampering the gospel, these have advanced it. Paul appears to be reassuring the Philippians that even though his movements are restricted, mere human constraints cannot thwart the gospel.
1:13. Paul's imprisonment was not due to committing any crime. He was in chains for Christ. The whole palace guard along with the common people on the street understood that he was in prison due to his commitment to the cause of Christ.
1:14. With Paul not having the freedom to minister where he pleased, other believers had taken the baton or come up to the plate to speak the word of God in Paul's stead. Conventional or worldly wisdom would think the threat of jail would make Christians fearful of proclaiming their faith. Yet the opposite was true. God saw fit to use what looked to be a setback to gain new converts.
1:15. Paul's difficulties spawned missionary zeal based on two types of motives: selfishness and goodwill. Seizing the opportunity of the moment, some envied the success God had given Paul, while others wanted to be a part of what God was doing through Paul. Both gave people the good news of Christ's gospel.
1:16. Motivated by Paul's example, those who preach with right motives do so in love. Such love flows out to Paul, to unbelievers needing the gospel, and to God. Such love realizes that Paul was suffering, not for some wrong he had done, but because he preached Christ (see vv. 12–13).
1:17. Those with wrong motives seek to exalt themselves. They do not promote the gospel in sincerity. Rather they seek to further their own selfish ambitions and to stir up trouble for Paul. They hoped Paul would think they had taken over his place and so would be disheartened.
1:18. Some Christians wanted to harm the messenger, Paul. Yet he was not concerned for himself. He focused strictly on the message. Even though the gospel was being proclaimed with mixed motives, the message, nevertheless, was Christ. Even wrong motives could result in actions that let people come to know Jesus. So Paul emphasized the results, not the reasons, and rejoiced.
2. Adversity Exalts Christ (vv. 19–26)
1:19. Paul was detained; but the gospel was still going forth, so Paul remained encouraged. He had faith something good would happen to him. Why? Because the Philippians prayed and the Spirit of Jesus Christ remained at work. So Paul looked expectantly to the day he would leave prison but at the same time comprehended that he could be executed.
1:20. Whether he regained his freedom to minister outside of prison or went to be with the Lord in heaven, he did not want to be ashamed of his testimony for Christ. Whatever took place, he desired for Christ to be exalted in his body. What was required to avoid shame and ensure exaltation of Christ? Courage! The internal strength to live for Christ or die for Christ, whichever was required. Only such courageous living exalts Christ.
1:21. Many people believe this verse is the most important of the entire book. It demonstrates that Christ is the source of meaning for Paul. He announced: to live is Christ. In death the adversities of this life would be over, and he would be with Christ in heaven. Therefore, to die is gain.
1:22–24. Paul conveys the dilemma of his situation. The apostle was so committed to the cause of Christ that staying on earth had its advantages but so did departing and going to heaven. To live means fruitful labor. He could remain ministering and spreading the gospel. To die means eternity with Christ. Given a choice in the matter, Paul did not know his decision.
Being with Christ appeals to him. It would certainly be an improvement in his present circumstances. Yet he places the needs of his readers ahead of his desire. Staying lets them benefit from his ministry.
1:25–26. Paul knew Christ's mind, a mind that put the needs of others above personal desires, so Paul knew he would remain on earth to minister to the churches. Paul considered the welfare of fellow Christians more important than his desire to go to heaven. By enduring on earth, he could assist their spiritual growth and joy in the Christian faith. This joy is not from circumstances but from a relationship in Christ Jesus, the source of true joy for believers.
3. Adversity Encourages Believers (vv. 27–30)
1:27–28. God was in control of the situation. Paul could be released from prison or killed by the Romans. Just as he wanted to maintain his testimony for Christ, he longed for the Philippians to remain faithful, too. They would show faithfulness by living a life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Such a life would not just be legalistic, obeying moral laws. It would show forth the spirit and love of Christ in every human relationship. Paul had faced opposition to his efforts for the cause of Christ without fear. He exhorted the Philippians to do the same even as they faced opposition. They could do so but only if they did so together. The world must see a united front defending and proclaiming the gospel. No longer would divided motives of love and selfishness do. The church must face the world in one spirit. A fearless, unified church will astound the world. They will see the truth of the gospel. Opposing the gospel, the world faces God's destruction. Proclaiming the gospel, the church waits for God's salvation.
1:29–30. Adversity is a part of the Christian life and should come as no surprise. Those that follow Christ should expect opposition. Believers have two privileges: to believe on him and to suffer for him. Both are an integral part of Christian living. The apostle had faced opposition on many occasions throughout his ministry. The Philippians had to face the same struggle and wanted to know how Paul had coped with these difficulties. He encouraged them to face their adversity in the way that he had, in Christ with joy.
MAIN IDEA REVIEW: God can use our afflictions to further the gospel and exalt the Lord, so we should live exemplary lives in the face of our own afflictions.
The feature occupant of the press box of life is not an assistant coach but God himself. God is trying to do for you exactly what that assistant coach is trying to do for that quarterback—give you the big picture. That is the challenge of the Christian life. Our problem as believers is really not our circumstances. Our problem is our perspective on our circumstances. The vantage point from which we view our situations determines whether we have joy or despondency. To have joy, we must find a way in our minds and hearts to step off the field and get a press box view of the entire field in the game of life. Then we will understand that God is bigger than our circumstances. God's perspective will give us great joy even in the midst of problems and adversity.
This joy has one important appendage. To have joy in the midst of adversity, we must be in close contact with God in heaven. Paul summarizes this intimate relationship in verse 21: For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. What does he mean? He means that Christ is his entire life. His whole life was wrapped up in knowing Christ and promoting Christ.
Only by being on the phone to God, who is in the press box, can we have joy. This final perspective—that is not dependent on outward circumstances—brings great joy. Someone has said, “Joy is the flag over the castle of the heart announcing that the king is in residence.” When “Christ is your life” and on the throne of your heart, then you can know a steadfast, abiding joy. The challenge for each of us today is to get ourselves to the place where we can say, “For me to live is Christ.”
PRINCIPLES
APPLICATIONS
A cemetery in Indiana has a tombstone which is more than one hundred years old. The epitaph reads:
Pause, Stranger, when you pass me by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be,
So prepare for death and follow me.
To which someone added:
To follow you I'm not content,
Until I know which way you went.
Death is life's only certainty, a certainty which most people don't like! Most people feel about death like Woody Allen, who said, “It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens.” It is so ultimate. It is so final. It is so utterly inescapable.
Someone has said:
When we look at death, we are like a hen before a cobra. We find ourselves incapable of doing anything at all in the presence of the very thing that seems to call for the most drastic and decisive action. The disquieting thought, that stares at us like a face with a freezing grin, is that there is, in fact, nothing we can do. Say what we will, dance how we will, we will soon enough be a heap of ruined feathers and bones, indistinguishable from the rest of the ruins that lie about. It will not appear to matter in the slightest whether we met the enemy with equanimity, shrieks, or a trumped-up gaiety, there we will be (Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, ed. Michael Green, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984, 90).
Yes, most people view death with fear. It looms as a huge shadow over all of life. Not so for the Christian. One of the great blessings for us who have accepted Christ as our Savior is that we don't have to fear death. Like Paul, we can say, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” This confidant assurance that God has a place for us in heaven brings great joy.
If you know Christ as your personal Savior, then you don't have to fear death. You can see it as a home-going, a graduation, a passage. Death is a door through which we pass from this life to the next. At the point of physical death, our physical body may die, but in God's mysterious providence we are with the Lord.
Loraine Boettner, in his book Immortality, wrote:
I am standing on a sea shore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean blue. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to meet each other. Then someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.” Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load of living weights to its place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her, and just at the moment, when someone says, “There she is gone,” on that distant shore there are other eyes watching for her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes,” and such is dying (Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, 92).
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you are in the press box, seeing and understanding all my predicaments. Share with me your perspective on my problems. Where you are not able to reveal to me your purposes, give me the grace to trust you fully. By your Spirit, enable me to keep Christ on the throne of my life and maintain him as my chief pursuit. In him, I pray. Amen.
A. Servants (v. 1)
Doulos (servant) literally means “slave.” Paul described our relationship to God as common slaves. Timothy and Paul considered themselves completely at God's disposal, in body and soul, ready and willing to serve him in any capacity. They subjugated their own wills to God's agenda on earth.
During the Roman Empire, Rome's aggressive armies defeated many nations. Sometimes conquered people were forced to serve their captors. Looked upon as property like land, animals, or other goods, slaves were traded—bought and sold. If a slave's master was harsh, the slave had a miserable existence. A slave fortunate enough to have a benevolent owner was often treated almost like a son.
Realizing they had been bought with a price, the death of Christ in their behalf, Paul and Timothy voluntarily became servants of God. They regarded service as slaves to God as a great honor. Giving him their complete obedience and devotion, these men were willing to go anywhere and do anything, including dying, that would further God's kingdom on earth.
Believers today have been bought from the slave market of sin with the same price as these men, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a demonstration of our gratitude to Christ, we should consider ourselves to be his servants. We should give him our total allegiance and devotion by being willing to seek his kingdom and place his will before our own.
Jesus vividly demonstrated what occurs when we fully surrender ourselves to God's agenda:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33).
“Then he [Jesus] called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it'” (Mark 8:34–35).
Our first priority as disciples of Christ is to seek, find, and follow the revealed will of God found in the Bible. When this happens, we do not need to worry about how our physical needs in this life will be met. God will take care of us. When we seek his kingdom and trust him to meet our needs, true joy and fulfillment come from this obedient relationship with God.
Our lives and personal agendas must be surrendered to God's plan and program. In the Bible the cross was an instrument of execution. We are to be willing to die for Christ, if necessary, as we obey his will for us.
B. Saints (v. 1)
A saint is not a super Christian but a normal Christian. Hagioi literally means “holy ones.” To be a saint means to be “set apart,” “holy,” or “sanctified.” A saint is separated, consecrated, and devoted to God's service by the Holy Spirit. This act takes place the moment one trusts in Christ as personal Savior. First Corinthians 1:2 clearly relates this concept: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours” (emphasis added).
All true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are saints. As instruments of God, we are “holy ones” in contrast to the sinful, anti-God culture of this world. God “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Col. 1:13). We are no longer under the power and authority of the evil one, Satan, but under God's Son, Jesus Christ. As his saints we are called out to serve him rather than pursue sin. As we love him more than we love sin, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we become more sanctified. Sanctification is an ongoing process as we sin less and produce more good works or fruit. Paul speaks of this process in 1 Thessalonians 5:23: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul emphasized that the whole person is involved in the sanctification process.
C. Overseers and Deacons (v. 1)
The two primary officials in the early church were overseers and deacons. Overseer comes from the Greek episkopos meaning “superintendent,” “guardian,” or “bishop.” Overseers in the Greek culture were presiding officials in a civic or religious organization. Their counterpart from Jewish culture was an elder. The terms overseer and elder are used interchangeably in the New Testament. In Titus 1:5–9, the same individuals are referred to as elders and overseers. “Elder” possibly indicates qualification (maturity and experience), while “overseer” possibly indicates responsibility (watching over God's flock).
The apostle Paul appointed elders on his first missionary journey (Acts 14:23). He instructed them to “keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). To shepherd is to “pastor” the flock, the local congregation. These men are to guide the people in the truth of God's Word and guard them from doctrinal error (Titus 1:9–16). These responsibilities were entailed in overseeing the spiritual welfare of the local church. This great charge demanded that men who served in this capacity possess high personal and moral character. Paul gave instruction on the qualifications of these leadership positions in 1 Timothy 3:1–8 and Titus 1:5–9.
Women were not found to be holding the offices of overseer, pastor, or elder in the New Testament. Elders were the teachers in the church. Prior to stating the qualifications for elders/overseers and deacons in 1 Timothy 3, the apostle revealed in 1 Timothy 2:11–13: “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.”
Some maintain that Paul's prohibition was cultural for the first century as women were less educated than men. If that was the case, why did he mention the reason for his position was the order of creation with Adam, the man, being created first? It is a strong conclusion from his words that Paul did now allow a woman to be an official teacher in the assembled church. Teaching and exercising authority over other believers were primary responsibilities of elders. Since the apostle prohibits women functioning in this capacity, they are not to exercise authority over men in the local church. Women are not inferior to men; but, based on the order of creation, certain responsibilities in the church are given to men. In many churches two-thirds of the congregation are women and children. Women have scriptural freedom to have any ministry they are gifted for as long as it does not constitute having spiritual authority over men. Obviously, then, they can instruct other women (Titus 2:3–5) and teach children. Timothy, himself, was immensely influenced by the Christian faith of his grandmother and mother (2 Tim. 1:5). It seems that, scripturally, they can provide leadership in various areas as long as that leadership does not violate the principle of spiritual authority over men.
Priscilla, the wife of Aquilla, apparently had a significant role in educating Apollos, who became mighty in the Scripture. However, she apparently was able to have this ministry in connection with her husband and did not violate the principle of spiritual authority (Acts 18:26).
Even though a woman may have the scriptural freedom to conduct a certain ministry, if it is viewed culturally as a usurpation of spiritual authority, she might need to defer to the prevailing culture in order to maintain harmony in the body (Rom. 14:13,19). For example, helping to take up a collection does not seem to violate the command for women not to exercise spiritual authority over men, but in many churches this activity would not be accepted. Therefore, in order to help maintain peace in the body, the deferential thing to do might be for the woman to forego a biblical freedom for the sake of her brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Greek diakonos means “one who serves.” A deacon was another official office in the New Testament church. The need for this position arose as the number of converts to Christ grew. The apostles were incapable of meeting all the needs of the members of the early church. Acts 6:1–6 revealed how this significant office began. Seven men were appointed by the twelve apostles to free them up from serving tables of the church's widows so they could devote all their efforts to prayer and the ministry of the Scriptures. These men were not chosen at random. They were godly men with evidence that the Holy Spirit was at work in their lives. As the church matured, more formal qualifications were given for this office (1 Tim. 3:8–12). Elders and deacons must hold many of the same qualifications. A noteworthy exception for deacons is that they are not required to teach.
The obligations of deacons involved practical service, ministering to the physical needs of the church. Even today, deacons serve with the pastors or elders. They minister to the physical needs of the congregation and their communities. The valuable ministries of deacons free the pastors and elders to give their full attention to the congregation's spiritual needs (Acts 6:2,4).
Were there female deacons or deaconesses in the early church? Disagreement exists among scholars and Bible teachers concerning 1 Timothy 3:11: “In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.”
The Greek gunaikas in this verse means “women.” It could refer to deacon's wives or female deacons (deaconesses). The context might lend weight to their being deacon's wives, since 1 Timothy 3:12–13 returns to the word deacon and states that he must have only one wife and manage his family well. He does not say that deaconesses must have only one husband.
Advocates of deaconesses employ Romans 16:1 in their argument. The apostle Paul in the last chapter of Romans says: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church of Cenchrea.” The Greek word translated “servant” is diakonos. Phoebe was active in Christian ministry at Cenchrea. She may have delivered Paul's letter to the Romans. Since every Christian was to be a servant of Christ in the church, Phoebe had been able to render particular service to Paul and many others. If deaconess were an official leadership position in the early church, its function is not clear. Some Bible students think they performed the same duties as male deacons. Others think they ministered only to women. Still others do not think women served officially as deacons at all.
Partnership translates the Greek koinonia. Koinonia means “association,” “fellowship,” or “close relationship.” You have a partnership or fellowship with those with whom you have commonality. We speak of fellowship over coffee or a meal. Close Christian fellowship includes participating in spreading the good news to unbelievers about Christ.
The Philippians supported Paul's work through prayer and finances. Their common partnership was in the advancement of the gospel of Christ. These Philippian believers were longtime participants in the apostle's ministry as they had aided him from the first day when Lydia, the purple-cloth merchant (Acts 16:14), responded to the gospel. She opened her home for Paul and his early converts to meet (Acts 16:15,40). These Christian friends continued to support his ministry even while Paul was in a Roman prison.
Today, we join the efforts of missionaries and various ministries by supporting them with prayer, finances, and sometimes donating our time to labor alongside them. Christian ministry is not meant for Lone Rangers, but as a team we labor together in the Lord's harvest.
E. Day of Christ Jesus (v. 6) and day of Christ (v. 10)
Paul believed that God would produce good works in the Philippians until “the day of Christ Jesus.” This future event is believed by many to be the rapture. Others believe it will be at his Second Coming. God's angels predicted that Jesus would return in Acts 1:11: “‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’”
Paul elaborated on this future event in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Since this happening could take place at any time, we should be diligent to live a life that Christ would be proud of at his return. We are to be good stewards of the time and abilities that he has entrusted us to produce good works. No more pleasing words could be heard by faithful believers from our Master than: “‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’” (Matt. 25:21).
A. INTRODUCTION
B. COMMENTARY
C. CONCLUSION: THE PASSAGE OF DEATH