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Philippians 1:1-11 (ESV)
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
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. 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. 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. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Is there a place that you really love? It might be a place that you visited before and would just jump at the chance to go back. Or perhaps it’s a special retreat, say a cabin in the mountains or a place on the beach. You love being there and go there whenever you have the opportunity.
What about friends or a group of people? These are folks that you take great delight in so much so that you long to be with them. These are the people who, when they call, you answer even if you're busy, or if they need help, you won’t hesitate to drop what you’re doing and go to them. These are the people who bring a smile to your face when you think of them, and they are constantly on your mind.
That longing and love is what Paul feels for the Philippian church.
The church at Philippi held a special place in Paul’s heart. It was the first church that Paul founded in Europe (Acts 16), and the first person to come to faith there was Lydia, a seller of purple goods, who became a prominent figure in that early church.
The church equally had a great love for Paul, which is reflected in their care for Paul while he was in prison. In that cultural context, when someone was in prison, the state usually didn’t provide much for a prisoner’s needs, and this included food. Prisoners had to rely upon friends to care for their needs. At the end of this letter, Paul thanks the Philippians for their unsolicited gift of providing for his needs while he is in prison. The fact that the Philippians sent Paul a financial gift speaks volumes about how much they love Paul.
That love and mutual concern are also reflected in the language of these first verses. It’s important to notice that Paul calls the Philippians his “partners” and “partakers” in the work of sharing the Gospel. Paul doesn’t just enjoy great fellowship with the Philippians and reflects upon them with fond memories. They are co-workers with Paul, and together, they share the Gospel. There is a deep relational connection between Paul and the Philippian believers that goes beyond a mere fondness for each other.
We see this deep relationship reflected in Paul’s prayer for the Philippians. There are three key points in the prayer. 1- that their love would abound to the point of overflowing, with knowledge and all discernment, meaning that they have deep knowledge and relationship with the Lord. Literally, they know the Lord—they don’t just know about Him; they know the Lord on a personal level as His sons and daughters. 2- that this knowledge and relationship with the Lord would give them wisdom and discernment as they seek to navigate the difficult waters of cultural morality (verse 10). Just like us, they had their struggles with moral issues that were challenging, and Paul wants them to be pure and blameless whenever they encounter some of those “grey” areas. 3- that they may be “filled with the fruit of righteousness.” This filling is to the point of overflowing and the righteousness that Paul is praying for, in keeping with this prayer, is about right living; that the believer’s behavior and actions and attitudes would reflect their heart for the Lord in response to the forgiveness that they have received—all of which is done through Jesus and for the glory of the Lord.
However, the thing that I love most in this passage is in verse six when Paul speaks with amazing confidence and states that God, who has begun this great work in them (and in us as well), will bring it to completion.
Sometimes, there are times of struggle in our journey of faith where we feel like things have ground to a halt (often called a dark night of the soul). Or perhaps we’ve even had a failure and we’re wondering how we can ever get back on track in our faith and in our relationship with the Lord.
You might feel spiritually empty, drained, defeated, and even lost. You might possibly hear the whisper of the lie that you’ve gone too far and that your failure is just too much to overcome for the Lord to welcome you back into the family of faith.
Don’t you believe it!
Jesus didn’t just pay for part of your sin when died on the cross, He paid for it all (2 Cor. 5.21, 8.9)!
So know this and let it sink deeply in your heart whenever you pray, read the Bible, or come to worship, or if you should ever wonder if you’ve wandered too far from the Lord.
The fact that you are doing those things is the Lord’s voice speaking to you, reminding you that He has begun a good work in you, and He will see it through to completion.
God bless you, and know that you are prayed for constantly.
Scott
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