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Philippians 1:12-18a (ESV)
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
If you had to narrow it down to just three things, what would you say are the three most important things in life? Actions flow from what we love and value, which means that we will use our time and resources to pursue what we hold as the most important thing in our lives.
That’s the point Paul is making in this strange passage because in it we hear about joy in the midst of Paul’s struggles. Remember that Paul is in prison, and he is under guard 24/7 at this point. Paul is being guarded by the Roman Emperor’s elite personal guard called the praetorium. In Roman terms, these guys are the best of the best. They are the military branch of what we might call the Secret Service. Their directive is to protect the Emperor and anything that threatened the Emperor’s interests, which now includes this one Jew named Paul who is spreading the message that there is a King, Jesus, who is greater than Caesar.
It would be normal for a person to see their imprisonment as a massive setback, but not Paul. Paul sees it as an amazing opportunity to share the Gospel because these guards can’t leave; they must watch him and stay by him always—talk about your captive audience! However, Paul didn’t limit sharing the Gospel with just the guards but also with those who interacted with the guards, which included those in the imperial household. Paul’s imprisonment gave him a unique opportunity to share the Gospel with the people who were in the highest positions of power and influence in the Roman Empire, and Paul, despite his suffering, can see God at work as the Gospel is proclaimed, and in this, he finds joy.
What’s also interesting to learn from this passage is that Paul’s suffering isn’t limited to just his imprisonment. Paul makes it clear that there are those who are taking advantage of his situation and trying to make his suffering worse. Paul never explains who these rivals are, whether they are pagans gossiping and spreading the news about this Paul guy and his message of a greater King than Caesar, or if they are actually Christians who are jealous of Paul and are taking the opportunity to draw people to themselves while Paul is in prison. For Paul, the identity of the rivals doesn’t matter, what matters is that the Gospel is being proclaimed even by these rivals who intend to harm Paul but in doing so they are bringing Paul joy as the Gospel is proclaimed.
There is one more reason for Paul’s joy in this passage, but this time, the joy comes from a good source: those who know Paul and love him. These are Christians who have been emboldened in their faith by Paul’s example and have begun to share the Gospel with others, and so Paul also finds joy.
The most important reason Paul is now in prison is Jesus and proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
When I read this passage, I was reminded of the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is conditional, it is dependent on something outside of us to make us happy. Joy is totally different. Joy is present in happy circumstances, but joy is not dependent upon our circumstances. Joy is a condition; it is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5.22-26), a character trait that grows and matures in us. As joy increases in our character, we live out joy regardless of our circumstances and we see that reflected in the passage. Paul still has joy even though his circumstances are terrible.
So where does that joy come from? Joy grows and matures as we pursue knowing, loving, and following Jesus, and that joy is yours in Christ as we walk in step with the Spirit. We have that condition of joy as we grow and mature in our faith and have our lives centered on Jesus, listening to His voice and following where He leads us regardless of our circumstances.
That joy is yours and it never leaves you.
This continues the thought from the previous passage that God, who has begun a good work in you, will see it through to completion and that truth is a source of joy for you and me.
There are many times when our circumstances will tempt us to be discouraged and perhaps even to give up. But what we need to look for in those difficult times is how the Lord is working and moving because He is! His promises and His presence is with us always, even in the middle of the most difficult and painful stuff of life, the Lord is with us always (Matt 28.20), and He will use even the painful things to bring about His good and draw us ever closer to Him.
I’m reminded of an old song based on Psalm 30. I want to share these two verses with you this morning as a reminder of our joy in the Lord.
Ps 30:4-5 (ESV)
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
God bless you and know that you are prayed for this day.
Scott
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