This was the first of a series of 5 sermons on Philippians.

Philippians 1:1-11

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. The term used here and translated as servant literally means slave. The Greek word translates as bondservant. Paul wants us to know that he is a slave to Christ, just as he was a slave to sin before the road to Damascus. There are several ways for a person to become free from slavery. He could earn his freedom, he could save up money and buy his freedom, or someone could give him his freedom by being willing to pay the price, to redeem him. The cost of our redemption was so great that we could not earn it through our efforts, nor could we pay the price required to save us from our slavery. What is the price, the wage, as it were, of our sin? Death. A perfect sacrifice, and only a perfect sacrifice can save us from the sin that we do every day. We can not pay that price. As an unclean sin-filled person, we cannot be a perfect sacrifice. So, it was left for someone to pay the price to free us from our slavery. That price was paid through the perfect sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. We are now Jesus’, we belong to him.

To all the saints… Who are the saints? In this context they are the people who make up the church in Philippi. The congregation, along with the elders and deacons. Notice that he separates the elders and the deacons when he designates them all as saints. I am guessing at this point, but I believe that is to make sure that the elders and deacons know that everybody is a saint, not just those elevated to an office. Saints are the believers of Christ Jesus, the ones that Christ has set apart. That is what the word saint means… to be set apart. What are we set apart from? The ravages of sin and the wrath of God. How? By the works of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. We are set apart from the world, also. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. We are not saints in and of ourselves, this also is a work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is his work on the cross that justifies us and sets us apart from the rest of the world. It is again that perfect sacrifice that sets us apart, not any work on our part.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the order of the blessings. Grace before peace. Have you ever known anybody who had real peace without the grace of God? It is God’s grace that gives us peace. In chapter 4, this peace is described as a peace that surpasses all understanding. How many of you have felt this kind of peace? Was it when you were saved? Was it at a time where you were under great strain and stress, and yet you knew that God was there with you and you had peace? I have. This kind of peace can only come from God, and only one of God’s own will ever know it.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you… Paul is sitting in a prison when he writes this. Prison then is not like a prison now. There was no exercise yard, but there might have been hard labor. They didn’t have color TVs with cable channels for entertainment, or three square meals a day, or showers, clean clothes, heat, or any of the things we now provide for those who have broken the law. Prison back then was dark, cold, smelly, unsanitary, with moldy bread and filthy water. You really have to wonder how anybody could thank God under those conditions. Yet Paul not only thanks God in this letter, but uses the words joy and rejoice 19 times in these 4 chapters. His letter to the Philippians is full of joy. He thanks God in all his remembrances of the people of Philippi. He lifts up prayers to God, not for his own hardships and suffering, but in joy because of the partnership that he has with them in the gospel. He is not just remembering the “Good Old Days” but is rejoicing in their efforts to continue to grow in the gospel. They are in a partnership in the gospel from the first day that Paul showed up in their town and Paul continually prays for them and their growth. Do you have such a relationship with your fellow congregates in your church that you constantly pray to God with rejoicing for their growth? Do you even see any growth? Are you aware there are other people around you? Our prayers should be filled with rejoicing for each other. We should be aware of what is happening in each other’s lives and pray to God for their benefit. When was the last time you, during a conversation, stopped and said “Let’s pray to God for this news?” We should also be willing to share our lives with others so that they know how to pray on our behalf. When was the last time you told somebody what was going on in your life? When was the last time you shared your rejoicing with others?

He who began a good work in you… This is the message of justification and sanctification. We are justified in that Christ, when he died on the cross, became that perfect sacrifice that was required to remove the stain of sin from our souls. It was Christ that began this work, not our own action, decision, idea, or anything else. We were chosen by God the Father and given to the Son who died for us. This is justification in a nutshell: Christ died to set us free from the slavery of sin. He paid the price for our souls and we are his. …will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. This is the sanctification part. The work of sanctification is an ongoing process that will continue until Christ comes again. We are not perfect, we continue to sin. No matter how hard we try, we will continue to sin. But the Holy Spirit is working in our lives each and every moment, helping us avoid sin. We are being sanctified continually. We will not see this completion until Christ comes again in all his glory. Until then, we must carry on, persevere in hope and in trust that the Lord will continue his work in us through the Holy Spirit.

I hold you in my heart… This is the feeling of love he has for his fellow servants. Then he gives the reason for this love… for you are all partakers with me of grace. His love is a love that comes from brotherhood, a sharing of circumstance, position, emotion, fellowship, etc. It is the same love we should have for each other. Do we hold each other in our heart? Do we hurt when they hurt? Do we cry with each other? In most cases, yes. We share a lot with each other. That is because we are all partakers of grace. When Paul was in prison, those who fellowshipped with him were also in prison, in a sense. They hurt when he hurt. It is the same now with the situation with those who have lost loved ones recently. We are in fellowship with them, and can hurt with them. Some of us have been in the same or similar position, with a loved one near death, and most of us have lost a dear one already. We can be partakers of the pain and stress that they are feeling, and can pray to God for comfort for them, with understanding of what they are going through.

How I yearn for you with all the affection of Jesus Christ… That is a lot of affection. Christ was willing to die for his loved ones, Paul was willing to suffer to the point of death for his Lord and for those whom he shared the gospel. Can it be said that we have that much affection for those in our church that we are willing to go out of our way to aid and assist them? Let me say it for you. Yes, there are many instances where people from this church have helped those who needed it, have sacrificed their time and energy for those who were sick, in trouble, or in need. People here have brought food to the sick, comforted those who were worried or stressed, given rides to those without cars, visited those who were homebound, prayed for the ones near death, the list goes on. You have demonstrated a lot of Christ like affection. If this were a secular establishment, a lot of back patting and congratulation would be called for, in order to spur you to even more effort. But you didn’t do it for the back patting or the recognition, you did it all out of love and Christ like affection, as you were called to do. You didn’t do it for money, either, in fact, if you are offered money you would feel uncomfortable about taking it. Paul yearns for these people because he wants to be with them, sharing in the advance of the gospel, defending and confirming it.

The amazing thing is that this love that we share apparently isn’t enough. Look at the next line. Paul say that it is his prayer that their love will abound more and more. He prayed this for the Ephesians, also. Lets turn to Ephesians 3:14-19. Here, too, he prays that the people would come to know the Lords love more and more. It is all part of the good work that the Lord is working in us until the day for His coming. More and more love, love abounding. Love is one of those things where, amazingly enough, the more you give out, the more you get, and therefore the more you have to share.

Along with more and more love, Paul prays that the people would grow in knowledge and discernment. This is something that we need to do also. Continue to grow in understanding by reading and meditating on God’s word, attending Sunday school, belonging to a Bible study, sharing the gospel with those who do not know Jesus. Remember, Jesus is working in you until he comes again, you schooling will continue until then, also. You will never graduate while still on this earth.

And what are you to do with this newfound knowledge and discernment? You approve what is excellent. In other words, you strive to do those things which glorify God. You approve, and live, those things that promote the gospel in your life, at work, at play, at study, in your conversations, at the grocery store… wherever you find yourself, so as to be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. This is the sanctification that the Holy Spirit is working in you every day. You are to be filled with the fruit of righteousness. Where can we find a description of this fruit? Galatians 5:22. Let’s turn there. Without looking, can any one give all of them? As you become more holy, as the sanctification process works in your life, you will grow these fruit more and more. You will be more gentle, less argumentative. You will be more kind, and less self-centered. You will have patience instead of irritation at everything.

Finally, let’s look closer at verse 11. …filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. You are filled with the fruit of righteousness (the work of the Holy Spirit) which comes through the work of Jesus Christ, the Son, to the glory and praise of God, the Father. You have the Holy Triumvirate neatly tied up in this one little verse. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I went though a lot of information tonight, and it may be jumbling around in your heads as you try to make sense of it, so let me give you the Reader’s Digest version as a synopsis. We are servants of Christ, as Paul and Timothy were, which means we are bought and paid for by the Blood of the Lamb and are owned by him. He paid our redemption price from the slavery of sin. Grace comes from our Father in heaven, and with it comes peace that only a child of God can have. We are also saints, set apart from the world by the work of Jesus on the cross when we were adopted into God’s family. We need to be praying for each other, not only in times of trouble, but during times of joy, also. We need to share with each other the things going on in our lives so that we can rejoice with each other. Jesus began a good work in you and his Spirit will carry it through to completion when Christ comes again. We are all partakers of the gospel, and so share in each others burdens with the grace that God gave us. We should be yearning for each other in the love of Christ, and this love should be increasing with each passing day. We need to continue to learn and discern the things of Christ so that we can strive to be pure and blameless. We need to be growing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives so that we may share with others the things that God has done for us. All of this is to be done for the glory and praise of God.