Captivated by Christ: An expositional sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #4)
Pastor Jerry Ingalls
May 2, 2010
This morning we are continuing our study of Paul's letter to the Philippians. Please open your Bibles to Philippians 1:7-8 (NIV) and pull out your sermon notes.
The word of God: 7It 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. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. [Prayer]
Paul has been very clear in this first section of his letter about this truth: In Jesus Christ we are better together! We cannot go at life alone; we need one another. This morning, we are going to focus our study of these 2 verses on what it looks like for our fellowship with one another to be gospel-centered partnerships!
First, GOSPEL-CENTERED PARTNERSHIPS ... LEAD TO RELATIONSHIPS THAT IMPACT WHO WE ARE AND HOW WE LIVE OUR LIVES!
The first part of Philippians 1:7 states, "[kathos] It is right [dikaion] for me to feel [phronein] this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart [kardia]" (Philippians 1:7a).
The Greek word kathos connects Paul's prayer of thanksgiving (vv 3-6) with this statement of affection in verses 7-8. This word is not translated in our English translation and it means, "Since, because in so far as".
That teaches us that Philippians 1:3-6 provides our context for today's study; to answer the question, "how does Paul feel about the Philippians? He states, "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 [koinonia] 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."
How does Paul feel about his brothers and sisters in Christ? He loves them! Paul has a lifestyle of not only fondly remembering them, but giving thanks for them. He has a commitment to regularly interceding for them in prayer with joy. Why? Because they have an intentional and persevering gospel-centered partnership based on their deep abiding dependency on God, who is the beginning and end of their relationship.
As much as Paul's missionary work to the Philippians has impacted who they are and how they live their lives, I believe Paul would testify that their faithful partnership has equally impacted him. The love is reciprocal!
This love is bookended in his letter; in Philippians 4:1 Paul states, "Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!"
A gospel-centered partnership does not lead to shallow relationships, but intentional relationships that God uses to shape who we are and how we live our lives!
God uses our relationships to shape one another's lives. Proverbs 27:17 states, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Our relationships are tools in the master artist's hands to shape and mold one another into the very image of Christ Jesus!
Let's look deeper at the Greek words phronien and kardia. With these two words in mind, we could translate this section of Scripture, "It is correct for me to have this lifestyle [phronien] toward all of you since we are so intertwined in our whole being [kardia]."
Phronien is only used 27x in the entire New Testament and 24 of the 27 times are by Paul and 10 are found in Philippians (over 1/3 in this one letter!). It literally means, "to give one's mind to" and it points to a larger meaning than our translation, "to feel". Rather it indicates that the way one thinks is intimately related to the way one behaves! It is an activity of our intellect that creates a movement of our will!
The other Greek word that helps me grab the depths of this verse is kardia, the word we derive cardiac from. Kardia (translated accurately as heart) in its cultural-bound meaning of Paul's usage had deeper connotations for the whole person describing the seat of physical, spiritual, and mental life.
In other words, this is not just an emotional state that Paul is trying to capture with his words as we would read words translated "feel" and "heart". Paul's experience with the Philippians, through the Holy Spirit, has impacted his life and how he now lives his life! He has had a conversion experience through the faithful partnership of the Philippians and he now behaves differently toward them because they have become a part of who he is and how he sees God working in and through them and in and through himself. Their lives have been grafted together by the grace they are fellow partakers in!
This is the work of the Holy Spirit in our relationships within the body of Christ—the church! Paul taught us in Romans 12:2a, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
This renewal does not just happen through our prayer life, the reading of the Bible, the listening to sermons, the formal studies of a Bible study in Sunday School, BSF, or a small group. These are all very personal and at times private experiences of study and prayer.
We are renewed in our minds when our relationships are focused and centered on the life-transforming gospel of Jesus Christ! Discipleship happens when we give all of who we are to Jesus Christ and allow our relationships to not only shape others for Christ, but allow others to shape us for Christ. We gather for Christ and we remain together for Christ!
This is why when we break fellowship or partnership in the world, then Satan wins and the body of Christ is wounded! We lose out on a powerful discipleship opportunity. When our feelings get hurt and we run away, then we lose out on a powerful learning opportunity.
Koinonia becomes discipleship when the center of our fellowship is the gospel of Jesus Christ! And until we are held together by the gospel, our relationships will be cheap counterfeits of what God intends for us.
What holds your relationships together?
Building upon this reality of our lives being intertwined for the sake of becoming more like Christ, Paul now teaches us that the ultimate reality of both our fellowship and our discipleship is to be in mission together!
Our second teaching point: GOSPEL-CENTERED PARTNERSHIPS ... ARE IN MISSION TOGETHER!
Paul continues in the second half of verse 7, "For whether I am in chains or defending [apologia] and confirming [bebaiosei] the gospel [euangeliou], all of you share [synkoinonous] in God's grace [charitos] with me" (Philippians 1:7b).
What would this verse have meant to the Philippians when they received it from Paul in 61 AD? Did they know what it meant for Paul to be in chains? To defend the gospel? To confirm the gospel? To be fellow partakers of the grace of God with Paul?
Let's examine the historical context by watching a word of word dramatization of Acts 16 which narrates Paul's missionary work in Philippi in 49-50 AD. (Show DVD Clip of Acts 16)
This was their partnership! From the first experiences with Jesus Christ through Paul, the Philippians knew that suffering for Christ was part of the call! Paul ended up in chains numerous times [walk over to stage set and pick up chains] and he was even writing this letter to the Philippians while in chains in Rome awaiting his own death trial for defending the gospel.
Paul wrote near the end of his life in 2 Timothy 2:8d-9, "This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained."
In the midst of these trials from the first day until that present moment, the Philippians persevered with Paul and remained faithful to God's call to be in missionary work!
What does it mean to be a part of God's missionary work? Paul specifically mentions two aspects of this work beyond the reality of the storms we may face.
First, Paul uses the Greek word apologia from which we get the word apologetics or the study of the defense of our faith. This is a technical legal term for providing a speech of defense before an official.
We are called to be able to defend our faith!
The Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:15 utilizing the Greek word apologia, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
Two accessible books to start your studies of apologetics would be Lee Strobel's A Case for Christ and A Case for Faith. I highly recommend them both.
But, missionary work is not just oriented toward the outside defense. The Greek word bebaiosei is also a technical legal term meaning to give a guarantee that something is true.
An aspect of our missionary work is to corroborate the truth of the gospel by proof, testimony, and declaration. We read of this missionary work in Acts 14:22a, "Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith." Paul's missionary letters are much of this work!
We are called to strengthen one another by building a stronger foundation of our faith. This is where we see that discipleship is the necessary complement to evangelism. Our partnership together is built upon God's grace-- the charitos which is used by Paul to mean both God's unmerited favor to be the Children of God (we each have a common debt to God paid in full by Jesus Christ!) and secondly His call to be in service to Jesus Christ.
Paul talks about this grace as the call of God in other places in Scripture. In Romans 15:15-16, "I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit."
It is the grace of God that called Paul to partake in the missionary call to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles, including the Philippians, for a purpose—to begin the good work of salvation in their lives—"so that [they] might become an offering acceptable to God". This is the power of God Paul speaks about in verse 6 that God will complete the good work that he began. That good work is our salvation; you and I being living sacrifices!
The Philippians, and you and I today, are fellow partakers of this same grace that makes them a part of the mission of God. In verse 7, Paul states, "all of you share in God's grace with me." The Greek word translated "share" in our verse is synkoinonous which means "fellow partakers" and finds its word origin in koinonia. The same word used in verse 5 translated partnership with deep teaching about our intentional relationships as the body of Christ!
Paul wrote in Galatians 2:9, "James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews."
We witnessed the continuation of God's mission today when we extended the right hand of fellowship to 21 new members. When we welcome people into the membership of the church it is recognition that we see the grace of God on each person through their public declaration of faith, their common baptism in faith, and their stated commitment to be a part of the Mission of God through the local church.
Membership to the local church is a continuation of this recognition that James, Peter, and John had for Paul. God's grace continues today! This recognition came with an understanding that we would engage alongside of one another in this grace so richly bestowed upon us. This is the outflow of our gospel-centered partnerships!
Here at FBC, what is the evidence of our eternal assurances? How do people see that we are truly the children of God? How does your small group or Sunday School class have a gospel-centered mission into our community?
Lastly, GOSPEL-CENTERED PARTNERSHIPS ... PERSONIFY THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST!
Paul continues in verse 8, "God can testify [With God as my witness (martys)] how I long for [epipotho] all of you with the affection [splanchnois] of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:8).
The Greek word translated affection is the word splanchnois which are the bowels of a person, the upper intestines, the heart, the liver, and the lungs. To Paul and those who were hearing this letter in its original context believed the bowels were the seat of emotions and the affections. Essentially, when Paul states, "with the splanchnois of Christ Jesus" he is emphasizing to the Philippians that he is longing for the entire body of Christ with the love and compassion of Jesus Christ Himself.
Here is the truest essence of gospel-centered partnerships: we are the personification of the love of God through Jesus Christ to one another and to those we are called to serve!
Partnership is about our lives being transformed by the grace of God in the depths of our very personhood so that how we think and act is now personified by the love of Jesus Christ! This process of surrendering compels us out of our own comfort and personal preferences into the Mission of God!
The Apostle John in 1 John 3:16 stated, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, willingly took upon Himself all the rebellion of humanity (sin) to satisfy the wrath of God (judgment). He made atonement for your sin; He paid the price with His blood erasing your debt in full forever at the moment you accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God and your personal Lord and Savior.
And this new life is made visible by the way our lives personify the love of Jesus Christ! This is the urgent and deep longing (Paul's epipotho) of our hearts for those we walk with in life; those we witness coming to Christ in our church family; who are baptized or join the church.
It is my desire for my heart to beat as one with your heart as each of our hearts beat in unison with the very heart of God—the love of Christ who has become the center of my character and my relationships!
Paul proclaims in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
We see this love grab a hold of the Philippians in Acts 16—Lydia accepts Christ and immediately opens her home to Paul and his companions. The jailor accepts Christ and immediately cleans the wounds of their beating that were inflicted upon them because of their faith. Paul and his companions left town and the Philippians send financial support to Paul. Jesus Christ loves Paul through these new believers from the first day until the present moment of his writing this letter.
And in and through Paul, Jesus Christ is the one who loves the Philippians. Jesus Christ is the one loving!
Just as I have felt the love of Jesus Christ in and through First Baptist Church and I pray you have experienced the love of Jesus Christ in and through me.
It is my hope and I pray your collective hope that New Castle, Henry County and beyond will experience the love of Christ Jesus in and through us!
Through our small groups, our Sunday School classes, our children and youth, our students and young adults, through singles and families, through young and old, through our ministries and missions.
Friends, it was not Paul who lived within Paul, but Jesus Christ who lived within Paul. This is why Paul was not moved by the affections of Paul, but by the affections of Christ Jesus Himself!
How do you love people?
That is the greatest test for your faith in Christ Jesus!
How do we love people?
That is the greatest indicator of our progress in answering God's mandate to be His body—the Church!
If you have not yet experienced the love of God through Christ Jesus I invite you to experience His great love today. But you better brace yourself because when you experience the love of Jesus Christ everything changes!
I invite you to respond this morning and ask God for a fresh touch of His love; He wants to consume you!
Prayer and response
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