Part 2 of "A Life Worthy of the Gospel!" (Philippians 1:27-30)

"A Life Worthy of the Gospel!" (part 2)

Captivated by Christ: An expositional sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #11)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

June 27, 2010

This morning we are in the second part of a message called "A Life Worthy of the Gospel!" We started last week and spent a lot of time in the first few verses of this passage. Today, we are going to highlight a couple key points that I did not get to last week in verses 27-28 and then jump into the last two verses 29-30.

The word of God from Philippians 1:27-30 (NIV): ²⁷Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel ²⁸without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. [Prayer]

Last week I covered the historical context to Paul's exhortation and allowed that context to then challenge us in our own context today. God did an amazing work in our hearts to set us free to live for Him.

Through Paul's words, the Holy spirit is calling us to respond to grace by living a worthy life not so that we can earn it, but because it was lavished upon us! What does a worthy life look like? First, OUR LIVES ARE WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST WHEN WE STAND FIRM IN UNITY!

Paul tells us that a worthy life is when we have unity with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ because that unity then becomes an omen or sign both to the unbelieving world of their destruction apart from the gospel and to Christ-followers of the power of God to save. This power over life and death; salvation or destruction is God's alone! And the testimony of God's power in this life is made visible by the unity we have together because of the gospel!

Paul stated in our Scripture lesson that the worthy life is when we "stand firm in one spirit [pneuma], contending [synathlountes] as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you." (1:27b).

Once again, Paul is very clear in his writing that just like our citizenship [politeuesthe] is not by our own making neither is our unity through our own power. It is by us standing firm in one Spirit, the pneuma which is the Greek word Paul uses to reference the Holy Spirit. Listen to 1 Corinthians 12:13 where Paul explains, "For we were all baptized by one Spirit [pneumati] into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink."

This is key: our unity is found in the one person that truly brings us together! That is the indwelling presence of God in our lives as Christ-followers. Who is this person? He is the 3^rd person of the Trinity, the triune God! He is not an 'it', He is God!

If we lose sight that the great Architect of salvation sent His Son to accomplish our salvation and then sent His Spirit to give us the benefits which He planned beforehand and the Son actualized, then we lose sight of how we can have unity! The gospel gives us unity and our unity witnesses to the gospel!

This unity then must manifest in our human relationships: we must stand firm in the Holy Spirit and be willing to go to battle together—arm and arm, like the Band of Brothers! This is the only way we can contend as one man (not gender bias, but rather an image of unity!).

The Greek word synathlountes translated "contending" is rooted in the verb "athleo" which means to engage in an athletic contest. The preposition syn adds a depth of meaning that is to engage in an athletic contest side by side. We are to stand side by side together in the athletic arena. My imagination immediately goes to the ancient Roman gladiator arena where two gladiators fight off great opposition by guarding each other's blind side. They are side by side, back to back against all the opposition without fear.

The Philippians were dealing with both internal squabbles and external opposition. Paul is teaching the Philippians that whether the enemy attacks from within the body or from without, Christ-followers must stand together as one person in the one Spirit. This is the great exhortation of the missionary apostle and this is the call of the Holy Spirit to us as the church. Let us stand firm as one person for the gospel of Christ then the world around us (including those in the faith!) will visibly see a first-hand witness or God's power and glory through each of us taking up our cross by swallowing our pride and being unified for a purpose greater than ourselves!

That leads us to our second point because this kind of unity takes intentionality of personal sacrifice: OUR LIVES ARE WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST WHEN WE MAKE A HABIT OF COSTLY DISCIPLESHIP!

The worthy life is not one of personal preference and comfort. It is a life that accepts the sacrifice of Jesus Christ not just for me, but also for you! For me to accept grace beyond my own personal salvation, I must be willing to bear the cost of this extravagant gospel love so others many know of God's indescribable gift…that requires me to put myself aside for others!

Paul continues in Philippians 1:29-30, "For it has been granted [echaristhe] to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have."

The key to understanding these verses are the words, "it has been granted". The Koine Greek word is "echaristhe" which is rooted in one of the deepest theological words in all of Christianity…a word and concept that separates Christianity from all other world religions. The word is "charis" which translates "grace". This verb literally means "to be graciously given".

Paul classically teaches us about grace in Romans 2:8 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

We quickly understand grace when we talk about it in the context of God's unmerited love and favor as expressed through His sacrifice and suffering! Grace is the scandal of God doing everything so that we can be with Him. It's not about us, our worthiness or works; it is all about Jesus Christ and grace! But, we DO NOT quickly comprehend this concept of grace when the tables are turned on us and we must now ponder how God has so graciously given us the right to suffer as Christ suffered! This grace does not compute quite so easily!

Paul is exclaiming that we have been graciously given the ability to believe in Jesus Christ (even our faith is a gift from God!) and with this gift that saves us we are also given the right to suffer. Paul emphasizes this teaching in 2 Timothy 3:12, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

If we are to live our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we must embrace the entire gift so graciously lavished upon us.

We are saved by faith and in our faith we must accept that there will be suffering, persecution, discomfort, and pain in this journey. To deny this cost of discipleship is to deny the gift of salvation! They are part of the same gift of grace!

Let's be honest, how do we except to be changed into the image of God if there is not pain? I know that I will refuse to change unless the pain of not changing is overwhelming my perceived pain of changing! In other words, I won't change unless it hurts too much! One of the best tools in God's tool box to sharpen us and refine our character is pain and suffering!

What is your view of pain and suffering? [pause] Personally, I don't like it; I don't want it; and I definitely don't seek after it! But, all circumstances can be used to bring about good when we place ourselves in the hands of the master carpenter!

Let me emphasize to you the words of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Mark 8:34, "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.'"

Friends, there is no such thing as cheap grace! The gift of salvation cost God more than we can possibly imagine. Jesus Christ bore our sin upon Himself on that brutal execution device called the Cross and it was there "… he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

When Jesus Christ calls us to deny ourselves and take up our cross in order to follow Him, He is not speaking about expensive ornamental jewelry, decorating décor in our nice comfortable homes, or cool decals for our SUVs. Jesus Christ is telling us that we must be willing to make a daily habit (habitual and intentional lifestyle!) of suffering, pain, discomfort, personal sacrifice, and even death in order to live a life worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

If we run from pain into the seductive arms of comfort than we missed an opportunity to grow! And run we do as a culture…it's one of our highest ideals!

This is some lofty teaching; let's put some meat on the bone to see how it applies. Paul continues with verse 30,"since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have." The biblical evidence to the suffering that Paul says the Philippians witnessed is found in 1 Thessalonians 2:2, where Paul records, "We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition."

Now, let's watch this suffering for ourselves in this video that shows a word for word dramatization of Luke's account of this suffering in Acts 16:16-40. Paul suffered! He is calling us to be willing to suffer in the same way. Are you willing to share in the sufferings of Christ in this life? What does that even look like? Let's look at some first steps…

Are you willing to spend more time to help others than helping yourself? Are you willing to invest more financially in the Kingdom of God and less in your 401k? Are you willing to have your heart broken by actually going into the dark places of missions whether on the east side of New Castle or into an unknown land of the international mission field? Are you willing to risk your reputation by taking head-on an injustice that is happening in our community?

You may state you are willing to lay down your life for Christ, but how do you really know that you can make the big sacrifice if you are not even willing to die in the little ways every day?!? Are you willing to die a social death for Christ; an occupational death for Christ?

Paul's life in modeling Christ's suffering points to daily costly discipleship where we must put the gospel above all other loyalties and stand side by side with one another in unity. Paul teaches how we are to live the life of costly discipleship; it requires the discipline of an athlete. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 Paul teaches us, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." For me, it took an amazing amount of sacrifice over many years of my life to achieve the level of athletic success that I did. Why wouldn't the same be true in the spiritual life?

This morning God wants you to know that there is an even greater prize to live for than any earthly reward! When I started to really get this, then I started the process of repentance whereas step by step I turned my life around so that my ambition moved from dreams of Olympics and athletic awards, career and resume, fame and glory…

It's the ongoing process of costly discipleship where we are moved from self to Christ…now, it is my sole ambition for Christ to be exalted, rather than sacrifice everything for a medal that ends up in a box—a prize that moths can destroy and thieves can steal (Luke 12:33).

Are you willing to make a habit of costly discipleship? There is a prize that cannot be destroyed nor stolen for those who are willing to live their lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ by making a habit of costly discipleship! We learn from Romans 8:17-18, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

Surrender and come to Jesus just as you are: He wants all of you! He is waiting for you with arms wide open. He knows your suffering; now come and know His glory!

"A Life Worthy of the Gospel!" (part 1 of 2 on Philippians 1:27-30)

“A Life Worthy of the Gospel!" (part 1 of 2)

Captivated by Christ: An expositional sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #10)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

June 20, 2010 -- Happy Father's Day!

The word of God from Philippians 1:27-30 (NIV): ²⁷Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel ²⁸without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. [Prayer]

Paul begins a new section in his letter to the Philippians that will go from 1:27 – 2:18. With verse 26 Paul has concluded a section describing his own situation and now he moves his letter to directly address the situation of the Christ-followers in Philippi and how they are to progress in their faith.

Paul knows what is going on with them even though he is in Rome under house arrest awaiting trial. He knows their situation because the Philippians sent a financial gift to him through Epaphroditus who gave Paul an update on the church in Philippi. Now Paul is giving them one clear set of instructions regardless of whether or not he actually returns to them himself. Paul’s purpose of writing is to teach and model for them how to make progress in their faith and advance the gospel of Jesus Christ when there is both internal dissension and external opposition!

Paul instructs his faithful friends, ‘live your lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ!’ The previous section (1:12-26) sheds light on what “a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” looks like. As we learned last week, Paul has asked the Philippians to model their walk with Christ after his life as he has imitated Christ (Philippians 3:17 & 4:9). Paul is teaching with not just his words, but with his actions. His classroom for discipleship is not simply a set curriculum in a classroom once or twice a week. Yes, there must be formal instruction on the gospel, but the best classroom for learning how to follow Jesus Christ is the laboratory of life. It is in life that we are confronted with the hard questions of faith: How do I partner with people when I don’t think their motives are pure? How do I live my life in the midst of uncertainty? How do I make hard decisions that give honor to God? How do I conduct myself when there is opposition or suffering?

These are the authentic questions of discipleship that come up in real life; at home, at work, at the park…and they can’t be compartmentalized to Sundays and Wednesday nights!

Life is the most important classroom in the organic biblical model of discipleship which I call ‘relational discipleship’!

Relational Discipleship mandates that we as individuals intentionally follow Jesus Christ in such a way that our lives and lifestyle choices (seen and unseen) are worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Relational Discipleship starts with how you and I live out our faith, but it expands to how we live together as a people in relationship to God, with one another, and the world around us. Friends, our lives teach louder than our words so let’s go through life together learning how to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ!

If you want to learn how to follow Christ then find someone who is farther along in their spiritual journey and ask if you can start sharing life with them. Ask them to open their home to you and get real! Discipleship is about money management and debt reduction, sexuality and dating, marriage and parenting, health and fitness, temptation and struggles, politics and philosophy, farming and fishing, and death and dieing. The curriculum for how to follow Jesus Christ MUST infiltrate into every area of your life! It must build a bridge between real life and Scripture.

If you feel a burden (call) to intentionally follow Jesus Christ by making disciples then start opening your home (whether it is clean or not!), your heart (and you need to be willing to be disappointed and hurt!), your calendar and pocketbook (ouch!) and your experiences (the good, the bad, and the ugly!) to those who do not yet know Jesus Christ or those who are younger in their Christian life than you.

In verse 27, Paul moves the conversation towards conduct because he knows that the church becomes ineffective in its mission to exalt Jesus Christ and make disciples if our life choices do not reflect the very heart of the gospel—love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, freedom, unity.

Let’s jump into Paul’s instruction and learn what Paul considered to be two key aspects of living your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. We will talk about the second one next week, but let’s look at the first one today: OUR LIVES ARE WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST WHEN WE STAND FIRM IN UNITY!

He starts in Philippians 1:27-28, “Whatever happens [monon], conduct yourselves [politeuesthe] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit [pneuma], contending [synathlountes] as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed [apoleias], but that you will be saved—and that by God.”

Whether the missionary apostle goes to see them because Caesar acquits him or he remains in Rome under house arrest his great instruction is for them to do this one thing. The original Koine Greek word that Paul penned was monon which literally means ‘only’ or ‘one thing’. Literally, Paul is stating, “There is only one thing you must do, exercise your citizenship in a worthy manner of the gospel of Christ.”

Paul uses a very specific word that has specific connotations behind it. This is dramatic and missed completely in the NIV translation. The Greek word politeuesthe has a connotation greater than simply how you conduct yourself, but points to conducting oneself as a citizen (the word polites is the Greek word for citizen). He uses this word only one other time in this letter and that is in Philippians 3:20 which states, “But our citizenship [politeuma] is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord [kurios] Jesus Christ.”

Paul was writing from Rome, the very center of the Roman Empire, to one of its prized colonies—Philippi. In the Roman Empire the title of kurios or Lord was reserved for the Emperor. All citizens and subjects had to call Caesar Lord which led to a significant discipleship issue for those early Christ-followers. Can a Christ-follower have more than one Lord? How does our loyalty to an empire or nation-state fit with our loyalty to the Kingdom of God? These were more than interesting questions to ponder, these became life and death choices for these early church Christ-followers and today in places throughout the world, the choice of loyalty to Christ as Lord can have severe implications.

The Philippians had to choose between Caesar and Jesus Christ. They could only call one Lord! Who do you call Lord in your life?

Paul, writing from the heart of Rome to a loyal Roman colony unapologetically calls Jesus Christ the Lord and he twice calls their citizenship to higher ground—from Rome to Heaven! This is a dangerous letter!

Here’s a quick history lesson: Philippi had a proud history and took its name from the father of Alexander the Great, Philip of Macedon, who took the city in 360 BC. But, it was on a plain outside this city that a great military victory occurred in 42 BC (over 100 years prior to Paul writing this letter). Under the joint command of Octavian (later he became known as emperor Augustus) and Mark Antony, their army defeated the rebel forces of Brutus and Cassius (the assassins of Julius Caesar). It was in honor of this military victory that the emperor Augustus refounded Philippi as a Roman military colony giving this city an elite status and its people their citizenship. When he gave them the title of colony they in every way they became legally Roman and Roman citizens NEVER forgot that they were Romans; their citizenship gave them freedoms from arrest and scourging and allowed them to appeal to Caesar for justice. The Philippians were proud to be Roman citizens, they were proud of their military accomplishments, and their part in expanding the Roman way of life beyond Rome itself. And this pride reflected in their language, their dress, their way of life and political governance.

Here is what Paul is doing: he is evoking the well known concept of citizenship to the citizens of Rome in order to elevate the concept beyond a temporary kingdom (Rome, USA) to the eternal kingdom! He is getting them to see how much they already know how to talk, walk, dress, eat, govern, and do all things Roman, but now they should see their greater loyalty, responsibility, and privilege to conduct themselves in every way as citizens of Heaven according to the gospel of Christ!

The Holy Spirit is saying to us: you know how to conduct yourselves as loyal patriots of these United States of America. Take all of that pride you have in this nation, all our military history, all that conviction in our way of life, all that willingness to lay down your life for our American ideals and freedoms, all that you hold dear about being an American citizen… And now start living that same way, with that same conviction and passion for the Kingdom of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Though patriotism beats in my heart and courses through these veins in a big way, but I am challenged by this text to raise the standard from what it means to live as a citizen of these USA and to live my life in a worthy manner as a citizen of the Kingdom of God, to which I was given my citizenship through the greatest of all victories—not one found on the battle field of nation-states, but the victory of all battles. Philippi is our Gettysburg, but neither can stand in comparison to the victory of Golgotha! The Cross of Calvary was the divisive victory in the epic battle between good and evil!

Paul explains how we have become citizens in Colossians 1:13-14, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” It is because of what Jesus Christ has done for us that we are called citizens. We cannot live a worthy life to earn this citizenship. Rather it was won before us in a time of the past. This great victory—the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross of Calvary—is the motivation to live a worthy life! Paul is calling us to respond to grace by living a worthy life not so that we can earn it, but because it was lavished upon us! What does this life look like?

Paul tells us that a worthy life is when we have unity with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ because that unity then becomes an omen or sign both to the unbelieving world of their destruction apart from the gospel and then to ourselves of the power of God to save us. Truly, it is the power of God for us to be unified!

Paul stated in our Scripture lesson that the worthy life is when we ”stand firm in one spirit [pneuma], contending [synathlountes] as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.” (1:27b).

Once again, Paul is very clear in his writing that just like our citizenship is not by our own making neither is our unity through our own power. It is by us standing firm in one spirit, the pneuma which is a word Paul frequently uses to reference the Holy Spirit.

Listen to 1 Corinthians 12:13 where Paul explains, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit [pneumati] into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

This is key: our unity is found in the one person that truly brings us together! That is the indwelling presence of God in our lives as Christ-followers. If we lose sight that the great Architect of salvation sent His Son to accomplish our salvation and then sent His Spirit to give us the benefits which He planned and the Son actualized, then we lose sight of how we can have unity! The gospel gives us unity and our unity witnesses to the gospel!

This unity then must manifest in our human relationships: We must stand firm in the Holy Spirit and because of this common citizenship we must be willing to go to battle together—arm and arm, like the Band of Brothers! This is the only way we can contend as one man (an image of unity!).

The Greek word synathlountes translated “contending” is rooted in the verb “athleo” which means to engage in an athletic contest. The preposition syn adds a depth of meaning that is to engage in an athletic contest side by side. We are to stand side by side together in the athletic arena. My imagination immediately goes to the ancient Roman gladiator arena where two gladiators fight off great opposition by guarding each other’s blind side. They are side by side, back to back against all the opposition without fear.

Paul states in verse 28, “This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed [apoleias], but that you will be saved—and that by God.” This kind of contending together where we do not manifest fear in the face of opposition, but rather we pull into a tight formation and do battle together is a sign to all who see us and how we work together for the common ambition of the gospel of Jesus Christ—that is the key, we have unity in the gospel through the Holy Spirit and it is visible in the way we live our lives together!

Jesus Christ prayed near the end of His earthly ministry, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21).

Standing firm in our Unity! Whether the enemy attacks from within the body or from without, we must stand together as one person in the one Spirit. This is the great exhortation of the missionary apostle and this is the call of the Holy Spirit to us as the church. Let us stand firm as one person for the gospel of Christ!

And this unity must begin by us accepting the gospel of the Cross of Jesus Christ. Paul states in 1 Corthinians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

We are powerless apart from the power of God! This morning, I invite you to admit your powerlessness and accept the power of God into your life by asking Jesus Christ into your life. This is the gift of God that leads to eternal life.

Prayer.

"Making Difficult Choices in Life!" (Philippians 1:21-26)

“Making Difficult Choices in Life!"

Captivated by Christ: An expositional sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #9)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

June 13, 2010

The word of God from Philippians 1:21-26 (NIV): ²¹For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²²If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. [Prayer]

This passage is instructional for us as Christ-followers because Paul is ‘thinking out loud.’ Paul is modeling for us his decision-making process! In two places in this letter (Philippians 3:17 & 4:9) Paul tells the Christ-followers to imitate him as he imitates Jesus Christ. From 1 Corinthians 4:15b-17, Paul states, "For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church."

The Apostle Paul is modeling for us what I call ‘relational-discipleship’. Relational-discipleship is when we intentionally teach people how to be Christ-followers by sharing life with them in authentic fellowship (the koinonia of the church!) oriented on one objective—to live so that we may grow in Christ and for Christ to be glorified in us (you, me, us!). As we see through the life of Paul and the early church, relational-discipleship is exponential and generational. From Jesus to Paul to Timothy and beyond! From Jesus through the generations to YOU and beyond!

Paul is thinking out loud in his decision-making process for the benefit of the converts (new Christ-followers) so that they (and we today!) can learn how to make difficult choices. Here is the guiding question that is going to drive our teaching time this morning: How do we make choices that demonstrate to others who Jesus Christ is in our lives?

The first teaching point is: TO INTENTIONALLY FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST WE SHOULD MAKE CHOICES TO LIVE FOR JESUS CHRIST!

Paul summarizes his worldview right up front, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor [karpos ergou] for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!” (Philippians 1:21-22).

Paul knows that God is the only one that knows the future, but here he is speaking as if the choice is his regarding his future. Paul knows that he can make his plans, but it is God’s purposes that prevail (Proverbs 19:21)! Paul’s choice of words (ou gnorizo) point to a divine authorship who will make it know to him. He states that he does not know because he knows that God does!

What does Paul mean by this powerful, yet confusing declaration, “to live is Christ and to die is gain”? This is especially confusing for our culture because we already have a bipolar worldview on life and death. We’ll do everything in our power to extend our lives and avoid death (as if death was the worst of all things that can happen to us!). But, in the name of quality of life and our own personal preferences, we’ll kill our unborn babies.

How do you define life? The purpose of life? How do those answers determine your choices?

Let’s face it…the modern western worldview on life and death is not the biblical worldview so we must dig into this text and challenge all that we have accepted as true from the influences of culture. How we see life and death in every way will affect our most primary decisions!

Let’s look at Romans 14:8 where Paul gives us insight for Christ-followers, "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."

Paul is teaching the Christ-followers in Rome the same truth he is reminding the Christ-followers in Philippi! We have been bought at a price; we have been born-again by the Spirit of God. We are adopted sons and daughters of the Eternal Father and our inheritance is eternal life (that has already begun)! We are children of God!

Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world (the God who is Spirit took on flesh and dwelt amongst us!) so that He could take on the full penalty of all humanity’s sin. He died for all so that we can live. Paul is teaching us that when we are bought at a price and take on the title of “apprentice in Christ; disciple of Jesus Christ; passionate lover of God; Jesus freak; Christ-follower; Christian” that we no longer live for ourselves; we now define our lives by the One who died for us and bought us at a price!

The old has gone and the new has come; therefore, the beginning and end of our lives on this earth is living for Jesus Christ! This is the primary teaching point of Paul’s decision-making process. He is thinking out loud so that we can hear it one more time because he knows how easy it is to start making decision based upon what would be best for us!

Our second teaching point comes from Paul’s continued decision-making process: TO INTENTIONALLY FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST WE SHOULD MAKE CHOICES TO LOVE OTHERS!

Paul continues to discuss the choice between life and death in Philippians 1:23-24, "I am torn [synechomai] between the two: I desire to depart [analysai] and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain [epimeno] in the body."

There are two primary images in these verses. The first gives us a clear visual image of this whole ‘thinking out loud’ process that Paul is recording for our benefit.

In the original language of the Koine Greek, Paul utilizes the word synechomai. In the NIV, this word is translated “I am torn” to help us get a feel for its meaning, but a better translation is “I am hard pressed”. Here is the image this word brings from the Greek: there is a traveler in a narrow, rocky gorge with a wall of rock on one hand and a wall of rock on the other. The traveler is unable to turn aside either way, and you are only able to go straight on.

This is a powerful visual for me because in my backcountry hiking (and military) experiences I have been in multiple situations like this. One of my favorites is when I hiked the Grand Canyon from Rim to Rim. In what is called ‘The Box’ (a deadly location in the Grand Canyon at the wrong time of day without enough water) you are on a trail that moves through a gorge with very high cliffs on either side.

This is a very clear word picture! You are hard pressed between the two sides…you cannot make this choice! You must keep going forward!

I believe that Paul was explaining to us that this whole “thinking out loud” discussion is for us to know one thing above all things: life or death is not our choice! Our choice is that we must keep moving forward! The choice of whether we live or die is in the hands of God; not you or me! Our choice is in how we live today!

Let’s now look at the second primary word picture in this passage. Paul was a tentmaker (Acts 18:3) and in our passage Paul turns to the language of his trade to explain his desire to depart found in verse 23. In the original language of the Koine Greek, Paul uses the word analysai.

This word drives home an image that I believe Paul would have had at the forefront of his mind as the author of this letter. Paul was a tentmaker and this word means to break camp; to take down the tents. It is a word that brings to mind an army breaking camp to march forward. It is the loosening of the tent ropes, the pulling up of tent pegs and moving forward whereas each day’s march is a day’s march closer to the destination!

I want you to listen to Paul the tentmaker in 2 Corinthians 5:1. He declares, "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands."

This is so exciting to me! It illuminates the text in a very powerful way. Paul wants to exchange the camp-life (this life in the body) for home-life with Christ. We need to learn and live by the biblical worldview of life and death: Death is the entrance into Christ’s intimate presence! In life we exalt Christ and in death we enter the presence of the exalted Christ!

Paul is not leaving us with any confusion: IF it was all about him and what was best for him personally, then he would choose death because death is better by FAR!

BUT! And that is a big transitional word! BUT, it is not about me and what is best for me! Paul is teaching us that our decision-making as Christ-followers is characterized by this huge concept: NOT for me, but to your Name be the glory! It is not about us! Paul states, “it is more necessary for YOU that I remain [the Greek verb epimeno means “to persevere!”] in [this earthly tent]”!

A little bit later in this letter Paul will greatly expound on this major theme. He writes in Philippians 2:4, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

If we are to intentionally follow Jesus Christ in our decision making then we need to put aside what we may want, what may even be in the best interest of us personally and look to the interests of others! We must choose to love others above ourselves! That is the way of the Cross of Jesus Christ!

How do you evaluate alternatives in your life? How do you choose which job to take or not take? Whether to more or not move? Whether to date that person or marry another (or stay married)? Whether to go to that school or another? Whether to forgive or reconcile?

Paul is giving us the antidote to selfish living and decision making! If life is found in Jesus Christ and if Jesus Christ is the motivating power of our life (the foundational truth of our decision-making process), then we know that Christ is the reward of this life.

For Paul, the reward of life was closer and closer fellowship with his Lord. And that intimate fellowship with Christ was lived out in how he loved as Christ loved! Paul imitated Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross for each of us! Paul lived out a crucified life (Galatians 2:20).

Yes, he desires to be in the presence of the exalted Christ, but he knows that that day is in the hands of God, so he keeps marching forward (like an army on a mission!) with one objective in mind: to live so that others may grow in Christ and for Christ to be glorified in him (and them!).

We must have a mission focus in our decision making! We must be intentional in why we do what we do! Look back at verse 24a, Paul states, “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor [karpos ergou] for me.” This karpos ergou is Paul’s missionary work—the fruit of God’s call on his life! Paul knows that every preordained day he is to live in his earthly tent is on the march for the mission of God—the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

His ambition is not to wish for life or death as his goal in life! Ours is not to wish for life or death in life! Ours is to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)!

This brings us to our last teaching point for this passage: TO INTENTIONALLY FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST WE SHOULD MAKE CHOICES TO ADVANCE THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Paul concludes this first section of the body of his letter to the Philippians (verses 12-26) with verses 25-26, "Convinced of this, I know that I will remain [meno], and I will continue [parameno] with all of you for your progress [prokopen] and joy [chara] in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy [kauchema] in Christ Jesus will overflow [perisseue] on account of me."

In these verses, we see a poetic book end (an inclusio) that indicates this one coherent thought. In Philippians 1:12, Paul states, "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel."

The Greek word is translated ‘progress’ is the same one translated ‘advance’ in verse 12. It is the Greek word prokopen which captured the image of an advancing army. Specifically, it means to clear away the obstacles that would hinder a military advance.

Paul is saying in verse 12 that his imprisonment and his sufferings for Christ have not hindered the gospel, but they have allowed the gospel to advance forward; to penetrate deeper into enemy territory! Paul in verse 25 is concluding the thought by saying that his choice is to not choose what is best for him (to attain the final victory in Christ), but to choose to ‘remain’ (meno) in his tent-life for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom forward by ‘walking along side of ready to help’ (parameno) the Christ-followers in Philippi so that they too will advance forward in their faith!

Paul chooses to advance the Kingdom of God by investing in future generations of missionaries and apostolic leaders of the church because he knows that the apostolic fruit of his missionary work are the people who will continue to advance the Kingdom of God forward in their own lives and through their own Christ-centered Kingdom-prioritized decision making. This is ‘relational discipleship’ lived out in mission!

We see this explicitly in 1 Timothy 4:15-16 when Paul writes these words to the next generation of apostolic church leaders that he invested so passionately in, "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress [prokopen!] Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere [epimemo found in Phil. 1:24] in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

There is so much more that can be taught from these verses. There is a richness of language and structure in Paul’s writing that illumines the meaning of this passage. But, let me conclude with this line of thinking: Paul states that the apostolic fruit of his presence with the Philippians will be that their joy in Christ Jesus will overflow! We have seen this Greek word before in Philippians 1:9. It is the word perisseue. It means to overflow to such an extent that the existing standards and rules are transcended. This word means to burst forth! In other words, Paul is certain that when the Christ-followers of Philippi experience the fullness of Jesus Christ in their lives then their joy in having discovered the Kingdom of God will cause their joy to burst and nothing else in their life will compare to its worth!

Jesus spoke of this incomparable joy in discovering the Kingdom of God that He ushered into the world in a parable found in Matthew 13:44, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

This is not only Paul’s prayer for the Christ-followers of Philippi; this is the Holy Spirit’s prayer for all Christ-followers. This is Jesus’ desire for you today!

And I invite you to respond to God’s invitation…Jesus Christ desires for you to experience the incomparable joy of putting Him first in all things and allowing all that you do to flow through the authentic center of a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

And if you get this…if you truly experience the love of God then everything changes and you are forced to make this one decision: to give all that you have for this one thing—to know and to live for Jesus Christ!

Maybe you need to take the biggest step of your life and invite Jesus Christ into your heart to be your personal Lord and Savior.

Maybe you have already done that, but your life is not characterized by joy. I pray that God will illumine the next step for you to overflow with the joy of choosing Jesus first in your day to day choices.

How are you intentionally following Jesus Christ in your decision-making today? Are you willing to learn what all of this means together in intentional fellowship?