"A Life that Stands Firm!" Philippians 4:1-3

"A Life that Stands Firm!"

Captivated by Christ: An expository sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #26)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

October 17, 2010

Our Scripture lesson this morning is Philippians 4:1-3 (NIV), "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! ²I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. ³Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life." [Prayer]

Paul transitions in Philippians 4:1, "Therefore, my brothers [and sisters], you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown [stephanos], that is how you should stand firm [stēkō] in the Lord, dear friends!"

The therefore in verse 1 both applies to what has been said and what will be stated in the closing exhortations of his letter. You see, in many ways, all that Paul has been writing is an explanation of Philippians 1:27 which states, "Whatever 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 [stēkō] in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel." Paul is now starting the closing exhortations of his letter and he uses the same Greek word, stēkō, in order to communicate the grave importance of what is at stake by the way we conduct our lives.

The word, stēkō, translated 'stand firm', literally translates into the image of a soldier holding his ground in the shock and horror of battle with the enemy surging down upon him. As we see in both Philippians 1:27 and in today's Scripture lesson of 4:1, Paul is not speaking to one person alone. He is writing to the entire church, the holy ones of Christ in Philippi. We are to be so united together that no matter what internal controversies or outward threat comes against us, we must stand firm as one person in the Lord, for the faith of the gospel!

When we connect verse 1 to the previous verses, we learn that we can only stand fast in the Lord when we live in daily expectation of his return. We learn that we must have security as followers of Jesus Christ: living our lives knowing that our destiny is heaven, our object of worship is God, our moral authority is the Bible, and our perspective on life is to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

When we connect verse 1 to the exhortations to follow, we see that our relationships and our conduct litmus test of our testimony to the world. When we love one another and are united in our hearts and our purposes then we manifest the power of eternal life in our lives.

Will we be found as one man or will we be like children separated and tossed around by the controversies and deceptions of the world? The decision is ours and we must choose today on what we will build our unity and how we will then conduct ourselves as the one body of Christ!

There are two key lessons we must learn from our Scripture lesson in order to live a life that stands firm. Our first teaching point is, WE STAND FIRM IN THE LORD BY BUILDING UNITY IN THE ONE!

Paul states in Philippians 4:2, "I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other [phroneō] in the Lord."

In this verse, we are greeted by a reality that will not go away until Jesus Christ returns. Regardless of whether you lived in the generation that saw Jesus Christ or are living now 2000 years later, this is the reality of our human condition: we experience broken human relationships! Paul never mentions what the issue is because this disagreement can be any two of us today over a multitude of issues. The issue is not what is important to Paul. What is important? What does he mention specifically? Paul mentions the people be name! The people are what are important; our relationships together are important because we are the one body of Christ! In this case, two church leaders, possibly even leaders of two different house churches, definately two faithful servants of the gospel (see v. 3) are not agreeing about some issue. Are we surprised by this? Do we see the division upon division amongst followers of Jesus Christ today?

It is a human reality that diverse people will not come together unless they are united by a leader who will lead them for a cause greater than themselves! To illustrate this point, I want to show you a movie clip that shows what it takes to bring together the most diverse and most divided of people. Show Movie clip

What will it take to bring the people of God together? It will take a wakeup call that we are not playing games; rather, we are a part of an epic war against evil and each of us, through faith in Jesus Christ, are being called to join in the fellowship to stand firm against the evil that threatens to consume and destroy us every single day, in ordinary subtle ways and in extraordinary obvious ways.

This may appear to be a fatal quest, but it is the will of God for us to unite together and not lose heart. And here is the best news! There is a leader who has united us as one and we are called to give Him our allegiance! Paul teaches in Philippians 2:1-2, "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded [phroneō], having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."

The same Greek word is used in this verse 2:2 as in verse 4:2. Phroneō means to have a unity of mind. How is Paul dealing with the conflict? He is reminding these two church leaders (and us today!) to put into effect the practices of a Christ-follower: to be united because their fellowship is through the Spirit, to be tender and compassionate in their relationships, to show mutual love and unity of love, to put the interests of others above their own, and most importantly, to have unity of mind with him and with Jesus Christ. We must build our unity in the one. Paul teaches of the one in Ephesians 4:4-6, "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Only in Jesus Christ can we, the most diverse of people, be held together in a common fellowship. We each must start by giving our allegiance to the one Lord, Jesus Christ, who empowers us by the Spirit with one purpose. Our loyalty to one other is not dependent on our feelings about one another, but it is 100% dependent on our loyalty to our one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all.

We will stand firm against the overwhelming circumstances and controversies of this world if we build our unity on this one truth. To build our fellowship on anything else guarantees eventual disunity and disruption. In fact, according to Jesus Christ, the power of our fellowship is complete unity, just as Jesus is completely one with the Father. Jesus Christ prayed for us in the Gospel of John 17:22-23, "I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." As God is one in three persons, so we must be one body with many parts.

For a soldier to stand firm in the horrors of combat he must have a strong foundation to stand upon. But then he must conduct himself (or behave) according to his training. That is our second teaching point; WE STAND FIRM IN THE LORD BY BEHAVING LIKE GOD'S CHILDREN!

In our human relationships, especially when there is disagreement and disunity, we must conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ! We must stand firm together and the only way we can do this is to behave like a spiritually-minded person, not like a child or fleshly person. Paul continues in Philippians 4:3, "Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow [true companion], help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life."

It is agreeable to most students of the Bible that Paul is mentioning a specific person in this verse when he asks the "loyal yokefellow" to intervene with these two faithful women who have contended on Paul's side in the cause of the gospel. But, in the way Paul writes, he assumes that this "loyal yokefellow" will know when he/she is being addressed by this title. Another translation for the Greek in this passage is, "true companion." Paul is writing the church in Philippi and asking that a true companion get involved in this matter. Paul is writing to someone who deeply cares about the people of God and will conduct him/herself in a way that is consistent with how Paul would handle it.

We know these true companions existed, but at least in Rome where Paul was in jail there were few to find. Earlier in Philippians 2:20-21, we read this description of one who would be considered a "loyal yokefellow", "I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ."

The Holy Spirit is calling out to some "true companions" in our midst today who are willing to take a genuine interest in the welfare of others, an attitude like Jesus Christ!

I know there is a relational strain in your family. I know there are issues between people in our congregation. And I know there are disagreements between some in this congregation and with some in other congregations. Enough! The Holy Spirit is calling for true companions to come alongside of these people and situations! [Prayer]

Before we leave God's house of reconciliation today, let's ask ourselves this simple question, HOW DO GOD'S CHILDREN BEHAVE? What does it look like to stand firm together by behaving in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

1. We love one another! This is the key behavior of followers of Jesus Christ—LOVE! The Bible teaches in 1 John 4:19-21, "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

Did you hear how Paul described his friends in Philippi in verse 1? He called them, "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!" These are words rich with depth and meaning. And in verse 3, Paul builds up the two women who are in disagreement saying they are, "women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life." Paul is speaking words of love and partnership over his friends in Christ. We must build one another up with our words, and our deeds.

2. We help one another! Our love is not just a feeling, it is an action manifested in deeds of service toward one another. Paul teaches believers in Galatians 5:13, "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."

Paul commands his true companion to "help". Friends, there is no effort too great to maintain the peace of the church! "A quarrelling church is not a church at all, for a quarrelling church is a church from which Christ has been shut out, and to which He cannot gain access. No man can be at peace with God and at variance with his fellow-men" (William Barclay). Love must manifest in our actions!

We must come alongside of one another and get involved and help one another! Disunity and relational dysfunction are not private matters in the body of Christ! We must answer the call to help one another; we must partner!

3. We partner for the gospel together! Paul started his letter addressing this church as the saints because they are partners in Christ together. He wrote in

Philippians 1:4-6, "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership 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."

We behave as one people, called together by one love, to partner for this one cause, the gospel of Jesus Christ! The good news is that when we are called to be together, not just here now, but for eternity because through faith in Jesus Christ each of our names is written in the book of life. I believe that we are all going to be together with one heart and one mind worshipping our one Lord, Jesus Christ. There will not be different areas for different divisions of Christ-followers…we will be one!

Let us choose today to bring heaven to earth by experiencing the complete unity we are destined for. Unity starts by making the choice of your eternity by asking Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. It then continues each and every day by making the decision to behave like a true companion, a spiritual friend on a spiritual journey.

Relationships are the litmus test of your faith! How is your faith?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Discuss with your accountability partner, why is harmony in relationships vital for our growth as disciples of Jesus Christ? Describe experiences where you have witnessed (or felt) the damaging effects of relational disharmony and disunity. How do we/you learn from these experiences to ensure we/you don't repeat the same patterns and mistakes? Consider a broken relationship in your life; how are you going to partner with God to bring about restoration?

2. Is it possible that we, the community of the redeemed in Christ, can confess unity in heaven yet practice disunity on earth? Read Jesus' prayer in the Gospel of John 17:1-26. Discuss the heart of Jesus' prayer for us as His disciples.

3. Are you living a life that stands firm in Jesus Christ? Pray about and then discuss your responses to this message with your accountability partner.