Philippians 3:12-21 Citizens of Heaven

October 15, 2026October 15, 2026 ~ Vincent

Video Teaching
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Full Transcript

From the Pulpit

Commentary

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Telos
1. To understand the fullness of what Paul is getting at in these verses, some Greek will be helpful. Telos is a Greek word that means the point, reason for existing, or end goal of something.
2. The telos of lumber in a carpenter’s shop might be a boat; the telos of cake mix is a cake.
3. Humanity has a telos too. God made us for a reason: to love Him and to love each other.
  1. “Q: What is the chief end of man? A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” -Westminster Shorter Catechism
  2. Sin makes us unable to fulfill our telos on our own; like spilled cake mix, we become unfit for our created purpose.
  3. Jesus’ sacrifice restores us, enabling us to live into our telos again.
Teleios/Teleioō
1. Teleios is the adjective that best relates to telos. It’s a way of describing something that has achieved its telos. It’s often translated as “perfect, mature, or complete.”
  1. This word is used when Jesus says that we should be perfect as our father in heaven is perfect in Matthew 5:48.
2. Teleioō is the verb that best correlates to telos. It is translated as “to perfect” or “to complete.”
3. John Wesley wrote extensively on Christian perfection, referring to these very concepts, to much controversy:
  1. “‘This is Mr. Wesley’s doctrine! He preaches perfection!’ He does; yet this is not his doctrine any more than it is yours, or any one’s else, that is a Minister of Christ. For it is His doctrine, peculiarly, emphatically His; it is the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Those are his words, not mine: ‘Esesthe oun teleioi, hosper ho pater hymon ho en tois ouranois teleios esti,’ — ‘Ye shall therefore be perfect, as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.'” -John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection
  2. “Q. What is implied in being a perfect Christian? A. The loving God with all our heart, and mind, and soul. (Deut. 6:5.)” -John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal,”
1. “Arrived at my goal” here, in the Greek, is a form of the word “teleioō,” meaning “to complete” or “to perfect.” Paul openly says he has not arrived. He has not reached a final, ungrowable perfection; he’s not “finished baking.”
2. This is true humility: experts know how much they don’t know; novices think they know everything. Paul knows God is still at work in him.
3. Wesley’s early attempts to share his doctrine of Christian Perfection were marred by people making wild claims about the power given to them after they had reached the fullness of perfection:
4. “Two or three began to take their own imaginations for impressions from God, and thence to suppose that they should never die; and these, labouring to bring others into the same opinion, occasioned much noise and confusion. Soon after, the same persons, with a few more, ran into other extravagances; fancying they could not be tempted; that they should feel no more pain; and that they had the gift of prophecy, and of discerning of spirits.” -John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection
“…I press on…”
1. “He alludes to runners, who do not turn their eyes aside in any direction, lest they should slacken the speed of their course, and, more especially, do not look behind to see how much ground they have gone over, but hasten forward unremittingly towards the goal.” -John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentary

¹⁵All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

“All of us then who are mature…”
1. “Mature” in this translation is a form of teleios, meaning perfect, mature, or complete.
2. Note the paradox between verse 12 and 15:
  1. Paul isn’t perfect, but he has been perfected.
  2. He isn’t fully mature, but he has been made mature.
  3. He hasn’t fully lived into his telos, but he also somehow has.
3. The Christian life isn’t about trying to be good enough through our actions. Conversely, it’s not about just saying we love Jesus and then going back to our old lives. We have everything we need in Christ.
4. As Paul says, we’re striving to live up to what we have already attained.
  1. We already have the grace of Christ through him when we accept his sacrifice. We’re not earning it. We’re just living into it.
5. “The perfection of a human being consists in clinging to God through love, since each thing is perfect according to the manner in which it clings to its own perfection. Now the soul can cling perfectly to God …by actually directing its entire activity toward God and knowing Him as He is knowable; this belongs to the heavenly homeland.” -Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, C3, L2, 126
“…if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.”
1. “No one could speak in this manner, if he were not fully assured of the reasonableness and accuracy of his doctrine. Let us in the mean time learn also from this passage, that we must bear for a time with ignorance in our weak brethren, and forgive them, if it is not given them immediately to be altogether of one mind with us.” -John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentary, Philippians 3

¹⁷Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. ¹⁸For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.

“Join together in following my example… keep your eyes on those who live as we do.”
1. Christians should live so they can sincerely say, “Watch and follow me to learn about Jesus.”
2. This contrasts with famous leaders who preach one thing but do another, engaging in depraved or illegal behavior.
“…enemies of the cross of Christ…”
1. Notice that it’s not just “enemies of Christ;” it’s enemies of the cross of Christ.
  1. They reject the “way of the cross” (glory through humility) and seek worldly glory and status.
2. The Enemies of the Cross of Christ:
  1. Their destiny is destruction (the same word used for damnation: apōleia).
  2. Their god is their stomach (they pursue bodily urges and cravings).
  3. Their glory is in their shame (they’re proud of things they should be ashamed of—stealing, cruelty, sexual immorality—and rationalize it).
  4. Their mind is set on earthly things (money, houses, jobs) rather than heavenly things.
3. Notice that throughout this entire stretch of scripture, Paul is describing people who are already in churches. This is not a condemnation of people outside the churches; it’s a realization that more attention is needed to protect the heart of Christ’s communities.
People with Christ’s name on their lips but not in their hearts can do so much damage in churches if their behavior goes unaddressed. They threaten:
1. The Church’s Witness
  1. Ask anyone who grew up Christian why they aren’t still Christian today. The number one answer? Hypocrisy.
  2. How many churches today have had conversations about how to cover up scandals, how to soothe cruel members, and how to invite more people to their dysfunction rather than actually address the sin in their midst?
2. The Members of the Church
  1. In sermon 102, Spurgeon recalls a group of Protestants defending Switzerland against Catholic invaders through a narrow mountain pass. All went well… until the enemy came up a tiny pathway that only a local could have known about. They ran to fight, knowing that they would lose because of a betrayal.
  2. A betrayal in the church of those who strive for the best by those who have settled for the easiest breeds distrust and causes deep wounds.
3. Themselves
  1. It harms the offender, who may spend a comfortable life in church without ever meeting Jesus.
  2. It might be comfortable to avoid conflict today, but will that comfort last into eternity?
  3. Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
4. “Your Master was crucified, and do you seek ease? Your Master was pierced with nails, and do you live delicately? Do these things become a noble soldier?” -Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Philippians
5. “If you love your Master, die His death. Learn how great is the power of the Cross; how many good things it has achieved, and does still: how it is the safety of our life.” -Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Philippians

²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there.”
1. With Philippi being a Roman colony in a sea of Greeks, they would have been incredibly familiar with the sense of being a separate, representative people in a region where they were examples for others.
2. Likewise, we are “citizens of heaven,” distinct from the world. Our speech, thoughts, and anything else we touch should reflect Heaven.
3. Christians eagerly await a Savior from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The people of Philippi would be rabid if the emperor were to visit their city! How much should we long for the coming of Christ to our world?
“[He] will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
1. The Christian life is transformational. In Jesus, we recover our original purpose. Not only are we recovering our original telos in the end, but we’re going beyond it to something even grander.
  1. Christ will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body. To understand this more fully, just read passages about Christ after his resurrection in the New Testament! His body works differently! Read about his ascension! The way he appears where he’s needed! His glory! These bodies will be glorious indeed.
2. “The body of Christ, of course, is glorified by the glory of his divinity; and he merited this by his passion. Therefore, whoever shares in the power of the divinity by grace and imitates the passion of Christ shall be glorified.” -Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, C3, L2, 145.
3. “What? Shall this our body be fashioned like Him, who sits at the right hand of the Father, to Him who is worshipped by the Angels, before whom do stand the incorporeal Powers, to Him who is above all rule and power, and might? If then the whole world were to take up weeping and lament for those who have fallen from this hope, could it worthily lament?” -Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Philippians

Full Transcript

We pick up where we left off in the book of Philippians. Previously, we were in chapter three. We covered the first half, and the first half of that chapter was Paul addressing the Judaizers. This is a group that he addressed throughout his epistles. These are people that say they love Jesus, and they know that Jesus—anybody can go to Jesus for their salvation—but they say Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. So, if you want him to be your Messiah, step one is you get circumcised, and step two is you learn the Jewish holidays, and step three is you learn the law and you try to keep it. And once you become Jewish enough, then Jesus is your Messiah. Now, Paul insists this is absolutely not what Jesus is all about.

Salvation is not a process that begins with you doing a certain amount of things, and then it ends when you’re good enough to be worthy of Jesus. Jesus is salvation. All those things in the Old Testament—they’re good, but they point to Jesus. They’re fulfilled in Jesus. There is no amount of good stuff that will make you worthy of salvation. And He talks about all the good stuff He did. By His society’s standards, He was very good. He had done all the things. He had been born to the right people. He had done the right rituals. He was impressive, and he says he looks back on all of that and thinks it’s garbage. All of it is nothing more than garbage because it made him think that he was enough and that he could be good when the only good is Jesus. You can only begin to be good once you find yourself in Him.

So we’re going to pick up a little bit before we stopped last time. I know we touched on verses 12 through 14, but we’re actually going to go back to verse 12. There’s more to be gained there. And before we go too far, I want to introduce two new words. We’re going to learn a little bit of Greek today. So the words are telos and teleios. It’s all right. It’s nice and easy. You’ll catch on quick. And the reason I introduce them is because there are some concepts attached to these words that if you know them, it’s easier to understand what Paul is talking about. So let’s begin with telos. Telos is a word that means the point of something, the reason it exists, its end goal. That’s what I was talking about with the kids earlier.

So, for example, a pile of lumber in a carpenter’s shop. Maybe he bought it to make a boat. So, what is the telos of that pile of wood? Well, it’s going to become a boat, exactly. Similarly, if we think about a cake mix, let’s say there’s a cake mix in my pantry. What is the telos of the cake mix? It’s supposed to become a cake, exactly. Now all of us have a telos. We have a purpose. God made us with purpose, and the most famous articulation of that purpose is very likely in the Heidelberg Catechism. This is a catechism, which is a book intended for new Christians to learn the faith, and it’s a series of questions and answers. This particular one is Reformed, but it’s very, very good.

And that first sentence is especially famous: What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That’s why we exist. That is our telos. There’s a problem. The problem is sin, because we cannot do what we were made to do. Not only do we fall short, but we are incapable of doing that on our own.

Imagine that cake mix again. I want you to imagine that one of my kids gets into my pantry and dumps the cake mix all over the floor. I am not making the cake with that anymore. That is unfit for baking purposes. It’s done. That’s what we were like. We were unfit for the purpose that we were created for. We should have been done, but Jesus, through His sacrifice, restored us so that we can be what we were made to be again. We can live into our telos.

The other word, teleios, it’s related to the first word, right? It’s just something that has achieved its telos. It is something that has arrived. It is the cake after the mix has been baked. It is the boat after the wood has been used for its right purpose. That’s translated in English often as having reached a goal, or matured, or perfect. You can think about this as the word that Jesus used in the Gospels. It’s the word that they use when Jesus says, “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Teleios. And I think this is especially worthy of thinking about for Methodists because John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, famously introduced a controversial doctrine called Christian Perfection. He said, “You can be perfect in this life.” Now, to most of us hearing that, that sounds horrifying. When we think about being perfect, think about how many movies you’ve seen where someone is trying to be perfect.

And they’re an anxious mess, always trying to do everything, always criticizing themselves, always beating themselves up, trying to live up to an unattainable standard. That is perfectionism. That’s a bad thing, right? What Wesley was trying to get at was this concept of teleios, being what you were made to be, living into your identity in Christ. Yeah, maybe you’re never going to know everything there is to know. Maybe you’re never going to stop making mistakes. You won’t. You will never stop making mistakes. That’s just part of being human. But maybe you can be what God made you to be: someone who loves God, glorifies God, who loves their neighbor. Through the Holy Spirit, we can be that.

Now, have those ideas, telos and teleios, in your mind, because we’re about to talk about those. Paul’s going to get at them in several different ways, and he introduces a paradox that I think is really helpful to think about. We just dealt with works righteousness. The Judaizers are saying you have to be good enough to be worthy of salvation. Paul is going to discuss how we should be living into our salvation, how we can be what we’re supposed to be, and it’s not by working harder.

Verse 12: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining towards that which is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

And that’s that teleios idea when he says, “Not that I have already arrived at my goal.” Paul says, “I have not achieved a permanent state of ungrowable perfection. I have not finished baking. I am not done. God is still working on me.” It’s real humility here. I’m sure we’ve all met someone that thinks they have arrived. They think they know everything there is to know about some particular topic, or that they’re perfectly good at something. And ironically, the people that think that way are very rarely experts. A true expert often knows how much they don’t know. It’s the people that don’t know what they don’t know that think, “I am pretty much an expert at this,” and get offended if they’re ever corrected. Paul knows what he doesn’t know. He knows he isn’t beyond growth, and so he can sincerely and humbly say, “I am not teleios. I am not perfect. God is still helping me grow.”

In that sense of having arrived, having become perfect in a way that prevents growth, when John Wesley introduced his idea of Christian perfection, there were some people that took it that way. They took it in a very earthly way, and I’m going to tell you about some fun examples. These are all historical incidents. You can look them up. They’re really weird. There were some early Methodists that heard about Christian perfection and they said, “Good news! I just became perfect. I don’t have to read my Bible anymore because God wrote it on my heart. I’m done with that thing now.” There were people who said, “Good news! I’m perfect. I am never going to age again. I am perfect as the angels are perfect in heaven. I’m ageless.” There were people that said, “I have become perfectly powerful. I am capable of bringing people back from the dead and healing the blind.” Spoiler alert: they were not able to do those things, and for that matter, the people that said they would never age certainly did. It didn’t work out for them.

This is that kind of perfect. It is exceedingly earthly. People imagining they can be a really big deal, powerful, impressive, something they were never really supposed to be in some senses. Meanwhile, see how Paul continues on in verse 15: “All of us then who are mature should take a different view of such things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”

That word mature there is that word again, teleios. Those of us who are teleios, those of us who are—again, I think the NIV is great here. I think it makes it very comprehensible in English. Mature is a good word for it. But those of us who are perfect, those of us who have arrived, Paul says, “I have not arrived, and yet I have arrived.” And what he’s getting at here is saying, “I am not perfect, but in Christ I am perfect. I have not fully become what I need to be, but because of Christ, I have become what I’m supposed to be. In Christ, I am free from sin. In Christ, I am capable of finally loving God and glorifying Him.” And that last sentence introduces the paradox perfectly: “Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”

Salvation is not about working harder to become more perfect by our efforts. Christ has already given us everything we need. At this point, it’s about being more of who we already are in Christ, living more fully into His grace, living more fully into the call of the Holy Spirit, being what we were made to be.

Now, Paul will also have to address—as much as the Judaizers’ way of thinking that you can work hard enough and be somehow worthy of salvation is the wrong way to think—there is also a very different wrong way to think that Paul also warns them is in some of their churches, and they need to watch out for. Now let’s continue on to verse 17: “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.”

We’ll get to the rest here in a second, but let’s just sit with that. Paul says, “If you want to be a Christian, look at what I do. It’s a good example. Follow me.” Are there other people in leadership that are good examples? Are they perfect examples of how to be a Christian? No. He’s not claiming that he is completely without error in all things, but he’s saying he’s a pretty good example as someone who has tried to live into the fullness of Christianity.

I think that’s important for all of us to think on. As we talk to people about Jesus, are we people that we could sincerely say, “Oh, you want to be a Christian? Yeah, watch me. I’m going to teach you”? We should strive for that. Especially, we all know you can turn on the news once about every, I don’t know, few months. There’s some big famous pastor somewhere that it comes out, they did a bunch of stuff that they weren’t supposed to be doing. They said one thing, and then they did something else. Now, on one hand, nobody’s perfect, but on the other hand, when the things you are doing are so openly depraved, when some of them are illegal, and the things you talk about are so delightful, it’s hard to reconcile that and say, “Yeah, they were really living into what Jesus was asking them to.” We’ve got to ask ourselves: Are we people who are living into what Jesus is calling us to? Are we good examples for others of what Jesus is all about? There are some people in their churches that are not.

Paul continues on. He says, “For as I have often told you before and now tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.” Enemies of the cross of Christ. In Philippians 2, we saw him talk about the way of the cross, how God’s glory was revealed in his humility, how the ultimate being left the hallowed halls of heaven and came and dwelled with us and died in a shameful way, and that is true glory. That is the way of the cross.

Paul says there are some people that are worshiping with them that have no interest in the way of the cross. They don’t want to find glory in humility. They want to find glory in good old-fashioned glory. They just want to be really big deals. Verse 19: “Their destiny is destruction. Their god is their stomach. Their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”

Their minds are set on earthly things. They can gather together once a week to think on the things of heaven, and then not think about it again until the next week. Their minds are on their money. Their minds are on their houses. Their minds are on their jobs. Their minds are on earthly things. Now, to be aware of earthly things is good, right? It’s not like those are horrible things to think about. But you got to keep your eyes where you want to go. Otherwise, you’re not going to get there. Be aware of your surroundings, but keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your eyes on heaven.

These are people whose eyes are totally focused on earthly things. Their God is their stomach. They can say they love Jesus, but what do they really like doing? Fulfilling their urges. Whatever their body craves, they give it. You can worship with them on Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon, and you can get drunk with them. They do whatever they feel like doing. Their glory is in their shame. They are comfortable with the things that they ought to be ashamed of. They’re proud of it.

When they steal, they’re not embarrassed or ashamed. They say, “Well, come on, it’s just a little bit of roguishness. Let’s not worry about it so much.” When they blow up at someone and act horribly cruel, they say, “Well, I’m just passionate. I don’t know why you can be angry about that. I’m just passionate.” When they indulge in sexual immorality, they say, “Well, you don’t understand. I got a big heart. It’s too much of me for just one person.” They’re proud of what they do wrong. They don’t see a problem with it. And Paul talks about them through tears and says their destiny is destruction. And that word destruction is the same word used in other places for damnation. They are going in the wrong direction.

And these are people that are in their worship communities. These are people that are part of their churches. Paul says, “Do not use these people as your examples.” He calls them out, right? It’s important to be able to do that, because when someone has Christ on their lips and not in their heart, it damages so much. It damages the witness of the church. Just find someone who grew up Christian and is not Christian anymore, and I’ll bet you most of them have stories. Stories about people who were mean as snakes, and everybody just said, “Well, you got to understand, that’s the way they are. Let’s not make it a big deal.” Stories about people who did awful things, and no one ever brought it up because, well, we don’t want to tell everybody because someone might leave the church. Let’s just keep this on the hush-hush.

It damages the witness of the church when we aren’t willing to address uncomfortable behavior in the church. It puts one another at risk. There’s a story about Protestant defenders in Switzerland. They were being invaded by the Catholics. They were trying to protect Switzerland, and these Protestants, they were up at a pass that was almost impenetrable. It was the perfect defensive location. They could defend it with a very small group of men almost indefinitely, unless the enemy found out about one little pathway that led them to the perfect weak spot. But it was only the locals who knew about it. Surely it would never be a problem until one day, sure enough, they heard the enemy’s forces coming up that path. One of their own had betrayed them.

We don’t want to put our own people at risk. Not only can it damage our witness, not only can we damage ourselves, we can damage the people who are behaving badly. The people who have Jesus’s name on their lips and not in their heart. Imagine someone who grew up their whole life in church. Did they love Jesus? They said they did, but their behavior showed that they clearly didn’t. They didn’t care about making Jesus happy. They didn’t care about living by His teachings. But it’s really uncomfortable to tell someone like that, “Hey, I think the way you’re acting is wrong. I think we need to talk about it.” That’s an uncomfortable conversation. It’s easier to say nothing. But imagine how dreadful it would be, and how uncomfortable it would be, to someday know that that person might go face to face with Jesus, and Jesus would say, “Get away from me! I never knew you.” Their whole life in a church, and they never knew.

It is our responsibility to take care of these communities dedicated to Christ, to make sure that we address uncomfortable realities, to make sure that we don’t live by worldly behavior, that we have higher standards than that. Yeah, you can’t be good enough to earn salvation, but salvation isn’t just saying something and moving on. It’s living into what you already are when you give your life over to Christ.

Paul talks about what it really is going forward. He says we are citizens of heaven. Remember, the city of Philippi is this Roman city in a sea of Greeks. They are exceedingly Roman. Their traditions are Roman. Their language is Latin. Their stories are Roman. Their architecture is Roman. They are different than the people around them, and you can see it. Paul says that is what we’re supposed to be: citizens of heaven, people whose way of talk sounds like heaven, whose way of thinking is on the things of heaven, whose things we build are heavenly. We should be citizens of heaven, and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

How much would the citizens of Philippi, these good Roman citizens, love to see Caesar come in to their town? That’s their guy. That’s the most exciting thing that could happen. It would be delightful. How much do we look forward to the coming of Jesus? How much would we delight if He came to us? We eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.

The Christian life is a life of transformation. We fell away from what we were supposed to be, but in Jesus we can recover that. We can be what we were made to be. We can be people who glorify God and love Him.

Philippians 3:1-11 A Hebrew of Hebrews

October 6, 2026October 6, 2026 ~ Vincent

Video Teaching
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Full Transcript

From the Pulpit

Commentary

3 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

“…rejoice in the Lord!”

1. Paul has given so many reasons to rejoice: his evangelism, the coming of Timothy, the recovery of Epaphroditus, etc. But the chief reason to rejoice is the Lord.
2. Most causes for joy in this world are dependent on our circumstances.
  1. Our God is immutable. He never changes.
  2. Our God is good. He never does evil.
  3. Our God is loving. He loves us and wishes for us to turn to Him.
3. Because of who He is, no matter our circumstances, he is worthy of rejoicing about.
4. We should delight in the Lord as Augustine does in prayer in the introduction of his Confessions: “Most high, utterly good, utterly powerful, most omnipotent, most merciful and most just, deeply hidden yet most intimately present, perfection of both beauty and strength, stable and incomprehensible, immutable and yet changing all things.”
“To write the same things to you again…”

1. Paul is about to address something that he has addressed repeatedly throughout his travels: the Judaizers. Not only has he dealt with this before with the Philippians, but this can be found throughout his New Testament letters.
2. Galatians, Romans, Titus, Philippians, and 2 Corinthians all have very direct references to this conflict, although the thread connects pretty consistently even more broadly than that.
3. HIs central frustration is that these “Judaizers” want Gentiles to accept Jesus as their savior… as long as they become Jewish first.
  1. They need circumcision
  2. They need to keep the law
  3. They need to know Jewish festivals and culture.
  4. And THEN Jesus, the Jewish messiah, will save them.
4. Jesus saves through grace, not works. Anything that you have to do BEFORE you go to Jesus is wrongheaded and ignorant. He IS the salvation. He IS life.
5. Today, we don’t see a lot of people demanding circumcision, but there are other ways people gatekeep salvation…
  1. You must be confirmed.
  2. You must wear certain clothes.
  3. You must learn our songs.
  4. You must participate in our church’s programs.
6. Paul has immense respect for the Old Testament, but it’s all fulfilled in Jesus.
7. The ONLY thing that people need is Jesus. Expressions of faith after that are evidence of genuine faith, but faith is the singular need for salvation.

²Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. ³For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

“…dogs…”

1. In Matthew 15:21-28 Mark 7:24-30, Jesus uses the word “dogs” specifically to refer to Gentiles that are not seated at the table of the household of God as he tests the faith of those who come to him for miracles.
2. Continuing Christ’s metaphor forward, these are people that might see others as below the household of God, but Paul uses the same term here to name them as the ones that aren’t a true part of the family. Their pride in their works has prevented them from joining the table.
3. Calvin, as do many other theologians, favor a more literal reading of “dogs.”
  1. “In the first place, however, he calls them dogs; the metaphor being grounded upon this — that, for the sake of filling their belly, they assailed true doctrine with their impure barking.” -John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentary, Philippians 3.
“…evildoers…”
1. The Judaisers claim to be good Jesus-loving people, but Paul does not mince words: they do evil.
2. “As the public crier on being asked by Gracchus in mockery, on the ground of his sitting idle, what he was doing? had his answer ready, “Nay, but what are you doing?” for he was the ringleader of a ruinous sedition.” -John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentary, Philippians 3
3. John Wesley has three rules for the early Methodists: do no harm, do good, and attend upon the ordinances of God. Notice that he included both “do no harm” and “do good.” It is not enough to just start doing what God loves. We also need to stop doing that which is unworthy of a child of God.
“…mutilators of the flesh.”
1. Paul isn’t using this terminology to disrespect the historic ritual of circumcision. It’s not that what was past was bad; it’s that all things are now fulfilled with the coming of Christ (Coloss. 2:16–17, Heb. 8:5, Heb. 10:1, 1 Cor. 5:7, etc.).
2. The past all pointed to Jesus, but now he’s here.
“For it is we who are the circumcision…”
1. A relationship with God is not governed by a ritual; it’s governed by a person. Once we find ourselves in Christ, there is no need for anything else. We have everything in him, and nothing without him.
2. Romans 2:28-29 further clarifies that a true person of God, or a “true Jew,” is not a person who has external qualities, but someone whose heart is filled with the Spirit.
  1. Galatians 3:7, Luke 19:40, and Romans 11:17-20 are other verses that help establish that the fulfillment of the Old Testament and its promises exist through Christ, not through ethnic bloodlines or branches of Judaism that rejected Christ.
3. “As many, therefore, as are led by their own spirit, trusting in their own virtue, with the addition merely of the law’s assistance, without the help of grace, are not the sons of God… He said this of the Jews, who in their self-assumption rejected grace, and therefore did not believe in Christ.” -Augustine, On Grace and Free Will, Ch. 24.

⁴though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

“I have reason for such confidence.
1. Paul’s list of feats shows that if strict adherence to the law by earthly standards was the goal, nobody could have surpassed his efforts.
  1. Genesis 17:11-12 establishes circumcision on the eighth day as the ritual that allows a child to be born into the promises of Israel.
  2. “For two races descended from Abraham: one through Isaac, and the other through Ishmael. From Isaac also two races descended: one through Esau and one through Jacob. But the one from Esau and the one from Ishmael were not included in the inheritance, but only Jacob who is also called Israel,” -Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, Ch. 3, Lt.1, 110.
  3. “The tribe of Benjamin adhered to Judah, not departing from the temple when the division occurred under Solomon’s servant [Jeroboam].” -Glossa Ordinaria, Philippians 3.
  4. The word Pharisee comes from the Aramaic word Pərīšā (פְּרִישָׁא) which means “one who is set apart.” They prided themselves on keeping the law better than any others.
  5. He was so zealous to prove his righteousness by the standards of his culture, he hated the message of grace that the church had and sought to destroy it that his own righteousness would be established even further.

⁷But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

“Whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”

1. It’s almost as if Paul was living out his days like a balance sheet. The good things he did were gains, and the sins were losses. In his case, almost all was gain, and very little was loss. He thought he was in the clear! It was only when he knew Christ that he realized that all the good things he did that he thought made him good actually belonged in the “loss” column because they kept him from Jesus’s grace.
2. Many people assume that going to Heaven is about doing more good than bad. They also imagine that they’re a good person because they deem their deeds more good than bad.
3. A missionary once said that the biggest challenge in Western countries in evangelism is explaining sin, because nobody thinks they’ve done anything bad enough to need redeeming.
4. “The gifts of God far exceed those worthless good deeds, which are due to our own diligence.” -Chrysostom, Homily 11 on Philippians
5. [Through the law],your evil desire is not taken away by love, but suppressed by fear…. The wolf comes to the sheepfold; by the barking of dogs and the shout of shepherds, the wolf is driven away from the sheepfold; yet he is always a wolf. Let him be turned into a sheep. For indeed, the Lord makes this happen; but that is His justice, not yours. For as long as you have your own, you can fear punishment, not love righteousness. The delight of justice is a gift of God. -Augustine, Sermon 169.
“I consider them garbage…”
1. This is the most famously intense iteration of this idea. The word here, σκύβαλα or skubala, has been popularly translated as dung, garbage, trash, and excrement.
2. Some have claimed that the Greek word used here, was equivalent to modern profanity. This isn’t rooted in history. The term may not have been used often by eloquent speakers, but it was used in both agriculture and to describe bits of food thrown out to dogs. A modern equivalent that captures both the meaning and social connotations might be something like “crap.”
3. “Paul shudders at his own righteousness, so that he might have righteousness from God.” -Augustine, Sermon 169.

¹⁰I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

“I want to know Christ…”

1. Notice that Paul is already converted. He has planted churches. He is an apostle. He writes Scripture! And what does he want? Just to know Jesus better.
2. He sounds much like the psalmist that wrote, “AS the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” (Ps 42:1)
“Are you astonished that a saved man should have such a desire as this? A moment’s reflection will remove your astonishment. Imagine for a moment that you are living in the age of the Roman emperors. You have been captured by Roman soldiers and dragged from your native country; you have been sold for a slave, stripped, whipped, branded, imprisoned, and treated with shameful cruelty. At last yon are appointed to die in the amphitheatre, to make holiday for a tyrant. The populace assemble with delight. There they are, tens of thousands of them, gazing down from the living sides of the capacious Colosseum. You stand alone, and naked, armed only with a single dagger a poor defense against gigantic beasts… But what is this? O wonder of mercy! a deliverer appears. A great unknown leaps from among the gazing multitude, and confronts the savage monster. …The hero lifts you up, smiles into your bloodless face, whispers comfort in your ear, and bids you be of good courage, for you are free. Do you not think that there would arise at once in your heart a desire to know your deliverer?’” -Charles Spurgeon, Sermon 552.
“[P]ersecutions, and afflictions, and difficulties, ought not to disturb you, but ought even to make you glad, because through them we are conformed to His death….We are molded to His likeness,”-Chrysostom, Homily 11 on Philippians.

Full Transcript

Here is the cleaned-up transcript, removing verbal clutter, false starts, filler words, repetitive stutters, and transcription markers while preserving the original wording, structure, and intent as closely as possible:

So we’re about halfway through the book now. Previously, we just wrapped up chapter two. By the way, halfway through—how crazy is that? It’s a short book, but man, is it powerful. So last week we talked through the end of chapter two, and there were so many reasons that Paul gave for the people at Philippi to be joyful. They could rejoice at all these different things. Paul says, “Hey, I’m in prison, but I’m doing okay, and I’m sharing the gospel.” Paul told them, “I’m going to send Timothy to you, and Timothy—he is someone that will take care of you. He is someone that loves Jesus. He will help your community, and that’s a reason to rejoice.” And he tells them that Epaphroditus, a member of their congregation, that they sent to him to help him while he was in prison and to give him the financial offering that they had gathered so that they could help him cover his debts while he was in prison.

He got sick while he was over there in Rome, incredibly sick. He almost died, but he miraculously recovered and now is headed back to join them in Philippi. There are a lot of good things happening here. But Paul begins here with the greatest thing of all. He says, “Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.”

There is nothing you can rejoice in that is greater than God, and I hope that’s what you’re doing this morning. I don’t know whether you had a good week or a bad week. This life, you know, as time goes by, things change. Even the most precious of moments slips away. So if we’re rejoicing in our circumstances, it’s not going to be something you can consistently get excited about. But God is the one thing that doesn’t change. He is not subject to the ravages of time. To the contrary, before the first day ever passed, God was. He is immutable. He doesn’t change. That’s why His promises are so important to us. Because when God says something, you can trust it forever. God is good.

If you had a miserable week this past week, if you got bad news, you’ve been trying to kick a bad habit and it crept back into your life, if you just felt lonely, or if you had a great week, if everything was going your way, either way, take this opportunity this morning to rejoice in the Lord, because the God above all things knows you and loves you. That’s never going to change. Rejoice in the Lord, and he continues saying, “It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.” So Paul’s about to remind them of something he has told them about before, and this is something we find throughout the epistles. Paul consistently talks about this. You can find it especially in the book of Galatians.

But it’s also in Romans. It’s also right here in Philippians. It’s in Second Corinthians. It’s in Titus, and you can find references to it in other places. This is the Judaizers. The Judaizers were a group of people that said, “We love Jesus. Jesus is the Messiah. All that good stuff.” But when Gentiles wanted to join the church, they said, “That’s great. Here’s the thing, though. Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. The Jews are God’s people. If you want Jesus to be your Messiah, you’re going to have to become Jewish first. So let’s begin: we’re going to get you circumcised, and through this ritual, all of the promises of the Old Testament will finally be yours. And then you can learn the Jewish festivals, and you can learn the Jewish law, and you’re going to do all that stuff, and then Jesus will be your Messiah too.”

And hopefully, you can see why that frustrates Paul so much, because in this model, Jesus is not actually your salvation. There’s a million other things that you have to do first. Jesus is just the end of that process. And it’s not that Paul has any disrespect for the Old Testament. To the contrary, He respects it to the highest degree, but he recognizes that all of the good in the Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus. All of that was pointing to Him the whole time. So, the Jewish festivals—you don’t need to celebrate them because they pointed to Jesus and His coming and the goodness that He brought. You don’t need to get circumcised because in Jesus the promises that God has made to everyone are yes. You don’t need to keep the law because Jesus already did it. All of this stuff points to Him. So getting caught up and trying to do it before you’re good enough for Him, no, it just causes trouble.

And I know that we today don’t see a lot of people going around saying, “Okay, you want to be Christian? Let’s get you circumcised and let’s go.” That’s not quite the same anymore, but there are definitely people that have this idea of the things you have to do before you’re really Christian. Well, let’s get you confirmed, and then you’ll really be a Christian. Let’s get you in a membership class. Let’s make sure you dress the right way and know the right songs, and then you’ll finally be a Christian. There is nothing you have to do to be a Christian except for go right to Jesus.

He is every bit the salvation we need. There is nothing we can do that makes us good enough for Him. He is so good that He condescends to us and takes care of us, even though we are so unworthy of it, and nothing we could do would be enough. So Paul has some very choice warnings about these people. He says, “Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh.” That first one: “Watch out for those dogs.” “Dogs” was a term that was used by first-century Jews to refer to people that were not Jewish. The Gentiles were dogs, and for the most part, the average dog in the Middle East was not a cute little house pet.

They were mangy scavengers that lived out on the streets, and so calling them a dog—this is not something that belongs in the household of God. This is something outside. This is a scavenger. That’s what the Gentiles were. You can even see that terminology used by Jesus when the Syrophoenician woman goes to him and says, “Jesus, I need your help.” And to test her, he says, “Why would I give the food meant for the household of Israel to the dogs?” She continued to ask him for help: “Look, can’t the dogs just have the scraps left over?” And Jesus said, “Of course, I’m going to help you.” This test was to show that it doesn’t matter what your background is, what your ethnicity is. If you want to go to Jesus, all you have to do is humble yourself, not come from a certain background.

So this term, very likely, is the same kind of terminology that these Judaizers are using. They still think they’re the ones that are special enough for God’s household, and everybody else is on the outs. And what Paul is saying is they’re the ones on the outs. Just by thinking the way they’re thinking, they’re entirely wrong. And he continues on his second one: they’re evildoers. Well, now these are people that love Jesus. These are people that show up for worship. But Paul does not mince words. They’re evildoers. You can do a lot worse things than nothing, right? You can do things that are actively wrong, and we’d do well to avoid that.

I love—there’s a theologian named John Calvin. He’s one of the architects of the Reformation. In reading this passage, he was reminded of a story from ancient Rome. There was a senator named Gracchus, and this was in the last days of the Roman Republic. Things have not been going well in the Republic for a while, so Gracchus says he’s going to fix the Roman Republic. And how’s he going to do that? Well, it turns out mostly by breaking the rules of the Roman Republic. So when people disagree with him, they get removed, and when people don’t pass his laws, he just goes around them and does it anyway, because it’s okay: he’s saving the republic. He needs to break a few rules here and there, but it’s to save the republic. And then once things are better, he’s going to pass it off, right?

Well, this guy’s causing all kinds of grief and turmoil within the Roman Republic. And as Gracchus is walking through Rome one day, there is a town crier that sees him. Gracchus sees this guy just kind of sitting around. A town crier would give you news before, you know, newspapers, the internet, all that kind of stuff. He just shouts what you need to know. He sees him laying around. He says, “What are you doing?” The town crier responded, “Oh, I’m not doing anything. Nobody needs to worry about me. But you, on the other hand, what are you doing? You can do a lot worse than nothing.”

It’s one of the reasons why John Wesley gave the first Methodists three rules. Do you guys know the three rules? Three rules: do no harm, do good, attend upon the ordinances of God. And that third one is kind of, you know, go to church, read your Bible, that kind of stuff. And when I first heard them, I thought, “Man, those first two are pretty redundant, right? Do no harm, do good.” But you can do a lot worse than nothing. You can do things that are actively bad. And doing all the good things in the world and just adding those on on the side is not enough. As Christians, we have to be introspective. We have to take the time to look at our lives and ask, “What are things I’m doing that are wrong? What are things I’m doing that don’t reflect the heart of Jesus?” These people have not done that work.

They are doing things in the church that are actively evil. And the last one: “those mutilators of the flesh.” So they’re asking for circumcision, and Paul doesn’t even acknowledge it as legitimate. He doesn’t see it as something that accomplishes anything that they want it to. It’s just the mutilation of flesh.

Not only that, I think he’d go a step further. I don’t think I’m out of line here to say that it’s not only mutilating people’s flesh; it’s mutilating their souls. Because when you think, when someone tells you you could go to Jesus, but first you have to do these other things, that is a wrong mindset right from the beginning. There is nothing we can do to be worthy of Jesus. Any ritual that presupposes that it’s going to somehow make us good enough is wrong-headed from the start.

Verse three: “It is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.” I think here’s a reading from the book of Romans. This is Romans chapter two, verses twenty-eight through twenty-nine. I think this really helps illuminate that: “He is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, not by the written code.” Being one of God’s people is not about an outward ritual. It is about going to God sincerely, asking for forgiveness, and receiving the Holy Spirit—that is the real circumcision, so to speak. Not anything outward, but something inward, something deeper than that.

Although Paul does point out, if anybody could get in by being good enough, he thinks he’s got a pretty good case. He’s going to give us his resume right here, and sure enough, it is impressive: “If someone—though I myself have reasons for such confidence—if someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.” He says, “Look, if it were about all this other stuff, look, I was born to the right people. I did the right rituals. I was a Pharisee. I was literally a member of a sect within Judaism that prided itself on its ability to keep the law to the best of our understanding.” And he says, “That’s what I did. I kept the law as far as we understood the law.” Not only that, but these ideas from the church, I hated them.

I didn’t want to hear about Jesus and grace because I firmly believed you could do it if you worked hard enough. And if anybody had worked hard enough, it was me. And yet, all of that was worth nothing. Verse seven: “But whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.” It’s like he imagined his whole life like a balance sheet, and on this side you’ve got the gains, this side the losses. He was looking at his life and seeing all these things coming up as gains and saying, “Man, I’m doing really good.” It wasn’t until he knew the grace of God that he understood all those things that seemed so impressive before—they were actually things that belonged in the loss column because they stopped him from seeing God’s grace and God’s goodness. They were things that got in the way of seeing God’s love for him. You can’t understand the fullness of God’s grace until you understand how far we are away from it. Once you see how sinful we are, how much we ruined ourselves, then you can appreciate all the more God’s love and how He reached out to us.

Nonetheless, that mindset—that mindset that you can be good enough—it’s a pretty common mindset. I’ve talked to some missionaries who work on college campuses that say one of the biggest challenges in telling people about Jesus is talking about sin, because the average person doesn’t think they’re very sinful. They think they’re pretty darn good.

And as someone that taught confirmation classes more than a few times, one of my favorite questions was always, “In the eyes of God, how good do you think you are?” I’d give them a scale of one to ten, and I never got an answer below a seven. Most kids going through that thought they were pretty darn good. Now, mind you, the kids that went to church more were the ones that would rate themselves like a seven or so. It was the ones that had never been in a church that would be totally comfortable rating themselves a 10, like, “Yeah, I’m a great person. Let’s do it.” I think that tells us something about the culture around us. This is common, this idea that you can be good enough if the good stuff you do balances out the bad stuff that you’ve done. On the whole, it’s going to work out for you. But we’re a little biased in deciding how much good and how much evil we’ve done, aren’t we? That presupposes that any amount of evil is an acceptable amount. You can’t do enough to balance out the wrongs. You can’t.

And Paul continues; he makes the case even more aggressively. Verse eight: “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” Paul says, “I look back at all that I did, and now I realize it was just garbage.” And depending on the translation you use, you could have rubbish, you could have garbage, you could have dung.

The word here in Greek is skubola, and some have even suggested that that is such a vile word, it’s practically like Paul is swearing. This is not the case. He was not swearing for Jesus. The word is, however, not a fancy word, and it’s a word that falls somewhere between the meanings of any of those, really: junk, garbage, dung—somewhere around that. So really, what Paul is trying to say here is: everything I built my life on, when I look at it, it’s just a bunch of crap. It’s garbage. It’s nothing. I have wasted my life on all this stuff. What did I do?

And if you’ve never had a moment like that where you realize everything you built your life on is just junk, I hope you have one. I’ve certainly had a few. Sometimes they’re bigger, sometimes they’re smaller. But sometimes you look at what you did—all the things you have built your identity on, all the things you thought were so important—and you realize they didn’t really matter. They weren’t really important. To the contrary, they were taking you away from the things that did matter, from a life built on knowing Jesus and sharing His love.

Verse ten: “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” Now, Paul’s already converted. Paul has seen Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul is literally writing scripture right here through the power of the Holy Spirit, and yet, what does he say? “I want to know Jesus.” Kind of like in the Psalms, “As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you.”

I really like the way one preacher, very famous, known as Charles Spurgeon—or his nickname people gave him, the Prince of Preaching, because he was a good preacher… When he preached, even if you didn’t believe in Jesus, you might just show up just to hear what he had to say. He was really, really good. I love the way he thought about this. He said, “Imagine that you are just a random peasant somewhere in history, and one day you are captured, you are enslaved, you are beaten, and you are thrown in a cell. And while you are in that cell, you realize that you are going to be thrown in the arena. You will have to fight for your life. You’re given rags to wear and a small, rusty dagger. And as you stand on the sands of the arena, you see a door, and you can hear behind it roaring. It trembles, and you know you do not stand a chance. You are about to die.

Finally, the door opens, and these ferocious lions tear through the arena, eager to gouge your flesh with their claws. And suddenly, someone steps between you and the lions. With one motion of their hand, the lions are gone. Before you can really even talk to them, you are ushered away to a mansion where you are given fine clothing. You are bathed, your wounds are tended to, and your hungry stomach is met with a feast every day. And you ask some of the servants, ‘Who was that that saved me?’ That’s the master of the house. You’ll meet him. Every morning you wake up, you find new gifts left for you.

And you find out that this person, before you even knew who they were, was at work trying to do things for you, trying to help you, trying, at great cost to themselves, to make your life better. How curious would you be to meet this person? How much would you want to know this friend that was a better friend than any you’ve ever had, someone who loved you better than you loved yourself? How much more should we love Jesus? This is someone who has saved us, who has redeemed us, who has nurtured us, who has helped us grow. This is someone who has given us everything we could possibly ask for. How much should we long, just like Paul, to see Him and to know Him—this friend better than any friend we’ve ever had, this person who loves us better than we love ourselves?”

We’ll continue on just a little bit: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Jesus Christ took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Paul does not allow himself to get distracted, to focus on other things that don’t really matter. He keeps his eyes on the prize. He knows that he has been called by God for important work. He knows that he has been called by God to an eternal destination, and so no matter what is going on, he is going to focus on Jesus and keep going, no matter what, in full hope and trust that he is headed toward the One that he wants to see more than anything else.

And for all of us today, if you want to see Jesus, don’t get caught up on all this other stuff. Don’t think about what you should have done or what you need to do before you can start to properly focus on Jesus. Focus on Him now, knowing that He has called you to important work. He has an eternal destination ready for you. Don’t get distracted. Focus on Him and run forward, eager to see the One that loves you more than you love yourself. Amen.

Philippians 2:12-30 Working Out Your Salvation

September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 ~ Vincent

Video Teaching
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Full Transcript

From the Pulpit

Commentary

¹²Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Salvation
1. “It has sometimes been said that preachers frequently select very unpractical themes. No such objection can be raised to-day, for nothing can be more practical than this; nothing more needful than to urge you to see to “your own salvation.” -Spurgeon, Sermon 1003, “Your Own Salvation”
2. Salvation is the most important thing for every human on Earth, regardless of age, race, title, continent, or any other division.
3. “If individuals live only seventy years, then a state, or a nation, or a civilization, which may last for a thousand years, is more important than an individual. But if Christianity is true, then the individual is not only more important but incomparably more important, for he is everlasting and the life of a state or a civilization, compared with his, is only a moment. -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Bk. 3, Ch. 1
4. There are many today that consider talk about salvation a selfish abstraction about one’s own feelings, rather than anything that could be a real benefit to the world.
  1. On the charge of selfishness
    1. Would a person be selfish for brushing their teeth? Or eating healthy? Of course not. Caring for what you’ve been given is healthy.
    2. We are more than just bodies; we’re souls. There’s a spark of self that we know that’s boundless in its ability to ponder and grow. Once we recognize that, we’re obligated to care for it.
    3. The only source to cleanse and strengthen our soul is the God that made it. That’s what salvation is all about: caring for our souls.
  2. On the charge of pointlessness
    1. You don’t stop a problem with more problems.
      1. If a building is on fire, you don’t add more fire. You add water.
      2. If a classroom is crazy, you don’t send in a hyper kid. You send in a teacher.
      3. If there’s a problem, you don’t add more problems. You add the solution.
    2. Sin is the problem in this world, but we’re a part of that problem.
      1. We’re selfish.
      2. We do wrong things.
      3. We are sinful and can’t change that on our own.
    3. God is the solution. He can purify us, and then we can allow him to work in us so that we can help be a part of the solution, rather than a part of the problem.
“…work out your salvation…”
1. Christians often think about salvation purely as the moment of justification, or the moment when we first put our faith in Christ and ask to be forgiven of our sins, but God’s salvation goes beyond that.
2. Salvation isn’t just a one-and-done affair. It’s not fire insurance you buy just in case.
3. After justification, God draws us towards him through sanctification. Through the Holy Spirit, God makes us holier and recovers his image and likeness (Gen 1:26) in us. That is what Paul is referring to here.
  1. We don’t work FOR our salvation. We work OUT our salvation.
  2. Working FOR our salvation implies we’re capable of forming ourselves through our own actions in ways that redeem us, which Paul will explicitly deny in Phil. 3:9.
  3. Working OUT your salvation is exercising the Holy Spirit’s power in your life, living what you believe.
  4. Our heart is like a field. God wants to plant a garden there to grow the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, but if we don’t allow the soil to be plowed and weeded for God’s work, nothing will grow. Stay receptive.
4. “[H]is influences are not to supersede, but to encourage, our own efforts. Work out your own salvation – Here is our duty. For it is God that worketh in you – Here is our encouragement. And O, what a glorious encouragement, to have the arm of Omnipotence stretched out for our support and our succour!” -John Wesley, Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament
“…fear and trembling…”

1. Paul is writing this having found joy in prison. He doesn’t want severe anxiety and terror in us.
2. Paul wants us to take God seriously. It isn’t light work. We won’t stumble into holiness.
3. Consider the magnitude of the claim. God is at work in us during every mundane day. The Alpha and the Omega is actively shaping us. Are we allowing Him to do so? Do we even remember that in the average day?

¹⁴Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

“.Do everything without grumbling or arguing…”
1. After talking about something as large as salvation, Paul follows up by talking about one of the smallest pieces of our lives: words.
2. We work out the grandeur of our salvation in the tiniest moments of taming of our tongue.
3. “First, he points out two ways to act, namely, without murmurings and hesitations. For virtuous works are very difficult and offer a fertile field for grumbling:” -Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, C2, L4 79.
God’s words are powerful:
1. Genesis 1: God speaks creation into being.
2. John 1: Jesus is the Word.
3. Genesis 1:26 We are made in the image and likeness of God. Our words are powerful too.
4. We can speak things into being too. Disunity. Anger. Fear. Frustration. We can create a world we ourselves don’t want to inhabit.
Speak life, not death; hold firmly to the word of life to shine like stars.
1. “And the reason for this is given there, ‘among whom you shine as lights in the world,’, for however the world may change, their lights in the sky remain bright.” -Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, C2, L4 79.

¹⁷But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

“But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering…”
1. Paul models the taming of the tongue in hard circumstances. He is imprisoned, wondering if he will be executed, but he writes with joy and hope.
2. If you were in prison, what would your communications look like?

¹⁹I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. ²⁰I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. ²¹For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. ²²But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. ²³I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. ²⁴And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

“I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare….”
1. Paul shows Timothy’s leadership credentials by focusing on two things:
  1. How he loves Jesus.
  2. How he loves others.
2. Notice that it wasn’t his intelligence, his speaking ability, his leadership capacity, or any other thing that got presented as the reason to get excited. Timothy loves Jesus and others. A lot of people don’t do that very well. He WILL be a blessing.
3. The old Sunday School acrostic serves us all well if we remember it: Live a life of JOY
  1. J- Jesus comes first.
  2. O- Others come second.
  3. Y- Always put Yourself last.
4. Timothy led a joyful life.
5. “Oh, what longing had he toward Macedonia! …[H]ere he says, “I hope to send Timothy that I may know your state,” which is a proof of excessive care: for when he could not himself be with them, he sent his disciples, as he could not endure to remain, even for a little time, in ignorance of their state.” -Chrysostom, Homily 9 on Philippians.

“…it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier…”
1. Epaphroditus is a member of the church at Philippi. He came to help Paul and offer the financial support gathered by the congregation.
2. This was a long journey: from modern Greece to Rome! And Rome was hostile to Christians under Nero. This was a dangerous journey for Epaphroditus. And to top it off, he nearly died from an illness that he contracted during this journey.
3. Notice that Paul calls him “soldier.” He is ready to respond to God, even to give his life if the Gospel cause should require it.
4. “Here too he gives another reason for sending so late to them, not from any remissness, but he kept Timothy because he had no one else, (for, as he had written, he had no one likeminded,) and Epaphroditus because of his sickness. He then shows that this was a long sickness, and had consumed much time, by adding, for he was sick near unto death. You see how anxious Paul is to cut off from his disciples all occasion of slighting or contempt, and every suspicion that his not coming was because he despised them. For nothing will have such power to draw a disciple toward one, as the persuasion that his superior cares for him.” -Chrysostom, Homily 9 on Philippians

Full Transcript

So today we are talking about the most important thing we could possibly talk about. We are talking about something that is important regardless of your socioeconomic status, regardless of what you do for a living, regardless of your age. It’s just as important if you’re five or if you’re 55 or if you’re 105. Talking about salvation, your salvation.

Now I know there are those out there who would doubt whether that’s all that’s important to talk about. It’s about your salvation. You want to make a difference in the world. Stop being so selfish. Focus on someone else for a change. Don’t worry about your sense of spirituality. That doesn’t matter. That’s not going to fix anything. Go out and do some good for someone else. And I want to take that concern seriously. Because I think if you don’t have a Christian background, if you don’t understand what salvation is, it can be hard to understand the value in it. And while I imagine a lot of us in this room have a Christian background and understand the need for salvation, there are people in your life that don’t. Whether it be someone who doesn’t believe in God at all, or someone who, the last time they thought about their salvation, they were in eighth grade going through confirmation class, and they haven’t looked back since.

So let’s talk about it. Why is thinking about your salvation worth your time? Well, it’s certainly not selfish or pointless. To the contrary, it’s healthy, and it’s critical if you want to make a difference in the world. As to the first part, is it selfish? Let me just ask you: If you saw someone brushing their teeth in the morning, would you say, “Yikes! They could have been using that time to go help someone else, and instead they’re focusing on themselves. Shame on them!” Like, of course not, right? No, it’s good to brush your teeth. You should do that. You don’t want to get cavities, so you take care of your teeth. It’s a good thing. Or if you saw someone eating healthy, maybe they’re eating a nice salad. You look at them. Would you really think that is the most self-obsessed person I’ve ever seen in my life?

No, they’re taking care of their body. That’s a good thing. You want to stay healthy. You want to be able to live long without getting any problems with your body because you didn’t eat right. When you recognize that humans are more than just skin and bones, that there’s something underneath all of that, this spark that is who we are, this sense of self, this ability to think and make decisions, a self that can think on the deep things of life—that’s our soul. And if we have a soul, taking care of it, well, that’s incredibly important. How do we take care of our soul? How do we make sure there’s no rot in our soul? How do we make sure it doesn’t atrophy?

Can’t do it on our own, but we can go to God. God can cleanse our soul. God can make our souls strong. Talking about salvation, thinking about our salvation—it is certainly not selfish. It is just taking care of what you’ve been given by going to the God who made us and loves us, and asking Him to help take care of the most critical part of our being.

Now, as for whether or not it’s going to help anybody, is salvation helpful to others, or is it pointless? It’s more than just a sense of spirituality. It’s more than just warm fuzzies. It’s like I was talking to the kids earlier. If you are someone that wants to make a difference in the world, you don’t solve a problem with more problems. You don’t try to put out a fire with more fire.

You don’t try to calm a rowdy classroom with another rowdy kid. If you want to make a difference in those situations, you get a teacher for the rowdy classroom, and you get water for the fire. When we see ugly things in this world, and I know that you do, because you can watch the news or you can just live in this world and know that there’s death and sin and cruelty and poverty. There’s so many things in this world that are problems. Unfortunately for us, on our own, we’re a part of those problems. If we want to make a difference, we go to the one who can solve the problem—God. We ask Him to start with us, and with His Holy Spirit inside of us, working on us, transforming us. We can slowly, not only cease being part of the problem, but go out and help others, and help reclaim this world and redeem it.

Now, a lot of times when we think about salvation, we tend to think of a very certain part of it. The fancy church word for it is justification. It’s that moment when you first ask Jesus for forgiveness and put your trust in Him. That’s a good moment. It’s important.

But there’s more to it than that, because going to God, it’s not like fire insurance—just something you get and you keep around just in case something goes wrong. God wants more than that. God wants to work in us to make us holy, to recover His image and likeness within us. That process is called—the fancy church term is sanctification. God slowly making us what we’re supposed to be, and that’s what Paul’s talking about when he says we need to work out our salvation. The way it’s phrased is a little strange. I mean, I don’t know about you, but when I hear “work out,” I think about someone lifting weights at the gym, right? And it’s not entirely different from that. What Paul’s getting at, he’s saying you need to exercise the Holy Spirit’s power in your life. You need to live out what you believe. You need to allow God’s power and God’s mercy to work within you, so that you can start to be what God’s calling you to be. You can start to become holy.

Working out your salvation is not at all the same thing as working for your salvation. We can never be good enough on our own. We are not capable of being so good that this disease of sin suddenly just vanishes from us. God has to come in and do His work, and that’s the great news. Salvation is not a work we do alone. God is at work in us, and that’s one of those things you hear in church constantly. You’ve probably heard it many times through your life, so sometimes it can sneak right by you. What a big deal that is! So I’m going to say it again: God is at work in you. Think about that. The Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, is at work in you. Think about what you were doing yesterday.

What were you up to? Did you recognize that God was at work in you? Were you allowing God to shape you and mold you? They were. Look at that. They were ready for it. You got to be conscious of it, though. You don’t stumble into holiness by accident. If you want to work with God, you have to be receptive to what God is doing.

Imagine your heart like a patch of soil. God wants to take that heart and plant the seeds in it that are going to grow into magnificent trees that produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, all that good stuff, all the virtues. That’s what God wants. But we have to till the soil. We got to pull the weeds. We have to make sure that we are receptive to what God is trying to grow in us. That is why Paul says we do it with fear and trembling. And Paul does not mean that we should be terrified 24/7 and super anxious. I mean, you can see this is a letter written by a guy who was imprisoned by Romans. It is remarkably delighted. Most people would not be nearly this comfortable and happy.

Paul is not someone who’s this anxious, freaking-out kind of guy. Paul’s just trying to say, take it seriously. Don’t just assume you’re going to stumble into holiness because God’s at work in you and you can just forget about the whole thing. Be receptive to it. Be mindful of it. Allow yourself to continuously be aware of what God wants you to become, and work with God to become what He’s pulling you towards—to be holy.

Now that’s a big idea. When I think about big ideas like salvation, I tend to think of those big mountaintop moments, right? Think about salvation, and I imagine someone talking about, you know, at one time I was at church camp, and I felt led to go to the altar, and I went up there, and I could feel the presence of God, and I gave my whole life over to Him, and started weeping.

Which is kind of weird that I think that way, because I didn’t have any experience like that. But it feels proper. It feels like a big moment that a big idea like salvation is worthy of. But Paul follows up with the most mundane, tiny thing you can possibly imagine. Paul follows up by talking about words, the little words that we speak every day. How many of those do we say in an average day? How many of those do we really think about before we say them? Paul follows up, saying, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Yeah, things are bad in this world, but we’re meant to shine.

But we’re never going to shine like we’re supposed to. For grumbling, for picking fights, our words matter. They’re powerful. Just think about all the way back in Genesis, right? In the beginning, God does what to create everything? Someone can get it. He speaks. God speaks in the beginning. He spoke things into being. Jesus is even known as the Word. God’s words are powerful. We are made in God’s image and God’s likeness. Our words are powerful. We can speak things into being. If we speak and we argue and we use our words like that, we can create hostility, frustration, and ugliness.

If we speak by grumbling, we can take a world where God is at work doing good things all around us, and make the people around us feel that it’s just hopeless, and there’s nothing good happening, and nothing’s good enough. And here’s one that Paul does not mention, but I think is very much in the same spirit about gossip. That’s an easy one. We can use our words to divide people from each other and to obscure the truth.

I know, just listening to. So the other day, the conference superintendent, one of the bigwigs in the denomination, was here. His name’s Dan Guildner. Felt like he was a really good guy. Excited to work with him. He was talking a little bit about his hopes for the church, and he said, “We started this denomination because we thought that people weren’t really taking the Bible seriously. We wanted to take the Bible seriously, and we’re really good at that, at some parts.”

Really bad at other parts. How many of our churches have grumbling or gossip, despite many passages in the Bible about that? If we want to see God’s power at work in our communities, we have to listen to the whole Bible. We have to speak life and not death. That’s what Paul wants. He wants to see people using words beautifully to create the goodness in the world that we want to see so much. He continues on saying, “Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky, as you hold firmly to the word of life. Then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.”

So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. We immediately get to see Paul working out his salvation by paying attention to his words, because it would be very easy if you’re talking about don’t grumble, don’t argue, to make it sound like a scolding. But the way he puts it, it’s just beautiful. He just wants you to shine like stars in a dark world.

And he talks about his imprisonment, not in a way that’s fearful or distrusting, but in a way that has total faith in what God is doing. In a way that expects good things to come from even the darkest moments. Ask yourself this: If you were in prison, no phones, no emails, and you wrote a letter to people on the outside, how much of that letter would be griping? Let me just tell you, I assure you, a fair bit of mine would be. That’s something I could stand to work on. That’s precisely why Paul’s letter is so beautiful. Why it’s so impressive to see how he’s working out his salvation? Because even in these dark moments, you see someone filled with joy and excitement. He moves on and he talks about two other people here.

Timothy and Epaphroditus. These are two men that embody that very thing that he’s talking about. He begins by talking about Timothy. Now, this is the same Timothy that First and Second Timothy in the Bible are written to. So he says to this church, he says, “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one like him who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself because, as a son with his father, he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me, and I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.”

Saying, “Look, I can’t be there right now, but I’m really hoping I can send Timothy, because here is a Christian leader that is smart as a whip. He is brilliant. He’s going to blow your minds with his teachings.” No, he didn’t say that, right? And he doesn’t say, “Oh, here’s Timothy. He speaks so well. He’s so eloquent. You’re just going to be hanging on every word he says.” He doesn’t say that. He says, “I’m going to send you guys Timothy, and I know he’s going to be good for your community because he’s going to care about you.” And he puts Jesus first. That is the qualification that he touts more than anything else for this strong Christian leader—for all of us.

Especially those in leadership. How often do we think about that? How often do we put Jesus and others first as the most important thing? Reminds me of a lesson that I had back when I was in school. When I was a kid, there was a church about five minutes down the road, a little Christian school, and I went there for school from grades one to seven, and I’m not gonna lie. I don’t remember a lot of what they taught me in religion class, partially because it was just a really long time ago, and also partially because I don’t know how receptive I was every day of the week. I definitely remember being the only kid that got caught cheating on their Bible memorization tests.

Which, thank God, Jesus washes our sins away. Because if I died as a pastor that cheated on his Bible memorization, I think there’s like a special hell for that, right? No, I don’t remember a lot, but I do remember one lesson. And maybe you had it in Sunday school. It’s not especially hard or especially deep, but in other ways, it is very hard and very deep. They just talked about living your life with joy, and they made a cross stick out of the word joy. J-O-Y. Jesus, others, yourself. That’s the order. Put Jesus first in everything. Put others second, and put yourself last. That’s the kind of guy Timothy is. He puts Jesus first even when nobody else does. He puts others second, so you can trust that he’s going to be great in any community he is in, because he wants to help people and love them. He doesn’t worry about himself.

Not only do we get to see Timothy, but we get to see Epaphroditus. Verse 25. “But I think it’s necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs, for he longs for all of you in his distress, because you heard he was ill. Indeed, he was ill and almost died, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but also on me to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore, I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again, you may be glad, and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him.”

“Because he almost died for the work of Christ, he risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.” Epaphroditus is a member of the church at Philippi. They sent him with the money that they were giving Paul so that he could sustain himself while he was in prison. And that’s a long journey, right? Not only did he travel from modern Greece all the way to Italy. And they did not have planes or cars, right? Not only is that a long journey, but Paul is literally imprisoned because of his faith. Rome is not a safe place for Christians. But even so, Epaphroditus went. He went and even got sick on the journey, very sick.

His church back home heard about it. They were worrying. But notice how Paul calls him a soldier. This is someone who answered the call readily. This is someone who acted immediately. This is someone who is ready to fight against the evils of this world with the goodness and mercy of God. He is certainly not worried about himself.

Paul is happy to send him back, knowing that this is a good guy that will be wonderful for them to have again. And so, for us this week, as we think about working out our own salvation, think about people like Timothy, people who put Jesus first, others second, themselves last. Think about Epaphroditus, someone who is a soldier for Christ. And think about the Holy Spirit at work in you, because God wants to make you holy. If we’re receptive, we can see how He’s molding us and shaping us to recover the image of Jesus that we were made in. Amen.

Philippians 2:1-11 He Made Himself Nothing

September 19, 2026September 25, 2026 ~ Vincent

Video Teaching
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Full Transcript

From the Pulpit

Commentary

2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

“…make my joy complete…”
1. Even while imprisoned, Paul asks that that they put his mind at ease by caring for one another. He’s more concerned about their well being than his own.
2. “Here again we may see how little anxiety he had as to himself, provided only it went well with the Church of Christ. He was kept shut up in prison, and bound with chains; he was reckoned worthy of capital punishment — before his view were tortures — near at hand was the executioner; yet all these things do not prevent his experiencing unmingled joy, provided he sees that the Churches are in a good condition.” -John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentary
“If you have…”
1. Paul asks about all these things rhetorically. He knows that the church has every one of of these things, because they’re gifts that all Christians share.
2. While the language of these gifts might sound emotional, don’t reduce these gifts to feelings or sentimentality.
  1. There are some Christian traditions that associate happiness and excitement with God’s presence and loneliness or sadness as evidence that God is far away, but emotions are a poor center for a Christian life.
  2. Feelings are fickle. Sometimes, we are in poor moods, even when things are going very well. Sometimes, we’re in good moods even when things are miserable.
  3. Emotions are like the weather; we can predict them sometimes, but the only thing you can be absolutely sure of is that they’ll change over time. The gifts that God gives us? They’re not reliant on a good mood. They’re more than that. They’re realities to be grasped.
“If any encouragement… comfort… sharing in the Spirit… tenderness…”
1. Encouragement in union with Christ: We should be encouraged regardless of mood, knowing their sins are removed “as far as the east is from the west,” (Ps 103:12). Our worst moments moments don’t define us. Jesus does. And our story ends with union with God in a world where everything is made right.
2. Comfort from Christ’s love: Jesus loves us for who we are, not for our performance, appearance, or particular gifts. The thing about ourselves that we’re proudest of? Even if that vanished in an instant, Jesus would still love us. He loves us better than we love ourselves.
3. Common sharing in the Spirit: The Holy Spirit is poured out on all who confess Christ, binding believers across nations, languages, and interests, giving them unity beyond anything else we can know.
4. Tenderness and compassion: Even if we haven’t acted particularly tender or compassionate lately the Spirit of God is in us. This is the same God who made the earth and everything in it and takes care of them. His tenderness and compassion are in us.
“…by being like-minded, having the same love…”
1. Notice that he follows this with “being one in spirit and of one mind,” a second paring of the same characteristics. This is likely an instance of poetic parallelism from Hebrew culture. Saying the same thing twice in slightly different ways emphasizes them and was considered aesthetically pleasing.
2. Like-minded- There are some things in the church that are so crucial that if we don’t share a collective witness, we’ll fall apart.
  1. Biblical doctrine
  2. Leadership structures
  3. Collective outreach
  4. What is the Church for?
  5. How do we solve disagreements?
  6. How can we serve God?
3. The same love– The Church isn’t just about thinking the same; it’s also about loving one another rightly.
  1. Spending time together
  2. Listening when times are hard
  3. Lifting one another up before the Lord
  4. Caring for the marginalized

³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

“…selfish ambition or vain conceit…”

1. Selfish ambition is taking opportunities to promote ourselves, our ideas, and our image.
2. Vain conceit is doing things because we think we’re particularly important.
3. Dignitas
  1. In Roman society, people wanted to gain dignitas (social standing/clout) during their lives by interacting with upper social classes, winning victories in battle, or making big public achievements. You could lose your dignitas by acting cowardly or beneath your station.
  2. Julius Caesar’s death was avenged at Philippi only 100 years before this letter was written to the church there. He was assassinated precisely because he was so good at acquiring dignitas that a whole nation was in his grasp. People that wanted to ensure that Rome would not become ruled by one man killed him, but his impact was so legendary that people would live in his image for generation upon generation.
  3. Roman society was built by the exact kind of selfish ambition and vain conceit that Paul is standing against.
4. Today, our world isn’t so different. Just look at a list of famous politicians or the richest people on earth and ask, “Are these humble servants of the people? Or are they people pursuing wealth, status, and power?”
5. “[L]ove waxes cold, when we love the praise of men, when we are slaves to the honor which is paid by the many, for it is not possible for a man to be the slave of praise, and also a true servant of God.” -Chrysostom, Homily 5 on Philippians.

“…value others above yourselves…”
1. Imagine a church where everyone fully looks out for the needs of others before themselves. It would be beautiful indeed.
2. Some people are concerned that if you don’t look out for yourself, you will be taken advantage of. In rare cases, that’s true, but most of us tend to excel at looking out for ourselves and are exceedingly poor at tending to our neighbors in comparison.
3. “How long shall we be puffed up thus ridiculously? For as we laugh, when we see children drawing themselves up, and looking haughty, or when we see them picking up stones and throwing them, thus too the haughtiness of men belongs to a puerile intellect, and an unformed mind.” -Chrysostom, Homily 5 on Philippians.

⁵In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Structure and Purpose
1. Some theorize that, given the style and poetic nature of Paul’s writing here, especially in opposition to the surrounding material, this is a type of ancient hymn that people in the church knew that Paul is referencing to make a point.
2. This is certainly possible, though there’s no archaeological evidence for it, and it’s not a necessary assumption.
3. Paul is more than capable of waxing poetic when he chooses to (1 Corinthians 13:4-8), so his literary skill is more than enough to have written this to prove a point about important truths beautifully.
Kenosis
1. The greek word kenosis appears in this passage in verse 7, translated in the NIV as “made himself nothing,” and often more accurately translated as “emptied himself,” given that the greek word means “to empty.”
2. Historic Christian orthodoxy holds that this is a reference to Christ emptying himself of glory by becoming human.
  1. Jesus, due all glory and honor, did not seek to accumulate earthly praise; like a king laying aside crown and scepter, He embraced humble peasant life, born in a manger as an Israelite of low status.
3. In the 19th century, liberal scholars proposed that it meant that God gave up his divine attributes (all-knowing, all-powerful) in the incarnation.
  1. If God ceases to have his attributes, he ceases to be God. God can’t stop being all-powerful and remain God. He can’t cease to know everything.
  2. Scripture clearly reflects Christ’s power and knowledge. As a child, Christ taught in the temple courts (Luke 2:41-52) and throughout his ministry he prophesied what would come to pass. Jesus also consistently did miracles specifically to prove that he was God (Mark 8:31, Mark 14:66-72).
“Who, being in very nature God,”
1. Jesus was God. He didn’t begin existing in a manger in Jerusalem in the first century. He was around in his divinity from all of eternity. He was incarnated
  as a human in first century Jerusalem.
  1. John 1:1 talks about “the Word” being around in the beginning and being incarnate for us.
  2. Genesis 1:26 repeatedly uses “us” to discuss creation, demonstrating that God is more than just a me. The presence of Father, Son, and Spirit are all right there in the beginning.
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage…”
1. “So the Son of God is God the Father’s equal by nature, by condition his inferior. In the form of a servant which he took he is the Father’s inferior; in the form of God in which he existed even before he took this other he is the Father’s equal. In the form of God, the Word through whom all things were made (Jn 1:3); in the form of a servant, one made of woman, made under the law, to redeem those who were under the law (Gal 4:4). Accordingly, in the form of God he made man, in the form of a servant he was made man. For if the Father only without the Son had made man, it would not have been written Let us make man to our image and likeness (Gn 1:26).” -Augustine, De Trinitate, 7.14.
“…by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
1. Christ possessed every divine attribute. When he came to be with us, he wasn’t at our mercy at any point. He could have struck down every soldier! He could have leveled Jerusalem! He could have walked off the cross! He chose not to because he loves us. He allowed himself to be killed for us.

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

“…the name that is above every name…”
1. Jesus’s name being wonderful isn’t because of the specific combination of syllables. That would be absurd!
  1. His name in Hebrew was Yeshua
  2. His name in Greek was Iēsous
  3. His name in Latin was Iesus
  4. His name in Spanish is Jesus (hay-SOOS)
2. It’s not about the accent or the transliterations. It’s about the being that we trust, know and love. His glory is immense, and we know it in what he did for us.
3. Greatness in God’s kingdom is measured by service and self-giving love, not by worldly dominance. Jesus washing the disciples’ feet (Jn. 1-17) is another perfect example of this.

Full Transcript

Here is your cleaned transcript. I have removed the timestamps, speaker tags, stutters, false starts, filler words, and transcription artifacts, while carefully preserving the speaker’s original wording, cadence, and sentence structure.

All righty. So we’re in the book of Philippians. Last week we looked at the second half of chapter 1, and we saw how Paul wrote to this church at Philippi while he was imprisoned by the Romans, and said, “Hey, here’s the thing. Maybe you are worried about me. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine. You know what? I am in chains for Christ, and ultimately, I am reaching people in ways that I never even expected to.”

All the Christians that see me suffering for Jesus are so inspired that they are willing to evangelize even more. And all of the non-Christians that see me, well, they scratch their heads and wonder why I’m doing all this. And so they take a second look, and that’s great too. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. This is a win-win scenario. Either the Romans decide they want to execute me, in which case I get to go be with Jesus. There’s nothing better than that. Or they decide not to execute me, and I go do more work for Jesus, and that’s good too. This world, the forces of this world, have nothing compared to the God that’s on our side. So stick together, stand with each other, and behave in a way that’s worthy of the gospel, because you’re going to suffer. But how you act in your suffering—that’s going to make all the difference. So he’s continuing forward with this idea, and he says:

“Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and one in mind.”

Paul is in prison, and he says to them, “If you want to make things a little easier for me, you know what you could do? Take care of each other. That would just be great.” He is so other-focused; he doesn’t need them to do anything for him. He wants to make sure that they’re all right. And these things that he lists when he says, “Okay, if you’ve got this, if you’ve got this,” he knows they have this. This is normative stuff for a Christian to have. So I’m going to go through them one at a time. Just remember, these belong to all of us. In so far as you are a Christian, every one of these things is yours. And I also want to challenge you as we go through them, because a lot of them, I think people can sometimes read these lists a little too sentimentally, with a little too much concern for feelings. Now these are feelings, right? You can feel encouraged. You can feel comforted.

There’s no way around that, but there are some traditions within Christianity that really put feelings all the way up here. And I think if you feel really, really good, that’s proof that God is here and He’s doing stuff. But if you don’t feel very good, maybe God’s kind of far away, and maybe you need to worry about that. Feelings are way too frail to be our primary relationship with God. You can’t rely on feelings. If that is what we’re pinning our relationship with God on, it’s just not enough. And I know you know that because I would wager every person in here, you have had a day where the sun is shining and the birds are singing, and everyone that you care about is being so, so kind to you, and you just about bite their head off sometimes because you woke up in a mood. Why? Who knows? That’s just how it is.

And I’m sure you’ve had days too where there is nothing going right in your life, and you know what? You are surprisingly resilient about the whole thing, and having a pretty okay time, circumstances considered. That’s another thing. See, our feelings—it’s kind of like weather. You can’t always predict them; they’re unpredictable. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t. Sometimes you’re happy when there’s not really a reason to be, and sometimes you’re torn up when really you should be overjoyed. Feelings are fleeting; they come and they go. What we see Paul describe here is more than that. These are things you can rely on.

So, here we go. Chapter 2, verse 1: “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ…” Regardless of what mood you’re in today, are you encouraged because you’ve been united to Christ? And you should be. You should be encouraged because no matter what you’ve done in your life, if you have any moments where you’ve failed or fallen short, any moments where you’ve done things that you know are wrong and you’re embarrassed about them—any kind of moments like that, those things that keep you up late at night, on the nights where you can’t get to sleep because your mind keeps going back and you just think about how you wish you wouldn’t have done that—if your trust is in Jesus and you’ve asked for His forgiveness, you’re not going to be judged by your worst moments. Your sins are as far away from you as the east is from the west. You can trust that you know the end of the story. No matter what’s going on in your life right now, things end well. You get to be with Jesus in a world where everything is right again.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if you have any comfort from His love—and again, you should have comfort in Christ’s love because Jesus doesn’t love you because of what you do. Jesus doesn’t love you because of the way you look. Jesus loves you for who you are. Sometimes we even love ourselves because of what we’re really proud of, don’t we? Maybe you’re someone that’s a great chef. You’re so proud of the way that you can cook for people, but then maybe you take something to a party and everybody tastes it and they make a face and say, “Oh, interesting,” and you go home beating yourself up because you think, “Oh no, that was my thing. If my cooking’s gone, what am I? What’s the point of me?” Jesus doesn’t love you because you’re a good cook. Jesus loves you better than you love yourself sometimes.

Or maybe you’re a great runner and you lose a race, or maybe you’re someone who gives great advice and you’re really proud of that, and then you give some advice that was terrible in hindsight. It doesn’t matter what you pride yourself on. Jesus doesn’t love you because you’ve got a particular gift. Jesus loves you because of who you are underneath all of that. That should be encouraging. It should be comforting.

“If any common sharing in the Spirit…” Every single person that confesses Christ has the Holy Spirit poured out on them, and that Holy Spirit binds us together. When we meet other Christians, it doesn’t matter what country they’re from, doesn’t matter what language they speak, doesn’t matter what hobbies they have. Even if we have nothing else in common, we have the most important thing in common: we have the Spirit of God inside of us. There is no unity more powerful than that.

And then the last one: “If any tenderness and compassion…” Have you been tender and compassionate lately? Maybe not. But the Spirit of God is in you. That tenderness and that compassion, it exists in you. That’s the same God that created everything, sustains everything, loves everything. His Spirit is in you. You have the same tenderness and compassion as the God that created everything, right inside of you. All of these things, the comfort, the encouragement, all of this is yours as Christians for the taking. Even if you don’t recognize it every day that you wake up, it’s yours.

Paul knows that, and so when he writes to them, “If you have these things…” he knows they do. Then what does he want from them? He wants them to be of one mind, one heart. That’s what he wants. There are a lot of different things that go on in a church that require the mind. First off, sound doctrine. You want to believe what’s true. You want to understand the Bible well. You want to be on the same page. And not only that, but there are a million other things: decisions that must be made, decisions about leadership, decisions about how the church can best reach out and care for those around it. All of these kinds of things, Paul wants the church to be of one mind, trusting that, yeah, we’re not all going to be 100% on the same page for every little detail. But we trust that as we work together, as people filled with the Holy Spirit and discern what God would have of us, we have so much more to gain by working together than by doing our own thing and insisting that we’re right.

And similarly, He wants us to be of one heart, because it’s not just what’s up here that matters; it’s what’s in here that matters. He wants us to take care of each other. Just to remember each other, he wants to pray for each other. And if you haven’t done that in a minute, I encourage you: look around this room right now and think about two people. Maybe you don’t even know their names. Ask for it before you leave today. But just pray for them this week. Pray for the other people in your church so that you can take care of them. You can lift up their needs before your own. There’s power in that.

Paul wants the church to be of one mind, one spirit, because the alternative that he warns them about, verse 3: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” I know we don’t talk about vain conceit very often—not exactly everyday language, but it means excessive care for yourself because you think you’re a really big deal. So, in essence, what he’s saying is, I don’t want you doing things because you want to differentiate yourself and try to come out on top, and I don’t want you doing things because you just think you’re such a big shot that you’re entitled to it.

That’s the opposite of how things worked in the Roman world. The Romans had a special word for one of the most important things in their society. That word was dignitas. Dignitas was the Latin word for something like your social standing, your clout, how much people owed you and should listen to you and do what you say, how much honor you deserved—all of that kind of stuff rolled up into one word, and that’s why people did things. People wanted to get more dignitas. You could gain more. Now, obviously, being born into the right family would give you some right off the bat, but beyond that, there were all kinds of things you could do if you behaved in a way that was impressive. If you served in the military, if you won often—all of these things would gain you dignitas. Meanwhile, you could lose it by making mistakes, by acting cowardly, all that kind of stuff.

That was a big driving force for Roman culture. A couple of weeks back, we talked about how the city of Philippi, a hundred years before this letter was written, was the site where a Roman civil war ended. Julius Caesar had gained so much power that there were some people that decided he had to be assassinated because they were worried he was going to take over their whole empire. And so the assassins and the avengers of Julius Caesar had a final showdown right there in the city of Philippi, and his avengers won. All this happened because Julius Caesar was so powerful. He did not get to be that powerful because he was just the humblest, kindest guy you would ever meet. Julius Caesar was someone who gained dignitas by winning battles, by being impressive, by asserting his power, by showing people if you trusted him, he got things done for you. That’s why he got ahead—specifically because he was highly ambitious and he wanted to show what a big deal he was.

What Paul’s describing for the church is the opposite, and you know it’s not so far from the opposite for our world today either, is it? Go ahead and look at a list of politicians and highly wealthy people in this world, and I want you to honestly ask yourself the question: Are these people humble servants to other people, or do they think they’re big shots? Right? That’s the world we live in. It is the reality that people try to get ahead in the eyes of the world by trying to assert themselves, not serve others.

But Paul encourages them again: “In humility, value others above yourself. Not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of others.” That’s what the church is supposed to look like—people putting the interests of each other above themselves. Can you imagine if we really lived into that completely? A whole group of people whose number one concern was making sure each other were taken care of and not worrying so much about themselves. That makes some people wary. They say, “Well, hold on now. You got to take care of yourself first and foremost, because if you’re not taking care of yourself, you might be taken advantage of.” From what I’ve seen in this world, people are really good at taking care of themselves. I don’t think many of us need a lot of extra practice on that. But taking care of others—that’s something most of us could use practice on.

And Paul ties all of this—his continual hope that they are humble and servants to one another—in the life of Jesus, and He’s going to teach us a little bit about Jesus right now. Not only is He going to teach us some of the most intense theological truths about who Jesus was, but He’s doing so so that we remember who we are. Jesus was the perfect person. The more we act like Jesus, the more we act the way that we are supposed to act.

So this next section, you’ll notice in your Bibles, it’s printed in a very specific way, almost like song lyrics or a poem. It’s a very poetic section. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that maybe Paul is referencing a hymn here that the people at Philippi already knew, that had sound doctrine that he wanted them to think about. Now, there’s no evidence that this is some kind of ancient hymn from beyond the pen of Paul. It’s just a theory some people have. I personally find it hard to believe, if only because I get that it looks really nice and uses really beautiful language, especially compared to the parts around it. But if you’ve read enough of the epistles, you know Paul can be something of a wordsmith. He can write some really beautiful stuff when he wants to. I mean, think about that famous passage: “Love is patient, love is kind.” You’ve heard it at every wedding, right? It’s good, and that’s Paul too. But if you do think that’s the case, that’s all right. It’s just something to be aware of. That’s how some people think about this section.

Either way, another major theme to think through as we go through this is kenosis. That’s the Greek word for emptying yourself, and you’ll see it here in the NIV that I use for preaching. It says he made himself nothing. That’s that Greek word kenosis. We’re going to talk about the specifics of it as we continue to go. So let’s go through it:

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

So, “who, being in very nature God…” Jesus was God, and God did not start existing in a manger in Bethlehem when Mary gave birth to the fullness of God. No, that’s not how it worked. In the incarnation, Jesus was born, and yet at the same time, Jesus already existed from eternity. You can read about it in the beginning of the book of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and He became incarnate for us. And similarly, in the book of Genesis, we read that God uses plural language to talk in the very beginning: “Let us make humanity in our own image, in our own likeness.” Jesus has always existed even before the incarnation because He’s eternal. He’s God.

Now, being God, “He did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage. Rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. Being made in human likeness…” Jesus was God. How much glory is due to God? All of it. How impressive is God? The most impressive thing you’ve ever seen. How much applause does God deserve? How much praise? How much honor? All of it. He’s God. He’s the best. But Jesus wasn’t worried about accumulating glory. He was God. All of it was due to Him anyway. He didn’t need people to acknowledge His greatness because He was great simply by being what He was. He didn’t need continual praises poured out on Him for all of eternity because He’s already worthy of those. He’s not worried. He’s God.

In the same way that we’re all humans in this room, right? And if you’re not, man, come talk to me because that’s wild. But we’re all people. We’re all humans, right? We don’t need to establish that to anybody. There’s no way to say, “Well, I’m going to act more normal to prove how human I am.” No, that’s weird. You are what you are. Don’t think about it so much. God is what He is. Jesus is God. He doesn’t need to prove that He’s more God. He doesn’t need more praise to establish that He’s more God. He’s God. That’s what He is. And in light of that, He laid aside all of that honor and glory that He had in the hallowed halls of heaven to come and live among us. It’s like a king taking off their crown, leaving their scepter aside, and putting on peasant’s clothes, and just going and wandering around the town to be with the people. That’s kind of what it was like. The King of Creation did that. He came and He lived with us. And Jesus wasn’t even born as a human that was particularly impressive. He wasn’t born as a noble or a king. He was an Israelite peasant born in a manger. But God did that for us because He wasn’t concerned about acting like a big shot, about being given even more honor and glory that was already due to Him. He was willing to be humiliated and brought low for our sake because He loved us. And not just to be born, but to die.

It continues: “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

Jesus didn’t just come and be among us. He died in the most humiliating way that you could. The Romans crucified people and essentially tortured them to death for everyone to see. The goal was to establish: this is someone who was not just wrong, but weak. Don’t be like this person. Watch them gasping out their last breaths as the people around them jeer at them. This is pathetic. You know, whenever we see Jesus crucified, they give him this nice little loincloth too. That’s not how it was in the Roman days. Being humiliated was a part of it. They wanted the whole world to see how pathetic you were as you died. Jesus went through that for us. He not only came and lived among us as God, but He died in the eyes of the world below everyone else in a shameful way. That’s what this is all about: this kenosis, this laying aside His glory to come and suffer and die.

Now there is another way sometimes people suggest this passage ought to be read, and I think you should be aware of it because it’s incorrect. I thought it was incredibly deep for a little while until I realized, “Oh man, this isn’t biblical at all.” It’s something you need to be wary of. The idea began in the 19th century, and it was this idea that some people had that, you know, if Jesus emptied Himself and became a human, maybe He not only gave up His honor and glory as God, but maybe He also gave up His divine attributes. God is all-knowing. Was Jesus all-knowing? Maybe not. Maybe He emptied Himself of His all-knowingness. God is all-powerful. Was Jesus in His incarnation all-powerful? Maybe not. Maybe He emptied Himself of that.

The problem with this is that, well, first off, God has certain attributes that make Him God. The whole thing about God is He’s good, He’s all-knowing, He’s all-powerful. If He stops being those things, He stops being God and just becomes a really powerful being. God can’t do that. That’s not how it works. To cease being what He is—that doesn’t even really make sense. Not only that, but you can look first off in the Scripture itself. It says He takes on the nature of a servant. It doesn’t say He exchanged His divine nature for a human nature. And even more than that, let me look at the other parts in Scripture that talk about this. You can read about places, especially in the Gospel of John, where Jesus does miracles, and He does miracles precisely to establish that He is God. How many miracles have you done lately? Not a lot, right? I haven’t pulled many off. Jesus did that because He was God. He had power. That was the whole thing.

Similarly, Jesus showed moments where He knew things that no one else could know. Think about when Jesus went to the temple as just a little kid and started teaching the priests. Do you think He was able to do that because He had just, even as a kid, read a lot and was really knowledgeable about things? No, Jesus knew things that nobody else could know because He knew everything. Jesus did not stop being God when He came; He wasn’t any less God. Jesus was 100% God, 100% man. He took on humanity and blessed it with the fullness of the divine presence. That’s a big deal. He did not die on the cross because He emptied Himself out of all of His power and knowledge and said, “Well, shoot, now I’m kind of at their mercy.” No, He could have stepped off that cross any time He wanted to. He wasn’t at our mercy. He allowed Himself to suffer for us because He loved us.

Verse 9: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The humiliation that Jesus underwent in the eyes of heaven is infinitely more glorious than anything else, because when you’re willing to suffer and put others first, that is what makes you truly, genuinely special—not because you have to act like a big shot, but because you care about the people around you and are willing to set yourself aside to serve them. It’s the same principle that we saw in the passage we read earlier from John. We read about how Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. That was something that only the lowest of the low in a household would do. Feet were gross. Sure, a servant’s going to wash the feet, but there were even rules that the rabbis had about how you couldn’t ask one of your disciples, if you were a teacher, to wash anyone’s feet because it was too gross, too embarrassing. Jesus did all of that kind of stuff for His disciples because, in the kingdom of heaven, being willing to serve—that’s impressive. You don’t need to come across like a big shot by asserting yourself and being ambitious and being cruel and none of that kind of stuff. That’s weakness. The real strength is being able to put others first, and that’s why the name of Jesus is so important.

Sometimes people get hung up on that detail. By the way, every so often someone figures out that Jesus’s name in Hebrew is not Jesus; it is Yeshua, and they have a little crisis because they say, “Oh my gosh, if I had the guy’s name wrong the whole time, that’s so embarrassing.” It’s like, “Calm down, okay.” You get to “Jesus” because you translate Yeshua, His Hebrew name, through Greek, then Latin, then English. It’s just the way things have worked out as it’s been passed to us. But Jesus’ name isn’t so special because of the syllables that are involved. If that were the case, you could just look between different nations. I mean, we know Mexicans say “Jesús,” right? That’s the way you say it in Spanish, and that does not make His name any less glorious if you’re speaking Spanish. It’s not about the details of the name. The name is special because of the Being that it points to, the specificity of who we’re calling on, what He’s done, and the name of Jesus. The person that He is, the way we can invoke Him—that is the most beautiful thing there is. Because this Person, who is willing to put everyone else before Him, ultimately everything is given over to Him. He’s at the right hand of God the Father, and every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord in the end.

For all of us today, as we read this, if we want to be like Jesus, and somewhere up in heaven make the apostles’ joy even more complete, we need to set aside any sense that we’re a big shot, any sense that we are more important than others, any ambition, and enter into worship. Our church community, trying to help each other, trying to put one another first, trying to be of one mind and one heart, serving one another—in that is more glory than you can imagine. It is the glory of Jesus. Amen.

Philippians 1:12-30 In Chains for Christ

September 9, 2026September 19, 2026 ~ Vincent

Video Teaching
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Full Transcript

From the Pulpit

Commentary

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Note the pastoral care Paul is offering here. At a time when this church is probably worried about him, he reminds them that by being in prison, he is doing incredible work for God. There is no need to be concerned.
“I am in chains for Christ.”
1. Many Christians have suffered for Christ. The apostles, Stephen, Perpetua and Felicity, Polycarp, the 21 martyrs in Libya, and more than could reasonably be shared in a single list.
  1. Paphnutius has an especially beautiful story, as he was someone who got to see some of the changes that his witness inspired.
    
    He was a 4th century Egyptian bishop during the Diocletian persecution.
    
    When he refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, his legs were crippled, his right eye was torn out, and they exiled him to the mines for life.
    
    He outlasted Diocletian’s reign and when Constantine, the first Christian emperor, took the throne, he invited Paphnutius to the imperial palace to work on the Nicene Creed with the other bishops. The man who was tortured for Christ was publicly honored by the machinery that tried to destroy him.
  2. Richard Wurmbrand, a pastor that suffered enormous persecution in communist Romania, opened the organization The Voice of the Martyrs specifically to tell people the stories of persecuted Christians sharing the Gospel. These stories inspire people around the world to do more, seeing how their brothers and sisters endure for Jesus in the most challenging circumstances.
2. Christians don’t just suffer from the work of non-Christians. People that call themselves Christians often hurt others as well, such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and John of the Cross.
  1. Athanasius, another 4th century Egyptian bishop, was exiled multiple times, had other bishops appointed to replace him, and had to hide from troops that were sent to arrest him because he affirmed that Jesus is God in an era where watering down the claims of Christ for “peace” within the church was seen as more important. Even so, he endured and helped the Church remember what it was.
3. It doesn’t matter where our suffering comes from. We might suffer because of people who call themselves Christians or non-Christians or just bad circumstances. Enduring hardships for Christ is a powerful witness.

¹⁵It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. ¹⁸But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

“Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry…”

1. Note that this is not about false teachers. It is about people who are sharing the good news for bad reasons.
2. “The shepherd who teaches for the sake of the truth should be loved; the hireling who teaches for gain should be tolerated; but the one who teaches what is false must be expelled”- Augustine as Cited by Aquinas in Commentary on Philippians, Lecture 3, 24.
3. “Now, it sometimes happens that joy arises from a good cause, and in that case it does so directly and in itself. At other times, joy arises from an evil cause, and then it does so indirectly and accidentally. When joy comes from a good cause, we should rejoice both in the effect and in the cause, as with an act of almsgiving done for the sake of God. But when it comes from an evil cause, we should rejoice in the effect, but not in the cause.” -Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, Lecture 3, 24.
4. It is all too common for different ministry roles to become an end to themselves, rather than a means to the end of glorifying God. Many people find personal glory in being a women’s minister or a band member or a pastor, rather than offering these things up for God’s glory. Praise God he can still use insufficient workers for His plans.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. ²⁰I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

“To live is Christ and to die is gain.”
1. “How ominously these words follow each other in the text “live,” “die.” There is but a comma between them, and surely as it is in the words so is it in reality. How brief the distance between life and death! In fact there is none. Life is but death’s vestibule, and our pilgrimage on earth is but a journey to the grave. The pulse that preserves our being beats our death march, and the blood which circulates our life is floating it onward to the deeps of death. To-day we see our friends in health, to-morrow we hear of their decease. We clasped the hand of the strong man but yesterday, and to-day we close his eyes. We rode in the chariot of comfort but an hour ago, and in a few more hours the last black chariot must convey us to the home of all living. Oh, how closely allied is death to life! …. But blessed be God, there is one place where death is not life’s brother, where life reigns alone; “to live,” is not the first syllable which is to be followed by the next, “to die.” There is a land where deathknells are never tolled, where winding-sheets are never woven, where graves are never digged. Blest land beyond the skies! To reach it we must die. But if after death we obtain a glorious immortality, our text is indeed true: “To die is gain.” -Spurgeon, Sermon 146.
2. Paul’s deliverance is assured, whether that means freedom from prison or execution; either way, God’s salvation is at work.
Living for Christ vs. Worldly Pursuits
1. A lot of people live for comfort, money, conflict, or pleasure. All of those things are based on what we know can’t last forever.
  1. The easy life that brings us comfort won’t exist someday.
  2. We can’t take our money and possessions with us when we die.
  3. There will come a day when conflict results in no material gains– it only leads to wailing and gnashing of teeth.
  4. Pleasure based on quick thrills will dry up when the things that bring the pleasure are no longer accessible
2. Only Jesus is eternal. A hard life followed by eternal bliss is better than an easy life followed by eternal misery.
3. “Call no man happy until he is dead; because the life that is to come, if that be miserable, shall far outweigh the highest life of happiness that hath been enjoyed on earth. To estimate a man’s condition we must take it in all its length. We must not measure that one thread which reacheth from the cradle to the coffin. We must go further; we must go from the coffin to the resurrection, and from the resurrection on throughout eternity.” -Spurgeon, Sermon 146.
4. When you live for Christ, death becomes “gain” because it brings eternal life with Him.

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 boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

“I am torn between the two…”

1. Paul sees a “win-win”: if he dies, he is with Christ—“better by far.” If he lives, he continues “fruitful labor” for God’s glory.
2. “[I]f I am to live is the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour – This is the fruit of my living longer, that I can labour more. Glorious labour! desirable fruit!” -John Wesley, Notes on the New Testament.

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 the one Spirit, striving together as one 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 in 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.

“Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel…”
1. “There is only one thing, Olympia, to fear, only one real temptation, and that is sin. This is the refrain I keep chanting to you ceaselessly. Fore everything else is ultimately a fable–whether you speak of plots, or enmities, or deceptions, or slanders or abuses, or accusations, or confiscations, or banishments, or sharpened swords, or high seas, or wars engulfing the entire world. Whichever of these you point to, they are transitory and perishable, and they only affect mortal bodies; they cannot in any way injure the watchful soul.” -John Chrysostom, Letter to Olympia 7, 1,C.
“…without being frightened in any way…”
1. With God on their side, believers need not fear what the world can do—pain or death are fleeting.
2. Nothing frightens people so much as seeing that their ultimate display of force doesn’t affect their opponent in the slightest. What does their foe know that they do not? Let them ponder the Gospel in these circumstances.
“…but also to suffer for him…”
1. The central question is not if you will suffer, but how you will act in that time of suffering. The only true fear worth having is the fear of sin, which separates from Jesus.

Full Transcript

Last week, we began our series on the book of Philippians. We covered the fact that this is a letter from the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi. At the time, he was in prison in Rome. They allowed him to rent a place to stay, but he could not leave, he was in chains, and he was being watched by a Roman guard at all times. He could still write letters and receive guests, but he was accruing expenses. He had to pay for the space he was in and the food he was eating. All the while, they were figuring out what they were going to do with him, and he did not know how it was going to turn out. The church at Philippi heard that Paul was in prison, and they sent some money to help him. So, Paul wrote this letter to thank them, encourage them, and teach them.

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Paul has done something wonderfully pastoral here by comforting them. Can you imagine how you might feel if the person who helped found your church suddenly ended up in prison? You would potentially be freaked out. Paul knows that, so he encourages the church at Philippi by telling them that what is happening is actually advancing the gospel, which is a good thing. People who know Jesus are encouraged because they see what Paul is able and willing to endure for Jesus, inspiring them to do even more. Meanwhile, the people who do not know Jesus, like the guards, watch him and scratch their heads, wondering what he knows that they do not and why he is going through all of this.

Suffering for Jesus creates some of the greatest heroes in Christian history—people whose stories we look at time and time again and cannot help but feel inspired by. For example, one of my favorite people who suffered for Christ has one of the best stories. His name is Paphnutius, which sounds like a silly name, though I imagine if he heard the name Vincent, he would think my name sounded kind of silly too, so we will call it even. Paphnutius was a bishop from the fourth century who lived during the Diocletian persecution. Emperor Diocletian decided he was going to fix the Roman Empire by enforcing one culture, one law, one way of being, and one faith, so he started cracking down on Christians. He demanded they make sacrifices to the Roman gods. The Christians responded that while they were happy to pray for the emperor and the prosperity of the empire, they could not sacrifice to a god that was not real. The Roman Empire decided to see how that would go for them, and a lot of people were tortured and killed.

When Paphnutius was brought in, the Romans told him to make a sacrifice to their gods. He refused, saying there is only one God, Jesus Christ, and he could not sacrifice to gods that were not real. So, they crippled him so he would never walk without trouble again. They asked him again, acknowledging his private obligations and offering that he could do whatever he wanted in private as long as he made the public sacrifice required of a Roman. He refused, stating he would not betray his God. They then gouged out his right eye and asked again if he was ready to make the sacrifices. When he maintained that he would never make those sacrifices, he was banished to the mines for hard labor for the rest of his life, never to see the sun again.

That is how it was supposed to be. A lot of people who suffer for Christ never get to see the fruits of their work, but Paphnutius did. Diocletian came and went, and eventually, a Christian emperor came to power. Under him, Christianity was no longer illegal, and he invited all the bishops to the imperial palace to make a statement about the essentials of Christianity: the Nicene Creed. Paphnutius—a man who once had the entire Roman machine against him—walked into the imperial palace, unable to walk without great struggle, his hands tired and worn from labor, with only one eye, and was honored by the emperor himself. He made a difference, and he got to see it.

While we are often comfortable talking about stories where non-Christians persecuted Christians, we miss another category that is unfortunately a source of a great deal of suffering for sincere Christians: people who claim to be Christians causing trouble for real Christians. At that same gathering in the imperial palace, a deacon named Athanasius was present, serving as the secretary and assistant to the bishop of Alexandria. He witnessed firsthand how they worked tirelessly to draft the Nicene Creed to explain the core pieces of Christianity. Part of the language put in that creed was that Jesus is God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten, not made, of the same essence of the Father. In multiple ways, they made it exceedingly clear: Jesus is God.

Everyone loved it when it was made, but as time went on, a vocal minority became upset. They questioned if Jesus was really God, arguing that a son cannot be the same as the father and that there must have been a time before Jesus existed. They argued Jesus was just a powerful figure, not truly God. This caused controversy, and some people suggested stepping back to make adjustments for the sake of peace and reconciliation. By this time, the bishop of Alexandria had passed away, and Athanasius had become the bishop. When others urged him to revisit the document and soften their stance, he refused, stating that Jesus is God and that without that truth, there was no point in doing anything.

Because he refused to compromise, the institutional church made his life very difficult. They appointed another bishop, deposed him, and had multiple emperors send him into exile. Every so often, they would bring him back to see if he had changed his mind. When he maintained his stance, they would re-exile him, sometimes even sending the army after him because he was causing too much trouble in their eyes. Athanasius did not get discouraged; whether in hiding or in exile, he continued to write to people, reminding them that Jesus is God. Eventually, the institutional church realized that the peace they had been pursuing at the cost of truth was not worth it, recognizing that he was right and that they needed to stand on that truth without compromise.

Whether suffering comes from non-Christians, people who claim to be Christians, or simple circumstances, it serves as a powerful witness. It makes non-believers stop and take notice, and it encourages believers to do even more as they see how others withstand hardship to proclaim Christ.

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Some important clarifications should be made here. These individuals are not preaching false doctrines; they are telling the truth, but for the wrong reasons. Augustine of Hippo, one of the foremost Christian thinkers, wrote on this topic: a teacher who teaches for the sake of truth should be loved; a hireling who teaches for gain should be tolerated; but one who teaches what is false must be expelled. Here, Paul is dealing with people doing the right things for the wrong reasons, such as out of pride or a desire for control.

I saw a similar dynamic at a previous church I served, where conflict arose in a women’s ministry because several individuals wanted to be in charge rather than simply serve. They wanted to approve programs and have everyone bow down to them, forgetting that we are there to bow down to Jesus. Paul notes that even when people act out of selfish motives, good can still come from it if Christ is preached. When a good thing comes from a good place, we can be thankful for both the source and the effect. When a good thing comes from a bad place, we do not have to be thankful for the bad source, but we can still rejoice in the positive effect that more people are learning about Jesus.

For I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

Paul does not know if he will be released from prison, nor does he assure people that he will be. When he says it will turn out for his deliverance or salvation, he means he knows God is working through the situation for his best and for the best of the world, even if it is not what he personally expects or wants. God’s glory can still be seen even when unexpected things happen.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Life and death are separated by only a few words in that passage, and in our world, they are not separated by much more than that. From the day we are born, we move toward death, which is inevitable. The strongest person flexing their muscles one day could gently close their eyes for the last time the next day. Animals, empires, and ideas all eventually end. In this world, everything that lives dies. Jesus assures us that this state of affairs is not how it was supposed to be, pointing toward a reality defined by life rather than death.

To experience that life, living must be centered on Christ as the primary purpose of everything we do. Many people live for other pursuits, such as comfort, money, conflict, or pleasure. However, each of those things is temporary. The things that bring comfort will eventually be gone, wealth will become inaccessible, conflict will turn to distress, and fleeting pleasures will fade. Only Jesus is eternal. When you live for Christ, death becomes gain because it leads to eternal life.

If 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! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

Paul views his situation as a win-win. If he dies, he goes to be with Jesus; if he lives, he continues fruitful work that brings glory to God.

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 in the one Spirit, striving together as one 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, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in 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.

Paul urges them not to be afraid of worldly forces, as earthly suffering and inconvenience are fleeting compared to eternal life. Facing opposition without fear demonstrates confidence in God. Suffering is inevitable in this life; the question is how we behave during it and whether we conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. As people with faith in Jesus Christ, the only thing to fear is sin, which separates us from Him. Regardless of the circumstances, if you keep your faith in Christ and live for Him, to die is gain.

Philippians 1:1-11 Background and Introduction

September 2, 2026September 19, 2026 ~ Vincent

Video Teaching
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Full Transcript

From the Pulpit

Commentary

Overview

This book of the Bible is an epistle, which is the Church’s word for letters in the Biblical canon.
1. Just because it’s a letter, it would be wrong to assume that it’s just a casual piece of communication to a particular group long ago.
2. This is a letter inspired by the Holy Spirit by an apostle and beneficial for the whole church.
Philippians is from the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi.
Understanding the city, the church, and why the letter was sent helps make the context of this book clearer.

The City of Philippi

Located in Macedonia
(modern-day Greece), Philippi was a Roman colony, meaning most of the citizens living there were Roman citizens, the culture was Roman, and the institutions were especially Roman, even though it was in a region that was culturally Greek.
1. It’s important to remember that just because an area was conquered by Romans, that didn’t make the citizens Roman citizens. Citizenship had to be earned with service to the Empire, such as military service or large donations.
2. Only people born to citizens were citizens from birth.
Philippi was especially proud of their Roman identity.
1. Philippi was the site of the decisive battle ending one of Rome’s civil wars, the Liberators’ Civil War, roughly 100 years before this letter was written.
  1. Julius Caesar was assassinated by senators who feared his growing power.
  2. The Imperial forces led by Octavian (later Caesar Augustus) and Julius’s right-hand man, Mark Antony, defeated the republican forces led by the assassins Brutus and Cassius and the at Philippi.
2. The cultural memory of that battle shaped the identity of the city. Imagine something like Gettysburg Pennsylvania; stars and stripes everywhere.
3. A lot of the citizens were descended from soldiers that retired after that war and settled in the region, so that military identity would also be really strong in this area.

The Founding of the Church at Phillippi

The book of Acts chapter 16 gives us an account of the founding of the Church at Philippi by the Apostle Paul during his second missionary journey.
Paul hadn’t originally planned to go to Europe. He planned on going to Asia, but the Holy Spirit stopped him and sent him a vision of a man from Macedonia calling for help. Paul consequently went to Macedonia and started the first Church on the continent of Europe.
Paul proclaims Christ to three noteworthy people in Philippi. These people are likely still living in the community as prominent members of the church that Paul is writing to.
1. Lydia: A wealthy merchant of purple fabric
  1. Purple dye was extraordinarily valuable. To produce a single ounce of purple dye, thousands of sea snails would be gathered by hand, workers would break their shells and extract fluid from their mucus-producing hypobranchial gland, and boiled for ten days with other liquids such as urine.
  2. Roman clothing had certain visual symbols based on how much imperial purple was in a garment to tell a person’s rank and social standing. Only the emperor could wear a purely imperial purple garment.
  3. Given her trade, Lydia would have been well-connected and likely very wealthy.
  4. She and her entire household heard the Gospel and were baptized.
2. A Slave Girl: Possessed by a “spirit of divination” Python” (associated with the god Apollo in Greek culture)
  1. The Greek text calls it, quite literally, a “spirit of python.” Pythons were associated with the Greek god Apollo, who was especially honored in the city of Phillipi. It’s likely that locals saw her abilities as a divine blessing, though Paul and Silas knew that it wasn’t of God.
  2. Her owners profited from her fortune-telling ability.
  3. She followed Paul and Silas declaring: “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
    
    Given Paul’s annoyance, one must assume this was said in a disrespectful, mocking tone.
  4. Paul cast out the demon; her owners, having lost their income, dragged Paul and Silas before magistrates where they were beaten and imprisoned.
3. The Philippian Jailer
  1. Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned in the deepest cell.
  2. That night, in the darkness of their cell, they prayed and sang hymns, reflecting a faith that is truly unshakable and joyful even in the worst of conditions.
  3. A miracle occurred! An earthquake opened all the doors and broke every chain.
  4. Paul and Silas chose to stay rather than escape. Not only did they stay, but they convinced all the other prisoners to stay too.
  5. The jailer, about to take his own life in Roman fashion (the only way to reclaim honor after such failure), was stopped by Paul.
  6. He immediately asked: “How can I be saved?” — received the gospel and was baptized.
These people are the foundation of the church. Each was hungry for the news of the gospel and responded quickly alongside their families. Imagining all three does involve a little speculation. While the slave girl is not said to have joined the church, one has to imagine that someone freed from spiritual exploitation would remember the name by which she was saved and investigate it more as time went on.

Why did Paul write this letter?

Paul was writing from Roman imprisonment under Emperor Nero.
He was not in a dungeon but was under house arrest — in chains, guarded 24/7, while authorities decided his fate.
He was accruing expenses: rent, food, daily needs.
The church at Philippi sent a courier from the congregation named Epaphroditus to give Paul financial support upon hearing of his need.
Paul writes to:
1. Thank them for their generosity
2. Encourage and teach them

¹Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

From…
1. In a modern letter or email, the person who wrote the letter is listed at the end of the letter. In this time and place, the sender was the first item in the letter, which makes a good deal more sense.
2. Paul is with his ministry partner Timothy. This is the same Timothy that he would later write 1 and 2 Timothy to.
3. “Paul is accustomed, in the inscription of his epistles, to employ titles of distinction, with the view of procuring credit for himself and his ministry, there was no need of lengthened commendations in writing to the Philippians, who had known him by experience as a true Apostle of Christ.” -Calvin, Commentary On Philippians.
To…
1. “All God’s holy people at Philippi”
  1. This is fairly standard language from Paul’s letter when addressing a congregation in a particular city.
  2. Notice the weight of the title: we are God’s holy people in whatever city where we live. That’s not just a compliment, so much as a calling that we have to strive to live into.
  3. Could we call ourselves one of God’s holy people in good conscience? If not, maybe we have some work to do.
“Overseers and deacons”
1. Paul addresses both the congregation and the church leadership.
2. Depending on the translation, this passage may read “Bishops and deacons,” rather than “overseers and deacons.”
  1. Bishop, presbyter, and deacon are all traditional church roles and come from Greek words that mean overseer, elder, and servant.
  2. While exact roles differ from tradition, the basic pattern across Christian history is a bishop oversees churches in a region, a presbyter is a person that leads a local congregation, and a deacon is someone that serves a local church in a more limited capacity.
  3. In the biblical era, the exact division between a deacon and a presbyter had not been defined. Paul often uses the two words interchangeably, such as here. If they had existed as they do today, having multiple deacons in a single city and no referenced presbyters would pose significant challenges. As it is, he appears to be addressing those in leadership roles and those in service roles.
  4. “He mentions the higher-ranking figures—saying “with the bishops,” and so forth. The question arises: why does he place the lesser before the greater? Because the people come before the prelate. Ezekiel 34:2: “Do not the shepherds feed the flocks?” For flocks are to be fed by shepherds, not the other way around.” -Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, 1.1.6.
“Grace and peace”
1. Paul uses this exact language in every one of his letters except the book of Hebrews. Sometimes it’s more flowery, sometimes it’s simpler, but it’s usually there. This particular example is on the shorter side.
2. Rather than just wishing that the letter finds them well, Paul wishes that they know the grace and peace of God.
  1. Grace is God’s unearned favor resting on us through Christ.
  2. True peace that comes from knowing the one unchanging thing (God) in a constantly changing world is available through Christ as well.
3. “Then he mentions the good things he desires for them when he says, grace be unto you and peace. These two goods include everything: first, there is God’s grace remitting sins: for by grace you have been saved through faith (Eph 2:8); lastly, there is man’s peace: he makes peace in your borders (Ps 147:14).” -Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, 1.1.7.

³I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

“I thank my God every time I remember you…”
1. Paul doesn’t say this about every church. There are some he worries about, others that have conflicts, and some that are actively disloyal to the Gospel, but this church is a genuine source of joy to him.
2. Notice that he thanks God, not just them. He thanks the giver, rather than take joy merely in the gift of the church.
“Partners in the gospel”
1. They are not just recipients of the Gospel, but active partners with Paul in spreading it.
2. We are all called to be partners with one another, even across different callings. Some are pastors. Some are teachers. Some are evangelists. Some can give more time or money than others. Every one of us can do incredible ministry, but we need people to partner with us and encourage us to be the best God is calling us to be.
3. We have to support one another if we want to make a difference in a world where the enemy is active and would love to isolate and destroy us.
4. “And this Paul means by fellowship. They give a share to us, he means, in carnal things, and we give a share to them in spiritual things. For if God for little and worthless things grants the kingdom, His servants too, for little and material things, give a share in spiritual things.” -Chrysostom, Homily 1 on Philippians.
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.”
1. Just as God taught the great prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 18:1-12, God molds and shapes his people through the Holy Spirit every day.
2. That work continues until the Day of Christ Jesus, or the second coming of Jesus, when all will be made perfect: no sorrow, no pain, no disease.
3. Paul’s confidence is rooted in the grace that he sees in the Philippians and the trust that he has in God. He will finish what he’s obviously started.
4. “The chief thing, indeed, to be understood here is — until the termination of the conflict. Now the conflict is terminated by death. As, however, the Spirit is accustomed to speak in this manner in reference to the last coming of Christ, it were better to extend the advancement of the grace of Christ to the resurrection of the flesh.” -Calvin, Commentary on Philippians

⁷It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, 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.

The Philippians did not abandon Paul when he was imprisoned. This wasn’t his first imprisonment, but they remained faithful supporters in both good and difficult times
His love for them isn’t built on their material gifts or their delightful personalities, but on the affection of Christ that flows through him.
“He calls not God to witness as though he should be doubted, but does this from his great affection, and his exceeding persuasion and confidence; for after saying that they had fellowship with him, he adds this also, in the tender mercies of Christ, lest they should think that his longing for them was for this cause, and not simply for their own sake. “ -Chrysostom, Homily 1 on Philippians
We are called to love with more than our own limited human love: we’re built to allow God’s love to flow through us
1. Though he was not a Christian, the quote from the medieval Islamic poet Havez puts it beautifully: “I am a hole in a flute that the Christ’s breath moves through—listen to this music.” -Hafiz, as translated by Daniel Ladinsky.

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

“…that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…”
1. Paul does not simply pray that they love more — he prays that their love grows in knowledge and depth of insight.
2. The issue is not whether we love. Everyone loves something. The question is: what do we love, and how do we love it?
Our affections are disordered in this fallen world.
1. We can love the talents that God gave us so much that we imagine that they’re products of our excellence, rather than his generosity.
2. We can love money so much that we find joy in hoarding it, rather than in using it to further God’s kingdom.
3. We can love food so much that we eat it just to taste it, rather than appreciating that it is God’s provision for us.
Augustine wrote on the need for Christians to learn to rightly order their affections, especially having experienced his own chaotic younger days before he knew God.
1. “I loved you far too late, beauty so old and so new—far too late. You were in me, but I was outside myself looking for you in the world. In my ugliness, I plunged into those beautiful created things which you made. You were with me, but I was not with you. Those beautiful things kept me far from you, even though they wouldn’t have existed at all if they didn’t exist in you. You called out to me and overwhelmed my deafness. Your radiance pierced my blindness. I drew in your fragrance and now pant after you. I tasted you, and now I only hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am on fire to have your peace.”-Augustine, Confessions, X. 38.
2. “For he loves you too little who loves anything together with you which he does not love for your sake.” -Augustine, Confessions, X. 40.
Paul’s prays that that the obvious love in the church at Philippi continues to be rightly ordered so that they can see the giver’s glory shining through every good gift and love him all the more for it.
Someday, we’ll stand in front of Christ and look at him eye to eye. We long to hear him say “Well done, good and faithful servant,” (Matt. 25:21). Paul prays that they hear exactly that, as they live a life that loves well and is pure and righteous in Christ’s sight.

Full Transcript

Today, we begin a fresh undertaking as we go through the book of Philippians chapter by chapter and verse by verse. In many ways, it is not a particularly large undertaking—it is a short book of the Bible, only four chapters, so it will probably take around eight weeks to get through it all. But just because it is short does not mean there is not tremendous depth to it. Philippians is a book I recommend to new Christians all the time, as well as to people who just feel beat up, because it is like a warm hug on a cold day. It is encouraging and delightful. Even the way Paul teaches doctrine in this letter is particularly beautiful.

This book is an epistle, which is just the fancy church word for a letter. This letter was written from the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi, which means there are some factors that might help us understand it well. For example, what was the deal with Philippi? What was the church there like, and why did Paul write them a letter? Before we dive into the content directly, let’s do a little background work so we can understand it well, as it will pay off in the long run.

Philippi was a Roman colony in the region of Macedonia. A Roman colony was a city set up by citizens for citizens, making it very Roman in its people, culture, and legal system. Outside of Italy, local cultures across the Roman Empire could vary significantly—for instance, the area surrounding Philippi in modern-day Greece might feel quite Greek—but within the colony itself, the atmosphere was distinctly and patriotically Roman.

About a hundred years before this letter was written, Philippi was the site of a civil war that ultimately ended the Roman Republic. Back when the Romans were a republic, they had safeguards against any one person getting too much power. When Julius Caesar politically maneuvered to gain more power, concerned members of the Senate assassinated him. In response, Caesar’s son Octavian and his right-hand man Mark Antony raised armies to fight the most influential assassins, Brutus and Cassius. This major war ended with the pro-imperial faction victorious and the pro-senate faction defeated. Octavian later became Caesar Augustus. Some of the residents in Philippi were descendants of soldiers from that battle, making them proud of their heritage. Much like Gettysburg today, where everything is star-spangled and deeply patriotic, Philippi was a city proud of its Roman roots.

As for the church itself, the Book of Acts records the conversions that led to its foundation, and those individuals were likely still part of the congregation since it had not been that long. In Acts chapter 16, Paul originally intended to go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit redirected him through a vision of a man from Macedonia asking for help. Paul went to Macedonia in Europe instead, founding the first European church in Philippi.

Acts highlights three conversions in particular. The first was Lydia, a purple fabric merchant. Purple dye was incredibly precious—worth more than gold—because making it required harvesting sea snails near the city of Tyre. It was so valuable that laws regulated who could wear it, reserving pure purple garments for the emperor and restricting others based on status. As a dealer in purple fabric, Lydia was likely wealthy and well-connected. After she and her household heard about Jesus and were baptized, the church gained its first converts.

Later, as Paul and his companions walked through Philippi, they were followed by a slave girl possessed by a demon—literally a “spirit of Pythonus,” an animal associated in Greek culture with Apollo. Local residents believed her fortune-telling abilities came from Apollo, and her owners made a great deal of money off her. She followed Paul’s group, shouting that they were servants of the Most High God declaring the way to be saved. Although the statement was true, Paul eventually cast the demon out of her.

This created trouble when her owners, realizing their source of income was gone, dragged Paul and Silas to court. They were beaten and thrown into the darkest, dankest cell of the prison. That night, despite their suffering, they were praying and singing hymns. Suddenly, an earthquake shook the prison, opening the doors and loosening everyone’s chains. Instead of fleeing, the prisoners stayed put. When the jailer saw the open doors, he drew his sword to commit suicide—a customary act for a Roman officer facing utter disgrace. Paul stopped him, assuring him that everyone was accounted for. Seeing this, the jailer asked how to be saved, received the gospel, and was baptized alongside his family.

Thus, the core of the Philippian church included a wealthy purple merchant, a Roman jailer, and presumably the former slave girl. This became a healthy congregation that Paul frequently cited as a positive example. They supported him regularly, which brings us to the reason for this letter.

Paul wrote this letter from a Roman prison. He was not in a dungeon; he was under room arrest in a rented space, chained and guarded around the clock while awaiting a decision from Emperor Nero. Because he could not leave, he needed financial support to pay rent and buy food. Hearing of his need, the church at Philippi sent him financial aid. Paul wrote back to thank them, encourage them, and teach them.

The opening two verses follow the standard pattern of ancient letters:

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

In that culture, letters began by identifying the sender, which made it immediately clear who was speaking. Paul included Timothy, his co-worker in the gospel to whom he would later write First and Second Timothy. He addressed the letter to all God’s holy people in Philippi, alongside the overseers (or bishops) and deacons. In the early church, terms like overseer and elder were often used interchangeably for leadership roles, while deacons managed specific ministries. Paul addressed the whole body—congregation and leaders alike. His greeting of “grace and peace” wished them both the unearned favor of God through Christ and the deep spiritual security that comes from resting in Him.

In verse three, Paul transitions into thanksgiving:

“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 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.”

Paul expressed pure joy over this church, referring to them as his partners in the gospel. Though Paul was an apostle, he viewed the believers as fellow workers. In the same way, Christians are called to partner with and support one another in their distinct roles, whether as pastors, teachers, or supporters. Paul was confident that God, who began this work in them like a potter shaping clay, would continue refining them until the day of Christ’s return.

He continued in verse seven:

“It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; and whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Jesus Christ.”

The Philippians stood by Paul through good times and bad, supporting him even when he was imprisoned. Because of their faithfulness, Paul loved them not merely out of personal preference, but with the genuine affection of Christ.

Finally, in verse nine, Paul offered a specific prayer for their growth:

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”

Paul prayed that their love would be guided by knowledge and spiritual discernment. It is easy to misplace our affections on material blessings, wealth, or earthly comforts rather than on God Himself. Paul wanted them to love wisely and rightly so that, on the day they stand face to face with Jesus, they might hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Philippians 1 Commentary

September 2, 2026September 19, 2026 ~ Vincent

From the Pulpit—Video & Full Transcript

Philippians 1:1-11 Background and Introduction
Philippians 1:12-30 In Chains for Christ

Commentary

Overview

This book of the Bible is an epistle, which is the Church’s word for letters in the Biblical canon.
1. Just because it’s a letter, it would be wrong to assume that it’s just a casual piece of communication to a particular group long ago.
2. This is a letter inspired by the Holy Spirit by an apostle and beneficial for the whole church.
Philippians is from the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi.
Understanding the city, the church, and why the letter was sent helps make the context of this book clearer.

The City of Philippi

Located in Macedonia (modern-day Greece), Philippi was a Roman colony, meaning most of the citizens living there were Roman citizens, the culture was Roman, and the institutions were especially Roman, even though it was in a region that was culturally Greek.
1. It’s important to remember that just because an area was conquered by Romans, that didn’t make the citizens Roman citizens. Citizenship had to be earned with service to the Empire, such as military service or large donations.
2. Only people born to citizens were citizens from birth.
Philippi was especially proud of their Roman identity.
1. Philippi was the site of the decisive battle ending one of Rome’s civil wars, the Liberators’ Civil War, roughly 100 years before this letter was written.
  1. Julius Caesar was assassinated by senators who feared his growing power.
  2. The Imperial forces led by Octavian (later Caesar Augustus) and Julius’s right-hand man, Mark Antony, defeated the republican forces led by the assassins Brutus and Cassius and the at Philippi.
2. The cultural memory of that battle shaped the identity of the city. Imagine something like Gettysburg Pennsylvania; stars and stripes everywhere.
3. A lot of the citizens were descended from soldiers that retired after that war and settled in the region, so that military identity would also be really strong in this area.

The Founding of the Church at Phillippi

The book of Acts chapter 16 gives us an account of the founding of the Church at Philippi by the Apostle Paul during his second missionary journey.
Paul hadn’t originally planned to go to Europe. He planned on going to Asia, but the Holy Spirit stopped him and sent him a vision of a man from Macedonia calling for help. Paul consequently went to Macedonia and started the first Church on the continent of Europe.
Paul proclaims Christ to three noteworthy people in Philippi. These people are likely still living in the community as prominent members of the church that Paul is writing to.
1. Lydia: A wealthy merchant of purple fabric
  1. Purple dye was extraordinarily valuable. To produce a single ounce of purple dye, thousands of sea snails would be gathered by hand, workers would break their shells and extract fluid from their mucus-producing hypobranchial gland, and boiled for ten days with other liquids such as urine.
  2. Roman clothing had certain visual symbols based on how much imperial purple was in a garment to tell a person’s rank and social standing. Only the emperor could wear a purely imperial purple garment.
  3. Given her trade, Lydia would have been well-connected and likely very wealthy.
  4. She and her entire household heard the Gospel and were baptized.
2. A Slave Girl: Possessed by a “spirit of divination” Python” (associated with the god Apollo in Greek culture)
  1. The Greek text calls it, quite literally, a “spirit of python.” Pythons were associated with the Greek god Apollo, who was especially honored in the city of Phillipi. It’s likely that locals saw her abilities as a divine blessing, though Paul and Silas knew that it wasn’t of God.
  2. Her owners profited from her fortune-telling ability.
  3. She followed Paul and Silas declaring: “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
    1. Given Paul’s annoyance, one must assume this was said in a disrespectful, mocking tone.
  4. Paul cast out the demon; her owners, having lost their income, dragged Paul and Silas before magistrates where they were beaten and imprisoned.
3. The Philippian Jailer
  1. Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned in the deepest cell.
  2. That night, in the darkness of their cell, they prayed and sang hymns, reflecting a faith that is truly unshakable and joyful even in the worst of conditions.
  3. A miracle occurred! An earthquake opened all the doors and broke every chain.
  4. Paul and Silas chose to stay rather than escape. Not only did they stay, but they convinced all the other prisoners to stay too.
  5. The jailer, about to take his own life in Roman fashion (the only way to reclaim honor after such failure), was stopped by Paul.
  6. He immediately asked: “How can I be saved?” — received the gospel and was baptized.
These people are the foundation of the church. Each was hungry for the news of the gospel and responded quickly alongside their families. Imagining all three does involve a little speculation. While the slave girl is not said to have joined the church, one has to imagine that someone freed from spiritual exploitation would remember the name by which she was saved and investigate it more as time went on.

Why did Paul write this letter?

Paul was writing from Roman imprisonment under Emperor Nero.
He was not in a dungeon but was under house arrest — in chains, guarded 24/7, while authorities decided his fate.
He was accruing expenses: rent, food, daily needs.
The church at Philippi sent a courier from the congregation named Epaphroditus to give Paul financial support upon hearing of his need.
Paul writes to:
1. Thank them for their generosity
2. Encourage and teach them

1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

From…
1. In a modern letter or email, the person who wrote the letter is listed at the end of the letter. In this time and place, the sender was the first item in the letter, which makes a good deal more sense.
2. Paul is with his ministry partner Timothy. This is the same Timothy that he would later write 1 and 2 Timothy to.
3. “Paul is accustomed, in the inscription of his epistles, to employ titles of distinction, with the view of procuring credit for himself and his ministry, there was no need of lengthened commendations in writing to the Philippians, who had known him by experience as a true Apostle of Christ.” -Calvin, Commentary On Philippians.
To…
1. “All God’s holy people at Philippi”
  1. This is fairly standard language from Paul’s letter when addressing a congregation in a particular city.
  2. Notice the weight of the title: we are God’s holy people in whatever city where we live. That’s not just a compliment, so much as a calling that we have to strive to live into.
  3. Could we call ourselves one of God’s holy people in good conscience? If not, maybe we have some work to do.
“Overseers and deacons”
1. Paul addresses both the congregation and the church leadership.
2. Depending on the translation, this passage may read “Bishops and deacons,” rather than “overseers and deacons.”
  1. Bishop, presbyter, and deacon are all traditional church roles and come from Greek words that mean overseer, elder, and servant.
  2. While exact roles differ from tradition, the basic pattern across Christian history is a bishop oversees churches in a region, a presbyter is a person that leads a local congregation, and a deacon is someone that serves a local church in a more limited capacity.
  3. In the biblical era, the exact division between a deacon and a presbyter had not been defined. Paul often uses the two words interchangeably, such as here. If they had existed as they do today, having multiple deacons in a single city and no referenced presbyters would pose significant challenges. As it is, he appears to be addressing those in leadership roles and those in service roles.
  4. “He mentions the higher-ranking figures—saying “with the bishops,” and so forth. The question arises: why does he place the lesser before the greater? Because the people come before the prelate. Ezekiel 34:2: “Do not the shepherds feed the flocks?” For flocks are to be fed by shepherds, not the other way around.” -Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, 1.1.6.
“Grace and peace”
1. Paul uses this exact language in every one of his letters except the book of Hebrews. Sometimes it’s more flowery, sometimes it’s simpler, but it’s usually there. This particular example is on the shorter side.
2. Rather than just wishing that the letter finds them well, Paul wishes that they know the grace and peace of God.
  1. Grace is God’s unearned favor resting on us through Christ.
  2. True peace that comes from knowing the one unchanging thing (God) in a constantly changing world is available through Christ as well.
3. “Then he mentions the good things he desires for them when he says, grace be unto you and peace. These two goods include everything: first, there is God’s grace remitting sins: for by grace you have been saved through faith (Eph 2:8); lastly, there is man’s peace: he makes peace in your borders (Ps 147:14).” -Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, 1.1.7.

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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.

“I thank my God every time I remember you…”

1. Paul doesn’t say this about every church. There are some he worries about, others that have conflicts, and some that are actively disloyal to the Gospel, but this church is a genuine source of joy to him.
2. Notice that he thanks God, not just them. He thanks the giver, rather than take joy merely in the gift of the church.
“Partners in the gospel”
1. They are not just recipients of the Gospel, but active partners with Paul in spreading it.
2. We are all called to be partners with one another, even across different callings. Some are pastors. Some are teachers. Some are evangelists. Some can give more time or money than others. Every one of us can do incredible ministry, but we need people to partner with us and encourage us to be the best God is calling us to be.
3. We have to support one another if we want to make a difference in a world where the enemy is active and would love to isolate and destroy us.
4. “And this Paul means by fellowship. They give a share to us, he means, in carnal things, and we give a share to them in spiritual things. For if God for little and worthless things grants the kingdom, His servants too, for little and material things, give a share in spiritual things.” -Chrysostom, Homily 1 on Philippians.
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.”
1. Just as God taught the great prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 18:1-12, God molds and shapes his people through the Holy Spirit every day.
2. That work continues until the Day of Christ Jesus, or the second coming of Jesus, when all will be made perfect: no sorrow, no pain, no disease.
3. Paul’s confidence is rooted in the grace that he sees in the Philippians and the trust that he has in God. He will finish what he’s obviously started.
4. “The chief thing, indeed, to be understood here is — until the termination of the conflict. Now the conflict is terminated by death. As, however, the Spirit is accustomed to speak in this manner in reference to the last coming of Christ, it were better to extend the advancement of the grace of Christ to the resurrection of the flesh.” -Calvin, Commentary on Philippians

7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

The Philippians did not abandon Paul when he was imprisoned. This wasn’t his first imprisonment, but they remained faithful supporters in both good and difficult times
His love for them isn’t built on their material gifts or their delightful personalities, but on the affection of Christ that flows through him.
“He calls not God to witness as though he should be doubted, but does this from his great affection, and his exceeding persuasion and confidence; for after saying that they had fellowship with him, he adds this also, in the tender mercies of Christ, lest they should think that his longing for them was for this cause, and not simply for their own sake. “ -Chrysostom, Homily 1 on Philippians
We are called to love with more than our own limited human love: we’re built to allow God’s love to flow through us
1. Though he was not a Christian, the quote from the medieval Islamic poet Havez puts it beautifully: “I am a hole in a flute that the Christ’s breath moves through—listen to this music.” -Hafiz, as translated by Daniel Ladinsky.

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

“…that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…”
1. Paul does not simply pray that they love more — he prays that their love grows in knowledge and depth of insight.
2. The issue is not whether we love. Everyone loves something. The question is: what do we love, and how do we love it?
Our affections are disordered in this fallen world.
1. We can love the talents that God gave us so much that we imagine that they’re products of our excellence, rather than his generosity.
2. We can love money so much that we find joy in hoarding it, rather than in using it to further God’s kingdom.
3. We can love food so much that we eat it just to taste it, rather than appreciating that it is God’s provision for us.
Augustine wrote on the need for Christians to learn to rightly order their affections, especially having experienced his own chaotic younger days before he knew God.
1. “I loved you far too late, beauty so old and so new—far too late. You were in me, but I was outside myself looking for you in the world. In my ugliness, I plunged into those beautiful created things which you made. You were with me, but I was not with you. Those beautiful things kept me far from you, even though they wouldn’t have existed at all if they didn’t exist in you. You called out to me and overwhelmed my deafness. Your radiance pierced my blindness. I drew in your fragrance and now pant after you. I tasted you, and now I only hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am on fire to have your peace.”-Augustine, Confessions, X. 38.
2. “For he loves you too little who loves anything together with you which he does not love for your sake.” -Augustine, Confessions, X. 40.
Paul’s prays that that the obvious love in the church at Philippi continues to be rightly ordered so that they can see the giver’s glory shining through every good gift and love him all the more for it.
Someday, we’ll stand in front of Christ and look at him eye to eye. We long to hear him say “Well done, good and faithful servant,” (Matt. 25:21). Paul prays that they hear exactly that, as they live a life that loves well and is pure and righteous in Christ’s sight.

12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Note the pastoral care Paul is offering here. At a time when this church is probably worried about him, he reminds them that by being in prison, he is doing incredible work for God. There is no need to be concerned.
“I am in chains for Christ.”
1. Many Christians have suffered for Christ. The apostles, Stephen, Perpetua and Felicity, Polycarp, the 21 martyrs in Libya, and more than could reasonably be shared in a single list.
  1. Paphnutius has an especially beautiful story, as he was someone who got to see some of the changes that his witness inspired.
    1. He was a 4th century Egyptian bishop during the Diocletian persecution.
    2. When he refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, his legs were crippled, his right eye was torn out, and they exiled him to the mines for life.
    3. He outlasted Diocletian’s reign and when Constantine, the first Christian emperor, took the throne, he invited Paphnutius to the imperial palace to work on the Nicene Creed with the other bishops. The man who was tortured for Christ was publicly honored by the machinery that tried to destroy him.
  2. Richard Wurmbrand, a pastor that suffered enormous persecution in communist Romania, opened the organization The Voice of the Martyrs specifically to tell people the stories of persecuted Christians sharing the Gospel. These stories inspire people around the world to do more, seeing how their brothers and sisters endure for Jesus in the most challenging circumstances.
2. Christians don’t just suffer from the work of non-Christians. People that call themselves Christians often hurt others as well, such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and John of the Cross.
  1. Athanasius, another 4th century Egyptian bishop, was exiled multiple times, had other bishops appointed to replace him, and had to hide from troops that were sent to arrest him because he affirmed that Jesus is God in an era where watering down the claims of Christ for “peace” within the church was seen as more important. Even so, he endured and helped the Church remember what it was.
3. It doesn’t matter where our suffering comes from. We might suffer because of people who call themselves Christians or non-Christians or just bad circumstances. Enduring hardships for Christ is a powerful witness.

15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

“Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry…”
1. Note that this is not about false teachers. It is about people who are sharing the good news for bad reasons.
2. “The shepherd who teaches for the sake of the truth should be loved; the hireling who teaches for gain should be tolerated; but the one who teaches what is false must be expelled”- Augustine as Cited by Aquinas in Commentary on Philippians, Lecture 3, 24.
3. “Now, it sometimes happens that joy arises from a good cause, and in that case it does so directly and in itself. At other times, joy arises from an evil cause, and then it does so indirectly and accidentally. When joy comes from a good cause, we should rejoice both in the effect and in the cause, as with an act of almsgiving done for the sake of God. But when it comes from an evil cause, we should rejoice in the effect, but not in the cause.” -Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians, Lecture 3, 24.
4. It is all too common for different ministry roles to become an end to themselves, rather than a means to the end of glorifying God. Many people find personal glory in being a women’s minister or a band member or a pastor, rather than offering these things up for God’s glory. Praise God he can still use insufficient workers for His plans.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

“To live is Christ and to die is gain.”
1. “How ominously these words follow each other in the text “live,” “die.” There is but a comma between them, and surely as it is in the words so is it in reality. How brief the distance between life and death! In fact there is none. Life is but death’s vestibule, and our pilgrimage on earth is but a journey to the grave. The pulse that preserves our being beats our death march, and the blood which circulates our life is floating it onward to the deeps of death. To-day we see our friends in health, to-morrow we hear of their decease. We clasped the hand of the strong man but yesterday, and to-day we close his eyes. We rode in the chariot of comfort but an hour ago, and in a few more hours the last black chariot must convey us to the home of all living. Oh, how closely allied is death to life! …. But blessed be God, there is one place where death is not life’s brother, where life reigns alone; “to live,” is not the first syllable which is to be followed by the next, “to die.” There is a land where deathknells are never tolled, where winding-sheets are never woven, where graves are never digged. Blest land beyond the skies! To reach it we must die. But if after death we obtain a glorious immortality, our text is indeed true: “To die is gain.” -Spurgeon, Sermon 146.
2. Paul’s deliverance is assured, whether that means freedom from prison or execution; either way, God’s salvation is at work.
Living for Christ vs. Worldly Pursuits
1. A lot of people live for comfort, money, conflict, or pleasure. All of those things are based on what we know can’t last forever.
  1. The easy life that brings us comfort won’t exist someday.
  2. We can’t take our money and possessions with us when we die.
  3. There will come a day when conflict results in no material gains– it only leads to wailing and gnashing of teeth.
  4. Pleasure based on quick thrills will dry up when the things that bring the pleasure are no longer accessible
2. Only Jesus is eternal. A hard life followed by eternal bliss is better than an easy life followed by eternal misery.
3. “Call no man happy until he is dead; because the life that is to come, if that be miserable, shall far outweigh the highest life of happiness that hath been enjoyed on earth. To estimate a man’s condition we must take it in all its length. We must not measure that one thread which reacheth from the cradle to the coffin. We must go further; we must go from the coffin to the resurrection, and from the resurrection on throughout eternity.” -Spurgeon, Sermon 146.
4. When you live for Christ, death becomes “gain” because it brings eternal life with Him.

22 If 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! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

“I am torn between the two…”

1. Paul sees a “win-win”: if he dies, he is with Christ—“better by far.” If he lives, he continues “fruitful labor” for God’s glory.
2. “[I]f I am to live is the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour – This is the fruit of my living longer, that I can labour more. Glorious labour! desirable fruit!” -John Wesley, Notes on the New Testament.

27 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 in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without 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. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

“Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel…”
1. “There is only one thing, Olympia, to fear, only one real temptation, and that is sin. This is the refrain I keep chanting to you ceaselessly. Fore everything else is ultimately a fable–whether you speak of plots, or enmities, or deceptions, or slanders or abuses, or accusations, or confiscations, or banishments, or sharpened swords, or high seas, or wars engulfing the entire world. Whichever of these you point to, they are transitory and perishable, and they only affect mortal bodies; they cannot in any way injure the watchful soul.” -John Chrysostom, Letter to Olympia 7, 1,C.
“…without being frightened in any way…”
1. With God on their side, believers need not fear what the world can do—pain or death are fleeting.
2. Nothing frightens people so much as seeing that their ultimate display of force doesn’t affect their opponent in the slightest. What does their foe know that they do not? Let them ponder the Gospel in these circumstances.
“…but also to suffer for him…”
1. The central question is not if you will suffer, but how you will act in that time of suffering. The only true fear worth having is the fear of sin, which separates from Jesus.