Philippians: Gospel in the midst of suffering.

Philippians 1

English Standard Version (ESV)

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

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

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³ I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so 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.

The Advance of the Gospel

¹² I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love,knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰ as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

²⁷ Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ³⁰ engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

As I read through this book one of the things that pops out to me is Philippians ring to me of a death bed letter. Paul is in prison and he is suffering. He longs to be with God the Father, but he also feels an obligation and calling to support the churches through his writing. In the first few verses of this letter, Paul talks about how he finds joy in the church of Phillippi. He sees their work in furthering the gospel and he feels supported by them in his ministry. There seems to be a deep affection between the church and Paul. In Ephesians Paul was writing to a people he did not know. In this letter Paul writes intimately to the church. He longs for their growth and completion in Christ. 
Paul also feels the need to reassure the church of his situation. He doesn't hide the fact that he is in prison and suffering, but he doesn't draw attention to it either. He merely talks about how he has found joy in the advancement of the gospel. Paul seems to be asking the Philippian church to continue to in the work of advancing the gospel because he needs that hope in his suffering. 

There is a quote at my work that says,"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." ~Dalai Lama. I feel Paul is saying, "If you want to find joy, we preach the gospel. If I want to find joy, we preach the gospel." 

Father, I want to have joy in my life. I want to be focused on You and Your calling in my life. I want to have fruitful labor in the gospel. Holy Spirit may I be intimate with You that I feel secure in faith and conviction. Place a longing in my heart for You. Amen.  

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