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Philippians 1:12

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
(Philippians 1:12, ESV)
What has happened to Paul, he claims, has really served to advance the gospel. This verse is fairly straight forward. But I would encourage you to consider those words in the middle of the verse, "what has happened to me..." Paul passes by them so nonchalantly... But consider what has actually happened to Paul. Francis Chan puts it this way,
“This would include a riot, a two-year imprisonment in Caesarea, an appeal to Caesar, the threat on his life, a shipwreck on the way to Rome, his house arrest with restricted freedom, and his impending trial.”
(From Christ Centered Exposition Commentary pg51)
When you go through the book of Acts, you realize that there is much that has happened to Paul, but these things seem as mere trifles to him. They all happened to him... "really" to serve a greater purpose: the advance of the gospel.
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