Let Me Not Wander

engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.  (Philippians 1:30, ESV) This completes the sentence from verse 29 and it also completes chapter 1 of Philippians. The conflict is not a physical fight with opponents, "... for we wrestle not against flesh and blood..." (Ephesians 6:12) Paul in engaged in a conflict against the Spiritual Powers of this world. He is fighting to continue spreading the gospel. The powers that be are aligned against him to stop the spread of the truth. Paul is tying up this section by going full circle. He began, thankful for their united effort to spread the Gospel. Now he is encouraging them to keep that battle going. Paul and these Philippian Christians are in it together.

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,  (Philippians 1:29, ESV) "It has been granted to you..." Hmm... It is a privileged gift to believe in Christ. What an honor! What a joy! To not only know the name of the savior of the world, but have His reality revealed to us in such a way that we have put all of our confidence in the work of Jesus Christ. But this is not the only gift that has been granted to us -- we have also been granted the opportunity to suffer for the sake of the name! In Acts 5, after the Apostles have testified to the Jewish Council about the great realities of Jesus Christ, they are commanded to never speak about this again, and they they are beaten and released. After this beating we read in verse 41: Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.  (Acts 5:41, ESV)

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.  (Philippians 1:28, ESV) The beginning of this verse is the end of the previous sentence. Paul begins telling them that living a life worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is in unity with other believers. This unity is not compromised in the face of opposition. The word for frightened means to be startled. Don't be taken off guard by the opposition. Unified, un-startled Christians, by their very nature and existence, say something to everyone involved. To the opposition, it says, "You are condemned. You are headed to destruction." To the Christians it is reassurance. When they are united together and un-afraid of the consequences of being a Christian, it is a sign of genuine salvation.

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,  (Philippians 1:27, ESV) "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ..." could be more literally translated as, "Only live as citizens of the gospel of Christ..." Saying it the other way is a great translation, especially for us because we don't see citizenship in the same light as these Philippian Christians would have. A little history... In the city of Phillipi, all of its citizens had been granted Roman Citizenship. This was a great privilege because not everyone was granted the rights of citizenship. Phillipi had earned this special privilege because it had once been a Roman outpost. The city itself had been modeled after Rome, with the style of architecture and such. It is said that if one were to v...

so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.  (Philippians 1:26, ESV) Continuing the sentence from the previous verse, Paul finishes the thought by saying that the goal is that they will glory in Christ Jesus... that they will have abundant reasons to glory in Christ Jesus... when Paul comes to them again. When you go to visit people, does your life make Jesus look great? Do people walk away from encounters with thinking that God must be glorious?

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,  (Philippians 1:25, ESV) The conclusion is final in Paul's mind: He will remain here, at least for a little bit longer. The great benefits of leaving and going to be with Christ will have to wait. Notice, at the end of this verse, two things that he is remaining and continuing for: their progress and joy in the faith. Paul is remaining, not to simply have more time to fellowship, not simply having more time to accomplish the things he wants to accomplish before he dies, not simply to complete a bucket-list of activities... No. Paul is staying to benefit their faith in Jesus Christ. Paul is staying so that they will advance in the faith and that they will have joy in the faith. Why do you stick around?

But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.  (Philippians 1:24, ESV) In this phrase, I believe that we are hearing Paul come to the conclusion that he may have known all along. He is seeing the benefits of being done with this world, of heading to those heavenly places to be with Christ, of finishing his course... He can see it... almost taste it. At the same time he is recognizing that there is still need here. There is still need with the Philippian Christians. There is still teaching that must be done, evangelism that needs to happen, training for future generations, writing that needs to be accomplished. Remaining in the flesh is truly more necessary, not only for those Philippian Christians but also for us. There are several of Paul's letters that were written after this imprisonment.

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. (Philippians 1:23, ESV) Can you feel Paul's tension? What is truly marvelous is that Paul is teaching the Philippian Christians about the realities of life and death and service in the kingdom... but he isn't doing it from a lofty position at a Christian Institute or a Theological Seminary (though there isn't anything wrong with these things). He is doing it from a Roman Prison. He is living the lesson he is teaching.

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.  (Philippians 1:22, ESV) So, here is the balance for Paul: To live is Christ... To die is gain (Philippians 1:21). To be Christ in this world will be fruitful labor for Paul. It will mean that more of the gospel is being spread abroad, more people will hear the good news, more will come to believe in the one and only savior of the world: Jesus Christ. As you read through these verses, you can almost feel Paul coming to the realization that he will stay here. He wants to go home, to be done with the labor, to be present with Christ, but almost like a dawning realization, he begins to understand that won't be the deliverance he will experience. He will most likely escape death this time, to continue in the labor. For Paul it is a Win, win situation.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  (Philippians 1:21, ESV) The Greek that is used here could more literally be translated, "To Live: Christ! To Die: Gain!" The meaning here is clear: For Paul to live, well, that will be like sharing in the very person of Jesus Christ. To live is to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. To live is to be persecuted. To live is to potentially remain in prison to eventually be executed. To die... now that is gain. To die is to be removed from all of this. As I have heard before, Paul must've thought, when conversations of execution came up, "You can't threaten me with heaven..." When Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, penned* these words, I wonder if he knew how much comfort they would bring to those who are suffering for Christ and those who are close to death?

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.  (Philippians 1:20, ESV) Reading Paul's words in Philippians 1:19 and the beginning of verse 20, might lead you to suspect that Paul is asking / praying to be released from prison. Now, surely, that sort of deliverance is clearly included in the the thoughts and prayers of Paul and the Philippian church, but the last few words lay it out there, plain and simple. Paul's deliverance might come by life or by death. His main concern though? It is not which form of deliverance that he experiences, but only that Christ will be honored in Paul's body.

for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,  (Philippians 1:19, ESV) Verse 18 ended with, "Yes, and I will rejoice..." which should actually go with this verse. So, he is rejoicing that the gospel of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed, but now he is going into another reason why he is rejoicing and continuing to rejoice. Being in prison, it is not unusual at all that he knows they will be and have been praying for him. Even being confident in deliverance from this situation is absolutely fitting to the thought process. What will be interesting is what he considers to be his deliverance, which we will see in the next few verses.

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.  Yes, and I will rejoice,  (Philippians 1:18, ESV) The source of Paul's joy in his circumstances, is that he can see the proclamation of Christ. It doesn't seem to matter to him what the motives of people are. He is looking beyond that at the workings of God, in spite of the motives of people.

The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.  (Philippians 1:17, ESV) It is important to notice that this particular group of people are still proclaiming Christ. There is no hint of a false teaching or of false teachers in this passage. When the teaching is false, Paul also responds quite fervently against both the teaching and the teachers of false doctrine. But in this case, he still maintains joy that Christ is being proclaimed. The problem, in this case, is not the message, but the preachers of that message. These other preachers, instead of being motivated by a deep love of the apostle, are actually out for themselves. Quite possibly, they have seen Paul's imprisonment as an opportunity to jump into the spotlight themselves, and if they can put Paul down... take it permanently. It doesn't matter to Paul. The Gospel is being preached. I wonder if I would have the same attitude?

The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.  (Philippians 1:16, ESV) So, the one group that have become more confident to share the Gospel are motivated by love, specifically a love for Paul. They love Paul so much that when they find out he has been imprisoned for the defense of the Gospel, it motivates them to share the Gospel themselves. One could ask, what motivates you to share the Gospel? But a more significant question to ask would be in regards to who do you love? Are there currently any heroes for the Gospel in your life that you love? As they share the Gospel, and go great lengths and endure sacrifices to make it happen, does your love for them motivate you and give you the confidence to share the Gospel yourself?

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.  (Philippians 1:15 ESV) These next few verses are very interesting. Remember, Paul is talking about how all that has happened to him has happened for the advance of the Gospel. The first way, was that Paul had the opportunity to share the Gospel with the Imperial Guard. This has resulted in the entire Imperial Guard being aware that Paul was imprisoned for the sake of Christ. The second reason that he gave that the Gospel was being advanced, was that other brothers were more confident to share the Gospel themselves. But pay special attention here, these emboldened, emblazoned brothers can be divided into two separate groups. One group is rooted in good will. They have nothing in mind but the best for Paul. There is another group that is actually preaching Christ, they are confidently propounding on the Gospel message, but it is out of envy and rivalry. Envy: possibly meaning that they are envious of Pau...

And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:14, ESV) Here is the second reason why Paul has stated that "all that has happened" to him, has "served to advance the gospel" (Philippians 1:12).  The first reason was stated in verse 13. In that verse, Paul sees that the Imperial Guard and the rest of Caesar's household, most likely the populace of servants, have heard the gospel message. Now he points out that his many trials and his imprisonment have actually emboldened other believers. There are others that are now, in confidence, "much more bold to speak the word without fear." So often, when we go through trials, we look at the way these things might benefit us... when we go through loss, we sometimes think that this might give us an opportunity, in the future, to help someone who is going through loss. This is quite possible, but I believe that...

so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. (Philippians 1:13, ESV) All that has happened to Paul has really served to advance the Gospel (Philippians 1:12), and now he tells us exactly how the gospel has been advanced. Most believe that Paul is in prison in Rome when he is writing this letter to the Philippians. The way that he states that the Gospel has been advanced, supports this idea. The word that is translated "imperial guard" is the Praetorian, or Caesar's Guard. So, whether by direct contact or by word of mouth, there are many in Rome who know that Paul's imprisonment is for Christ.

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.

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:11, ESV) This verse is a continuation of the reasoning for Paul's prayer. He prayed in Philippians 1:9 that their "love would abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment." In Philippians 1:10, he begins to tell us why: when they make that divide in those life choices of what really matters, they will be making the right decision. This, in turn, will lead them to stand before God unashamed. Now he completes that reasoning, honing in, not just on ourselves and our benefit, but on those ultimate ideas:  to be useful and productive for Christ and to bring glory to God. We will make God look supremely valuable as we love more and more and others see that love that we have for one another.