AGAIN I SAY REJOICE
DEFENDING & CONFIRMING THE GOSPEL
PHILIPPIANS 1:7-11
INTRODUCTION
- As we continue to look at Philippians chapter 1 together let’s remind ourselves, briefly, of the issues we addressed last time. We emphasized three things from vv.3-6. First, that Paul had joy in remembering the saints in prayer.
- We talked about how Paul used the memories he had of his time in Philippi to ignite his prayer for the saints and his worship and praise of God. And we noted that it is our responsibility to use our memories in a similar way. Certainly the enemy would seek to remind us of detrimental issues of our past for the purpose of hindering our faith; but we are to reject such use of the past and instead, we are to focus on those things that spur us on toward godliness.
- Secondly then, we saw that Paul was grateful for their partnership in the gospel ministry. Which, first and foremost meant that he was grateful for their salvation; but also for their support of him as he spread the gospel throughout the Roman Empire.
- And lastly, we noticed that the Apostle was confident in God’s perfecting work. He was absolutely positive that the good work (which is salvation) that God started in them would be completed. We mentioned how very important it is for us to have a clear understanding of biblical salvation. God starts the work, he grants us faith by his grace; and since he starts the work he finishes the work.
- Now what comes next in Paul’s thought pattern as he is starting this letter is that these things we talked about last time are good and right for Paul to feel and express. He says in v.7 that: It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart...
- Today, we are going to focus on the reasons why Paul has such an affection for these believers, and so prays for them and thanks God for their partnership. In fact, we will get a glimpse of the partnership Paul refers to in v.5 when we look at the end of v.7. Then, we are going to bring things full circle and see some of the implications of what Paul says for our modern context.
- So look with me at 1:7-11.
Read Philippians 1:7-11
- There are two big reasons Paul gives here for his great affection for the Philippians. He says that he holds them in his heart, because they are partakers with him in grace, both in his imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. I’m going to divide the second reason into two. So we will have three reasons for Paul’s affection; and some accompanying implications.
- The first reason Paul had such great affection for these saints, is:
THEY WERE PARTAKERS WITH PAUL IN HIS IMPRISONMENT
- He writes in v.7: for you are all partakers with me of grace, and first he says: in my imprisonment.
- Notice first of all how Paul views his imprisonment. He does not say that they were partakers with him in suffering, of which his imprisonment was a part. He says that they were sharing with him in the grace of his imprisonment.
- We are going to see over and over again that Paul views his circumstances as a gift of God’s grace. He is constantly saying things like this. In just a few verses he writes that his imprisonment is for Christ and that he was put there for the defense of the gospel. At the end of chapter 1 he writes that it has been given to believers to suffer for Christ’s sake.
- See it’s not that Paul didn’t think he was suffering. It’s just that he viewed his suffering as a grace.
- So if he was in prison, he was there because in the wisdom of God he was supposed to be there. And nothing, not even confinement was going to hinder his gospel ministry. So Paul sees the circumstances of his life as a gift. By God’s grace he was where he was with an opportunity to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ.
- But we also see here that the Philippians’ willingness to support Paul during this difficult time revealed to Paul the authenticity of their faith. The thought goes like this: “I thank God for doing a gospel work in you. And I am confident that he will complete that work. And I am right to feel that confidence and feel such affection for you because you have shown me that your faith is real by your willingness to endure the grace of suffering for the gospel with me.
- We will touch more on this point later on in the letter, but here is what Paul is saying essentially: the genuineness of their faith was shown in their willingness to suffer for the sake of the gospel.
- See for the Philippians to associate with Paul would have been dangerous for them. It would have brought certain reproach on them and perhaps even other forms of persecution. But they were committed to sticking with Paul because Paul was committed to the cause of the gospel of Christ.
- How much we really believe something is revealed when we are called upon to suffer or endure hardship for the sake of it. The strength of our commitment to something, or in this case someone – Jesus, is shown when hardship arises. I’ll give you an illustration that is light-hearted but gets the point across.
- Growing up, I lived about a half an hour from the University of Notre Dame. In case you are not aware, the football program there is a big deal. It is one of the more storied programs in college football. Now, when I was a young boy the football team was very good. In 1988 they won the national championship under Lou Holtz. And even into the 90’s the team was very competitive.
- Today, however, the team is struggling mightily. They haven’t won a bowl game in years; and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish don’t cause the rest of the college football nation to tremble anymore. When I was a kid, it was easy for me to be an Irish fan because they were good; and because I lived right near the campus. But now I am in Maine, not Indiana. And now they struggling and not good. Now is the time when my allegiance to Fighting Irish football is truly shown.
- And yes, I suffer through their games each Saturday during football season.
- It’s the same with our faith in Christ. Our allegiance to Christ is truly shown when we must bear reproach in his name. And because the Philippians were willing to do that, Paul had confidence that they were partakers of God’s grace with him.
- But there’s a second thing Paul mentions sharing with the Philippians:
THEY WERE PARTAKERS WITH PAUL IN THE DEFENSE OF THE GOSPEL
- The word defense at the end of v.7 is ἀπολογίᾳ ; it is a legal term and it means to give an answer or speech in defense of something. It is actually related to our word apologetics, which is the discipline of defending Christianity. The immediate context suggests, of course, that Paul is referring to his defense of the gospel before Roman authorities.
- The larger context of the New Testament also makes us aware that Paul was constantly defending the gospel, even when not in prison. He defends the purity of the gospel against false teachers. He defends the power of the gospel against competing ideologies. He defends the preciousness of the gospel against complacency and laxity.
- And he states here, that the Philippians shared in this effort. In fact, in vv.15-16 Paul tells us that some of the Philippian saints preached Christ with boldness because of Paul; knowing that he was defending the gospel even while in prison.
- I want us to notice what he goes on to say after this. In v.8 he makes another statement about his affection and love for the saints there. Then in v.9 he shares with them what he is praying for concerning their lives in response to their sharing with him in the things we are addressing.
- He writes: And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment...
- He is saying that he prays that their love for the things of God would continue to grow. He wants their love for Christ to grow. He wants their love for each other to grow. He wants their love for the unsaved to grow. He wants their love for him to grow. So that they can continue to defend the gospel with, notice these two words: knowledge and discernment.
- Here is a point of implication for us:
DEFENDING THE GOSPEL REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE AND DISCERNMENT
- Paul prayed that they would continue to grow in love; love for all the things of God, but that they would also excel in knowledge and develop discernment. Let’s talk about these things.
- Knowledge, of course, is awareness of what is fact. It is familiarity with what is true. For example, the Protestant Bible, the Bible we believe to be the inspired word of God, has sixty six books. The Old Testament has 39 books and the New Testament has 27. Our Bible has 1,189 chapters; 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New. Those things are true. They are facts. I have knowledge of those truths when I am made aware of them; when I learn them.
- If I wanted to defend the truth that the Bible has 1,189 chapters, I would first have to know that that is in fact how many chapters the Bible has. So it is with defending the gospel. If I want to, as Paul did and as the Philippians did, partake of the defense of the gospel I must first know what the gospel is. And by contrast, what it is not.
- That, of course, means we must be knowledgeable of the gospel facts. We must know that belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as payment for sin is the heart of the gospel.
- But we also need to be aware of the truths that are associated with the gospel. For instance, that belief in the gospel in accomplished by the grace of God and is not produced by the sinner. Or that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved; not one of many ways. We could go on.
- If we are going to do what Paul did – stand before people and defend the gospel – we have to have a clear understanding of what it is. Not just for the purpose of knowing. Knowing is not the end, discernment is the end. We constantly study the Scriptures to make ourselves aware of gospel truth so that we can distinguish truth from error.
- Discernment, much like wisdom, is the application of the knowledge you have. If you hear someone saying they believe in Jesus, but don’t think that he resurrected from the dead. Your knowledge of what the Bible says about the necessity of Christ’s resurrection allows you to understand that this person believes a lie; they don’t understand gospel truth.
- Now I want to highlight three ways that Paul used knowledge and discernment in his ministry to defend the gospel. I mentioned them in passing earlier.
- First, he defended the purity of the gospel against false teachers. Turn to Galatians 1. In Galatians 1:6-9 Paul writes: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
- Paul goes on in the letter to the Galatians to defend the gospel of grace and faith against the false gospel of works of the law. There were some false teachers who were proclaiming that adherence to OT law was required for salvation; but Paul, knowing the truth of the gospel, understands that this is a lie and proclaims that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. He had so familiarized himself with gospel truth that he was well aware of real and counterfeit.
- We must defend the gospel in this way as well. We must always be ready to differentiate between truth and error by immersing ourselves in the word of God. We must defend the gospel’s purity.
- Second, Paul defended the power of the gospel against competing ideologies. Look at Romans 1. Romans 1:16-17 says; Paul writing: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
- He goes on to say that God’s wrath is revealed against all unrighteousness. The world sets everything else in God’s place and worships it. Those without Christ have exchanged the worship of the true God for a lie. But Paul refused to give in to such cultural influence and be ashamed of what he believed. He knew that the gospel alone allowed true worship of the living God.
- So we must defend the gospel as well. We must proclaim its power to change lives; its power to turn a sinner into a saint. The world around us proclaims that each of us has our own individual truth. Whatever we believe is fine. It is true for us. Whatever we want to worship as our god is acceptable. We must combat this with a defense of the gospel’s power. Only the gospel has the power to bring peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Thirdly, Paul defended the preciousness of the gospel against complacency. In defending the gospel’s purity we guard it from false teachers within the church. In defending the gospel’s power we guard it from false teachers outside of the church. By defending the gospel’s preciousness, Paul guarded it from those who took it for granted.
- If you’re already in Romans 1, turn to Romans 6. Paul writes this in vv.1-4: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
- Here Paul is combating the idea that because God gives us grace we can sin all we want, because God is always going to forgive us. Some people thought “If God is so gracious, then I don’t have to care how I act, or watch the things I do.” Doesn’t that sound so good at first? Of course God is a gracious God, but if we take advantage of his graciousness we miss the point.
- Paul says “No, don’t you realize that we were buried and raised with Christ? Don’t you know that he did what he did not only to save us from sin but to empower us to sin no more?!”
- In order for Paul to defend the gospel he had to know that God’s graciousness should not cause sinful living, but godly living. We must know and understand the same.
- There are, of course, so many other things we could mention here. But the point is that Paul prayed that the Philippians would continue to defend the gospel as they increased their knowledge of gospel truth and applied that knowledge by discerning right from wrong.
- So they were partakers in the defense of the gospel. And so are we. We, like the Philippians, should stand with others to defend God’s salvation plan.
- But all this would be for naught without the accompanying point. Not only did the Philippians share in the defense of the gospel:
THEY WERE PARTAKERS WITH PAUL IN THE CONFIRMATION OF THE GOSPEL
- The word confirmation in v.7 is also a legal term. It means to establish the validity of something. And again this probably directly refers to Paul’s encounters with the Roman authorities. However, just as with Paul’s defense of the gospel, his confirmation of it extends to his entire ministry.
- This is the positive side of defense and confirmation. In defending the gospel, Paul fought against false gospels. He confirmed the gospel by promoting the real one. How did he promote the true gospel? Turn to 1 Corinthians 10.
- In 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1 Paul says this: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
- Here the Apostle is discussing what are often called “Christian liberties”. That is, those things that we are free to participate in; but must be careful when doing so, so as to avoid offending or hindering other believers. And he closes his thought with the passage we just read.
- He’s saying that it was his aim to do everything that he did in such a way that it glorified God and was not a hindrance to the gospel. So he confirmed the gospel by his lifestyle.
- In other words, his actions provided positive proof for the validity of the gospel. He didn’t just preach a life changing message, his life was actually changed by the message he preached.
- Back in Philippians 1, he says the same thing to the saints in Philippi. Let’s look at vv.9-11 again: And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, (that’s defending the gospel) so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, (that’s confirming the gospel).
- Paul prays that as their knowledge and discernment grows and so their ability to defend the gospel grows, that they would confirm, or back up the message they were defending with righteous, holy living. We could put it like this:
CONFIRMING THE GOSPEL REQUIRES EXCELLENT AND PURE LIVING
- If you name the name of Jesus Christ, your life is a reflection on the gospel. Your conduct either confirms or denies the validity of it. No one wants to hear a so-called life changing message from someone whose life hasn’t been changed. So we confirm the gospel by living the transformed life.
- Now the gospel is true whether or not we live like it is or not. But we will have little to no influence on people if our lives are not characterized by holy living. The Christian life should be a life of excellence, purity, and blamelessness.
- Don’t every lose your desire to stand out because you are a Christian. See some people like to stand out in a crowd simply for the purpose of being recognized. That’s useless. But to stand out because your life is so different than anything the world has ever seen – that is what confirming the gospel means.
- That word excellent literally means to be different from something; with the idea of being better by being distinguished. The other words he uses here are pretty self-explanatory: to be pure is to keep oneself from things that are impure; to be blameless is to avoid things that carry blame; and to be righteous is to stop doing things that are unrighteous.
- I’m reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
- That’s what Paul is saying to them and would say to us. Let your life shine as a beacon in the night. So that people see the gospel’s power in your actions and attitudes. And when they see your holy life, perhaps they will give glory to God in heaven. And that in fact, is what we will close with:
DEFENDING AND CONFIRMING THE GOSPEL GLORIFIES GOD
- V.11 ends with this phrase: to the glory and praise of God.
- When you defend the purity, power, and preciousness of the gospel; and when you confirm those things by the life that you live; you can be sure that when you stand before Christ at his return, your life, that was full of righteous living on account of your transformation, will glorify God.
- Your life praises God when you: first, savingly believe the gospel, then rigorously defend its truth, and accurately reflect that truth in the life that you live. That’s a lot to think about. Here is my challenge for us all: If we are to be a church that proclaims God’s glory as I believe God has called us (and all churches) to be, we must have a clear understanding of the gospel – so that we can defend and proclaim it. Let us pray for the empowerment to do just that.
