Scripture
In January we began a series of sermons on Paul’s letter to the Philippians that I am calling, “The Christian’s Contentment.”
Paul’s letter to the Philippians follows the letter-writing convention of his day. The pattern was to give the names of the writers and recipients at the beginning, then a greeting, followed usually by a thanksgiving and a prayer, and finally the body of the letter. Previously, we examined the writers and recipients, as well as the opening greeting.
Today, we are going to examine Paul’s thanksgiving to God in verses 3-8. I was going to examine Paul’s thanksgiving and prayer in verses 3-11, but there is so much material in his thanksgiving that we will not have time to cover Paul’s prayer as well. Much of the material for this message comes from D. A. Carson’s fine exposition of Philippians.
So, let’s read Paul’s thanksgiving to God in Philippians 1:3-8:
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. (Philippians 1:3-8)
Introduction
In his exposition of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, D. A. Carson writes:
I would like to buy about three dollars’ worth of gospel, please. Not too much—just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted. I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust. I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture. I want ecstasy, not repentance; I want transcendence, not transformation. I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those from different races—especially if they smell. I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged. I would like about three dollars’ worth of gospel, please.
None of us puts it quite like that, do we? We want all the benefits of salvation but few—or none—of the responsibilities. We want to pick and choose what we would like in our relationship with God, and feel free to decline what we don’t want to do.
Our elders take their shepherding responsibility very seriously. Sometimes, however, it is difficult for elders to have meaningful conversations with members about their growth in grace. Why, some members don’t even return phone calls! Now, it is not that these members have abandoned Christianity; rather, the gospel is not that important to them, and it is something that they bring to church on Sunday, and then it goes back into the closet until next Sunday, if they make it back to church. Three dollars’ worth of gospel, please, but no more.
Another issue with which we struggle is that we live in the most self-indulgent time in history. Modern amenities make pleasure-seeking and self-serving incredibly easy. We buy into the culture’s craving for comfort and security rather than sacrifice and service. Why, some members don’t sign up for anything because something better may come along! Three dollars’ worth of gospel, please, but no more.
Moreover, many people don’t believe in such a thing as absolute, objective truth any more. There is “your truth” and there is “my truth.” “Because truth is impossible,” writes Carson, “it is wrongheaded, and perhaps immoral, to claim that any ideology or any religion is superior to another.” This view is especially common among young people. So, any attempts to evangelize others is frowned upon by many people. Three dollars’ worth of gospel, please, but no more.
The Apostle Paul lived and served in a culture that was hostile to the gospel. There were all kinds of views regarding eternity. There was frankly massive confusion, not unlike there is in our own day. And then, on top of that, there were false teachers going around the churches teaching heresy, again not unlike there is in our own day.
Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Philippi, the church that he had planted in about 51 AD. He had visited them several times since he planted the church, and the Philippian church was probably his favorite church. Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians in about 62 AD in response to a financial gift that he had received from them. So, the Philippian Church was about 10 years old.
Paul wrote to the Philippians because he also perceived threats to their spiritual well-being. He could not visit them because he was a prisoner in Rome. But he wanted to encourage them. So, what does a man write about when he is staring death in the face? We should pay attention to what Paul is saying because of the urgency of his writing as he is facing death. His burden for the Philippians—and, indeed, for all Christians in all ages—is that they put the gospel first in their lives.
Lesson
Philippians 1:3-8 teaches us to put the fellowship of the gospel at the center of our relationships.
Let’s use the following outline:?
1. Paul’s Thanksgiving to God Is for the Philippians’ Faithful Memory of Him (1:3)
2. Paul’s Thanksgiving to God Is for the Philippians’ Partnership in the Gospel (1:4-5)
3. Paul’s Thanksgiving to God Is for God’s Continuing Work in the Philippians’ Lives (1:6-8)
I. Paul’s Thanksgiving to God Is for the Philippians’ Faithful Memory of Him (1:3)
First, Paul’s thanksgiving to God is for the Philippians’ faithful memory of him.
Paul wrote to the Philippian believers in verse 3, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.” The New International Version reads, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” Carson writes, “But others suggest ‘I thank my God every time you remember me,’ or something similar. The original is ambiguous. For reasons I shall not go into, I think Paul is referring to their remembrance of him. Later on he will thank the Philippians for remembering him so warmly that they sent funds to support him in his ministry. But here the vision is broader: he perceives that their interest in him is a reflection of their continued commitment to the gospel, and that is why he thanks God for them.”
It is a wonderful thing to have brothers and sisters in Christ remember you, isn’t it? I write a monthly note to all of our missionaries. Some of them reply and tell them that they are praying for me and for our church. It is a mutual encouragement as we are all engaged in the spreading of the gospel. And it is right to thank God when other believers think of us.
II. Paul’s Thanksgiving to God Is for the Philippians’ Partnership in the Gospel (1:4-5)
Second, Paul’s thanksgiving to God is for the Philippians’ partnership in the gospel.
Paul clarifies exactly what it is he is thankful for when the Philippians remember Paul. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,” and continuing in verses 4-5, Paul writes, “always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Paul’s thanksgiving is filled with joy. Why? “Because of [their] partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
The word “partnership” is often translated as “fellowship” in the New Testament. But what exactly does the word mean?
The word “fellowship” has fallen out of favor today. Many young people prefer to use the word “community.” Community implies relationships and connections. But, the word “community” falls far short of the biblical word “fellowship.” In the first century, the word “fellowship” had commercial overtones. It was the word used when two people joined together in a commercial enterprise. It even had the connotation of financial commitment. Say John and Harry bought a fishing boat to start a fishing business, it would be said that they entered into “fellowship” or “partnership.” (You can think of it as two fellows, or partners, in a ship!) There was a shared commitment to an enterprise.
Carson explains, “The heart of true fellowship is self-sacrificing conformity to a shared vision. Both John and Harry put their savings into the fishing boat. Now they share the vision that will put the fledgling company on its feet. Christian fellowship, then, is self-sacrificing conformity to the gospel. There may be overtones of warmth and intimacy, but the heart of the matter is this shared vision of what is of transcendent importance, a vision that calls forth our commitment.” So, Paul thanks God for the Philippians “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” By that he means that from the day of their conversion until the present time they were each involved in some active way to advance the gospel. They prayed for Paul, they sent him money so that he could preach the gospel, and they continued to evangelize their family and friends in Philippi.
Kent Hughes illustrates this truth as follows. He writes:
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring rides upon this reality. The fellowship of the Ring is made up of individuals of disparate origin and ridiculous diversity that exceed any of our ethnic or social differences: four hobbits, tiny beings with large, hairy, shoeless feet—Frodo Baggins and his friends Merry, Sam, and Pippin; two men, warriors of the first rank always dressed for battle—Boromir of Gondor and Aragorn, son of Arathorn II, King of Gondor; one wizard, Gandalf the ancient nemesis of evil and a repository of wisdom and supernatural power; an elf, Legolas, from a fair race of archers of the forest with pointed ears; and a dwarf, Gimli, a stout, hairy, axe-wielding creature from the dark chambers under the mountains.
The nine members of the fellowship bore few affinities. The elves and the dwarves were like the English and the French because both had an unspoken agreement to feel superior to the other. However, the nine very different individuals, bound together by their great mission to defeat the forces of darkness and save Middle-Earth, became inseparable and their covenant indissoluble. The man Boromir, despite his lapses, gave his life for the hobbits. And the elf and the dwarf came to form a great friendship, so great that Gimli was inducted into an honored order reserved only for elves.
Paul is saying that our “partnership in the gospel” is far superior to any other earthly fellowship (or community, for that matter). You see, we are joined together by the blood of Christ and we are joining God by participating in the greatest campaign ever waged—that of gathering and perfecting the saints.
So, let us be done with our insipid views of “fellowship.” Biblical “fellowship” is far more than a cup of coffee after a worship service. It is far more than a meal, as good as it is to break bread together. Biblical fellowship is far more than warm friendship with other believers.
No, biblical “fellowship” is “partnership in the gospel.” It is joining with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to pray, serve, and give the gospel to those who don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior. And when they do become believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, biblical “fellowship” is helping brothers and sisters “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
III. Paul’s Thanksgiving to God Is for God’s Continuing Work in the Philippians’ Lives (1:6-8)
And third, Paul’s thanksgiving to God is for God’s continuing work in the Philippians’ lives.
“I thank my God,” Paul writes in verse 3, and continuing in verse 6, he writes, “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.” The Bible has a number of examples of people who profess faith in Jesus but then fall away.
But not the Philippians. Why will they not fall away? Because God is preserving them. Therefore, Paul is convinced that they will persevere. Paul was thankful to God for his work of grace in their lives that he will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Paul continues in verse 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.” The Philippians were partakers of the same grace as Paul, and he holds them in his heart. Indeed, he continues in verse 8, “For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”
Here we see Paul’s pastor’s heart bleeding through the page. He really loved the Philippians. And this is true of pastors and elders who love the people God has given them to shepherd. They yearn for all believers under their shepherding oversight with all the affection of Christ. They long to see them mature in Christ. They pray that they will not fall into sin. They desire to see God’s people use their gifts to advance the gospel.
Conclusion
Therefore, having analyzed Philippians 1:3-8, let us put the fellowship of the gospel at the center of our relationships with fellow believers.
If we are going to grow as Christians, we must take note of Paul’s emphasis in these opening verses of his letter to the Philippians. Paul thanks God for the Philippians faithful memory of him. He thanks God for their partnership in the gospel. And he thanks God for God’s continuing work in their lives.
Notice that Paul is not thankful for their shared meals, or their watching games together, or their concerns over politics, or their fine times together. No. What lies front and center of Paul’s thanksgiving to God is their passion for the gospel, this fellowship of the gospel.
So, when we get together, what is it that ties us together? What do we talk about when we are together? Do we even get together? Do we talk about sports? Or the weather? Or our careers? Or our aches and pains?
Of course, as we live our lives these things come up, as they must. But what must bind us together as brothers and sisters in Christ is our passion for the gospel, our fellowship with one another in the gospel.
Carson concludes, “This means that in our conversations we ought regularly to be sharing in the gospel; that is, delighting in God, sharing with one another what we have been learning from his Word, joining in prayer for the advance of the gospel (not least in the lives of those to whom we have been bearing witness), encouraging one another in obedience and maturing discipleship, bearing one another’s burdens, and growing in self-sacrificial love for one another for Christ’s sake.”
One of the barometers that can help us know how committed we are to the fellowship of the gospel is when we get together for prayer. When prayer requests are asked for, we so often ask prayer for ourselves and others who are ill or struggling. Now, it is certainly appropriate to pray for those things. But, let us request prayer for the gospel to go forward, for people to become believers in Jesus Christ, for our missionaries as they share the gospel, for believers to grow in Christ, and so on.
As Carson writes in conclusion, “In short, we must put the gospel first. And that means we must put the fellowship of the gospel at the center of our relationships with fellow believers.” May it be so. Amen.
