Philippians 1: Joy in the Gospel

Christians, more than anyone else, should be joyful. Expressions of joy, or the call to rejoice, are replete throughout the Bible, particularly in the Psalms. But the New Testament book that is most often associated with the theme of joy is Philippians. In the English Standard Version, the word joy appears five times within this book, and the word rejoice appears nine times. The book is centered around the theme of Paul’s joy, his exhortations to his readers to rejoice, and the reasons for each.
As we began our series on the book of Philippians, Pastor Wil laid the foundation for our study by outlining the reasons for Paul’s joy, as they are seen in chapter 1. Before doing that, however, he noted, as we will note here, some of the background and circumstances surrounding Paul as he wrote this letter.
The apostle Paul was originally named Saul. He was known as Saul of Tarsus. Saul was a Pharisee, a religious leader, who vehemently opposed this new religious movement that eventually came to be known as Christianity. According to Acts 7, Saul was present at, and gave hearty approval to the stoning of Stephen, the Church’s first martyr. Then, verse 3 of chapter 8 tells us that Saul travelled about the countryside, “ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”
Then Saul had an encounter with the risen Jesus Christ. You can read about it in Acts 9. On that day, he became a Christian. The Lord changed his name from Saul to Paul, and Paul began his lifelong mission of actually spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of the book of Acts, from chapter 9 on, is an account of the rest of Paul’s life and ministry.
Now, the Jewish religious leaders of his day, as well as the Roman authorities, remained hostile to the gospel. Hence, as Pastor Wil stated it, “The man who once persecuted the Church was now persecuted for the Church.” He suffered many hardships, and was dogged by his enemies every step of the way. Paul was put in jail, beaten, stoned, and had to deal with false teachers on a constant basis.
The book of Acts ends with Paul being imprisoned in Rome; actually, he was under house arrest, being chained to two Roman guards at all time. At least one tradition says he was later set free for a time, then imprisoned again, and eventually put to death.
It was during this time of imprisonment that Paul wrote the book of Philippians, causing us to ask why a man in prison (even if it were only house arrest) would write a letter expressing such joy, given the circumstances.
As we learned on Sunday, Paul’s joy was rooted in the gospel, which is specifically mentioned six times in this chapter. And his joy began with his relationship to Jesus Christ. Here, I would say that nothing can compare to this relationship. Jesus died on a cross, paying the debt for our sins, and resurrected from the dead, having victory over death. Through Him we have the forgiveness of sins, as well as all the other benefits that accompany salvation. To explore the richness of each aspect of salvation would take a lifetime. But as a starting place, I would recommend studying Eph. 1:3-14, which may be aptly titled, “Our Position and Our Possessions in Christ.”
Secondly, we learned that Paul found joy in his relationship to the Church, particularly the Philippian church. Paul was grateful for them and to them because they were partners in the gospel with him. In Philippians 4:15, he speaks of a time when this church was the only one to provide financial support to his ministry.
But partnership in the gospel encompasses far more than financial support given to the local church or other gospel-oriented ministries. It means getting involved in the ministry. Just to use myself as an example, I am a partner in the gospel with Pastor John and Pastor Wil by writing these study guides for use in our e-groups. The people who set up the food for our time of fellowship are partners in the gospel. Juan is a partner in the gospel by running the sound system. Those who volunteer at the Salvation Army and Vision House are partners in the gospel. As involved members of Imago Dei, we are all partners with each other in the gospel.
Verses 12-18 of our chapter tell us that Paul found joy in the advancement of the gospel. Verse 13 indicates that Paul took advantage of the opportunity to share the gospel with the Roman guards to whom he was continually chained. Verse 14 indicates that other Christians, seeing Paul’s faithfulness, even while he was in prison, were encouraged and embolden to preach the gospel wherever they were.
How much joy do we find in the advancement of the gospel? To be sure, we are happy when we hear about someone becoming a Christian. However, there are times when we can be skeptical, as well. Ted Bundy reportedly accepted the gospel just before his execution. And yet, even within the Christian community, people questioned whether or not he was sincere in accepting Jesus as his Savior.
More significantly, though, our joy in the advancement of the gospel ought to motivate us to be more involved in its advancement. It is hypocritical of us to say, “I’m really happy that so-and-so is spreading the gospel,” if all we do is go to church, listen to a sermon, and sing a few songs. We need to be about the business of advancing the gospel, both through our involvement at Imago Dei and in our own daily lives.


QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION

1. In Philippians 1:1, Paul identified himself as a servant of Jesus Christ. What does this say about Paul’s relationship with the Lord? What was it about being a servant that gave Paul joy?

2. Briefly scan Eph. 1:3-14. Without getting into too much detail, list some of the blessings we have received because of our relationship to Jesus.




3. With whom are you a partner in the gospel, and in what ways? How involved are you at Imago Dei? What other ministries do you contribute to? Why those ministries?



4. How genuine is your response of joy when you hear about someone becoming a Christian? Are you ever skeptical about a person’s profession of faith? Why?


5. What are you doing to advance the gospel? How can you do more?