Download the UBF brochure here
Weekly Message | November 30th, 2008
Passage: Philippians 1:1-30
Key Verse(s): 21
Merry Christmas! For four weeks we plan to study the book of Philippians. This is for all Christians—the young and the old. The theme of this book is joy. This book does not require any particular background in the Old Testament. The book was written for the Gentiles who knew little about the Old Testament. Yet, here we see the highest ideal of Christian life in very realistic way. This book inspires us to grow in Christ Jesus.
This is a story of an old man---about sixty-five years old. Far away from his home he was in prison—falsely accused, left alone and abandoned. Yet, this is not an ordinary old man. He makes a powerful statement about his life, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”. This is about life and death in Christ. A Christian lives and die in Christ. This old man is not a stranger to us; God speaks to each of us today through this man.
First, Always pray with joy (1-11). In this first part of his letter Paul defines his main work in this life. Look at verses 1 and 2: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. Paul, along with Timothy, identifies themselves as the servants of Christ Jesus. Timothy is his young associate, but Paul mentions him by name. Paul loves respects Timothy. Paul writes this letter to the Christians in Philippi. Among many churches he pioneered--Galatia, Athens, Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus--, the Christians in Philippi are very special to him.
Look at verses 3-5. “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now”. Paul first came to Philippi, which is the gateway to the European countries. There he met a woman named Lydia and the family of a jailor. They were the founders of the church. Since then, more than ten years have passed. Paul thanks God for the Philippians who believed in Christ and suffered together for Christ.
Look at verse 6. “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” This is Paul’s confidence. He is thinking about God’s good work in the Christians in Philippi. Last year I visited the city of Philippi. There I stood at the ruins of the once great city. The people and the city are all gone. Yet, the work of God that started within these people is certainly completed. They are now with God forever. God who starts also completes his work in us as well as in others. This is the basis of confidence in times of struggles. We may worry for a while but we come back to this conviction: God who is at work with us will complete his intended work. Therefore, our prospect about the present and the future is always hopeful.
Paul longs for all of them with the affection of Christ Jesus (8). This is the power of fellowship in Christ. In Christ we love one another. the small ministry. I have been in UBF ministry for the past 38 years. Many have become friends in Jesus. To many of my friends I do have special affection of Christ Jesus.
Look at verses 9-11:“ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God”. What does Paul pray for the Christians? His prayer topic is not about riches and fame in this world. This is about the real need for them. It is the love of God equipped with more knowledge and depth of insight. He prays for them so that they may grow up for the glory and praise of God.
What can we learn from this? In Christ what do we do? We pray always with joy. In Christ we are confident of God’s good work. We pray for those we love always. Events in life seem to occur at random. The world apart from Christ is senseless, meaningless and joyless. Apart from Christ our joy is easily shattered. All the things that happen around us--troubles at home, struggles at work, conflicts in this world—all take their heavy tolls in our souls. Is it possible to pray always with joy? In Christ Jesus we see God who is at work among his people until the day of Jesus Christ. In Christ we pray always with joy. This year is almost over. What can we do? Our prayer does not end with what we may gain for a while and then lose soon. We do not merely pray for things that pass away. Rather, we pray for what remains. We pray for people for something solid—love in knowledge and depth of insight. We pray for one another so that we may discern what is best. We pray to be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. We pray to be filled with the fruit of righteousness. Such prayer topics fill our hearts with hope and joy.
Second, rejoice because Christ is preached (12-19). In Paul’s time the majority of the people of the world never heard about Christ. This task of preaching Christ is not the work of super Christians. It is the work of many ordinary people around the world. Still Christ is preached most effectively through person-to-person evangelism. Paul rejoices because Christ is preached through all kinds of people.
Look at verses 12 and 13. “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.” When Paul was in a Roman prison, the palace guards were individually assigned to guard him during the course of his imprisonment. Paul welcomed them. He asked them about their lives, their families, their worries, struggles and hopes. Then, he had one to one Bible study with them. These rough soldiers heard about Christ. They responded to Paul’s preaching and accepted Christ Jesus as the Savior of the world. In this way, he raised up disciples of Jesus in the palace of Rome. That was God’s way of reaching the very center of the world at that time. Besides, many Christians started imitating Paul and started preaching to others as well--more courageously and fearlessly.”
Look at verses 15-17. “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.” Not all these people were good to Paul. Some people were happy that Paul was locked up in prison. In the meantime they worked hard to expand their own personal influence among Christians. Such opportunistic behavior in the presence of others’ misfortune is offensive, isn’t it? Yet, in verse 18 Paul said, “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” Paul was free from the insensitive and ruthless responses of fellow Christians. He was not poisoned others’ jealousy, envy and bitterness. Rather, he was happy in Christ Jesus.
Paul rejoiced because Christ is preached by all kinds of people with all different motives. Even now, preaching Christ Jesus is not so common everywhere. Many mission leaders predict that without real changes in Christian mission, within 50 to 100 years Europe might become a Moslem continent. The number of evangelical Christians is very small—less than 2%. Preaching in Christ is very rare in Europe. In North Korea it is rare to preach Christ. In Moslem countries it is unlawful to preach Christ. In this world there are so many places where Christ is unknown. But Christ is effectively preached through person to person contact. With this we must rejoice. For the next Sunday we will have early Christmas service for students. Shepherd Mark Gamber will preach Christ. He and his wife, Carol, have been partners for the gospel for the past thirty years. With gratitude we pray for this family. Let’s pray that he may preach Christ with great joy and power.
Third, no matter what happens, exalt Christ always (20-30). Here Paul shares his conflicts within. Why was he in conflict? If at all possible, Paul eagerly wanted to be freed from his current sufferings in this life. So he offered prayers for his deliverance—his death (19). But he also recognizes the need for his service in this world. In this time of conflict he resolves to exalt and honor Christ (20).
Paul says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” This is his description of reality. What is real to him? Christ is real. Christ lives in him. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who lived me and gave himself for me.”
Christ is his reality. Paul is ready to live and die for Jesus. Paul expresses his internal conflicts: “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body”(23,24). In fact, it was better for him to die so that he might be with Jesus forever. But he also knew that many of young Christians in Philippi and around the world needed his counsel, instruction, mentoring and pastoral care. So he was willing to live longer on their behalf.
We also say just as St. Paul did. Is Christ your Savior? Are you saved by Christ alone? Is his righteousness yours? Without Christ we are nothing. With Christ we are everything. We derive strength from Christ who gives us strength (Phil 4:13). In Christ we live and die. Are you, am I, prepared to live? Are you prepared to die as well? Last Thursday I had 57th birthday. In ancient times most of people—even kings--died by this age. But I am healthy, alert and active. Therefore, with gratitude I am prepared to live. Burdens of this life are great to many of us. Even so, with Christ we choose to live. We are prepared to face tomorrow. We are ready to live with the burdens of the past, challenges of today and all the unknowns of the future. This is what it means to be prepared to live in Christ Jesus.
As we also prepared to die? This week we heard about the terrorist attack in India. The total number of death by the terrorist attacks was no more than 200. This type of event is quite heartbreaking. Under normal circumstances these people would have lived 10, 20 or 30 more years. But they are all struck dead with his senseless attack. In a larger sense we need to face the reality of death. Every day at least 140,000 die around the world. This week alone over one million people died by the powerful sting of death. Even though we eliminate all the terrorist attacks, build thousands of hospitals or whatever we do, the death tolls do not really change. Who can save us from this awesome power of death? What good news do we really have apart from Christ Jesus? But Christ Jesus conquered the power of death through his death and resurrection. So we are prepared to die with hope. Apart from Christ death is always loss—all things turn out to be nothing. Apart from Christ we gain nothing by death. Instead by death we lose everything—our homes, saving accounts, our accomplishments, loved ones and everything we value in this world. Apart from Christ we are lost in eternity with no place of our own. Our lost state is what is called “hell”.
But in Christ Jesus even our death is gain. Are you prepared to die as much as to live? With the glorious salvation and heavenly hope through Christ Jesus we have everything to gain by our death. We no longer struggle with our wounded experiences of the past, today’s challenges, and tomorrow’s uncertainties. We rejoice with God forever. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain because the glory of God is ahead of those who are in Christ Jesus.
Look at verses 25,26. “Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.” With his clear resolution Paul now encourages his co-workers in Philippi to live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Paul says, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.…”(27, 28). Paul now advises Christians to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. No matter what happens, those who love Christ choose to trust him. They love him. They follow the paths of faith, hope and love. Anna Park is waiting in hope for the gift of life from God.
Look at verse 29. “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” As we focus on our small sphere of this life, our struggles are most serious of all. But in Christ we do not magnify our own sufferings. We are willing to bear our sufferings with the strengths that Christ provides.
Let’s read verse 21 again. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” In Christ we pray always with joy. In Christ we rejoice and see that people preach Christ around the world. We take our part in this great project. No matter what happens, in Christ we are not afraid. In Christ we bear pains of this life. We face it with Christ who loves us. We are prepared to live. We are also happy to die in the right time. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”.
November 30, 2008. Toledo UBF.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
