Hello to You in Philippi

Philippians 1:1-11

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

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,[d] 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. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Whenever we read a letter of Paul, written either to a person, a church or a group of churches, there are certain common elements in his introductions. When we see those it will help us to recognize the nature of his relationship with the people that he is writing to. They will help us to not get ahead of ourselves and wait for the reason of the writing of the letter to come after these introductions and they can help us to see how to minister to people from Paul’s context.

 

  1. Salutation

 

  1. Paul and his ministry team

Paul can’t do what he does apart from the help of others! This is God’s plan for everyone!

Timothy:

Acts 16: Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Then immediately Paul and Timothy go to Macedonia:

6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.

 

  1. Servants of Christ

What does it mean to be a servant of Jesus Christ? Paul, James,   Peter, Jude all speak this language.

The mother of James and John comes to Jesus

Matt 20:

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

  1. Grace and peace to you

        Grace is God’s salvation given as a gift. Peace is shalom, it is abundant life. It is more than just the absence of conflict, but fullness of the good life from God.

 

  1. Thanksgiving and Exhortation
  2. Paul is thankful for the Philippians

        Paul telling others that he is thankful for them is a standard part of his letter’s introductions. If you want to bless someone, tell       them something about them that you are thankful for. To be a      source of someone’s thanksgiving to God is a basic fundamental human need!

 

They are fruit of his ministry v.5

“Man from Macedonia” Acts 16. A new area of ministry.

They are fruit of the ministry of Jesus v.6

They are the first believers in Europe

The share in what is most important to Paul v. 7-8

 

  1. Thanksgiving is connected to joy

        Ephesians 5: 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor        crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be     thanksgiving. 

        I Thes 5:15-18

        15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

        Phil 4:4-7

        4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

  1. Thanksgiving is connected to prayer

        Phil 4:6-7 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

        I Thes 5:15-18

        15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

 

III. Paul’s Prayer for Them

One of the ways to learn how to pray effectively, according to the will of God is to study the written prayers of the Apostle Paul. He almost always mentions that he is praying for those to whom he is writing, his written prayers are typically in his introductions, if they are there. Ephesians 3 prayer is the exception to this.

Eph 1:17-19; Eph 3:14-19

Phil 1:9-11

Col 1:9-12

II Thes 1:11-12

Compare Paul’s prayer to the Lord’s Prayer. Compare it to Jesus’ prayer in John 17. And compare it to what we pray about for one another. Prayers of ministry vs. Prayers of discipleship.

 

  1. Grow in love, knowledge and discernment

We are to love God and love neighbor. But loving neighbor means to be able to act in their best interests. This is not always     easy to do. It is hard to do the right thing when it is unpopular.       And it is hard to do the right thing in the right way.

Growth implies change. We have not arrived in our ability to love others. My grandmother’s funeral.

 

So, we need to be able to love when it is hard. We need to grow in love.

And we need to be able to love as Christ would love. This     requires knowledge and discernment.

 

They will know we are Jesus’ disciples by our love.

Love one another just as I have loved you.

 

  1. Be able to approve that which is excellent

So their lives will be pure and blameless

Is this saying the same thing? Well, it is the essential point of      love that it leads us to proper action in relationships, both with God and with other people.

 

  1. Lives would bring glory to God

Because they are filled with the fruit of righteousness

This is our basic purpose in life, to bring glory to God. What is glory? Honor, fame, a greater reputation. God is the creator. Think of Him like an artist. An artist, a creator makes a piece of art, it has a purpose. And that purpose says something about the artist. We are created in the image of God. We are created in His likeness. This is different from other animals. God is found in our differences from the animals.

Let us pray for one another!

Eph 1:17-19; Eph 3:14-19

Phil 1:9-11

Col 1:9-12

II Thes 1:11-12