Philippians 1
1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers[a] and deacons:
2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel
12Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[b] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.[c] 18But 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.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[d] 20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
27Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Footnotes:
[a] Philippians 1:1 Traditionally bishops
[b] Philippians 1:13 Or whole palace
[c] Philippians 1:17 Some late manuscripts have verses 16 and 17 in reverse order.
[d] Philippians 1:19 Or salvation
4 comments:
Phil 1
21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Verse 21 was a stirring moment in my Christian maturity, I remember hearing it, not getting it right away, and spending the next week thinking about how true the statement really is. This is extremely motivating to me, as it helps me remember that we are already promised eternity, so what we can do here and now is pass the truth on to others, and through our temporary suffering, we can show others the way.
Father, Thank you for your son. Help us this day to glorify you and make you smile by living as you want us to live, by getting closer to Your son, Jesus.
In His amazing name,
Amen
crb
i was struck by the verses below. a man, in chains, talking about life and death. but not talking about how he wants to escape death. rather how he knows that death brings him to Christ. and then weighing it against living. But in talking about living he never mentions any "selfish ambitions". he never cries out that he wants to live because he really wants to see some exotic island, or run a company, or see family, or any of the pursuits that i may have thought of. to me, it is amazing to see how someone is so FOCUSED on God. And so FOCUSED on loving others. his sole reason for living would be to see that others' joy in God grows. what a purpose!!!
I pray for each of us that this purpose will soak into our hearts and minds. That we will prioritize God by loving all of those we encounter. that we will shed our own selfish ambitions and be committed to God through our words, actions, and inner most thoughts.
21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
Phil 1
Well done guys. I agree totally. It is truly amazing to see that kind of selflessness. If I could only become so servant hearted.
I Love this part:
29For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 30We are in this fight together.
This is where we have to encourage each other to be consistent in our walks and to be committed to staying strong for those around us.
The other motivating thing for me is the section on Paul’s joy from what reluted from his imprisonment.
12And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,[c] that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13For everyone here, including all the soldiers in the palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14And because of my imprisonment, many of the Christians[d] here have gained confidence and become more bold in telling others about Christ.
15Some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16They preach because they love me, for they know the Lord brought me here to defend the Good News. 17Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18But whether or not their motives are pure, the fact remains that the message about Christ is being preached, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. 19For I know that as you pray for me and as the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will all turn out for my deliverance.
Amazing. Father may we be as bold as Paul.
All of you really nailed this Chapter. This whole book always challenges my pursuit of comfort, rather than Christ, my pursuit of self promotion, rather than the Body's edification (building up).
timmcd6, it is truly a stunning difference in how Paul views and handles his imprisonment. Instead of waiting for others to write him notes of encouragement what does he do? He writes them an inspiring letter of hope, encouragement, and mission. The letter is NOT about Paul. It is about Christ and the Body. It always convicts me.
On the illustration side, it reminds me of a newborn's lack of care/concern for others' needs. Don't misunderstand the illustration, I love newborns and will be receiving my third in 3 weeks (Lord willing), but they are incapable of compassion at that phase in their life. Yet you look at the life of Mother Teresa or Paul or... and you see lives encompassed in Christ and service to others with no real concern for self. So from birth until some point in their life, they were on the journey to become Christ-centered/focused. Where are we on that journey? Do we even ask God to give us such a mindset/life? What scares us about seeing life in the same way as Paul?
Lord, thank you for these men. Praise you for Your Word that stands strong and tall in the sea of relativity. Change our hearts. For all our sakes and for Your glory, change our hearts. Make us men of courage and compassion and Christlikeness. May we value Your Kingdom more than our own.
In the name of Christ,
ER
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