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Stonework in ancient Philippi

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these studies were first written as full studies in 2007

Bible study for Philippians 3:1-3

Philippians 3:1-3 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

The tone of the letter changes suddenly, and Paul attacks those who seek to disturb the peace of the church with false teaching; but who are these false teachers and what do they teach?

These three verses mark a complete change of direction in Philippians.  Up to this point, Paul’s letter has had a warm tone, and although he has mentioned various problems in the church, his positive teaching about the imitation of Christ overshadows this (2:5-11).  The first verse of our reading continues in the same vein, encouraging the Philippians to ‘rejoice in the Lord’ (3:1), and it therefore comes as a complete surprise to read what Paul says next; ‘watch out for the dogs ... the evil workers ... the mutilation!’ (3:2).

So what lies behind this outburst?  Despite all his affection for the Philippians, Paul had decided to speak out and expose the erroneous teaching and opposition he had heard about (1:15f. 28).  His words seem rather shocking, but his attack is entirely consistent with his other writings, for Paul believed that the Gospel was essentially simple and based on Christ alone, and he had no time for any teaching that might suggest otherwise.

To begin with, we are faced with something of a puzzle in trying to understand verse 1 and 2.  On the face of it, there is a break after verse 1, as if Paul had stopped writing and come back later only to continue in a very different frame of mind!  Over the years, scholars have suggested that Philippians is made up of more than one ‘letter’, perhaps two letters put together as one!

Personally, I believe there is another explanation that makes more sense.  Verse 1 begins by encouraging the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, but it goes on give a warning about potential trouble in the church, he says, ‘it is no trouble for me to write these same things to you, and it gives you security’ (3:1).  Being aware of the dangers of false teaching, Paul had reached a point where he felt that he had to deal with these things head on, and he does not mince his words (see something similar in Galatians 3:1).

So who are these trouble makers?  The clues to their identity lie within Paul’s words.  He calls the enemies ‘dogs’ and warns about ‘mutilation’ (3:2).  Now the term ‘mutilation’ can only refer to one thing, which is the Jewish practice of circumcision.  This means that the enemies of the church were Jews who sought to circumcise Christians and so keep faith with the O.T. covenant.  Now, Paul had trouble with such teaching throughout his ministry, and he was deeply unhappy to find it in Philippi.  His annoyance is confirmed when he calls these teachers ‘dogs’, a word used by Jews to swear at Gentiles who they regarded as impure, but here, Paul turns the insult back on those who used it.  People of the first century would have understood this instinctively.

We will learn more about the teaching of such people as the study progresses, but it is easy to see that obedience to the Old Testament laws (including circumcision) was an important issue in the life of the early church.  Throughout his ministry, Paul sought to separate the church from such Judaism believing that God had sent the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles as proof that in Christ there was a new covenant, different from the old.  He gained official approval for this teaching in Jerusalem (see Acts 15), and was heartbroken to hear that the first town he evangelised after gaining this approval (Acts 16) was now being targeted by people who had not accepted the official line.

The last verse in our passage turns it around from the negative to the positive.  Paul declares that the true church is made up of those who worship God ‘in the Spirit’ and are proud of Jesus Christ alone (3:3), and he confirms that the Gospel has nothing to do with circumcision.  After this dramatic change of direction in Philippians, we can expect that the rest of chapter 3 says much more about the false teaching found in Philippi, and this is partly true.  However, we will find out in the next few studies that Paul takes the opportunity not to dwell on false teaching but to reiterate and affirm the central truths of the Gospel.  His intention is to build up, not to pull down.

Going Deeper

The Bible study goes deeper to look at these issues:

• Verse 1 – a connecting, not a disconnecting verse!
• Verse 2 – ‘dogs’, ‘evil workers’, and ‘mutilation’?
• Verse 3 – the true circumcision

Philippians 3:1-3 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

The main task of our study today will be to examine more closely these reasons for why Paul changed his tone of voice so dramatically at the beginning of this part of his letter.  The words he used need our careful attention, and they confirm that Paul’s apparent anger were all part of his defence of the true and unchangeable Gospel.

Verse 1 – a connecting, not a disconnecting verse!

If you read almost any version of the Bible, you will find that Philippians 3:1 begins something like this ‘Finally, brothers …’, and gives the impression that this verse is the ‘end’ of some part of the letter.  The translation I have offered is quite different, and I must therefore explain it.  The Greek word at the beginning of the sentence is ‘loipos’, and means ‘that which remains’, so I have translated it ‘consequently’, indicating that Paul now intends to say what remains to be said!  In a few cases in scripture where the word comes at the very conclusion of a letter of Paul, it can indeed mean ‘finally’ because there is little more to be said (see, for example, 2 Cor 13:11).  This confusion comes from the extensive scholarly opinion of recent times that the original letter of Paul ends at this verse, and verse 2 of chapter 3 begins a new letter.  I doubt this assumption because a much simpler explanation exists, and there is no substantial evidence that the letter ever existed as anything other than one letter.

If you read verse 1 as a whole, what Paul says is straightforward enough.  On account of everything he has said, he encourages the Philippians to ‘rejoice’ (see references above), and  he adds the words ‘in the Lord’, as if to tell the Philippians that the work of the Lord Jesus in their lives is the reason for maintaining a heart of rejoicing and thankfulness.  When he goes on to say ‘it is no trouble for me to write these same things to you …’ he is referring to this same repeated encouragement of them to rejoice, which he has written several times before and makes no apology for so doing because of its importance.  This is especially true in view of what he is about to say, so he concludes by saying that maintaining a heart of rejoicing in the Lord will give the Philippians a spiritual security of the heart.

This past phrase is important, for Paul knows full well that he is about to address the ‘thorny issue’ of those who have been upsetting the fellowship of the Philippian church.  Joyful worship ‘in the Lord’ is uniting and spiritually releasing for God’s people, and there is good reason for us to take Paul’s advice and encourage each other to worship the Lord with joy, as expressed by the Hebrew word ’Hallelujah’ which means ‘praises’!  The enemy of God’s people cannot stand in the midst of these praises, and we can defeat him in this straightforward way.  Paul knew the Philippians, and this verse encouraged them to be united in joy against the evils that had come upon them.

Verse 2 – ‘dogs’, ‘evil workers’, and ‘mutilation’?

Verse 2 is a thrice repeated and dramatic warning to the Philippians, and whatever the translation you have, the word of warning in Greek is the same in each phrase (‘blepo’ – meaning, ‘watch out’ or ‘beware’).  Many translations use different words of warning for each of the three phrases, but you only feel the full force of what Paul is saying if you know that he uses the same word.  This is because the ‘dogs’, the ‘evil workers’ and the ‘mutilation’ all refer to the same people; those who taught that circumcision was necessary for all Christians.

The interesting thing about this text is this.  How and why would people come into the church at Philippi and teach this?  It is true that in many places, Paul had set up churches based upon converts who had been Jews, and one can imagine that the issue of circumcision was hotly debated amongst people for whom respect for the traditions of circumcision would have been an issue.  If you read Acts 16, however, you will discover that the Philippian church originated amongst Gentiles (for example, Lydia – Acts 16:13ff, and the jailer – Acts 16:33ff) and was not based upon any core Jewish converts.  The clue to what was happening lies in Paul’s second warning against ‘evil workers’.  The word for ‘workers’ is the word usually used by Paul for those who spread the word of the Gospel with him; like Timothy (2:22) and Epaphroditus (2:25).  There is some evidence, outside of scripture, that in order to address the perceived threat of the early church, Jewish communities attempted to infiltrate churches with individuals who were capable of speaking well about the Messiah and God, but who insisted upon circumcision and the laws of Moses.

This is what Paul described as evil, for it was an evil work which sought to draw Gentile Christians into the world of Judaism.  Paul himself seems to have been quite accepting of circumcision amongst Jewish Christians (see his insistence on circumcision for Timothy, who was a Jew by his mother, Acts 16:1,2), but he was vehemently opposed to its imposition on Gentiles.  He not only turned the insulting word ‘dogs’ back on these infiltrators because they would have used the same insult against anyone who was not circumcised, but he took the word for circumcision (Greek ‘peritome’) and used an amended form of the word which was even more insulting; ‘mutilation’ (Greek ‘katatome’).  Why was he so powerfully opposed to this teaching at Philippi?  The answer comes in verse 3.

Verse 3 – the true circumcision

Paul uses every part of his training in the Old Testament scriptures to state in this one succinct verse the eternal truth of God’s work in creating a new people, a ‘true circumcision’ as Paul calls it.  The church inherits from the Jewish people the Covenant promises of God and the privilege of worshipping Him and being His servants in the work of the salvation of the world.  We take this truth for granted today, but Paul was the first person God used to explain this to people in words they understood, and which were also a true reflection of scripture.

As you read the verse you will probably notice the connections it has with John’s famous quote from Jesus ‘But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.’ (John 4:23).  Jesus was talking, of course, to a Gentile woman when he said this, and it is no coincidence that Paul makes the same connections in this verse between ‘worship’, and ‘spirit’ and ‘truth’ whilst describing the new church of God made up of Gentile Christians.

It was the special privilege of God’s people of Old Testament times to worship Him (Deut 6:12; 10:12), yet through allowing the law and circumcision to be regarded as the rights to this privilege rather than the signs of it, they had forfeited the privilege.  The same Moses who proclaimed the original right also said, ‘yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you . . . circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer.’ (Deut 6:15,16)  It was clear from the start that what the Lord wanted was a relationship with people rather than any obligatory systems, and as prophets of later years so easily observed, the people of Israel failed in their relationship with God through slavish adherence to the religious systems they created around what the Lord had done for them (Is 1:11, 27ff; Jer 9:23-25 for example).  The church at Philippi, founded by Paul was to be part of God’s new people who had a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, and as far as Paul was concerned, that was the unique spiritual heart of the Christian Church.  As he concluded ‘we place no confidence in the circumcision of the flesh’.

Philippians 3:1-3 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

From time to time, Paul found it necessary to burst out of the pleasantries of normal letter writing and even the joy of writing with affection to those he loved with words that have moved people for centuries (e.g. Phil. 2:5-11).  As in this case, he spoke with specific and explicit venom against those who had infiltrated God’s people in order to try to teach them something other than the Gospel. 

How aware are we of the dangers of those who preach in our midst that which is different from the Gospel handed down to us?  It is difficult, in an age when society calls on us to allow ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘free speech’, to appear restrictive in what the church allows and teaches; but the issue will not go away.  I have known of several instances where churches have been disturbed by the preaching of people who have un-checked credentials, and they then deeply regret that they have allowed something other than the Gospel of Jesus to be preached.  The issue is even more serious when those who are trained for the ministry of preaching and teaching in our churches are not themselves taught about the historic Christian faith and the Gospel upon which it is based; nor even the scriptural basis for the historic faith.  They cannot then be trusted or assumed to preach the Gospel.

Whatever concerns you have about what is taught or preached in your church, I urge you to voice it to those who do preach, and to those who are in leadership within your churches.  Even if you have never had formal training in theology or the Bible, if you have a spiritual relationship with God through Jesus, and you are in good fellowship with others in our own church, then you should have the courage to speak out.  You should mention anything said from the pulpit which disturbs you or you believe to be different from the Gospel.  It is right to give these things careful consideration and due time, but no good comes from keeping these things unexpressed, and the truth must always be sought.  We may not feel that we have the standing of one such as Paul or the knowledge he possessed, but if we cannot fight for the truth of the Gospel within the church, how can we proclaim it to the world?

Philippians 3:1-3 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Do you find it easy or difficult to rejoice in the Lord when things are difficult, particularly at church or at your fellowship?  Why is this? 
2. Is there anything taught within the life of your church which may be considered similar to the unspiritual teaching of circumcision in this letter of Paul?
3. Some believe it is too bold and assertive to say that ‘we are the true church’.  Is this so?  In what ways is this true today?

Personal comments by author

Often, we find that when we complain about something which is being preached, then  we are only voicing things that other people feel, and once we have expressed it, others will take it up with us.  We are called by scriptures to deal with such issues openly within the church, so seek a way of doing this within your own church discipline.  You may be surprised at the way God can bless what at first appears to be very hard.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Spend a few moments thinking about what you have heard preached at church over the years.  Can you identify anything that you feel has departed from the Gospel?  If you can, then the best thing you can do, particularly if it is recent, is to discuss it firstly with others, to see whether they agree, and then discuss it with the leaders.
• What are the major heresies taught today in the church?  Pray about this and ask the Lord if there is anything you can to do counter what you sincerely believe to be wrong.

Final Prayer

I commit my day to You, Lord Jesus Christ.  You can see the whole world in a moment, and yet You have taken care of me this day through the good and bad, the easy and difficult.  I return the day to You, so that every thought, word and deed may be blessed according to Your will, wisdom and purpose.  Thank You Lord Jesus Christ:  AMEN

Bible study for Philippians 3:4-11

Philippians 3:4-11 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

Our reading today is a forthright and personal account of the Gospel, and Paul writes passionately about his faith in defence of the Gospel.  He does this because at Philippi, others were teaching that Christians needed to be circumcised if they were to be obedient to God’s call, and this was contrary to the Gospel Paul preached.  He treated such teaching as a personal attack because he had been the first to preach the Gospel in Philippi (Acts 16), so his defence of the Gospel is both personal and theological.

This passage contains some powerful writing, and at its heart lies Paul’s conviction that the Gospel is already defined and needs no addition.  He insists that the Gospel is based on Christ and Christ alone, and needs no connection with Judaism other than that provided by Jesus Himself.  Of course, this is broadly what Christians believe to this day, but we do so because Paul’s writing has been recognised as presenting the true Gospel.  Paul fought for the truths of Christian doctrines such as Christ’s unique saving grace, and through his writing (and that of others), the Lord has established the heritage of faith we have received.

Paul begins by offering his personal testimony, using this to make his point that circumcision is not necessary for salvation.  He knew what he meant, because he had been brought up a strict Jew, (3:4-6).  Indeed, he lists a perfect number of seven qualifications, beginning with his heritage as a Jew by birth and circumcision.  Remarkably, he confesses that he was a Pharisee (3:5), a small but powerful Jewish sect set on wresting religious authority away from the High Priestly family of Jerusalem.  In the first century, the Pharisees established control of Judaism across the Roman Empire by preaching relentlessly and teaching their strict codes of conduct developed from the Laws of Moses, and insisting on circumcison.  Paul openly declares that he was one of their number, indeed, to the point of persecuting the church (as he frequently confessed - Acts 22:5ff, 26:12ff, Gal 1:13ff). 

Paul’s testimony is extraordinary and there is much passion in his words; he speaks of bundling up this past and throwing it away!  Moreover, he who should know most about the importance of circumcision included even this in the bundle of things he gladly threw away ‘because of Christ’ (3:7), and exchanged for ‘the supreme value of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord’ (3:8)!  These words are full of warmth, and we who read this know that Paul was speaking from personal experience.

From this point onwards, Paul offers a remarkable testimony, and this has become a standard for Christians ever since.  It is centred firmly on Christ, and is set against the scenario of God’s final judgement, when faith is tested and eternal life is sealed (3:9-11).  He longs to be ‘found in Christ’ when facing his God, and be made righteous with God.  Nothing is worth more than this eternal reward (3:8f.), which is found only through the redeeming work of Christ, in His death and resurrection (3:10,11).

Paul’s testimony here is a forthright expression of faith in Jesus Christ.  He speaks here of basic Christian faith, and his words are clearly influenced by his own experience of conversion on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1f.).  Yet God has chosen to use Paul to convey an important truth of the Gospel, which is that Christian faith is not a change of direction, it is a totally new life.  Eternal life cannot be tacked on to our experience as an ‘add-on’, it is found through life-changing submission to Christ.  Through the death of Christ our own lives change forever; life can never be the same again and the prize of the ‘resurrection from the dead’ is won (3:11)!

The main Bible study will look further at some of the powerful words and phrases of Paul’s great testimony, but we should be cautious about one thing.  This is a powerful example of Christian testimony, but it does not attempt to say everything that can be said about faith.  The purpose of this testimony is to honour Christ as the sole means of our salvation

Going Deeper

The Bible study goes deeper to look at these issues:

• Paul’s heritage as an Israelite
• Paul’s prior life experience
• The supreme value of knowing Christ

Philippians 3:4-11 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

Paul’s testimony is a wonderful scripture, and deserves our most careful attention; Christ is our salvation, and in the light of this, everything else is of little relative value, however important something may be to the sustenance of life here and now.  Spiritual truth lies in making sure that we know the difference between what is of passing interest and value, and what is immortal and eternal and a means of our salvation.

Paul’s heritage as an Israelite

Paul’s first argument against the Judaisers in Philippi was that he knew more about Judaism than they did!  He was at pains to explain that his qualifications as a Jew were more impressive than anything they could muster!  The things Paul mentioned in the seven points which followed are interesting.  The first four are all hereditary qualifications, and were of great importance to a Jew; no-one could call themselves a member of God’s people without a specific Jewish heritage.  The first of these was circumcision, the subject which was causing the controversy, but Paul emphasised that he was circumcised ‘on the eight day’; in other words, he was a Jew by birth.  In those days, many people became Jews through conversion, later in life, either because they were impressed by the Jewish faith and lifestyle in the midst of the excesses of the Roman Empire, or because the Jews had privileges assigned them by order of Emperors; some ‘Judaisers’ were converts such as this, but Paul was a ‘real’ Jew.

The next qualification Paul gave was that he was ‘one of the people of Israel’ (3:5), that is, one of the covenant people who had a special relationship with God through history; a proud privilege if ever there was one!  He then spoke of his being of the ‘tribe of Benjamin’ (3:5), the famous southern tribe associated with the tribe of Judah, and bearer of the first king of all Israel, Saul.  This tribe of Israel was regarded as one of the smaller tribes, but one of the most fiercely loyal not only to Saul but also to the lineage of David and the city of Jerusalem.  The next qualification was that Paul was a ‘Hebrew amongst Hebrews’; this strange expression means that Hebrew, the ancient language of the Bible, was Paul’s mother tongue.  Many Jews living in Israel did not speak Hebrew in those days, they spoke Aramaic, a ‘common language’ of the day; it is normally reckoned that Jesus spoke Aramaic, for example.  Paul, however, had learned Hebrew in his youth from his parents, who were Pharisees (living in Tarsus, north of Antioch), and the Old Testament history of God’s people was deeply rooted in his conscience and his spirit.

Paul’s prior life experience

Paul, because of his parents, was therefore a born Pharisee (3:5).  In talking about what this meant, Paul did not try to explain the difficult relationship Jesus had with Pharisees or the antipathy that there was between Christians and Pharisees because of Jesus’ death.  He confessed his life as a Pharisee because this showed his opponents the extremely high level of Jewish religious observance with which he was familiar; they could not match it.  Paul had grown up learning and living thousands of religious rites covering every aspect of life, and was expected not only to keep them all, but to be even better!  It was also as a Pharisee that Paul saw it as his duty to persecute the followers of Jesus by mandate (3:6), his mission before the Lord called him on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1ff).  His extraordinary zeal for God was such that he practiced his faith to perfection, even regarding himself even as ‘faultless’ (3:7).

Being ‘faultless’ was, for a Pharisee, a high yet achievable claim and one that many believed they attained; Paul certainly did!  Yet having confessed this extreme religiosity, Paul’s testimony changed dramatically; he did not recite the famous story of meeting Jesus on the Damascus Road, rather, he explained what it mean in a way that was designed to demolish the arguments of the so-called Christians who had disturbed the church at Philippi.  In two brief verses, he described the radical transformation of the spirit by which his life was changed, for he had found God not through these things, but through Christ.

Still speaking passionately, Paul described every one of the supreme gifts of life he had received as a Jew as ‘lost because of Christ’ (3:7).  He then expanded this with a sentence which is one of the most compelling testimonies of faith in the whole Bible; ‘More than that, I even consider everything as lost compared to the supreme value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord’ (3:8).  He then dismissed his lost Jewish benefits as ‘rubbish’; meaning quite literally, ‘rotting refuse’!  We can be in no doubt as to what Paul meant.  When weighed in the balance, all the benefits of the highest religious standards ever known counted for nothing against the privilege of knowing Jesus Christ; this was the key to Paul’s relationship with God.  It was Paul’s key, and our key.

Some people question what Paul meant by ‘knowing’ Jesus Christ. The Greek word here means something more like ‘intimate involvement with’ rather than just knowledge in an intellectual sense, but Paul is never ashamed to include the ‘mind’ and the ‘intellect’ in his descriptions of our relationship with God.  Neither does the word have sexual connotations, as some cynics assume from the well known Old Testament phrase ‘Adam knew his wife Eve and she bore a son …’ (Gen 4:1 – Authorised Version).  The idea of ‘intimate involvement’ means different things in the various real circumstances of life in which it is used; for example, intimate involvement with a lover is indeed sexual, and intimate involvement with an academic subject is intellectual, but intimate involvement with God is spiritual; this is what ‘knowing Christ’ means.  Underlying everything Paul wrote is the assumption that what every human being needs is an intimate relationship with their Creator God.  Nothing can ever be more important than this.

The supreme value of knowing Christ

There are many important themes within the next three verses of this text, verses 9-11. One of these is the idea of ‘being found’.  When Paul, having testified, speaks of being ‘found in Him’ (3:9), it looks as if he is talking about the end of time, when Christ will come again to ‘find’ his servants (Matt 24:36ff).  This appears to be born out at the end of Paul’s testimony where he states that his personal goal was ‘to obtain the resurrection of the dead’ (3:11), another way of saying that he would find eternal life through Christ.  Being ‘found’ in Christ Jesus does however mean more than this.  For Paul it was a reality of his life at the time he wrote the letter, before his death.  His testimony was that he was to be found ‘in Christ’ from the moment that he made the transition of faith and ditched all the trappings of religion and accepted the call to follow Jesus.

What Paul wanted all his readers to know was that all Christians could be ‘found’ righteous before God even now, before death, because of the call of the Lord Jesus, and their response to that call.  This was the heart of Christianity and it replaced the extraordinarily complicated structure of religion the Jews had hedged around the God who chose them.  He did not place before the Philippians and the Judaisers in their church the idea that everything would be sorted out in eternity; he was concerned to say by his testimony that we discover our righteousness before Almighty God not through any religiosity, but through following Jesus.  He emphasised this powerfully by concluding his testimony with the personal affirmation that he wanted to be identified with Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection not simply in a future sense, but here and now (v10).  We should have no doubt about this, for this is what lies behind everything Paul says about Christian baptism in the letter to the Romans (Romans 6).

Philippians 3:4-11 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

This ‘righteousness … based on faith’ is, in every letter of Paul, the centre piece of everything he says about what it means to be a Christian and to discover, by the grace of God, that we are ‘saved’.  Of course it does secure for us a certain hope of our own resurrection and eternal life, but the ‘power of the resurrection’ (3:10) is what Christians need now, and ‘to share in his sufferings’ (3:10) is not some alternative super-religious experience, but the reality of living sacrificial Christian lives now.  Whilst reading through this passage of scripture in different commentaries, it seemed to me that many good authors were so taken up either by the majesty of Paul’s words and its exposition, they forgot that Paul was attempting to encourage ordinary Christians to stand firm against a pernicious religious elite trying to take over their church by false teaching.  By giving his own testimony, Paul powerfully refocused the Philippians back on the truths of the Gospel he had taught them when he first went to Philippi and founded the church (Acts 16).  Their defence against false teaching and the problems of the church were to hold fast to the truths of the Gospel they had received.

The same is true for us today.  Whilst this passage of scripture can certainly be used to expound and explain the Christian faith, its purpose is to encourage and refocus, to strengthen and to empower.  It is my observation that in too many churches I have visited, I meet disempowered people.  This happens through the evils that have crept into the church which are quite different from the problems of the church at Philippi.  For example, the erroneous or dogmatic use of liturgy, theology or music (of any sort), the domination of congregations by overzealous pastors who think too much of their own abilities, or of leaders who utterly refuse to lead their flocks or pastor them at all.  I have also observed good Christian people disempowered by things within the church and also pressures from outside, from family or work or health.  Satan will use any method possible to keep faithful people away from doing God’s work in the church (which is His Kingdom on earth) and in the world (our mission field).  What Paul shows us in these remarkable words is not just a beautiful and poetic exposition of the Christian faith, but the power of testimony to enliven, inspire and empower God’s people.

Who can read words such as this and not be inspired?  After reading a passage such as this, do you not feel that all things are possible in Christ Jesus?  Paul wanted his words to have this effect on the Philippian Church.

Philippians 3:4-11 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. As you read this passage, what does Paul say which is close to or similar to your own experience of faith?
2. Think for a moment about how the church at Philippi would have felt upon reading this.  Write a list of things they may have felt upon reading this part of the letter.
3. How do people respond to talk of the future life of eternity in your church?  Who likes it and who does not, and why?

Personal comments by author

There are two ways to respond to this passage of scripture.  Firstly, you can look at the way in which Paul found faith after throwing away all religiosity, and examine yourself to see if there is any religiosity in your life which needs to go (religiosity is giving anything ‘religious’ a higher priority than Jesus Christ).  I have often had reason to help people let go of their attitudes to buildings, music or people, for example, so that they can be free to be fully committed to the Lord.  The second response is to read this passage again and again; and let its power enrich and inspire you, and hopefully empower you, for with your life totally focussed on Jesus, everything of God’s purposes for you will be possible that previously seemed impossible.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Read verses 8-11 and choose a part or all of this passage as specially significant or descriptive of your own faith.  Write this out slowly or artistically; perhaps create a graphic display using your computer and print it off.  In this way, you will be blessed through these words of scripture.
• Pray and fast for those who do not know the saving love of Christ Jesus.

Final Prayer

Jesus, Your presence is the greatest treasure we may possess. Banish the fears, troubles, woes and anxiety that clog up our lives, and graciously stay with us on the pathway of life.  Your nature is love, and we praise you for showing this love despite the frailties of our humanity.  Thank You Jesus.   AMEN

Bible study for Philippians 3:12-16

Philippians 3:12-16 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

After the superb and stirring words which come just before this (3:7-11), our text today is mysterious, with its talk of grasping at goals (3:12), ‘maturity’ and ‘claims’ (3:15,16).  Within all this, however, are the much loved verses: ‘forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what is ahead, I keep pressing on toward the goal of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.’  (3:13b,14)  These are magnificent words of encouragement that can be applied to anyone of faith in any circumstances.  Paul wrote this as part of his personal testimony (3:4 onwards), and millions have benefited from their stirring call to trust in the Lord at times of trouble, by focussing on the supreme reward our Lord has for us in the future.  Nothing can take away from the value of this, but we will greatly benefit from developing a greater understanding of the passage, and getting to know how it fits into Paul’s testimony.  There is certainly much to be discovered within these powerful words.

Looking closely at the text, however, what exactly was Paul talking about?  It is certainly about how to reach certain ‘goals’, and Paul speaks of trying but not managing to grasp them except in Christ (3:12,13).  When he eventually says what the goal is, we are not necessarily the wiser, for what exactly is ‘the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus’?  If we were to ask a group of Christians to suggest what this meant, then we might obtain a wide variety of replies!  The secret of understanding this passage is to look back and see that Paul had just finished speaking of ‘attaining the resurrection of the dead’ (3:11).  There is no mistake then, Paul is speaking about the goal of eternal life with God which is found through the resurrection from the dead.  This is the highest of all prizes and is only possible through what Jesus Christ has done for us (3:9).  Any form of faith which sits lightly to the resurrection from the dead and Jesus’ unique bodily resurrection is not at the heart of Christian faith, because without victory over death and eternal life, the Gospel does not achieve the express intention of God to break down the barriers between earth and heaven!

However, there is a tension therefore within this text which is typical of the whole of the New Testament, and indeed of the faith we profess.  On the one hand, we have already been gloriously ‘saved’ and given God’s Holy Spirit; it is the unique starting point for the faith of all Christians.  On the other hand, whilst we live in our imperfect world and subject to our human frailties, this is something yet to be completed; or as Paul would say, we are still ‘running the race’.  Paul does not mention a ‘race’ here in this text (as he does elsewhere in his writings – see 2 Timothy 4:7) but the picture of an athlete straining ahead in a race would suggest that he had this in mind (3:13).  Only at death or the coming of our Lord will we reach the completion of our life’s race, and between now and then, we have to put every effort into ‘pursuing the goal’ and living in Christian maturity (3:15,16).  There are many passages of the New Testament which speak in this same way, and tell us about how we get from ‘A’ to ‘B’; where ‘A’ is our faith in Christ now, and ‘B’ is our destiny to be with God in Christ (e.g. see 2 Peter 1:5-7).  They all speak of the effort, persistence and strength required, and the help God grants us by His Spirit.

Paul tells us in this passage that we will not reach our goal without effort (3:12,15), without being taken there by Christ (3:12,13), or without holding on to the highest possible standards of Christian morality and faith (3:15,16).  If this is true, then our path towards eternal life will indeed be ‘upward’ (3:14).

Going Deeper

The Bible study goes deeper to look at these issues:

• Perfection
• Forgetting
• A clever trick

Philippians 3:12-16 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

Paul said all this to speak against false teaching at Philippi (3:1-6) and to prevent the Philippian church from going ‘downwards’, so he spoke to them stirringly with words which reflected the deepest truths of our faith in Christ.  By doing this he set us an example not just of how to achieve the goal of eternal life for ourselves, but how to help others in Christ.  There is much for us to learn from Paul here.

Perfection

Within this great passage of scripture, Paul frequently uses a word that causes confusion, particularly because of the way in which it can be misunderstood.  It is the word ‘perfect’; the Greek, ‘teleos’.  If I were to translate verse 12 strictly it would read ‘not that I have already grasped or already been perfected …’, and verse 15 would ‘as many of you therefore who are perfect …’.  The problem we have is that on the one hand, Paul talks to fellow Christians to tell them that they cannot reach perfection (3:12) except through the help of Christ and only at the end of the race (3:14); then, in verse 15 he addresses his fellow Christians as ‘perfect’!  To add to our perplexity, at different times in the life of the church, the ‘doctrine of Christian perfection’ has been put forward and often caused a great deal of confusion.

What are we to make of this talk of being ‘perfect?  Two things must be explained if we are to understand this.  The first is a little more detail about what Paul meant by ‘goals’ in this passage, and secondly, a closer look at the meaning of the Greek word ‘teleos’.  When put together, you may then understand why I have translated the passage as I have, and be a little less worried about what the Bible means when it talks of what is ‘perfect’.

In the first part of his testimony, Paul testified that when a Jew, he thought of himself as ‘blameless’ (3:6 – in Greek; ‘amemptos’) because he literally kept every Pharisaic law developed from the laws of Moses.  Not many Pharisees could say this, but in those days, some did, and maybe in all honesty, and they believed that through being blameless like this, then they were ‘righteous’ before God, and would therefore be gloriously restored to Him.  This word ‘blameless’ also meant ‘faultless’ which is exactly what we mean today when we say ‘perfect’; we might say that something is perfect because it has no faults, for example.

This is the kind of perfection that Paul put in a bundle and threw away in favour of Christ (3:7,8)!  However, Paul exchanges that Jewish idea of perfection, with a new one based on Christ.  The new ‘supreme’ goal, as we have already seen in the passages for yesterday and today, is the ‘resurrection of the dead’.  This is promised to us now through faith and we will attain it in glory (3:14).  What Paul does to signify this change of ultimate goal is to use a new Greek word ‘teleos’ instead of ‘amemptos’.  This word does not mean anything like blameless or faultless, as ‘amemptos’ did, its basic meaning is ‘something that is finished’ and it is a loose word which can therefore mean a great many things.  A child who has finished growing up is an adult, for example, so the word ‘teleos’ can mean ‘maturity; and when the world comes to an end, that is also ‘teleos’, because the world as we know it will have ‘finished!  You can see how flexible the word is, and Paul mostly uses it in this passage to talk about the Christian goal of eternal life, for which he and all Christians strive.  This also explains why I have not used the word ‘perfect’ in my translation, where you will find it in some others.

The Greek word ‘teleos’ also lies behind the doctrine of ‘Christian perfection’, as originally preached by John Wesley.  It is a complicated subject, but we should be careful not to talk about this ignorantly.  John Wesley knew his Greek, and attempted to tell his followers (the early ‘Methodists’) that it was possible for us to be ‘perfect’ in the sense of being ‘completely motivated by love’.  He knew full well that despite the best of intentions, life rarely works out according to motives of such purity, but he preached this because he saw too many people making no attempt whatsoever to improve themselves and begged them to aim higher.  It was a doctrine which came out of street preaching rather than polite preaching in middle-class suburbia, and many people at the bottom of the social ‘pile’ found Wesley’s preaching profoundly liberating, and many thousands were saved.  We cannot argue with that!

Forgetting

As we move from verse 12 to verse 13, Paul identified the two pillars of faith.  Firstly, the fact that none of us can reach the goal of peace and eternal life with God unless, in Paul’s words ‘Christ Jesus has taken hold of me’; this is the ‘divine initiative’ of God’s work in Christ by which we are saved, and for which we cannot strive, perform or work.  The second pillar comes in verse 13, which is Paul’s description of the life and purpose of a true disciple; one who strives with every part of their being to keep going, even under the stress of suffering (3:10) actively responding to the work of God in their own lives until the end, when the race is won.

We may have all heard sermons on this famous passage, but there is one important word in verse 13; it is the word ‘forget’, as in ‘forgetting what is behind and straining forward …’  It is a word that should not be forgotten (!) because it has a great deal of importance.  It is easy to say that following Paul’s example we should ‘bundle up the past and throw it away’ (3:8) as if we must wipe the past from our minds, and the remembrance of everything that was not of Christ.  That is certainly what it appears to say.  However, if we examine this scripture carefully, it does not.  Paul certainly did remember his past, otherwise he would not have been able to use it in his testimony as a means of getting at the Judaising opponents in Philippi!  No, for Paul, forgetting means something else more important than the (probably) futile attempts we may make to wipe things from our minds.

In biblical thought, the idea of ‘remembrance’ is to call something to mind in order to do something about it; such as when God ‘remembered the people of Israel in Egypt (Ex 2:24).  The idea of ‘forgetting’ is the opposite, and is more like the idea of putting something to one side because you are not going to do anything about it.  In other words, it is a purposeful decision.  You may know what it is like to decide there is nothing you can do about a problem at present, so you will ‘forget’ about it until you are able to; and this gives you peace of mind.  This is what is meant in verse 13.  We can of ourselves do nothing about our past, or sometimes even the mistakes we make, and their consequences sometimes never leave us.  However, real liberation comes when we find that in Christ we can place all these things to one side and allow Christ to take care of them.  By such forgetfulness, we are liberated!

A clever trick

It is probable that Paul’s opponents at Philippi were Jews who had found faith in Christ and joined the church, but could not leave behind (forget!) their past, and still claimed the kind of blameless perfection with respect to the laws of Moses that Paul had, but so roundly rejected in Philippians 3.  For a start, they claimed they were all circumcised, as Moses commanded!

In verse 15, it is possible that Paul was speaking ‘tongue in cheek’ directly to his accusers at Philippi, whom he addressed as those who thought they were ‘perfect’ or completely ‘mature’ in faith.  The unusual terse Greek words of this sentence are testimony to the probability that Paul was speaking in some ‘common’ or coded way.  If you accept my suggestion, then verse 15 makes more sense, for Paul chides his opponents to ‘bear this in mind’, and goes on to say that God will Himself reveal everything, and he challenges his readers to live up to their claims.

It is certainly hard to make sense of these verses unless you read them in this way.  Of course a Christian should be mature; of course, the Lord will reveal what He will, and of course, all Christians should live up to their calling.  These are important messages, but if we read this with care, as I have indicated, then they are not the centre piece of some new thing Paul is saying.  They are part of his argument with false teachers, who need to learn to go back to the basics of the Gospel if they wish to be part of God’s church.

Philippians 3:12-16 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

Each of us will have different opinions about the wisdom of John Wesley’s use of the word ‘perfection’ when preaching to encourage people to strive for higher standards in this life.  We cannot argue with Paul for telling about the great goal for all our striving, which is eternal life with Christ and with God.  I recall talking about this to a minister when I was a teenager, and being told that this was all far too ‘pie in the sky’ (their words, not mine) for a young person to be concerned about.  I felt cheated, because I wanted to have the highest goals to aim for, and here was a Christian minister telling me not to bother with it.

Now, this does not worry me, and I am more concerned for the life of that minister who has now lost his faith and left the church.  This may be an extreme, but I have found that many Christian people do not like too much talk about what happens to us after death, and I also recall a man walking out of a sermon preached by my father in which he began to speak of this.  Paul reminds us in this passage that our greatest glory lies in the future beyond the grave, and the church will be blessed when its people can rejoice in this glorious fact.

Yet this passage does not just glory in the goal, but the achieving of it, which is done in this life.  We can indeed make choices and respond to the work of God; we can forget and leave in His hands the things we cannot deal with, and then be at peace to deal with the things before us to do.  It sounds simple enough, but this straightforward advice about Christian living comes from this great passage of scripture, and it is advice well worth heeding.  Not only does it help us live authentic Christian lives, but it keeps at bay the influence of those who seek to divert us today with skilful but devious teaching which points us anywhere except Christ.  I will expand this thought later, but not now, for it is best to let this passage leave us with the thought of striving onwards to the ‘upwards’ goal, that is, the highest goal, of fellowship with God in Christ.

Philippians 3:12-16 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Are you conscious of ‘striving for Jesus Christ’ in your everyday life?  How is this possible for you to do this?
2. Make a list of things that you need to ‘forget’ as described in this study.  Share some of these with others, if it is helpful.
3. Where can you find the real opponents of the Gospel of Christ?  Inside the church or outside of it?  Debate!

Personal comments by author

I often ask myself whether I have the right aims and objectives in this life, let alone the next.  Paul talks so eloquently of being guided in this life by our aspirations for the next, it can be hard to put flesh on what this might mean.  However, if we genuinely face in a God-ward direction and aim for what the Lord would have us do, then we will find that everything will begin to make sense, and we will find earthly goals will begin to be revealed by God’s grace.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Many Christians feel that at times, their lives are almost ‘on hold’ as far as ‘church’ goes, because life at home or work is too busy and ‘spiritual things’ are left to one side.  If this is a description of you, then please read over this passage several times to let it inspire you.  Listen for what the Lord says.
• Discuss with a friend or family member what your own aims and objective are in life.  Ask the Lord for His help in prayer, and seek to work to those godly aims and objectives

Final Prayer

You, Lord Jesus Christ, are the Master of all life … You, O Holy Spirit, are the energy for all life … You, Almighty God, are the provider of all life … Glory be to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.         AMEN

Bible study for Philippians 3:17-21

Philippians 3:17-21 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

On the surface, this is an extraordinary passage.  In summary, what Paul says is this; ‘copy me and the standards of my life; if you don’t, you are an ‘enemy of the Cross of Christ’, and if you do, you will be saved.’  It would seem impossible for any of us to say anything like this today and it is hard for us to understand how anyone can.  Paul is amazingly bold to say ‘follow my example’ (3:17) because Jesus is our example, not the apostle Paul!  However, this is scripture, and we must remember that Paul would argue that all he has done is to hold up through himself an example of what God wants of His people.  He is not the Saviour, but an example of faith.

In fact, Paul did us a great favour by speaking in this way, for such boldness exposes reality and truth.  Just like the Philippians who first read this, how we react to these words depends upon what we think of the message Paul preached and the life he lived, and his words force us to think about the standards he set and the example of his life.  At this point in his letter, there is little doubt that Paul is talking about the example he has just given in his testimony; of one who puts everything aside to follow Christ (3:7,8) and is wholly committed to the path of Christian discipleship with single-minded vigour until death (3:12f.).  Lying behind this testimony are Paul’s absolute beliefs in the supremacy of God, the unique revelation of the Father through the life of Jesus Christ, the imperative of the Gospel of salvation and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, frequently written about in all his letters.  In whatever way we interpret these beliefs ourselves and whatever opinion we form from them about Paul himself, it is impossible to say that this is not what Paul taught and based his life upon.  In addition, he asked his readers to join together with him (3:17) in believing and living this Gospel.

Despite much confusion amongst scholars about the meaning of several words in this text, which are in some cases virtually invented by Paul himself, this passage is a direct appeal from Paul to the people of the Philippian church to live according to the standards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, no less.  This Gospel is focussed on the life, death and resurrection  of Jesus, as can be seen in verse 18, where Paul warns ‘for many live as enemies of the Gospel of Christ …’.  Then in the comparison that forms the rest of our passage, Paul does not mention himself at all; he was bold enough to use himself at the beginning of this text.  However, he did this as an example, not out of arrogance, but in the absolute belief that the church could not survive unless its members copied the kind of devotion to Christ that governed his own life.  Now that Paul’s words have been accepted as Christian scripture, his example is also valid for us today.  It is not good enough for us to like or dislike any character in the Bible such as Paul; their story or their part in Scripture; every part of God’s Word has something important to say, and the letters of Paul give an essential explanation of how the Gospel is to be lived.  We are to follow Paul’s example.

The rest of the text powerfully follows on from this.  Paul’s description of people’s preoccupation with earthly things (3:19) stands as a condemnation of the material world in which we live, and his analysis of our ‘citizenship … in heaven’ (3:20) is a reminder of the heavenly responsibilities we have, even in this life.  The passage ends with a reminder from Paul of the glorious resurrection, but the body he speaks of is not that of an individual, but of the church.  Christ, the focus of Paul’s life, our lives, and the life of the whole Church of God, will overcome all problems and false teaching and change His Church to make it ‘the same as His glorious Body’.

Going Deeper

The Bible study goes deeper to look at these issues:

• The importance of ‘copying’
• The enemy within
• An eager expectation

Philippians 3:17-21 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

Our study continues with a further look at what this text says about copying the good examples of faith that are set before us, and also the examples Paul gives of evils which penetrate God’s people.  The concluding verses of our text are rooted in the glorious hope of the Gospel.  A truth which comes from heaven but is made real on earth.

The importance of ‘copying’

In asking the Philippians to follow his example, Paul therefore asked them to follow Jesus Christ.  In general, the only way that we learn anything is from other people, so the only way to learn about how to put faith into practice is from the example of others.  In everyday life, a child learns from its parents and then, at school, from a range of people, including both teachers and other children.  So also, all of us learn about Christian faith from others, who pass on to us the basics of how to live the Christian life once Christ has called us and we have responded.  Christian children learn from their parents and eventually from others at church; but in our unstable world today, when few children learn about Christianity, faith, or the Bible, it is only when they come to faith in later years that they face the detailed challenges of how to put faith into practice.  They will pick this up casually from other Christians unless they are helped.

It is therefore very important that we choose the right people to learn from!  There are good examples even today, but there are also bad examples.  In his letter, Paul asked the Philippians to copy his example because his life was given over to Christ and the Gospel.  At the end of verse 17, he appealed to them to copy others as well; people whose lives were similarly given to the Lord, such as Timothy and Epaphroditus, for whom he had just given glowing references (2:19-29).  He was not prescriptive in what he said, though, and left it open for those of real faith to understand what he had said, and copy those who demonstrated Christ in their lives.

Implicit in everything that Paul said is firstly the wisdom of knowing who are the good examples of Christian faith, perhaps even the best examples, and secondly of Christians ‘joining together’ to follow these examples. We all learn best when we do so together, as all learning theory confirms, and although it does not make this clear in all translations, the strange Greek word which comes at the beginning of this verse does indeed emphasise the coming together of the Lord’s people in order to learn about how to live a life which examples Christ.

Today, learning and copying of faith is, of course, an important process.  Good examples are to be found in the work of church fellowship groups, in the mentoring of young people not just for leadership or ministry, but for life as a Christian, and also through reading about great Christian figures of the past.  It is all a matter of the quality of the ‘examples’ and leaders used for such leadership and mentoring.  Looking forward, these are the things the Spirit uses to take the Church of God into the future; looking back, all that is authentically passed on comes from Christ (not Paul, personally), and that is the touchstone of our faith.

The enemy within

In the context of the letter Paul was writing, one would expect Paul to focus on the issue of circumcision as he turned, with emotion (3:18) to speak to the Philippians about what upset him in the alternative examples of faith to be found within the church.  His focus however was on Jesus, and he swiftly identified what lay at the heart of all opposition to the Gospel; the ‘enemies of the Cross of Christ’.  In proceeding to explain what this meant Paul spoke directly to every age, and ours is no exception.

There will always be those who dislike the key element of discipleship of ‘suffering’ for the sake of Jesus (3:10).  We know from people who wrote about the life of early Christians that this was true then as it is now.  The prevailing moral standard without the suffering of the ‘Cross of Christ’ was, and is, ‘do what you want, just don’t hurt others’.  It hardly takes a genius to work out that living by such license does not work; for with the best of intentions, if you do whatever you want, you quickly offend others.  Secondly, such ‘freedom’ is the antithesis of Christian faith (see Romans 3 and 6:15ff).  Paul comments that those who are in this way ‘preoccupied with earthly things’ will discover that there is no future for them, for ‘their end is destruction’.

Two other ‘enemies within’ are identified by Paul which strike at the heart of true faith.  When Paul wrote ‘their god is the stomach’ (3:19) he was referring not simply to greed, which is obviously the opposite of Christian morality, he was bringing up the real differences between Christians of those days about eating food.  Firstly, the ritual laws of cleanliness from the Old Testament which some felt should be applied to the church (despite the pronouncement of the Council of Jerusalem on this which cancelled the obligation – see Acts 11).  Secondly, many ordinary people had concerns that the meat from the market may have been sacrificially offered to other gods, and refused to eat it (Paul talks about this extensively in Romans 14 and 1 Cor. 7).  Disputes like this have often been used by Satan to prevent the Lord’s work, and Paul had had enough of these disputes, and said so plainly to the Philippians. 

Paul’s last comment (3:19) was ‘their glory is in their shame’.  Using a subtle word play obvious to those who heard it, Paul dismissed the Judaisers and the havoc they had created in the church. Their key argument about continuity with the Jewish faith (their ‘glory’, as Paul put it) was circumcision.  Now, when a Gentile convert accepted circumcision, he had to present himself naked to a Jew, and the word for ‘naked’, was similar to ‘shame’.  Yet Paul’s comment was no ‘pun’; one has the impression that although he respected the rite of circumcision for Jews, he was disgusted by its shameful advocacy to Gentile Christians by these Judaisers.

An eager expectation

It is with relief that Paul then turned to speak of what the faithful Christian might expect as a result of learning the path of Christian discipleship based upon Christ.  In a famous verse, Paul spoke of the ‘citizenship … found in heaven’ which is the spiritual birthright of every believer.  Whilst the idea of citizenship may seem unremarkable to us, in Paul’s day it was very important.  Philippi was an important Roman colony, and many people living there were Roman citizens, although they lived in a Macedonia, a region north of Greece and a long way from Rome.  They would have held their Roman citizenship as very important, just like any ‘ex-patriot’ today who keeps strong ties with their home country.

Paul explains that our life is like that of an ex-patriot, for once we have become Christian, our true homeland is not to be found on this earth, but in heaven; and we look forward to being ‘repatriated’ to heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ (3:20).  This is, in truth, far from an easy or casual picture of Christian belonging, and it would be fair to say that many Christian people struggle to accept this.  Yet this is not a scripture that should be ignored because it is ‘difficult’.  Those who follow Christ with the intensity and devotion that Paul was trying to example would know, he said, that they did not have a home on this earth any more.  Jesus said a very similar thing as he addressed the disciples ‘foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head’ (Matt 8:20).  This is indeed the point at which many stumble on the Christian path.  They love their homes and their lives too much to go this far; heaven is for them a quite satisfactory hope for the future, indeed, they are happy to aim for it.  However, it takes real commitment to the Lord to openly confess that your ‘home’ is in heaven, and your life and all you identify with now is like a ‘colony’ from which you expect to be removed!

Yet although it is important to apply what Paul says about our ‘citizenship’ personally, the text asks us to remember that these things are possessed collectively.  A colony is only a colony when there are many people who make it up!  And we do not live alone in this life or the next.  Paul concludes this part of his letter with the affirmation that all this is ultimately in the hands of Christ, who will ‘transform our degraded body and make it the same as His glorious body’.  This awesome picture is typical of Paul’s use of the word ‘body’ in his writings in general, referring to the Church of God.  Because our citizenship is in heaven, Christ will make perfect his body the Church in due time, and by holding firm to Christ and the example of His life that has been handed down to us, we will be part of it.

Philippians 3:17-21 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

Implicit within these words of Paul are several challenges to all who read.  Firstly, there is the call to make sure that we each model our lives on those who demonstrably have Christ at the centre of their lives.  Some find this difficult and complain that there is no-one near them with whom they can enjoy such fellowship, at whatever level, in fellowship or in formal mentoring.  This may seem to be the case, but sometimes our eyes are blinded to the possibilities.  I have had cause to observe many dignified and elderly people who model the truth of the Gospel, but for cultural reasons, some their experience.  We must challenge our cultural presumptions if our eyes are to be wide open enough to be led by the Lord on this.  It is also worth noting that reading about Christians of the past can be a good substitute, with minimal guidance, when such mentoring is unavailable or impossible for practical reasons.

Although it is right for us all to make sure that we take the right ‘model’ of Christ into our own lives, there is a further challenge we should face.  If we are wholly committed to the Lord, who should we be mentoring?  Should we be consciously attempting to offer ourselves to others so that they may learn of the life of Christ from us?  Many will stand back from this and protest that they are not worthy; yet I fear that to do this is often evidence of a false humility.  We must take Paul’s example and if we know in our hearts that we are completely committed to the Lord, then there is no reason why we should not say, appropriately and sensitively of course, ‘follow my example and I will point you to Christ’.  Sometimes this is evident from how we lead our lives and we need not say it.  Sometimes it needs to be said.

All of this is possible, and much more if we know our citizenship is in heaven, if we know that our hearts are right before the Lord, and we are prepared to do His will.  The world is aching for God’s people to demonstrate Christ in the world today; no more, no less.

Philippians 3:17-21 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Try to write a list of what you believe to be the best standards of Christian living, based on Christ.  Are these this possible?  If not, why not?
2. Discuss the issue of mentoring.  How could mentoring work as a way of helping people grow in Christ in your church?
3. How do we express our ‘citizenship of heaven’?  Is it just a spiritual thing, or is it something that we can show to others in some way?

Personal comments by author

We often copy other people almost unthinkingly, and this text challenges me to be more discerning about who I admire and seek to follow.  It reminds me that the earthly examples I see are never perfect, but helpful in so far as they point to Christ.  It is not good if I seek to emulate various people and end up copying their faults! 

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Write a list of who have influenced your life, and alongside it a list of what you have learned from those people.  This can be revealing.  It is more challenging however, to write a list of people you know who might benefit from your own time, attention and influence.  What can you give to others?
• Pray to the Lord and place before Him all those people who have been a great influence on your life.  Ask the Lord to help you continue to learn from them, but to turn away from any earthly or godless feature of their lives.  No-one except Christ is perfect.

Final Prayer

Bring us, Lord Jesus, to the place where we can look back and be happy that we have learned from the past, look forward and anticipate with joy the future you have in store for us, and be content that our lives reflect the Faith that has been handed down to us.  Bring us, Lord Jesus, to that place of peace.  AMEN

Bible study for Philippians 4:1-7

Philippians 4:1-7 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

At the end of a powerful letter to his dear friends in Philippi, Paul gave them the most heart-warming encouragement.  Chapter four splits into three sections (4:1-7, 8-14,15-23) of which this is the first, each one offering approval to the young church which had faced so much pressure from false teachers, and each one sounding a note of joy and thanksgiving.  The first of these, our passage today, is an amazingly crisp and condensed collection of sayings which offers advice with words that are very well known, for example ‘Rejoice in the Lord, always, I will say it again, rejoice!’ (4:4), and the last verse is one of the great prayers of blessing which come from Paul’s letters.  It focuses of the ‘peace of God’, and it has been used for centuries throughout the Church.

Having focussed his letter on the difficult issue of false teaching and circumcision within the church (see 3:1ff and my notes on this), Paul had already dealt with this positively by giving his personal testimony.  All this was a powerful incentive to those at Philippi who were there when the church was founded and Paul was with them (Acts 16:10ff), to recall the Gospel as it was first preached and put the disputes they were encountering into a Gospel perspective.  Paul encouraged his friends to ‘stand firm’.  Verse 1 makes it very clear that Paul was speaking to people he held in high esteem and affection, not because they were people he happened to like, but because they had been pioneers in the Gospel.  If you have shared with others in some successful work of your church, which the Lord has used for the proclamation of the Gospel, then you will know something of Paul’s feelings here.

But encouragement is more than ‘patting each other on the back’.  By directly addressing an important issue of conflict amongst two church members (4:2), Paul offered his friends yet more practical encouragement.  He pleaded with two disputing women, Euodia and Syntyche, to agree with each other with the help of another church member, Sydsygus, Paul worked to prevent the kind of disagreements and division that all too often cause rancour within the church.  Instead of walking around the issue ‘on egg shells’, Paul brought it into the open, probably to the great relief of other anxious fellow Christians who looked on in despair.  Yes, for the fellowship at Philippi, Paul’s handling of this dispute was probably a great encouragement!

The words ‘Rejoice in the Lord always …’ are positively challenging, coming as they do after Paul’s dealing with various forms of trouble at Philippi.  How sad that too many people turn their back on this great treasure of scripture, saying that it is impossible for us to rejoice in every circumstance of life!  Some say that we cannot be expected to rejoice when evil is at hand, for example.  But if we say that, then we have forgotten the Gospel!  For, if at the heart of our faith, we are given permission by the Lord God Almighty to rejoice at the appalling death of His Son because He has thereby saved us from our sins, then there are no circumstances in which we, ourselves, cannot find reason to rejoice!  Indeed, if we fail to do so, we allow Satan to win the battle for our hearts and minds.  Our faith is a faith of victory and not defeat.  Certainly there are terrible things which happen in this world to people which can in no way be condoned, but rising above the terrors of this world is not to condone evil but to destroy it!

If we can claim this victory in Christ and are joyful in all circumstances, then we can know ‘the peace of God which passes all understanding …’ and it is indeed a supreme gift of God which protects us in the midst of the troubled world in which we live.

Going Deeper

The Bible study goes deeper to look at these issues:

• Standing firm
• Dealing with disputes
• Rejoicing
• Praying
• Being at peace

Philippians 4:1-7 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

There is so much for us to find within this text, we are spoilt for its riches. The issue of disputes in the church never goes away, but despite this, Paul offers advice about standing firm in the Lord, rejoicing, praying and being at peace.  Each passage is a treasure of the New Testament.

Standing firm

Paul often used imagery from every day life, just as we do, and just as Jesus did so notably in His teaching (the ‘lost sheep’ – Luke 15:4; the parable of the ‘sower’ – Matt 13).  By asking the Philippian church to ‘stand firm’ (4:1), Paul used a word that was straight from the handbook of Roman army manoeuvres.  Yes, of course it was used in common speech, but the ever present Roman army was highly influential in all walks of life.  It was famous for inheriting from the previous Greek Empire and army the quality of spirited and stoic devotion that made a man stand by his post under all conditions.  This was therefore no casual remark by Paul.

Paul celebrated his friendship with the Philippians with an eloquent sequence of address (4:1), calling the church ‘my brothers and sisters whom I love and greatly miss’; then adding to that religious familial affection, the title of ‘my joy and crown’.  Some think this refers to ‘the crown of life’ (Rev 2:10) that awaited Paul at the end of his life in the service of the Gospel, but the word Paul used was different.  It meant a brightly coloured wreath or garland given to an honoured friend when they arrived for a party celebration, and I do not think we need look elsewhere for what this means.  It is as if Paul wanted to celebrate the defeat of the enemy in the ranks of the Philippian Church, and although they still had yet to receive the letter, the very writing of it was the start of a spiritual process of defeat for those who were troubling the church.  The party had begun!

Dealing with disputes

In this spirit, Paul immediately sought to address a dispute he had been told about between two women; Euodia and Syntyche (4:2).  Paul considered this as being as damaging to the church as circumcision (3:1ff), and he knew full well that disharmony between Christians was the start of trouble.  It was a chance for Satan to trap the people he loved, so he therefore sought to end it.  There is uncertainty as to whether Paul was asking a specific person called Sydsygus to assist in this dispute, or a ‘fellow-worker’ (which is what the name means).  This does not matter, and I prefer the former because it fits the story.  What Paul set before all of them was the example of the work these two women had previously done together for the Gospel (4:3); for if that could not be the cause of peace between them, then nothing could be.

It is tragic that most church congregations hide either unspoken, semi-secret disputes or ill-will between people, and that they are content to give the appearance of upright faith, holding office and praising God within their divided fellowship.  Such people are content to ignore the spiritual damage their holding on to such pain does to the life and witness of the church, in the belief that this is the right thing to do.  It is not.  It is the job of church leadership to bring these matters into the open before God and His people, as Paul did here. 

In verse 3, a ‘book of life’ is mentioned, which is the only place outside the Revelation of John that the term appears (Rev 3:5, 13:8 etc.).  In every Roman colony such as Philippi, the magistrates kept a register of the names of all the citizens of Rome, for legal purposes.  Paul had just previously mentioned the issue of citizenship (3:20), so taken as a whole, this was a strong reminder to dissenting church members of their ultimate allegiance.

Rejoicing

Paul’s call to ‘rejoice in the Lord’ is clearly linked in this scripture to the victorious nature of the Gospel which overcomes squabbling and strife (3:1ff, 4:2), suffering (3:10), dissension (3:15), and the enemies of Christ (3:18ff).  Although there are times when each of us may not feel anything like ‘rejoicing’, at the heart of the Gospel we live is the love of the Lord which draws us back to this place of joy.  Some believe that in common with 1 Thessalonians 5:16, this call of Paul to rejoice is little more than a ‘farewell’ greeting, but that is to treat Paul’s words casually, for he repeats them purposefully (4:4 ‘I will say it again …’), and mere ‘signing off’ is as yet, several paragraphs away!

Paul links this rejoicing with a proclamation to the church to ‘let your considerate nature be known …’.  The Greek word here means that generous quality of spirit which stands back from pursuing self interest, whether this is something to do with the letter of the law, or justice, or rights, or of personal satisfaction.  It is an interesting scriptural characteristic worthy of more attention than it is given.  For if we were all to take this self-effacing quality to heart, then many of the trials and disputes that bedevil us in the church would simply not happen.  It is worth thinking about.  Also, if we embrace this, then we will find it much easier to rejoice!

Praying

Calling on the Philippians to respect the on-going faith of the Church of God that ‘the Lord is near’ (4:5), Paul continued his advice by picking up a theme which was central to the teaching of Jesus; stop worrying and trust the Lord.  If you look at verse 6 and compare it with Matthew 6:34 and 7:7 (‘do not worry about tomorrow … seek and you shall find …’), you would be forgiven for believing that Paul had some early version of one of our written Gospels before him as he wrote.  If not his, then he was at least connecting with a well known saying of Jesus before it was ever written down.  It is rare for Paul to do this, but the cross referencing helps us to accept the importance of what is said.

Four words are used in Paul’s suggested guidance for prayer (4:6), and it may be helpful to know them in details, as they can give a useful structure for prayer.  The first word is a general word for prayer (Greek; ‘proseuke’).  The second word (Greek; ‘de’esis’) is more specifically to do with personal needs, in other words, it means a prayer of petition.  The third word, ‘ask’, (as in ‘make your requests …’ 4:6) highlights the attitude of seeking and asking (Greek; ‘aitemata’ – reflecting Jesus’ words ‘ask, and it will be given you …’ – Matt 7:7).  The last word is thanksgiving (Greek; ‘eucharistia’) which reflects an attitude not so much of rejoicing in general but of joy directed towards the Lord and all he has done for us.  Every time scripture uses these words we can learn something more about prayer, which is our privilege of communication with God, in Christ Jesus.

Being at peace

The final blessing Paul gave to the Philippians is a well remembered treasure of scripture; a verse that is remembered even today at a time when few people memorise scripture.  This peace is not peace with God, such as the peace that Paul spoke of when talking about the gift of saving grace (Romans 5:1) which brings peace to the broken human spirit, neither is it peace from God, the sense of tranquillity that can come from our doing what is right, or by prayer leaving a problem or need at the foot of the Cross for the redeeming work of the Saviour.  The peace of God is God’s gift of His own nature and self, that is, His Spirit, implanted within us, which guards our ‘hearts and minds’.

Would that all people who prayed this prayer knew that by so doing, they were asking God to come into them by His Spirit and take control!  In the Bible, the ‘heart’ is the seat of the will, the ‘mind’ is the seat of thinking and knowledge, and it is interesting that these two are identified as in need of God’s protection when we are at peace (4:7).  Many in the church regard the emotions as the difficult part of the human ‘psyche’ which is in most need of protection in religious matters, following the eighteenth century Bishop of Bristol who rounded on John Wesley and condemned the ‘unbridled enthusiasm’ of his followers as being ‘thoroughly irreligious’!

I suggest that if we followed the advice of Paul in this letter, striven against evil and wrongdoing, stood firm in faith, persisted in the work of the Gospel, continued to ‘rejoice in the Lord’ and brought our needs through prayer to Him with thanksgiving in our hearts, then the peace of God is God’s gift of Himself to us.  That is truly beyond human understanding.

Philippians 4:1-7 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

There are a number of places within the text where this scripture begs our attention.  It asks us to apply what we read to our own lives and our own church setting.  In what matters of the Gospel do we need, individually or collectively to ‘stand firm’?  Perhaps the whole Church of God today needs to rediscover its unity in ‘standing firm’ not on any agenda provided by the world, such as prejudice, gay rights or medical ethics, but on its right to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus as ‘true’ in a world which is seeking religious compromise as an international political expediency.

None of us is exempt from the challenge this text brings us about handling disputes within the body of Christ; yet I ask you, if there were some issue to be resolved at your church, would anyone think of this text as offering guidance?  There are a number of scripture texts that may help, but this one is close to the reality of much that boils beneath the surface of many a congregation.

For many people, the phrase ‘rejoice in the Lord always’ is a sufficient test of their faith, and once said, the words seem to stay in the mind.  If we will allow Him, the Spirit will take these words and prompt us according to the circumstances of our lives.  Then, the recollection of them may be a blessing and an invitation not simply to be overtly happy, but to discover that in the midst of even difficult things, we can find the heart and spirit to rejoice through Christ, and so begin to find peace.

Yet is the great gift of the peace of God that stands out at the end of this passage.  So many people ask for it; so many people long for it, so many people say the words in church and out of it.  My prayer is that you are one of those people for whom it is a reality, because you have allowed the Holy Spirit to make it true, throughout your life.

Philippians 4:1-7 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. In your opinion, are disputes in church ever really resolved?  Or do people hang on to them forever?
2. To what extent is it possible to demonstrate to the world the qualities of faith exampled in this text, such as rejoicing in al circumstances?  What does the world make of them?
3. Reflect quietly for a little and then share by recalling those times in your life when the peace of God has come to you with power.

Personal comments by author

Because of its very nature, there are many issues about Christian lifestyle mentioned in this text.  It offers a variety of personal challenges that are deep and testing.  It is certainly my experience that we can never fully meet our objectives, but if we fail to try, then our faith has given up.  Surely, we owe it to our Lord and to ourselves to rise above the evils of this world and aspire to higher things, and do so unashamedly.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Take one of the well known texts in this passage and consider it as a ‘lifestyle’ or ‘discipleship’ challenge and follow this through the coming week.
• Pray and ask the Lord to help you with what it means to have a ‘considerate nature’ (4:5).  What does this mean to you, and what should it mean to you?  Seek the Lord’s help to find a way to show this godly quality.

Final Prayer

I love You, Lord.  Even when I am uncertain or troubled, even when I feel ill or in distress, and even when I have been hurt by someone I love.  Your love is the power of the universe and it shines as fiercely as the sun. Lord Jesus, may it shine in and through me now.  AMEN

Bible study for Philippians 4:8-14

Philippians 4:8-14 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

In most of Paul’s letters, he takes some time to finally come to an end, and appears to keep adding things as if to say just one thing more before signing off.  As well as here in this passage, you can see another example of this in the protracted ending of Romans, which takes a chapter and a half (15:13-16:27) to conclude!  You might have thought that the letter to the Philippians was adequately concluded at the end of yesterday’s passage with the famous words ‘the peace of God which passes all understanding …’ (4:7).  However, the letter continues, with several more reflections and general points, each of which tell us just that little bit more about the great truths of God of which Paul wrote so easily, but they also tell us more about the circumstances of the letter and the people to whom he wrote.  This passage, together with the last part of the letter (4:15-23 – which we will study next) is a patchwork of fascinating insights.

The first two verses of today’s passage offer some good practical advice.  It would be difficult for anyone, whether Christian or not, to disagree that the list of virtues Paul gave in verse 8 (‘what is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely and commendable ‘) was not admirable in every respect, for what decent society of any kind could advocate anything other than the highest standards of truth, decency and excellence?  Paul grew up as a Jewish Pharisee, but also as a Roman citizen in the town of Tarsus, famed for its Greek ‘Stoic’ teaching; and there is little doubt that Paul knew a great deal about this Greek philosophy as well as his own Jewish heritage.  Stoicism taught the control of all human feelings by strict discipline and adherence to ‘virtues’ (such as truth and justice) despite any worldly difficulties a person might face.  Yet even if Paul wrote of these virtues in a way that reminds us of Stoicism, he did so not as any form of secular teaching, but as part of the Gospel of truth for which he given His life.  Consequently, this is the clear message behind verse 9, which includes, almost hidden, a technical Greek word for something ‘passed on’ which you have yourself have first received from others.  It is translated as ‘received’, but this little word serves to remind us that Paul believed he was not passing on good teaching for the sake of it; he was passing on the eternal Gospel of truth so that, as he said at the end of verse 9, people might find ‘peace’ with God (4:9).  Paul firmly believed he was acting like an intermediary; he was someone who had received a precious gift and was duty bound to pass it on to others after him.

That, itself, appears to have motivated Paul to write the next paragraph.  If you read the main Bible study, you will discover that it is possible that there was a misunderstanding between Paul and the Philippian church about the gift they sent to him together with Epaphroditus (see 2:25-30) , and this may have been one reason for the writing of the letter.  After half thanking the Philippians for the gift and half saying that he was quite able to account for himself (4:10-12), Paul appears to have found some peace about the issue by placing it in God’s hands (4:13).  In this, Paul was an example of his own teaching, for he was content in ‘every situation’ (4:12) even though his circumstances in jail could hardly have been pleasant.  This grace, however, was only possible for those who had yielded themselves to the Lord (4:13), and who found their strength in Him.  Paul was a living example of the teaching he gave, and this is why we are able to trust His words as we find them in scripture.

Going Deeper

The Bible study goes deeper to look at these issues:

• Fill your minds ...
• A little understanding
• The secret of contentment

Philippians 4:8-14 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

It is not always possible to follow Paul’s train of thought, but sometimes we should be wary of trying to analyse the text too much.  What he wrote was a heartfelt expression of the Gospel for which he had given his life, and for which he was imprisoned. This must be our guiding principle as we study his words further, for it enables us to find the truth which is there within all he says.

Fill your minds …

In the past, much has been made of the list of virtues Paul quotes in verse 8; ‘true, honourable, just, pure, lovely and commendable’.  One book I read in preparation for this study positively relished the fact that these qualities were standard Stoic ‘classics’, being values that anyone can identify with, Christian or not!  How strange that anyone should rejoice to separate out a few words of sacred text and find in them some general appeal, when the text has no focus at all unless we read it as the Word of God!  Certainly, Greek philosophers and modern secularists might well value all that Paul mentions, but these are all qualities that come from the nature of our Creator God.  They are all available within the world, but it is only through Jesus and His Gospel that they find their highest expression in human life.  For example, everyone might claim to value truth, but absolute truth is something that philosophers and scientists have argued about for centuries even though, obviously and logically, if God made everything then He must be the source of all truth.

Each virtue in Paul’s list is in fact something that people in different times and places have valued in principle, but have failed to agree upon or achieve.  Another example is ‘justice’. Yes, everyone supports justice in principle, but it does not take too much observation to discover that what some people value as justice is very different from what others demand, and the world is full of the conflicts that flow from such divisions.  Only when justice is understood as a property of Almighty God can we begin to aspire to any absolute standards of right or wrong.

People, of course, also understand purity in very different ways; the Greek word used means ‘innocence’ or ‘holiness’.  History is full of examples of people who have maintained that they have some kind of special holiness or purity (the Emperor Nero claimed that he was ‘holy’!), yet such claims, when made, always sound hollow.  Real holiness is surely a gift of God, and is something most valued when observed rather than claimed.  The next word ‘lovely’ is special as well, and does not merely refer to something ‘beautiful’ or ‘nice’.  Strictly, it is a quality that draws love ‘out of people’; as, for example, when a severely disabled child smiles and delights in simple gestures of touch or laughter, thereby drawing out of people around them qualities of love that might otherwise be hidden. 

All these words deserve care and attention, and Paul sums them up as aims of ‘excellence’ which are ‘worthy of praise’.  There is no ambiguity here.  Talking exclusively about behaviour which is worthy of those who ‘press on towards … the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus’ (3:14), he is unashamed to identify them as his intended example (4:9), and asks us to make them our aim as well.

It is worth noting Paul’s instruction that the way to embrace these virtues is to ‘set your mind’ on them.  Too often, when assisting people who seek prayer for things that are troubling them, I have discovered that people have a wide variety of things occupying their minds.  Whilst praying for them, if I then ask them about what they are thinking, they may tell me of a wide variety of things churning away in their minds; everything from the next meal to worries about what someone they barely know thinks about them at church on Sunday.  Some counsellors advocate ‘emptying the mind’, as if that were ever possible for any of us (unless we are devotees of Buddhism or yoga)!  The scriptures, here and in other places, suggest that our souls are find peace by being filled, not empty, with excellence and loveliness, and the guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit (Phil 4:9,10, Col 3:2, Rom 12:2, 15:13).  To fill one’s mind with what is good, and the practical advice about how to do this by reading scripture and books of genuine spiritual worth, can often begin a work of healing in someone of real need.

A little misunderstanding

Earlier in his letter, where Paul took time to commend both Timothy and Epaphroditus to the Philippian church, asking that they be accepted as two ‘workers for the Gospel’ (2:19-30) we saw from the details of these verses that there may have been some misunderstanding about Epaphroditus’ mission to Paul, bringing a gift from the church.  It is fairly clear at least, that Epaphroditus nearly lost his life (2:27) and the Philippian church was uncertain as to whether their generous gift had reached it intended recipient (2:27,28)!

In verses 10 -12, Paul wrote strangely.  It is hard to translate this, because no translator wants to leave readers of God’s Word with sentences that difficult to understand because they are incomplete or unstructured. However, the Greek is not at all clear, and I have done my best to translate it in an understandable fashion.  It is highly likely that this reflects Paul’s embarrassment, perhaps because of the gift he received from the church.  On the one hand, he attempted to fulfil his duty to convey thanks to the givers ‘I rejoice in the Lord greatly …’ (4:10), yet he talks more darkly about them ‘previously having no chance’.  It is a comment we might easily pass over because we do not really know all the details of what happened, but Paul went on to say very clearly that he was able to be content in ‘each and every situation’ (4:12).  Now if you had given someone a substantial gift because you understood they were in need, and they replied in this way, you might wonder what they really meant!

Paul does however end this passage by graciously saying thanks again (4:14), but the impression of misunderstanding does not go away!

The secret of contentment

If anything, Paul resolved the misunderstanding in his usual way, by turning what he had to say into a wonderful and memorable description of how it was possible to depend upon God, and God alone, for all things.  We saw yesterday how Paul took the words of Jesus about ‘not worrying’ (Matt 6:25ff) and encouraged his readers to turn them into prayers of petition which would bring ‘the peace of God …’ (4:7).  In this passage, he graphically set out the practical approach to life in which worry could be laid aside.  It is a remarkable code of life and one that does not come from the Stoicism he learned about in his youth, because it talks of being content according to the circumstances of life (4:12).  True Stoics did not talk of contentment because for them, life was a matter of discipline and fortitude in the face of all odds.  No, Paul had left that all behind, along with his Pharisaic legalism and Jewish pride (3:7).  In Christ he had found something new which enabled him to speak of things no Jew or Stoic could; he wrote ‘in each situation I have learned the secret …’ and spoke of accepting the circumstances he faced with a peaceful heart;  ‘I can do all things through the One who strengthens me’ (4:13).

Paul described this contentment with his circumstances as a gift of God; he called it a ‘secret’ (4:12), but as with everything to do with Paul’s faith, it was an open secret and one he wished to share with all. These verses (4:11-13) stand as a test of Christian discipleship; for too often, a follower of the Lord we know will either be someone who is rich, or someone who is relatively poor, but not one who has known both!  How many times have we come across those whose lives are so dedicated to the Lord that they have experienced the extremes of life?  On the one hand setting aside plenty for nothing, or finding a way through poverty with Christ to a place of plenty again, or doing both according to the mission and Gospel we proclaim?

Philippians 4:8-14 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

It is unquestionably true that the Gospel imperative is for the rich to give to the poor, and the poor to become rich in any and every way through Christ.  Real life is of course very complex; but who of us can we say in all honesty that we have experienced both poverty and riches, and dealt with both in a godly way as Paul does?  Money is often the cause of embarrassment, and may have been so in Paul’s case as is partially evident in this letter, but it is surely something that the Lord would have His people be open about, and honest.  Many Christian missionaries and workers have testified to the release of laying their earthly needs before God and also before other brothers and sisters in Christ.  In so doing, their real needs have been met and they have been blessed; so much so that they have been strengthened in their ministry.  Other good Christian folk have given their all, financially, to support the work of the church at times when no-one else would.  They have therefore reaped a reward for the Kingdom that is immeasurable.  May the Lord inspire us each according our circumstances, to make need known in the body of Christ, and to meet it according to our resources.

The earlier verses of scripture also appeal to us to aspire to excellence, but in morality and ethics.  I strongly suggest that we all find ways to move forward in filling our minds with the things of God.  In England during the nineteenth century, common English was full of phrases that came from the Bible, because scriptures were taught in school.  All manner of evil has changed that, but there is still a heritage of aspiration for goodness and excellence surviving in many countries, despite strong social pressures for speech that is more aggressive and personal gain.  In every society, people need to be helped to fill their minds with the things of God; by spending time with the Lord, with His Word, through prayer, by reading quality books and by sharing fellowship with people who guide our spiritual understanding.  The world is blessed by people who are at peace with God and whose minds are filled with what is good.

Philippians 4:8-14 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Look again at verse 8.  Which qualities of moral excellence mentioned by Paul are most needed today?
2. Do you find it hard to ask for what you need, either materially or spiritually?  If this is so, why?  What social conventions prevent us for asking?
3. Do you find it hard to give what you should for the Lord?  What social conventions help or prevent you from so doing?

Personal comments by author

The challenge to moral excellence is one that should always be before us, and is one that we should each take seriously.  The issue of being content in all circumstances is twofold.  Firstly, are we truly content in the state in which we find ourselves now, whether rich or poor?  Secondly, can we in all honesty say that if life were to radically change, then we would deal in a godly way with whatever happened?  The possibilities within each question are considerable! I certainly find them deeply challenging.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Read through this passage and focus on some of the discipleship issues as the Lord leads you.  Pray and ask the Lord to help you understand which of them are issues which you need to address for yourself.
• Go for a long walk or give yourself time to relax and listen to the Lord.  Ask Him to help you find peace within the complex situations you find yourself in now.  He will be faithful!

Final Prayer

Great Lord, the smile of Your face means everything to me; for You have granted me to see Your face, hear Your voice, feel Your touch and speak to You in faith; not with the perfection I will know in Heaven, but with sufficient reality to know for sure that You care, and all things are possible through You.  Thank You, Lord,  AMEN

Bible study for Philippians 4:15-23

Philippians 4:15-23 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

With these warm greetings, Paul signs off his letter to the Philippians.  It is a letter with some marvellous literature about the work of Jesus Christ (1:3-11, 2:5-11), which typically of Paul, does not shirk from the critical issues facing the church at Philippi (3:1-11).  The letter is of great importance because of Paul’s testimony about his own life and experience before he was a Christian (3:4ff), and it also contains a powerful theological interpretation of his conversion (3:7,8).  Details about other aspects of Paul’s private affairs are revealed by his comments about Timothy and Epaphroditus (3:19-30), and the letter is also full of advice ranging from general spiritual exhortation (1:27-30) to counsel about a dispute between two women (4:2,3).  It is well worth reviewing a whole letter in this way, because this helps us remember the letter and its message as a whole.  All Paul’s letters are different, and if we see the threads which tie a letter together this will help us focus more accurately on what the Lord is saying to us through them.  Scripture is not just a collection of memorable texts for us to mould as we will, but a real expression of human life and the way that God uses His people for His purposes; as is so clear in this letter.

Our passage today begins with some comments from Paul about the gift he had received from the Philippians via Epaphroditus (4:18).  My own opinion is that this was the primary reason for the letter to the Philippians, which then gave Paul the opportunity he needed to write about the many other issues it contains, including his damning indictment of the Judaisers (3:1-11).  At every point in this letter where Paul mentions the ‘gift’, however, he appears to have been rather embarrassed by it.  For a great scholar and one who wrote some of the most magnificent Greek poetry and prose ever written, he struggled to express himself adequately when it came to money and gifts, and came out with awkward and clumsy language!

Unfortunately, this has meant that the various Bible translations of these passages differ considerably, and even today, there is some confusion about whether Paul supported the principle of the receipt of money and gifts by apostles and missionaries, or not.  My own opinion is that Paul did not like the idea of direct giving from churches to individual workers, evangelists or missionaries.  However, we need to be careful not to be too rigid about this issue because as much as Paul did not like the principle, he undoubtedly accepted at least one gift from the Philippians (4:15) albeit with as much grace as he could muster!  We will look at this in detail later in the Bible study.

After a brief prayer of blessing (4:20), Paul finished by offering generous personal greetings as a ‘postscript’ to his letter (4:21-23).  Despite the problems mentioned earlier with two women (4:2,3), Paul always spoke of the Philippian church with affection, and there were many reasons why he may have held them in particular esteem.  In particular, the Philippian church was the first founded on the continent of Europe; something Paul believed to be very important for the future of the church.  In a fascinating comment, he offered greetings from ‘those of the Emperor’s household’ (4:22), but we should not presume he was on Palatine Hill in Rome itself where the Emperor lived.  The term could equally have referred to the entourage around the Praetorian Guard who held him while he was in Caesarea, where I believe the letter was written.  This reference tells us no more about the origins of the letter besides what we have already concluded (see comments on 2:25ff).  For Paul, such details would be of little consequence.  He concluded the letter in a formal manner, doing what was only right for one who was a missionary and apostle of Christ; giving glory to God (4:20).

Going Deeper

The Bible study goes deeper to look at these issues:

• The price of a gift
• Supporting ministry and sacrificial giving
• Greetings

Philippians 4:15-23 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

The conclusion of this famous letter of Paul may well be coloured by the whole issue of giving, which Paul certainly found difficult. However, as we study these verses we cannot ignore the immense warmth of Christian love that comes through.  It has coloured the whole letter, and does so to the very end.

The price of a gift!

The difficulties presented by this passage of scripture arise because Paul used a number of technical accounting terms, as if dealing formally with the matter of the Philippians’ gift; ‘account’ ‘gift and receipt’ (4:15), ‘account’ (4:17), ‘fully paid’ and ‘gifts received’ (4:18).  It is easy for scholars to know this because there are many records of financial transaction surviving from that time, and the terms are well known.   What Paul does, apart from using the words awkwardly and possibly incorrectly, is to mix up the accounting terms with theological ones; for example, where he says ‘not that I seek the gift, but prefer the fruit which increases in your account’ (4:17).  Whilst most of the language is that of formal accounting, Paul slips in the theological word for fruit, ‘karpov’ as in the ‘fruit of the Spirit’!  It was a favourite term of Paul’s which was a regular in his preaching (Rom 7:4,5; 1 Cor 9:7; Gal 5:22; Eph 5:9; Col 1:6,10; Phil 4:17 etc.) but here, he was concerned to thank the Philippians and offer them a blessing for having helped him.

If we are to understand what was going on with the gift, however, we shall need to look more carefully at the attitude Paul generally had to gifts and payments during his ministry; and as I describe the following important background, please remember that Philippi was a key Roman colony in Macedonia, just to the north of Greece.

After his conversion and some time spent in preparation for ministry (see Gal. 1:16ff), Paul began missionary work together with Barnabas, a Levite, who was probably the senior of the two (Acts 9:27, 11:22ff).  Their exploits (Acts 13-15) are commonly called ‘Paul’s first missionary journey’.   Paul then had a sharp disagreement with Barnabas (15:39), and parted company with him, taking Silas as his partner and heading across Galatia (Turkey) in the direction of Macedonia and Greece.  This is the beginning of the so called ‘second missionary journey’ of Paul.  However, it could well be described as his first one in charge, for from this point onwards, Paul was in charge.  He was able to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s direct calling on his life to take the Gospel towards Europe and deeper into Gentile territory.  Notice how in a short space of time he picked up Timothy who spoke Greek (16:1ff), then was ‘forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in Asia’ (16:6) and subsequently saw a vision of a man pleading for him to ‘come over to Macedonia’ (part of Europe - 16:9).  On this missionary journey, the first place that Paul and Silas preached the Gospel was in Philippi (16:12ff).

I have explained this so that you may understand why it is that Paul talked in his letter of coming to the Philippians ‘in the early days of the Gospel’ (4:15).  Paul was referring to his particular call to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, a task he had only just begun when he first came to Philippi (as above).  Unless you know this background, what Paul says about the ‘early days of the Gospel’ is quite strange, for the Gospel in general had been preached for a long time before it came to Philippi!  It is also true that whatever practice Barnabas and Paul had about gifts (which we do not really know), from when Paul began his own independent ministry to the Gentiles (Acts 16), he normally refused to receive gifts from individual churches.  He preferred to work as a tent-maker in order to make a living (literally), and he is recorded as having spent time in Thessalonica, a town just beyond Philippi, doing just this (1 Thess 2:9, 2 Thess 3:8).  Hence the common Christian expression today whereby ‘tent-making’ refers to an occupation used to make money in order to cover the needs of a wider ministry.

It is clear in our passage of scripture that Paul wanted to let the Philippians know that he accepted the gift they had sent and was grateful for it, but he also told them, somewhat awkwardly and pedantically, that he was perfectly happy as he was (4:18).  We should note that this is consistent with what Paul had said earlier (4:12).  It was a difficult balancing act for Paul to pull off, saying ‘thanks, but no more, please’ with grace! 

Supporting ministry and sacrificial giving

So what was Paul’s general policy towards the support of ministry and mission?  It does seem that although Paul commends the proper, even generous, payment of the leaders of churches (e.g. 2 Tim 5:17), he made a personal point of not receiving gifts from people when he was working as an apostle and missionary.  Paul seems to have maintained the important principle that it was unwise for him to receive gifts of money and support from churches in communities where he was working (1 Thess 2:9ff), and generally better for him to not to receive gifts from churches that he had previously founded, thereby avoiding any accusation of influence or personal gain.  Paul therefore had to work and earn his own living amongst the people he missioned, setting an important example of godly Christian living.  This is clearly behind the other major reference to this in 2 Thess 3:8ff

‘we were not idle when we were with you,  and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you.  This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate.’

Giving and receiving are an important part of the Christian life, yet Paul was justly concerned to maintain his independence as a missionary.  He wanted everything he did to be seen openly as ‘the work of the Lord’, and the principles by which he worked were sensible. 

When it came to the gift from the Philippian church, however, Paul accepted this even though it broke his normal rules for mission, for two reasons.  Firstly, because of the special relationship he had with the Philippian church, the ‘first-fruits’ of his own ministry to the Gentiles and the first church founded on European soil.  He described the gift using language reminiscent of the Old Testament; ‘a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God’ (4:17). Secondly, Paul was in prison, and whereas he would normally have been able to support himself, now he could not.  It was right for him to receive this gift now from a church some distance from where he was being held, because this did not compromise the work that he continued to do from prison. It may be that the Philippians knew all this full well, and were willing to risk his stubborn nature because they knew he was in prison, and not getting any younger!

Greetings

Paul included everyone in his final greetings and blessings (4:20-23), from all the Christians where he was (Caesarea, I suggest) to all those in Philippi.  Throughout Paul’s writings, the phrase ‘every saint’ or ‘all the saints’ appear, reminding us of the early days of the church where there were no structural divisions between Christians within a town, colony or city.  This was an impressive aspect of the early church, and it has tragically not continued in the church since.  Nevertheless, at the very beginning of his letter, Paul addressed ‘all the saints’ (1:1), just as he did at the end; and the last sentence of the letter also copies the first in the form of greeting, which is ‘grace’ (4:23).  In this way, Paul indicates to us that all things begin and end with the ‘grace’ of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and his greeting conveys a sense of generosity, joy, love, honesty, compassion and favour, all rolled into one. 

Reading the details of Paul’s feelings about a gift sent to him may not be the most inspiring way to end our reading of one of the best loved of Paul’s letters.  But it reminds us that the letter was written in the very real circumstances of prison life in which, although Paul still regarded himself as ‘on mission’ and therefore resistant to gifts, he was nevertheless willing to accept this particular gift.  The Philippians risked Paul’s displeasure, and he had to fight with his own feelings in order to properly accept a gift that he would previously have turned away.  Nevertheless, the letter Paul wrote to accept the gift contained immeasurable spiritual riches.

Philippians 4:15-23 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

The giving and receiving of gifts even within the church is a difficult issue for most people, and it is hedged around by all manner of cultural issues even today.  The Lord longs to release people into ministry, and that ministry needs to be paid for, if not by the giving of people in the church, then in other ways.  Insofar as we have studied it today, the pattern is that where there is full time ministry in a local church setting, then those who work full time should be paid accordingly (2 Tim 5:17).  Where people work as missionaries and take the Gospel into new places, then Paul advocates missionaries who are self supporting, according to his own practice of ‘tent-making’.  Paul appears to be resistant but not wholly contrary to the idea of financial support from other churches; he feared the possible compromise a missionary’s sensitivity to the prior guidance of the Holy Spirit and the cultural needs of the situation in which the mission is set.

In our own day, the more we can open up the subject of giving and receiving, the better; for the Lord surely wishes to release resources so that they can be used for the Gospel, both people and money.  It could be that we are called to be like the Philippians, by giving generously as we are led, so that God’s work can be done or sustained or a man or woman of God materially upheld at some important point of their ministry.  Alternatively, it could be that the Lord is calling us to be like Paul, acting for the Lord with strong independence, but pragmatically prepared to receive help from other Christian because of a need for their support.

I hope it will not be true that in our churches today the riches people have and would like to share are not shared, because some are unwilling give or receive because of principles ‘set in stone’.  It would be desperately sad if people who are in real need go un-helped because those who have the resources are blind to their need.  The letter to the Philippians is a clear example of where God’s people had to be willing to both give and receive, whatever their scruples or preferences.  The Holy Spirit had to be allowed to show the way forward and work as He wished through the resources available.

Philippians 4:15-23 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Thinking about the letter as a whole, what does the Philippians’ gift to Paul teach us about the support of ‘missionary work’ today?
2. How can we best honour the sacrifice behind some of the giving to our church, Sunday by Sunday?
3. How easy is it to look at your own friends at church and see in them a ‘unity’ of people bound by Christ’?  What problems does this question uncover?

Personal comments by author

The close of the letter begs us to think about the impressive way that Paul spoke about the Christian people in one place as united in one church.  How can we work for that unity of God’s people as will be effective for the work of the Gospel in our age?  As a clergyman, I receive a great deal of post from people advertising their brand of Christianity, which invariably berates Christians of some traditional denominations or background.  Such hatred of brothers and sisters in Christ comes from the devil, and needs to be named as such.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• The close of Paul’s letter to the Philippians is strangely awkward, but it is about a gift!  It challenges us to think about both our own giving and receiving e.  This may be something you could spend some time praying through, for financial resources and financial need are not often handled with ease within the church.
• Set out and design a cycle of prayer which you can use for those who are doing God’s work as missionaries even today.  Consider prayerfully your own giving to people who you know who are doing the Lord’s work in such ways.

Final Prayer

Thank You, Jesus, for the joy of knowing You, for the pleasure of finding You in others, and the happiness we find in living our lives according to Your will.  Remind us of this when we feel low, and place within us the assurance that even though our own love falters, Your love does not, and it lasts for eternity.  Thank You Lord Jesus, AMEN