Philippians - Session #7 - review notes

Here are the notes from today's lesson. Please be aware of three specifics in regard to doctrine we need to continue to study.
- Sovereignty of God
- Suffering
- Gospel

Each of these areas of doctrine listed above needs to be studied as you read through Philippians.

Philippians – Chapter 1 verses 12-18

Background:

Stages of Paul's Life Year Highlights in Paul's life
1. Prior life and Conversion 32 AD Damascus Road experience. Paul saw 'The Light'. Acts 9, 22, 26
2. Preparation & Early Ministry 32-47 AD 15 yrs getting ready for his 'life's work' – concludes in Acts 13
3. Work -Missionary Journeys 48-58 AD 10 yrs of public ministry concludes with arrest in Jerusalem Acts 21
4. Imprisonment & Writings 58-68 AD 10 yrs - 2 years in Caesarea and 8 years in Rome – concludes in Acts 28

1. Doing nothing or the wrong thing 30 years (learning and practicing Judaism)
2. Learning what to do 15 years (3 years in the desert, 12 years in his 'home' church)
3. Doing the right thing 10 years (3 missionary journeys)
4. Teaching others to do 10 years (from prison)

Paul was in prison for 2 years in Caesarea and he was transported to Rome where he will be in prison for another 2 years. While under house arrest in Rome he is waiting on a decision from emperor Nero that will either release him or execute him. Keep in mind that there is really no criminal charge against him of any kind.

While residing under house arrest he is chained to a guard for 24 hours a day. And according to background study these guards are changed once every 6 hours, which equates to 4 different men each day (after 2 full years that comes out to a total of approximately 2900 guards)

Also Paul is allowed to have visitors and stayed in a private residence where he was allowed to preach, teach and write.

Yet this was far from the kind of freedom he had been used to in which he was able to go throughout the Roman Empire and:
1. Plant churches
2. Strengthen churches
3. Train leaders

And in this restricted freedom of house arrest it did not allow for private solitude for personal worship, whether in eating, sleeping or writing.

The Philippians got word by some means that their apostle Paul was in prison in Rome. Therefore they sent Epaphroditus to help Paul and to find out two primary things:
1. The physical and mental condition of Paul
2. The condition of the gospel
In addition to that they also sent also a monetary gift.
Paul's response back to them is one to assure them that his condition while in prison is one of joy:
Phil. 1:3 ¶ I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
Phil. 1:4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,

Phil. 2:17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

Phil. 3:1 ¶ Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

Phil. 4:4 ¶ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Paul's joy is not tied to his circumstances.

If his JOY had been dependent on:
➢ Possessions
➢ Freedom
➢ Money
➢ Family
➢ Prestige
➢ Outward success
➢ Reputation
Then he would not have had any joy

Paul's joy was centered on the gospel and ministry that flowed from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.

He had JOY in spite of
➢ No personal freedoms
➢ Detractors who attacked him
➢ Possible death
➢ Dealing with his flesh

The phrase "I want you to know"
Could be restated as follows "I don't want you to be unaware"

Paul emphasizes that things are turning out much differently than you might think.
Instead of the gospel shutting down and going away, God is using the circumstances that He orchestrated to increase the presence of the gospel.

What really motivates and inspires you to get up in the morning?
Where do you upon review of your life, invest you time, effort, energy and money

Compare your answer to that of Paul in Acts 20:24
Acts 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

All the things that Paul had were used for one ultimate purpose, and that was to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Word Study
"Progress" – in the Greek this word refers to something that moves forward in spite of dangers and obstacles.

It was used "specially" for the progress of an army or an expedition.

It is the verb for the noun which means to cut down in advance.
The verb means to cut away trees and undergrowth that would hinder the progress of an army.

The chief obstacle for Paul was his imprisonment but that was no obstacle for the "progress" of the gospel.

The word gospel is mentioned 5 times in the first 27 verses of Philippians:
Phil. 1:5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.
Phil. 1:7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.
Phil. 1:12 ¶ Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
Phil. 1:16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
Phil. 1:27 ¶ Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Paul ministered to the whole praetorian guard
From the point of view of the Roman government:
Paul was a captive chained to a Roman guard

But from God's perspective
It was the Roman guard who was chained to Paul

Perhaps the Christians in Rome were praying for a way to evangelize Caesar's household.

The Lord in His wisdom provided the whole praetorian guard to be captive so that Paul could carry out a mass evangelism.

The word for "chain" in Acts 28:20 and Ephesians 6:20 is the word "halusis" in the Greek and means a short chain that is attached to the wrist of a prisoner to his guard.

What did these guards observe in Paul?
Things like – grace, patience, love, conviction and wisdom
Therefore these guards became a second line of local evangelists. As the praetorian guard was converted then salvation ended up spreading to all of Caesar's household.
➢ Phil. 4:22 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.

These were imperial guards associated with the emperors palace because they guarded him and his interests.

Paul also ministered to the city.
Acts 28:23 ¶ When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.
Acts 28:24 Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe.

We read in verse 14 that because of his imprisonment the church in Rome lacked the courage to proclaim the gospel.

It was understandable that many in church leadership saw the current hostility toward the gospel and didn't want to end up in jail.

Paul's joy was strictly related to the advance of the gospel.
The message was converting the guard and those in the city, along with giving others necessary courage to proclaim the gospel.

Conclusion:
Does our joy flow up and down based upon the personal circumstances in our life.

Do things such as:
➢ Home
➢ Job
➢ Security
➢ Family
➢ Reputation
➢ Approval
➢ Success
Do these things propel the joy factor of your life?

If so then your joy will continue to raise and fall as these things in life fluctuate.
However if our joy is fixed on advancing the kingdom then it will never diminish.

Paul is rejoicing in chains as long as the gospel advances.
Paul is rejoicing in those who persecute his ministry as long as Christ is being proclaimed.

The word "detractor" is a person who belittles the reputation of someone. This person wants to tear someone else down.

There were two kinds of groups that were preaching the gospel in Rome:
1. Detractors – though they preached Christ, their key objective was to defame the ministry of the apostle Paul. These men aren't heretics, nor are they Judiazers, Gnostics or idol worshippers but rather they preach Christ. And yet they were after Paul to hurt his reputation.
There is no difference at all in their doctrine and the doctrine of Paul but the difference is in their motive.

Envy=jealously
Paul's giftedness and his ministry reputation was the very thing they didn't like and wanted to destroy it. It was producing a form of rivalry because they saw themselves to be in competition with Paul.

The Lord looks at the content of what we teach but He also looks at the motive of the teacher.

Speculation:
1. This group probably thought that Paul had sinned and because of this the Lord had decided to take away his ministry and put him on the shelf
2. Another group thought that he didn't have enough faith and if he did he would have been able to get out of jail
3. The other group used this to say that since God had placed Paul in jail this was proof that the people needed to come to them
4. Others thought that Paul had allowed himself to get into this situation and he should have been smart enough to have known better

Remember some of the things that the apostle Paul wrote:
Phil. 2:19 ¶ But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.
Phil. 2:20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

2Tim. 4:16 ¶ At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.

2Tim. 1:15 ¶ You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

2Tim. 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

Is this what a person gets from a life of faithfulness?
Is this the church?
Are these the kind of people you get after they have been taught the truth?

There were two kinds of groups that were preaching the gospel in Rome:
2. These were those who preached out of good will
These people were driven by love
While the other group was driven by envy and strife


The most essential element in ministry is "love"

Word Study
"appointed" means for a soldier to be set on duty and it also can mean destined

In essence what Paul is saying is as follows "I am destined to be on duty for the gospel."

"Defense" is where the word apologetics comes from

Two groups that we see in Philippians Chapter 1 that preach the gospel
1. Those who lovingly hold Paul in good will
2. Those who are jealous and envious

These detractors proclaim Christ but they do it from a selfish ambition, which means they have impure motives.
(Books, tapes, materials, approval and success)

The word "selfish ambition" means
➢ used of those who electioneer for office, courting popular applause by trickery and low arts,
➢ a desire to put oneself forward
➢ Self promotion for self gain

This produces the following:
Envy
Strife
Selfish ambition

These products of the flesh are mentioned in:
Rom. 1:29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,
2Cor. 12:20 For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances;
1Tim. 6:4 he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions,
Gal. 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
Gal. 5:21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these,…


Bottom line:
Did any of these things steal Paul's joy?
Answer – NO

The chains of imprisonment didn't steal it
The false accusations from others that preached the gospel didn't steal it

(Verse 18)
What then? Or So what?
What does it matter?
In the response to that question one can see the single minded focus that the apostle Paul had in all matters regarding life.
1. In every method
2. In every motive
There was one thing and one thing only that mattered to Paul and that was that Christ was proclaimed.

Paul didn't rejoice in:
Preaching that contained error
Preaching with sinful attitudes

Because Paul knew that even a jealous and envious preacher can be used for the advance of the gospel.
The truth is always more powerful than the package in which, it is delivered.

The power lies within the gospel and not the preacher.
The present joy that Paul experiences moves right into future joy.
Paul doesn't care about himself instead he cares about Christ.

Look what happens to Paul when:
He is restricted to imprisonment in which he is chained to soldiers
When he isn't free to go plant and preach in churches all over the Roman Empire
When you have others attacking him and his ministry for no good reason

Check out what happens to this man:
1. He does not quit
2. He does not lash back
3. He does not break
4. He does not lose his love for others