Philippians 1

Greetings and welcome to the Chapter Memory Study in Philippians,

The memory passage for Philippians 1 is;
Philippians 1:9-10,12,27 (ESV)
⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
12I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
27Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

The three sections of Philippians 1 deal with prayer, proclamation, and persistence in the Christian walk.

Verses 1 through 11 contain Paul's greeting to the Philippians and his prayer for them. It's interesting to note that in his greeting, Paul does not include a statement about his apostleship (as he does in other letters). He simply refers to himself as a 'servant'. But as is common in his letters, he blesses them with the grace and peace of God.

The beginning of the prayer is full of thanksgiving; for their past and present partnership in the Gospel, for their continued sanctification by God, and for their close bond of love in Christ Jesus. He follows this thanksgiving with supplication; that their love may abound with knowledge and discernment, that they may approve what is excellent in order to be pure and blameless before Christ, and that they be filled with the fruit of righteousness from Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Notice that Paul 'postures' himself with thanksgiving before he moves to supplication. Even in his letters, while most certainly in his personal prayer life, he understands the importance of aligning himself under the authority of Christ and in the power of His kingdom. From that posture of submission and servanthood Paul moves into his requests for the church.

12-18 offer a wonderfully encouraging comment on the advance of the Gospel. First, Paul writes that his imprisonment, while meant to keep him quiet, has actually brought the Gospel into a place it would never have reached otherwise! Paul's continued witness, even under duress, brought the light of the Gospel to the imperial guard. This testimony of the sovereignty of God concerning the Gospel is expounded further as he describes different peoples' motivations for proclaiming Christ. Some proclaim Him with pure motives and other with ulterior motives. In this case, Paul doesn't jump all over the people who preach Christ from 'envy and rivalry', but simply rejoices that Christ is proclaimed!

After sharing his prayer and commenting on the advancement of the Gospel, Paul moves into a section about persistence in his walk with Christ. Paul lets us inside his 'inner conflict' to see the deep desire he has to depart the pain and suffering of life and be united with Christ forever. He confesses that he is 'hard-pressed' between wanting to stay on earth for the sake of the Gospel or desiring to be with Christ. Verse 21 seems to be often quoted, but is a powerful reminder of our true motivation and goal; eternity with Christ! But a few words before this oft quoted verse we find a statement of deep devotion; '...always Christ be honored in my body, whether by life or by death'.

Paul lays out the two sides of his inner conflict; staying here means more fruit for the kingdom, continued progress in joy and faith, and increased glory to God while leaving would be eternal joy and peace with Christ. His conclusion is that he is to stay for now. And given his testimony, he implores them to let their 'manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ' so that if he is there or not, he may hear that they are 'standing firm in one spirit and one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel'.

He then encourages them to not be frightened by their opponents. Their suffering for Christ is a sure sign of destruction to those who oppose Him and a sure sign of salvation for those who partake in His suffering.

How does this affect my worship?
That Christ be honored in my body, whether by life or death, is a wonderful statement of whole-life worship. It can't be just my words or actions that worship, but it must be my whole body fully turned and tuned to God. The scope of that worship is whole life and possible death. Does it seem sometimes that the 'easier' worship would be death? Living, walking, running the Christian life is tiring and challenging. But we are called to live, walk, run until the end, whenever that may be.

How does this affect my discipleship?
How do verses 3-6 speak to discipleship? The core of his prayer is the partnership he has with the church in Philippi. The time he spent teaching and discipling them was enriching for his own soul as well. And he knows that the work God started in them, through Him, will be brought to completion with or without him. I hope to have partners, fellow partakers in the Gospel, who I can thank God for as I look back on my life. How better to do that than invest my life into making disciples?

May you walk in prayer, proclamation, and persistence in the Christian walk.

Ethan