9.1 - Finding Joy in the Gospel, Pt 1

Paul's letter to the Philippians is a letter of joy. Join us in this first episode of Philippians chapter 1 as we look at the joy Paul found in his relationship with others through Christ and the Gospel.

Fill out our Listener Survey or Submit a Question.

Paul and Noah both preach and teach with the Cedar Park church of Christ in Cedar Park, TX. You can visit our site at: https://www.cedarparkchurchofchrist.org/

Transcript

Noah: 0:30

Well, welcome back to the Stand Strong podcast. We are back in the studio and we are starting a new season today, season nine, and as we dive into this season, we'll be diving into the letter that Paul wrote to the Philippians, a letter of Joy as we're calling it for this season.

Paul: 0:50

Four chapters, but very full. We just got out of Ephesians. That was six chapters. Were in Philippians. That is four chapters. If you erase chapter divisions and read it like a letter, the thought just flows very, very fluid here. Mm-hmm. It is just rich. With application for us in the 21st century.

Noah: 1:10

It, it really is. This is, has been for a long time, one of my favorite new Testament books, one of my favorite of the Pauline Epistles. And so I'm excited that we're gonna get to spend some time digging in really trying. Understand the text and be, be enriched by the text. Paul starts this letter, like he starts many letters. Mm-hmm. And this one specifically, he includes Timothy in the address. So this is from Paul and Timothy to the Saints who are at Philippi. And he specifically calls out the overseers and the deacons. So he, this is, this is to the church, but specifically including those who are shepherding the church, who are leading the church and have specific servant roles in the church. And he issues this this same, same thing that he says at many, at the beginning of many of his letters. Grace to you, in peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What a beautiful way to start a letter.

Paul: 2:06

Yeah, I, I love it. You know, the, the preacher's not mentioned but the, the point as you mentioned there, is when he is writing to these saints, he does make sure that they, he calls their attention to what was God's design.

Noah: 2:21

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 2:22

In maturing a local congregation, you had those who had oversight. I don't like the new King James that uses the, the word bishops there. Mm-hmm. But the deacons who had special role as special servants and classic Pauline literature. I love the grace and peace. Yeah. Great. In verse two,

Noah: 2:41

grace and peace is certainly something that we see in his letters, is usually at the beginning and often at the end as well. We'll see at the end of this letter, he mentions grace again, something that he certainly emphasizes. But something that I think is unique about this letter and particularly if, you know, we contrast this to Ephesians, which we just went just went through Ephesians feels more like a general letter. Mm-hmm. There's lots of rich teaching, but it doesn't necessarily feel quite as personal. This one, you get past that opening. And I mean, Paul is just bursting with, with warmth and affection for these people that he is writing to. Not that he didn't love the, the, you know, the Christians and Ephesus. That's not what I'm trying to say. No, but clearly there's something special going on here.

Paul: 3:32

Yeah. Paul planted a lot of churches. And, and based upon his intent behind the letter or several reasons why he's writing the letter, what comes clear early on in this is Paul's very close relationship with TH's brethren. Of course, we know where he was. Prison when he's writing this letter, right. We, we do know, you know, approximately 10 years, maybe a little less from the time that this church was planted and now they're getting this letter and so there's been a rich. Relationship and that comes out in Paul's language, and it should. Paul did not play favorites. He loved all who were in Christ, but there's nothing wrong with having a tender, close affection in relationship. More so with one. Church right. Than the other. Yeah. And that was clearly the case with the Church of Philippi.

Noah: 4:27

Yes.

Paul: 4:27

And, and just a, a spoiler alert, I mean, he mentions their fellowship in the gospel,

Noah: 4:33

right?

Paul: 4:33

Paul had a right to receive wages from other church. He said no to the church at COR end.

Noah: 4:38

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 4:38

And it kind of explained why he says, I, you know, I robbed other churches, but I, I didn't want to accept from you, but he did from the Philippian church. More than on one. Just one occasion. Yeah. They had contributed to his needs and maybe that had helped influence the, the bond, the closeness there. Right,

Noah: 4:57

right. That's very possible. But regardless of exactly, I mean, you can go back to acts and you can, you can see the story of, of how this church began and how, you know, Paul's part in that. But regardless of exactly what has gone on to develop the relationship in this way. You read verses three and four for those of you who might be listening while you're, while you're driving or something like that, and you haven't gotten a chance to read this yet, listen to verses three and four here. As he opens this letter, he says, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy. And then he says, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, I mean the, the overflowing, like there's an effervescent. I, I am so thankful to God every time I pray for all of you. Mm-hmm. And I make my prayer with joy. I, like you said, just a moment ago. It's not that he's playing favorites, it's just that he has a close relationship with these people and you know, it's okay to talk like this, that, that, that may sound like a silly thing, but it's, it is okay to express affection for your brothers and sisters in Christ now. Some people might be a little weirded out by that respect that perhaps. But it is, this is a wonderful quotable sentiment to be able to say, I thank God in every remembrance of you. Every time I think about you, I say, God, thank you for that person.

Paul: 6:24

Yeah. Yeah. He wasn't just thankful for their support, he was thankful for them.

Noah: 6:29

Yes.

Paul: 6:30

You know? Yeah. You love the people, then you love what the people do.

Noah: 6:34

Right. And he was encouraged by it. I mean, he makes that, he makes that pretty clear as we get into this section. He, you know he, he talks about his confidence in the fact that God's gonna continue working through them. And he says in verse seven, it is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart for you are all partakers with me of grace. He's, he's encouraged by them. He's lifted up by them. These are people that spiritually pour into Paul. He's pulled, he's poured into them. Mm-hmm. But it's clear that they're also spiritually pouring into him and building him up and encouraging him.

Paul: 7:12

Yeah, I, I love the way he, he uses language. He puts together sentences in such a way to, to compliment these people, but also to reassure these people that I am confident that God who began this good work will complete it. And whether or not that was. Only Paul having in mind their financial support fellowship in the gospel. I think it's much more broader than that, but he, he puts the focus here on God.

Noah: 7:43

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 7:44

That God started this. And because you are in fellowship with God and you've partnered with God, God's gonna continue. Accomplish what he wants to accomplish through you. And when Paul expresses that, he does it with great confidence.

Noah: 7:57

Yeah. Something that you can see in that statement is Paul's reassurance that God doesn't work in vain. Right. So the, I I can imagine all sorts of discouragement that first century Christians may have been experiencing, and he's reminding them that the work that God has done through them and will continue to do through them. Is effective, it's accomplishing something. It's not, it's not a, you know, spitting into the wind. Something is being done and it's good and it's God that's accomplishing it. So I think that's a really encouraging thing for us to keep in mind. God doesn't work in vain. Just a moment ago I mentioned that he said, you all, you are all partakers with me of grace. Paul, I, I might put you on the spot a little bit here, Paul. The Apostle Paul uses grace a number of different ways in his epistles, he'll, he'll refer to it. In different contexts, and it'll be kind of clear, okay? He's not talking about the same, necessarily the same grace or the same outcome of grace in every context. Sometimes, you know, for instance, in Ephesians two, you have been saved by grace through faith. This is not your own doing. Okay? So in that context, he's talking about a grace of salvation, right? Right. God's, God's gift of salvation in this context. It could be read that way that they are partakers of God's salvation along with Paul. I'll put my cards on the table. That's not my inclination of what he's talking about here. That's not my interpretation. Maybe you might be able to unpack that a little bit about the being partakers with him of grace what Paul is referring to or alluding to there.

Paul: 9:40

I wanna go back to verse six, the good work. The, the partnering in the gospel.

Noah: 9:45

Yeah.

Paul: 9:45

What all was involved in that? And they had a, they had a fellowship. They had this in common, but they also had a part in this. They had fellowship part takers with me of grace. So that's, that's, that's the way I

Noah: 9:59

look at it. Yeah. That, that is about how I look at it as well. I, I think of, for instance, Ephesians chapter three, not chapter two, where I just referenced a moment ago, but in chapter three. Paul talks about how his ministry to the Gentiles, his teaching to the Gentiles was a grace that God had given him so, mm-hmm. Paul talks about his responsibility and his ministry of God's word of the gospel as being a grace given to him by God. And it seems in this context, and especially as we continue moving through chapter one, that he's saying, y'all have been a part of this as well. You have partook of this of this ministry and this responsibility. So it's not, I, I, I wanted to highlight that for a moment because I think it's important that. Paul and the Philippians, they didn't just share the same faith. They did share the same faith but they also shared in the Philippians, shared in the burdens that Paul experienced because of their faith, the burdens of ministry, and the burden of responsibility and even the burdens of suffering that came with his work. They shared in all of those things, and Paul kind of wraps that all up and says. You've shared in Grace, which I think is a pretty beautiful statement. Very beautiful.

Paul: 11:14

Now the, the prayer specifically now he says, for God is my witness. Verse eight, how I greatly long for you the new King James, with the affection of Christ Jesus. And so now he, he reminds them that he always prays for them and, and is always praying. He's always giving thanks. And he says, God is my witness. I have you in my heart, and God is my witness. This is how I feel.

Noah: 11:37

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 11:38

Toward you, about you. This is our relationship with Christ. And then he gets very specific in verses nine, 10 and 11, Noah, about his prayer what he was praying for them. Do you got the English standard version? Yes. Yeah. Read the ESV in nine, 10, and 11 of Philippians one, please.

Noah: 11:56

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

Paul: 12:14

Yeah. If, if you wanna highlight a prayer to be praying. For the Cedar Park Church, you can do no better Yeah. Than this three verse prayer in Philippians 1, 9, 10, and 11.

Noah: 12:26

Yeah.

Paul: 12:26

Pray that for yourself. Pray that for other Christians here in the Cedar Park Church or the church where you are in fellowship with the Saints and with God, pray this prayer. This is so rich and it is so needful. In the 21st century? Yes. Just like it was in the first century.

Noah: 12:45

Yeah. The, the fundamental prayer is that they abound or that they increase in. Something, but it's not just one thing. He layers it like a yes. I don't know, like a lasagna or a trace leches cake or something. Whatever your analogy is there.

Paul: 13:02

Oh, no. Okay. Now everybody else is listening to this now. Wants dessert or lasagna or or both. The, the, the love here. Yes. We need to be. Growing in our love. Mm-hmm. Paul says that an awful lot. You would think, okay, what's the big deal? Sure. We should be praying that we, that we should grow in our love for one another. But as you said, it's much deeper than that. There are layers to this and he, he, he begins to explain, I want your love to increase or abound. I like the New American standard in real knowledge and in all discernment.

Noah: 13:42

Mm.

Paul: 13:43

This concept of discernment is one. Translation says depth of insight. What Paul is saying is, here's my prayer. Now, just pause for a minute. Let me state the obvious. We're calling upon God for his help in these things. If we could do this without the aid of God, then why pray if this is simply. Let's have a Bible study and, and let's get right knowledge, right Knowledge is important. But growing a love to the degree that we begin to discern how to be directing our love, how to be exercising in a purposeful way, a love that honors God. We live in such a world today, Noah. And it was the case in the first century where people don't understand love.

Noah: 14:34

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 14:35

And because they don't understand love, it affects how they pray. Yeah. Paul wanted them to grow on their love, but he said, we need wisdom and discernment to know how to properly act the way that love is to act. Right, right. It's not a blind thing, it's not a foolish thing. It's very judicious. It's very wise, it's very discerning, and if we could do this on our own without the aid of God, then why pray this prayer?

Noah: 15:04

Hmm. Yeah, those, that's a really good observation. The connection between our love and what we do in order to demonstrate that love mm-hmm. Is explicitly made here in, in this context that we're supposed to abound. I say we, Paul's not talking about us, he's talking about the Philippians. But clearly there's application to be made here for ourselves. We, we should be wanting this. We should be. Pursuing this ourselves and praying for this for ourselves. And like you said, for for the, the church that we're a part of. Our love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, which is what you've been talking about, to what end, so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless love without knowledge and discernment and und discerning ignorant love, it can lead us into. Into doing things and living in such a way that is not pure, that is not blameless. Mm-hmm. But rather it can actually lead us into into a selfish and sinful and perverted way of living. Love has to be paired with these things because the outcome. Is, are we approving what is excellent? Are we behaving pure and blameless, or are we actually in the name of love walking away from God?

Paul: 16:30

Mm mm Yeah. You know, to steal language that I've read in multiple. Commentaries and books over the years. Slop Agape and again, that's, that it sounds cheesy, but I stole it from multiple sources. The point that Paul is making here is how is love supposed to act? Mm-hmm. Scripture helps us with that. So when I say pray this, I'm not saying ignore it. One of the ways God answers his prayer is, is us getting into his text and saying, okay, Lord. Open my heart, open my eyes through your word, enlighten me. I want to know more about you so that I can grow in my relationship with you, and to see how you have loved to see what real love acts like. Mm-hmm. And this, this is a love, love more intelligently. Is what I had in the margin of one of my Bibles. Here Paul is praying. I want you people, you Christians, to love to get to a point where you begin to grow. Yes, in real knowledge and depth of insight, I want you to begin to love more intelligently. It's not that we're just bent on being, bad parents.

Noah: 17:44

Hmm.

Paul: 17:44

I mean, listen, I, I preach to a lot of young parents who, who want to raise their kids to have a faith of their own and to honor God with their life. Now, do we make mistakes as parents? We all do. Do we Sometimes. Ian loves that. Well, I, I wanna, because I love my kids. I want to, I want to give them this, or I wanna turn and turn and look the other way. When they do this and all, and that love gets tested, we grow to love more intelligently. I can tell you as a father, in my late twenties and early thirties, I was wanting to love intelligently.

Noah: 18:25

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 18:26

And 10 years later I was like, oh man, I made some mistakes. I, I thought I was loving intelligently, but I, I wasn't. Yeah. But what had, what had been taking place a lot of prayer. A lot of receiving wise counsel from others who were taking scripture and principles and saying, Hey Paul, think about this. Think about this. I know you want this, but you're not loving intelligently.

Noah: 18:47

Yeah.

Paul: 18:48

And, and Paul, look at the difference that makes Now I made the application to parents and, and the family, but more so the application to Paul is how it's going to influence this church.

Noah: 18:58

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 18:59

For them to grow to a point where they start loving more intelligently. And part of the fruit of that is not just distinguishing between right and wrong, but best over better.

Noah: 19:12

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 19:13

And there's now a priority. What matters most, who and what can't wait and love is what's controlling that intelligently.

Noah: 19:21

Yeah. Yeah. That is a really helpful observation and when you start thinking about how that would affect different relationships in our lives I mean. It, it's one, it's gonna make you think it's gonna, it's gonna make you pause and, and consider that in a very real way. But you brought up there at the end as well, the idea of fruit. And that's, that's what Paul brings up here in verse 11, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. Paul connects this idea of an informed that's probably not the best word. A discerning love. An intelligent love like, like you were talking about. He connects that concept with fruit. That is an intelligent love is not a head knowledge. Love it. It's informed in that sense, but it's also lived out. It's also acted out. That's that idea of fruit. It's something is being born. And so when we pair those in the context of our relationships, whether it be the parent-child relationships or relationships in the church, yeah, there ought to be fruit that is visible that demonstrates this intelligent love that we're trying to grow in, that we're trying to abound in toward one another. And the fact is, if, if it's not discernible, mm-hmm. If it is not in some way, if there's nothing that can be pointed to and say, look, that is the fruit of righteousness born in love, then we probably. Have not started abounding more and more in love with knowledge and discernment. We haven't really started down that path yet. And that's kind of challenging.

Paul: 21:01

It's very challenging, and I don't want to, I don't want to make more to what's in this prayer, in this text than what's there. Over the years. I tell you, Noah, when I start going through this I, I have concerns. I, I preach those concerns. My intent is to only preach what God has revealed and, and stop there and not push my think sos on other people.

Noah: 21:27

Right?

Paul: 21:27

And I have some strong convictions on my think sos that connect themselves to living a pure blameless life. Paul had those as well. He was an apostle. So we, we, we cannot fudge on this area of when we grow in this love to make discernment, it affects our moral behavior.

Noah: 21:50

Yeah,

Paul: 21:51

growing in this love influences moral decisions that we make, things that we say yes to, things that we say no to. The why behind the what, and Paul brings that out. But he brings those things out that, that you may have approve the things that are excellent. Why? So that you can be sincere, pure, and blameless until the coming of Christ. And then he makes the point that you make about the fruits. Plural of righteousness. And I think the reason he ends with that is because when, when the love is growing, to the point where we're just trying to discern what will please God.

Noah: 22:29

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 22:30

And what will be best for other Christian relationships, other brethren.

Noah: 22:36

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 22:38

This kind of love demonstrates itself in producing fruits. Of righteousness, and that's just not Paul reemphasizing right behavior. Mm-hmm. I think what he's saying is when the relationship, again, what did Jesus say? Most important, when you want sum everything else up right? I want you to love the Lord this way, so that you love your neighbor as yourself, and this is what's in Paul's prayer. And so when the fruits of righteousness are being born, it's the result of me growing in my love. It's this, I just wanna learn and find out how to serve God and have a relationship with God on this level. And then how to love my brethren as I love myself. And so when a decision comes up, I can yield here.

Noah: 23:29

Mm-hmm.

Paul: 23:30

I can, I can control me. I can deny this because it's gonna be better for you.

Noah: 23:36

Yeah.

Paul: 23:37

And, and those are the fruit. Of the spirit that's being born as a result of learning how to love more intelligently.

Noah: 23:46

Yeah. That, that connection that this is, this is the, the way that we love and interact with our neighbor, or in the context of a church, our fellow Christian, that being connected to our love for God, that really being born out of, there's again, that fruit idea that you're, that you're. Hitting on there, that being born out of our love for God is also where Paul ends here. Mm-hmm. Because he ends with to the glory and praise of God, bottom line. Mm-hmm. What does this increasing in love? With knowledge and discernment to the end of bearing you know, of, of approving what is excellent and being pure and blameless and, and bearing the fruit of righteousness. What's the, what's the bottom line? What's happening here? This is glorifying God. Mm-hmm. This is, this is pointing everybody back to the source of the goodness, the source of the righteousness, and saying that's where the credit is due. This is who's accomplishing this? In me and in us. And so ultimately this way that Paul wants the Philippians to grow and continue to increase in. It's, it's for God's glory. That's, that's where the, the bottom line rests.

Paul: 25:00

Amen. Amen. Well, we're, we're up against the time.

Noah: 25:06

Well, we knew that would happen especially with a rich text like Philippians. So I'm, I don't think anyone. Least of all those who have been with us through Ephesians and James by this point are surprised.

Paul: 25:18

Yeah. Well, we'll, we'll continue. Thanks to those who are listening. We just, we're just launching this season nine as we're going through the book of Philippians. You know, we didn't even bring up, it's gonna come up the, the theme, the concept of joy.

Noah: 25:31

Yeah. You

Paul: 25:31

know, the noun is used five times a verb, 11 times some 16 times in this one letter. Paul is making sure that this church understands the sensuality, the reality of joy.

Noah: 25:47

Mm-hmm. The

Paul: 25:47

joy that we have because we're in Christ, the joy that we can have no matter what happens to us in this life because of the relationship we have with Christ. And, and we have this relationship, this bond, one with another.

Noah: 25:59

Yeah, I mean, Paul says, I know we, we need to end, but just to really bring this home with the joy, he says in verse four that he makes his prayer with joy. Why verse five? Because of the partnership in the gospel. So we have joy in Christ. We have joy in the gospel. And we also have joy in the fact that we get to share in that gospel that we get to share in that gospel together.

Paul: 26:23

Yeah. Well, to those next week we're gonna find out another reason. Paul has great joy, even though he had some, some. Men whose motives were not very pure and making life hard for Paul even while he was in prison. Wow. Wow, wow. And Paul still found an occasion to let these brethren know it was an opportunity to find great joy and rejoicing. Look forward to that Lord willing, a week from today as we're in season nine going through the book of Philippians. Thank you for all who are joining us. In this new season and made together, God give us the grace to help us to stand strong.