PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 1:1-11

PAUL’S THANKFUL AND JOYFUL INTERCESSION

Philippians 1:1-2 (NIV) Paul and Timothy, servants^G1401 of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace^G5485 and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since this is a letter, it begins with who it is from, who it is to, and a greeting. We spent quite a bit of time familiarizing ourselves with Paul in the introduction. But who was Timothy? His name means “one who honors God.” His mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, were devout Jews who trusted Jesus (2 Timothy 1:5). His father was a Greek (Acts 16:1). Paul led Timothy to Christ and described him as “my true child in the faith” 1 Timothy 1:2 (NIV).  Timothy had served alongside Paul in Philippi, so the Philippians would be familiar with the young man. Although he probably did not co-author this letter, Timothy may have written it down as Paul dictated since Paul usually used scribes for writing. Paul describes himself and Timothy as servants of Christ Jesus.

servants^G1401 – dŏulŏs – a slave (literally or figuratively, involuntary or voluntary; frequently, therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency) – bond (man), servant. 

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

If you do not have a print version of Strong’s, a good tool for looking up the meaning of the Greek or Hebrew words can be found online at:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/concordances/strongs-exhaustive-concordance/

As noted in our introduction, this letter was written to the church at Philippi. Paul addressed it to the body of believers as a whole, but also specifically sent it to the overseers and deacons of the church. It is addressed to “God’s holy people” which in other translations may be rendered “all the saints” which is accurate either way because a “saint” is one who has been set apart, sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ.

SUSAN: If we greeted people with Paul’s greeting of grace and peace today, they might call the men in white coats which is sad. Why don’t we regularly pronounce these wonderful blessings on people today? Are we concerned about what others might think? Should we be? No, we should only be interested in what God thinks.

SUSIE: What was Paul really hoping for the Philippians belevers in this greeting? My favorite definition for grace is a portion of that found in Strong’s G5485 – “The divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.”  Peace implies rest, quietness, and wholeness. 

SUSAN: This Greek word for peace is similar to the Hebrew word Shalom which included the thought of “nothing missing, nothing broken,” in other words, wholeness. Paul is urging the Philippians in his greeting that the Father and the Son desire . . .

SUSIE: . . . this kind of peace and unity among them and that their relationship with Jesus be evident in their daily lives. 

SUSAN: This type of grace and peace could only be experienced as a result of intimate relationship with the Lord and spending time in God’s presence by being in the Word, worshiping, and praying.

Q – How often does your greeting in a letter or even in person remind your friend of their walk with the Lord or their need to know Jesus? What would happen if Christians made a point to regularly and purposefully speak of the Lord in casual conversation? Try it this week and write down the results you experience.

Philippians 1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you.

SUSIE: According to J. Vernon McGee in his Thru the Bible commentary, the literal translation of this verse is, “All my remembrance of you causes me to thank God.” 

SUSAN: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your pastor encouraged you with such words?! Or if we encouraged each other in this way?

SUSIE: Paul had a special affection for the believers at Philippi because their changed lives were reflected in their attitudes and actions. 

SUSAN: They were the only people of all those to whom he had ministered, who made it a point to send care packages to keep Paul’s spirits up.

Q – Do you think your pastor, mentor, or person who led you to Christ thanks God for you? Do you thank God when you think of them? Do you thank God for those you have mentored, discipled, or led to the Lord? Take a moment to thank God for these people in your life. Then take a few minutes more to call, email, or Facebook message them or even send them an old-fashioned handwritten note by snail-mail.

Philippian 1:4-6 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy^G5479 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

SUSIE: Apparently, Paul prayed for the Philippian believers on a regular basis. Perhaps he kept a prayer list of all the churches he had planted started, ministered in, or to whom he had sent a young protégé as minister.

SUSAN: Paul had confidence that in his absence, the Philippians were continuing the work of the Lord Jesus. 

SUSIE: Their faithfulness, not only to Paul, but also to serving the Lord brought him great joy. Paul was actually writing this letter from prison, most scholars agree, in Rome, so the fact that he could experience joy in those circumstances may seem remarkable. But we shall see that joy is one of his major themes.

G5479 – χαρά chará, khar-ah’; from G5463; cheerfulness, i.e. calm delight:—gladness, × greatly, (X be exceeding) joy(-ful, -fully, -fulness, -ous).

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5479&t=KJV

The following is copied from the Foreword of Susan’s book A Life’s Symphony of Joy:

JOY, noun

The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; that excitement of pleasurable feelings which is caused by success, good fortune, the gratification of desire or some good possessed, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exultation; exhilaration of spirits.

JOY is a delight of the mind, from the consideration of the present or assured approaching possession of a good.

(Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language)

Happiness is dependent upon the circumstances of the moment. Joy is agreeing with God’s thought process about you and His purpose for you. Joy is a pursuit and a conviction, not an elusive emotion. We experience joy because of the fact that God is in our lives. He is behind the joy and is the Source of joy. Joy is not dependent upon circumstances but upon relationship.

Susan Slade in A Life’s Symphony of Joy

SUSAN: Paul could have chosen despair and depression due to being separated from his disciples in Jesus, but instead he chose joy in knowing that the Lord was continuing to grow the Philippian believers into Christlikeness. We are partners with the Holy Spirit in becoming more like Jesus. The Lord began the good work in us by drawing us into relationship with Himself and filling us with His Holy Spirit. We choose daily whether to walk closely in “familyship,” partnership, and obedience to Jesus Christ.

Q – Are you continuing to grow daily in your walk with the Lord? Memorize Philippians 1:6 in the version of your choice to remind yourself that God is not finished with you yet but is “conforming you to the image of Christ.” (Romans 8:29)

Philippians 1:7-8 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

SUSAN: The believers in Philippi had ministered to Paul both while he was chained in prison and previously while he was preaching and serving as a missionary. 

SUSIE: Jesus had given Paul an extreme, extravagant, extraordinary love for this church. 

SUSAN: The Father and the Son were witnesses of Paul’s great love for these believers because he was praying to Him for these people. Of course, God is all-knowing, but from our perspective, He also is aware of Paul’s affection because of his prayers.

Notes: “affection” in verse 8 was “the strongest Greek word to express compassionate love – a love that involves one’s entire being.”

MacArthur Study Bible

SUSIE: Paul’s love was not in words only. He agonized in prayer for those he loved. He longed to spend more time with them with his entire being. They had become “framily” (friends who are now brothers and sisters in Christ) to him.

SUSAN: Paul interceded for his children in the faith with passionate abandonment.

Q – Have you ever loved someone so intensely that you felt it in your entire body, from head to toe (or as Susan would say, “from my head to my remnants”)? The Lord can and does bring that kind of closeness to His body of believers when we fully surrender to His work in our congregations. Do you pray fervently for your brothers and sisters in Christ? Pray for someone in your local church body today and let them know that you lifted them up before the Father.

Philippians 1:9-11 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may 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.

Susie: A great study would be “The Prayers of Paul” which Susan and I may do some time in the future. 

Susan: These three verses are Paul’s prayer and encouragement for the believers at Philippi. 

Susie: Paul prayed that their love would grow not sentimentally but with insight into each other and the Lord. The knowledge or insight needed to truly know one another is found in the Word of God. Only He can give us the discernment to see past the faces we put on for others and into each other’s hearts.  

Susan: Love for and knowledge of Jesus would enable them to discern what was best rather than just what is good. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit enables us to connect on a level deeper than surface or fleshly. We connect spirit to spirit through the power of the Holy Spirit living in each believer.

Susie: Paul prayed that they would be pure, blameless, and filled with the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) . . .

Susan: . . . which would be evidence of their relationship with Jesus Christ. In ancient times, the test to see whether a pot had been made to look perfect by putting wax in the cracks was to hold it up to the sunlight. The buyer wanted to make sure the pot was “sin cere” meaning without wax. It’s obvious to see that our word sincere derives from this Latin phrase. How do we discern the sincerity of one who professes to belong to Jesus? We hold that person up to the “Son light!” Do they have an ongoing relationship with the Lord? Do they exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit? Are they living in obedience to the Word of God?

Susie: Do we examine our own walk with the Lord in the same way that we examine others?

Susan: We tend to judge others harshly without first examining ourselves. Often we have far too many cracks to hold water to quench someone else’s thirst, or as Jesus put it, we’re trying to remove a splinter from someone else’s eye while we have an entire 2’x4’ in ours (Matthew 7:1-5)!

1 Corinthians 13:5 (AMPC) Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?

Susie: Paul’s prayer was that his spiritual children would bring glory and praise to the Lord. May we pray this prayer for ourselves and all our brothers and sisters in Christ.

APPLY THIS TO YOUR LIFE:

•         Try making a habit of bringing the Lord Jesus into your daily conversations this next week. Make a note of how this changes you and/or those you talk to!

•         Be honest with yourself. Are you a church member that would cause your pastor to thank God? If not, pray about how you can better serve the body of Christ. Find ways to encourage others and build relationships. Perhaps you could even write a note or email to encourage the leadership of your local church.

•         Memorize key verses in order to be able to meditate on them and apply them. Scripture memory is not just for children! Suggested memory verses: Philippians 1:6, 1:21, 2:3-4, 2:13, 3:7, 3:20-21, 4:6-7, 4:8. If you find memorization easy, take on Philippians 2:5-11 concerning the humility and exaltation of the Lord Jesus.

•         Examine Paul’s prayer for the believers at Philippi. Pray in a similar manner for the members of your own congregation.