Sunday, October 25, 2009
SHARING IN PAUL’S JOY
Phil. 1:14-18
I would like to begin by reading from II Cor. 5:14-15 (NKJV), “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” Did Christ die for you? Did you die with Him? If so, then you should no longer live for yourself, but for Him who died for you and rose again. Nothing could be simpler. If you are in Christ, then you are not your own. You are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your Spirit, which belong to God (I Cor. 6:19-20). Let that concept sink in. We should no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died for us and rose again. This is the normal Christian life.
We live in such a cynical age that sometimes the question rises up within us: “Is it really possible to do that? Or is that just Bible talk?” We are looking at a man named Paul who urged all Christians to live like that. He didn’t just give those instructions to church leaders or to people who had been Christians for thirty years; he instructed all believers to live in that way. And then he himself provided the example, as he did indeed live for the Christ who died and rose for him.
This is exactly what we see in this first chapter of Philippians. We see a man who had died with Christ and who was compelled by the love of Christ to live totally for the glory of Christ. Paul could tell the Corinthians and the Philippians and others to live this way, because he himself lived this way. This is not some fairy tale life; this is our inheritance, brothers and sisters. May the Lord use these passages from Philippians to mark us for life, to demonstrate that we can indeed live for Him rather than for ourselves.
This morning we are going to focus on Phil. 1:14-18. In order to get the larger picture, let’s go ahead and read Phil. 1:12-21…
But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17. But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. 19. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20. According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 21. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
I. The Word Increased (14)
Last week we looked at verses 12-13. Our theme was the progress of the gospel. Things happened to Paul, but there was purpose in those happenings, because they were under the hand of an Almighty and Sovereign God. Paul tells us that that even his arrest and imprisonment were for the purpose of advancing the gospel. Through those circumstances, God cut a new path for the gospel. While the gospel had been confined mainly to the lower classes, now through Paul’s imprisonment thousands of the elite Roman Praetorian Guard could see that Paul was in prison for the sake of Jesus Christ. Many of them heard his testimony and saw his example. Now the gospel was spreading through the very capital of the Roman Empire. When Paul wrote to his brothers and sisters in Philippi, he didn’t complain about the conditions of his imprisonment. Rather, he comforted their hearts by assuring them that the gospel of Jesus Christ was moving forward.
Last week we could have read verse 14 together with 12-13 to emphasize this progress of the gospel. However, it provides a great introduction to the situation outlined in verses 15-17. Let’s read verse 14 again, “And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” The Word of God was increasing. It was being proclaimed by Paul’s fellow-Christians and it was being heard by more people. It reminds me a great deal of what we read in Acts 6:7, "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly…” Now the same thing was happening in Rome. We have moved from the capital of the Jewish religion to the capital of the Roman Empire itself. The Word of God increased, and Paul’s imprisonment played a direct role in that increase.
The King James speaks of “the brethren in the Lord.” However, it is not clear whether “in the Lord” is to be taken with “the brethren” or with “becoming confident.” They were certainly brothers in the Lord; there is no question about that. But was Paul emphasizing that fact, or was he saying that their newfound confidence was in the Lord? Because of Paul’s emphasis on having no confidence in the flesh, I believe he was saying that these brothers were becoming more confident in the Lord. The NASV reads, “Most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.” Because they saw Paul enduring imprisonment for Jesus’ sake, they trusted the Lord and were bolder to speak the Word of God.
Notice the word “bold.” We read that the brothers were much more bold to speak the Word without fear. This isn’t the normal word that is translated “bold.” In the King James it is consistently translated “dare.” Because they were trusting in the Lord as a result of Paul’s chains, they were much more daring to speak the Word without fear. Their spiritual courage was strengthened greatly.
So how did this work? Why would Paul being in prison give them courage to speak God’s Word? It wasn’t the fact that Paul was in prison; it was rather that Paul was in prison for the sake of Jesus Christ. And as a prisoner, he was making it clear that the gospel was being advanced. Their attitude must have been something like this: “If our beloved brother is in prison for the sake of the gospel, then surely we can join him in advancing that gospel. If he can endure chains, surely we can endure whatever will come to us as a result of preaching the Word.”
Many of you have read Tortured for Christ, the story of Richard Wurmbrand, who was the founder of Voice of the Martyrs. I believe it was 14 years that he was imprisoned in eastern Europe for the sake of the gospel. Can you just imagine those brothers and sisters in Romania, who were being pressured greatly, as the authorities warned them not to speak about Jesus. How discouraged they must have been. But what do you think happened when they received a letter from their brother Richard Wurmbrand? They knew him. They knew his story. They knew exactly why he was imprisoned and enduring torture. Their faith was strengthened and they were emboldened to serve the Lord with more zeal.
II. Motives Varied (15-17)
Things would seem very simple if we could skip from verse 14 to the end of verse 18, but that is not the case. There were some complications, and Paul was not afraid to write about them. On the one hand, I wish we could just skip them. These are messy things. But, on the other hand, praise God that we have these words. This is where we live.
Paul has told us that many (or “most”) of the brothers were encouraged in the Lord by his imprisonment, and as a result were more daring to speak the Word without fear. If we only read that, we would get the idea that all the Christians in Rome loved Paul. But then we come to verses 15-17, and we see that all of them were not preaching the gospel in the context of love for Paul. Let’s read those verses again… (1:15-17)
Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17. But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
We see that while there were many preaching Christ, the motives were varied. The first thing we must make clear is that there was nothing wrong with the message that was being preached. Those who were preaching out of envy and strife were preaching the true gospel. While this may be hard for us to understand, we cannot ignore what the text says. Look at verse 15. Those who preached out of envy and strife, what did they preach? They preached Christ. Then look at verse 16. Those who preached from contention, what did they preach? They preached Christ. Again when we come down to the summary in verse 18, we see that Christ was preached.
Now let me ask you a question. Do you think if they had been preaching a false gospel, Paul would have stated three times that Christ was being preached? Never. Let me remind you of what Paul wrote to the Galatians in Gal. 1:6-9…
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
We read in II Cor. 11 that Paul feared the believers in Corinth would be deceived by those who preached another Jesus. Paul had no sympathy for those who perverted the gospel. He did not rejoice in a false gospel being preached. We can be confident that even though the motives of some of these were impure, their message was the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
So what was their problem? Verse 15 tells us they preached out of envy and strife. Verse 16 reveals that their preaching came from contention, that they were not sincere. As a matter of fact, they were hoping to add affliction to Paul’s bonds. How could this be? We can certainly understand that some preached out of good will and out of love, but who can understand these others who were proclaiming the gospel out of insincere motives?
In verse 15 Paul admits that some, to be sure, were preaching Christ out of envy and strife. As some translations put it, “out of envy and rivalry (party spirit).” Then in verse 16, he adds that they are preaching Christ of contention, out of selfish ambition. They are not sincere in what they are doing. Their motives are not pure. Rather, their goal is to add affliction to Paul’s chains. “Affliction” is that Greek word that is often used of pressure and squeezing. Their motive is to put more pressure on Paul, to make things more difficult for him.
But why? Isn’t that what we all want to ask. Why would they want to make things more difficult for Paul? What we would expect is what we find in these others who were preaching Christ. Most of the Roman Christians were trusting in the Lord because of Paul’s imprisonment and as a result they were strengthened to speak the Word of God without fear. They came alongside Paul, knowing that Paul was appointed for the defense of the gospel. Their fellowship with Paul was strengthened as they joined forces to advance the gospel. Why is that some of those who preached Christ did it from such rotten motives?
Again, we must be reminded that these preachers of impure motives were proclaiming Christ. They were not preaching a false gospel. Because we know the gospel that Paul preached, we can infer that these men were preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. They were preaching justification by grace through faith. The problem was not with the message, but rather with the messengers. They were not attacking the theology of Paul; they were attacking the man. So we ask the obvious question: “If they were preaching the true Jesus, how could they have such impure motives.” That is a hard question to answer. It would be like me doing whatever I could to make things difficult for another preacher who was being greatly used of the Lord. Competition in the ministry, we might call it.
Do such things really happen? Paul tells us they do. Notice how verse 15 begins: “Some indeed preach Christ…” Some of whom? Some of the brothers of verse 14. That’s right. He inserts the “indeed,” (NAS – “to be sure”) for emphasis. The idea seems to be, “I know it’s hard to believe, but some do indeed preach Christ out of these impure motives.”
Perhaps it will help us understand, if we substitute another word for envy. What is another word for envy? Jealousy. Jealousy is a very ugly thing, isn’t it? Not only is it ugly, but it is powerful. What terrible crimes have been motivated by jealousy? How many lovers have been murdered in the face of jealousy? How many kings have died at the hand of jealousy? We read these words in Prov. 27:4, "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy (NASV – jealousy)?" Why would anyone be jealous of Paul? Was it because he was so successful in the ministry? Was it because Christians loved him and respected him so much and he had such a following? Was it because of the grace God had given him to preach with power and start churches? Were they jealous because even in the midst of his imprisonment he was able to rejoice and keep on ministering in the name of Jesus? These men wanted to be in the place of Paul. They wanted the preeminence and Paul stood in their way. So they stirred up strife.
So how did they hope to make things more difficult for Paul by preaching Christ? Perhaps they were doing it by twisting the truth in what they said about Paul. As they preached Christ, some might have been saying, “God has put him in prison to chastise him. Paul must have stepped out of the will of God.” Or maybe they said, “Paul certainly has a lack of faith, or he would be delivered.” We could speculate on these things, but our text seems to say that it is the preaching of Christ itself that is the means of adding pressure to Paul’s bonds. How could the actual preaching of Christ do that? We are not told, but I have a couple of ideas. Perhaps they thought that more preaching of the gospel would aggravate the Roman authorities and they would take out their hostility on Paul, their prisoner. Surely Paul was the chief evangelist and was responsible for more and more preaching of Christ. We see this principle in Exodus, when Moses approached Pharaoh and asked him to let the people go. You will remember that Pharaoh reacted by telling his slave masters to make it harder on his slaves. Another possibility is that they thought Paul would be jealous of them, because they were making converts, while he was sitting there in jail. That is the character of jealously. The jealous person assumes that others will be eaten up with that same jealously.
Praise God that there was another group who preached out of good will and love. Love for whom? Love for God, and love for Paul. They weren’t jealous of Paul. They shared his joy that the gospel was being advanced, that a new trail was being blazed for the gospel in the capital city of Rome. These Christians were content with Paul’s role and their own role. They understood that they were on the same team, that they were serving Christ together. When one rejoiced, they all rejoiced. When one suffered, they all suffered. They desired the best for their brother Paul. How could they possibly serve their brother more effectively than joining him in the preaching of Christ?
Now let me pause for just a moment. Do you realize that you are vulnerable to the same kind of jealousy we see here? If you don’t think you are, you are on dangerous ground. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (I Cor. 10:12). When the Lord blesses a brother or sister, can you rejoice with that one? You may be tempted to think, “I have served more effectively than he; why does he get all the recognition?” Don’t think for a minute that you are above that kind of thinking. This kind of jealously plagues our society and even our religious society. But praise God that it doesn’t have to be that way. As we serve the Lord together, we can proclaim Christ with a motive of good will and love.
III. Paul Was Overjoyed (18)
So now let’s turn our attention back to Paul and see how all of this affected him. Were his detractors successful in their attempt to add affliction to his chains? Verse 18 (NASV), “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice.” Paul really took it hard, didn’t he? They wanted to discredit Paul and burden him, but the Spirit of God turned their work upside down. Paul was overjoyed. He didn’t rejoice in their impure motives. As a matter of fact, he acknowledges again that their was pretense in their preaching. They pretended that they were concerned about men and the advancement of the gospel, but in reality their eye was always on Paul, as they tried to bring him down. Paul didn’t rejoice in their motive, but he did rejoice in their message, in the fact that Christ was being proclaimed. Paul didn’t care who got the credit humanly speaking, as long as God was glorified.
Don’t miss this – jealousy and rejoicing don’t go together. Do you think these men were filled with joy, as they preached Christ with motives of jealousy and strife? Never. Paul, on the other hand, was filled with the joy of the Lord. He had no jealously, but he was overflowing with joy. Surely it was because Paul was looking to the Lord. He looked beyond the little world of men and gazed on eternity. He saw the big picture. He found joy where lesser men would have been worried, burdened, and filled with anxiety.
Can God use the message in the hands of an impure messenger? We say, “Well no messenger is perfect.” That’s true. But can God use the message of a man who is preaching out of jealousy? The Spirit-inspired Paul answers with a clear, “Yes, definitely.” Understand that it isn’t the best. Paul’s joy at the preaching of Christ by these jealous men does not excuse impure motives in any of us. Paul emphasized the importance of pure motives in 2 Cor. 2:17, "For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." I don’t think Paul is talking about corrupting the Word of God by changing its message. The word translated “corrupt” literally means “to be a retailer, to peddle; to make money by selling something.” That is why the NIV translates it: “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.” Paul emphasizes the importance of pure motives. Nevertheless, he still rejoiced when the truth of Christ was preached by men of impure motives.
Look at verse 18 again, “What then? Notwithstanding, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached…” “In truth” is not talking about the truth of the message itself. It is contrasted with the words “in pretense.” We can see that Paul is talking about true and false motives. Whether these men are preaching out of sincere motives or not, Christ is preached, and Paul could rejoice in that.
Conclusion
Let me call your attention again to Paul’s joy. Last week we saw in verses 12-13 that he rejoiced in spite of his trials and imprisonment, as long as the gospel was advanced. This week he rejoiced in spite of those messengers who opposed him and tried to cause him harm, as long as Christ was preached. Paul’s joy was not in the comforts of this life; his joy was in the Lord. That is why he could rejoice in the midst of such trials and opposition. In short, Paul was not looking at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, at those things that are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18).
This morning we began with II Cor. 5:14-15. Let’s read it again (NKJV): “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” The title of the message this morning is “Sharing in Paul’s Joy.” Do we understand that Paul’s joy was rooted in the fact that he no longer lived for himself, but he lived for the Christ who died for him and rose again? We live in a religious world of externals. When people think of joy, they think of the smile on the face and a happy-go-lucky attitude, but that isn’t joy. Oh yes, I believe that Paul smiled and was cheerful. The problem is that a person can exhibit those outward behaviours without having the joy of the Lord. The joy Paul had rose up from the inside as a result of the work of the risen Christ. Paul was living for the One who said, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11). We don’t seek joy. Joy isn’t our goal. We seek Christ. When we no longer live for ourselves but for the Christ who died for us and rose again, we will indeed share the joy that Paul knew.
Someone might question the wisdom of Paul’s statement: “I therein do rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” But how did Paul know that he would continue to rejoice? He didn’t know what was going to happen. That’s the whole point. His joy wasn’t based on what happened. When we are living for Christ, we will always have joy, because Christ will never change.
Praise God for this passage. It mines the depth of human possibilities. It is possible for us to have the true message and proclaim it for the wrong reasons. Yes, we are very capable of impure motives, even the motive of jealously. Praise God that He won’t tolerate such an attitude for long. He will chastise us and lead us to repentance. But we must understand that such motives can be found in us. That is why we pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 130:23-24).
But that isn’t the end of the story. We also see that it is possible for a child of God to rejoice in the midst of the most uncomfortable circumstances. As we talked about last week, this is true for any child of God, not just an apostle. We might as well face the fact that we will face many adverse circumstances in this life. The Lord longs to give us His joy right in the middle of the deepest trials. That is why James says, “Count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials” (James 1:2).
I close by leaving with you the words that Nehemiah left with the people of God: “The joy
of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).
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