I had the privilege of studying Philippians as well as memorizing this book many years ago. Some folks, I know, don’t understand the value of memorizing Bible passages. Many believe that they can’t do it; yet most can remember the words from their favorite song or can win a pop-culture trivia contest. It is a great thing to hide God’s Word in our hearts. David often put scripture to song and made his own songs to remind him of the wonders of scripture (that’s what the Psalms are). Many years from now, we may wonder about a verse or anything spiritual. If a verse or passage is memorized, we will remember it longer because it is “hidden in our heart” (Psalm 119:11).
I find the book of Philippians is such a practical book to learn from and, of course, memorize. Paul wrote this book while he was in prison. Can you imagine writing while you are in a difficult place, very dreary from what I hear around just under 2,000 years ago? But Paul still found contentment even in the circumstances in which he found himself. He tells us so much that we can still apply. I hope that you will be blessed while reading Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
Greetings!
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons[a]:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul and Timothy are together as they communicate to the church in Philippi, which was a town in Macedonia just north of the Aegean Sea. It was located just east of where the borders of modern-day Greece, North Macedonia and Bugaria converge. They specifically addressed those who led the church along with the broader group of Christ-followers in that town. Paul may have done the actual physical writing but the words were from both of them. They greet them with grace and peace from God (our Father) and the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son.
Thanksgiving & Prayer
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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.
7 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. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Every time Paul thinks about this church in Philippi, he is so thankful for them. Have you experienced this before? Is there a church that you are so thankful for that everytime it comes to your mind you are filled with joy and thankfulness? What does this church mean to you? Have you invested in a local church and has your local church invested so much relationship with you and with others that there is a thankful fondness for your church? God intended the fellowship of Christ-followers to be a support and encouragement. It’s never intended to be a weekly transaction or obligation to check a box. If you don’t have those kinds of relationships in a local church, please consider getting more deeply and actively involved and make them your spiritual family.
This church in Phillipi was well worth remembering for Paul and Timothy! It takes meaningful, God-centered relationships in order to really be thankful and think of the people there with joy. Because of the meaningful people here, Paul does not stop praying for his dear friends in this church.
I’m Praying For You With Joy
How do you feel about praying? Are the concerns of your brothers and sisters in Christ, your concerns as well? It honestly breaks my heart when I don’t see people care (especially for those in their own church) enough to pray for them. People these days criticize folks offering prayers in a difficult situation (“Thoughts and Prayers”), but inviting God to be part of a situation is one of the most powerful things we can do. Just remember to be active in people’s lives too.
Don’t forget joy! Be full of joy to pray for needs of people, needs in the church and around the world. When we are full of joy to pray regularly and it’s part of our daily lives; honestly, we don’t forget to lift the needs of others up and we make prayer a high priority.
I think that this passage is a big reason why I am passionate about prayer! We are showing those who we pray for, that we care about them and care about the love that God has for them as well. The communication lines are open with God and others when we show them we love them like God does by praying because prayer is communication between us and God.
Personal Partnership Is Key To Action
Paul also says that there is a partnership in the gospel with this church, even from the time when Paul first went to Philippi. Do we partner with those who lead our church? Participation in the gospel takes a real commitment to serve, love and lead. It doesn’t mean you have to be a pastor or on staff at a church - Paul wasn’t. Sharing the gospel, praying, teaching, fellowship and giving all are ways that we can create a partnership in the church that we are part of; and they are all things that God has told us all to do to be involved.
The context of partnership then leads us into verse six that says that Paul was confident, that he who began a good work in them (the church in Philippi), will complete it also, until the day of Christ Jesus. This verse is very special to my husband and me as it’s the verse that we chose at the beginning of our marriage, to focus on throughout our life as a married couple. God, the one who began a good work in us, continues to do that good work 32 years later and will ultimately complete that good work that He started. We have gone through many difficult situations in our lives as a couple, then as parents and even as grandparents now; but God…. He is going to complete the good work that He started in us, until we come home to Him permanently.
Do you see God working in your life even since the beginning of your relationship with Him? He will continue that good work in you too, but it is a process and the process takes time. Growth never happens immediately. We go through circumstances that can teach us more about Him or we may step away and be bitter by what happened.
Love One Another
Paul again tells the Philippian church how appropriate it is for him to love these people. They are, really, in and on his heart; which means that they are incredibly special and important to him and Timothy. It didn’t matter either, whether he was in or out of prison, in chains or out of chains, he was defending and confirming the gospel with them. They are sharing in God’s grace with Paul and Timothy. God can confirm how much affection that they have for this church family. Is this the way that you feel for your church? Paul is not talking about the “organization” or the “building”, it’s about every person there. Are they important and special and do you dearly love them as true family in Christ? Would you do anything that you could for them?
I know that we don’t always know people really well; but to what extent do we go for our family in Christ? I recently have grown more concerned about the way that people in our churches, especially in the West, act towards each other and toward God. If we read in Acts, we see the way that the churches met so regularly and broke bread, then bought, sold and gave to each other. Now many churches have small groups that strive to do this, but I find that people stray away from really growing together. They might get together socially and “do life together” which is good, but not notice when a family is hurting and seek what they can do to help them, even if it is simply to talk. We must be proactive about loving each other so that it doesn’t become routine.
Don’t Just Stay In Your Lane
We don’t always think of what we do and how it affects others. Are we including them in our life? If we say something to them, hoping that it will strengthen them spiritually, so many people in our culture now, are just plain offended. Our culture tells us to basically mind our own business or accept lifestyles that are not Biblical. If we try and be kind, but state where Biblically, there is a problem, we basically are shunned and no longer included. This really does hurt. I have experienced it myself, not only now but in the past as well.
Paul loved these people but I don’t see him avoiding the truth and the hard conversations. He loved, therefore, he gave his life to share the gospel, minister to and write to these churches. Sometimes what he told them wasn’t all wrapped up pretty in what they wanted to hear. He told them what they should do as believers in Christ in the church.
Make It All Practical And Real For Growth
Verse 9 then says what Paul was praying for regarding the church at Philippi. Can you tell that Paul was a man of prayer? He didn’t even just pray for physical things, which are still good to pray for, like jobs, home, children, food, etc. He prayed that their love would abound. His desire was to see their love grow even more in knowledge and how deep their insight is.
Knowledge is important, but so is insight. Our ability to see and think deeply, beyond just shallow thoughts of what we can see on the outside. This takes really getting to know the Lord and others. If we are too shallow, we can’t see deep inside of ourselves much less another person. We can’t see their heart and what really matters to them. Our true ability to care and let others know that we care comes by taking time to really get to know people.
Then by growing in knowledge and deep insight, this will make us “able to discern what is best so that we may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” If we really aren’t growing spiritually, we won’t discern what is best and be pure and blameless before God. Growing in a church really centers around loving each other and discerning together what is right, pure and blameless. We care, therefore, we want to see people provide value and be valued as believers in Christ. Hopefully we all will glorify God with our lives.
A Prayer For You Today
Lord, please allow each of us glorify you as we love each other in the body of Christ. Let our motivation be to learn and discern, to make purity and a holy walk with you to be the highest goal in our lives. Allow us to be blameless before you and show others how to count for you.