"Partners in Christ" - Summary of Paul's letter to the Philippians

Sermon Series: Partners in Christ

Paul began his letter to the church at Philippi (Philippians 1:1-2) in the customary way of the time – identifying himself as author of the letter, identifying the recipients of the letter, and giving a word of greeting to them. The unfortunate tendency for many contemporary readers today is to believe that this information isn’t all that crucial and that it would be better to glance over these verses so that they might move on to examining the more important content in the body of the letter. But we shouldn’t ever treat Paul’s introductions or greetings lightly. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they are typically filled with important theology and set the stage for the rest of the letter to follow. That is certainly true of the introduction and greeting in this particular letter. Of first importance in Paul’s introduction to this letter is the centrality of Jesus Christ. Paul mentions Jesus by name three times in these two short verses. So right out of the gate the reader should be picking up on the centrality and importance of Jesus in this letter. Following the centrality of Jesus the reader then notes both what our “role in Christ” is and what our “identity in Christ” is. Paul begins his letter, “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus . . .” The title Paul uses to identify himself as the author comes as a bit of a surprise. He doesn’t use the title of ‘apostle’ and doesn’t use any descriptive language to identify his authority over either Timothy or the church. Paul places himself and Timothy (and later those who are part of the church) on an equal playing field because ultimately both of their roles in Jesus is that of servant. And this is the role of every believer in Christ – we are servants. Our role however is different from our identity. Paul continues, “. . . to all the saints in Christ Jesus . . .” Paul is writing to those who make up the church at Philippi – those who have trusted in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection on their behalf and who have professed faith in Him. Paul says that all of those who have made that decision share a common identity (one that supersedes race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, etc.) Every person who has trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord has a new identity as ‘saint’ (i.e. ‘holy one’ or ‘set apart one’) in Christ Jesus. So as believers in Christ, who we are and what we do has everything to do with Jesus – our identity is “saints in Christ Jesus” and our role is “servants of Christ Jesus.”

Having identified himself as the author and the church at Philippi as the recipients Paul begins the body of his letter (1:3-11) by giving the church some insight in regards to his prayer life. He begins in verse 3 saying, “I thank my God . . .” As Paul is daily making time for prayer to God the Father, part of his prayer time consists of him giving thanks and praise to God. What for? Paul tells us in verse 5, “. . . because of your partnership in the gospel . . .” Paul was praising God because the church at Philippi had done something that later we will find out no other church had committed to doing (Philippians 4:15) – partnering with Paul for the sake of the Gospel. The church at Philippi had understood that they had been radically transformed by the news of the gospel – that they were no longer sinners separated from God, but saints set apart for Him. And since their identity declared that they were set apart for God they understood that their role was to serve Him and to partner with others (like Paul) who had been set apart like them. They were “partners in Christ” with Paul and Paul was so grateful to God for their partnership. We also noted in this particular set of verses what the right context for verse 6 was. Philippians 1:6 is a very well known NT verse which says, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” We noted that so often individuals like to claim this verse in regards to their own personal salvation, declaring “I can have great confidence in what God is doing in my life because Paul says he is sure that God, who began the work of salvation in my life, will ultimately bring it to completion.” And the reality is, that is a true statement. Those who genuinely come to faith in Christ will ultimately experience the completed work of salvation when they will no longer experience sin and its effects on them, when they will be made new, and when they will be forever in the presence of God. Unfortunately though, many of those who love this verse and claim this verse for their lives never make any effort to serve Christ or proclaim the good news of salvation through Him. They want the benefits of salvation but have no desire to serve the One who made their salvation possible. If we are honest with ourselves though we have to acknowledge that Philippians 1:6 isn’t a reference to individuals and God’s work of salvation in their lives – Philippians 1:6 is a reference to a church faithfully engaged in and committed to the work of the gospel. The church at Philippi was serving God by partnering with Paul to advance the good news of Jesus and Paul tells the church that he is confident that God will continue this good work in them. In verse 9 Paul made a small transition from sharing about his prayers of thanksgiving for the church at Philippi to sharing with them about his prayers of intercession for them. “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment . . .” Paul was so incredibly grateful for their partnership with him in the Gospel, but he was also praying that God would help them to do even more. He tells them that he is asking God to make them even better partners in Christ by helping them to love more and more in ways that others will perceive their acts of love as demonstrations of the very love of Christ.

Having shared some of his prayer life with his “partners in Christ” in verses 3-11, Paul moves on in 1:12-18 to share some outstanding news – the Gospel was continuing to advance! This would have been outstanding news for the church at Philippi to hear. They had partnered with Paul for the sake of advancing the Gospel, so hearing that it was going forward would have been reason for great joy. In verses 12-14 Paul talked about his imprisonment and chains – things that had been intended to hinder (and perhaps even halt) the advancement of the Gospel. But rather than hindering the good news, it appears to have actually liberated the good news and set it free. And in verses 15-18 Paul talked about the less than stellar motives of some from within the church. They saw Paul’s imprisonment as an opportunity to make a name for themselves and so they began declaring the gospel with the hopes of drawing the attention and fame that Paul, himself, had received. Paul tells the church at Philippi that he isn’t bothered by that, instead he is choosing to see the better good – that even though the motives of those individuals may not be pure, the good news they are declaring about Jesus is still being proclaimed and still having the opportunity to transform the lives of those who hear it.

Moving on to 1:19-24 Paul shares with the church at Philippi that he isn’t certain of what the ultimate outcome of his imprisonment will be. He’s unsure whether he will be put to death for his proclamation of Jesus or if he will be set free. Either way Paul sees great positives. If he is put to death he knows that he will be united with Christ. If he is set free he knows that he will be able to continue laboring for the Gospel. Paul eventually says in verses 25-26 that he feels confident that he will be set free and that his freedom will serve to progress their own faith and joy, ultimately causing them to glory in Christ Jesus even more. Notice that Paul doesn’t see progress and joy in the faith as the ends for which we ought to be striving. The church’s progress in and joy in the faith were vital because they were means to the end. It was through their progress in and joy in the faith that they would ultimately glory in Christ Jesus. This is the ultimate end! The creation worshiping and exalting the Creator! The church doing what we were created to do – worship the King! Followers of Jesus worshiping Him is what brings Jesus the greatest honor. And the church at Philippi (as well as the Church today) will only glory in Christ if we are progressing in our faith and in the joy of our faith – a progression that would only take place if Paul were alive and carrying out the fruitful labor of ministry.

Paul’s plans were to continue to serve his “partners in Christ” by helping them progress in their faith, whereby they would worship and glory in Christ more. But Paul also called his “partners in Christ” to live out their lives (1) in a manner worthy of the Gospel [1:27-2:4], and (2) in a manner which reflects Jesus, Himself [2:5-11]. To live as “partners in Christ” in a manner worthy of the Gospel meant they, collectively as a church, would have to do several things. (Notice how these things all point to a life of partnership and service with one another.) They would have to be a church: standing firm in one Spirit (1:27); striving side-by-side for the faith of the Gospel (1:27); unified in what they share in Christ (2:1-2); and serving one another in humility (2:3-4). And to live as “partners in Christ” in a manner which reflects Jesus meant that they would have to be familiar with the humility of Jesus and pattern their own humility after His. So in Philippians 2:5-11 Paul highlights in a remarkable way the extraordinary humility of Jesus. Paul reminds the church at Philippi that while Jesus was God, sitting on the most magnificent of thrones, in possession of the greatest of treasures, and the object of the most marvelous praise, He left it for a time to take on humanity, to enter into a sin-filled world, to be despised and ridiculed by the very ones He had created. And while He was here He humbled Himself even to the point of death on a cross, so that He could pay the penalty for our sin for us. It was the plan that God the Father had crafted from the very beginning of time. It was the only way that our loving God could remain a just God. Sending a substitute was the only answer. He had to offer up a perfect, sinless sacrifice to pay the penalty for sin. One whose death would be sufficient to pay the price for humanity’s sin and whose blood would be able to atone for every sin ever committed. The substitute would also have to have the power to overpower the death that He would subject Himself too. If death proved victorious over Him then death and hell would still reign as the most powerful of forces. In rising to life again on the third day after his death Jesus proved that He had defeated sin, He proved that He had defeated death, and He proved that He had defeated Satan. Jesus had proven His supremacy and fulfilled God’s plan. And having done that Paul reminds us that Jesus was therefore highly exalted by His Father so that every person will eventually recognize Him as Lord and King and bow their knee in reverence before Him.

Because Jesus has rescued and saved those who have trusted in Him as Lord and Savior from their sin, and because He is now highly exalted and seated at the right hand of the throne of God the Father, one of our responses of worship and duties as “partners in Christ” is to continue to work out (or put flesh on) our salvation (2:12-13). Our salvation isn’t something we receive one time and then move on from. Our salvation is a day to day, moment by moment reality that demands a day to day, moment by moment response. And Paul assures the church at Philippi that when they are doing this that they (individually and collectively) will shine as lights in the world (2:15). In 2:19-30 Paul then gives two examples of individuals who are doing this and who can serve as models. Timothy was one whom Paul said would genuinely care for the church and who would put their needs before his own. Timothy was one who had demonstrated his proven character and who had faithfully served alongside of Paul as a “partner in Christ” for the sake of the Gospel. Epaphroditus was the other individual. Epaphroditus was committed to his role of ministering to Paul and partnering with Paul in the Gospel. Epaphroditus was so committed that even in great sickness (which nearly led to his death) he continued to remain with Paul so that he might be able to minister to him.

Chapter 3 begins with an important command. Paul says to the church at Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord.” Rejoicing in Christ Jesus was vital to the life of the church and for endurance as partners in Christ. We mentioned in our study of this particular verse that Paul seemed to have an understanding based on several OT passages that rejoicing in the Lord was the secret to enduring in one’s service as a “partner in Christ.” But while that is helpful to know and understand that isn’t the main reason for rejoicing in the Lord that Paul develops in this passage. In 3:2-6 Paul says we ought to be rejoicing in the Lord because our salvation and righteousness isn’t the result of our own works. In 3:7-8 Paul says that we ought to be rejoicing in the Lord because we can know Jesus personally and that knowing Him is of greater value and worth than any other thing. And in 3:9 Paul says that we ought to be rejoicing in the Lord because our salvation and our righteousness come through faith in Christ alone. These verses are a remarkable set of verses because they remind us that the greatest thing we can possess (knowledge of Jesus and a personal relationship with Him) isn’t something that we earned – it was something we were freely given by faith. He goes on to say in 3:12-16 that our greatest possession (Jesus) is only our possession because He first came and took possession of us. So because Jesus has made us His own we ought to be continually working to know Him more and glorify Him more – an effort that requires us to be continually forgetting our past victories and successes so that we can keep moving forward in faith and on mission.

In 3:17-21 Paul warns his partners in Christ to be careful who they fix their eyes on. Unfortunately, Paul says that there were some around and amongst the church at Philippi who were living a lifestyle that contradicted the message of the cross. While the theology they professed did not seem to have any error in it, the theology they lived out did. Paul called them enemies of the cross because the way they lived was entirely self-centered. They chased after and pursued whatever it is they wanted and believed that there was nothing wrong in doing that. But the message of the cross is altogether different. The cross declares that our desires weren’t good and that the pursuit of those desires had awful consequences. If our natural desires had not been sinful and had not separated us from God then there would have been no need for the cross – we never would have become separated from God. The cross also declares that the consequence for pursuing our own desires was severe. If the consequence for pursuing our own desires was small perhaps God could have lessened the punishment or pardoned the punishment altogether. But the brutality and horror of the cross declares just how severe the consequences of sin are. While it may seem appealing to fix our eyes on and model our lives after those who profess belief in Jesus and then live however they want to, Paul says that is how enemies of the cross live. Those who have trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior must fix their eyes on and model their lives after men like Paul – individuals pursuing Christ and striving to advance the message of the Gospel.

The letter to the church at Philippi ends with chapter 4 and the message to his “partners in Christ” to live out the Gospel (vs. 9) as you all are empowered by the Holy Spirit. The church at Philippi needed to be reconciled to one another (vs. 2-3), rejoicing in Christ (vs. 4), being anxious about nothing but bringing everything to God in prayer (vs. 6-7), and having their minds fixed on excellent and praise-worthy things (which were ultimately the things of Christ). They also were to continue to be generous and gracious givers because God had been and continues to be a generous and gracious Giver (vs. 10-20).

Paul concludes his letter by exhorting the leaders of the church at Philippi to give each individual who made up the church a personal word of greeting from Paul. As saints in Christ who were all servants of Christ, they were all equally partners with Paul in his ministry of the Gospel. So Paul doesn’t want anyone to feel left out, under appreciated, or as if their giving hasn’t been an aid in the advancement of the Gospel. So Paul instructs the leaders at the church at Philippi to greet each and every person in the church and to extend greetings from Paul, from his co-workers, and from all the believers in Christ (including the ones who were a part of Caesar's household who had recently come to faith as a result of Paul being there).

Connection Point Questions for Discussion:

1. What is the one thing about the church at Philippi that stood out most to you in Paul's letter to the Philippians?  Why did it stand out so much to you?

2. What is the one thing from our study of Paul's letter to the church at Philippi that you feel like God is impressing upon your heart the most or challenging you with the most, and why?

3. How has studying Paul's letter to the church at Philippi changed your perspective on or understanding of the significance of the 'church?'  Is that changing the way you think about Escalate and your relationship to others at Escalate, and if so, how?