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Life Transformed by Christ - Philippians 1:1-2

Sermon Series: Partners in Christ

Most individuals my age are very familiar with Michael Jackson. He is considered by American culture to be the “king of ‘pop.’” As a boy he was great singer and began to build his legacy as a talented musician. As he got older though he became a very polarizing individual who was either deeply loved by loyal fans or viewed in a very negative light by those who saw what they considered to be ‘red flags’ in both his decision making and behavior. One thing that almost everyone would agree upon though is that Michael Jackson did some pretty innovative things with his music and videos. In my mind there is one particular video that stood out among all his others – it was the music video for his song, “Black or White.” I can remember seeing that video for the first time as a kid because there was a portion of the video in which they had used computer technology to transform individuals’ faces into completely different people – and not simply transforming them into other individuals who looked just like them, but actually crossing both gender and race to make individuals into entirely different people.

While that technology isn’t all that surprising in today’s world it absolutely amazed me when I saw it for the first time in Michael Jackson’s video. I couldn’t believe that computer and video technology existed that could do more than alter an individual’s image. This particular technology could actually transform one individual’s image into another individual’s image. I was well aware that people often tried to alter their image. I had braces to make my teeth straighter. I had seen the people laying out at the swimming pool tanning to make their skin a little darker. I was even vaguely familiar with plastic surgery. But the best those things could do was alter oneself. Those individuals, though they may have looked a little different, were still the same people – those alterations did not transform them.

This raises a troubling issue in light of who we are as individuals. You see the Bible uses some pretty descriptive terms to characterize humanity from God’s perspective. The Bible tells us that each and every person has chosen to sin and to chase after their own wants and desires rather than living completely for the glory of God. And by pursuing our own wants and desires in place of His we have attempted to remove God from the throne from which He reigns and attempted to put ourselves in His position. The result of our sin and our heinous attempts to put ourselves in God’s rightful place is that we are eternally separated from God; we become His enemies and objects of His wrath; and the Bible tells us that we are dead in our trespasses. This is bad news! And this is a problem that requires more than just a couple of minor alterations. This is a problem that requires radical transformation. Yet we can look all around us and see people attempting to make alterations to their lives – people trying to do more good deeds; people attempting to live good moral lives; people seeking advice and instructions from various religious systems. But these alterations don’t actually transform anyone and make them into a new individual – they simply make some cosmetic changes while making no real changes to the person himself/herself.  So the incredibly important question that we each have to ask ourselves is this, “Is there anything at all that can transform who we are and make us into a new and different individual?”  I'm going to suggest that in the introduction of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi he gives us great hope as we can see three ASPECTS of one’s transformation in Christ.

Paul begins his letter to the church at Philippi by introducing himself and Timothy as the authors of the letter. The letter is usually attributed solely to Paul and all of the letter is written in the first person, but still he writes, “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.” A quick read of this part of verse one doesn’t seem all that significant – it appears to be nothing more than an identification of the authors of the letter. But Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is always very intentional in his letters and even in his introductions we find important aspects for us, the readers.
The most important thing that we must pick up on is the use of the name ‘Christ Jesus.’ Paul uses Jesus’ name three times in his introduction (the first two verses) of his letter. That’s incredibly significant! Paul is setting the stage for the reader to understand that Jesus is going to play a central theme in this letter and that He will be the central figure that ultimately unites all that Paul will cover in this letter. Once we recognize the intentional repetition of Jesus’ name and make ourselves aware of the significance it plays we can then begin to look at the other aspects of Paul’s introduction and begin to make some sense of it.

When Paul identifies himself and Timothy as servants of Christ Jesus, Paul is beginning his letter to the church at Philippi stressing our role in Christ. One of Paul’s reasons for writing the church at Philippi was to encourage them in their service and partnership in the gospel. The proclamation of the gospel wasn’t simply the mission given to a few apostles, it was the mission given to all believers in Christ; it was the mission that God gave to the church. So Paul does two things very intentionally here to set the stage for his letter. The first is what he doesn’t do. Paul doesn’t refer to himself in the letter to the church at Philippi as an apostle. The letter to the church at Philippi is one of only four letters in which Paul does not make reference to his title as an apostle. While it’s sometimes important for Paul to remind his readers of the authority with which he is writing, that doesn’t seem to be the case with the church at Philippi. Instead Paul wants to emphasize the humility of his role in Christ. Paul, like all other followers of Christ, is a servant of the exalted King, Jesus. So Paul chooses not to write anything that would cause him to stand out (though as an apostle he certainly did) and chooses instead to show how his role in Christ is just like the role of Timothy’s. That leads us to the second thing Paul does in this first part of verse 1 – he intentionally demonstrates the partnership he has with Timothy as equals in the mission of God. We would expect Paul to distinguish himself because he did have a greater authority, but Paul intentionally leaves that distinction out. Together he and Timothy are both servants of Christ and as servants of the same One they have a partnership – working together to make the glory and majesty of Jesus known. The role that Paul says is his in Christ is a very clear one – he and Timothy (as well as all believers) are slaves. In other words he and Timothy were not autonomous individuals – they were totally and completely subject to the will and commands of Jesus. While this may seem demeaning and degrading to some, neither Paul nor Timothy (nor should you or I) saw it this way. Being a servant (or slave) of Christ meant that they were servants of the divine Master. Both Paul and Timothy saw this as a great privilege and an opportunity to follow in the example of Jesus, whom Paul would later say in this letter, “made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7).

One of my favorite shows growing up as a kid was “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” The show was about a teenager, who had grown up in a rough neighborhood in west Philadelphia, moving to California to live with his rich uncle, aunt, and cousins. One of the characters who contributed to the show was the butler whose name was Jeffery. Jeffery’s character added some spice to the show because he wasn’t always a completely submissive butler. He would on occasion tell the kids to get something themselves or he would choose not to do what he had been asked to do until he was finished working on what he preferred to be working on. Quite often his antics made the show funny to watch as we thought to ourselves, “Those spoiled kids are getting a taste of their own medicine.” But if we consider Jeffery’s job as a butler as a job of serving the family, then quite honestly there were times when he wasn’t a very good butler. There were times that the audience found his attitude and behavior funny – but those were also times when those he worked for were perturbed by his lack of submission.

When individuals comes into a relationship with Christ we do so recognizing the work of grace that He has performed in our lives; we do so recognizing the reconciliation that He makes possible for us with the Father and the adoption granted to us as sons/daughters; but we must also do so recognizing His preeminence over all things. Paul wrote in another letter to the church at Colossae, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:15-20). When we come into a relationship with Jesus we don’t do so with the attitude of an equal, we do so ‘surrendering’ our lives to Him, as the great and mighty King of Kings. We come ultimately submitting all of ourselves to Him and subjecting ourselves to His will and His direction on our lives.

If in Christ our lives are transformed and we take on the role of a servant (or slave), I wonder what kind of servants we look like?  I wonder how many of us look more like a Jeffery? We come to Jesus seeking His forgiveness and cleansing from sin, but never really coming to surrender all of ourselves to Him. We’ll consider serving if it’s convenient. We’ll consider serving if we don’t have some personal pursuit that we’re taking care of. But we also want Jesus to be clear that we have our own lives that we’re working on and that there will be some times when He is going to have to find someone else to do His work, or when He is going to have to do His own work Himself. How many of us really take the attitude of saying, “Whatever You ask Jesus, whenever You ask it, and no matter what the cost, I will do it?” Yet this is the role that each of us is called to as followers of Christ. And this is the role the Jesus, Himself modeled for us. So we can’t use the excuse, “Jesus doesn’t really know what He’s asking me to do. He doesn’t understand how this is going to effect my day; or how this is going to effect my career; or how this is going to effect my future plans.” First of all, yes He does. And secondly He has modeled this for each and every one of us (see again Philippians 2:7). The role that each and every one of us is called to as followers of Christ, regardless of our position, regardless of our title, and regardless of our status is that of servant. And Paul demonstrates this in verse 1 as he refers to himself and Timothy as servants of Christ Jesus, partnered together to bring about His great glory.

The rest of verse 1 identifies to whom Paul is writing, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.” Once again though there is more to this portion of Paul’s introduction than just identifying the church at Philippi as the recipients of the letter. In the second part of verse 1 Paul is stressing our identity in Christ. Paul calls all those who are believers in Christ at Philippi (as are all who are believers in Christ) ‘saints’. Paul isn’t addressing those in Philippi who are the stand-out believers – the Christian ‘all-stars’ if you will. Paul is using the word ‘saints’ as a reference to all who are believers in Jesus. And his use of the word ‘saints’ demonstrates that he understands all those who are believers in Jesus to be ‘holy’ – set apart and separated from all that is evil and “consecrated to fulfill God’s purposes” (Hansen, G. Walter., The Letter to the Philippians. Pillar New Testament Commentary. [Eerdmans Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids, 2009] pg. 39.). That’s right – everyone who is a believer in Jesus has this as their identity in Him and is considered holy. G. Walter Hansen says in his commentary regarding this portion of verse 1, “Their holiness is inherent in their calling and position in Christ. It is not earned by social position or moral performance, but by union with Jesus Christ” (pg. 39-40). Because of what Jesus has accomplished for us in living a perfect life of righteousness, paying the penalty for our sin upon the cross, and then overcoming sin and death through His resurrection, those of us who have put our faith in Jesus are counted as holy! That’s amazing!

After identifying “all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi” as the recipients of the letter Paul also mentions specifically “the overseers and deacons.” The inclusion of these two groups in the introduction in addition to the broader reference of “all the saints” that Paul has already made serves as a bit of a challenge for the readers. Especially when we consider the fact that neither of these groups is mentioned specifically by name throughout the rest of the letter. It’s not likely that Paul just unintentionally threw them into the introduction. So we have to ask the question, “What is the purpose for their inclusion?” There are a lot of different explanations that have been given by many different scholars over the years which leads us to understand that we probably can’t have absolute certainty in regards to why Paul included these groups by name. But some of the explanations offered seem to carry more weight than others. One of the explanations that seems to make a little more sense than others is that Paul wanted these groups to take responsibility for modeling and leading in the areas that Paul would be instructing the church in in his letter. What may be more significant though is one observation that some scholars have made concerning Paul’s address to these groups - he does not do so saying that these groups are ‘over’ the others in the church, but he does so saying “with the overseers and deacons.” We know that because of their titles these individuals had the responsibility to lead in giving oversight and to lead in serving. But in much the same way that Paul did not emphasize the distinction between himself and Timothy, Paul here makes a point not to emphasize the distinction of these two groups. Instead he emphasizes that these groups are part of the church, being together with them. Often times leaders struggle with pride and the tendency is for them to get caught up in making much of themselves. But Paul uses descriptions in his introduction to help remind these leaders of the humility that would be required of them. He begins by taking the title of servant for himself, reminding them that even as an apostle (one who had greater authority than they) he considered himself a servant. He continues by not identifying them as over the church, but rather by positioning them together with the church.

In the second part of his introduction Paul doesn’t just identify who it is that he is writing to. He emphasizes our identity in Christ. In Christ we are all seen as holy – set apart from everything evil and consecrated for the fulfilling the purpose and will of God. That’s something we do with great humility – regardless of our position, title, or status. From the least to the greatest, we are all set apart for God and we all need to be working together to accomplish that end.

We are so conditioned in our society to see people in terms of their careers, titles, or positions, to note their distinctions, and then to act accordingly. We’re supposed to call people who have earned their PhDs, “doctor” out of respect for the work they have done to earn that title. We often feel obligated to be very serious and matter of fact with those who manage our work, while we often feel freer to be ourselves with co-workers who have an equal position. It's these realities that add to the unique experience we see taking place on the reality TV series “Survivor.” I’ve only seen 5 or 6 episodes personally, but one of the things that it doesn’t take long to realize is that when you place all of those contestants out on an island and strip them of everything they have their identities change. Those with PhDs aren’t called ‘doctor.’ Those who are CEOs aren’t treated with any more respect than the school janitor. When they are stripped of all they have and placed on an island with one another they all have one shared identity – they are “Survivor” contestants.  The identity change we see taking place on "Survivor" should remind us of the identity change that takes place when we come to faith in Christ as Savior and Lord.  When we come to faith in Christ, everyone of us is stripped of sin’s consequences much like the contestants who are stripped of all they have. But we don’t remain simply stripped. Each and every one who comes to faith in Christ as Savior and Lord is then clothed in Jesus’ righteousness. And that is where we find our identity! Not in our careers, not in our titles, and not in our social media accounts! In Christ we all, from least to greatest, are saints who are set apart for Him.

Paul concludes his short introduction with verse 2 saying, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” After having identified himself and Timothy as the authors of the letter and having identified the church at Philippi as the recipients of the letter Paul extends a word of greeting. The greeting in this letter is quite typical of Paul and what we see is Paul’s variation and combination of a common Greek greeting and a common Jewish greeting. Greek letters would often contain in their introductions the Greek word which meant ‘greetings’ (chairein) – a word that looked like and sounded a lot like the Greek word for ‘grace’ (charis).  And Jews would often greet one another with the word ‘shalom’ which carried the idea of ‘peace.’ So by beginning with a greeting of ‘grace’ and ‘peace’ Paul gives us some insight into the culture of the time which was heavily influenced by both Greek and Jewish cultures. But the greatest aspect of Paul’s greeting in his letters is that it is much more than just a personal greeting or an empty cliché – it is a rich theological statement. Paul’s message to the churches and his message to all people was a message of both grace and peace. The grace that Paul proclaimed was “the unmerited, undeserved saving work of God in Christ Jesus” (G. Walter Hansen). And that message of grace (if believed and received) will bring ‘peace’ to those who hear it - “harmonious relationships with God and with each other” (G. Walter Hansen). Paul’s message was all together different from the message of the Jewish leaders of the day. They taught that favor with God was earned based on one’s adherence to the Law. If one was careful to adhere to the both the laws and the traditions of the Jews then God would look favorably upon that individual and would grant that individual forgiveness and life. For the Jewish leaders God’s favor and forgiveness rested entirely upon the works of the individual - forgiveness and salvation weren’t gifts that were received freely, they were the wages of what one earned. Paul on the other hand proclaimed that an individual’s forgiveness and salvation wasn’t based on their works, but rather on the work that Jesus alone had accomplished through His death and resurrection. In his letter to the church at Ephesus Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). And in his first letter to the church at Corinth he wrote, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . .” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Paul reminds the church at Corinth that the good news he had preached to them was the good news in which they found their identity and the good news in which they were saved. It was good news of what Jesus had accomplished for us – that He died for sins and that He rose again.  Grace and peace were their gifts from Christ (the third aspect of our transformation in Christ).

To include Jesus' name with God the Father as the Source and Giver of "grace and peace" was also a bigger deal than we take note of.  The Jews in Paul's day would have had little problem if Paul had simply said something like "grace to you and peace from God our Father."  But Paul intentionally added Jesus' name to this last part of his introduction.  In so doing Paul continued to demonstrate that Jesus would be the central figure throughout his letter and added to that emphasis the truth that Jesus was God also.  The central figure about whom this letter was about was no mere man - He was God; He was the Giver of great grace; and He was the One who made peace between us and Himself!

Connection Point Questions for Discussion:

1. Paul says that in Christ his role and Timothy's role is that of servant, or slave (vs. 1).  Is this just the role of Paul and Timothy or does it encompass others?  (Explain your answer).  If it encompasses others who else does it include?  Are you living as a good servant or do you look more like Jeffery from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?"  (Explain your answer).  How can we become beter servants?

2. Give some examples of things our culture uses to define a person's identity.  Is this how God determines our identity?  (Explain your answer).  From God's perspective there are really only two identities that can define a person (both with very serious eternal implications).  What are those identities?  Why don't our man-made distinctions matter to God?

3. Paul's first message to those he was writing to was usually a reminder of the grace extended to them by God and Jesus, and the peace that grace made possible.  What messages are those who are not followers of Christ in our communities hearing from the churches and other believers in Christ?  What message are they hearing from us?  How can we make sure the message they hear from us is the message of grace and peace?