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Edward Donnelly
Our subject today is the epistle to the Philippians, which I’ve called “Worthy of the Gospel.” To recap for those who are new to the conference, this series of addresses—and we’re finishing this morning the Pauline letters—is the fifth year in which we’ve been looking at them together. I’m not trying to give an introduction to the letters, and certainly not an exposition. We’ve been treating them as pastoral documents written by a pastor, addressed to real-life situations in the churches. We’ve been looking at them as providing us with help for shepherding the people of God.
Normally, I’ve tried to take a major theme from each epistle to show how Paul develops it and to see how it’s applicable to us. Philippians was written from prison in Rome in the early 60s to a young church 800 miles away in Northern Greece. It was the first Christian church in what we now call Europe. Of course, they had no concept of Europe in the 1st century. Paul would have had no sense of history as he passed from Asia Minor into Northern Greece. That’s a modern idea, but still, for us, significant. Philippians is one of the most admired of Paul’s letters. In the books we look at, we see it described as the warmest, the most beautiful. It’s loving; it’s encouraging; it’s cordial.
It contains some classic passages. Chapter 2, verse 6 to 11; chapter 4, verses 6 and 7, “Be anxious for nothing”; chapter 4, verse 13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” But it seems as if this warm bath of approval that Philippians receives is sometimes undervalued. I think some of the comments made about it are slightly patronizing. John E.D., for example, says, “It was not written for any polemical or practical purpose. Its object is neither to combat error nor to establish truth.” Very strange comment from a very, very careful and precise commentator. He must have had a bad morning when he wrote that.
Lanski commends it. He says, “The whole epistle radiates joy and happiness,” but then he says, “Paul is not developing a theme.” Hendrickson says the same, “Attempts have been made repeatedly to construct a formal outline. The writer
But before getting into it, perhaps it’s worthwhile pausing and reminding ourselves that this is a warm, cordial letter to people whom he loves and that there are no serious issues arising. I think the danger of conferences like ours and in the series of studies we are doing is to develop an adversarial mindset towards the pastorate, to think of our people as the source of problems. There’s us and there’s them. Church life is crisis and heresies and discipline and stress, and many of the epistles deal with that. I think Philippians reminds us that many ministers have very happy relationships with their flocks, and that most of their lives are happy lives with people who love them and support them. Though there are crisis and difficult times, that isn’t, as it were, the norm. That isn’t the pattern! Most of our work is joyful work among people we love and who love us and who appreciate us. So, I think Philippians is a salutary balance, if you like. It’s not all Galatians or Corinthians in our relationships with our people. Thanks be to God, many of them are Philippians.
Now, Paul has obvious goals in writing the letter, but my thesis is that even these obvious goals are pulled together, brilliantly woven into the main theme. For example, he’s giving thanks to the Philippians for the gift of money which they have sent him. (Chapter 4, verse 10). He’s sending them news about his own circumstances. (Chapter 1, verse 12). He’s giving them an update regarding the delegate from their church who came to visit them. A man called Epaphroditus. He’s warning them about false teachers, but I believe that all of this—this is a man of genius—he’s weaving it together into his main theme, and I hope to show you how he does that.
I think the theme of the epistle is stated in chapter 1, verse 27. “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” The Greek begins with monon (only). “This one thing.” As so often, the NIV is a paraphrase, it’s probably an accurate paraphrase, except it shouldn’t be a paraphrase. The NIV has, “Whatever happens,” and that captures, I think, the idea of the only. Grasp this above else. If you don’t take anything else away, take this away: “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” By “worthy,” I don’t think Paul is speaking here ethically or morally. He’s not saying here that our lives are to be holy or righteous, truthful or loving. Because, there’s a sense in which the Greek axios can mean “suitable” or “like” or “shaped by.” It means to let your life be patterned by the gospel of Christ, stamped by the gospel of Christ, equivalent to the gospel of Christ, congruent with the gospel of Christ. I think that’s what he means by, “Worthy of the gospel.” “ Let it be a gospel-shaped life. In the context, I think Paul means, “Living for others.” This is the life that is worthy of the gospel: living not for ourselves, but living for others. This is the great lesson the Apostle would have us learn. I want to look at that under five headings.
First of all, just pastorally, the importance of living for others. We can sometimes overlook this in our churches. We focus on doctrine. We focus on organization. We focus on discipline. But think of the damage that is caused in the church by what Paul calls in 2:3, “Rivalry, selfish ambition, conceit, [kenodoxia], vain, empty glory.” Think of the damage caused by self-centeredness in the church. It’s a virulent poison in the heart of every single one of us in this room. We never defeat it. We never get away from it. We battle against it, but it rises again and again.
We find ourselves—before we go onto the pulpit—saying, “Lord, let me preach for your glory.” We find ourselves, afterwards, craving like a thirsty man, for the praise and the commendation of our people. That is our self-regard. It’s in us, and it’s one of our greatest enemies. It’s responsible for many of the interpersonal problems in congregations. Ego, self-centeredness, wanting your own way. Many of the heartaches we suffer, as pastors, are from people who are pushing their own agenda, who are not living for their brothers. It’s an ugly stain on the unity of the body of Christ. Congregational splits, divisions among brothers. They’re endemic in the church! We’re called to show how we love one another, instead the church is often a picture of rivalry and divisions and petty enmities to the world. If only these could be ended, church life would be transformed. So, this self-centeredness is not a peripheral issue. It’s at the heart of the pastoral life of the church, and Paul is going to show it is at the heart of the gospel.
The situation was complicated, because the Philippians were facing opposition from society. You will know that their city was a Roman colony. It was governed as part of Rome, and they were intensely proud of their identity as Roman citizens. You remember in Acts 16:21, when the accusation was brought against the apostles, “They advocate customs that are not lawful for us, as Romans, to accept.” There’s the slight defensiveness of the provincial. They’re not sure they’re Romans, but they want everybody to understand that they are Romans. Here you have a church—in this intensely Roman city, which is a separate community, an alternative society—with a different Lord than Caesar. They’re going to be unpopular, and their going to be suspect. I think that’s why Paul uses political language in his letter. You, men, will know that the words translated, “Your manner of life,” from 1:27, (polítis áxia), means to, “Live as a citizen worthy of the gospel.” “Don’t be enamored with your Roman citizenship, live as a citizen worthy of the gospel.”
It’s difficult for you, men, in America. You live in the most powerful, the most influential country in the world, and it’s difficult for you, as Christians, to separate your American citizenship from your Christian citizenship, and to realize that what America does isn’t necessarily always right. I do feel for you. I think there’s is a very, very powerful pressure in your society to coalesce America and Christianity, just as these Roman citizens, citizens of the Great World Empire. Paul, you remember, says in 3:20, “Our [politeuma] citizenship is in heaven.” That is our ultimate identity. So, these Christians have to stand against the pressures of society, and for this unity is essential.
You remember how Paul says in 1:27, “Live worthy of the gospel, so that I may hear that you’re standing fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving side-by-side for the faith of the gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponents.” He pulls the two things together, the pressure of the world and the unity of the body. Self-centeredness is unity’s deadliest enemy. It will only survive as believers live for others. If Christians are marked by rivalry and conceit, how different are they from the rest of the world? How can we be blameless and innocent, children of God, without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”? (2:15). So this other-centeredness is essential for the life, the well-being, the ministry of the church. One writer has put it well. He says, “Our unity is founded on God’s acts on our behalf. Our disharmony on our own minds and hearts, to place greater importance on the latter is an act of pride and a gross affront to God.” So, it is God who unites us. It is we ourselves who divide ourselves. So, to place more importance on our divisions than on God’s uniting of us is an affront to God. We saw the importance of this theme.
Let’s move on to the context of living for others. The experts in the various genres of epistle writing called this a “friendly letter.” So it is. It’s Paul’s favorite church. The greetings are warm, the relationship is characterized by deep affection. I sometimes wondered if the fact that the membership of the church was mainly Greek and partly Jew, was partly the cause of this warmth of the relationship. There were very few Jews, you remember, in Philippi: Lydia and a few women meeting together. It was a Greek city, obviously the church was mainly Greek. There weren’t any Judaizers there. There wasn’t the same vito perhaps, for Paul’s characteristic opponents, but you remember the warmth of the opening thanksgiving and prayer. Verses 3-11, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy. I hold you in my heart. God is my witness, how I yearned for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.” Intense emotion, passionate love expressed here.
Chapter 4, verse 1, “My brothers whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown.” Now, this emotion is genuine, but I believe it also serves a theological purpose. I think Paul is giving notice at the beginning of the letter. Who are we? What sort of a body is this? What is the church? It’s a body marked by love for others. That’s the deal, that’s the context, that’s where we begin. “We love each other.” That’s his first point. His theme is: live for other people. He embodies that right at the beginning. “We are no longer individuals. We care for one another. We sacrifice for one another. We minister to one another.” This is of the very essence of the church, and this fits in, if you like, with his political language, because the Greeks from Aristotle onwards taught that the essence of the politis—the citizen—was to be civic-minded.
The Greek for a private citizen who took no interest in anything beyond his own house, his own family, was idiotes. Out word “idiot” comes from it. And idiotes was someone who cares for ta idia, his own things, his own concerns, and he was looked upon—in the Greek polis—with content. He was unworthy. He had no sense of civic mindedness, of the unity of the whole, of the welfare of the polis. The citizen, the politis, he cared for the polis, the city. He lived for the city. He did everything for the benefit of the city, and Paul is taking this concept into the infinitely deeper relationship of the body of Christ. He’s saying, “God has made you people who live for others.” That is what being a church member is. That is why he refers—at the beginning in chapter 1, verse 5—to your partnership in the gospel. Koinonia, our commonness, our commonality, our sharing. We’re not individuals; we’re together in this.
Chapter 1, verse 7, “You are partakers with me of grace.” (Synkoinonous). Chapter 2, verse 1, “If there’s any participation in the Spirit.” Koinonia, the same word over and over again. Sharing, partaking, participating. We all together share this. There is a mutuality. There is a commonality among them. He’s hitting at individualism. He’s saying, “We belong together.” And thus, you have an unusual number of words compounded with the prefix syn, which means “together.” Some of them, it seems, are actually invented by Paul. They don’t occur anywhere else. So keen is he to make his point. Let me just run through them without comment.
Philippians 1:7, “Partakers with me,” synkoinonous; 4:14, “You share my trouble,” synkoinonesantes; 1:27, “Striving side by side,” synathlountes; 2:2, “In full accord,” sympsychoi; 2:17-18, “To rejoice with,” synchairo; 2:25, “Fellow worker,” synergo, fellow soldier systratioten; 3:10, “Becoming like Him,” symmorphizomenos; 3:17, “Join in imitating,” symmimetai; 3:21, “To be like,” symmorphon. It reaches a climax in chapter 4, verse 3, where he has no fewer than four compounds in one verse, beginning with the same presupposition syn. Companion, sunergos; “help,” syllambanou; “labored side by side,” synethlesan; “fellow workers,” synergon. So, it couldn’t be clearer, this vast number of syn compounds. Together, together, together. That’s what he’s driving at. We belong together. We work together, for each other.
He enlists his thank you note in this cause. (Chapter 4, verse 10). This was the only church from which he was willing to accept support. But he’s not just thanking them, he’s saying, “You lived for me. You cared for me. You’ve revived your concern for me. It was kind of you to share my trouble. You send me help for my needs once and again. You’re a people who live for others.” They actually cared for him, not for themselves. They gave of their substance to help their brother.
You remember how he expands on this in 2 Corinthians 8, verse 1. Here’s what he says about these Philippians in a severe test of affliction, “Their abundance of joy and extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity. For they gave according to their means and beyond their means, of their own free will. Begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.” That’s who these people were. Poor people saying, “Paul, please, please, allow us to have the privilege of helping the needy brothers in Jerusalem.” So, he’s setting the context. This isn’t a selfish church. These aren’t people who look to their own things. They look to the things of others. They look to Paul’s things. They cared for the needy. You see the way he’s laying the groundwork for what he’s going to teach them? He’s drawing the framework of it all.
When we think about it, we can almost call it a zero-sum game, a game in which you can’t lose. To live for others is to want their welfare above all, and to want their welfare is to ensure their welfare. We make their happiness our goal. This makes them happy, and then that makes us happy, because that was our goal in the first place. So, it’s a virtuous circle. The well-being of any one believer is interwoven with the well-being of all believers. We all win, or nobody wins. That’s what the church is about. What a motive it is to look for the interests of others.
Brethren, this has penetrating relevance to some of the things we were discussing yesterday afternoon. We have to confront head-on the individualism of our Christian world. The rampant consumerism where people are customers, looking for churches that will satisfy them and meet their needs and please them, and if this particular store doesn’t produce the goods, “I’ll go somewhere else. No big deal changing churches. I’m not satisfied. It’s not meeting my needs.” That’s the wrong perspective altogether. You’ve missed it! That’s not what the church is! The church is about meeting somebody else’s needs. The church is about living for other people. We live by dying. We live by pouring ourselves out to people, and when we do that we are satisfied and we are renewed. I’ll not take time to expand it, but you can see how relevant it is to the church life at the beginning of the 21st century. We have to teach people to think this way about the church. In that sense, the church is an inescapable part of the gospel, as we’ll see in a moment. It’s the context in which we exist in Christ.
Then Paul—superb teacher that he is—drives home the lesson by vivid examples, and the first, of course, has already occurred to you. Supremely, the Lord Himself. (Chapter 2, verse 3 and following). “In humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Isn’t this a perfect example of what we were hearing yesterday morning? Here is apostolic, didactic instruction. What is it? It’s christological to the core. “Have this mind among yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” He had a status. He had a position. It was His by right. En morphe Theou hyparchon; existing in the form, the very essence of God. That was His, but what did He do? He didn’t grasp it. He didn’t hold on to it. He made Himself nothing. Taking the form of a servant. The morphe. He was in the morphe of God, but He took the morphe of a doulou, of a slave. “He humbled Himself, He became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus is the One who lived for others, and who died for others.
What is the gospel? The gospel is that the Son of God lived and died for others, and if we are to live lives worthy of the gospel—and that’s the theme of the letter—we’re to live lives worthy of the One who lived and died for others. So, a life worthy of the gospel is a life following Christ. The work of the Spirit in us will replicate the pattern of His work in Jesus. He’s the supreme example.
Paul himself is also an example. He doesn’t introduce himself here as an Apostle. He and Timothy—chapter 1, verse 1—are introduced as douloi. They’re slaves. Their Master was a doulos, and they’re douloi. This is from a man in prison. This is authentic. He’s not sitting in a study somewhere. Here’s a man that is living what he’s teaching. “To me to live is Christ,” he says. If he were just thinking of himself, if he were just consulting his own interest, to die would be gain. That would be best for him. “My desire to depart and be with Christ is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.” “My chief concern isn’t where would I be happiest. I’d be happier in heaven, but my concern is your account, your welfare. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and your joy in the faith.” (Chapter 1:23-25). You see his orientation? “I’m not asking what would suit me, I’m asking what is best for you.” And that’s what’s governing.
We’ve seen this mindset also in the earlier section. Remember the section about the two kinds of gospel preachers? (Chapter 1, verses 15 and 17). “Some preach Christ from envy and rivalry, not sincerely, thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.” Paul isn’t bothered. He doesn’t mind. He doesn’t care about his prestige, his reputation, his influence. These people are seeking to provoke him and annoy him. “Christ is preached,” he says. “Christ is preached, and in that I rejoice.” Here’s a man who is not defensive, not self-protective. “These people’s motives may be wrong, but their message is true. May God bless them and use them, no matter what they think of me, no matter what they say about me. They’re preaching my Saviour, and I’m glad for that.” That’s a great man, isn’t it? That’s a great man. To be glad for the gospel preacher down the road who has criticized you and given you a hard time, to go down on your knees and pray that God will bless his preaching, if it’s true, and God will give him much fruit. Not interested in himself.
He wants to commend Timothy. “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you.” (Philippians 2:19). How does he describe Timothy? How does he characterize Timothy? 2:20-22, “I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth.” “Timothy cares for you.” Paul says there aren’t many Christian workers who really care for the people of God. They’re basically self-centered. They all seek their own interests. That’s exactly the same phrase in Greek as the phrase in chapter 2, verse 4. “Don’t look to your own interests.” “They do what they shouldn’t be doing. They do what I’ve advised them not to do. These people are basically self-centered men. Timothy’s not. He’s genuinely concerned for your welfare.” Another example.
A fourth example: Epaphroditus. The messenger from the church in Philippi to Paul in prison. That Epaphroditus has an identical focus. He says, “Epaphroditus, you’re a minister to my need. He has been longing for you all.” Here is man who cares for Paul, a man who cares for his home church. He’s truly Christ-like. Paul says in 2:30, “He nearly died for the work of Christ. The Greek is mechri thanatou. To the point of death. It’s the exact phrase which is used in chapter 2, verse 8. “He became obedient.” Mechri thanatou. “Christ became obedient,” and, “Epaphroditus became obedient.” Mechri thanatou. He’s a Christ-like man. He nearly died. “He was willing to risk his life [Paul says] to complete what was lacking in your service to me.” Here is the pattern to be followed. He says in 2:29, “Receive him in the Lord with joy, and honor such a man.” Don’t go after the ambitious egotists, go after men like Timothy and Epaphroditus, who live for others.
The final example is a double example, negative and positive. I think it’s thrilling how Paul weaves his theology into his pastoral counsel. He’s condemning these Judaizing, false teachers in chapter 3. “The dogs, the evildoers who mutilate the flesh.” It’s a very severe denunciation, but what is their leading characteristic? Paul sums up what is wrong with these men personally, pastorally, and theologically. Chapter 3, verses 3 and 4, “They have confidence in the flesh.” They are focused on themselves. That’s what’s wrong with them. Not only in their personal lives, but in their hope for salvation. They’re focused in themselves. Everything is based on their status, their character, their performance. Verse 9, “A righteousness of their own.” You see the theology coming? To live for yourself isn’t just a personal mistake or a pastoral mistake, it’s a theological mistake! These people are living, trusting in themselves, hoping in themselves, a righteousness of their own that comes from the law. And that is the antithesis of the gospel. For the gospel is looking away from ourselves to someone else. Not only living for others, but living by another.
So, Paul says they’re enemies of the cross of Christ. They glory in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. When it comes to salvation, where do they look? They look in here. They look to themselves and what they have one and who they are. That very focus is the antithesis of the gospel. Paul, on the other hand, is no longer like that. He once was! He, once, looked to himself, and if he wanted to, he still could be. “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.” You remember, he lists his pedigree. “I used to trust in these things. I used to be a self-focused man. I used to depend on what I had done and who I was.” But he has emptied himself forever, to receive Jesus. Philippians 3:7-8, “Whatever gain I had, I counted as lost for the sake of Christ. I have suffered the loss of all things and counted them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him.” Away from himself, not self-centered. He’s Christ-centered. “Not having a righteousness of my own, but that which comes through faith in Christ; that I may know him, becoming like him in his death.” Having the same morphe. Having the same essence. “Like him in his death.”
He says in verse 9 of chapter 3, “I want to be found in him.” (Heuretho). That ring any bells? Chapter 2, verse 7, “Christ was found in fashion as a man.” The same verb. Paul’s echoing chapter 2 here. “He was found in fashion like a man, and I want to be found in Him. He was in the morphe of God and the morphe of a servant, and I want to have the same morphe.” “Brothers [he says] join in imitating me, and keep you eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”
By this stage we can almost fear sorry for Euodia and Syntyche who are sitting listening to all this, and Paul describes them before he counsels them. “They have labored side by side with me in the gospel. Their names are in the Book of Life.” Isn’t that lovely? “You’re godly women, you’re gracious women, and you’re not living now the way you’ve lived in the past. You’re not living the way you should be, and I appeal to you to be of the same mind in the Lord.” How could they resist? How could they resist the appeal?
I’m really challenged by his word in 2:21, “They all seek their own interests.” He’s talking about his colleagues in Rome, the Christian workers, the men he knows. Good men in a way, but Paul says there’s a negativism in them. There’s a self-centeredness. They all seek their own interests. I wonder how true that is of me and of you and of all of us in this conference. Can we be sure that those words don’t apply to us? How subtle it is. How devious our hearts are! How adapt we are at clothing our own interests in the garments of piety in the cause of God and of truth. Am I a true doulos? A servant of Christ and His people? I think, men, this will be tested in the ordinary, mundane interactions of church life. When you’re sitting with your fellow elders, you’ll show whether you’re a doulos or not. If you start bridling and, “I have to have my way,” in our context with our people, day by day, ordinarily. It’s a tremendous danger of professing the faith, and yet not being willing to make the way of the cross our way of life. That’s what we’re called to be.
What kind of a man are you? What kind of a man do you show yourself to be? Someone who really lives for Christ and for His people? Paul says if you’re living for your own way, you’re living for a pile of skubalon. Arndt gave the definition, “Refuse, rubbish, leavings, dirt, dung.” A pile of skubalon. “Brothers, [he says] join in imitating me.” So, you see the way he weaves the very context of the gospel itself into this cause: to live for others. That’s how we’re saved, because someone lived for us, and because we abandoned ourselves and committed ourselves to Him and trusted in Him. That’s the gospel. “Live lives worthy of the gospel,” and it’ll be shown in your interrelationships.
Our next point is: the assurance in living for others. It’s a scary prospect. Will this not leave us naked and vulnerable and open to being exploited and disregarded and trampled over? Of course it will. That’s exactly what it will do! Paul’s in prison. At this point, he’s not absolutely sure if he’s ever going to come out again! He wants to share Christ’s sufferings. You’re taking off all your armor, and you’re allowing yourself to be hurt, badly hurt. You will be badly hurt. If you’re going to be a servant, you’ll be badly hurt, at times. Everyone who lives for others is. And many of you, men here today, may be coming here badly hurt. Maybe something has happened to you recently that has been a serious wound upon you. Paul doesn’t dodge that. He says, “Men, we don’t need to worry following Jesus, ‘for God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name.’” Suffering leads to honor. Suffering leads to glory and exaltation and praise.
The path of the cross leads to the crown, and he gives us immense assurance again and again in the closing chapter. “The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything; let your requests be made known unto God. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This is directed to people who have committed themselves to being servants. It’s not a cozy, romantic little thing just to put up and decorate texts on walls. These are men who are facing the cross. They’re saying, “Am I going to make myself vulnerable and allow myself to be hurt?”
This old man in prison writes these words, “Practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” “My God will supply your every need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus.” Those are words to his brothers and sisters who are going to take the path of the cross, and say, “Whatever it costs me, I’m not going to live for myself. I’m going to live a life worthy of the gospel which has saved me.” Paul says God won’t leave you. God won’t let you down. His peace and His strength and His joy will fill your heart.
That brings us, lastly, to the result of living for others. Of course, it is joy. Bengal describes Philippians. He wrote, “The sum of the epistle is this: ‘I rejoice, you should rejoice.’” (2:18). That’s what it’s about. Again and again it comes out. Christ is proclaimed in that I rejoice. 1:25, “I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.” 2:17, “Complete my joy, even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering, I’m glad and I rejoice in the Lord greatly. 4:10, “At length, you have revived your concern for me.” Again and again he urges the Philippians to join him. 2:18, “You also should be glad and rejoice with me.” 3:1, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.” 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say again, rejoice.”
Here is a definition of Christian joy that is light years away from the trivial, superficial, smiley, happy, clappy version of Christian joy that is being peddled today; which is just trivial, superficial nonsense. Here’s weeping joy; here’s suffering joy; here’s wounded joy; here’s the joy of those who are carrying the cross. Brethren, that is joy. That’s real joy. It’s deeper than happiness. It’s deeper than absence of pain. It mean abandoning, forever, self-confidence, competitiveness, ambition. Focusing completely on Christ and the course God has set before us. Self-centeredness kills joy. You know that yourself. You insist, you get your own way. How do you feel? Miserable and ashamed of yourself. “I won that victory in the church battle.” At what cost?
Conceit hides God’s face from us. It sounds like truism, but it’s not. Living for Christ and for others is the true source of rejoicing. This is the way to live. And is there anything that is more needed in our churches than this? Men and women who will live for Christ and for others, and be happy doing it. Perhaps we could all take Paul’s statement as a pretty accurate reflection of our own condition this morning. Not that I have already obtained this, or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider it that I have made it my own, but one thing I do: I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if, in anything, you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Let us bow in prayer.
Father, we are deeply ashamed of the thoughts that often arise in our hearts. At times we are disgusted with ourselves, we’re almost despairing. This horrible self-centeredness keeps coming in again and again, even when we’re holding forth the Lord of life. Part of us is watching ourselves. Even when we’re visiting our people, we’re conscious of the impression we’re making. It’s a wretched bondage, O Lord. We pray that You would deliver us from it, and give us the courage and the resolution to be men of God who live worthy of the gospel, and to seek to live for Christ and for others, no matter what it costs us, and to consider the pain and the shame joy and worth-bearing for the crown held out before us. We pray that more and more our churches would be characterized by this spirit of humility and of looking to the interests of others. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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