Prayers

Philippians 1

Almighty Father, we thank You for Your Son and for His church in every place throughout the world.  May our love for one another grow more and more in accord with the truth of Your Word.  We seek the progress of the gospel here and everywhere, and the comfort of the gospel in our lives by faith, though we may face suffering now.  Help Your servants in their afflictions, for we know that even our troubles will work toward the progress of Your good plan.  Thank You for the great gain that will come to us when we depart from this world in order to be with Christ.  Thank You also for Your grace during the time of our life here in this age.  It is Your plan that we would remain here at least until this present moment, and perhaps even beyond this day.  May we serve You and love one another as we do the work that You have called us to do.

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Philippians 2

Glorious Lord, we thank You for the wonderful work of Your Son.  He humbled Himself and was born as a man, and even died on a cross. He is now exalted high above every name.  Make us like Him. May we be willing to give up our ugly pride and our foolish contentiousness, so that we will be like Him in His willingness to be lowly.  At just the right time, make us like Your Son even in His exaltation, so that we will become partakers of the glory of resurrection.  Send forth ministers of truth everywhere to proclaim the message of Christ.  Protect them in the physical and spiritual challenges that they face, and grant to them all things necessary for life and godliness.

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Philippians 3

Lord God, we rejoice in You.  Thank You for the gift of Your Spirit.  We have no confidence in our own flesh.  We have no boast in our own obedience.  Our gain is not in these things, but in Christ, our Lord!  Our righteousness is through faith in Him.  We long to know Jesus more and more, and we long for the resurrection from the dead.  We belong to You, O God.  Move us forward toward the goal of the glory that is before us.  Help us to hold to the truth that we profess.  The danger of sin is everywhere around us, and even within us.  Keep us living in the resurrection way by the power of Jesus Christ.

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Philippians 4

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Devotionals

Philippians 1

There are some New Testament letters, like Ephesians, that seem like they could be just as much directed to any church as to the church referenced in the name of the letter.  Others, like Philippians seem to have a specific purpose in addressing a situation in one particular church.  This purpose is sometimes very obvious, as when Paul writes so forthrightly to the Galatians about the serious danger from those who insist that the law concerning circumcision is still in effect and needs to be applied to Gentile converts.  In other cases the matter may be more delicate, requiring some reference of concern that will hopefully lead certain people in a better gospel direction.  In the church in Philippi, there were two women who had served faithfully together for the cause of the gospel, Euodia and Syntyche.  These women were not getting along, and Paul was concerned about the impact that this might have more broadly in the church, so he called upon the leaders there to help these women move toward fuller Christ-like living.

The first three chapters of the letter seem to prepare the way theologically for the repentance that was necessary, whether they were intended this way by the apostle or not.  The letter teaches us about a humility of life that is supremely displayed by our Savior and is worthy of our every imitation.

Paul addresses this letter to all the believers in this city, but he makes specific mention of two biblical offices in the church, overseers and deacons.  Christian humility needs to be displayed by the leaders in charge of spiritual oversight and the ministries of mercy and administration if the church is to be an environment within which Christian lowliness seems plausible.

This is a church for which the Apostle has a special affection.  They have been willing to give sacrificially to his work of kingdom proclamation, and are counted as his partners in the good news of Jesus Christ.  God has begun a good work in them, and Paul assures them that the Lord will bring that work to a wonderful fulfillment at the day of the return of Jesus Christ.  Paul has full confidence in their love for him.  Writing this letter from prison, Paul is aware that some would try to take advantage of his confinement in order to speak against him and even to pursue their own private agendas.  Yet he is determined to rejoice in this providence of his imprisonment, since he sees that it is causing more and more people to step forward and to preach Christ, even though some may do this with improper motives.  It is also a plain fact to Paul that his imprisonment has enabled the message of Christ to circulate more fully among the ranks of his captors.  He sees all of this as a big win for the advance of the gospel.

Though Paul cannot be with them in person at this moment, he assures the church that his love and affection for them in Christ is strong, and that he is praying for their own growth in love and discernment.  In all of this, the Apostle is displaying to the church that the way that the Lord is using him is not about Paul having preeminence in some contest of pride.  This should help others to humbly seek peace with one another in the church before factions develop on the various sides of any quarrel that could unnecessarily trouble the church.

Our message and our methods must be all about the one Messiah who gave Himself for us, or they will prove to be disruptive to the cause of the gospel.  Paul’s attitude about the progress of the cause of Christ despite his own imprisonment is deeply instructive to the church in all times and places.  Even more profound than his charitable and hopeful comments in the light of his unjust incarceration, Paul is able to put the right perspective on the more ultimate question of how he is to react in the face of the possible loss of his life.  He knows that for Him, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

To be with the Lord in the present heavens is better than to remain here on earth.  If Paul’s life is taken away by some enemy of the faith, the apostle is prepared to trust God in such a moment.  Better still, he is able to trust God if the Lord chooses that he remain here on earth for the further encouragement of the churches who are praying for his release.  If he lives, he lives for fruitful labor in the Lord’s vineyard.  If he dies, he will have a still greater communion with Christ, which is certainly far better in so many ways.  Yet with exemplary humility and lowliness, Paul is able to leave this matter in the hands of the Almighty. 

Each of us is called to have this kind of heart and life, a way of joyful humility that makes sense for those who love the message of the cross.  There can be little question where our strength comes to live in this good way.  Christ has travelled this road before us.  He has proven the power of living for God’s glory and pleasure in a way that may seem to be weak to the enemies of the gospel.  He wants to hear that the Philippians are devoted to that way of life that allows the Lord to be first in our hearts and our life choices.  There is a yieldedness to God that only makes sense in light of the cross.  The person who tries to follow such a pattern of life can only do so over the long haul by the strength of God’s Word and Spirit.  Such a person has learned that it is a great privilege to suffer for the sake of the Lord and his church.  It is this kind of love that must be added to our profession of faith if it is to serve as a witness to those who claim to seek Jesus.

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To respect what Christ has done in building up the church requires a sensitivity that goes beyond self.  We have to look on others in the body of Christ as significant, even more significant than our own selves.  If we have this kind of humility, we will naturally view the needs and interests of others as worthy of our careful consideration.  This can cause us to think about what we are saying and doing that may end up hurting people for whom the Lord Jesus shed His blood.  We too easily see people as an inconvenience, rather than thinking of their needs as our opportunity to serve the Lord who loves them as He loves us.

This way of life does not just come from a having a nice personality or a good family heritage.  We need something more than an external makeover; we need an internal work of new creation.  Paul moves us in the right direction for this fundamental change.  He says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”  We need this mind of Christ.  Are you willing to give up your own predispositions and heart habits, and to have these increasingly displaced by the genuine change that comes from having the mind of Christ in your midst?

Before you agree, you may wish to take a closer look at this mind of the Son of God.  In His divine nature He has always been fully divine, but He was willing to take on human nature, and to become man for our sake.  Not only did He become forever God and Man in one person, He become a particular man who would live the life of obedience, even to the point of the shameful death of the cross.  The cross was a punishment designed to expose evil publicly.  Christ became a sin offering for our sake, and then became the open display of the most extravagant and costly love of unworthy people ever known in all the history of mankind.

The cross was in accord with the eternal plan of God, and was full to overflowing with the highest merit in the eyes of God, though in the eyes of the world it was despised, and that by design.  It should be obvious that the whole point of crucifixion as a penalty among men is to display someone who is to be despised by all.  Yet God’s opinion is to be preferred to even the highest approval that the world may give to anyone.  The world cannot give us resurrection from the dead, and even if we were able to accomplish such a feat, it should be obvious that the world can never give us heaven.  Resurrection without heaven would be to live forever in a land of sin and misery.  Christ was raised and ascended into heaven.  He has been given the name above every name, but the pathway back to heavenly glory was through the depths of suffering and disgrace contained in the love of the cross.

This is what the lowliness and glory of the mind of Christ is all about?  Do you want this mind in and among you, which was also in Christ Jesus?  To have such a mind would certainly help you to turn away from glory-now schemes that only destroy others and bring trouble upon the church.  It truly is what you and I need, whatever the cost might be to us of following the Lord in the path to glory that goes first through a willingness to see others as better than ourselves and to act for their good.

This is the only approved pathway for the true follower of Christ, and it is not easy.  It involves fear and trembling, but it is the way of God’s work in you, granting you works that are consistent with the gift of salvation.  It is the way of a drink-offering life that is poured out before the Lord out of reverence for Christ.  Though it does involve loss, it is the way of true Christian rejoicing.  If you choose instead to pursue worldliness, should it be that surprising that happiness in Christ seems very elusive?

Paul is himself an example of this kind of life.  So is his fellow minister Timothy.  He is genuinely concerned for the welfare of the Philippian church, and in acting in accord with that good concern, he is seeking the Lord’s own interest, for Jesus’ concern for His own church cannot be seriously questioned.  The evidence of His love is most obvious.  He gave His life for us.  Who would you be willing to risk your life for?  One of their own countrymen, a man called Epaphroditus who came to Paul as a messenger from the church in Philippi had risked his life to care for Paul in prison.  He almost died doing this.  But Christ has accomplished his greatest service of obedience and love with more knowledge, more willingness, greater suffering, and greater efficacy than anyone who has ever loved anyone at any time or in any place.  Our search for inspiration need seek no greater example than our Savior.  It is His mind in us that we can seek, and if we follow Him, we will save ourselves and others within the church much regrettable divisiveness and misery.

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Philippians 3

The mind of Christ is the answer for the church.  If we are to do what the Lord tells us to with anything resembling a full and willing heart, we need spiritual resources of awakening and real growth that can only come from on high.  We know from the Word of Christ and from the pattern of His life that following in the way of His mind will involve suffering.  One aspect of the mind of Christ is the humble willingness to be low so that someone else might be blessed.  Yet there is another important component to following Christ that Paul has already mentioned, but which is more fully developed in the remainder of this letter.  The person who thinks like Jesus will not only be a man of sorrows, he will also rejoice in the Lord.  This combination of grief and joy does not insist that we always dance, but it does call for a serene trust in Almighty God under challenging providences, such as the imprisonment of this apostle.

The rejoicing that is a part of genuine Christian optimism is not blissful ignorance, or happy denial, but truly a realism that is informed by an overwhelming and secure hope.  Though grief and joy do exist together, joy that is based on the eternal purpose of God will eventually get the upper hand over trials and discipline that we face from our heavenly Father.  Our rejoicing is in the Lord, and His purposes shall surely be accomplished.  To ignore our reason for joy is unsafe for the Christian, but to contemplate the Lord’s promises gives us a present security that can help us through many difficulties.

This optimism or hope-based realism is not an uncritical acceptance of everyone and everything.  The Christian mind is a discerning mind.  There are those who want to muddy the gospel with old ceremonial regulations that have no power to bring this kind of joy.  Some divisions within the church are necessary and some evil ideas need to be confronted.  A return to the Old Testament ceremonial ways of circumcision is not the mind of Christ for His worldwide church, and it must be conclusively rejected. 

Paul understands the mind of a Pharisee.  He has impeccable credentials for that society.  He knows what it is to be puffed up with law-keeping as a badge of personal righteousness.  The problem is that such righteousness cannot save anyone.  The real mark of acceptance by God is not the Old Covenant sacrament of circumcision, but faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the fruit of the New Covenant gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Even in a church composed largely of Gentiles, disagreements concerning the ceremonial law might easily arise.  There might be Gentiles who have made the decision to submit to circumcision through the encouragement of zealous Jews, and now those new Jewish converts and their families might consider themselves above the others in the church that have not submitted to circumcision.  Paul knows all about these kinds of credentials, and he knows that they do not impress God.  In fact, as Paul considers all of his proud accomplishments as a Pharisee, he knows them to be dung compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord.  This is very understandable.  The Son of God who saved us is far to be preferred to even the best ritual, but the ritual of circumcision is not the best ritual.  It is past its expiration date, and needs to be thrown out as a badge of glory before it brings trouble into the church.

The righteousness that we do have is not our own, and it does not come from the ceremonial Law, but through faith in Christ.  It is a righteousness from God, and not from men.  It is the only righteousness that is consistent with heavenly rejoicing.  With that perfect righteousness credited to us, it has become our privilege to suffer the loss of all things that our own supposed law-keeping might theoretically win for us, or that men could bestow upon us based on their kindness or admiration.  It is now our glory to share in the sufferings of the body of Christ, and to be like Him in His lowliness.

Old Testament pilgrims were to visit the temple for certain feasts every year.  They went up Mount Sinai singing the Songs of Ascents.  We sing those songs now as those who live after the coming of the Redeemer.  We are travelling as well, but we yearn for the heavenly Jerusalem.  We stretch toward the day when heaven and earth are one, and we walk in the power of Jesus’ resurrection.  We expect to reach a destination where we will see the fullness of the glory of God’s eternal purpose.  If we have to become like the Lord in His death, we will do so, provided we can also be with Him in His resurrection.  It is on this kind of journey that the gift of the joy of heaven will gain the upper hand over grief that yet remains with us as we mourn with those who mourn. 

We are pilgrims and we are on our way to a land that we have not seen.  We have the title to an estate there won for us by the Redeemer’s blood.  This is why we press on.  Even within the church there may be secret despisers of the cross of Christ, but we don’t want their mind in us.  We want the mind of Christ.  In this journey, we travel with others who have caught a glimpse, by faith, of the land that is preserved for us in Christ over the Jordan.  This is the way of maturity, not through any ceremonial righteousness, but through heavenly-mindedness grounded in the cross of Christ.  We are citizens of that good land, and we look for the glory that will come to us from the powerful King of Glory who abides there.  This kind of thinking is sure to win the day against our own small-minded feuds.  Any boasting in ceremonial badges of honor, on the other hand, completely lack this power, only puffing up the kind of pride in us that fuels the flame of useless quarrels, wounding the beloved host for whom Christ died.

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Philippians 4

The Apostle Paul considers this church in Philippi to be his joy and crown.  He came over to Macedonia originally by divine revelation.  In a vision a “man” of Macedonia was urging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”  In Acts 16, the first convert recorded was a woman of Macedonia, Lydia, but there followed many other men and women, included Paul’s jailer.  Now two particular women in the congregation who have worked with Paul in the past, Euodia and Syntyche, have to be asked to agree in the Lord.  They need to seek the mind of Christ, to have humility with rejoicing.  This is always the way in the churches.  People have problems with one another as they do in extended families.  The existence of churches in Philippi does not mean that all the implications of the fall have been entirely overturned. 

To labor for gospel unity in any church involves the help and blessing of everyone involved.  Paul seems confident that whatever the conflict may be, that with the help of some loyal companions that a solution will be found.  The answer for us comes not from some specific plan of compromise, but in the continued transformation of the church by the resources that come to us from God.

If our names have been written in the Lord’s book of life, we should be able to rejoice in him, and to repair all kinds of troubling disagreements.  If we are willing to really rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, our relationships with one another can surely be healed, and we will be able to demonstrate a gentleness and a reasonableness with each other that will be a testimony of the mind of Christ that may be impressive to those who had heard something of a broken friendship that has now been repaired by God. Our problems will not all go away, but we are told to let our requests be made known to God in prayer.  Whatever we may lack, we still have the One in whom our hearts rejoice, and with Him comes a peace that surpasses all understanding, and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  If we will not rejoice in the Lord, then how will damaged relationships be healed?

So much of our battle of living is fought in our minds.  When we rejoice in the Lord, our minds are filled with thoughts of the one who is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of all praise.  We will do well if we think about Him, and about all things that are truly consistent with our faith in Him.  This is the kind of example that leaders in the church need to set.  Do we love Christ, and are we ready to admire Him as the bride to be in the Song of Solomon reviews all of the glories of her knight in shining armor?

To be more aware that we have Christ in us and among us in the church is to take a healthy step toward a new and God-given contentment.  It also spurs us on in a new urgency to see the Word of the Lord’s kingdom prosper.  When we support the ministry of the Word, we do so out of love for our King. 

The Philippian church had developed a pattern of giving to support the Apostle Paul.  Paul was not writing to them seeking further help, but was more concerned that they continue in their kingdom investments for their own benefit.  For his part, he had learned the secret of contentment.  Our sense of well-being is not based on how much wealth we have at any moment, but in knowing that the Lord who owns everything and who can do everything loves us and distributes His blessings according to His good plan.  Through Jesus Christ, we can do all things, for Christ can do all things.  Therefore we can be content whether we have a lot or a little.

Paul had received a great gift from the church through their messenger Epaphroditus who he was now sending home to them.  Their care for him expressed in their giving was a fragrant offering to God.  The apostle was confident that God would supply all their needs as generous givers.  God is not poor, yet He became poor in Christ that we might be rich because of the gift of His death.  Heaven is not a place of poverty.  Through the work of redemption, Christ has secured for us some of the glory of that place where Christ lives and reigns.  In heaven we will be lavishly supplied with so many wonderful blessings.  Even now God has riches in glory that He can use to supply all of our needs.

The humble heart, the mind of Christ at work within the church, gladly gives glory to God.  We enter into that kind of true worship even now.  What must it be like to enter into the worship of God in heaven?  God certainly deserves all of our glory.  So we stay together in the blood of the Lamb who redeemed us.  We greet one another with affection, and we receive correction.  This grace is not just for a special person or for a special moment.  It is for the whole church, and it comes back to the fact of Christ, our Redeemer.  From His life and death we have been given grace.  The grace of God is ours in the Lord.  We have every reason to rejoice, if we are willing to rejoice in the Lord.  May His great mercy fill us every day.  It was good that Paul went to Macedonia and was loved by the church in Philippi.  It is good that we can yield ourselves now to the love of Christ.  It is good when we allow the humility and joy of Christ to push from our minds smaller thoughts that may actually bring trouble upon the church.

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