Introduction to Philippians

Geoff Box

Philippians • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

Philippians 1:1–2

Union with Christ

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Introduction Sermon to Philippians

Notes

Transcript

Deuteronomy 7:6–8 ESV

6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Deut. 7:

Prayer

Introduction

This morning we will be starting a new series on the book of Philippians. For the last few weeks we’ve been between series with VBS and other things going on, but before that we studied the book of Jonah together.

One thing we should be conscience of when we study the Bible is the idea of micro and macro or big picture and fine detail. What I mean is that we should be intentional in the ways we study the Scriptures. Sometimes we should take a big picture approach and look at the main themes that run throughout the whole story of Scripture, and that is kinda what we did with Jonah – we took a big picture view of the story.

At other times it is important and even necessary to really zoom in on Scripture and look at the finer details. We should wrestle with the meaning of words and phrases and syntax. That is what our study through Philippians will be. We will take our time and really try to put ourselves in the Philippians and even Paul’s shoes. So while Philippians is a short letter, we want to make sure we are looking at its finer details and wringing everything we can from God’s Word.

All that to say, this may be a longer series than we are used to, but be patient and let’s really dive into the text together – because Philippians has much to say to modern Christians, and we have much we ought to hear.

Scripture

With all that being said, our passage this morning is . If you are able, please stand for the reading of God’s Word. We do this to show appreciation to God for His Word and in recognition that these are among the most important words we can hear today. says,

Philippians 1:1–2 ESV

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Thank you, you may be seated.

I’m going to ask that you be patient with me this morning. I’m aware that often introductory sermons can be a bit dry or academic and not everyone enjoys that the same, but the questions that we are asking and seeking to answer this morning about the letter writers and recipients actually affects how we interpret the whole of the book. What I mean is that these questions give us the necessary context to help us rightly understand the letter and better apply it to our own lives.

The first question we are asking of the text this morning is “Who?”. It is actually a twofold question. Who wrote this letter and to whom was it written? The answers to the questions are right in front of us. Paul wrote the letter with Timothy by his side to the Philippians, but that doesn’t really answer the heart of our question. What is the relationship between these two parties? Who are Paul and Timothy in relation to this church at Philippi?

Paul and Timothy along with Silas had started the church in Philippi. You can read about their missionary work in . Lydia was the first convert, a Greek woman who believed at least somewhat in the God of Israel. God opened her heart to pay attention to Paul’s teaching and she became a believer followed by many others. Her house became the lodging place for Paul and his companions and where the church met – at least in the early days. The Philippian jailer along with his household was also converted shortly thereafter. The fact that the jailer was converted while Paul was in prison is important to remember because Paul is writing this letter while again being imprisoned and he reminds the Philippians that the Gospel is still being proclaimed effectively from prison – something that would have resonated with them since they had seen that happen firsthand.

We generally know who Paul is, so I won’t belabor that point, but there is also some historical data about Philippi that will be important and helpful later on in our study. Philippi was founded and named after Philip the 2nd of Macedonia. Philip was the father of Alexander the Great who conquered the known world and made the Greek language and culture the world’s language and culture. By the tie of Paul, Philippi had also become a Roman colony. What that means is that Philippi was basically considered an arm of the city of Rome itself. People from Philippi were Roman citizens. Many of them had served in the Roman military and were given land there to retire. All of that to say, Philippians (both believers and unbelievers) were proud of their heritage. They were Roman citizens and took great pride in that fact and that shaped the way they thought and behaved. We will see that this is important as Paul calls the church to remember that they are citizens of a higher kingdom.

The next question we have is what. Paul uses two descriptive words: servants and saints. Usually in Paul’s letters, he calls himself an apostle or an apostle and servant of Jesus Christ, but here he uses only the term servant. There are a couple reasons for this. First of all, Paul doesn’t need to inform or remind the Philippians of his apostleship. Unlike other letters Paul wrote, Paul is not needing to defend himself or his ministry. This letter is more personal and is largely a letter of thanks, so the reminder of his position as apostle is unnecessary. Also, one of the things that Paul writes about in this letter is discord and disagreement in the church at Philippi, so right from the beginning, Paul is setting the stage – reminding everyone that he, Timothy and they are merely servants or slaves of Christ. Later in the letter, Paul will unpack how Jesus Himself took the form of a servant and humbled Himself. How much more should the people of Christ be mindful of the fact that they are slaves to God.

The second “what” is saints. This letter is to the saints. Largely, we could use the word Christian synonymously here. To the Christians or even to the church in Philippi, but that is not the wording Paul uses. He calls them saints. Holy ones. Set apart. It is reminiscent of God’s work in making Israel a holy people; set apart among all nations (). The word “saint” is an important title and one which Paul will use again in this letter – always reminding the Philippians that they are set apart for something higher and greater.

Deuteronomy 7:6–8 ESV

We have “who” and “what” covered, now let’s hit “where”. Now you may be thinking that the where is really obvious, they are in Philippi, and we’ve already covered what the city was like – being a Roman colony and all that. But, Paul already in this greeting is pointing the Philippians to a greater truth – again. These saints are not merely in Philippi, they are in Christ. That’s what it says, “To all the saints in Christ who are at Philippi”.

Paul wants the people to understand that their location in Christ is no less real that their location in Philippi. In fact, he puts priority on being in Christ by placing it first. Interestingly, the preposition for “in Christ” and “at Philippi” is the same word in the original language. Paul is making a helpful parallel here that the Philippians who were proud of their heritage would have noticed, and Paul makes clearer throughout the letter. That parallel is this: Just as you receive your citizenship by being “in Rome”, so too do you have your holiness - your saintliness - by being “in Christ”. Union with Christ is what makes you holy and set apart. It is what constitutes being a saint. Outside of Christ there is no holiness. There is no citizenship in Heaven. You can’t work your way into it, you can’t circumcise your way into it. You can’t obey the law your way into it. Only by being united to Christ can one be called a saint. Considered holy and set apart for service to God.

Connected to that point is that all the saints in Christ are all on the same playing field. They are all united and set apart together in Christ. Paul is laying the foundations for his letter. He is making it clear that everyone is ultimately on the same level playing field. Even the overseers (overseer is another term for pastor) and deacons – note that these are plural pastors and deacons. Even the leadership of the church is included in this level playing field where everyone is in Christ and ought to behave as such. No one is above Roman law, and no one is above the law of Christ.

Alright, who, what, where, now when. The reality is that we don’t know with certainty when this letter was written. We do know that it was written while Paul was in prison, but since Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly where he was when he wrote the letter, we have to deduce from what he says here and what we know from other letters and the book of Acts. Scholars are actually divided about where this letter was written, but there are 3 main views. Depending on where it was written would tell us when it was written. The main 3 options are Rome, Caesarea, or Ephesus which would give us a date range of approximately 55-62 A.D.

Why does it matter? Honestly, in this case, it doesn’t. Knowing when and where from the letter was written doesn’t really affect the way we interpret the letter in this case. In some letters it does help, but not Philippians. So, why did I even bother bringing it up?

Because I wanted to take the opportunity to remind and encourage us that we can know what God has said. We can confidently say that God has spoken and we have heard. We know that the Holy Spirit has inspired the Scriptures and He certainly has not given us less than we need. We don’t need a video recording of Paul writing his letter to the saints in Christ at Philippi. What we need is the Spirit’s help in understanding, interpreting and applying what God has written. And that is more than enough for us.

Finally, Paul offers grace and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not just a nicety or trite phrase. Paul has intentionally taken the Greek and Jewish letter writing forms and has changed them into something uniquely and distinctly Christian. Grace and peace are commodities that we all need. Grace being the unmerited favor of God. God being pleased with us and favoring us based on nothing about us. Peace being the reconciliation with God and comfort from God based on the relationship we have with God by His grace. All from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you notice that Paul is saying that grace and peace come from God the Father and God the Son in the person of Jesus!

Again, everyone is on the same playing field of needing and receiving grace and peace from God. And it ultimately comes by being in Christ. One of the reasons I wanted to preach through one of Paul’s letters is because of the focus on Christ. For Paul, everything centers on the person and work of Christ Jesus. It isn’t just Paul, all of Scripture does this, obviously, but Paul sees it so clearly and does such an awesome job of placing Christ in the spotlight. Everything is about Christ – from suffering to joy and happiness – all for, in and through Christ.

As we work our way through this letter together, let us make sure our focus is on Christ. May God help us to see all of life through the lens of Christ Jesus. In these two verses we looked at this morning, the name of Jesus is mentioned 3 times. Christ is the foundational thought of the letter to the Philippians and ought to be the foundational thought to all we think, say and do.

Conclusion

This letter was written to those who are in Christ. To saints. Believers. Christians. And as such, it has a lot for the church today. We should be encouraged by the blessings of grace and peace that comes through Christ. We should be constantly reminded that we are part of higher and greater kingdom. As the old hymn says, this world is not my home, I’m just a’passin’ through. We need to be reminded of that from time to time. We need to refocus on Christ sometimes because we get distracted by lesser things. So Christians, take heart and refocus.

Maybe you are here this morning and you realize that you do not have any kind of peace with God. Your relationship with God is broken and estranged. Scripture calls you a child of wrath. You should know that the only way you can find peace with God is by being united to Christ. You must die to yourself. Take up your cross and follow Jesus. That means you must repent of your sin. Turn away from it and turn towards Christ trusting in Him alone who is the foundation of all things. Make Christ your Lord today.

We are about to transition into a time of worship through response. We believe that any time a person hears the Word of God, they respond in one of two ways. Rebellion or worship. Let me encourage you to worship Christ through repentance, thanksgiving, celebration of the grace and peace that comes through Him. Let us give Christ the honor and worship He is due.

I will be on the front row worshipping with you, so if you would like to talk to someone or pray with someone, I would be delighted to talk to you or pray with you. Just come on up and talk to me. If you would like to talk after the service, I will stick around and be happy to chat then as well. You are also welcomed to pray up front if you would like to. Whatever you do, I pray that you do it in response to our great and merciful Lord. Let’s pray.