Philippians - Lesson 6

I. Paul's Imprisonment & Gospel Advancement

In lesson 6, we're turning to an autobiographical note in the Letter to the Philippians as Paul explains to them what's going on in his situation at the moment. And so he tells them not simply that he's in prison, because they already know that, but rather the remarkable outcome of being in chains is that the gospel is being advanced. People would have thought, "Oh no, it's actually decreasing your ministry, Paul. There you are in a room. You can't freely move around. You're chained to a Roman soldier, so you're certainly constricted," and yet the gospel is advancing. So Paul has this wonderful news to tell them. There's also, though, not only wonderful news, but there's also a negative reality that has happened, and we'll take a look at that. But Paul then will go on to talk even more about how, irrespective of the reactions of people around him, he's also thought about what this imprisonment means to him. And we can then learn, I think, from Paul's experience and teaching, maybe how to deal with our own troubles as Paul did, and maybe find some hope and release in that. So let's dive into Paul's teaching here, chapter 1:12-26. You can open your Bible, have that in front of you.

Common sense would tell us that Paul being imprisoned pretty much would wash out his ministry. It's kind of over and done with. He's now been in prison for a couple of years, starting in Caesarea Maritima. We find that out in the Book of Acts. All the way, he's there in Caesarea Maritima, then he's transported to Rome. It's about a four-year sentence, and he hasn't even gone to court yet. But what we find, and here we see the key to it in verse 13, in Christ, the impossible happens, and the gospel message actually spreads. It spreads even more widely than if it was only Paul who was preaching it. Paul talks about how the gospel advances, and this term is used, we'll find it also at the end of our particular passage here in 1:25, this idea of the advancement or the progress of the gospel in the Philippians' own lives. So this advance, this moving forward, is a really important tenet in Paul's understanding of discipleship. Yes, it may look like you're constrained in certain ways, but in other surprising ways, the gospel might actually be advancing, right? The content of the gospel.

Let's just remind ourselves of this. Paul preaches the content of the gospel. He'll say it in the beginning of the Book of Romans, for example, chapter 1:3 and 4. He's preaching that Jesus is the son of David, and Jesus is the son of God. He preaches in his gospel that Christ died for humankind's redemption. This would be, for example, Ephesians 1:7. In Galatians, the end of Galatians, chapter 6:14, we see that this death of Jesus on the cross is metaphorically shared by believers, and Paul assures us that Christ is raised according to Scripture. This is in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. So the content of the gospel: Jesus is the son of David, the son of God. He died on the cross for our redemption, and this death on the cross can be metaphorically shared by believers. Christ is raised according to Scripture, and we will also share in that resurrection in Christ with the raised and glorified body. This is in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This forgiveness of sins, this new abundant life in Christ, it's open to all people.

But there's another component of the gospel that can be skipped over, especially in the modern West, and that is the component of suffering. We see it here in Philippians. We see it in Romans chapter 8, verse 17. The reality of participating in Christ's suffering is part of the gospel reality. So if you are suffering now, that doesn't mean that God has abandoned you or that you somehow misunderstood the gospel. It simply is the reality of the gospel as we experience it here and now.

Sin's final defeat is still in the future, but it's assured. The outcome of the game is known, but they're still playing the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, to use a football analogy. The believer's future, it is secure, but not because of us, right? It's because of Christ's own resurrection, the firstfruits. This is language that Paul will use in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, right? There's going to be more harvest. Christ is the firstfruit. And so Paul says these chains, these chains that literally can be on him, it makes sense when I think about the overall plan of redemption that God in Christ set for the world. The Praetorian Guard, these are the elite soldiers that are there guarding the emperor. They seem to know Paul's situation. They recognize that he is there because he has preached this gospel. And I imagine a lot of them think this is so strange, but some maybe have been attracted to it.

II. Mixed Motives Among Preachers

The ones who benefit the most from these chains are certain believers that are in Paul's orbit, and I'm suggesting in Rome, that's where he's imprisoned and writing this letter. You have some of these Roman believers who are incredibly emboldened to take the gospel message. The fate of Paul, far from discouraging them, actually encourages them even more to step out, to be the hands and feet of Jesus, kind of extending Paul's ministry. And not necessarily because they're sure Paul's eventually going to be released. There's definitely hope even by Paul that he will, but it's not that they know that for sure. What they know for sure is that their salvation is secure in Christ. So there's a lot of positive attitudes and actions by some around Paul's imprisonment.

But I am sorry to say that there is also another group that preach Christ out of envy, out of rivalry. This you can see in verse 15. Well, what are they envious of? I don't know if they would be envious of Paul's chains themselves, unless they're envious of the attention maybe that Paul is getting. But it may be that they are envious and set themselves up as Paul's rival as a way to pit themselves over against who Paul is in his supporters' mind. I could imagine them coming up to—now here I'm just doing a hopefully fruitful theological imagination here—but let's say one of these who are feeling thoughts of envy and rivalry against Paul, they come up to Epaphroditus and they say, "You know, I know you Philippians have really supported Paul all these years, but I got to tell you, you really think that God is still working with him? I mean, why would God take one of his strongest apostles and sort of take him off the playing field? Like, he's in chains and he's been in chains not just for months, but for years. Don't you think there might be something going on? I mean, why would God do that with a star player?" And so begin to sow seeds of doubt in some of Paul's supporters. In other words, it may be that the rivalry was at the level of Paul's social honor and his financial support. The rivalry, which he's going to also talk about in chapter 2, some of this language that he uses here to describe those who are unsettling things, are envious, he will use in chapter 2 when he warns the Philippians themselves to not have those characteristics. The idea, I think, is like manipulation. This rivalry is a manipulation. It's a maneuvering. It's—well, Paul doesn't use the word "gossip," but that's what I think of when you're just spreading sort of half-truths but really trying to set a lie forward. This language is found at the end of Galatians when Paul is talking about the sinful nature. It's all that is impure. So this is what some are doing. They are preaching out of envy and rivalry.

Others, Paul says, they're preaching out of love. They understand that, and they're taken by, they're captured by the gospel message and want to share that. They are extending the energy that Paul has for preaching and doing that in their neighborhoods. They understand that Paul is imprisoned, not because there's some suspicion, you know, God might be roping him in or that maybe, you know, there's something suspicious about Paul, because otherwise, why would he be in this state? No, they recognize Paul's situation is entirely due to his defense of the gospel. That's why he's where he's at. And so now it's their turn to take up the mantle. They would have known, of course, as Luke tells us in Acts chapter 21, how Paul got arrested in the temple, the charges that were raised by those who want to harm Paul.

What I find amazing in all of this is that Paul concludes, "Doesn't matter to me what the attitudes or the heart posture of the preachers are towards me, so long as Christ is preached." I think that conviction comes from understanding Christ's own willingness to be silent as sheep to the slaughter, as someone who, when the false accusations were brought against him at his trial, he said nothing. And it surprised people. They were astonished that he kept silent. But I think both Jesus in that moment and Paul in his moment realized their character will be defended by God. It is God who will vindicate so long as Christ is preached. I think Paul is being sincere here, not at all sarcastic. It's not about him. It's about Christ. That's what he cares about.

Now, having said all of that, let me also say that it is not okay to preach out of envy. Paul is not saying, "Hey, I don't really care about your attitude, you know, just learn your doctrines and you're good." Jesus has very harsh words against hypocrites. James warns against selfish ambition, right? That's an earthly, that's an unspiritual posture, right? I've already said, Paul notes the fruit of the Spirit does not include envy and rivalry, right? It includes love and a pure heart, you know, a charitable disposition. So I worry about those people who are preaching out of envy and rivalry because I bet they're fairly self-satisfied. They might be gathering attention. Their doctrine is sound, quote-unquote, although as we know from the Book of Revelation, you look at the letter to the Ephesus church, they lost their first love. Their doctrine was great. They lost their first love, and unless they gather back that love, the lampstand will be removed. So God's not kidding when he connects love and knowledge, or as Paul says to the Ephesians, speaking truth in love. You don't get to pick just one or the other. They have to be always together. And I think the danger of being like those who spoke doctrinally correct, but had rivalry, maybe anger, bitterness, envy in their hearts towards another—that's it. That's an incredibly dangerous place to be in because you can fool yourself. We know those sort of people; Jesus meets them. He talks about them in his Sermon on the Mount. There are those who do great miracles, who, yeah, who exercise demons in the name of Jesus. And Jesus says, "Depart from me. I don't know you," because they put themselves at the center and not Christ. So that's an important warning.

III. To Live Is Christ & To Die Is Gain

As we move on to look at how Paul, who has mentioned this a little bit, now wants to focus more positively again, back again on his situation and connecting with the Philippians. So he finishes his thought by saying, "I'll rejoice. I rejoice that those who love me are continuing and are emboldened to preach the gospel. And I'm going to continue to rejoice. I know your prayers are for me. I can sense God's provision of his Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And this is all going to turn out for my deliverance." We'll pick up that phrase later because I think it comes from Job, not coincidentally. Paul will go on to—and this is the section where even those who don't necessarily know much about the Bible will know this great line—"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." This is the section where it occurs, this famous line from Paul. So Paul is talking here about his situation in prison. He believes that God will, will orchestrate things for the furtherance of the gospel and for Paul's deliverance, but how that deliverance actually works out, Paul's not sure. And so this is what he'll go on to reflect.

When Paul speaks of God's deliverance, the term used here, soteria, is salvation, or it can be translated as salvation, but it can also mean deliverance from a particular situation. What I want to emphasize in this term that Paul uses is actually both the current reality and the inheritance that Paul is absolutely sure of for his future. We are saved from the guilt of our sins. We are protected towards that final judgment, but the life will be consummated in the day of Christ. And until that time, we are confident that God will deliver us according to his purposes, his good purposes that bring the love of Christ to the world.

The other point that I want to make in this phrase of Paul's: he references their prayers and the work—your prayers and God's provision. This is another example of the partnership that Paul has with the Philippians, even though he doesn't use the specific term of partnership here. Paul does not see himself as a lone ranger, right? An apostle out on his own. He embraces the help of his teammates, if I could say it that way, the Philippians, but it's not just the Philippians. At the end of the letter to the Ephesians, he asks them that they pray diligently that when he comes before the magistrate, he'll have the words to say. So this is an important understanding of ministry as Paul does it. It's a team, and we should never devalue the role of prayer in building the team, in moving the ministry forward. Paul will talk about his co-workers; he'll name his co-workers. This is the body of Christ working to bring the gospel to all. And Paul talks about the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this idea that God supplies not just from our friends who are praying for us, but also supernatural help, right? The Spirit that will provide for Paul's need and also is in and of itself a provision, the Spirit being in us a seal of our inheritance, as he'll tell the Ephesians. So Paul's equipped, and he's equipped, and so he says, "I know then that I won't be ashamed. I won't be ashamed, but now, even now, as always it's been, Christ will be exalted in my body, no matter what happens."

I want to just pause for a minute on Paul's use of the word shame here, or ashamed. Today, at least when I hear that word in the West, I think of, "I'm ashamed of something bad that I did," or a good that I failed to do. I'm ashamed that I didn't help my neighbor. It's connected with a right or a wrong. In Paul's day, I mean, that was also true, but even more, this idea of shame or being ashamed, and especially in Paul's context where he is now, ashamed is to be publicly humiliated. And of course, Christ was publicly humiliated by being executed on the cross. The Book of Hebrews tells us this in chapter 12:1 and 2. It declares that Christ ignored the shame of the cross. So when Paul says, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel," like he does at the beginning of Romans, the idea is that, "I know this gospel message will sound not just ridiculous, but shameful to the people who hear, because there's such a social stigma about the cross." And Paul says, "But irrespective of that, I'm not ashamed of how my Lord died." He himself, the Lord, ignored the shame of the cross. And by Paul's testimony, the Philippians will also be encouraged in their public testimony to ignore the shame of the cross. Again, this will come up even more in the beautiful poem or hymn or passage, however we decide on that, in the next chapter, but as Christ is described. But here, Paul is saying, "I know that my testimony—that God will uphold me in my testimony, and I'm not going to be ashamed. Because," Paul says, "for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

I'll talk in a little bit about the idea of martyrdom. I will talk in a little bit about martyrdom in general, because this passage and a few others are often referenced as we try to understand whether Paul is talking about his martyrdom. But he does state here in verse 25, and then a little bit later in chapter 2, verse 24, that he plans to visit them. So a solid argument can be made that Paul's not speaking so much about an immediate potential martyrdom, but rather just speaking more broadly about his own posture towards his life and ultimate death. The gain, in other words, doesn't have to be martyrdom, but simply that when he dies, he then joins Christ more fully. So let's examine this a little more closely. "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." The sentence itself reads very smoothly in English, as I just did, but the Greek actually has no finite verbs. So in the English translation that I just gave you, we put in the verb to be. Christ is only found—the word Christ—is only found in the first clause. So Calvin and Luther, in looking at this text, they and others translated it this way: "To me, Christ is gain in life and in death." Now that also is certainly a true Pauline thought: "To me, Christ is gain in life and in death." Is that a better translation? Well, I think today more modern translations side with, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," that that reflects better the context and the grammatical rules of the Greek text as we translate.

IV. Surrender, Responsibility, & Faithfulness

As Paul fills out this enigmatic phrase, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," he is going to express a preference for death, which is for him not so much death, but life eternal, moving from this present age to the age to come. And he reflects on his current ministry situation and thinks about the reward that awaits him when his mortal body perishes. There is a whole system of thought, which we're not going to get into, a lot of questions about what happens, what does Paul think, what do we think about what happens when a believer dies and yet we don't have Christ's second coming yet. I'm glad to say that that's not part of Philippians, and so I'm not going to talk about it right now, although I have my own ideas. What we can say—we don't know the specifics—what we can say, as Paul does in Romans chapter 8, is that we are never separated from the love of God. Nothing separates us from the love of God, not death and not life. That we can be sure of. How God does it all, I'm not positive, I don't think anybody is, and that must mean that God doesn't need us to know that in all the details right now.

But when we look here at what Paul is doing, he says, "I know my ministry is fruitful because I can see people sharing the gospel more." I think he feels a close partnership—well, we know he does—to the Philippians, and I think he feels that also is part of his ministry bearing fruit. He realizes it's not just him; he has this life of Christ, and in death he'll be more fully with Christ, but he says that's a glory that awaits all believers. So I think we see Paul here in a moment of reflection that is one way of comforting the Philippians. "No matter what happens, I value your prayers, and your prayers are going to be answered. They're going to be answered in Christ, in God's timing, and with great glory." So that's kind of almost an interlude, if you will, not grammatically, but in Paul's thought as he reflects personally on his situation. And then he gets more specific. "If I'm going to live in this body, it's helpful for me. If I am"—let's see, how does he say it here? What do I choose? The grammar, I have to say, is ambiguous here. For one thing, Paul doesn't have a choice in when the Lord takes him home, and I think he recognizes that. He's sort of continuing to think about, "My life in the flesh, my ministry, it's fruitful, what should I choose?" I think probably the best way to understand this text is to see it as Paul saying it this way: "If living in the flesh, if this is fruitful work for me, then what I shall choose, I don't know that I can say." I think that's where Paul is going with his thought here. And if I were to sum it up, which Paul didn't ask me to do, but I'm going to try and do it, I would say this exemplifies, even if the grammar is ambiguous, it exemplifies Paul's total surrender to God's will.

So he has reflected in this passage, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." And then, so what do I do? Well, of course, if dying is gain, I should just, you know, wish that I was dead now. But then, no, I have a fruitful ministry with you all. And I love that. I'm not eager to not have that with you. And so I don't know, what do I decide? And of course, it's all speculation because he doesn't get to decide anyway. But that thought process, I think, helps us to see that Paul is exemplifying an attitude that we all can have, regardless of our circumstance, which is that I have a fruitful ministry. Like, I can think about that. Yes, I know there awaits great glory for me in Christ. And Paul will talk about that at the end. But even right now, in my body, in my mortal flesh now, do I have fruitful ministry? Am I leaning into the good works that God has for me to do? As long as I'm doing those faithfully, irrespective of the results—because remember, God does not ask us to be successful; he asks us to be faithful. That's what Paul is modeling here.

And so these good works that he's talked about earlier in the chapter, this is our fruitful ministry. And each individual has that; he's already told the Philippians. Each of them have these good works that they can work into, right, live into. This fruitful labor is our responsibility. We pray for each other. We feel the power of the Holy Spirit. And in that way, we can model Paul's attitude also. Paul says, "You know, it's hard for me to choose. I'm hard-pressed to depart and be with Christ. That seems better." Okay, yes, that's true because of Paul's understanding of salvation. But also, it's very important to note here that Paul is not denigrating creation, nor is he minimizing the body, the material, the created order. He's not denigrating our current life. He's not denigrating having babies, caring for elderly, you know, the whole range of our human existence. All of that is established by God in creation. So he's not trying to escape from an evil creation. What he recognizes is that in the new heavens, in the new earth, with our raised and glorified bodies, we share in Christ's love eternally. Like, that is what he's so excited for. But now there's still purpose. There's still meaning. It still matters that we do these good works that God has prepared.

So what is Paul saying? Let's review the claims that he makes here in this passage, 21, 22, and 23. His ministry is fruitful; God works in and through Paul. That's the first thing. Second, his ultimate goal is the resurrected life with Christ. Thirdly, the work of the gospel, Paul concludes, the work of the gospel means he's going to remain now in this life so that the Philippians can continue in their joy and can continue in the progress in the ministry that he has. So Paul then, in the last two verses that we're going to look at in this section, verses 25 and 26, he looks forward a little bit in the letter, right? And he says that he will come to see them, he hopes, and he hopes that in the meantime, their ministry, their growth and transformation into Christ will continue to grow greater and greater.

V. Theological Reflections on Job & Perseverance

I think overall, when we look at this passage, Paul is inviting us as believers to see our struggles, our suffering, through the lens of Christ's grace. And he does so in part by that brief reference to the Book of Job, that "this will turn out for my deliverance," using language that we find in the Book of Job. Job is such a difficult book, but I think in terms of what we have for our Philippians passage, what we can think about here is Job is directed by God not to ask for justice based on his righteousness, but to seek wisdom humbly in a posture of faith.

In Job, there are two complaints made. The first claim, I guess you could say, or maybe a complaint leveled against God that we find in Job is this idea that the righteous do their righteous deeds because they know God will reward them. A second complaint or charge or belief in Job is that the righteous aren't going to suffer because suffering is punishment for sins. It's the adversary, Satan, who says in God's presence, "The righteous, they just do their righteous deeds because they know they'll eventually get their reward." And there are, there's also through the Book of Job, this idea that the righteous don't suffer. So if Job is suffering, then there must be something wrong. And I think you can see both of these postures being present in Paul's circumstances as he's there in the prison cell. Those who preach out of envy and rivalry can be saying that the righteous don't suffer. So therefore, Paul's suffering must be as a result of his sin that he's not confessing. And it may be that even Paul himself has thought about, is he doing this? And maybe someone has asked him, "Are you doing this for some reward that God will give you kind of in the here and now?"

And I think as Paul mentions that phrase, "It will turn out for my deliverance," and he calls up the Book of Job, he gestures towards the mystery of suffering that humans as created beings experience. But he also declares because of that phrase that he quotes from Job, the deliverance that will happen. He knows that his Redeemer will establish him. And so that framing Paul's suffering in light of Job, but even more in light of Christ's work, that helps us understand suffering and its place, its temporary place in relation to the future glory that we have. This is, I think, what is underneath Paul's description and discussion of his time in prison, the groups that respond to his time in prison, his own response, as he reflects on the fruitfulness of his ministry and his desire to see the Lord. In the Book of Job, I would suggest that God doesn't necessarily explain to Job all of the suffering. Instead, he shows himself to Job. That great line where at the end Job says, "I heard about you. Now I see you." And I think that, of course, is the claim that Paul can make on the Damascus road. He saw Jesus. And so like Job is asked to trust God, so too Paul knows he's asked to trust God. And then by extension, he asks the Philippians to do the same. And that trust is not based on the confidence that we'll understand it all at the end. It's this belief that God knows what is best and will do his purpose. Why do we know that God's purpose is best? Because God is love. Going back to the prayer that our love deepens that Paul started the letter with.

This is some heavy stuff. Paul presents us with some of the deepest kind of questions that we face and orients our mind to the promise of gain, of life with God. Not only that, but he orients us, reminds us—I'll say it that way—that God fulfills his purpose in us now. What's happening in our lives now has purpose, and what comes next will be glorious. That's what Paul emphasizes here. And so he stays—he stays the course.

Perhaps one of the modern examples of staying the course, if I can continue the image here, is Eric Liddell. His story was told in the excellent movie Chariots of Fire. He was a famous track and field Olympic winner from the United Kingdom, but he goes on to become a missionary in China. He is encouraged by actually a German track star, Pelzer, to come back and compete again in the next Olympics, to train for the 1932 Olympics. But Liddell says no. He is called to be in China, and he will remain there in ministry, and then eventually dies of a medical condition in a concentration camp or a camp that missionaries and others were put in. Not exact parallels in all of this, but I can't help but think here is a modern hero who chose obscurity, if you will, but felt such a purpose on his life that God had called him there. And I think in a way that might have been Paul's mindset as well, that he sensed a purpose where he was. He saw others growing around him, and he was content. Paul will say he's content in chapter 4—we'll get to that in a little bit—but that he could see that purpose, and thus he was free to say, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." All of us can have that attitude and promise.