Philippians is an emotionally intense epistle. This intensity is probably the single feature most responsible for the Bible coming alive for me as I studied it as a young man. I could see that the Apostle Paul was a real man with real commitments and real challenges. The Apostle is a prisoner of the Roman government. He had been abandoned by most of his supporters (2:20,21; 4:15; cf. 2 Tim 4:11,16). Heretics were undoing his work (3:2ff). Even some apparently orthodox ministers were attacking him, trying to discredit his ministry (1:15ff), but the Philippian church had stood by him from beginning to end. Consequently, the Apostle Paul expresses himself with deep affection, with thanksgiving, with joy, with intense love, as he writes to the Philippian church. Their consistent, faithful support of the Apostle Paul evokes three responses from him: thanksgiving, confidence, and affection. Behind these responses is the underlying reality that makes the responses possible: God is at work. When we understand that God is at work, we can greet our circumstances, however disagreeable, with gratitude, assurance, confidence, and love. These responses are what we shall look at together now in detail.

Grateful

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, (Phil 1:3,4)

"I thank my God," says the Apostle. Why does he thank God? Because God is at work, as he will explain in 1:6. Ultimately God is responsible for the faithfulness of the Philippians, and God is to get the glory. The Apostle Paul uses three words for prayer in verses 3 and 4. He speaks of "thanks" (eucharisto), "remembrance" (mneia), and "prayer" (deēsis).

By "remembrance" (mneia) the Apostle means not "when I happen to think of you," but "when I remember you in prayer." This second word for prayer highlights the discipline of recalling in prayer the needs of others. The next clause confirms our understanding of his terminology:

always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all (Phil 1:4)

"All my remembrance" in verse 3 parallels "always offering prayer" and also "my every prayer" in verse 4. "Prayer" (deēsis), is our third word (occurring twice), meaning "petition" (Zerwick) or "entreaty." It is translated "supplication" in 4:6 (NASV, ESV). The Apostle Paul was a man of prayer, and joyful thanksgiving was an important feature of his prayers. This was particularly the case with respect to the Philippians, for whom he was particularly thankful and concerning whom he especially rejoiced.

We'll return to the theme of the Apostle's prayers next time as we look at verses 9-11. For now we will focus on why the Apostle Paul is thankful.

Remember the background. The Apostle had had a rough time in Philippi. He had been beaten with sticks, and after "many blows" (Acts 16:23) he was thrown into prison. Lydia, as well as the jailer, and a slave girl were converted, but there was little visible fruit. Yet, he says, in effect (v. 3) "I thank my God in all my reminiscing of you and when I pray for you, I am able to do so with joy!" It was a place of considerable pain for the Apostle Paul, yet he remembers it with joy. So the question is, why is Paul filled with joy when he prays for the Philippians? Why isn't' he worried? Why no anxious thoughts in the face of a hostile city, the attacks of Satan, and an uncertain future? Because of their constant, faithful support of his ministry.

He tells us why in the next verse:

in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. (Phil 1:5)

The Apostle Paul has joy and confidence because of their consistent "participation" in the gospel. They had been active and persistent participants "from the first day" until the present. Others had deserted him. "You alone," he says, "shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving" (4:15).

"Participation" (koinonia) is our word for fellowship. Here it refers not to a warm, friendly atmosphere, but to shared, active "partnership" (NIV). Zerwick renders it "contribution" or "cooperation."1 Their involvement "in the gospel," that is, in the work of the gospel, resulted in genuine, deep fellowship with the Apostle. As they gathered to pray, to study the Word, to care for the needy, rich mutuality resulted. This is the Apostle Paul's use of the word. True Christian koinonia is active involvement.

There is a true sense in which we can say that almost everyone comes to the church not only in search of God, but also in search of fellowship. People want to belong. They want to know others and be known and accepted. However, true fellowship requires active participation. One will not find it on the periphery of the church. One will remain detached and membership will remain unsatisfying if one does not become actively involved in the progress of the gospel. Fellowship cannot be found by merely standing around the coffee pot.

How had they participated in the Apostle Paul's ministry? In verses 28-30 he speaks of their suffering for Christ in their involvement in the "same conflict" in which he was involved. This probably refers mainly to their continued financial, prayer, and moral support in the face of opposition. In addition, they even sent Epaphroditus to minister to him (2:25).

Moreover they had persisted in their support of the Apostle, "from the first day until now" (1:5). They had supported the Apostle Paul from the worst of times "since the time of my imprisonment," and throughout his crucial ministry "in the defense and confirmation of the gospel" (v. 7). Their persistent, faithful support was the basis of Paul's gratitude. They had proven themselves over time in difficult circumstances.

So the Apostle Paul is thankful. To whom? To God. He sees what God has done. Because God's concerns are his chief concern, he rejoices. He remembers others in prayer, which as Matthew Henry reminds us, "The best remembrance of our friends is to remember them at the throne of grace."2 He might have been embittered by his circumstances, by the attacks of others, by his abandonment by still others. He might have been completely absorbed by his own problems, licking his own wounds, obsessed with getting out of prison, with what his critics were saying, and so on. Instead he is thankful, joyful, prayerful. His eye is on the mark. His concerns are eternal. He cares for the progress of the gospel, and because he sees it in the lives of the Philippians, he rejoices. This is how we get out of our pits of self-pity. We engage in gospel work. We focus on the progress of the gospel in the lives of others. Then when our grapes go sour, we can still rejoice because God is still getting His glory.

Assured

Not only is the Apostle Paul grateful with joyful and prayerful remembrance, he is also assured of the continued faithfulness of the Philippians. He is confident of their perseverance in the faith.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil 1:6)

"For" indicates his gratitude is connected to his confidence. "I am confident" (poithōs), "convinced,"3 or "sure" (ESV) "of this very thing," or "precisely this,"4 that I am about to describe. "That He who began a good work," that is, God who began a good work, "in you," in your hearts and in your congregation, or "in your midst,"5 will "perfect" it. He will "bring it to completion" (ESV). The "good work" of conversion and sanctification will continue to full sanctification. God will "perfect" it, or "bring it to completion" (ESV), right through to "the day of Christ Jesus," that is, to the end of time when Christ returns.

There are two stages in the Apostle Paul's confidence, or what we sometimes call assurance. Every believer wants to have solid assurance of his or her salvation. No one wants to live in fear that they might have fallen short and on the day of judgment might be lost. Yet assurance often proves elusive. Upon what does the Apostle Paul base his confidence?

First, he sees that God is at work. The Apostle Paul had witnessed what God had begun to do (Acts 16). He had seen them repent. He had seen them come to faith. Their lives had been transformed. They were new creatures in Christ. All things had become new (2 Cor 5:17). What happens when people receive Christ? Their lives change in ways that can be seen. Where once there was hate there was now love; where once there was moral corruption there was now purity; where once there was pride there was now humility; where once there was covetousness there was now generosity. Was this transformation not a sign that God was at work? At times people will come to me with doubts of their salvation. They're struggling. They think they may be the greatest hypocrites in the history of the world. So I will ask, "Let me see now. Five years ago you hated God's people, now you love them; you hated God's word, now you devour it; you were bored by God's worship, now you are thrilled by it; you were indifferent to the lost, now you are burdened for them; you indulged your every lust, now you long for holiness; you were consumed with bitterness, now you have peace and joy. How did that happen? Did you generate all that change on your own?" The answer is, of course not. God is at work in you. He caused you to be born again (Jn 1:12,13; 3:1ff). He has given you a new heart and a new life. This is the foundation of our confidence--not our work, but the evidence in us of God's work. It's a subtle but crucial work. It is not my good works to which I point but to God who is generating the good works.

Second, he is confident that God will complete what He has begun. He "will perfect it." He will "perfect" or "complete" (epitelesi). His work. This is what God does. He is faithful. He finishes what He starts. He never abandons His work half-done. If He's begun to work, He will complete it. This is the basis of the Apostle Paul's confidence and our assurance. He had seen a high level of commitment in the Philippians over an extended period of time. This proved to him that they were the real thing. He elaborates in verse 7, as we have seen:

For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.

Feeling this way about you, having this confidence, is "right," he says. He reinforces the ground of his conviction, "Let me say more about why I believe in your continuing faithfulness. It is because of this: "since" you Philippians have been with me through the good and bad; since you are persisting in the cause of Christ; since you did so "both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel;" since you did so from the "first day until now," through thick and thin; since you have supported me at considerable cost to yourselves; since consistently you have been "partakers of grace with me," or "participants" or "partners" (sugkoinōnos) in the ministry (grace here probably referring to the apostolic ministry); since all this is true, together they are a clear sign of the work of God, because without His power your faithfulness is impossible."

I believe it is proper in times of depression or doubt, when we doubt our salvation, to ask ourselves these questions: Is there any sign that God is at work? Have I made any more progress? Am I more obedient? Am I more compassionate towards the poor? Am I more loving towards the needy? Do I love my neighbor and enemies? Is there evidence of the fruit of the Spirit? Progress in these areas can reassure us that God is at work transforming us, and that He will complete what He has begun. Because God is at work I am saved and I cannot be lost.

Affection

Finally, the faithfulness of the Philippians has resulted in the Apostle's deep affection for them. He says in verse 7, "I have you in my heart." You Philippians occupy a very important place in my life. He goes on,

For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:8)

He makes emphatic his affirmation by using a form of an oath: "For God is my witness." "How I long for you," he says. "Long" - epipothō - is a strong word. But he goes on. "I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus." "Affection" literally means "bowels," the seat of the affections in the ancient understanding, what we would call the heart. The Apostle Paul's normal expression would have been, "I long for you in Christ." Even that is a strong statement. However, by adding "bowels" (splagchna), according to Theodore Beza, the successor to Calvin at Geneva, Paul adds "great weight to his statement, so as to express intimate affection."6 Notice, too, that he says he longs for them all, not just the "witty and wealthy," says Matthew Henry, "but even the meanest and poorest."7 When God is at work, and the people of God are at work together for the cause of the gospel, great affection develops between them. This is what we see in the relationship between the Apostle Paul and the Philippians. They cannot remain detached, distant, and disconnected. Deep mutuality develops. This will be the case for us as well. All of us.

Remember the problem of unity that we mentioned in the introduction? Paul's thanksgiving is for them all. His confidence is in them all. His longing is for them all. The church is one - a unity.

When God is at work, we thank God for what He is doing, for what we see happening in the lives of others, and we develop great love for each other.

"When God is at Work" Terry Johnson, Independent Presbyterian Church / II. Expositions of Philippians / Philippians 1:3-8 / February 1, 2009