Meditations from the Book of Philippians part 1 – Week 24 / June 11th

by admin

The work and evidence of the life of Christ in us – Philippians 1:1-11

Paul’s Greeting V1-2
Paul’s greeting is of course familiar and consistent with that of all his letters. However, he does in this greeting give us a small glimpse of the structure of the local church. This in itself teaches us that God has order and offices of authority in the local church. (Hebrews 13:17) This is for the good of His people who require and indeed need structure in order to be exposed to various ministries that will care for them and help them grow. Christians who routinely abandon this order of things will remain underdeveloped spiritually and are usually very critical of God’s people!

So, according to Paul, the local Church has the blessing of “trans-local ministry” in that Paul and Timothy exercised an itinerant ministry that included the Church at Philippi. It was blessed locally by Bishops or Elders who cared for, ruled over and protected the flock of God and it had Deacons, who did the same but not with the authority of an Elder.  Quite frankly they were in “a good place” and Paul calls the believers “Saints” or “Holy Ones”. We are all saints and our lives should reflect this!

Paul’s Eulogy V3-6
Paul is mindful of the fact that prayer for God’s people is crucial since the God we serve answers prayer and works through it. Paul held prayer in high regard and made it a vital part of his life. He was filled with much joy as he remembered and prayed for the Church at Philippi. There comes a time when Christians need to get passed their own problems and be free to focus on what matters to God. There are very few Christians like this in the world today! Too much of Christianity is filled with me, mine and ease! When will we really begin to prayer for others?

Moreover, Paul recognizes that we all share in the “fellowship of the gospel” which denotes a community, saved by the finished work of Jesus on the cross, which is blessed with a new way of living! This is all the more precious because the work that God began in us He is well able to complete and thereby bring us safely to the “day of Jesus Christ.” That is, the day of His glorious coming and our resurrection!

Paul’s Thinking V7-11
Paul has good thoughts about God’s people because he recognizes that the people of God are triumphant because they constantly draw on the grace of God. This grace sustains him in prison and it sustains them in life and witness. It is a never ending powerful resource that can enable the believer to face anything that is thrown at him or her on earth! We need to partake of it and this we do by waiting on God in fellowship, in the word and in prayer. (Acts 2:42) Don’t fail because you didn’t “tank up” on the grace of God! (2Corinthians 6:1) This grace of God is evidenced in a number of ways:

1. We grow in love. Jesus’ love is unique because it is based on true knowledge and discernment; meaning that we are given an insight into what people really need in order for us to help them.

2. We grow in appreciation for good and excellent things. The grace of God teaches us to love wholesome things and to shun the sight of wickedness and perversion. (Philippians 4:8-9) To be sure this means knowing when to say, “As for me and my family this television knob goes off!” …and……,

3. We grow in character. That is, our lives are filled with the “fruits of righteousness.” Knowing Jesus’ grace means changing all the time so that we reflect more and more what He looks like. (2Corinthians 3:18)

This is a process that we call sanctification and it will and should continue all the day of our lives! Those who walk in this way will most certainly live for the praise and glory of God.

Think on these things and do them and the God of peace will be with you.

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

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