Philippians 1:1-2 November 1, 1998 Fred Johnson, a businessman from Portage, Wisconsin, went on a business trip to Louisiana. Upon arrival, he plugged his laptop into the hotel room port and sent an e-mail back home to his wife, Jennifer Johnson at her address JennJohn@aol.com. Unfortunately, in his haste, he mistyped a letter and the email went to JeanJohn@aol.com, a Mrs. Jean Johnson of Somerville, New Jersey, the wife of a pastor who had just passed away. The preacher's wife took one look at the e-mail and fainted. When she was finally revived by her daughter, she nervously pointed to the message, which read: "Arrived safely, but it sure is hot down here." Clarity in communication is vital if we are ever to achieve the desired results. Knowing what to say and how to say it is crucial if we want to be heard. But just as it is important to write correctly, we must know to whom we are sending the message. This morning we are going to begin looking at an ancient letter from the pen of Paul to the believers in Philippi, written 2000 years ago. This letter, unlike the mistaken email received by Jean Johnson, was neither a casual correspondence of travel itinerary, nor was it the sad news of an unfortunate destination. The letter to the Philippians is one of joy expressed in terrible circumstances. Over the next several weeks we will move through this letter seeing how Paul, while in prison, is still able to be thankful for the work God has done. Paul opens with typical formality, but expresses wonderful truths well directed to his intended recipients. Often, these introductions are quickly passed over, but in them we see the power of God to transform lives in a few simple words.
SERVANTS OF CHRIST: Paul and Timothy Paul's lineage was anything but servile. Born in the southern region of modern-day Turkey, Paul’s Jewish heritage was combined with a profound understanding of Hellenistic culture. He lays out his credentials in 3:4-6: "If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless." This is a man of influence and learning. He was trained by the great Gamaliel; he became a persecutor of the early believers, but now he is the one persecuted. But Paul is not alone, with him is his friend and pupil, Timothy. Paul mentioned Timothy at the top of this letter perhaps because he was well respected by the church in Philippi. We first meet Timothy in Acts 16 shortly before Paul and his companions go to Philippi. Timothy was the product of a mixed marriage: a Jewish mother and a Greek father. Timothy came to Paul with good recommendations from the believers in that region, having already demonstrated his Christian maturity. Paul later wrote two letters to this disciple who served the church. Paul expresses his love for Timothy later in this letter: "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel." Philippians 2:19-22 Servants? What should shock us is Paul’s description of their role: servants. The word here is doulos, better translated “slave.” While this was used in a positive sense of someone who served God as a prophet, the word is most associated with those lowest of ancient society. While describing himself as a slave, notice what is lacking in this introduction. He neglects his official title: Apostle, which he often includes. "Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead" Galatians 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus" Ephesians 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother" Colossians 1:1 We wouldn’t expect a great Apostle, one so well-educated and important to the early church to refer to himself as nothing more than a slave. We think it should read: Saint Paul to the lowly Philippians, rather than Slave Paul to the saintly Philippians. This reversal is an important theme in Philippians. Paul focuses on the lowly service more than that of privileged position, so he reminds his readers of their position in Christ as saints and his position before them as a servant. But there is another reason for this designation. It is not just metaphorical. He is a slave since as he writes this letter Paul is in jail, in Roman custody. "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly." Philippians 1:12-14 This internment most likely coincides with the house arrest while in Rome as Luke describes in Acts 28:17-20. So while he is a servant, notice what he calls his recipients. SAINTS IN CHRIST If Paul, the great apostle, is a slave in chains, what about the recipients of this letter? Philippi was an important city in a strategic location. Situated on the western shore of the Aegean Sea in ancient Macedonia (modern Greece), Philippi today is nothing more than an assortment of ruins. This city had its origins 400 years before Paul’s time when Philip of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, conquered this region and named the city after himself. Later it became a Roman colony, settled by retired military soldiers and officers, which by AD 60, made up of the population. We’ll look more closely at the town in the coming weeks, especially as Luke describes Paul’s foray into the city to establish a church. Why does Paul call them saints? Paul speaks well of this church in his writings as they came to his aid on several occasions. But his designation of “saints” is not because of how they responded to him, but because of their position in Christ which gives them that identity. To call someone a “saint” in our day usually conjures up ideas of Mother Theresa or a plaster image in a cathedral. Their faces betray dour piety and their heads radiate the halo of holiness. A saint is a superchristian, to most people. But Scripture knows no such status. Being a “saint: or “holy one” is not based on the character or performance of the individual, but is placed on the person by the God who calls them to be his. In Exodus 19:6 God calls Israel holy for He, the holy God who brought them into a covenant relationship, is holy. This designation of saints is applied to all believers. In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses the letter to those who are sanctified (whose root is holy or saint) and called to be holy (called saints). As you read on in Paul’s letter to Corinth, you’ll notice that those people are anything but candidates for sainthood based on their lifestyles. They fell into factions, imbibed in incest, lavished in lawsuits&ldots;they were an immoral bunch. But their status before God was based not on their own righteousness, but on what Christ had done. By His death for them as those elect by God, they were set apart, the essence of what holiness is all about. The reason Paul calls them saints is because they are “in Christ.” By itself, "saint" might suggest self-effort resulting in self-improvement, a costly scheme reaching loftier heights of living. It might suggest the unbiblical meaning given to the word in ecclesiastical and popular use. But in reality the Christian’s position as a saint involves a reorientation away from self and towards Christ. Candidacy for sainthood has nothing to do with you, but everything to do with Christ. This favorite Pauline expression simply refers to the fact that we are incorporated into Christ. To be in Christ is to possess every aspect of salvation; everything necessary to our eternal welfare has been secured for us by the action of God in Christ and is stored up in Christ for us to share and enjoy. With these saints there are two groups: overseers and deacons. Paul, in a letter that focuses on the joy of humble service, a letter in which he by-passes his usual distinction of apostle, tips his hat to the leaders in that church, but identifies them not for their superior status, but in the focus of their service. “Overseer” comes from the Greek “episkopos,” from which we get the word “Episcopalians.” This does not mean the church in Philippi was ruled by Anglo-Saxons with a penchant for Country Clubs and great investment portfolios. Rather “Episcopalian” refers to a form of church government which looks to overseers, more commonly called “bishops,” to run the church. The overseer or bishop in the early church was not a separate office; rather the term focused on the function of the leader more than the office. Oversight is what they did. “Episkopos” comes from a verb which means to visit; it implies the looking after or care given to someone. In the ancient world the title was given to judges, councilors,and temple officials who watched over the people to guide them. The term is synonymous with elder or presbyteros. In Acts 20:28, as Paul is making his way back to Jerusalem, he stops off at Ephesus and gathers the leaders of that church, the elders (verse 17). He commands them to “keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God.” There we have three important terms for what a leader in the church does. "Elder" focuses on seniority, experience and wisdom. "Overseer" describes the function of how that elder is to work. Finally, "shepherd," from which we get our word “pastor,” likewise points to the work of care and nurture the leader in the church is to have over his people. We see this same relationship in 1 Peter 5:1-4. Paul is not addressing one bishop over the various churches in Philippi, but a group of overseers, just as the New Testament speaks of multiple elders in a church. Leadership in a church is committed to a group, not an individual. These different titles speak of the same person. At Cornerstone we have multiple elders, of which I am one. While my energies are given to teaching, the work of Dave DeYoung, Tim Hannon and Steve Sinclair are all given to the job of oversight, of shepherding. As your Session we have divided the families among the elders to try our best to serve you. As we grow we will need to train more elders, more overseers, more shepherds so that we can encourage all of you all the more. The second group also
are leaders in the church whose function it is to serve: deacons. "Deacon" is a transliteration of diakonos. The term originally referred to someone whose job it was to serve others. Its origins may be found in Acts 6 when a feud broke out in Jerusalem between the Palestinian Jews and those Jews from the Greek world who now resided in Jerusalem. The widows of these Greek, or Hellenistic Jews had no family to care for them and were being neglected. The apostles found their time being taken up with caring for these women so much so they could not get their primary job done, teaching God’s Word. For this reason seven men were chosen who were no theological slackers themselves. The qualification for overseers and deacons is delineated in 1 Timothy 3. At Cornerstone we do not have deacons yet. We will begin this winter training some who will be presented before the congregation this coming fall. Their job is to see that the physical needs of Cornerstone members are met as well as looking for opportunities to serve those outside our church, too. How is leadership to be exercised? What is the relationship between the leaders and the led? The one word which provides the answer: “the saints with the bishops and deacons.” In a letter which explains the necessity of serving others, Paul begins by grouping together the whole church and its leaders in one group. The Christian leader is not one who takes the easy path of being out in front and demanding all others to follow. Nor does the leader play the crowd and adopt their personae. The more demanding discipline is found in the servant leader which Paul hints at here. These leaders first see themselves as a part of the body, not people dropped in from outside, or from above. It involves patiently waiting for the Holy Spirit to grant unity to the church in making and executing plans. It involves willingness to be overruled, to jettison role-playing and status seeking, to be ready to cast a single vote with everyone else. It involves putting the welfare of the body of Christ before all personal advantage, success or reputation and it involves sacrifice for the Lord and his gospel. It is the leadership of those who are content to stand among the saints as those who serve. These leaders are those who will call themselves slaves of Christ Jesus. The world measures a man's greatness by the number who serve him. Heaven's yardstick measures a man by the number who are served by him. SALUTATIONS FROM CHRIST How can there be saints that serve? Verse 2 reads like a standardized greeting, such as we may use on any form letter. But Paul takes the form used at that time and changes it to reflect the change that comes because of the Gospel. Grace In ancient Greek letters the writer would first identify himself and the recipients of the letter, then he would say Chairein, which means "rejoice," but in a letter “Greetings!” Paul altered chairein to read charis or "grace!" This slight change of letters denotes a significant theological shift. This simple word summarizes Paul’s understanding of Christ’s work for us in salvation. With this greeting, Paul points out the great foundation out of which we can serve as slaves and the foundation from which we can be called saints in Christ. God’s gift of grace, the empowering from Him is the means by which we are saints who serve. Philip Yancey, in his book What's So Amazing About Grace? says, “Christians have spent enormous energy over the years debating and decreeing truth; every church defends its particular version. But what about grace? How rare to find a church competing to 'outgrace' its rivals. Grace is Christianity's best gift to the world, a spiritual nova in our midst exerting a force stronger than vengeance, stronger than racism, stronger than hate. Sadly, to a world desperate for this grace the church sometimes presents one more form of ungrace.” Peace Paul not only takes the
Greek introduction and alters it, he adds to it the Hebrew by-product of grace: peace. In
the Greek world, as in ours today, peace was understood only as the antithesis to war.
When Paul uses peace there is the added concept of a general sense of well-being. Peace is
not only the cessation of conflict, but the presence of satisfaction and contentment.
Peace is the inner assurance and tranquillity that God gives believers that keeps them
spiritually confident and content even in the midst of turmoil. According to a survey conducted by the Gordon S. Black Corporation for USA Today, "peace of mind" and "spiritual well-being" are what people are looking to find in religion today. But their conception of what this peace is and where it comes from is quite shallow. Just as it was the grace of God that first brought peace to sinners, so grace always precedes peace, for God is always taking the initiative to act on behalf of His people and to keep them in possession of those blessings which He purchased for them with the blood of His Son. The saint is never left to walk the path of obedience alone. We are saints, called to serve because grace is given which produces the peace to endure. Where does this come from? From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We may know what we need, but we must never forget the source. The grace to live as God commands comes from a loving Father who supplies our needs through the death of His Son, Jesus. The single preposition “from” governs both names, and has the effect of hyphenating them together into one single source of blessing. All the divine greatness of our Lord, all the divine love and saving efficacy of the Father and the Son come together in divine union to pour out upon the sinful saints like you and me whatever we need in our life. When we look at our lives, being called a saint can be mighty intimidating. We know ourselves well enough to realize that sainthood does not describe our nature. But, like the church in Philippi, Paul did not mistakenly send this letter. We are that recipient. We are saints. Yet we must always be reminded that our status as saints is not because of ourselves, but despite ourselves. We are saints in Christ; we are holy because He who has called us is holy. Learning the lesson of our holiness because of God’s grace is the first important step in the Christian life. From our declared status as saints we must then live in light of that imputed holiness and live lives reflecting our calling. As we are saints by the grace of God, we can then begin to serve others. Knowing that our standing before the Father is secure because of the work of the Son, we then have the freedom to call ourselves “slaves of Christ Jesus.” The fear of service dissipates when the peace that flows from grace allows us to lay aside our need for status, our striving for stature before others - so that we can serve others. The strength we need for this task is found here in the bread and the wine. The grace God offers us comes to us simply in His coming not to be served, but to serve and become a ransom for many. It is in this meal God’s grace is offered, God’s peace is realized. Christ became a servant so that we might become saints. |