with me in your Bibles to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter one. While you're turning there, just a reminder to members of the church, if you have not cast your ballot, please do that before you leave tonight. There are some ballots in the back and a box to put them in and God willing, we can get those counted tonight. So Philippians 1, our focus this evening will be verses 3 to 8, but I'll read verses 1 to 11. Philippians 1, beginning in verse 1. Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine, making requests for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart. In as much as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this, I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the written word of the living and true God. We thank you for the ministry of the Apostle Paul, both in preaching and praying, and defending and confirming the truth of the Gospel, but as well, writing Scripture. And we give praise to You that we have these letters, we give praise to You that it speaks to us as individuals, it speaks to us as families and churches, and we just pray that You'd give us the ears to hear and hearts to receive Your Word. May You forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness. May You provide for us the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. May He guide us. May He direct us. May He lead us into all truth. And may You affect us for good through the proclamation of Your Word. Be glorified now. Be pleased to sanctify Your people. And God, be pleased to save sinners. We pray that as the gospel has gone forth today on the Lord's day throughout this earth, we pray that it would have run swiftly and be glorified. We pray that many would come out of darkness into marvelous light, confessing, saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for that confidence that we have, that we share because of what Paul writes here, that you who begins this work will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Thank you that you bear long with us. Thank you that you are merciful to us. Thank you that the blood of Jesus Christ, your Son, does cleanse us from all sin. And we pray in his wonderful name. Amen. Well, as we come to Paul's epistles, the beginnings and the endings are very helpful for us because we get a glimpse into the apostle Paul and basically what made him tick. We know that ultimately what made him tick was the grace of God, his Damascus Road experience when Christ saved him, and then Christ sent him as the apostle to the Gentiles. But Paul was not just a theology machine. He didn't just sit in an ivory tower and churn out letters by inspiration of the spirit. that would be normative and authoritative for the churches of Jesus Christ. He was a real man with real challenges, with real affections, with a real heart for the people of God. In other words, he was a man of the people. And I think that is reflected here in the epistle to the Philippians, specifically in chapter 1, verses 3 to 8. But throughout, as I mentioned last week in introducing the book, There's not a polemical emphasis like you find in Galatians, where Paul right out of the chute is attacking heresy. He does do that in chapter 3 of Philippians, but he doesn't have that polemical mindset. As well, it's not the sort of a church that is like Corinth with a multitude of challenges in terms of sanctification. So Paul has to write and navigate some tricky pastoral issues with the church at Corinth. Most of what we find in Philippians is joy, exhortation to further unity, abounding in love and peace and the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and all those sorts of things. So as we come to verses 3 to 8, I want to notice first the apostles' gratitude for the Philippians. We see that in verses 3 and 4. Secondly, the Apostles' commendation of the Philippians. We see that in verses 5 and 6. And then finally, the Apostles' affection for them in verses 7 to 8. So he mentions that he prays, but the specific content or details of his prayer are indicated in verses 9 to 11. So we won't get to that tonight, but those are the particular petitions that Paul brings to the throne of grace on behalf of the Philippians. Verses 3 to 8 is basically just an overarching expression of his love for them, his kindness toward them, and his gratitude to God for them. So let's look first at the apostles' gratitude for them in verses 3 and 4. Notice, I thank my God. The object of his gratitude is not the Philippians. He doesn't say, I thank you, Philippians. Now, that would not be untoward. That would be something that one could say, but here specifically, as he expresses his gratitude, notice he uses that convention, I thank my God. And I think that's a wonderful observation, or Luther made a wonderful observation that Christianity is a religion of personal pronouns. Paul says, I thank my God. And he uses personal pronouns elsewhere as he communicates the blessings of God to the people of God. Look at Ephesians chapter one, specifically at verse three. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. And then specifically Galatians chapter 2 at verse 20, where we see the apostles' appropriation of the blessings of Christ, and he sees them as his own. They belong to Him. Notice in chapter 2, verse 20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, He says, and gave Himself for me. Now, if you cannot say that tonight, if you are a stranger to the grace of God, if you cannot own Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I've said it before, I'll say it again, believe on Him. Look unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, the book of Philippians was born out of the founding of the church in Philippi. And one of those founding members was a jailer that was going to do himself in when he thought that the prisoners were going to escape. And so Paul and Silas caution him against doing that, and he falls down at their feet, and he says, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? He doesn't say, or Paul doesn't say, I want you to go out and try harder. I want you to go give more money to your charity of choice. I want you to buffet your flesh. I want you to engage in all these sorts of things. No, it's very simple. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. That's the promise of God. God most high sent his son into this world. The divine word took upon himself our humanity. And in that humanity, our Lord Jesus Christ lived a life of absolute perfect righteousness. He never transgressed. He never lacked conformity to the law. That's important because we always transgress. We always lack conformity unto the law, so we need one to stand in our stead. But not only is his life absolutely crucial for us, but so is his death. The Baptist announces, behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. And when John the Baptist mentions that in John 1, it's not without a background, it's not without a context, it's not without the Old Testament. That is suggestive of all that happened in the Old Testament with the Levitical priesthood, with the sacrificial system, with the Day of Atonement. Israel was taught that you don't wander into the presence of a holy God without blood atonement. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. So Christ in His life, His perfect obedience to that law, Christ in His death as a substitutionary atonement in our place, and Christ in His resurrection. And Paul summarizes this in the epistle to the Romans, chapter 4. He says that Jesus, the Lord Jesus, was delivered up because of our offenses, and he was raised for our justification. So if you cannot say, my Lord and my God, if you cannot say, who loved me and gave himself for me, If you cannot see Jesus as your Lord, then come to Him in faith, believe on Him, and you will have everlasting life. And you'll know something of the blessedness of those personal pronouns, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. who loved me and gave himself for me." So for the Apostle Paul, as he writes here to the Philippians, he is sitting in a prison cell, and the things that cheer his heart are the contemplation of God, the contemplation of God's grace in the lives of the Philippians. And here he shows us that relation that he sustains to God. I thank my God. And for Paul, he was not like those unbelieving Jews that we see in John 15. Remember, Jesus upbraids them, he reproves them, he rebukes them. Why? Because they did not receive the one sent by the Father. And if you do not receive the one sent by the Father, it indicates that you actually hate the Father. Not that you love him less, not that you don't prefer his preferred religion, but rather you hate him, you despise him. Remember, he who is not with me, Jesus says, is against me. So for the Apostle Paul, he's not some general, vague, ambiguous monotheist. The Apostle Paul is Trinitarian, unashamedly so, conspicuously so, all throughout his epistles. He predicates divinity to our Lord Jesus Christ. He predicates divinity to the Holy Spirit, yet not three gods, one living and true God, who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. in Romans 9.5, and in Titus 2.13, and in Hebrews 1.8. I take Pauline authorship. I wouldn't die on that hill. And if you don't, that's okay. You're not going to get thrown out of the synagogue. But the bottom line is, is that we see that term, that title, theos, applied specifically to our Lord by the apostle Paul. But it's not just Paul. Other New Testament authors do that. Arguably, oftentimes, in various contexts, Lord, as it's applied to Jesus, is probably reminiscent of the divine name Yahweh. And so for the Apostle Paul, he's not about some vague notion of religion. He's not just spiritual. He is a Trinitarian theologian. He is a Trinitarian apostle. He is a Trinitarian preacher. And here he thanks my God, but then notice specifically the subject of his thankfulness upon every remembrance of you. And if we ask the question, who are the you? Verse one tells us, notice Paul and Timothy bond servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishops and deacons. So for the apostle Paul, as he's in this prison cell, he thanks God upon every remembrance of you. And again, brethren, if he's in prison, he's probably tempted, as I'm sure all of us would be, to be remembering food, to be remembering warmth. to be remembering bed, to be remembering all those creature comforts that we can't really disassociate ourselves from, because after all, we're creatures that like comforts. And yet for the Apostle Paul, as he spends these two years in that Roman imprisonment in AD 60 to 62, He writes, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. And there he expresses his thankfulness to God, not again in some vague way, not in some ambiguous way, but for the saints who are in Philippi with the bishops and the deacons. And I think through this, he commends for them his love. his remembrance, obviously, and then his commendation. And we'll see more of that as we move through the message tonight. But notice, we've got the object, my God, the subject, the you, with all the saints and bishops and deacons. But then notice the result of this gratitude. What does gratitude in the heart of a man do? Well, it promotes prayer to God. When you contemplate the blessings received, when you bask in the goodness that is from God, what is the reflex response? It is to pray to God. Notice in verse four, he says, always in every prayer of mine, making request for you all with joy. Now the apostle, as we learn from the book of Acts, and as he reminds us in this particular passage, preached a lot. The apostle taught a lot. The apostle testified a lot. The apostle wrote a lot, but the apostle prayed a lot. And I don't take this in the sense of at every moment of every day, every minute or every second, he was constantly praying. And every time he was constantly praying, he was thinking about the Philippians. I don't think the text demands that. When he talks about always be praying, he doesn't mean that if you're working with farm equipment and you could lose an arm, go ahead and don't think about that farm equipment and just pray. That's not responsible. I think it means that in his regular seasons of prayer, whatever that might have been for the Apostle, probably for Paul sitting in a prison cell, it was a lot, well in those times he would remember these Philippians. So the Apostle engaged in prayer. He engaged in intercession. An intercession is when we go to the throne of grace on behalf of others, and we seek to fetch blessings for them. And again, we'll see those in verses nine to 11. So the emphasis is not on unceasing prayer, but when Paul prays, he prays for the Philippians. Always in every prayer of mine, making requests for you all, but then notice the nature of his prayer. It is with joy. He's sitting in a prison, languishing in a prison, for all he knows. When we introduced the book last week, we saw that the book of Philippians, specifically out of the prison epistles, Paul seems to think it could possibly happen that he would die, that he would be executed by the civil state. He makes a couple of statements in that regard. Now, I think that 2 Timothy, he knows he's going to die. 2 Timothy 4 at that time, The temperature in the empire, specifically against Christianity, was at a fever pitch. It wasn't quite like that in 60 to 62. It's building, but it's not what it's going to be in the mid-60s when Paul likely had his head chopped off by Nero. Not Nero personally, but by one of Nero's henchmen. So nevertheless, there is increasing tension, there is increasing opposition, and Paul sees that it's possible that he may die. but yet he's got joy. He's got joy in his God as he reflects upon the blessings that Paul himself has received, but he's got joy in God as he reflects upon the blessings that these people in Philippi had received. Remember, the Lord opened Lydia's heart to receive the things spoken by the Apostle Paul. Remember, the Philippian jailer believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. What happens? The jailer does that. The jailer invites them in. The jailer tends to their wounds. The jailer and his household are baptized by the Apostle Paul. So Paul loves these people. Paul has joy at the contemplation of these people. So his gratitude has a particular object. It is God, and it is the blessing of God upon others. And I think this aspect of joy is most helpful in gospel ministry. Now, this isn't a backhanded approach to lambast the people of God in the church that I happen to pastor, but it goes right with this sort of mindset. Just disassociate me and you, and I don't have any cause for non-joy. I mean, there's challenges and struggles, but there's no absence of joy in my heart. I love the church here. I love the brethren. Try to pray for you regularly. But Paul, again, accepting Pauline authorship of Hebrews, writes this in Hebrews 13, 17. He says, obey those who rule over you and be submissive. This isn't civil government. Romans 13, civil government passage, all the way. This isn't civil government. Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls. The last thing you want from your civil government is them watching out for your souls. He's talking about ecclesiastical government. He's talking about the leadership in the churches. He's talking about the pastoral ministry that is the abiding teaching office and governing office in the ministry of the church. Notice, obey those who rule over you and be submissive for they watch out for your souls as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. In other words, have a vested interest in the proper functioning, the joy-filled functioning of a gospel ministry. It's profitable for the people of God when there's peace. when there's unity, when the fruits of the Spirit are in operation. It is profitable for the people of God when our churches aren't at each other's throats. It's profitable for the people of God when there aren't those divisions, when there aren't those cliques, when there aren't those subsets within the context of a local body. Paul the Apostle had joy in God and joy for the Philippians. Now notice, secondly, his commendation of them in verses five and six. Two things to observe here. First, the fellowship in the gospel, and secondly, the recognition of God's grace. Remember, he's in the attitude, the disposition of gratitude, and in his remembrance, he prays for them. And first, he highlights their fellowship in the gospel, and he moves from the past to the present to the future in these couple of verses. Notice, with reference to the past, verse 5, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. And this fellowship in the gospel doesn't mean that two believers go to a hockey game together. That's not it. That's friendship, and that's perfectly consistent. I guess you could talk about Jesus the whole time, as your favorite team is not scoring. But that's not particularly or strictly fellowship. Fellowship, participation, you've heard the great word koinonia, it means to rally around the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, very specifically, very conspicuously. And so Paul thanks God, and as he remembers the Philippians, as his heart is flooded with joy, the specific reference of the specific commendation comes in verse five, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. Brethren, it's probably about 10 years later, give or take a couple of years on either end, that Paul had been in Philippi in Acts 16. And so, when he gets to Acts 28, and he's in prison in years 60 to 62, some time had lapsed. And as he's writing to them, he's able to reflect that what happened on that first day was good. It was blessed. It was real. It was valid. It wasn't a flash in the pan. when Lydia had her heart open, when the Philippian jailer bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, when others through their testimony and through their evangelism, through the ministry perhaps of Luke who was left behind, it seems to be indicated there in the book of Acts that Luke was left behind by Paul there for a specific reason. So Paul is able to reflect and say, you know what? You brethren have been faithful in the fellowship of the gospel. Now, in terms of Paul in the gospel, he did most of the heavy lifting. He was the one that went to the synagogues. He was the one that canvassed the Roman Empire. He was the one that got beaten. He was the one that got imprisoned. He was the one that had to testify before the civil government. But they participated with Him, they fellowshiped with Him, they were engaged alongside of Him by virtue of their prayer, by virtue of monetary support, by virtue of their encouragement, by virtue of their fellow suffering, even alongside of Him. Philippians 1, 29, it's been granted to you not only to believe in His name, but also to suffer for His name. So the Philippians were not immune to the sufferings associated with gospel life. And so Paul commends them for that fellowship in the gospel ministry. And that fellowship in the gospel ministry was indicated by or indicative of a love that they had for the apostle. Look over for just a moment at verses 15 and following. Chapter 1, verse 15. Some, indeed, preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will. The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains, but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. So these were of the loving sort. These were the ones who had an affection for Paul. Their fellowship was manifested or evidenced in that reality, that when they did testify, when they did witness, when they did go soul winning, they weren't doing it from envy and strife. Now we should notice that even though these men were marked by envy and strife, and even though these men had selfish ambition, they were nevertheless preaching the gospel properly. Gotta get that. In Galatia, they were not preaching the gospel properly. Judaizing is heresy. Adding works to faith for salvation is condemnable heresy. That's why Paul pronounces the anathema. But notice in verse 18, what then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. So whatever the internal problems were in these particular men, whatever envy and strife they had, most likely toward the Apostle Paul, perhaps they were embarrassed, perhaps they looked down their noses on the fact that he was in prison, whatever their motivation was, at least in this particular instance, they nevertheless preached Christ and Him crucified. So what's Paul's point? whether it's out of love for me or whether it's out of contempt for me. As long as Christ is preached, I rejoice in that. That is what marks the apostle Paul. Well, you didn't have goodwill toward me. He doesn't care. I mean, I'm sure at some level he cares, because we all like to be liked. But for the apostle, that the gospel was preached was the most important thing. So the generosity of the Philippians. I mentioned this last week and we looked specifically at Philippians 4, but look at 2 Corinthians 8. I referred to this just to illustrate the graciousness and the kindness and the large heartedness of the people of God in Philippi. So the main emphasis in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 is to cough up. cough up money, Corinthians. There is famine in Judea. Our brethren are starving. Our brethren are hurting. Our brethren need our help. And so the overarching concern in this section of 2 Corinthians is Paul urging the people of God to give generously and with large hearts to the particular needs of brethren elsewhere. He uses the example in 2 Corinthians 8-9 of our Lord Jesus. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. In light of that reality, Corinthians, empty your pockets. Cough it up, give it up, be kind and large-hearted. But before he gets to that example of Jesus, he goes to Macedonia, specifically Philippi. Notice in 8.1, "...Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, that in a great trial of affliction..." Listen to the language here. They're not fat cat bankers sitting on piles of dough. They've got real lives, real hardships. I mean, Lydia was well-to-do, but I'm sure a Philippian jailer in the first century wasn't making bank. He didn't have a roll sitting in his driveway. And I would probably imagine that a bulk of the others that came to Christ in that particular setting didn't just have money trees in their backyards to go peel off fat stacks for those suffering in Judea. He says that in great trial or in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. Brethren, oftentimes in the New Testament, when you see that word fellowship or koinonia, undergirding it is a financial element. The fellowship of the saints. Yes, we love each other, we talk about Jesus, we talk about the Trinity, we talk about those things that are near and dear to our heart, but we seek to alleviate the needs of the brothers and the sisters. And that's one of the things that he commends them for here. Verse five, and not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God. So we urge Titus that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything, in faith and speech and knowledge and all diligence and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also. So back to Philippians chapter one. He appreciates, he thanks God as he remembers them, as joy fills his heart, he is thankful for their fellowship in the gospel. That participation along with Paul, for Paul, and along with Paul for other churches that were in need. But then notice in verse 6 the recognition of God's grace. So this is his commendation. Again, not, you guys are great, I'm glad you reached down and pulled up your bootstraps and got yourselves saved. That's not it at all. He recognizes in them the presence of God's grace. So notice, he moves from the past, from the first day until now, to the present, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you, and then he moves to the future, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. But with reference to this, we need to understand what the good work is. It's not commending them for their good works, plural. He's not commending them for the kind-heartedness that they demonstrated. He's not commending them for the good gift that they gave via Epaphroditus as they sent him according to chapter 4, and then Paul sends him back according to chapter 2. He's not commending them for their good works. He is recognizing God's grace in beginning the good work of salvation. So the good work is not theirs, but it's God's. The demonstration or confirmation of this good work, the way that Paul knows that God's grace is operative in them, is through their profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a life lived in light of that profession of faith, just like we do today. How do we know somebody's a believer? Well, they've got to believe the truth, and then there needs to be fruit that is consistent with that truth, not perfection, not absolute righteousness, because we'd be waiting in vain. But with reference to the Philippians, he had seen God's grace in them through their profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and through their actions consistent with that profession. But again, the object of his thankfulness is God. It's God's grace. It is God who is the author of this good work. Now notice the text in verse six, being confident he is by their profession and by their conduct of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. And in that short verse, it encompasses the entirety of God's good grace in the salvation of sinners. Basically, what we have is the election of sinners according to God's sovereign grace. We see that in Ephesians 1-4. We have the regeneration of sinners by God's Spirit, John chapter 3, Titus chapter 3. As well, we have the justification of sinners by the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I just say everywhere in Paul's letters, and then the glorification of sinners by the power of God. So this text emphasizes it is God's grace alone by which sinners come out of darkness into marvelous light. It is God's grace alone that keeps them in that place, and it is God's grace alone that will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Look at Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, you see a similar emphasis there. Philippians 2, 12. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. I love the way he says that. It wasn't a case in Philippi that it was, look busy, Paul's coming. Be holy, Paul's coming. You know, as long as he's around, we got to have a good show. No, in my absence, you're faithful. In my absence, you're consistent. In my absence, you're persevering. There's always that trepidation that parents feel when they go out for a night and they leave the kids at home. It's that last five minutes that the kids say, okay, we got to get busy. Mom and dad are coming home. We kind of like to think you were busy at whatever you were supposed to be doing for the two or three hours that we were gone. So Paul commends these brethren in such a way as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only. You're not men pleasers, you're not doing eye service, you're not just trying to get the accolades of the Holy Apostle, but now much more in my absence. The word I get from you when Epaphroditus arrived to me, he speaks in glowing terms of you all. Your first day was indicative of your 10th year, and I am confident it's gonna be like that in year 20, year 30, year 50. I'm confident that the grace of God that has come to you, that good work that He began in you, I am confident that it will come to full expression in glorification when you enter into the new Jerusalem. But notice what he then says. He says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. The language there is very specific. He's not saying work for your own salvation. We're not working for our own salvation. We're working out what God put in. the God who began this good work in us. He says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, and then note for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. So back in verse six, verse five, he commends them for their fellowship in the gospel. Verse six, he recognizes God's grace is operative in their lives. And he recognizes this, not by some mystical connection, but by their right profession in the Son of God, who loved them and died for them, but as well in that conduct that is consistent with a profession of faith. So the God who begins the good work will complete it. I think this is one of the, you know, I don't wanna say best text, but it's one of the best texts with reference to assurance It's not you that it's all dependent upon. Now again, that doesn't mean you lay down like a slug, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, understand that it's God who's at work in you both to will and to do according to his good pleasure. But where's the basis? Where's the foundation for assurance of faith? It's not in us. Brethren, if we could lose our salvation, we would lose our salvation. There's no question within a millisecond. If we could, we would. But God is faithful. God is gracious. God is kind. So the Apostle's confidence is not grounded in the free will of the Philippians, but in the free grace of God. The Apostle's confidence is not grounded in the faithfulness of the Philippians, but in the faithfulness of God. And the Apostle's confidence is not grounded in the perseverance of the Philippians, but in the power and the preserving power of the Holy Spirit of God. So he's confident, not in them as them, but he's confident in God's grace operative in them, which is manifest through their profession and through their specific conduct. So when we look at this particular section, brief as it may be, we learn that prayer, when we go to prayer for others, it's not a celebration of their virtues, it's rather a celebration of the mighty power of God Almighty. That doesn't mean we can't say, thank you, Lord, for giving me a nice wife. She's great, I love her, thank you for her kindness. But prayer first and foremost is a time to delight in the good gifts of God Almighty. And that brings us then finally to the apostles' affection for them in verses seven to eight. We see here an obligation and confirmation. Note the obligation in verse seven, just as it is right for me to think this of you all. This is right. I'm obligated. I need to appreciate and recognize God's grace in your life. I need to acknowledge that He began this good work. I need to acknowledge that He will continue this good work. I need to acknowledge that He will bring this good work to fruition. It's right for me to think this of you all. as well his confidence in the Philippians. He's going to explain that more, but they have shown themselves faithful. It's not praising God first and foremost for their faithfulness, keeping them in the grace of God, but that is a fruit, a byproduct, an effect or consequence of what God's grace had produced in their lives. And so he's thankful for that. So notice, just as it is right for me to think this of you all, now, He goes on, "...because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace." Note the intimacy that he has with these people. Brethren, I wouldn't... I don't know that I want to go down that road, but I want to make sure that we understand that the communication of one's love and affection for others is not effeminate. It can be, obviously, but it's not. The mighty, holy Apostle Paul had no problem, as it were, opening up his chest cavity and saying, you're right there. There's affection that the apostle has for the church in Philippi, and he is not afraid or, you know, he's not questioning his masculinity by communicating that love for them. Look at the language, just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart. I love you people. I care for you people. I delight in you people. And notice, when we have people in our hearts, guess what we do with them? We bring them to the throne of grace. And that's a good thing, brethren. Having people in your heart evokes going for them to the throne of grace and seeking blessings on their behalf. This is a good model or paradigm for all of us to have one another in our hearts so that we can bring them to the throne of grace. He continues, I have you in my heart, and then this is by way of explanation, in as much as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. So basically, the Philippians participated with Paul in the good times, when God opens Lydia's heart, when God saves the Philippian jailer, when the jailer tends to their wounds, they leave Philippi as those who had had some very good times together. In fact, look at chapter four, specifically at verse 11. He says, not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I'm sorry, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. So the Philippians were with him in times of abounding, but the Philippians were not ashamed of him in times of abasement. And that's what he indicates here. In as much as both in my chains, Brethren, if you knew that somebody that you held in high regard ended up in prison, there might be suspicion. Well, I wonder, you know, is he running drugs? Was he, you know, selling raw milk? What was he doing? What was it that landed him in that position? There is a suspicion that is natural. Not with the Philippians. They knew if Paul's in prison, it wasn't because of a crime that he had committed. If Paul's in prison, it's because of the gospel. It's because of Christ and Him crucified. It's because of the escalation of persecution and oppression in the empire. They didn't doubt. They didn't wonder. There was no quandary with them. That's what I think is going on in the 115 and 16 men. That envy, that strife, that embarrassment, that irritation that one of their fellows or the mighty apostle Paul ended up in prison. Not so the Philippians. They were not fair weather fans. They stuck by the apostle. But also, notice he says, in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, for God is my... We'll get to that in a moment. One man says, in preaching boldly against tyrants and heretics and confirming the gospel in the hearts of the faithful. His imprisonment is not an obstacle for them. His battles at the synagogues, his battles before the civil government, those are not obstacles for them. These people love Paul. So as much as he has them in his heart, they have him in their heart. And that's a beautiful reciprocating relationship. And then he confirms this by divine testimony and then expresses personal affection. Notice in verse eight, for God is my witness. That's an oath. That is an oath that Paul invokes. And according to our confession, they are to be done in matters of wait and moment. Matters of wait and moment. Why is this a matter of wait and moment? Because the apostle Paul is in prison. He's writing a letter from his control center, his strategic operations center. I love to think of it that way. And he sends that letter to fellow soldiers. And these fellow soldiers are engaged in warfare. And these fellow soldiers need to know that Paul has their back. And he needs to continue to understand that they have his back. And so he calls or invokes God as his witness. I'm not making this up. This isn't literary flourish. I'm not just faking that I have you in my heart. We are in this together. If we're gonna continue in an increasingly hostile empire, if we're gonna continue to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified, if we're gonna continue to challenge the power structures of our day, both synagogue and empire, we need to have each other's backs. I need you to know that you're in my heart. I believe that I am in your heart, and I call God as my witness that what I am writing to you is absolutely 100% true. I want you to be able to lean on me, and I want to be able to lean on you." And then he expresses again large-hearted personal affection for them. For God is my witness how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. This is markedly, not markedly different, completely different than other epistles. But there is such a note of love and an emphasis on joy and delight in this epistle to the Philippians that I don't think it is without warrant. One has observed, probably others, that it has something of a farewell letter nature to it. Paul thinks he may possibly die. So what is he doing in the 11th hour? He's gathering his children to him, and he is telling them from the heart the things that he thinks concerning them, and communicating to them his love. Gil says, with reference to this language, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ, not with a human and carnal affection, but with a Christian and spiritual one, with a love which came from Christ and was an imitation of him, and on account of their being in Him, loved by Him, belonging to Him, and being believers in Him. It was in the most tender manner that He loved them, and was affected to them. The phrase denotes that His love towards them was internal, in His heart, and was most tender and strong, and like to that tender concern Christ had for them, and which He stirred up in them. It is right, brothers and sisters, to communicate your love and affection to one another. It is right, and it is good, and it is obviously true of God. He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. It's true of God the Son in the upper room. He loved them with an eternal love. He loved them to the end. He communicates that love in John 15. He communicates that love over and over again. So it is not untoward, it's not effeminate, it's not weird, and it's not wrong. It's apostolic to communicate one's love for another. Well, in conclusion, I would suggest that we learn from this a couple of quick lessons. First, the place of gratitude in the Christian life. We all know that threefold motif behind the Heidelberg Catechism, guilt, grace, gratitude. Gratitude. Gratitude displays a recognition of the goodness of God, doesn't it? Gratitude displays a recognition of the grace of God. We're not the guy that's praying next to the public and, you know, I thank you, God, that I'm not like other men. I thank you that I'm not an adulterer. I thank you that I'm not an extortioner. I thank you that I'm not like this publican. No, gratitude recognizes the goodness of God. Gratitude then promotes or evokes from our hearts prayer and praise to God. Gratitude is a very good disposition to maintain. Gratitude acknowledges God's goodness to us and to others in particular. It's good to survey the things going on in other people's lives too, right? There's something about us. I remember a sermon that was definitive for me in my thinking. This is going back a few years. And it was Greg Nichols, and he was preaching a sermon on, I think it was, at least he alluded to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 13, love does not behave rudely. And if you've ever talked to me on the phone, or if I've ever called you, I hope that this is true. I try to ask, is this a good time for you? Because Greg Nichols let us have it. How many times do people call you? Now, not so much anymore. Texting is a good thing. But how many times do people call you just assuming that you have an hour without ever checking to see if you have an hour? That's rude. Don't impose your life on others that way. Don't just drop yourself in their lap and say, hey, listen to what I've got to yammer on for for an hour. Listen to all about me, myself, and I. Love does not behave rudely. Love rather looks to the concerns, the needs, the wants, the issues of others. They might actually have a problem. They might actually have a praise report. They might actually have something going on in their lives. Let's try to pay attention to that once in a while. So with reference to this, we acknowledge God's goodness to us and to others as well. And I would say gratitude humbles us and hopefully weans us from self-dependence. When we're basking in the goodness that is God, hopefully we are reminded how good it is to bask in the goodness that is God, and that we don't want self-dependence. We don't want independence. We don't want autonomy. We don't want to do it on our own. We want to rest upon God's gracious provision as he gives it to us abundantly through the gospel of our salvation. And I would suggest then, secondly, and finally, the church's fellowship in the gospel ministry. I think there's this mindset that, you know, all I do is I go to church. I don't have a particular ministry. I don't have a specific thing that I do. So what has that produced over the last generation, almost? Well, we've got to have a ministry for everybody. We've got to plug them in. We got a parking lot ministry, you be the guy that waves people in, you can be the king of that ministry. I'm not necessarily denouncing that, but brethren, by participating in prayer and in preaching and in corporate worship, every member in the church, every attender in the church is as important as the minister of the gospel. So again, Paul may do the heavy lifting as he goes about from place to place, as he stands to defend and confirm the gospel against unbelieving Jews and Roman tyrants, but the brethren are right there beside him. Not in every instance, to be sure, but through prayer, through their love for him. Spurgeon was once asked about the secret to his success in preaching. He says, there's no secret. My people pray. What secret? We got an engine room down there. And there's brethren praying. So that when I preach, I know that there's prayers going up to God for His blessing upon the sinners and for the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit upon the believers. There's no magic, it's not esoteric, it's not mystical. The church participates in the gospel ministry. And brethren, I would say very personally that you just showing up each Sunday is a great boon and encouragement to my heart. I'd rather have you in here sitting than waving traffic out in the parking lot. This is a good place for the people of God to be. And in the final analysis, we have this God who has begun this good work in us. We are confident that He will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. I think that's a two-fold reference. Either our own death, when we are launched into the presence of the Son of God, or on that final day of judgment. But we have God and His mercy and His goodness and His grace to sustain us, and we are all partakers, and all participants, and all engaged in the fellowship of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for Your Apostle, and we thank You for these words penned by the Spirit, through him, and we ask God that you would just fill our hearts with affection for the brothers and the sisters here, as well, God, cause us to reflect often upon your good grace, and may it produce in our hearts a gratitude, a thankfulness that is expressed to you in prayer, that would be a sweet-smelling sacrifice and aroma unto you, and that you would be pleased to continue to bless here. May you save sinners, may you continue to sanctify your saints, and we have that confidence that you who began this work will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. And we pray in His most blessed name. Amen. We'll close with a brief time of meditation.