A PRAYER THAT SHAPES THE CHURCH
**Note: This series is entitled "Ode to Joy" based on Beethoven's music and Henry Van Dyke's lyrics. Paul wrote this letter from prison where he languished for two years. Yet, even while in chains, Paul rejoiced and found reasons for joy because of his faith in Christ Jesus and God's assurances to which he clung. The themes of Philippians are appropriate for our times when new crises on the world stage keep emerging and old ones flaunt their effects on us in rising costs and persistent anxieties. Paul will teach us that the Christian can find joy in the midst of trouble through Christ who strengthens him.
When a church opens itself completely to Jesus and makes him the center of its life, it finds itself overwhelmed by grace in the love of God. A church that seeks Jesus finds a new way to live together and more reasons to love one another, even when there are no natural connections to do so.
The Church at Philippi was a mystery in this way. Acts 16 tells us how the church began. The founding members were a rich fashionista, Lydia, a young girl who had once been possessed by a fortune-telling demon, and a hardened prison guard and his whole family. Nothing would bring these three people together in normal circumstances. They were from different social circles and interests. All they had in common was the gospel of Jesus Christ, but they had allowed this gospel to transform them – Jesus changed them! Even though they were different people from different cultures, Jesus gave them a new culture to unite them – a gospel culture.
Paul loved this church. He loved all the churches, but I believe he felt a special kinship with Philippi. With most churches, Paul had to defend his apostleship. In writing to Philippi, he opens with, “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus…” Not servants. Not apostles. Slaves! A slave, they knew, had no freedom apart from what the owner allowed them. Paul joyfully gave himself to Jesus as a slave to God’s will.
In these opening verses, we also see a focus on “Christ Jesus.” “Slaves of Christ Jesus…To all God’s holy people (saints) in Christ Jesus…” To refer to Jesus as “Christ Jesus” is a way of saying “King Jesus.” He is the Anointed One, the Son of God, the promised King in David’s line. You ‘re going to see that this is revolutionary and dangerous for Christians; you will also see it is the foundation for the gospel culture of the church.
Paul prays for this church. It’s this opening prayer we want to focus on this morning, for it is a prayer for the gospel culture to shape the church. It is a prayer we also want to pray.
1. Thank God for YOU! (1:3-6)
Paul’s prayer is a model I often follow. I am thankful for this church for so many reasons. Paul puts into words what is so important to him.
First, he says, “I thank my God every time I remember you,” (3). You can imagine that when someone mentions Philippi, Paul smiles and has warm fuzzies. With some congregations, Paul may have to think harder as to why he is thankful for them. Philippi is easy.
There is more to this sentiment though. The Greek will leave you wondering. For Paul may be saying, “I thank God that you remember me.” And that makes more sense in some ways because this letter is a “thank you” to the church for their financial and prayer support for Paul’s ministry. Most commentators can’t decide which it is – it could go either way. It will make more sense in our next point to be sure.
Skipping to verse 6 for a moment, we see a second reason for Paul’s joy over this church. If we consider that Paul is thankful for their remembrance of him financially and prayerfully, it is because it is evidence of God’s work in them. He prays with this assurance, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus,” (6).
Memorize this verse. When you feel like you are not progressing in your faith-walk, when you feel like you are not doing enough or good enough, remember this. Paul is confident of this: God started the work in you. God took the initiative to give us Jesus and to demonstrate his love for us in his cross. Think of Lydia (Acts 16:14) where it says that the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. If God did not begin the work in you, you would never have come to him. God continues his work in you. He did not call you to know Jesus and said, “good enough.” God is at work in you, making you to be like his Son continually. Even when you can’t see him, he’s working. Even in our suffering and in our pain and our trials, God is working in us. And we know that God will complete his work in you. Nothing will keep God from completing his work in you, even if you mess up. On the Day of Christ Jesus when we stand before his throne, what we are and who we are will be finished, an extreme makeover.
What a thing to say: I am confident of this; God is doing a great work in you. Isn’t that an awesome thing to say to a sister or brother in the Lord? And I say this to you now, I am thankful for you RFC, and I am confident that God is working something amazing in us all.
2. The Joy of Partnering with You (1:7-8)
What makes this prayer so meaningful is Paul’s attitude towards the Philippians. He is not condescending to them like an “owner” of the church to his renters; he calls them partners.
Let’s return to verse 5 and link it with 7-8. Paul says, “I thank my God…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…” That theme continues in 7-8 when he says, “…all of you share in God’s grace with me.”
The word he uses in both instances is a word I would like you to get used to: koinonia. It is a Greek word that means “fellowship” (but not coffee and donuts). Koinonia (fellowship) means “to partner together.”
Ray Pritchard said that the word “fellowship” originally held commercial overtones. If two men bought a boat and started a fishing business, they were said to be in koinonia – a formal business partnership. They shared a common vision, and each put their money into the venture to make it a reality.
True Christian fellowship or koinonia means sharing the same vision of Jesus, of sharing the good news with the world, and investing in this kingdom venture to make it a reality. When Paul thanks God for the “partnership” of the Philippians, he is thanking God that from the first day they heard about the gospel, they got busy, they rolled up their sleeves and helped advance the good news of Jesus. They put the gospel first as the controlling motivation of their lives and did whatever it took to bring this message of Jesus to everyone.
A couple of things make this partnership pop. The Philippians were not ashamed of Paul’s chains. He said, “…whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel…” We may have a very different view of Paul’s chains today – as a mark of his commitment no matter the obstacle – but in those days, to be imprisoned was seen as failure. It made the gospel look weak. It made Paul look like a criminal, a fraud, a telemarketer. The Philippians didn’t see it that way. They knew that it was for the sake of Jesus that Paul ended up in a cell.
Another amazing thing, this church was not wealthy, but they gave more money to the cause of Christ than the rich churches. They were the first to give to Paul’s mission. Paul praises them for giving out of their meagreness in 2 Corinthians. This is why Paul loves these people – he can see that Jesus got a hold of them. He says, “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ,” (8). The word “affection” refers to the heart generally, but more specifically it means the intestines, the kidneys, and the heart. In other words, I love you with all my “guts.”
3. Our Ongoing Prayer for the Church (1:9-11)
I thank God for you! I am so thankful that we are partners in the sharing of Jesus with each other and the world! What joy there is being a church together.
Let’s continue to make Paul’s prayer a prayer we pray for our church as he did for the Philippians. This is a great text for praying scripture over each other. Paul says, “And this is my prayer…”
The Focus: “…that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…” (9). Paul’s focus in this request is that we would have a limitless love that abounds more and more. The picture is of a river rushing over its banks and flooding out over the land. I know that’s a painful imagery for us living in a flood zone. But think of the implication: the ’97 flood and its far-reaching coverage – the flood of the century. Imagine praying that God’s love would so fill us that our love would pour out over every believer and infect every unbeliever. This “love” is agape love – a kind of love that is unconditional and finds its source only from God. It’s not driven by emotion or impulse; it’s a matter of the will. To love for love’s sake.
The Hope: “…so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…” (10). Paul’s hope in this request is our hope. Imagine praying this for someone you know, praying that God’s love would help you to love them. Then when God’s love abounds more and more in you, you will be able to discern what is best. We don’t think of love leading to discernment, but God’s love helps us to identify what is good and what is evil, or between what is good, better, and best.
The Greek word for “discern” was used for testing counterfeit money. I read a story about testing pottery in those days. Good pottery was made as thin as possible. Sometimes the pottery cracked, and the potter would use a wax colored like the pottery to cover the imperfection. A discerning buyer would hold up pottery to the light to see if there was any deception. We pray for discernment so that the love of God in us will help us to choose what is best for ourselves and others.
The Goal: “…filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God,” (11). Finally, we pray that our lives would be fruitful. Do we pray this for our church? What would this look like?
When a church opens itself up to Jesus, it is swept away by grace. Jesus is allowed to be Lord here, his love fills this community, and his purposes become our goal. The church becomes a place where people of all backgrounds and cultures and ethnicities can come and find Jesus. Barriers aren’t thrown up, they are destroyed. There is no competitive spirit except to outdo each other in serving one another. There is no fear in confessing sin because no sin shocks us, and no sin is unforgiveable – Jesus forgives all. You won’t experience a retracted hand but a warm embrace. Where the sharing of a concern is responded to with “let’s pray.” The church becomes a place of true friendship, and it blossoms and grows and is fed by the Spirit of God. Where God’s glory is the goal and everyone is so happy in Jesus, they can barely stand it. And people who are seeking him, find Jesus here. This is the fruit of righteousness.
If that is not your experience here, then you have a blueprint for prayer in Paul’s prayer for the Philippians.
Have you ever started something that you didn’t finish? I started a seminary course from Regent in Vancouver. It was a home course that cost 1000 dollars. I barely got into it and then quit – it was too hard at the time. I wanted to get into a hobby and started building a balsam wood airplane that I hoped to fly. I quit that too. I have started a few things that cost me money and effort but never finished. It feels like defeat. God has started something in you, and he will not stop until he completes that work. This is a promise.
Paul’s words in the opening to his letter to the Philippians remind us of a simple but profound truth: The Christian life is not a solo journey. We are partners together in the Good News of Jesus Christ. And whatever we are now, we are not what we were – we have grown, we have become more like Jesus. And we can be confident of this; God is still working in us so that we are not yet what we will be. God is faithful to finish what he began in us. Let’s pray that we continue to grow in the love that points to Jesus.
AMEN
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