Lesson 1 -- Put the Gospel First

Lesson 2 -- Let the Gospel Shape Your Life

Lesson 3 -- Look at How the Gospel Has Shaped the Lives of Christian Leaders

(Note: Subject headings are taken from D. A. Carson, Basics for Believers. This is an excellent commentary on Philippians that looks at all significant textual matters but keeps the focus on practical, theological application of this letter.)

In imitating other Christians, it is not a question whether we will learn, but what will we learn, and from whom?

Imitate those who are interested in the well-being of others, not their own (2:19-21)

• this continues the theme of self-denial Paul has been teaching throughout this letter (esp v. 21)
• Timothy is a servant (22)
• are you the kind of Christian who serves when you will be noticed? Or are you content to quietly go about your business, loving, serving, and teaching others?
• Epaphroditus is a servant; he cared for Paul's needs (25); he risked his life in serving the Lord and is an example of setting the needs of others in Christian service ahead of your own (26-30)
• People like these are to be honored and imitated because of their faith that has been grown through hardship

Imitate those who have confidence in Jesus Christ and the gospel, not themselves (3:1-9)

• reminders of faith are good
• even though Paul had reasons to be confident in himself, he found his confidence only in the gospel
• Knowledge of Christ, gaining Christ; these things are where Paul finds worth; righteousness from faith

Imitate those who are growing spiritually, not those who are stagnating (3:10-16)

• maturity recognizes that the goal of Christian life is constant forward movement into Christ-likeness (imitating Christ; awaiting resurrection) while remaining grounded in our faith

Imitate those who await Jesus' return, not those who dwell on earthly things (3:17-21)

• transformation and heavenly things; not earthly things
• the kind of mature Christianity we ought to desire and live out is focused on imitating Jesus and awaiting his return; we are focused on heavenly things

Perhaps, by growing in faith, we can become those whose lives will be imitated by others...

Lesson 1 -- 1:1-26 -- Put the Gospel First

Philippians 1:27-2:18 -- Let the Gospel Shape Your Life

We interpret letters contextually, by looking at them paragraph-by-paragraph. Usually, as we are used to, a paragraph begins with a leading thought and then the rest of the paragraph expands on that thought. Each paragraph typically builds on what comes before. In this lesson, we'll see a lot of overlap with the rest of chapter 1.

We are called not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him (1:27-30)

• Christian conduct is a natural outflow of putting the gospel first because that outlook overcomes whatever obstacles may be in front of us ("whatever happens")
• This is an encouragement to live up to the calling we are called to in the gospel (the exhortations to put the gospel first in chapter 1)
• The goal is to stand firm in the Spirit and strive together for the gospel without being afraid of the opposition (cf. 1:14; continue living this way!)
• The opposition will be real, and they will have to suffer, like Christ (cf. 2:5-8), while being obedient and advancing the gospel
• Notice that the call to suffer has been "granted" to the believers! Suffering for Christ is a honorable thing
• Salvation has been gained by Jesus' suffering on our behalf; our discipleship is demonstrated by our suffering on his behalf (Carson)

We are called to not only experience the gospel but also to live it out (2:1-11)

• If you have experienced these things in the gospel, then you must live out the implications of this experience; if we have experienced these things from others, we must share them with others in turn (not takers only, but also givers)
• This also includes what it means to live in a manner worthy of the gospel
• This includes more practical implications for how to live a self-denying life for others (2:3-4; cf. 1:18b-26)
• We are called to have the attitude of Christ in our relationships with others (2:5ff; cf. 2:3-4)
• Christ's self-denial, humility, and obedience are the examples for us, leading up to the exaltation, which is the goal for us--the promise of eternal life that makes sense of suffering for Christ

We are called to not only begin the life of faith but also to finish it (2:12-18)

• Christianity is not something that happens one time (baptism) and then we sit back and wait for the reward (cf. connection between 2:9-11 and the obedience mandated)
• Obedience is expected, but our obedience combines with God's work within us to accomplish his purpose (2:12-13)
• Keep that purpose firmly in view, so that how you live, and your steadfastness to the end, will mean something and might even be convicting (2:14-16)
• Living in this way is another way that we live a life worthy of the gospel (cf. 2:16); the perseverance of obedience is characterized by contentment (14-15); by the validation of the work of mature Christian leaders (16); and by the recognition of that work of discipleship that mature Christian leaders have poured into you, and that you begin to pour into others (17-18; Paul's sacrifice is his work among them, and as they grow spiritually they reflect the character of his work among them)

Put the Gospel First

How influenced are we by the gospel? Does it shape our lives? Are we transformed by it? Or do we want (or know) just enough to ensure our salvation but not enough to actually convert (or transform) our lives?

For Paul, the gospel was everything...

(Outline is from D.A. Carson's book on Philippians.)

1. Put the fellowship of the gospel at the center of your relationships with believers (1:3-8)

• he gives thanks as he remembers them (3)
• he prays with joy over the partnership they share in the gospel (4-5)
• • this partnership leads to spiritual progression and maturity (6)
• they share in God's grace together (7)
• he longs for them with the affection of Christ (8)
• what binds them together is the gospel, not their activities, or friendships, or whatever; although those are important, Paul wants them to keep the gospel central
• Q: how do you view your fellow believers? what do you talk about? 

2. Put the priorities of the gospel at the center of your prayer life (1:9-11)

• for their love to abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight (i.e., into how to practice mature love)
• to discern what is best and to be pure and blameless for the day of Christ
• to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ
• Q: how is Paul's prayer different than our typical prayers? How is the gospel front and center to Paul's prayer?

3. Put the advance of the gospel at the center of your life (1:12-18a)

• Paul uses his current (bad) circumstances for the glory of God (12-14)
• • what happened to him advanced the gospel -- this is what matters
• He focuses on what matters--that Christ is preached--not the motivation of his opponents (15-18)
• Q: what is most important to you? 
• Q: what interests do you spend the most time advancing?
• Q: what Christian things/issues do you spend the most time on?

4. Put the converts of the gospel at the center of your principled self-denial (1:18b-26)

• Paul looks at the dire circumstances of his life and longs to be with Jesus but stays on for their benefit
• his whole life is committed to the growth of his converts (esp 22-26)
• • he decides things based on them
  • he denies his own gains for their sake
• Q: how often do we make decisions based on what would be best for our church? our fellow believers? Christians or new disciples we've worked closely with? vs. making decisions based on what is best for us?

Following Christ and living by the gospel requires a whole life commitment.

This is the core of my sermon for Sunday. I'm working with the theme of "renewal from God." I use the Isaiah text as the base for the sermon, describing the Israelite context of exile because of idolatry, but with the promise of renewal. I then look at how this theme plays out in the narrative arc of Luke that covers the last week of Jesus' life. His "triumphal" entry is actually a death march. But it ends in life. Similarly, we are called to die in order to live.

Isaiah 40 (1-5, 18-31); Luke 19:28-23:56; Philippians 2:5-8

This is a beautiful, though neglected passage. We are probably familiar with parts of it. The beginning verses are sung by a baritone in Handel's Messiah to introduce a turning point in that piece. The ending verses of this oracle are often seen on postcards and posters, standing alone, separated from the rest of this speech by and about God.

Isaiah is known as the prophet of hope. Though more than half of the book is composed of judgments against Israel, Judah, and the nations, Isaiah was also the book used by the New Testament church and by the early church to explain Jesus. It is filled with prophecies of the Lord's Anointed, of his Messiah.

The judgments portion of Isaiah is found mainly in chs 1-39. The remainder of the book addresses prophetically the experience of the Israelites during and after their exile and details promises that God makes about his Messiah and about the mission of Israel to the nations.

But why is there this theme of comfort? The words of comfort, "Comfort, yes, comfort My people," says God, come at a turning point in Isaiah. Just as the words are sung in the Messiah at a pivotal point, so these words come at a pivotal point in Isaiah.

Chapter 40 is this pivot point in this book and follows a historical narrative about Isaiah and King Hezekiah. This story bridges the judgment portion of Isaiah (1-35; 36-39) and with the messages of hope (40-66) and details that faith in God is the key to a good life. The words of Hezekiah, though spoken by him, are also prophetic and close out the message of judgment: "The Lord's word you spoke is good. Let there indeed be peace and righteousness in my days." Though Hezekiah speaks selfishly without thought for the promised destruction and exile, which Isaiah preaches prophetically about in chapters 40-55, his words are prophetic about the comfort and strength God will give to his people when he brings them back from exile.

Renewal is around the corner. After darkness comes light. After judgment comes hope. 

Renewal comes only after we have tasted other things and realize that it is only in God that we will find the strength and comfort we desire. Renewal comes only after we have seen the darkness and have lived in need of judgment. In Isaiah's case, the needed renewal was the hope promised to them in the face of idolatry.

During the exile, as judgment, God shattered the pride of Israel (v. 2, 18ff) and made them dependent on him. This was a prelude to the promised renewal: "Let us wait...and be renewed!"

Isaiah shows the ultimate act of pride is to create an idol that we then worship. But idols of our own making cannot compare with God, and neither can our pride. God shatters this pride—of ourselves, our church, our doctrine—but doesn't leave us with nothing. He freely offers to renew us by his strength and grace. But renewal comes when we wait...in humility, trust, and dependence on him.

Waiting in humility, trust, and dependence, waiting to be renewed, is the opposite of the attitude seen in 40:18-26 where the workman sets himself up as the creator of his own god. The passage is a contrast between the workman who thinks he creates his own destiny and God, who actually does create...and arranges...and calls forth...and displays. It is God who works! It is God who strengthens! It is God who comforts! It is God who renews!
It is our pride that puts us ahead of God and it is this pride that God calls us to let go of in order to seek renewal from him.

Where do we see this pride in our lives and in our church experience? Pride in ourselves? our plans, as we seek our own destinies? Pride in our church? “We don't really need to follow the word of God to reach out to others; we belong to the true church.” Pride in our doctrine? “We don't need to follow Jesus; we merely need to hold to the correct doctrine.” Do we claim to worship the true God, while it may be that we have built or made a god in our own image?

Do we rest on that pride, like Israel did, and become dependent on ourselves rather than God? This is what Israel was guilty of, and their pride led them to the wrong focus, where they were exiled as they learned once again how to trust God.

What we pridefully hold onto--the idols we create; the pride we live by--distracts us from God, but God overcomes those things—he gives power to the weak to make them strong and is not weakened himself. He promises that those who wait for him will be renewed.

We see this waiting comfort and renewal in the life of Jesus. In the last week of his life, Jesus enters Jerusalem seemingly in triumph (Luke 19:28ff). Yet the narrative arc in the Gospels of his last week shows us that Jesus' mission was always to be a mission of rejection by people, until the work of God was complete. From the "triumphal" entry to the conflict with religious leaders to the tightening of the instructions to the disciples to a torturous night in the garden to the arrest and suffering and, finally, to death.

"Triumph," as we see it, leads to death. But death leads to resurrection. To renewal.

In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul describes hymnically what Luke described narratively. Jesus died so that we might live. As we follow him, we die to live. And in that death, which is made when we are buried with Christ in baptism, where we die to ourselves by being linked to his own death, we find renewal, renewal that comes when we are raised with Christ, out of the waters of baptism, into a new life. This is comfort! This is strength! This is renewal!

Let us give up pride. Let us give up idols, recognizing them for the worthless things they are, and remember the life of our Savior, who entered in triumph for us, not a triumph for himself, but a seeming triumph that led to his death. But with God is always the great reversal--where death seems to reign, there is life. And that life is a life of comfort and renewal through the Holy Spirit.

Paul has spent a good portion of this letter discussing the mind of Christ and what that means practically.  The mind of Christ requires humility, obedience, and service to others, as exemplified first and foremost in Jesus, and secondarily in Timothy and Epaphroditus.

However, there are always those who do not understand life in Christ and seek to bind their version of Christianity on others.  Paul is aware of these tendencies among these Christians, and warns of the dogs, evil workers, and mutilators.  Paul used similar words in Galatians (1:7, 9, 12; 5:12) and 2 Corinthians (11:13; 2:17) to describe the Judaizers, and textual evidence suggests these are the opponents here as well.  What is not clear is whether they have a strong foothold in the church.

The issue of mutilation pertains to the Judaizers’ belief that one must become a Jew first to be saved.  Thus, circumcision must be undergone for the Christian convert to be successfully (wholly) saved.  Judaism rested on its laurels, its privileges, and believed that only those who met the particular ethnic and religious standards of Judaism could enter into the people of God.

Yet, Paul points out that these privileges did not produce humility and service to God.  Instead, these privileges actually promoted national prejudice.  True worship was indicated not by one’s nationality but by spiritual worship, boasting in Christ, and humility.  True spiritual worship is characterized not by a mark in the flesh but by an attitude of the heart.

Paul looks to himself and shows that he had all the advantages of a natural-born Jew.  He was not a proselyte, and he emphasizes his Hebrew heritage (a hearkening back to antiquity), his standing as a Pharisee, and his approach to the law (which was another boundary marker for the Judaizers).  For Paul, these things, though once viewed as privileges and the paths to salvation, he now views as trash in light of knowing Christ.

Knowing Christ is experiential knowledge, not facts or knowledge about Christ.  For Paul, to know Christ will unlock the meaning of life.  Knowing God in the Old Testament was to understand his revelation of himself (see Isaiah 11:2; Habakkuk 2:14).  Paul’s concept of “gaining Christ” is present and future, not past.  He understands he must constantly be looking ahead, understanding the real value of earthly things (trash).

All this centers in righteousness (v. 9).  Paul distinguishes between the righteousness that comes from the law and is one’s own righteousness and the righteousness that comes from Christ.  This righteousness that is not wearisome because it cannot be attained through work (trial and error and constant failure—the law) is ONLY found “in Christ”—it is not attained by keeping laws, no matter how humble, obedient, or sincere one is.  It is the faith OF Christ, that Christ gives, a response to the forgiving love of God.  It rests in Christ, whose faithfulness God accepts in our behalf.

This Christ is the one Paul wants to know, and share in his sufferings, and he desires to attain the resurrection of the dead, where there will be eternal, unbroken fellowship with Christ.

Paul knows (v. 12) that this requires singular dedication, and that he himself has not attained this yet.  But the mark of maturity is perseverance—to press on, press forward, to obtain this eternal result.  Paul forgets the way he used to view the world through Hebraic privilege and strains forward to what lies ahead, with his new focus of knowing Christ.  Jesus Christ initiated this process (v. 12) and Paul “takes hold” of it (makes it his own).  Paul is clear that he himself has not arrived at this point of perfection; do some of them think they have?

What Paul has described is the perspective of the mature.  Maturity is knowledge gained by long experience, resulting in firm conviction and maturity of thought and conduct.  Perhaps some believed themselves to be mature when they were not, and Paul suggests that God will teach them what he really requires.  He ends in v. 16 with a call to keep progressing.

This Bible study guide includes questions from Psalm 136, Philippians 1:3-11, Colossians 1:3-14, and Joshua 23.

In the morning sermon, I will look at the theme of "Biblical Thanksgiving" as a way to reflect on God's goodness as seen in his mighty acts on behalf of his people. This sermon will use the texts from Psalm 136, Philippians and Colossians.

In the evening sermon, I will examine Joshua 23 and look at how Joshua reminds the people of what God has done for them as a way to charge them to remain faithful and warn them against falling away. God is faithful both in grace and judgment.

This Bible study guide includes questions from Philippians 3 (morning sermon) and Joshua 11 (evening sermon).

In the morning sermon, I will look at Paul's attitude to earthly gains and how he puts following Christ ahead of everything.

In the evening sermon, I will focus on the finish of the conquest of Canaan and how the Lord assures and brings victory to his people.