Today’s message is from Philippians 1:12-30. In today’s passage, the apostle Paul is going to tell the Philippians (and us also) how his imprisonment is spreading the gospel—and also what their attitude (and also our attitudes) should be toward all the events that happen in our lives. The passage can be summed up in the phrase, “To live is Christ.”

Remember as we read the passage that we are reading the word of God. “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” (Heb.~4:12)

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advancement of the gospel, ¹³so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly. ¹⁵Some, to be sure, preach Christ out of envy and strife, but others out of good will. ¹⁶These do so out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; ¹⁷the others proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, seeking to cause me trouble in my imprisonment. ¹⁸What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice ¹⁹because I know this will lead to my deliverance through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. ²⁰My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

²¹For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. ²²Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. ²³I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ—which is far better— ²⁴but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. ²⁵Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your advancement and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that, because of me, your confidence may grow in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

²⁷Just one thing: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is evidence of their destruction, but of your deliverance—and this is from God. ²⁹For it has been given to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, ³⁰having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear about me. (Philippians~1:12-30)

Paul was writing this as a prisoner. He was a prisoner in Rome. (In some of the other letters he wrote as a prisoner, he referred to himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.) Paul says, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advancement of the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is for Christ.” Something good has come out of Paul’s imprisonment. Because he is a prisoner for Christ, the gospel is being advanced.

How easy is it to look at being a prisoner as something good? (Not too easy.) Do you look at something that takes away your personal freedom as good if it advances the gospel? Do you even consider the possibility that whatever has happened to you to take away your freedom is God’s will so that the gospel will be advanced? Well, maybe, but only after you’ve worried and been distressed about it. (I’m speaking for myself, here. If it doesn’t apply to you, well, that’s OK.) With Paul, advancing the gospel was what he was specifically given to do by Jesus. Paul considered what Jesus had given him to do as more important than his own comfort or freedom. He considered Jesus to be far more important than himself.

Jesus is more important than any of us. After all, all things were made through him. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation; because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything.” (Col.~1:15-18) Do you think Jesus is important?

Jesus is far more important than any of us. Nevertheless, he considers us, his church (and I’m not just talking about the few of us who are in this room, but the church all over the world)... He considers us to be very important—important enough to suffer and die for. And, as individuals, each one of us is important. God has given each of us different spiritual gifts and designed things so that we need each other. All of our gifts contribute to advancing the gospel.

Now back to Paul. According to Acts, chapter 28, Paul was not in prison in a dungeon, but in his own rented house. He was under house arrest to use present-day terminology. These days, people are sometimes required to wear a device on their ankle that monitors where they are. If you leave your house, the authorities know about it and you are in trouble.

Paul was under house arrest in his own rented house, not in a dungeon. But, nevertheless, Paul was still been in chains. The end of verse 13 says, “...so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is for Christ.” Literally, it says, “...my bonds (or fetters, or chains) are for Christ,” rather than “my imprisonment is for Christ.” Some of the translations actually say “chains”. (And furthermore, Paul actually says he was wearing a chain in Acts 28:20.)

Now here’s the way it worked. Paul was under “house arrest” in his own rented house. People were free to come and see him, but he was not free to go out. In fact he had invited the Jewish leaders in Rome to hear his explanation of why he was in chains. Paul was in chains. But, according to the experts, he wasn’t chained to the house, he was chained to a guard—a member of the imperial guard. Each guard had a four-hour shift. So each guard was chained to a preacher of the gospel for four hours. (What would you think about being chained to a preacher for a four hour shift?) What do you suppose the guards talked about when they got back to the barracks? It became know to the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that Paul’s imprisonment was for Christ.

You know the story behind Paul’s imprisonment. When he was in Jerusalem, the Jewish leaders were accusing Paul, but what they really wanted is for him to be dead. He was sent to the Roman governor Felix in Caesarea to be tried there in order to protect him from a plot that they had hatched to ambush him and kill him. The Jewish leaders were to come to Caesarea in order to bring their accusations against him. Paul was kept in prison there for quite a while. Eventually, it was proposed that Paul be sent back to Jerusalem. In order to avoid being killed, Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar. His request was honored and he was sent to Rome. (That’s the abbreviated version.) Paul could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. (Acts 26:32) But it was God’s will for Paul to appear before Caesar. An angel came to him and told him that. (Acts 27:24) And when Paul was imprisoned in Rome, the whole imperial guard, the guard that protected Caesar’s palace and household, as well as “everyone else” knew that Paul’s imprisonment was for Christ.

Now I want to read the words that the apostle Paul wrote at the end of his letter to the Philippians—his closing words. Listen to this: “Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. Those brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, but especially those from Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (Philip.~4:20-23) Jesus sent Paul to Caesar. And, although it doesn’t say so, I’m sure that Paul appeared before Caesar and Caesar heard the gospel. Caesar’s household all heard the gospel. The saints from Caesar’s household especially wanted to greet the Philippians. There were saints in Caesar’s household.

Let’s look at verse 14: “Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly.” That’s not what you might expect, is it? ...you gain confidence when your leader is put in prison. It’s not what usually happens in the world, is it? How do you gain confidence to do what you see someone else be put in prison for doing—preaching the gospel? And this was potentially more serious for Paul than simply being locked up. If Caesar decided that Paul was opposing him, he would be put to death. (This is Nero, by the way, who was known for having his mother and step-brother executed.) So, how was this encouraging?

Well, for one thing, we know that those who try to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Tim. 3:12) Also, Jesus says, “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mat.~5:11, 12)

Well, if the Apostle Paul preaches the gospel boldly and freely in spite of being imprisoned, others will be encouraged to do it also. And if you speak boldly and freely about the gospel, you will be encouraging other people to do the same thing. And, in fact, if you really wholeheartedly live your life for Jesus, you will be encouraging others to do so, too. And, in fact, if everyone in a congregation lives his life wholeheartedly for Jesus. Anyone who comes into that group will be greatly encouraged to do so, also.

¹⁵Some, to be sure, preach Christ out of envy and strife, but others out of good will. ¹⁶These do so out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; ¹⁷the others proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, seeking to cause me trouble in my imprisonment. (Philippians 1:15-17)

Well, apparently it’s possible to preach the gospel out of envy and strife. Probably you have to be convinced you are not in danger of being put in prison to do it. And preaching the gospel out of envy and strife is certainly wouldn’t be done by the power of the Holy Spirit. But why would anyone want to preach the gospel out of envy and strife. Paul says that they were trying to make trouble for him—and that they were doing it out of rivalry.

Well, I’m not sure how preaching the gospel would necessarily make trouble for Paul. Maybe they were hoping to stir up opposition to the gospel and that opposition would cause trouble for Paul. I don’t know about making trouble for someone else by preaching the gospel, but I sure know about preaching the gospel out of rivalry.

In Paul’s day, there was one church in Philippi. There were probably a number of congregations, but there was one church. Today, in Columbus, there are many churches. They compete with each other for members. You know, our country has become prosperous through competition. People in business strive to offer better goods and services than the competition. And I think that’s a good thing. We all benefit from it. But I have to qualify that statement a little: As long as the business doesn’t get to big, people strive to offer better goods and services than the competition. If the business becomes too big, then they no longer care about the quality of the goods and services, but strive to put the competition out of business. We don’t benefit from that.

But all these things are the way of the world, not the way of the kingdom of God. I doubt if there are many or any preachers or churches in Columbus that preach the gospel in order to make trouble for other churches or preachers. But I believe there are some that operate out of rivalry. We dare not preach the gospel out of rivalry. Church leaders boast (very subtly, of course) about how many members their church has or about how many conversions they have had in the last year. LHF doesn’t seem to be in any immediate danger of doing that. But I have to admit that when I hear that another ministry has come into the LHF neighborhood, I have to work at resisting the thought that they might take away potential members from LHF: “For although we are walking in the flesh, we do not wage war in a fleshly way, since the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor.~10:3-5) We need to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Paul says that some preached Christ out of rivalry. They were competing with him. But others preached the gospel out of love. They were working toward the same goal as he was—to save as many as possible. That should always be our goal, too. It has to be.

Let’s look at verse 18a. In verse 18a Paul says, “What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice.” God’s word is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart regardless of what the motives of the preacher might be.

Now let’s look at verses 18b and 19: “Yes, and I will rejoice because I know this will lead to my deliverance through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Paul was expecting to be released from his imprisonment through the prayers of the Philippians. He says, “I know this will lead to my deliverance.”

How important it is to pray for each other. We can pray for ourselves and God hears our prayers. But we are a church, not just individuals. There are times—many times—maybe most times—when God wants us to all pray together. God designed the church to work that way. I’ve already said it. God designed it so that we need each other. I’m going to read from Acts 4:23-31. Peter and John had been preaching the gospel and had healed a crippled man. This was the response of the believers when Peter and John told them how rulers and elders of the Jews and the high priest and his family had threatened them about preaching in the name of Jesus:

²³After they were released, they went to their own fellowship and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴When they heard this, they raised their voices to God unanimously and said, “Master, You are the One who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David Your servant:

²⁷“For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, assembled together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, ²⁸to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place. ²⁹And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your message with complete boldness, ³⁰while You stretch out Your hand for healing, signs, and wonders to be performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” ³¹When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God’s message with boldness. (Acts~4:24-31)

Paul has said that he is not expecting to be put to death. They have been praying for him. (Remember that back in the first part of chapter 1—what I talked about last week—how Paul was always giving thanks for the Philippians when he prayed—and that he prayed with joy because of their partnership in the gospel from the first day on? Paul loved them and they loved Paul. Now they were praying for him.)

According to verses 20 and 21, Paul is also expecting that he will highly honor Christ while he is in his body—really, that Christ will be highly honored through his body—through his present life. His expectation and hope is that he will highly honor Christ with boldness. Most of the translation say highly honored—Christ will be highly honored through Paul’s life. The King James says magnified. The word means exalted, enlarged, made great. John the Baptist said that Jesus must become greater and he must become less. Paul’s desire was to magnify Jesus—to make it clear by his life just how great Jesus was. There’s a hymn that we used to sing: Not I but Christ.

There was a story in one of the commentaries about this verse, “living is Christ, dying is gain.” According to the story, the preacher asked the congregation, “How many of want to go to heaven? Put up your hands.” All of them put up their hands except one little boy. The preacher asked him, “Don’t you want to go to heaven?” The little boy answered, “I sure do! But I thought you were getting up a load for tonight.” Paul knew that there was more for him to do, so he knew that it was not time for him to die:

²²Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. ²³I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ—which is far better— ²⁴but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. ²⁵Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your advancement and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that, because of me, your confidence may grow in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. (Philippians 1:22-26)

It’s better for us to be with Christ where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or grief or crying. But right now, it’s better for us to stay here to do the work that Jesus still has for us—to love the people he has for us to love—to save as many as possible. Paul knew that Jesus still had work for him to do, so he knew that he would remain and continue with the Philippians. He was certain that he would be released. What work does Jesus have for us? Are we doing it?

Let’s look at verses 27 and 28: “Just one thing: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith of the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is evidence of their destruction, but of your deliverance—and this is from God.”

How do we live our lives in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ? The gospel of Christ is that God loved the world by sending his one-and-only Son, Jesus, so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. It’s that, even though Jesus was God, he became a man in order to suffer in our place for our sin. It’s that, even though Jesus was far greater than anything we can imagine, he made himself like one of us and then considered that everyone in the whole world, past present and future, was more important than his life and comfort. Jesus went about doing good and curing all who were under the tyranny of the devil. (Acts 10:38)

You live a live worthy of the gospel of Christ by asking the question, “What would Jesus do,” and then doing it. (And you know that doing good doesn’t mean just talking nicely to everyone. Jesus rebuked those who needed to be rebuked strongly. He didn’t pull any punches: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You lock up the kingdom of heaven from people. For you don't go in, and you don't allow those entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and make long prayers just for show. This is why you will receive a harsher punishment. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are!” (Matt.~23:13-15. Read all of Matthew chapter 23.) Jesus rebuked them sharply. He warned them. But his goal was their salvation. Jesus died not just for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world—for the sins of the scribes and Pharisees, too. The apostle Paul who was in prison for Jesus was a Pharisee.

In verses 27 and 28, the apostle Paul—the Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul—says that if we stand firm and work side by side for the faith of the gospel, we won’t be frightened by the opponents of the gospel. (Everyone should read Foxes Book of Martyrs and see what some when through for the sake of Jesus.)