This week Michael writes how Paul's epistle to the Philippians focuses on the good news of the gospel of salvation through the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first chapter of Philippians refers to the theme of the book: That your Joy may be full. The joyful mind is the result of God's grace and mercy. Paul opens this letter to the church in Philippi with his greeting in chapter 1, verses 2-6: “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy or your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Even though Paul wrote this epistle from a Roman prison, he was thankful and joyful for their fellowship in the gospel. Three years before, Paul had visited Philippi with Silas on his second missionary journey. Philippi was a Roman colony. It was a center of commerce and trade. Philippi was renowned for its salt mines. Salt was an important commodity, so much so that the Roman government paid its soldiers with salt.
In verse 3, Paul said, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. The first mention of joy in this book is his request with joy for the believers in Philippi. The fellowship of the good news of the gospel of salvation is our joy and rejoicing. The believers sent provisions to Paul by Epaphroditus, who was a slave. Paul wrote them that he had received their gracious gift from the hand of Epaphroditus.
God had begun a good work in them even before they came to Christ. According to Romans 1, God gave all men and women a conscience. However, even though God's creation clearly makes known the creator, people's hearts become darkened and perverted when they forsake the truth of the Word of God and pursue their own vain imaginations. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools and can no longer discern the difference between good and evil. According to Philippians 1:7, “Even as it is fitting for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of my grace.” Paul reminded them that there is no work of God without the grace of God. As Paul said in Chapter 3, it is God who works in you to will and to do of his good pleasure.
In Romans 7Paul had said, "in my flesh dwells no good thing." However, when we're saved, we are not justified by the works of the flesh, but because of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Justified means to be made righteous by the blood of Christ. For He who was without sin became the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him.Whom God has justified He will also glorify. For the afflictions of this present time are not able to be compared with the glory that shall follow. Not only are we justified by faith, but we are also sanctified when we are “born again” of the Spirit of God. Sanctified means to be “set apart” for the purpose for which the Designer designed us.
Even though we have been justified and sanctified, the battle continues to rage between the old nature of sinful flesh that we inherited from Adam and the new nature of the Spirit of life in Christ. The old nature lives to fulfill the lust of the flesh. According to Romans 7:18-24, “For I know that in me (that is, in my sinful flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” An old Indian legend says that every man has two dogs inside of him. There is a good dog and a bad dog. These two dogs battle for control. The dog that wins is the dog we feed. When we're desperate and reach the point that we say (as the Apostle Paul said), "Who shall deliver me from this dead body," then we can make the decision to feed the good dog.
Let’s continue Michael’s message on the Epistle of Joy in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment