In the Tender Mercies of Christ Jesus

1Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ; To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and servants: 2Grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3I thank my God whenever I remember you, 4always in every request of mine on behalf of you all, making my requests with joy, 5for your partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now; 6being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace. 8For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus. 9This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; 10so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ; 11being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians is one of Paul’s four prison letters, together with Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, and it was written around AD 63. The apostle Paul had founded the church in Philippi on his second missionary journey. He wrote this letter to thank the Philippians for the love they had shown when they gave themselves to the founding of that church.

Around AD 61, Paul was placed under house arrest in Rome while preaching the gospel, and his thoughts turned all the more to the Philippians, who had supported him in both material and spiritual ways so that he could go on proclaiming the gospel. The very fact that he could pray for them filled him with gratitude. In the midst of his present suffering, Paul drew great strength from knowing that brothers and sisters, made one by the gospel, stood beside him.

Philippi was the largest city of its region, founded by King Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, and named after himself. Preaching the gospel in such a place would not have been easy. Yet because God used Philippi as a forward base for bringing the gospel to Europe, Christianity was able to spread in Europe for the first time. Lydia’s commitment played its part in the founding of the church in Philippi, but it was because the apostle Paul’s faith was sincere that the Holy Spirit worked to establish a church there.

The people of Philippi lived in plenty, made rich by gold mines, and for them to receive a Jesus who had carried a cross and died in humiliation was far from easy. They had worshiped idols all their lives, and believing in an invisible God demanded the resolve to give up all the splendor that idolatry had brought them. To cast worldly possessions out of one’s heart is never easy. How hard is it? The Israelites who spent seventy years as captives in Babylon longed above all to return to their own land. Yet when King Cyrus told them all to go back to their homeland, we see them hesitate. Nehemiah, together with Zerubbabel, went from person to person, earnestly urging the people to return to Jerusalem, and only through great effort did he bring them home. When the people of Judah reached Jerusalem, its buildings and its temple lay in ruins, and there was not even a city wall. Babylon had been a foreign land, but life there had been comfortable; they had left that life behind and come home, only to bear the sacrifice that rebuilding Jerusalem required of them.

The book of Nehemiah records how many enemies came against the people of Judah, and how much they toiled, night and day, to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Even so, for the glory of God they set up an altar in the midst of the ruins and worshiped him with all their hearts. Rather than cling to the ease they had built up over seventy years in Babylon, they had to give themselves up to rebuild the kingdom of God. Reaching such a decision must have taken a great deal of thought.

When the people of Philippi received Christ, they had to abandon the life of doing as they pleased, sacrifice themselves for Jesus Christ, and share what they owned with their fellow workers. They had to leave behind the merely human life they had enjoyed and live as believers born again through the gospel. Because they had to grasp the purpose for which God had called them and, as saints, be led by the Holy Spirit, they would have needed patience every time tribulation came. Just as the Israelites gave their very best day and night to rebuild the temple and the walls, the Philippians had to give themselves wholly as members of the body of Jesus Christ. To help their brothers and sisters and to work together for good, they had to follow the work of the Holy Spirit and have the mind of Christ.

Philippians 1:7

7It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace.

In verse 7 the apostle Paul says that it is right for him to think this way on behalf of them all, because he has them in his heart, and because, both in his bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, they are all partakers with him of grace. Whatever tribulation comes, he gives himself, ready to die, because there are brothers and sisters made one in the new body of Christ. This is the faith of those who believe in Jesus and have been born again. The Philippians had grasped the depth of Christ’s love, and from the day they first received the gospel until now they showed love without wavering, both when Paul was suffering and when the church in Jerusalem was in hardship. Such love was there because it was God’s will to bring the gospel to Europe.

In Philippi lived a woman named Lydia, who dealt in purple cloth and dyes and did dyeing as well. She happened to hear the gospel the apostle Paul was preaching, and she came to faith. Paul’s missionary work in Philippi did not last very long, but once Lydia had received Jesus Christ, she and the rest of the church kept supporting his mission with material gifts so that he could carry it on. The Holy Spirit used the sincere faith of the church in Philippi to build up the body of Jesus Christ in beauty.

Every time he prayed, the apostle Paul earnestly longed for these precious brothers and sisters to receive great blessing. How deep his gratitude toward them must have been, for him to say that God is his witness how he longs after them all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus! Just as Christ gladly gave his life, Paul was saying that he loved them with a heart ready to lay down his own. And God, he added, knows that this love is sincere. Paul built the church with a love that lays down its life. As he preached the gospel with the love of Christ, the Holy Spirit was at work to keep the body of Christ strong and to tend the bonds between its members. So the apostle Paul was not ashamed, though he was locked in prison. Whenever he thought of the Philippians growing well through his giving of himself, he rejoiced as though he were looking at the fruit of salvation. They were not ashamed of Paul, who labored in the tender mercies of Christ, and each of them took up their own mission of helping him.

For one who preaches the gospel, the greatest joy is to see those who heard the word living it out to the full. That joy cannot be compared with the pleasures of the world, and the suffering that comes through the gospel is more to be thankful for than any comfort the world could offer. Yet it is not the evangelist who chooses who will be saved. When the gospel is preached to all people, the chosen will respond to the word, and those who reject it will persecute the evangelist. As the gospel goes out, there are some who refuse to listen, but there are also some who come running straight to hear it. The evangelist must preach with all their strength to find that one person. The faith of the Philippians, who helped the apostle Paul as he labored for their salvation, is the holy faith that works together for good. Because of such brothers and sisters, Paul took courage when he was persecuted and when he was in prison, and he could be filled with the Holy Spirit even in suffering. Knowing that he did not bear his imprisonment alone, that the church in Philippi was bearing it with him, he was greatly comforted.

The Philippians could give themselves without condition because they believed in the love of God, the sacrifice of Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit. They helped Paul as though under orders from God; from the moment they heard the word of truth they never wavered, and with a heavenly hope they held to a steadfast faith. Paul was proud of them, standing as they did upon the solid rock.

Seeing their steadfast faith, the apostle Paul felt his labor richly repaid, and he served his fellow workers sincerely, as though he were serving Jesus Christ himself. He prayed that God would use them in still greater ways, and that the evil one and evil spirits would not be able to trouble them. They had helped the gospel go out through Paul, frail in body as he was, and their faith was enough to receive God’s blessing. They loved Paul the man, but they loved his mission too, and it was their deep love for God that enabled them to give themselves as they did.

When Paul first came to Philippi, he had not been able to establish a church. Then Lydia, who had received the gospel, gladly opened her home and established a church there. That was a hard decision for a woman to make. Lydia gave herself without reserve because she understood what the kingdom of God and his righteousness are, knew well what God wanted of her at that moment, and saw why Philippi needed a church.

Acts 16:14

14A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.

God’s work is done by God himself. Founding a church and leading it are both his doing. However much believers may seem to give themselves by their own strength, they can do so because God has given them grace. If we want to know God’s will, we must open our hearts as Lydia did and give our full attention to the word. This matters because even with the word of truth, if we do not open our hearts and listen rightly, we end up doing things our own way. People who hear a great deal of the word but never give up their own ideas, stubbornness, pride, and knowledge will never change. If they serve zealously without changing, theirs is an empty loyalty, following their own thinking with no regard for the word of God. We ought to walk the path of truth where the word leads, listening closely and obeying. But people graft the word onto their own righteousness and opinions and work by human standards; that is why they labor hard and still bear no fruit.

God made Lydia open her heart, hear the gospel Paul preached, and understand it. He sowed the seed of the word in her heart, which was like good soil, and, by filling her with the Holy Spirit, gave her the grace to open her home as a place for the gospel. To offer one’s own home as a church is no small thing. Because God caused her to grasp the word with wisdom and understanding, and helped her judge rightly what kind of life is precious, Lydia was able to give herself gladly.

When we see the Philippians all serving with one unchanging heart, we can tell how well they understood the gospel Paul preached and how fully they had accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. There is no greater blessing than to meet such brothers and sisters within the gospel, because preaching and receiving the gospel is neither the business of this world nor the work of human beings. Paul did not profit from the help the Philippians gave him. It may look as if they were simply helping Paul, but they could help him sincerely and well because they believed in the God who was at work in him. When we serve God sincerely in this way, love overflows, and the knowledge and understanding that come from truly knowing Christ grow richer and richer. Only then can we discern the things that are excellent. Believers who discern what is good will never act foolishly or live a life of shame.

The apostle Paul and the church in Philippi did not doubt each other’s faith. Paul had the faith to stay loyal to God whatever he suffered, and the Philippians were convinced that helping his mission was God’s own work. This is exactly the kind of church God desires. Do you have, beside you, a brother or sister who is faithful to God unto death, a fellow worker who helps your faith along? Whether that fellow worker is a pastor or a member of the congregation, if through them you have come to understand God’s grace, then you have been blessed by God.

This world is full of false gospels and false evangelists. With countless lies running wild, being able to hear the real truth would be impossible without God’s choosing. The apostle Paul rejoices and gives thanks so greatly as he looks at the Philippians because he is confident that they have been saved through a whole faith. Paul had one earnest wish: to leave this body and go to the kingdom of God. Yet because there were souls who heard the word he preached and were saved, he gave himself with a faith that was ready to perish if it came to that.

What kind of faith do you have today? I am asking whether you are the kind of believer others give thanks for, rejoice over, and pray for whenever they think of you. You must have a faith that makes people thankful to have met you. If you have earned such trust from the brothers and sisters around you, God will cherish and love you and pour out still more grace on you. The trust of God and of fellow believers is not built overnight. Only by constantly sacrificing and humbling yourself will you be recognized, and only by living out your faith over long years will you gain a trust that does not crumble.

The trust built up between the apostle Paul and the Philippians is the love of brothers firmly bound together in Christ, a love that would never betray the other in any circumstance. A true relationship formed through the gospel like this cannot last without the effort of self-sacrifice. It may even be harder to win the recognition of the church than to receive grace from God. God is always ready to love his people, and when they give even a little of themselves he lifts them up and supplies what they lack, so that they are not put to shame. Recognition in the church, however, has to be lived out; so when a believer has the trust of the church, God too will recognize them.

The apostle Paul laid down all worldly power and made himself weak. The Philippians, though, looked past his lack of worldly possessions and saw his spiritual fullness; that is what enabled them to serve him to the end. We who believe must have this same power to discern the spirit. Whether we live by grace or by the human heart is decided by our faith, but the outcome will differ as far as heaven is from earth. Because God’s grace does not belong to human beings, believers who discern the world rightly by the word and act in faith will never have that grace taken from them.

Philippians 1:9-10

9This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; 10so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ;

In verse 9, the apostle Paul says he always prayed that the Philippians would grow ever richer in faith through the word and by being filled with the Holy Spirit, and live for the kingdom of God alone. Only when faith is built up by the word, by wisdom, and by the help of the Holy Spirit can we clearly discern good from evil, as verse 10 says; and that wisdom makes faith whole, carrying it through to the day of Christ.

The good that God approves is believing in Jesus Christ. That a sinner in darkness can make a good choice is nothing short of a miracle. This is a matter of great weight, because if a believer fails to make the good choice spiritually, they cannot be saved on the day Christ comes. To keep his people from straying off the way of salvation, God uses the rod of men and the stripes of the children of men to help them repent. It is for their salvation alone that he permits suffering in the lives of his people.

If God is using the rod of men and the stripes of the children of men on you now, I hope you will see it as grace: he is cutting and shaping you so that he may forgive your sins. That wisdom will surely give you life. Faith like that of the Philippians, devoted to the gospel alone, leads not only to salvation but to a reward as well, because a faith that helps Paul as he suffers for the gospel is proof that one already belongs to God’s people, living in this world as those who have been raised.

Read Philippians and you notice that, unlike his other letters, Paul does not stress that he is an apostle appointed by Christ; he calls himself instead a servant of Jesus. From this we learn that the Philippians had never challenged Paul’s apostleship and had shown him complete obedience. They acknowledged that the word he preached was the truth, and they believed God had appointed him an apostle. He therefore had no need to insist that Christ had made him one. Paul knew well that, since he was preaching the word of God, if the church did not trust him as an apostle, they would not trust God’s word either. But he already had the confidence of the church in Philippi, which left him no need to explain that Jesus had appointed him.

To the Philippians, who understood the word of truth and gave themselves to it, Paul, eager to teach them every last thing he could, preached the word in all its depth and richness. Seeing them accept him as an apostle, unworthy as he was, and receive the word he preached just as it was, without adding or taking away, the apostle Paul would have been deeply thankful to God.

Philippians 1:11

11being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The apostle Paul wanted the Philippians to judge wisely between good and evil, so that on the last day, when Christ comes, they would be saved without blemish. Though he himself was confined in prison, he longed for them to bear many fruits of righteousness that Christ approves, and so to be blessed. That Paul, a prisoner, should bless and pray for the very people who were supporting him may seem presumptuous. Yet this is precisely the order of the spiritual world, in which spirit governs spirit. The blessing does not come from Paul in his cell but from God, who hears his prayer; so the prayer Paul offers from prison will be answered, and the church in Philippi will receive great grace from God.

Friends, intercessory prayer does not depend on one’s own standing. Intercession means praying with all your might that the other person may live blamelessly before God, even when by the world’s measure you have less than they do. So intercession is a prayer of power, through which sinners are saved and brothers and sisters are restored.

Just as the apostle Paul gave thanks at the mere thought of the Philippians, I hope you too will be precious believers who fulfill your calling for the work of God. Those who give themselves to the kingdom of God, without saying a word and without boasting, receive overflowing love, because God’s eye is upon them. The apostle Paul, preaching the word with his whole life, and the Philippians, sacrificing themselves to help him, were blessed people who had each found a precious fellow worker in the other. When we work for the kingdom of God, to meet such a fellow worker is a great blessing and a reward.

May you give yourselves with an unshakable faith like the Philippians, and serve faithfully so that more souls may be saved. Then the Holy Spirit, who helps those who give themselves to the gospel, will lead you with abundant grace.