Win Christ

As the gospel swept through Asia and Europe no man was more influential in the preaching and forwarding of the message than Paul. Now incarcerated, Paul has not stopped his activity for he has not ceased reliance upon God. To a friend Hudson Taylor wrote, “Remember, the devil can wall you round, but he cannot roof you in.”The Spirit’s blessing is evident still, despite bonds.

We find that his estimation of the gospel’s progress is summarized in a few statements of activity. Firstly, there was the gospel which was being preached in his bonds (vs.12-13). Secondly, his bonds were inciting courage in the Lord in personal witness amongst the Christians in Rome, to boldly speak for Christ outside of prison (vs.14-18). Lastly, there was the defense of the gospel which was being made to the highest court in the world (vs.18). How could a hardened envoy of the gospel not rejoice at such advances despite personal risk?

Guerrilla Evangelism

“But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;” (Philippians 1:12-13)

The gospel is a tremendously unstoppable message- and many have tried to stay its course but failed. The gospel is like a wall-flower that often takes root and prospers in the craggiest, most unlikely places- but bears a testimony to God’s grace in vivid clarity and contrast.

The Philippian jailer was one of these men with which the Christians Paul addressed were familiar. Undoubtedly, the Philippian church had heard countless times the story of his conversion at the hands of the prisoner Paul who subverted the hardness of his heart with the gospel (Acts 16). It could hardly come as a surprise that this same effect was being had by Paul in Rome (Philippians 1:13; 4:22) as several in Nero’s house were brought to faith in Christ. I can think of few things as imperiling to the false doctrine of the Roman empire as Paul being in prison with access to Nero’s guard. Now the Spirit of God has Paul in behind enemy lines, infiltrating the very strength of Rome which so opposed his gospel.

It is essential that the soldier understands the conflict. If he does not, disenchantment with the hardness of battle results. Paul well understood the Christian battle when he stated that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph.6:12). If the conflict is spiritual, and it is, we must see the spiritual consequences of our lives.

It is not enough to look to our personal circumstances or physical suffering as a bench-mark of effectiveness. For while we live naturally, we fight a spiritual war (2 Cor.10:3). When we learn this we will learn to prepare for the real battle (Eph. 6:11-17) and will be victorious through the power of God (2 Cor. 10:4). We need Christians equipped with spiritual vision goggles to wage this war! It will often be disappointing and hard but when we see our lives in the context of eternity, we gain perspective for fighting on.

Irregardless of our opinions on the wars waged in Iraq in the 21st century, or the Vietnam War of the 20th we will find a consensus on the points of their failure. It is the inability to win the hidden war. It matters not how many terrorists or Viet Cong die if the hidden war for minds and ambitions cannot be won. It is so often so with the Christian. We become consumed with the physical manifestations of the war and forget that they are evidences of a much greater war being waged in the heavens. Let us learn to shun the difficulty of Christian service and see God’s purpose in it.

Paul clearly saw God’s purpose in bonds. He wrote to Timothy (who was now Paul’s companion) approximately two years later and stated that it was for the gospel he was in bonds. But limited as he was physically “the Word of God is not bound.” (2 Tim.2:9). It had been liberated by the Spirit of God and effective as only scripture can be in smiting the consciences of sin-hardened men in prison. This was the glorious purpose in his suffering – the furtherance of the gospel. We may never know how much blood was shed, nor how many tears were spent by the apostle to advance the front-lines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but to the true soldier any sacrifice is worth-while.

Christian Confidence and a Church Coup

“And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:14-17)

The source of Paul’s rejoicing is that his bonds have inspired the preaching of Christ. The umbrella word of ‘many’ encompasses two groups of individuals ‘the some’, with two radically different characters, and resulting in widely divergent motives.

It is true that the preaching of the gospel, and Christian work reveals character. It is impossible to be engaged in the battle and not have proven what we really are. The character of those who preached Christ in Rome was displayed. In verse 18, three groups of motives are given for preaching Christ and provide a useful way of looking at the character and motive of those proclaiming Christ. The three are indicated in the words ‘every way’, ‘in pretense’, and ‘in truth’.

‘Every-way’ reminds us of all who preached Christ, they are ‘the many’ of vs.14. They have started on the right foot in boldness for Christ. Adjectives describing their ambition are these ‘confident’, ‘boldness’, and ‘without fear’. We can break this group into two, those who have their place ‘in pretense’ and those who were ‘in truth’.

As we consider those who preached Christ in pretense, we think of the descriptive terms applied to them. It is very revealing of the character of many even in our day. ‘Envy’, ’strife’, ‘contention’ and ‘insincerity’ has certainly crept into our gospel testimony! How we should be rid of it. These who preached Christ did so in contention, hoping to be a burden to Paul in his incarceration. The Aramaic states their intention this way in vs.16 “expecting to increase the hardship of my imprisonment.” It is perhaps their envious attempt to prove they did not ‘need’ Paul, or maybe that they actually expected Paul’s suffering to be heightened through Imperial retribution over the spread of Christianity. Whatever the case, we know they did it for envy of Paul with malicious intent. The wise king Solomon wrote, “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?” (Prov. 27:4).

But those who preached Christ in truth were an especial delight to Paul’s heart. The keywords descriptive of these dear brethren are these, ‘good will’, and ‘love’. It is fitting that these who loved Paul should have been bold and without fear in the proclamation of the gospel for “there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” (1 Jn. 4:18)

Those who loved Paul knew that he was in prison for the defense of the gospel, while the other supposed to add to the affliction of Paul. Perhaps the lesson for us is to ‘know’ the motives of men engaged in Christian work before we hasten to add affliction to their circumstance. In this, let us all solemnly challenge ourselves before God.

Christ is Preached

“What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18)

Irregardless of the motives of men Paul is encouraged that the gospel is being preached. His question, ‘what then?’ indicates to us how small is his concern for those who would do him ill, how little is that pain to be endured, in order that Christ be preached. Paul is not condoning preachers of false gospels, in fact he condemns them in Galatians 1:8, but he is referring to the motives of those who are preaching the gospel. The spirit of Paul is so unlike many today who point to petty differences or grievances in order to stop the proclamation of the gospel. How small and selfish this is, when God has men and their motives in His control. It is not what God has called us to, indeed it is what Satan devises. Rather, we ought to live above men’s devices against us in the practical reality of knowing that “if God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Additional Notes on Philippians 1:12-18:

• The first example of prison ministry actually reached the guard in the Philippian jail (Acts 16).
• Paul had the opportunity of witnessing to the Praetorian guard- the Emperors own body-guard. They abandoned Nero in AD 68 and hastened his demise.
• It is interesting that it was in the confinement of a prison cell that Paul wrote about the ‘whole armour of God’ (Eph. 6:11-17). How needful was that in a stone block-house? It was imperative to Paul’s success. This was the real battlefield.
• The defense of the gospel is a different look at Paul’s ministry. We are used to seeing him on the offense with the gospel.
• The phrase ’set for the defense of the gospel’ pivots on the word ’set’. We encounter it in 2 Corinthians 3:15, in the same present imperative middle voice, where Paul speaks of the veil that is laid on the heart of Israel as they read the Word of God. In this voice the original Greek indicates something that is particularly true while the speaker is speaking. For this reason, the word set in vs.17 should indicate to us in the context that he is set in prison. I do not deny his life was set in defense of the gospel, but here he seems to be emphasizing his incarceration.

This post is part of the Fridays in Philippians Series of Synchroblogs.

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