Win Christ

Philippians 1:1 - “…to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”

Paul’s epistle to the Philippians is of an individual nature. This is self-evident throughout the book. Perhaps he is writing, remembering those he, Timothy, and Silas met in Acts 16 – Lydia, the Philippian jailer, and others. These were the inputs the Spirit used in building together the church of God in Philippi. Forming a broad panorama of social status and personality, these souls were knit into one body in Christ. These Paul wrote, distinctly intent on edifying each- and still, Paul does not seem entirely able or willing to distinguish them from what they were in the body of Christ. It is this address to the believers, full of expressions pertinent to the local church, with which I want to be engaged.

It is important to notice that in the order of address Paul aligns his interests with the priority of God. It is Christ first, and the body of Christ as the expression of Him. It is so that men often judge a ‘good church’ by the teachers, evangelists, or shepherds associated with it - making the men who lead the priority. Israel did likewise when choosing a king. They looked for a man after the natural desire of the flesh (1 Samuel 9:2)- and this attraction to leaders after a fleshly, natural manner reaped a history of monarchic corruption so far as God was concerned. We will notice that the leader which appealed to Israel was looking for lost donkeys, while God’s man- David- was tending his father’s sheep! We of course are thankful to God for good teachers, zealous evangelists, and compassionate shepherds but these do not constitute a ‘good church’ as such in God’s estimation. These are the manifestations of the gifts given by God, “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12).