Philippians 1:18-27 Life Verse?

The Problem with “Life Verses” and a Better Way to Read Philippians

You will not be surprised at the book we are turning to this morning. He'll open your Bibles to the book of Philippians. It was exactly six months ago to the day that I was called to be in this pulpit.

And I think it was in the middle of Elder Brown's announcements that the power went out. So hopefully, this goes OK. We'll see how it goes. I titled this sermon Life Verse? Verse? Question mark? And I think you'll see why as we get into this.

But my question to start this morning is, what is a life verse? Do you have a life verse? Now, the Bible doesn't have a handy thing in there that defines what a life verse is. But don't worry, I've got your back.

I went to the internet for a definition of a life verse. I went to Ibelieve .com. Why is everybody laughing? I don't understand. It defines a life verse as a scripture verse from the Bible that speaks to your heart in a personal and profound way.

Have a life verse? If you don't, again, the internet will come to your aid. Crosswalk .com, which by the way, I think is actually a pretty clever URL. But anyway, crosswalk .com has four steps for this critical moment in your Christian life.

This is what it says. This is what you need to do to figure out what your life verse is. Number one, pray through the process. Number two, brainstorm life events. Number three, look for common themes or words and then look them up in the Bible.

Number four, reflect on one verse at a time. I was on the internet. I am a child of the 90s, I guess. And so I kept looking for more information on the internet. And I found some recommended life verses for you.

I even found one that is listed as Dr. Mike's life verse, which I thought was great. Psalm 37, 23, the steps of a man are established by the Lord when he delights in his way. OK, that's not bad. But then I found the winner.

I found Chuck Norris' life verse. I stopped after this one. I have to admit, I felt like I couldn't get any better. Ephesians 5, 13, and 14, it's actually not bad. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.

For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Just think about that next time you see one of those roundhouse kicks.

Of course, we can't forget the one that we probably hear the most often, right? I can do all things, what? Through a verse taken out of context. Exactly right. Look, there's nothing wrong with a life verse per se.

But the question ultimately is, what are the benefits of a life verse? That's the question. And this morning, we're going to take a look at a passage that contains a verse that a lot of people have, in fact, called their life verse.

And you might say, in many respects, that it describes the life of its author. I already mentioned the book of Philippians. That's where we're going to be. So as you turn to this book, I just want to give you some context, just kind of remind you of where we are.

Paul most likely is writing this letter from a Roman prison. He came to Philippi in Acts 16 during his second missionary journey. And as he was building the church there, there was some unrest in the city.

He and Timothy were arrested. And then they got kicked out before they really finished planting and growing this church. They like to spend two years growing a church. And they had to leave before that was over.

Later in Acts 21, Paul gets arrested again in Jerusalem. And over the next six months to however long it might be, they slowly make their way to Rome with his captors and with the prisoners. There's shipwrecks.

There's all this crazy stuff that happens in the book. People say the Bible's boring. It's not boring. It's not boring. But most historians believe that Paul made it to Rome and wrote this letter to the Philippian church from the Roman prison.

He opens the letter, verses 1 to 11, by greeting the Philippians, by giving thanks to God for them. He encourages the Philippians that the Father is working in each of them and reminds them of their partnership with him in the gospel.

He yearns for his spiritual children. He prays for their spiritual growth. Verses 12 to 18, Paul explains to the Philippians that gospel growth is paramount. It is the most important thing. Men were preaching the gospel, but doing so in a way that was divisive.

They were trying to draw people away from Paul, maybe because they were jealous of his ministry. We don't really know exactly what the motivations were. We know they were selfish. Paul didn't even care about that.

In verse 18, talking about these men and their false claims, Paul writes this. What then? Only in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. And in that, I rejoice. Now, if you remember those sermons, if you don't, I'm going to tell you anyway, there's kind of this paradigm that goes over this entire book.

And we especially see it here in chapter 1. And this is something that we learned in kindergarten. Hopefully, you remember. People remember kindergarten? If you drive in Massachusetts, a lot of people don't remember kindergarten.

But this paradigm is show and tell. That's an easy one to remember, right? Show and tell. And that's going to be the model for this. We'll see that a little bit later, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, right?

Paul led this church when he planted it. We talked about that already. He led this church when he worked to grow it. He led this church through example, by living in a manner worthy of the gospel. Paul showed these Philippians what to do.

We're going to see some of that, and then we're going to see that switch. But we're going to start our reading this morning, actually, in verse 18. We're going to go all the way to the end of the chapter.

What then? Paul writes, only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. And in that, I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance.

As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by my life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell. I'm hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me, you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.

This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul's Example of Joyful Deliverance in Prison

We're going to take this passage this morning, and we're going to break it into four parts. If you are taking notes, I will give them to you. We're going to finish them. First, we're going to see the example, verses 19 and 20.

The example. Then the verdict, verses 21 to 24. Then the explanation, verses 25 and 26. And finally, the responsibility of the Philippians, verses 27 to 30. E-V-E-R. Four points. Forever. In light of eternity, I'm hoping that you can figure out this memory mnemonic.

Forever. So let's dig in. Let's see what Paul is telling this young church. Now, if you have an ESV Bible, how many people have ESV Bibles? Probably most of us, right? There's something kind of weird going on here in the ESV Bible.

We have these headings in our Bibles that break the text apart into these sections. We call them pericopes. And there's kind of this weird thing. Right in the middle of verse 18, you see this heading that says what?

To live as Christ, right? Now, the headings aren't weird, but it is a little odd that it comes right in the middle of a verse. First half of verse 18 is before. Second half, that's kind of how it works.

KJV, it's at the end of verse 18. In the New American Standard, they push it all the way down to verse 20. But the Net Bible helps us out here. The Net Bible actually gives us a little bit of clarity on what's going on.

This is verse 18 in the Net Bible. What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice. That makes sense.

That gives us a little bit more information, right? First, he's looking back. Paul's recounting his experience. We see that starting in verse 11, verse 12, coming all the way up to the first half of verse 18.

And then right after this kind of weird split, he's not looking back anymore. For the rest of this letter, Paul's looking forward. This is just, it's kind of easy to miss in some translations like the ESV.

So, so far what we've seen in this kind of narrative section that Paul is describing, we've seen Paul's example of the way that he has acted, or has reacted to the things that are happening in his life.

And now we continue to see Paul's example as he looks forward with expectations, with hope. Right, that's our first point, Paul's example. Up until now, we've looked at it and said, how can this man be joyful in light of his circumstances?

I got to be honest with you, it really only takes one shipwreck and I'm not having a great day. But Paul is still joyful. And now looking to the future, we marvel at him again. Paul's covering all the bases.

And we see in verse 19, for I know, this is the reason, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance. Paul knows he will be delivered.

Now, again, he's in prison, right? He might get executed. So it's kind of reasonable to assume that he is talking about that. Like, hey, I know, I have confidence that God will, after all, God did cause an earthquake to break me out of prison before.

Like, it's not unreasonable for me to think this, right? I'd be praying for that. But we see later in verse 20, he says, in life or death. So maybe that's not what this is. What is he talking about? What is this deliverance?

Remember who Paul is. Paul, the well-heeled Jew. Paul, the Pharisee of Pharisees, educated in all manners of the law. Paul knows his Old Testament. And here, writing to the Philippians, he calls back to the oldest book of the Bible, the book of Job.

In Job, after tragedy strikes, many of the men made fun of him. They mocked him for his faith. In Job 12, we see Job's confidence that all comes from the hand of God. And in chapter 13, he honors his God.

He says this in verse 15, though he slay me, I will hope in him. Yet I will argue my ways to his face. Verse 16, this will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him. This will be my salvation.

Septuagint, this will be my deliverance. What is that? His priority for God. Here, Paul quotes Job because he knows that everything comes from the hand of God. With the same unshakable faith of Job, Paul proclaims his confidence that everything the Lord is doing, whether it's the shipwreck, the imprisonment, the punishments, the selfish preachers, all of it is ultimately for God's glory and for Paul's sanctification according to the Lord's plan.

Even looking forward, Paul still has his confidence. It's an incredible example. And I think about this because I've done some reading. How much more encouraging is this response from Paul than, I don't know, the disciples?

Think about the boat. They were terrified in the boat. The crowds of people looking for food. Well, send them home. What are we going to do? The scattering when Jesus is arrested. Does this sound like faith through trials?

Not really. How much more helpful instead is Paul's reaction, Paul's example? Commentator Strain explains it like this. Keep eternity in view, Paul would say to you. If you are facing trials of many kinds, keep heaven in your sights.

Keep the salvation that has already been won for you by the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ in your line of sight at all times. For when you do so, not even prison chains will stifle your joy. Paul's deliverance, his salvation unto death will be accomplished.

And Paul knows that. How does he know that? Back to verse 19. Through the prayers of the Philippians and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit. Moises Silva writes, the point to note here is that even Paul's personal growth, his sanctification, does not take place in isolation from the support of the Church.

It is indeed a sobering thought that our spiritual relationship with God is not a purely individualistic concern. We are dependent on the Spirit's power in answer to the intercessory prayers of God's people.

If you ever wondered about the power of prayer, this is a fantastic reminder. What a condemnation this is, by the way, of that sola bootstrapsa thing that we kind of joke about, right? What a condemnation of that.

Paul the Apostle covets the prayers of the Church. He covets the prayers of these people in this Church that he planted. Does he know that he knows more than them? Of course he does. And yet he covets their prayers anyway.

What an incredible reminder of the importance of the local Church and the brotherhood of believers. Listen to this. This one's tough. I think Paul would say that attendance at the prayer meeting is a good barometer of the love of the members of the local Church for one another, as well as of the spiritual temperature of the congregation as a whole.

Did you know that we have corporate prayer every Sunday morning in Pastor Mike's office? Every Sunday. James 5, the prayer of a righteous person has what? Great power as it is working. The intercession of the saints through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit is what sustains Paul.

And we see that confidence continue in verse 20. For I know that through your prayers and through the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ that this will turn out for my deliverance. Verse 20, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but with full courage now, as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

So we just finished the Olympics. Well, the regular Olympics, Paralympics are going on right now. It's still amazing, by the way. You can still watch it. But we just finished the Olympics. And among the incredible stories that we've heard from these games, one of the things that I noticed that was different this year, and I'm not a huge Olympic person.

If it was Corey up here, he'd tell you 1 ,000 stories. But I'm not a huge Olympic person. But one of the things I noticed was there were a lot of photo finishes and races this year. Did anybody else notice that?

A lot of them. And I was reading this article about this. And apparently in 2012, they got rid of the traditional starting pistol. They have a little speaker that's behind all the runners now. And this article was saying that if they used a conventional starting pistol, the speed of sound was slow enough that as it went from lane to lane, the difference in the times of the runners was less than the speed of sound between the two lanes.

And so if they hadn't switched, it would have messed up the results, which blows my mind. But the reason why I say that is because what happens at the end of a sprint? They're just like, no. They're like, there's this kind of weird chin reach thing.

You know what I'm talking about? This extending of the neck. Literally, that is the word here. The extending of the neck. This eager expectation is that straining forward, that reaching forward. And so when you look at the end of a race, just think about that.

Eager expectation. Paul writes that it is his eager expectation and hopes that he will not be ashamed. Ashamed is a weird word here. We actually see ashamed in a bunch of places in the New Testament. We kind of like, OK, shame.

Let me read on to the next thing. Beuys reminds us that language often changes over time. He says the biblical understanding of shame has to do with disappointment. According to scripture, the person who is not ashamed is the person whose trust is not in God.

He is not misplaced, and who, therefore, is never disillusioned. I'll give you an example. Romans 5, which I read this morning. Hope does not put us to shame. Why would hope make you ashamed? Like, in our conventional thinking of the word shame, it doesn't make sense.

Hope will not disappoint you. Because God's love has been poured into our hearts. Because we hope in the eternal one. Similarly, Paul will not be disappointed and will have full courage that Christ will be honored in his body.

Now, you might ask the question, how can Paul be so confident? Answer, because he knows that God's purposes cannot be thwarted, even by himself. He knows that as much as his confidence is his own ministry, this is primarily Paul's confidence in the work of God.

He knows that, number one, he is functionally disposable in the hands of God. And number two, that God's decree will go forth whether it's in the life or death of Paul. God will be honored. Paul didn't really know God's plan for him, but he knew that through the work of the Holy Spirit, he would be able to glorify his King.

This is the same language, by the way, that we saw back in verse 6. If you look at verse 6, it says, I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you, what? Will be faithful to bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

True of Paul? Regardless of the difficulties, regardless of the trials. One man wrote, when you make much of Christ, when the true dimensions of his greatness are clearly seen by you, it will place everything else in your life, your every circumstance and trial into its correct proportion.

Trials will be permanently unable to rob you of joy. Christ and his exaltation will be your goal and your delight. He will be your joy, never your circumstances. If you are confident that Jesus will get all the glory from your life, or even from your death, and the glory of Christ is everything to you, then whether it is life or death you receive, you will be full of joy.

What an example we have in Paul. What an example he was for the Philippians. So much of an example that as we turn to verse 21, we see a powerful verdict on the life of Paul. Started with example, and now we turn to verdict.

To Live Is Christ and To Die Is Gain

Verse 21, for, because of everything I've said before, for, this is the verdict. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I'm to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell.

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. In light of the life Paul has lived, the purpose to which he is now committed, this is the gospel equation.

Literally, if you look at the Greek, I know we have some people who study the Greek here. The Greek says, to live Christ, to die gain. That's it. Everything that I am, everything that I do, the very essence of my life is for Jesus Christ.

This is the core of the ministry of Paul. When his eyes were opened on the Damascus Road, everything changed. He traveled for Christ. He preached for Christ. He was persecuted for Christ. And he expected that eventually he would die for Christ.

This is the conclusion of the analysis of the life of Paul. This is the decision. This is the verdict, to live Christ, to die gain. Christianity is Jesus Christ. Everything revolves around him. Stott said, the person and work of Christ are the foundation rock upon which the Christian religion is built.

Take Christ from Christianity and you disembowel it. There is practically nothing left. Christ is the center of Christianity. All else is circumference. Jesus is everything. We read the words when we read scripture.

We hear the words when they're preached. We sing the words, too, right? You are my strength when I am weak. You are the treasure that I seek. You are my what? All in all. All. We know this in our heads.

Do we live this with our lives? Lloyd-Jones asked the question, are you fully satisfied with Christ? This, to me, is the very essence of the Christian position. Thing that makes a Christian is Christ.

Christ is always central. He is everything to me. Living to Paul meant Christ in all that full sense. Philippians 121 goes part and parcel with Paul's writing to the Galatians in chapter 2. I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. If you don't know Jesus as your Savior, this doesn't make any sense.

If you have no hope of salvation after you leave this world, the idea of there even being anything after life, and anything, whatever it is, being better, is impossible to reconcile. Impossible. But in scripture, we see glimpses of the heavenly places.

Jesus describes it as paradise. Stephen saw the glory of God in heaven as he was being stoned, et cetera, et cetera. I could go to 100 places. Jesus was victorious over death through his resurrection.

And he stands ready to receive us in heaven when we leave this earth. Paul's confidence in this is complete, that death is gain. Paul knew death wasn't a tragedy, but in light of Christ's resurrection, a triumph.

Westminster Shorter Catechism asks a question about this. It's number 37. I didn't write it down. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? Answer, the souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory.

And their bodies, being still united in Christ, do rest in their graves until the resurrection. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. Oh, death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory. How? Through Jesus Christ. We get hard news. Cancer, illness, tragedy, whatever they might be.

But as we stare those trials in the face, whenever we consider our death, we can remember this, that the glory of heaven sits on the other side. And it's not just about the body. We make jokes about creaky bones.

I think Anitra and I were talking the other day. It's like, as we get older, getting up is louder. I don't really know how that works. The laughing, clearly, people do know how that works. We don't sleep well.

Random things hurt. Oh, how'd you hurt yourself? I don't know, I slept wrong. Is a glorified body a gain? Yes. But this isn't what we most look forward to in heaven, is it? No. It's being face to face with Christ.

It is the presence of Christ on the other side of the veil that is truly gain. Tozer said this, the modern scientist has lost God amid the wonders of his world. We, as Christians, are in real danger of losing God amid the wonders of his word.

We've almost forgotten that God is a person. And as such, can be cultivated, that relationship can be cultivated in context, as any person can. What a moment this is to look forward to. Nothing could possibly compare to seeing Jesus face to face.

Not the birth of a baby, not a wedding, the wonders of this world. These are all created things, but to be with the creator himself, present with the Lord, no matter what it is we're looking forward to in life.

And there are great things, don't get me wrong, there are amazing things on this planet. But for the Christian, there is something better. Back to our text, we see Paul, he's kind of considering his options here, right?

For me to live as Christ and to die as gain, for if I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Once again, Paul is beating the drum of self-sacrifice. He wants to go and be in heaven with Christ, and who can blame him, right? I mean, if we want to go to heaven to be with Christ, who can blame us?

He's in a rougher situation than we are. Let's be honest, he's in a rougher situation than we are. But of course, this isn't really Paul's choice to make, right? We know this. God can use Paul, and he knows that.

He wants to depart. He says in verse 23, this word depart, it's kind of the idea of a couple weeks ago, we were church camping, and I was very ready to depart, right? It's this idea of like a military camp, picking up their stakes, their tent, and going.

And everybody leaves, right? That's the idea. When we think of depart, it's I'm taking myself, and I'm going home, all right? He wants to depart. Paul wants to just take it all and leave and be with Jesus.

But instead, he's so committed to the advancement of the gospel, verses 12 to 18, he's so committed that he sees that for now, his value is greater on earth. For the Philippians and for the universal church, Paul remains totally committed to working for the growth of God's kingdom.

Lawson explains it well. He says, this is an act of self-denial on his part as he puts the needs of other believers before his own desires. That's the conclusion. That's the verdict. Paul has dedicated his entire life to the Lord and the furtherance of God's kingdom.

And in light of that life, verse 21 really is Paul's life verse. It's not a motivational verse like we talked about at the beginning, as one might think. But it is a reminder of what Paul has done and what he can look forward to.

And that moves us to our third point. We started with the example of Paul, the verdict based on that example. And now we go to the explanation. Verses 25 and 20, it's right out of the verses. 25 and 26, look with me.

The Explanation for Paul’s Return and the Philippians’ Joy

Convinced of this, verse 25, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.

Here's the explanation. Paul has wrestled internally. He has prayed and he has sought guidance. And here is the explanation of what he's going to be doing and why he's going to be doing that. Throughout his letters, we see this everywhere, Paul encourages his spiritual children to imitate him.

We see it later in this letter in chapter 3, multiple times in 1 Corinthians. Clearly, Paul was convinced the church still needed his leadership. In the same way Paul describes the progress of the gospel in chapter 1, he describes the progress of the Philippians here for your progress and joy in the faith.

Now we see this legacy of imitation multiplying. Paul knows that when he is gone for real, when he has departed, someone else will need to work for the progress of the gospel. How will they do that? And how will they know?

And so Paul is pouring himself out in this church so that they might take the baton. Verse 26, we see another pattern we've seen before. If you remember at the beginning of this letter in verse 3, Paul is thankful for the Philippians.

Verse 3 says, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. He's thankful for the Philippians. He doesn't thank the Philippians. Who does he thank? He thanks God. So too is that the pattern we see in verse 26.

Hendrickson writes this. He says, the apostles' release, should it please God to grant this, as Paul rather expects, would result in more than merely sentimental rejoicing. Not only would the Philippians exclaim, Paul, we are very happy to have you with us once more.

I don't think they'd say it like that, but you get the idea. They would also thank their anointed Savior. In connection with God's mercy, they would say, if the Pharisees bestowed upon Paul, they would make their boast in the Lord, praising him and this particularly for bringing their dear friend to them again.

That's the explanation. It's pretty simple. Paul has shared his trials with the Philippian church. They know what he's going through. So imagine their joy and their praise to the Lord, because they have been taught rightly, should Paul return to them again.

And that's exactly what he says in verse 26. It's not a complicated one. So we have the example, verses 19 and 20, the verdict, verses 21 and 24. We just looked quickly at the explanation of Paul's decision, 25 and 26.

And now to sort of close this morning, we're going to look at verses 27 to 30, the responsibility of the Philippians, the responsibility of the Philippians. And to be clear, this is a read to the application.

This is your responsibility as well. I talked at the beginning about show and tell. I told you we'd get to it. Well, we're done with the show. It's time for the tell. Verse 27, we see Paul instructing the Philippians and again, by extension, you.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. So that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.

This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake.

Engage in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. What does it take for a Christian's manner of life to be worthy of the gospel of Christ? What does that take? How would a spiritual father, Paul, teach these things?