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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/eric-mccullough/philippians/
The Philippian Epistle, chapter one. Paul's letter to the Philippians, the first church in Europe as far as we know. Verse one of chapter one. Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ. That to me is most interesting.
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, you remember was called on Damascus Turnpike, but he refers to himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. James and Jude and Peter, they all referred to themselves as servants of Jesus Christ.
They knew him. They were called personally by him, but Paul had a call from heaven. And so it's Christ, the man that's up there, that called Paul who was down here. Verse two. 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, all making requests with joy. Paul wasn't partial as he prayed. Over and over again in this chapter, he mentions all believers, you all, you all.
Verse six, being confident of this very thing that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ. Verse 10, that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.
Now look down the chapter to verse 21. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor. Yet what I shall choose I want not or I know not for I am a straight and a straight betwixt two, having a desire to be with Christ, which is far better.
Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Now look at chapter two. We heard some of this this morning. Verse four, look not every man on his own thing, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even the cross death.
Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. Lest I forget, in what we have read, we have reference to all four of the gospels. Verse nine is the gospel of the king, one that he says God hath highly exalted.
In verse seven, he was made in the likeness of men. That's Mark's gospel. Then in verse eight, he was humbled as a man, his humanity. That's Luke's gospel. And verse 10 reminds us of this one being in the form of God, co-equal with a father.
He never ceased to be what he always was, John's gospel. So all of the gospels are suggested in those short verses. Now I want you to look at verse 16, holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ.
That's the third time we've read of the day of Christ. And I want to speak a little about that. I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Now look at chapter three, verse 12. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.
But I follow after, that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth onto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Now finally, excuse me, a reading in chapter four, verse eight. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely or pleasing, whatsoever things are good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Verse 11, not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. Verse 13, I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. And we know God will bless what we have read.
It's of more value than anything we may attempt to say about it. Paul is writing, as I have said, to the first church in Europe, as we know, assemblies gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. Philippi was a Roman colony.
Along about chapter 16 of the Acts, Paul is on the way to Troas, and he, with others, apparently Dr. Luke was with him, heard that Macedonian call, come over and help us. It has well been said that it's good that Paul, he did that call to Macedonia.
They didn't go just then. According to chapter 20 of the Acts, about seven years later, they eventually reached Philippi. Luke was with them. Luke says, we endeavored to go, and they went. But if they hadn't gone, instead of the western part of the world being evangelized, the east to us, lands to the east, would be evangelized, and we'd be sitting in heathen darkness.
The gospel went to Europe, from Europe to this continent, to Canada, to the United States, but other parts of the world have been left in darkness. It's hard to think about it, but more than half of this world has never, never heard the name of Jesus.
Hard for us to appreciate that, but it's true. Those lands that are steeped in idolatry, Mohammedism, Buddhism, every type of religion apart from Christianity, but we thank God for the gospel message.
And so, Paul is writing from the Mamertine prison to these believers at Philippi, maybe about 10 years after he had been there, and three times over, we read, he made reference to this work that God is doing.
He will perform it, he says, until the day of Christ. Now, what is the day of Christ? Well, I take that to be the day when the church will be complete, and all believers will be gathered home, and for the first time since the day of Pentecost, the church will be complete again, composed of all believers.
And so, this epistle, a very lovely one, it tells us much about Christian experience, the joy that should characterize the believer. If I remember correctly, you know when you get older, when you get old, sometimes your mind isn't as sharp as it was.
But if I remember 16 times over in this epistle, Paul talks about joy or rejoicing. Now, that should be the experience of us as believers, the joy that we have in Christ, the knowledge of sins forgiven, the assurance of heaven when this life is over.
But sadly, Christian experience is not always the experience of a Christian. There's times when there's sadness, there's times when there's sorrow, times of difficulty. It can be financial, it can be familial, some of the family members that disappoint us.
It can be many, many things that would cause us to be downcast. But you know, I often think of Job who lost everything, lost his properties, lost all of his cattle. And his wife said to him, curse God and die.
How would some of you brethren like to have a wife like that? You know what Job said? Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. And so in the midst of his circumstances, Job was enabled to bless God. And the end of that book tells us that Job had twice as much as he had at the beginning of his life.
And so joy should characterize us as God's people. So this is a valley experience, Philippians, between the epistle to the Ephesians, that great mountain peak, and the epistle to the Colossians, the two Mount Etmas of the New Testament.
In the Ephesian epistle, it's about the body of Christ composed of believers that we were reminded of this morning. In the Colossian epistle, Paul reminds us of the one who is head, head over all things to the church, the Lord Jesus.
And for the first time, the church will be united with his head again at the rapture. And we wait to see the morning star appear. That's the glad hope. That's what encourages us. That's why in chapter one, Paul talks about Christ as the object of the believer's life.
We'll look at that in a minute. In chapter two, he talks about Christ as the pattern of the believer's life. In chapter three, he talks about Christ as the object, the prize. That's what he was looking for, the prize.
And then in chapter four, Christ is the experience. That's which enables him to say, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. I like Weymouth's translation of that. I look at other translations, but I don't publicly read from them.
I hope you young brethren don't read publicly from the ESV. I've got one. I've read right through it, but we cannot improve on the literature of the King James Version. That's what is easily understood.
It's easily memorized, and we should encourage it to be read. But Weymouth says about that verse, I can do all things through Christ which giveth me the power. That's the source of our power. It's like a dynamo outside this building.
The building could be all wired up, but unless there's contact made, there would be no power for these lights to be on. We have to draw from the source, and so the source is Christ himself. So in chapter one, very quickly, Paul is saying, for me to live is Christ.
That was the object of living for him. Let me ask you, and I'll ask myself, what's the purpose of my living? For me to live is popularity, fame, to amass a huge bank account, to buy more land. The late Mr. Smith used to tell the farmers over in Iowa, and sad to say, sometimes it's true, they grow more corn to feed more hogs, to buy more land, to grow more corn, to feed more hogs, to buy more land.
Is that why I'm living? To attain what this world has to offer? Or can I say like Paul, for me to live is Christ? You see, Paul says, I'm in a strait. When I was in school, I learned that a strait is a little narrow isthmus of land between two bodies of water pressing in on each side.
Paul says that's where I am. On one hand, he says to depart and be with Christ would be very far better. On the other hand, he says, it's more needful for me to live for you believers in Philippi. You see, Paul chose the more needful for what was far better.
Now, that's what God wants us to do. What is most needful? What's my priority? For me to live is Christ. In view of that day when we shall all appear before the judgment seat. When he comes into chapter two, he speaks again about the day of Christ and he's telling us about the example of the Lord Jesus that we heard of this morning, the blessed one who being that is his eternal existence, he always was eternal.
His deity had no beginning, found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself. He took upon him the form of a servant, became what he never had been, a man and yet never ceased to be what he always was, the eternal son of the father.
God manifests in flesh. You see, God could not die, but the man who was God died. The man Christ Jesus humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even the cross death. There were thousands that were put to death upon a cross for their crimes, but there was only one that died the cross death.
That was the Lord Jesus. That death was substitutionary. That death was because of your sin and my sin. It put them all away when he suffered and died upon Calvary. And so God has highly exalted him. He has a name today that's above every other name and that he is coming when every knee will bow and extol this blessed one.
You read Revelation chapter five and you'll read of those living creatures and the four and twenty elders representing the church and the innumerable company of angels, 10 ,000 times 10 ,000, thousands of thousands, and things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth, and who they are I don't know and you don't know, no one knows, but every created intelligence will acclaim wisdom, and power, and honor, and glory, and blessing to the one that sits upon the throne.
What a glad day that will be when we shall all be there. And so Paul looks for that day in chapter three. He's reminding us of that race that he's running, just like any runner pressing toward the mark, reaching forth, running according to the same rule, being thus minded, reaching for the prize, the prize.
You see that was Paul's desire to gain a prize. And I would say to every young believer here, the day is coming when you will be rewarded for everything that you do for him. He saves us for nothing, but for every little act that we do to honor him, there'll be rewards.
My brother referred to that this morning from first Corinthians chapter three. How we build is not quantity, it's quality. God is looking for that which is gold, and silver, and precious stones, that which will stand the test of the day of Christ.
Everything will be reviewed, your life and mine, from the moment of salvation until at last we're taken home to heaven. It will be gone on into, and Paul says in that same chapter, then shall every man have praise of God.
So there'll be rewards in a coming day. Paul was reaching forth for that. He says, that's my desire, to gain the prize. And then when he comes into chapter four, he talks about things that we should be occupied with.
Not critical, doesn't take any particular gift to be a critic. We can all find fault, but Paul says there are things you should think about. That which is honest, that which is pure, that which is of good report.
And Paul says, I have learned. And that word learn means to learn by experience. I have learned. In whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. And then he says, I can do all things through Christ, who giveth me the power.
There's a secret of your power and my power, is to draw from that divine power source. To draw from him, to be occupied with him. There's nothing else that matters. One of these days, your life and mine will come to an end and when we look back, as the hymn writer says, only one life will soon be passed.
Only what's done for Christ will last. And I believe, dear brethren, that in that coming day, when we stand in his August presence and our life is reviewed, we'll say, we'll wish we had given him more.
More, more, yes, more. We'll wish we had given him more. The Lord bless his word and what will follow for his name's sake.