I Thank My God, Philippians, 1:3-5

Well, good morning. After very special music, I get called the big blows. I don't know. OK. Before we move into our study of Philippians here, we do want to cover some things. And one of the things over recent months and even recent weeks, we've talked about elders and deacons, and we've kind of made a shift in the direction that things have been headed here. Maybe an adjustment is the best way to put it. And I won't go into fine details. I think the handout that we've made available covers that.

See me about that if you still feel like you have questions. But one of the things that we did is we made some adjustments this last summer that placed the elders and deacons in complementary groups. And The idea is that each one is then kind of set free to pursue the biblically defined role. The church still has a board, but it's really only as necessary to minimally meet the state's requirements and not go beyond that or give it a position over the biblically defined roles of elders and deacons. So the way things stood previously was much like this. The board was kind of the entity over the elders and deacons and the elders and deacons were operating more as a single unit after that umbrella. The change under the current arrangement is to kind of put the elders and deacons in groups that coordinate with each other and communicate, but operate in the areas in which they do. And the board is there just to meet legal requirements and otherwise kind of give it minimum status.

It has a valid place legally, but it's it's not the overriding entity that scripture Scripture would have it So at any rate one of the things you'll notice here We got the the deacons highlighted because we want to pay particular attention to that this morning a couple weeks ago We talked about elders and deacons as you recall the last the very last part of verse 1 of Philippians we talked about the the elders and the deacons and together as a group.

And one of the things we made note of is that elders were overseers. And that's also the term that comes across from the Latin as pastors, and essentially, the word shepherds. And of course, one of the things that we explained, since a lot of people are not accustomed to shepherds, we want to make sure people had a good idea what a shepherd was. And so one of the things we want to put the focus on here is the biblical role of deacons. We won't show the deacons in quite the same light. But anyway, we want to focus on the biblical role of deacons.

Essentially, deacons were brought up because they became very apparent as the apostles were acting essentially as elders of that church that was meeting at that time just in Jerusalem. It became very apparent that they would get distracted from the very essential role that they had of teaching and shepherding the flock there in Jerusalem. And so they said, let's get some qualified men to lead up to meet these physical and other kind of administrative needs and the things that were necessary to meet the specific needs at that time. And so the bottom line here is that there are physical needs that the deacons meet and that that serves an essential and critical complementary role to that of the the elders who are called the shepherd. Between the two of them acting in their God-given biblical role, then the sum total of the needs of the body of Christ are met in each local church. And so that's what we're zeroing in on here. Each of these deacons must be biblically qualified. We won't go into all those details now, but you're certainly welcome to pursue that or peruse that on your own time.

But one of the things I'd like to do, I'd like to have Hal come up here with me, if he would. And I'd also like to call up those who have been deacons for some time with us here. These three men have been deacons for some time. What has been apparent is we need to get some more. So we've got some additional men who are coming on board here and I'd like to ask them to come up if they would. As many as are able to join us here this morning. So now with the recognition and addition of these men, we now have nine deacons.

So I think that's a neat thing we can praise the Lord for. I'm just really joyful to be able to recognize these men. I think one of the things that is very apparent as we look through scripture, we're not causing anything to happen here. All we're doing is recognizing what the Lord has already caused to happen. These men are being called to this position not because we're creating anything, but because the Lord has already gifted them and they've already demonstrated the ability to serve in various capacities. And so I'd just like to take time and have Hal and I take turns praying for these men as we acknowledge what the Lord is doing. And so let's do that now.

Lord, we give you thanks and just praise you for what you are doing in this church body. We thank you for the gifts and the hearts of these men who have stepped forward to serve you in varying capacities. We know that they are biblically qualified and we just pray that you would preserve them and give them wisdom and strength in the task and tasks that you have set before them. We just pray these things giving you thanks in Jesus name. Amen. Our Father and our God as we read this morning that you are the one that begins the good work and you are the one that performs it until the day of Jesus Christ. So we do thank you Father for these men knowing that you are the one that will be empowering them to carry out the ministry that you have given to them. And we just thank you for that provision in Christ's name. Amen. And thank you. We give thanks to the Lord for the service that all men have been and are giving.

Is it true you're just trying to expand the martyr pool? Read the following chapters and you'll catch up with what he's talking about. It's interesting that Stephen, one of those first deacons appointed in this Acts 6 passage, was the first martyr of the church.

We'll let you figure that out, Ben. One of the things you might note here. Now, why would Vern put this up on the overhead? Isn't it interesting? We live at a time when people are very confused. Have you noticed that? People are very confused. And this multitude of traffic lights all showing, you know, different colors at the same time. This, I think, portrays well the confusion of the world right now. People are extremely nervous. People are upset, and in parts of the world it looks ominous.

But I think what's marvelous as we look to God's Word here this morning, that we haven't got any mixed signals. The Lord makes it very clear. We haven't got a multitude of signals telling us, stop, go, yes, no, you know. with signals pointing us in different directions or different actions. Instead, no, the Lord is very clear and so we want to turn to his word now and as we do that, isn't it great? We just have one traffic light, not a multitude like you see in this picture. And by the way, is there any place like that downtown? I hope not. Okay.

As we're reading from the passage that Norm read for us, I think it's important to keep in mind that here is Paul writing. The truth is, scholars aren't quite sure which prison he actually wrote Philippians from. This was possibly his last home, but it may have been some prior time. Nonetheless, it's very clear, as we'll see later, he's writing from prison. But I think it's valuable for us to keep in mind the environment from which he's writing.

This is amazing stuff that he is writing, considering particularly the circumstances. And when he starts speaking the way he's speaking, it is phenomenal to think that it was in very dismal circumstances and with uncertain prospects in front of him that he wrote this.

So with that, let's turn to this passage, Philippians chapter 1, verses 3 through 5. And Paul writes there three very Simple verses. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. Simple enough, right? Let's take a look at it.

One of the things people like to say, well, Paul is unique in his teaching about this and that, and they'll point different things. Paul is unique in his teaching about He alone really gives a list of spiritual gifts. He alone really talks in very clear terms about our position in Christ. But something else I noticed here, Paul is the only one who writes, and he writes it repeatedly, I thank my God. None of the other apostles come up with that particular phrase.

And Paul uses it again and again, and so this passage we're looking at now is just but one example. And it's interesting, and we'll take a closer look at this, but here's Paul saying, and he says it repeatedly, I thank my God. And notice that it isn't just some God out there, okay? This is personal, isn't it? See that? I thank my God. And he says it enough, and he makes mention of it in more than one passage, where it's a repeated event. This is something that has to do with Paul's very habit and character. Okay, let's take a look at the next part there. Let's ask a very important question. So why would Paul thank God directly instead of just thanking the saints at Philippi directly for their participation in the gospel?

He could very well have written, hey, thanks a lot, I sure appreciate it. But what did he write? He says, I thank My God. So he directs it there. If Paul had thanked the saints at Philippi directly, they might have been inclined to think, oh, boy, aren't we good. We really came up with something. The whole understanding would have gotten short-circuited. So what does he do in giving thanks for the Philippians' participation?

He's teaching them about that. He doesn't just say, thanks a lot. No, he teaches something. He teaches them as he's giving thanks. He gives the direction to the Lord. He points them to the Lord in the process. He has them look at the Lord as the source instead of themselves, even in the way he shows his appreciation. Even as he says thanks, he's telling them, Look to the Lord.

He is the source that ultimately I'm thanking. I'm thankful for you, but I know the Lord is the source, and that's where I direct my thanks. Something to think about, even as we seek to encourage each other. There are a great many things that people in this body do, and I am greatly appreciative of all of it, but ultimately, my thanks and appreciation go to the Lord, because He's the source of it, isn't He?

He is the source of it all. Marvelous ways that he has gifted us. Marvelous ways. Here is the truth I think Paul shared with the Corinthian church, the perspective that Paul is trying to put across. 2 Corinthians 4.7, Paul writes this way, but we have this treasure, Jesus Christ, in earthen vessels, that's this body, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. Even in the way Paul says thanks about the Philippians, he's pointing to the truth, isn't he? I thank the Lord for what he's doing in and through you. That's his teaching and direction as he says thanks, as he gives thanks for what's going on through the Philippians.

You might remember last week we looked at this papyrus letter. This one was written in Greek just less than a decade after the book of Philippians was written. And that one started off like this. This was a secular letter. Naelas to Theon, his lord and father, very many greetings. Remember that? And that was quite common. Here's another one that's common. Now, this is another typical contemporary letter.

It's a young soldier writing to his mother. Now, it almost reminds me of the letter that was written by Matt Malloy, except that I'm sure the Romans didn't have an air force. So, it goes like this. There's this young soldier named Thaonis writes home to his mother, Theseus.

After the introduction, he writes this, Before all else, I pray that you are well. I myself am well, and make obeisance on your behalf to the gods here. That kind of a statement was real common among letters to friends and family and business associates. I'm praying for your health. I'm doing fine and I pray for your health and well-being. I pray that you be prosperous. That kind of statement was real common. Nothing unusual about that at all. But notice how, again, Paul adapts the common practice.

What he does is instead he goes to this And instead of just saying, I'm praying for your health and that sort of thing, he says, I go to the Lord and thank Him for your participation in the gospel. I'm not just saying, okay, I'll say like everybody else does, you know, I hope you're healthy and wealthy. He says, I thank the Lord for your participation. There's a spiritual teaching and direction in what he has to say. He's taken the common greeting and adapted it to have real spiritual truth and content, instead of just saying, Hi, I'm Paul, and let's get through with all the usual hellos.

Something else that comes out in here, and we brought it up last week, this charis, this word charis is at the head of a family of words that occur in Philippians. And we noted that last week, charis is grace or gifting, and we made the point that charis in the Greek culture did not mean the same thing as Paul most often used it. And Kairos was basically doing something for somebody that was kind of a done without expectation, a favor done without expectation of any return. This way that Paul used it went far beyond that because it would do a favor not just for friends and family, but for those who are enemies.

That was the marvelous thing about what Paul was teaching. There was also Eucharisteo, give thanks, the verb. Or Eucharistia, giving thanks. This basically means good gracing. Another one of those, Chara, joy. And Cairo, rejoice, similar sounding word. Charizomai, to give graciously.

This whole family of words shows up repeatedly in the book of Philippians. And we'll take a look at that here. Here is this passage we're looking at now with the prior verses from earlier weeks. And notice as you go through this, these charis family of words that show up even here.

The first one in verse 2 is grace. Grace to you and peace. There's charis. The next one shows up at the beginning of verse 3 and I put I thank because in the Greek that's one word. I think, so here is another use of this charis family of words, and then in verse 4, shows up again, always offering prayer with joy.

So three times in those couple of verses there, those few verses, he's using this family of words here that speaks of marvelous grace, gifting, a tremendous thing. Here's this charis family of words, and you also have it on your handout and we've got it broken down here by chapter. In each chapter you'll see that here's a listing of words so practically a couple of dozen times by the time he gets done he's using these words, this family of words again and again and again. It doesn't always show up in the English but I want to point out to us because he's I'm sure not using this family of words incidentally or accidentally. He's wanting to convey to them a message of grace from one end to the other, a message of joy and rejoicing from one end to the other.

As we go through the book of Philippians, we'll return to this list because we'll keep running across these words time and time again. Today, the passage we're looking at now will just include a couple of these, but we'll be encountering more as we proceed. Now, something else to think about here. Here's Paul writing, and you know, everything we read so far in this book is all positive, joyous-sounding stuff, isn't it? He's thankful, and he's full of joy. And he talks about God's grace.

But you know, the background, how things started with the Philippians, not necessarily all that nice. Matter of fact, if you kind of count through it, we look at particularly Acts 16, He had this chronically harassing slave girl. She didn't just come up and bug him once. She was chronically harassing him, coming after him again and again and again. Demon possessed, too. Then, false accusations from the slave girl's owners. They came and started accusing him of this and accusing him of that.

He was being beaten with rods. That was another thing. I'm sure he could have looked back at that and said, oh my heavens, what an experience. And I didn't even deserve it. And this being beaten with rods, by the way, was nasty. They would take a long, heavy rod. Frequently people who were beaten with rods would have lengthy open wounds because it would be like a shockwave hitting the flesh and it would just open up the skin. It was a nasty thing.

Even if it didn't open things up, there would be a serious wealth and bruising. Not even that does he bring up. He was imprisoned in stocks. If they wanted to make sure you were really secure, they'd put you in the prison and they'd lock up your feet and your hands. We're not quite certain in this particular circumstances, but sometimes the locking up in feet and stocks was accompanied by shoving you back into a hole about the size of a dishwasher. So not a big hole, and they'd shove you back there and lock your feet and hands up. You weren't getting out. It was terribly uncomfortable. And what did Paul and Silas do? They sang until midnight.

Then, being asked to leave Philippi after all this unjust and improper treatment, one other little thing you could stick in there is it didn't seem like they gave him a chance to answer until after he'd already been imprisoned and beaten. So here he is asked to leave, and now when he's writing the letter, what's happening? Here he is in prison again. There is a lot that he could have griped about. He says, look guys, I had a tough time back there. You guys really should have done a lot more to get things straightened around. He didn't do that, did he?

He comes and instead he talks about the grace and the joy and rejoicing instead. Marvelous thing. He thanks the Lord at not just occasional remembrances, every remembrance. He's always offering prayer for them with joy. He views their participation in the gospel until that time at the writing of the letter. That's what he's got in view. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that marvelous?

Now, don't go to sleep on me yet. We're not done. Stay awake just a little longer. Hang in there. Because we've got to go through these verses step by step here. Sorry about that. First thing is the verb there that he has, I thank my God, it isn't just I thank my God and then go on to something else. It's I am continuing to thank my God. That's real important. I am continuing to thank my God is the way the Greek verb comes across. Think of that as an iterative present. It's going on, but it's going on and on and on.

The idea there being, I am thanking my God. And by the way, I'm thanking my God, and thanking my God, and thanking my God. It is something that he keeps thanking the Lord. Every time he thinks about it, he keeps thanking the Lord. It's a continuous thanking.

Think about what that means here. It's not incidental or insignificant. It isn't like it passed through his mind and now he's on to something else. It keeps coming back to his mind. He says, I keep thanking the Lord because I keep remembering all the things that the Lord has done and is doing. It's not just once and forgotten.

It's not done by ritual or just habit. It's not just mundane. Okay, I've got to do this thanking stuff because that's what I've got to do. He doesn't say that. Instead, he's motivated from the heart. It's not done by repetition with the hopes of greater impact. This is coming out of a heart of joy.

You notice that? He talks about grace, he talks about joy, he talks about rejoicing. Now, let's take a look at the next verse. There are repeated Greek words there. Some of the translations don't bring it across exactly. always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all." The same Greek word shows up in both places. It's the same one.

And that word, dēsis, it's called. Dēsis means requests and petitions. I keep offering requests to the Lord. In every request to the Lord, I come back and thank the Lord for what He has done and is doing through this church. That's what he's saying. Every time I make these requests, I come to the Lord and I keep coming back to Him again and again. I'm thanking the Lord for you.

So we get the sense of this with joy. It's meaning all the requests are made with joy. Isn't that neat? He says, oh man, I've just got so much to rejoice over. Every time I think of you, I pray to the Lord and with joy I am praying. not heavy-heartedness, not, you know, compulsion. He is joyfully praying these things. Notice something else that jumps out in these couple of verses. Superlatives, okay?

I thank my God in, not my occasional remembrance of you, in all my remembrance of you, okay? Always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. You notice that? to such a great extent, he is offering these prayers of thanks. In every possible dimension, he is offering thanks. It's not occasional hit and miss here and there. He is thanking the Lord in every respect. All my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. It comes across real clear. This is not a partial thing with Paul, is it? This isn't a percentage deal.

He doesn't come to him and say, I'm pretty thankful for you guys. Mostly thankful. I'm occasionally thankful. Once in a while I'm thankful for you. He doesn't say that. Instead, I thank the Lord every time, always, with every prayer, every recollection, for every one of you. Isn't that neat? Marvelous thing.

Then we see in the next verse, Philippians 1.5, "...in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now." Now you think through that here. We see the root and motivation.

Because before he's telling you how he's responding, isn't he? He's telling you how he's responding. Now he says, here's why. I look back at your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. He says, that just grabs me. I look at that, I see how the Lord has done this marvelous thing, and I see your participation in the gospel, and that just motivates me again and again and again. I see that. He's overjoyed by it. There's some key words that jump out at us in verse 5.

One is koinonia, participation. There's a meaning there. King James has fellowship. It's not just talking. A lot of times we kind of think of fellowship as we just get together and chat. Certainly it includes that, but it goes beyond that. It means sharing in the widest possible sense. It includes financial participation, but much more.

How can I encourage Paul? How can I help? That's the way he's coming across to the Philippians. They're saying, Paul, we want to support you financially, but can we pray for you? Can we send somebody? How can we encourage you through the middle of this thing? Do you need anything else? There's the widest possible support and encouragement for what Paul is doing. That's what he means. It's not just, thanks for your check. But these Philippians have stepped forward in every regard, and you notice all those superlatives that he used in verses 3 and 4. This is why.

Their participation was also superlative. Their support for Paul in the ministry of the gospel was as wide as it could get. It was broad and extensive support. The next word that comes across there, euangelion. Now, it's two words together. Paul loves compound words, by the way. So this is one of them. Remember, good gracing. This one It's good message. He just uses the same prefix there again. Good message. That's basically what the gospel is. It's a good message or good news, we'll say. That's what he's communicating there.

It doesn't just mean the gospel regarding salvation. Sometimes when we hear that word gospel, we tend to think, oh, that's the news that people need to get saved. It includes that, but it goes beyond that. It includes, instead, the doctrines and all the understandings.

Paul told the Ephesians in Acts chapter 20, he says, I gave you the whole counsel of God. That's what he's talking about. It's not just getting people saved and moving on to the next city. He wants to build up the church, and so they have everything that they need. All the substance, all the spiritual food that's necessary. So these are key words that jump out in verse 5. He says, from the first day until now.

And one of the things to remember, if you look back as we did a couple of months ago in Acts chapter 16, here's Lydia becomes a believer by the river. They apparently didn't have a synagogue in Philippi, a very small number of Jewish believers, and so they would meet by the river. Lydia became a believer and then hosted Paul and his companions. The slave girl was freed from a demon. Paul got in deep trouble over it, but the slave girl was freed. The jailer and his household became believers. Those are some of the things we have recorded. Now this is what we have recorded. There may very well have been other things as well, but these are things we most certainly know are true.

Paul and his companions returned after that on the next missionary journey. They returned to Philippi twice. They went in through one direction and then came back roughly the same route through Philippi again. So they'd gone back through twice. We don't have lots of detail on what happened there, but certainly those are part of Paul's recollections too. The church at Philippi continued to participate. And that was one of the things that Paul was rejoicing over. Here's the church continuing to participate. in Paul's spreading of the gospel. Not just financial support, but support in every other regard. Every encouragement. What do you need, Paul? Do you need more helpers? How can we pray for you? How can we encourage you?

So here's the river. This is the river where Paul met Lydia and others who were gathered together at the river that day. So that's the first day. This is the first day here. From the first day until now, he says. Think about that. That now is about a little better than ten years later. There's a lot of water under the bridge, so to speak, that has happened during this period of time. And Paul's looking back and thanking the Lord for what's happened here.

And as we look at this, I think it's valuable for us to just kind of ponder and think about Frequently, as we get together with other believers, do we see the Lord working through them? What kind of a different encouragement is it to other believers for us to tell them that we're thanking the Lord for what the Lord's doing through them? If I just come up to a believer and say, hey, thanks for doing this, that's okay. But if I say, I thank the Lord for what you're doing.

Where does that point them? Isn't it interesting how it makes a whole different statement? And it encourages them to look to and depend upon the Lord. That's exactly Paul's intent here. He wants to start off saying, yes, I'm very thankful for you, but I'm thanking the Lord for what he's doing through you, and therefore, Philippian saints, therefore, I want you to continue to look to the Lord. who is the one who's bringing these things about. Let's pray. Lord, as we look at this passage, it is just a wonderful thing to see how Paul has written to these saints at Philippi and is encouraging them to continue doing what they have been doing and supporting his work for the furtherance of the gospel not just evangelizing but teaching and As he gives thanks for them he he is teaching them the very truth of Christ is the source Christ is the the place of dependence for this this participation that they have and we give you thanks for the the truth of your word that comes forth here and just I As we look at this passage and the ones to follow the joy and the rejoicing and the gifting and the grace We just thank you for that all in Jesus name. Amen