Dwell in the Word Philippians 1:1-11

Consider these questions as we dwell in Philippians 1:1-11:

1. How does Paul's understanding of God's work in the Philippian Church provide a source of comfort and assurance amidst their experience of persecution? How can this perspective be applied to challenges believers face today?

2. What is the significance of Paul's prayer for the Philippian Church, particularly his emphasis on love, discernment, and the pursuit of purity and blamelessness? How do these elements contribute to their growth in faith?

3. How does the concept of God's promise to bring His work to completion impact our approach to spiritual growth and sanctification? What role does trust in the power of God's word and the work of the Holy Spirit play in this process?

Transcript:

As we land in this first part of the Book of Philippians, it's important that we understand that the church in Philippi is experiencing persecution. We have to understand here that what they are going through is difficult, but Paul believes that God is doing something through it. Paul is trusting that God is going to do a good work in the church at Philippi through what they are experiencing. If you're watching on video, you can see that I've highlighted verse 6, and it's a well-known verse. It says, And I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ. Paul believes that because the Philippian Church, because the people there have been given the gift of faith by God, he believes that... Paul says that God is not going to abandon them. He believes that God is going to do this work in them, that he is going to use what they are experiencing to shape them and to form them. Paul has this trust that they will have this happen to them. And the question that comes out, do we trust that God is at work in us?

Or do we feel like we have to do it all? Now, I'm not suggesting that we don't have to do anything, that we just stand back passively and nothing happens. We don't have to worry about our sanctification. That's not what I'm saying. But are we trusting that God is the one who is primarily at work? That when we hear the word, that the Spirit is going to do a good thing. When we experience hardship and we turn to Christ, do we believe that he's going to use those things to form us and to shape us and to make us like him? And Paul is certain that God is going to do what he promised. And we need to be sure that God is going to do what he promised because he has promised to be at work in us through his word and through the power of the Spirit to form us and shape us and conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. And so we see here that this is what Paul believes will happen. And so he has a prayer for the people in the church at Philippi. And it's a beautiful one.

We can pray it ourselves, for others or for ourselves. Look at what it says here. My prayer is that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment. He wants them to grow in love that as they're facing this hardship, they'll learn to love one another more. But they also need discernment because in the midst of hardship, it would be easy to not discern the things of God. It'd be easy to go wherever you think the culture is going. But Paul wants them to have discernment so they can approve what is excellent, so they can know what is right. And the ultimate goal is they'll be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus. And what does this do? It brings glory and praise to God. And so, we look at this and we understand that God is at work in his people, that when we hear the word, the Holy Spirit is at work. And so we want to strive to love one another more. We need to strive to have knowledge and discernment so that we can know what the truth is.

There's so many things that are trying to get our attention, so many things that can pull us away from the truth. And so we need to be able to discern what is right. But the ultimate goal is holiness, that holiness that God is working in us, that we can see glimpses of in our lives as we grow in faith. And again, the ultimate goal is that we would be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, and we can be filled with the fruit of righteousness. And the good news is we know that that happens. We know that we are pure and blameless in God's sight because of the work that Jesus Christ has done for us in his life, death, resurrection, ascension. And so, we strive to grow in that faith. We strive to grow in that sanctification, and we do that through the word. We trust that the word is going to do its work in us. We need to go back to what Paul has to say up at the top here, that we need to be certain that he who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.

Do you believe that today? Do you believe that the word is going to do the work? Because it will. God has made that promise. Now, today it may not feel like it is. Tomorrow, either or maybe even a week. But ultimately, we can trust that because the power of the word is active and that because we have faith, the Holy Spirit has worked in us that it will happen. We need to be patient. We need to trust that the Spirit will do that work, and God will bring that work to completion because He is good on His promises.