United by the Gospel
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
Have you ever had a friend whose fellowship you hold so dearly, the sort of friend that when you leave their company, you are rejoicing in the Lord, giving thanks to God for them? Well every time Paul thinks of the Philippian church it leads him to give thanks to God, so he was continually giving thanks to God for them, and continually rejoicing in prayer for them, which is pretty remarkable to think about.
But what is the reason for Paul’s joyful and thankful prayer? He writes, “because of your partnership in the gospel.” The gospel is what unites believers, it is Paul’s grounds for joy, and it should be ours. You see joy is not a response to circumstance, for example, this is not joy; ‘you buy your nephew a toy car, and he jumps around the room excited by it, he opens the box and begins to play with it, zooming it around the room, but after an hour, he gets a little rough with it, smashes it against the wall, and it shatters to pieces. Is he still happy?’ Joy is not receiving a toy car, but it is receiving a gift which is unbreakable, so it is an imperishable gift which lasts forever. This is the Christians joy; a confidence in what Christ has done for us. The Christians joy is rooted in a confidence that the Lord will bring about salvation, and that’s why the Christian can have hope, and joy amidst suffering, because God sticks to his promises.
So, Paul’s joy for the Philippians is rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the gospel unites the church, belief in the gospel is our common denominator. Although the church has a variety of individuals, with many different personalities and nationalities we are all one in Christ, and Paul wants to stress this unity in these verses, he says, “every prayer of mine for you all”. This unity isn’t superficial, it is profoundly deep, it is rooted in objective truth, and it is bound up in the Spirit. But the Philippian church are also partners in the work of the gospel, being united in the gospel involves action, and they supported gospel work financially, remember this is a thank you letter because they sent Paul a financial gift. And being a partner in the gospel also involves embodying the gospel, becoming humble servants to one another, which is an important theme in the letter.
So, what does all this mean for us today? Well, here are four challenges I can think of which these three verses raise for us:
Paul’s situation is somewhat relative to ours, although his situation is far, far worse. Paul is on house arrest, and many of us feel like we are on house arrest also, locked into our houses, unable to get out, but we should remain constant in our joy knowing that there is always hope and comfort in Christ, especially in times of hardship.
Paul is hundreds of miles from the Philippian church, yet he still understands that he is spiritually connected to them, and still prays for them and gives thanks to God for them continually, rejoicing for their partnership in the gospel. Although we don’t see each other all that much we should be continually praying for one another, encouraging each other, and rejoicing in and thanking God for our gospel partnership. The perfect way to do this is to join the prayer meeting, where we can see and encourage one another through prayer.
It is our gospel duty to give financially to the church, just as the Philippians gave to Paul even though they were not a wealthy people. And at this point it is crucial that we continue our support in giving to financially to the church for the sake of the gospel.
Finally, our gospel partnership requires action, we must embody the gospel, and follow Christ in sacrificially serving each other, for that is what a healthy church looks like.
These challenges are not easy, but with the help of God, may we know our unity and be active partners in this joyful gospel.
