Paul's hope and Ministry

Philippians 1:12-30

Even the casual reader will notice that Paul's prayer ended with verse eleven and that a new thought begins at verse twelve. This constitutes our first turning point in the book. We begin looking immediately for the central thought in the new group of verses. It becomes apparent at the outset that Paul is talking about his ministry, which was the spread of the Gospel.

It was Paul's ministry which had been responsible for this fellowship; so we may logically expect it to have a place in the discussion. In fact, a discussion of the fellowship of the Gospel from their point of view would have been incomplete without it. To the present hour we are concerned about the ministry of the pastor who brought us into the fellowship, and if he were in prison, we would be just as concerned about the furtherance of the Gospel as were the Philippians.

The furtherance of the Gospel had not been hindered by Paul's imprisonment; in fact, it had been given a new impetus (verses 12-18). All through the palace, the cause of Paul's imprisonment was the subject of conversation. No one could discuss the cause of his imprisonment without discussing the Gospel. This part of the realm had never been reached with the Gospel; but now that a great stir had been created by the imprisonment of Christianity's leader, the Gospel was given directly to them. King Agrippa had been under deep conviction and almost was persuaded to embrace Christianity. Others likely had embraced it.

Evidently the total result of his imprisonment was most pleasing to Paul, for he says, "Many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear." There may have been two explanations of this burst of boldness. Aurthur S. Way in his "Letters of St. Paul" says, "When, therefore, it became known that the central fact of Paul's preaching was that the Messiah had already appeared, that His kingdom was not of this world, and so did not involve insurrection against Rome. . . we may well imagine that the apostle's presence would create something like a sensation, and that the general feeling at Rome would be in his favor." This being the case, it can be imagined that preachers enjoyed more freedom in proclaiming the Gospel. The other explanation has a much more definite Scripture suggestion. Paul's example of determination to preach the Word regardless of cost had inspired them to do likewise. It is likely there was a scene similar to the one in England when the report was made of Allan Gardiner's fatal attempt to take the Gospel to Patagonia, or when the report was made of the martyrdom of John and Betty Stam — where both resulted in a host of volunteers for missionary work.

In this volunteer movement, some were preaching out of jealousy or strife, while others preached out of a genuine love for Christ and the Gospel. But whatever the motive, Paul was rejoicing that Christ was being preached. That was the burning passion of his life, and whether he was doing it or languishing in prison while others did it, did not matter.

Behind the passion of this great man lay a great faith. We catch a glimpse of it in verse nineteen. His was a gigantic task, but he took no credit for its results. Success depended upon them (the Philippians) and upon God. Even this imprisonment would turn to his salvation through their prayers and the supply of Christ Jesus. We do not believe that this salvation is his personal salvation from sin but rather from failure to obtain his hope in his ministry. It must be borne in mind that the central thought of this section is Paul's hope and ministry, and these verses should be interpreted in the light of their context. How could he fail when he was depending upon their prayers and the supply of Christ? That this dependence was a part of this man's holy life is evidenced by the whole of Second Corinthians, where the key verse is "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (4:7).

We reach the climax of this month's study in verses twenty and twenty-one. After assuring them about his ministry and indicating their part of it, he states his hope in his ministry. Here is the golden text of his life — the greatest desire that he possesses! "According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death." "That in nothing I shall be ashamed. . . but. . . Christ shall be magnified in my body!" Little wonder that he was a man of power! He wanted to go through life without one act to mar his record — Christ was to have all, absolutely everything! We think he found the kind of life spoken of by Dr. Richard E. Day when he said, "Life begins when the divine commission becomes our ruling passion!" or as the songwriter describes it:

Not made for the trifling things of time,
But to live for eternity.
Created to know the things sublime
In the presence of God are we.
Not made for the fleeting joys of earth
That will quickly pass away;
Not made for the wealth of little worth.
But for the riches that last for aye.

Yes, he could say "to live is Christ," for he was determined to know nothing but Christ and "Him crucified." The habit of making Christ preeminent in every thought, action, or motive had become as natural as the habit of breathing. Christ was all and in all. His only gain would have been to be in Christ's actual presence and to pass beyond even the possibility of temptation. As glorious as this would have been, the moment for it had not come. He was still needed here. They needed him!

The thought of verses twenty-two to twenty-six is that their need of him was greater than his desire to depart and be with Christ. He was satisfied to remain, for it would mean a greater rejoicing on their part. However, his ministry was not for their enjoyment only. It was to strengthen them for their part in the furtherance of the Gospel. He could see something coming which they may not have seen. They were destined to pass through an experience similar to his. It is recorded in verses twenty-seven to thirty.

It was given unto them in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him but also to suffer for His sake. Where is the Christian who once sees the greatness of the grace of God in all that he has received who will hesitate to share in the sufferings of Christ? He will do it and count it a privilege to do so. "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Acts 5:41). This matter of rejoicing at persecution would be the doom of the enemy. Persecution was their strongest weapon, and when it was laughed at, the enemy would be done. It would be "an evident token of perdition," according to our King James Version. When the enemy found they could not terrify", the Philippians they would be doomed — doomed to failure! The spread of the Gospel fellowship would continue!

In last month's study we saw that the Philippians were partakers of Paul's grace; now we see them as sharing his ministry. Oh, blessed fellowship! more than that, they were workers together with Him!