Introduction

Gary and I are going to be tag-teaming by taking turns preaching through this book. We've never done something like this before, but I am very much looking forward to doing so. Philippians is one of my favorite New Testament books. And it's my assignment for today to introduce the main features of the whole book through the lens of the first two verses. As the title suggests, these two verses form the foundation for the joy in Christ that is a central theme to the book of Philippians.

For the structure of Philippians, see my treatment in the Bible Survey Series

In my Bible Survey series I demonstrated that where Ephesians is focused upon the glorious church of Christ, this book focuses upon the glorious Christ of the church - Christ being the only source for any fruit of the Spirit.

I also showed that the whole book is structured as a Hebrew chiasm with ten sections of the book perfectly paralleling each other, and the central theme being in chapter 2:19-3:1a. I won't repeat what I said in that sermon. I think I said plenty in that sermon.

Main theme of the book - By humbly centering our lives around Jesus, we can experience His supernatural joy and peace in all circumstances.

But the central theme of the book could be summed up in the sentence that is in your outlines: "By humbly centering our lives around Jesus, we can experience His supernatural joy and peace in all circumstances." I really think that captures the essence of the book in a nutshell.

And how do we “experientially” enter into that? Not just having the doctrine up here in our noggin, but actually experiencing that supernatural joy and peace? Well, in chapter 3:10 Paul tells us by stating his life goal - "that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." Christ was the source of his supernatural joy in every section of this book and He wanted Christ to be the source of this congregation’s joy.

And this book brilliantly shows that maintaining joy and peace in all circumstances is not an empty slogan. It is something that every Christian can and should experience. Those of us who have experienced God's supernatural joy and peace would never want to be without it.

Some of you have read the story of Darlene Deibler. It's a very stirring story. She was born in Boone, Iowa, married to Russell Deibler at age 20, and became a missionary to Papua New Guinea exactly a year later. Three years later they were captured by the Japanese during World War II and both of them were sent off to separate prison work-camps. Russell's parting words (the last words she would hear from him) were, "Remember one thing, dear. God said that He would never leave us nor forsake us." And she experienced the comfort of His presence even as she suffered horribly from starvation, beatings, and even torture. God doesn’t promise that we will always have an easy life, but He does promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

The commander of the prison camp informed her that her husband had died on August 29, 1943. And throughout that time he had been very cruel to her. For a moment she was tempted to despair. But she gave her husband to the Lord and told the Lord silently that she would serve Him anyway - through thick or through thin. And quickly recovering from the news, she told the commander, “[Jesus] died for you, Mr. Yamaji, and He puts love in our hearts – even for those who are our enemies. That’s why I don’t hate you, Mr. Yamaji. Maybe God brought me to this place and this time to tell you He loves you.” She probably didn’t know if he was going to beat her or even kill her for saying that, but as she relates in her story, she didn’t have much to lose. But surprisingly, her words affected his heart and caused the strict commander to tear up. And embarrassed, he quickly left the room, but from that time on he treated her with a bit more kindness. In fact, at one point when she had been sentenced to execution (for supposedly being a spy), it was this commander who got a stay of execution for her.

I should mention that many of prisoners looked like skeletons because they had been starved so much. But one day, overwhelmed by hunger, Darlene prayed to God for just one banana. "Lord, would you give me just one banana?" Shortly after praying that prayer the camp commander unexpectedly called her into his office. To her amazement he handed her not just one banana but a bunch of bananas. As she peeled the first banana with trembling hands she began to weep. The commander, confused by her emotion, asked her why she was crying. She told him about her prayer and God's miraculous provision and that she was crying tears of gratitude because God had answered her prayer so quickly. Stunned, the commander replied, "I am beginning to believe that your God does exist." The story shows that he eventually became a Christian. But he became a Christian because he saw over that four year period of awful imprisonment she had joy and peace that could not be explained. She had joy in utterly joyless circumstances. It mystified him. And it made him want what she had.

How the church at Philippi got started

Well, that's sort of how the church at Philippi started. When Paul and his little mission team landed in Philippi, which is a city in Northern Greece, he found some women assembled there, and he spoke to them. His first convert was a wealthy woman by the name of Lydia. Well, before his mission team even had time to establish much of a church, the authorities grabbed Paul and his team, beat them with rods, and threw them into prison - just for sharing the Gospel. So, to the carnal eye, it might have seemed like Satan had won. But Paul and his team were confident that God is sovereign, and that He has a purpose for everything - even beatings and imprisonment. So chained as they were, bloodied as they were, tired as they were, he and his fellow-missionaries prayed and sang praises to God late into the night, and at midnight God struck the jail with an earthquake that opened all the doors. The jailer, thinking that all the prisoners had escaped (which would be on his head) was about to commit suicide, but Paul shouted at him to stop and to come and see - that they were all there. Trembling, the jailer ran in with a torch, fell to the ground, and cried out, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" He saw that this team of rejoicing Christians had something that he did not have, and he wanted it. And after bathing the horrible stripes on their backs, and being taught, and getting saved, and having his whole family baptized, his family joined the baby church of Philippi. And you can read about that in Acts 17. It was a tiny fledgling church that grew and grew because of the same power of the resurrected Christ working through them.

Now, almost a decade later, Paul is once again in prison. He speaks of his chains in verse 13. He is soon to be martyred by Rome. Yet he is filled with joy and calls the church in Philippians 4 to "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"

How these greetings contribute to that theme

And these first two verses give us the hints of how that is possible - hints that will be much more fully developed in the rest of the book. I mentioned that the whole book is a chiasm. And these first two verses perfectly parallel the last three verses of the book.

The opening greetings and closing greetings remind the recipients that how we view ourselves and how we view others makes all the difference in the world on how we feel about ourselves and others. It’s tightly linked to the joy of this book. So let's quickly go through these two verses.

Servants and saints connected in Christ (v. 1)

Verse one says, "Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons"

The humble identity of Paul and Timothy - slaves

Paul begins with a very humble description of himself and Timothy. The New King James translates it as "bondservants," but it is literally "slaves" or "bondslaves." James Boice points out in his commentary that there were three main ways a person could become a slave in the ancient world: 1) by conquest, 2) by birth, 3) or because of debt. And whether you are a Paul or a member of the church, you owe Jesus an enormous debt (an unpayable debt) since the wages of sin is death. Jesus paid that debt, and in return we gladly and joyfully tell Him, "Thank you. We want to be Your bondslaves forever." But we weren’t just slaves to Satan because of debt. We were also slaves because of conquest. Sin conquered every one of us so that we were not naturally free to do righteousness. Scripture speaks of the bondage of the will. But Jesus conquered sin and freed us. Slavery to Satan is bondage and death; slavery to Jesus is freedom and life. But the third way we were slaves to Satan was by birth. We are sinners and slaves to sin by birth, and kids are not innocent. Again, when we see all that Jesus freed us from - the horrible task master of sin and Satan, it makes us gladly own our slavery to Jesus. Don’t be ashamed of that word slave.

Some have wondered why he doesn't start by declaring himself to be an apostle like he did in 1 and 2 Corinthians and like he did in Galatians. And the answer is that those two churches had false apostles who denied that Paul was an apostle, and he had to defend his apostleship against those who wrote him off. But these Philippians loved Paul dearly and he didn't need to defend his office. Instead, he models how we should all see ourselves - as bondslaves of Jesus.

And even the names reflect this humility. He changed his name from Saul to Paul, which means "little." He was little in his own eyes because He saw how great Christ was. He was unworthy of the least of Christ's mercies since he had imprisoned and killed the saints before His conversion. But God had mercy on Him, and he saw himself now as a bondslave of Jesus, and his only authority as coming from Jesus. Timotheous means "he who honors God." It comes from two Greek words, timé (which means honor) and Theos (which means God).

I should mention that Timothy was not a co-author of the book, but Paul includes Timothy in the salutation for three reasons: 1) Timothy is with Paul when Paul writes this. He had been visiting Paul in prison. 2) Second, Timothy is in full agreement with what Paul writes, and will soon represent Paul to them. He will bring this letter with him. 3) And third, Timothy helped Paul to found the church of Philippi in Acts 17, and as we will see in Philippians 2:19, Timothy plans to visit them again in the near future. So it makes sense to include him in the greetings.

But the point is, when all leaders see themselves as bondslaves of Jesus and fellows servants of the saints, their joy is not robbed when they are treated as slaves. It is their joy to do whatever Christ calls them to do.

So one question I have for each of you is this: Do you daily embrace your call as a bondslave of Jesus? Yes, you have also been elevated to the status of sons and daughters by adoption, but you should still gladly see yourselves as His slaves. This book will show how that kind of a humble attitude will prepare you to be joyful in all circumstances. And I won’t develop that further right now.

The holy identity of believers - saints

But the next key ingredient for joy in this book is a changed attitude about the other members of the church. And so he says, "to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi."

He sees them as being in Christ. When you can see a saint who sins against you as being a member of Christ, it will keep you from lashing out at him or her. If you can see an immature member as being in Christ, it gives you patience to love them as Christ loves them. If you see yourself as being in Christ, it helps you to not give up on yourself. The words "in Christ" are so important. We cannot generate supernatural joy in ourselves. Supernatural joy is said to be the fruit of the Holy Spirit by virtue of our union with Jesus. Romans 5:11 says that we can rejoice through Jesus. And three times in Philippians Paul makes clear that we can have this weird supernatural unexplainable joy only because of our union with Jesus. So seeing ourselves as vitally united with Jesus on a moment by moment basis is a key to the kind of joy that Darlene Deibler had and Paul had.

But so is the word "saints." Every Christian is called to be a saint. That Greek word means to be holy, separated from the world, separated to God, set apart, sacred, or dedicated to God. Those are all synonyms. It may seem strange to call each other saints (saint Anisa, saint Kayleigh, saint Levi, etc.), but that's how God sees you and that is how we should see each other.

Now, let me clarify that being a saint (in other words, being separated from the world) does not mean that you go off into a monastery or withdraw from culture like the Amish do. This book will show that we are supposed to live within the culture so as to transform the culture by God's grace. But that transformation will never happen if you start taking your sense of identity from the culture rather than from Christ. Your attitudes should be different than those of the world around you. Your values, your speech, your selfless focus, your commitment to the Bible, your love, your joy, etc., etc., should look quite different from what the world has. Just as the Philippian jailer could see the stark difference between what he had and what Paul's team had (and longed to have what they had), others should be able to see that you have something that they long for. If you are not a saint, you are not going to be different from the world. So why should the world want what you have? Just as the commander of the work camp where Darlene Deibler worked was impressed by God's grace constantly at work in her life and he eventually became saved, we should ask God to pour the rivers of His grace so richly into our lives that out of our innermost being will overflow rivers of living waters to others. But if we have those rivers of grace, they will make us more and more separated; more and more different from the world. We are saints - not perfect, but separated ones nonetheless.

And the word "all" shows that Paul embraced all the members of the church as saints, not just a special group of Paul-fans. That word "all" is important if the church is to maintain joy in the Lord. God doesn't just call super-Christians "saints." Even the newest Christian is a saint as to his or her identity. And when all in the church have this sense of belonging, it is one of the ingredients that helps us to maintain joy in the Lord as a church - one of the central themes of this book.

The helpful structure of the church - officers

And the last phrase shows how officers are a gift of God to help this to be a more and more consistent reality in our lives. Verse 1 ends, "with the bishops and deacons." Bishops simply means "overseers" (as you can see from the literal rendering in the margin). It's not somebody with a pointy hat; it's just an overseer.

And notice that Paul sees the saints as being "with the bishops and deacons." Christians who refuse to be members of a church are robbing themselves of one of the essential ingredients of the blessings outlined in this book. Indeed, Scripture indicates that to be outside the church is to be a homeless Christian. A memberless or churchless saint is an oxymoron. - a contradiction. God gave officers to build up the body in Christ. In 2 Corinthians 12:19 Paul says of he and the other leaders, "we do all things, beloved, for your edification." In the next chapter he speaks of "the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction."

But that word "with" also indicates that the officers can't do this alone. Each of the saints must also minister; each of the saints must be doing what God has called them to do. That too is part of the recipe in Philippians for achieving supernatural joy. We call this body-life. And I can’t get into the implications of body life for joy, but these two verses even introduce that theme.

But I do want to comment on the fact that there are only two kinds of officers mentioned, not three, or four, or many different kinds of officers like you see in some churches. It’s just bishops and deacons.

The word bishops or overseers is used elsewhere as a synonym for elders. Other synonyms for elders are pastors, shepherds, teachers, or rulers. Though there are different gifts and callings within the officer of elder, all elders or overseers are equals at presbytery. But these officers need to press into the callings that God has given to them if the church as a whole is to thrive. It's not a job; it's a calling. Some elders are called to minister outside the church as evangelists, while other elders are called to be overseers who minister to the local flock.

The second officer is deacon. When you study what God has called deacons to do, you realize that it is a very significant office. They are involved in more than administration, finances, and helping the elders. They are also called to be a vital part of helping the needy inside and outside of the church. They are called to mercy ministries and to stir up the church to mercy ministries. A diaconate without mercy ministries should be seen as an oxymoron. They should be leading the body into mercy ministries. And when they do so, they are a huge help to the overseers or elders. When both overseers and deacons embrace their callings fully, this book will show that the church is a prime candidate for joy.

The gift of grace and peace (v. 2)

But where verse one looks at the horizontal human factor in this joy (other humans), verse 2 looks at the vertical or supernatural factor. And I’ve already anticipated this vertical factor to some degree, but let’s look at it more closely. It says, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

The source of grace and peace

First, the source of grace and peace is not having plenty of money, having health, freedom from jail, lack of problems, etc. Paul and his team had that grace, peace, and joy. Wher did they have it? They had it in jail. Well, that means that the source of grace and peace is not circumstances. It comes from one place - the triune God.

Verse 2 mentions two persons of the Godhead - the Father and Jesus, but the rest of the book of Philippians makes clear that the Holy Spirit connects our hearts to the Father through Jesus. So verse 19 of this chapter speaks of "the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." In chapter 2:1 Paul says that it is essential that these saints have the "fellowship of the Spirit" in order to "fulfill my joy" in verse 2. It is the Holy Spirit who transfers the joy of Christ into our hearts. Chapter 3:3 says that it is as we "worship God in the Spirit" that we can "rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." The Holy Spirit makes sure that our confidence is in Jesus, and not in our flesh whatsoever. And this is why Gary's message last week is so critical. Our individual, family, and corporate worship was designed to draw our hearts to the Father by means of the Spirit through the grace of Jesus. The supernatural joy of this book is not automatic. It comes from God alone, and we can only receive it from God as we connect with God. Are you rooted in God's provision of grace, peace and the joy that flows from those graces?

The meaning of grace and peace

And let me quickly define what Paul means by grace and peace. Though it is not a technical definition of grace, the acronymn, God's Riches At Christ's Expense (G-R-A-C-E - God's Riches At Christ's Expense) I think summarizes grace rather well. We don't earn God's grace. We receive grace and all the other riches of God mentioned in this book because Christ made it possible through His work. It’s a gift. That's why chapter 3:10 expresses Paul's life goal as "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection." A lot of Christians pretend to have joy because it’s expected of them, right? They outwardly mouth the qualities of Christianity, but true Christianity flows from God's grace. Without knowing Him and the power of His resurrection we cannot experience any of His supernatural graces. All we will have is counterfeits. We shouldn’t be satisfied with that.

And the same is true of peace. Peace is not simply the absence of conflict. You can have God's settled peace even when conflict, wars, and persecution are all around you. Listen to the circumstances in which Paul still had joy and peace. Paul said,

2Cor. 11:23 in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? ... God ... knows that I am not lying.

And he adds that last phrase that he is not lying because he knows that some people will have a hard time believing that he could have peace and joy in those miserable circumstances. “What are you talking about?” But he says, “No, I am not lying.”

Both the Hebrew word for peace (shalom) and the Greek word (éréné) refer to a holistic state of well-being, wholeness, and harmony that originates from a right relationship with God. Darlene Deibler had that in prison. Paul had that in his miserable circumstances. And we will see in this book that Paul wants the whole congregation to experience that.

Applications

Let me end by making three applications:

First, embrace your identity in Christ. Live as a servant and a saint. Live as people who belong to Jesus, and are provided for by Jesus, and as people who are set apart to Jesus. Paul tells us elsewhere that you are not your own since you have been bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Your identity should not be in what others think about you, in financial success, or in any other self-centered goal. Embrace your identity in Jesus. You can serve God effectively in your jobs if you see yourself as first and foremost being a representative of Jesus - both a servant and a saint.

Second, cultivate unity and body-life in the church. After all, the church too belongs to Jesus, and we should treat it as Jesus does. The whole church has been bought with a price, and Christ's desire for His set-apart-ones is that they manifest His grace to each other. (And Don’t get discouraged- I think this church has fantastic body life.)

And finally, share with others what God has given to you. When you experience grace, peace, and joy, it is so that you can help others in the church to experience the same. And the world around us is also in desperate need of the same. Here is one of the Don Whitney questions that Gary concluded his sermon with last week: "What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?" There could be any number of things that you might choose as an answer to that question, but if you don’t have the joy unspeakable and full of glory that this book talks about, and you don’t have the peace that passes all understanding that this book talks about, then you might want to consider making this one of those impossible things that you can ask God for this year. It is Gary's and my prayer that you would experience that more and more as we take our journey through this book. May it be so Lord Jesus. Amen.