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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established November 2008 Published
Weekly on Friday
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
Introduction to Philippians - (L 01)
Today we begin our verse-by-verse
study of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, Greece. Before we start I want to take the time to
welcome y’all to HBS, an informal Bible study dedicated to examining the
Scriptures to see what God said, and in turn what He did not say. There’s a lot of confusion in the church
today because of the many different messages, i.e. the teachings of men, coming from
more than two hundred so called Christian
denominations. Which begs the question, which
one is right? They will tell you
unashamedly they all are true. Case in point, I was a
member of one church organization for more than nineteen years, and a few
others after that. The first one has
millions of members from all points of the globe. One day their leader proclaimed, “Our church is the only true church. All the others are headed for eternal
damnation…” Common sense dictates all
these folks cannot be right, so the answer to this dilemma is the only source
of spiritual truth in the world, that is, the Word of God, rightly divided.
********
Introduction
to Philippians
Philippi
in Paul’s day was an old Greek city located in northeastern Greece (Macedonia). It had been conquered by Phillip II of
Macedonia (the father of Alexander the Great) in 356 BC and he named it after
himself. He eventually established it as
a military stronghold in order to protect the lands he had conquered and the
nearby gold mines (to the victor go the
spoils). In 168 BC Philippi became
an important colony of the Roman Empire after they defeated the Macedonians at
the Battle of Pydna. The land was
divided into four districts, Philippi belonging to the first of these (Acts
16:10-12).
The
gold mines were eventually depleted and the population of Philippi in
turn. The city experienced new life due
to an important event which occurred there around 42 BC. Near Philippi was fought the climactic battle
that followed the assassination of Julius Caesar and resulted in the victory of
Antony and Octavian (the future Emperor Augustus) over Brutus and Cassius, the
assassins of Julius Caesar. It is from
Shakespeare’s references to this battle in his play titled: Julius
Caesar that the undying misquotation, "We shall meet at Philippi," is taken. After this battle, the victors settled a
number of their veterans at Philippi and made it a Roman colony.
It
was customary of Rome to disperse veteran soldiers, who had served their time
and had been granted citizenship, to settle in strategic road centers like
Philippi. Usually these parties
consisted of three hundred veterans with their wives and children. These colonies became the focal points of the
great Roman road systems which were engineered to permit the rapid reinforcement
of other colonies and Rome itself. In
the USA, President Eisenhower is credited with building America’s national system
of interstate highways for defense in 1956, in effect copying Rome’s strategy.
Philippi
was a busy commercial settlement on the Via
Egnatia, an important route leading west along the coast and eventually
across the Adriatic Sea to Rome. During
Paul’s second missionary journey (around 52 AD), he desired to take the gospel east but was directed to go
to Philippi by a vision from God (Acts 16:6-9). After Paul and Silas completed their ministry
in the region of Galatia, where a number of grace churches had been
established, they desired to go eastward into the regions we recognize as Iran
and Iraq today. However, they were
forbidden by the Holy Spirit to “speak
the word in Asia.” Thus, these two godly
men obediently set out for Macedonia.
Here
I need to remind folks God knows the beginning, the middle, and the end of all
things. He knew His grace message would
be welcomed in the west, which history substantiates. The farther west the revelation of the
mystery traveled the greater the impact it had on the gentile nations. This is only one example of God the Father
intervening in the affairs of the Body of Christ on earth. Paul gets this. He knows it’s God’s Church and he the steward of God’s mysteries (secrets):
“Let a man so account of us, as of the
ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians
4:1 – KJV).
“Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ
Jesus…” (Philippians 1:1).
“…for
it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His
good pleasure” (2:13).
Paul
preached the gospel boldly in
Philippi despite opposition to the gospel. The first grace church in Europe was
eventually established there (Acts 15:36-41; 16).
The
Writings of Paul
When
we began our study of Ephesians, I mentioned Paul’s letters are not placed in
the Bible chronologically, as one would expect.
Since some of the folks attending HBS today were not present for this
explanation, I think it’s necessary to review this information. First Thessalonians and Second Thessalonians
were written first around 52 AD. First
Corinthians, penned around 53-54 AD and Second Corinthians written about 55 AD
are next in line. There appears to have
been another letter to Corinth written between First Corinthians and Second
Corinthians, however, it was lost to antiquity.
Some folks think it was destroyed due to its harsh tone. They have titled this the sorrowful letter: “For out of much affliction and anguish of
heart I wrote to you with many tears” (2 Corinthians
2:4). Romans is next written around
57-58 AD. The first prison letter,
Ephesians, written around 62 AD, begins a commentary on the “deeper things of
God.” Before this, Paul’s teachings are
considered elementary. From Ephesians to
Philemon Paul explains the deeper spiritual truths of the faith. The next letter
is Philippians (62 AD), then Colossians (62 AD), and Philemon (63 AD). As I’ve said, don’t major on the minors. Biblical dates are somewhat difficult to
ascertain because people back then didn’t practice accurate record keeping,
something we take for granted today.
Paul’s
letters to the churches are divided into two parts, which helps us to
distinguish between his early and latter ministries. His pre-prison letters of I & II
Thessalonians, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans were written to
the Church, the Body of Christ, in the course of the Acts period (30–62 AD). During his first Roman imprisonment, which
marks the beginning of his latter ministry, he wrote Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians, and Philemon. Paul’s letters
1 Timothy and Titus were written between his two Roman imprisonments when he
was released for a period of about one year (Titus 1:5, 3:12; II Timothy
4:20). II Timothy was written at the end
of his second Roman imprisonment shortly before his martyrdom.
Pastor
Paul Sadler wrote, “There are three
epistles that Paul wrote after the Acts period that forms a trilogy of truth –
Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians unfolds the truth of the Body of Christ
and our relationship to Him as the Head of the Body (Ephesians 1:22-23,
4:12-13). Philippians on the other hand
emphasizes our fellowship with one another as members of His Body (Philippians
2:2-4). Finally, Colossians presents His
Headship of Christ and His relationship to the Body (Colossians 1:18-24). When this trilogy of truth is properly
understood it will help us to more fully comprehend the occasion and theme of
this letter.”
The
First Convert in Europe
Paul
first preached at a woman's prayer-meeting, where Lydia was converted (Acts 16:14-15). In biblical times, according to the traditions
of the fathers, there had to be at least ten Jewish men to establish a
synagogue. If this condition could not
be met, it was permissible for the Lord’s people (the Jews) to meet by the
seashore or a river to worship and pray.
This was in keeping with the various
washings the Law commanded. Various ceremonial washings were commanded in
the Mosaic Law, both upon priests (Exodus 30:19-21), and others (Leviticus
12:1, 15:33; Hebrews 9:10). These were mere
O.T. shadows of a N.T. truth signifying the spiritual purification one receives
through the Lord Jesus Christ’s shed blood, i.e. His finished work of the cross:
He saved us, not on
the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His
mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He
poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being
justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7).
…and from Jesus
Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the
kings of the earth. To Him who loves us
and released us from our sins by His (what) blood—
(Revelation 1:5).
Paul
realized there was no active synagogue in Philippi, so he headed straightaway
to the river’s edge on the Sabbath day and there he found a small group of
women praying. After the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to receive Paul’s gospel, she was converted (Acts 16:14-15). She then invited him to say in her home while
he continued his ministry in the city. Sounds
good, so far right? Well, what happens
next is proof Satan detests God, His Son, and the gospel of grace in this dispensation. After some time there arose great opposition
to Paul because he commanded a demon to leave a slave girl who had been
following him around. Her owner profited
from her fortune telling (Acts 16:16-19), but after the demon left her she no
longer possessed this ability. The man
was truly upset and wanted to exact vengeance upon Paul and Timothy. They were consequently beaten with rods and then thrown into the dungeon
not just prison (Acts 16:22-24). But
about midnight while they were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and while
the other prisoners were listening in, suddenly there came a great earthquake
that released them from their chains and captivity (Acts 16:22-26). This spiritual activity also resulted in the
conversion of the jailer and the members of his household (Acts 16:27-34). God is good!
Paul
visited Philippi again on his journey from Ephesus to Macedonia (Acts 20:2; 2 Corinthians
2:12-13, 7:5-6). Paul spent the Passover
there (Acts 20:6) and received messages from them (Philippians 4:16). They also sent him financial assistance which
he mentions in this letter (Philippians 4:18).
Why
we Study This Letter
We
study this letter as we do the entire Bible because it’s a love letter from the
Creator God to His adopted children in which He reveals His spiritual
truths. I say this because unbelievers
can’t understand this book. Its truths
are revealed to Believers by the indwelt Holy Spirit (John 16:13; 1 Corinthians
2:10-16). Philippians itself is known as
“the epistle of joy.” This makes it applicable to our lives (or our
daily walk with the Lord) because people everywhere (the saved and the unsaved
alike) desire to experience joy and peace.
Joy is not the same as happiness.
Happiness is actually a goal.
When people graduate college, get the job they want, a loving spouse,
the car, and the 3500 sq. foot home, then they will experience happiness. But here’s the thing, the Bible never
promises happiness, instead it promises joy.
You can have joy and be happy but you can’t really be happy without joy.
It’s easy to be happy when you have
freedom from suffering, you’re financially secure, and all your relationships
are good, but what happens to your happiness when you start having problems
with one or more of these? It’s probably
gone but if you’ve trusted in Jesus and know you are secure in Him (John
10:28-29) you still have joy.
Happiness
is based upon “happenings,” meaning if things happen to go well, you’re happy,
but if things happen to go badly then you’re unhappy. Not so with joy. Jesus Christ said, “These
things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your
joy might be full” (John 15:11).
Joy is not connected to our circumstances it is a result of one’s
expressed faith in the gospel of grace (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) and their resulting
position in Christ Jesus. Your spiritual
blessings have been guaranteed by God; the Holy Spirit being His earnest payment
and neither one is going anywhere! I
recently lost my mother and experienced great sorrow at her passing, but this
did not rob me of my joy because she’s a child of God and I know I’ll see her
again one day.
When
folks fail to get their heart’s desire, not only does this steal their joy it
causes them to be stressed out. Stress (life’s
daily pressures) can make a person ill and chronic stress can kill an
individual. The second law of
Thermodynamics teaches us entropy always increases. In plain language, everything around us,
including ourselves, is constantly moving toward decomposition. The LORD God in punishing the man’s sin said,
“By the sweat of your face You will eat
bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you
are dust, And to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).
By
the way, while listening to a church program one Sunday morning, I heard the
preacher say, “For you are dust, And to
dust you shall return” is not in your
Bible… It’s only an opinion.” I mention this here as a follow up to my
introductory remarks. This person was definitely
not acquainted with what God said evidenced by his erroneous statement. But the people followed him blindly; please
don’t be one of them.
So,
it’s an acknowledged truth people everywhere desire less stressful lives. Billions of dollars are thrown at this worldwide
problem yearly. But let’s be clear,
people are experiencing unhappiness and the lack of peace in their lives
because they refuse to turn to God and His Word for the answer to their chief
problem, unrecognized sin, and then spiritual direction. People are literally chasing their tails
because nowhere in the Bible does God promise our lives will be problem free. He promises us in Him we’ll have peace and joy; these are natural outflows of God’s
grace:
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have
peace. In the world you have
tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
This
book clearly states reconciliation
with God brings about peace with God
and the peace of God. Yet people are following the devil’s program;
they’re seeking anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ to ease stress and to
bring about happiness. Data reveals Americans
hold the disadvantage of trying to alleviate stress and gain peace through the
use of pharmaceuticals. Americans use
more pain pills, sleeping pills, and tranquilizers than the rest of the world
combined. More than 115 Americans die
every day from an overdose of Opioids alone.
Other studies show 1 in 8 Americans struggles with alcoholism. Then there is America’s love for illegal
drugs. Recent studies show Americans are
more likely to experiment with illegal drugs than anyone else in the
world. Since no one has found peace or
joy in pill popping, it clearly demonstrates joy and peace are not found in any
of these vices. FYI: vices are Satan’s department, and the world is spending exorbitant amounts of
time and money therein. Access to joy
and peace are provided by God through faith
(plus nothing else) in His only begotten Son, (Ephesians 2:14-22).
Philippians
is a spontaneous expression of love, gratitude, joy, and peace from a tender-hearted,
loving brother in Christ who presents the essential truths of the gospel. Paul found many reasons for constantly
rejoicing in these saints, and now
that Epaphroditus who had brought
their aid to him was about to return from Rome to Philippi, he had an
opportunity to send them a letter of gratitude (Philippians 4:18). This book is also notable for its passionate
requests, encouraging remarks, and its warnings.
Lest
we forget, our Apostle Paul penned this letter to these Believers while he was
imprisoned in Rome. He was waiting to
hear the official decree that would determine his fate, i.e. life or
death. Paul’s life was literally hanging
in the balance for the sake of the gospel, as he commented in Philippians
1:20:
“…according to my earnest expectation and
hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted
in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Most
folks simply read over and through their Bibles and in doing so fail to grasp
the significance of Bible passages like this one. You see, Paul wants the Philippians to know his
circumstances regarding his incarceration had changed dramatically. When he first arrived at Rome he was granted
a certain degree of liberty to come and go as he pleased while he pleaded his
case. He acquired this privilege because
he was a citizen of Rome by birth – Acts 25.
But his situation changed considerably, i.e. his life was in jeopardy
(Acts 28:30; Philippians 2:17).
Here’s
the thing, the charge against Paul for defiling the Jewish temple was all but
ignored by the Romans. Consequently, his
Jewish dissenters who accused him opted to go with their original accusation
that Paul was the ringleader of an insurrection and had committed crimes
against Rome. This was one of the first
of three original false charges leveled against him at Caesarea, which the
enemies of the gospel of grace thought they could use to their best advantage
(Acts 24:5-6, 12-18).
We
know from other biblical accounts anyone causing an uprising found himself
staring into the face of death such as our Savior and Barabbas (Mark
15:6-7).
Then the whole body
of them got up and brought Him before Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We
found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and
saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King
of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say” Luke 23:2-3).
The
Jewish religious leaders falsely claimed Jesus denied Caesar’s right to tribute
and said He was the rightful heir to the Davidic throne. Combine these two accusations along with their
claim he was “misleading the nations over which Pilate governed identified
Jesus as an insurrectionist in a historically unstable subject-nation.
So
let’s be clear, Paul was facing a serious charge. The Roman authority could not and would not “look
the other way,” and this placed Paul’s life in extreme peril. Yet, Paul wasn’t shaking in his sandals; they
did not steal his joy or his peace. Why? He relied on the Lord, his Savior, to see him
through this dilemma prompting him to say, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (1:21).
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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