 Last class we started off with Philippians So we've done with Galatians and Ephesians and we've started off with Philippians and we looked at the background of Philippians we looked at about the city and We also learned a little bit about about Just one minute So we learned about how the the work of Paul started in Philippi and during his second missionary journey and We also looked at The believer the early the first few believers in were mentioned In the book of Acts as Paul went there and ministered there in Philippi, right we read about Lydia in Acts chapter 16 Lydia who becomes a believer who's a businesswoman who's selling textile if I'm in fabric and and She comes to know the Lord and she and her household they are baptized and from verse 16 onwards we read about the slave girl who was Possessed with a spirit of divination and she's set free. She's delivered and And then Paul and Silas are thrown into prison, right? And then we see that After that Then the jailer and his household they come to know the Lord like sees Their their whole Response and they're the even he sees them and hears them praising God and worshiping God and and and what happens at midnight and After the earthquake, you know, he comes to know the Lord and he and his household are baptized and You know, all that happens in all this happens in Philippi, right? So So we moved on to Philippi chapter 1 and then we we see that Paul is actually remembering the Philippian believers very fondly in his in his episode and We we see that it was You know It was after his problem. I mean it was after his missionary journey and Maybe it was, you know, it was written Maybe 80 60 or 80 61 62 around that time In Paul's life and and it was written From prison, right? He mentions that in the in the epistle itself that his chains are in Christ and he is, you know He's he's in fact encouraging the Philippine believers to be to be strong in the Lord and so on and he's saying that you know The whole God the prisoner, I mean the guards who are there guarding him In fact, they also know why he is why is in prison the reason for his imprisonment and so on, right? So so we see all that Paul mentions all that in chapter 1. Okay, so Just to review a few things in chapter 1 like Paul Talks about the believers and he in Philippi and he says that, you know, he always remembers them fondly, right? He says I thank my God. That's what we seen Verse 3 and he says I thank my God upon every remembrance of you and always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, right and In for their fellowship in the gospel, so the the Philippine believers the Philippi we see is in the region of Macedonia and we see that Paul talking about these believers in in second Corinthians, right? So he mentions that they were not Very I mean, they were not very rich. They were quite poor most of them and yet Out of their poverty they they chose to support the work of the gospel like even at a time when Paul was not You know reaching out to the Corinthian church for his support. He never asked any of them, but the Philippine Believers the believers from Philippi they were supporting and on all the other churches in Macedonia. They were also, you know, they were supporting Paul's ministry and so he talks about the fellowship of the gospel that they shared along with Paul, right? so and he also says, you know, I In verse 7 and it is right for me to think this of you all because I have you in my heart in as much as Both in my chains and in the defense and con confirmation of the gospel You all are partakers with me of grace. So he's reiterating that They are partakers of the ministry partakers of the ministry of the gospel, right? Okay, let's Let's just move on to Verse 12 Okay, or maybe from verse 8. Let me just read from verse 8 for God is my witness How greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ and this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in Knowledge and all discernment that you may Things that are excellent that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ Being filled with the fruits of righteousness Which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. So this is something that he he prays over the the believers the church in Philippi and He says that that his prayer is that their love will abound more and more will increase more and more in knowledge and all descent discernment, right? So it's That the the law will increase in knowledge and in discernment that the love for God love for people will increase with the knowledge of God and in all discernment and in the expression of all discernment or in the use of discernment in their lives He prays that that will also increase in their lives Right, so he says with the knowledge and the discernment that you may approve those things that are excellent and That you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ So this is something that he prays he says that that you may approve those things that are excellent you know with the knowledge and with the discernment and and your love abounding more and more that you may approve those things that are Excellent, right? So you use your discernment and you and you approve those things and meaning accept and also Receive and accept and and make a choice Make a choice saying, okay, these things are good and these things are excellent and so it's it could be something do with the Lord or it could be anything to do with their life and The life choices right in knowledge and discernment helping them to make Those things, you know make those choices and approve those things that are excellent. So And then he goes on to say being filled with all With the fruits of righteousness Which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God Okay, and before that in verse 10 he says Second part of verse 10 that you may be sincere and without offense sincere and without offense Till the day of Jesus Christ. So till the Lord comes back Okay, that you may be sincere and without offense meaning that You know that you may be faultless that you may And the word offense that is used then it's like that you may You know not do something leading to sin Or if you you know that you may be faultless And till the day of Christ, so it's not a short-term thing, but Saying, okay, let this be your life Like being sincere and being without offense. Let this let it be part of your life. Let it not be just You know a short-term thing, right or Only on certain days. No, let it be part of your life. Let it be your lifestyle That's what Paul means by that So he prays that over them. Okay, and with the fruits of righteousness that The outworking of the of the very nature of God, which is righteousness or right standing a right doing right, so that you may be filled with it right, and that's his that's his prayer and wish that That they will You know and the word that is used there Filled it in the Greek it means literally means to You know to stuff something in Sometimes you you know you let's say you you take a box or you take a You know a plastic bag or something and then you you just keep stuffing things in it, right? That's the picture Just cramming things in And he's saying, you know, that's what I you know I want to see that the the fruits of righteousness or the works of righteousness in your life That you be filled with it. You know that literally Let it be crammed up. Let it be just stuff, you know, so that is that is what comes out Right, so the fruits of righteousness. So in other words, he's just saying no, let it just overflow this good works or The very Christ likeness and the character of God and everything let it just overflow and let it be let your life overflow with it so saying that you will be filled with the fruits of righteousness and this work of righteousness or the fruits of righteousness is is not something that You know that comes from you It's not something that is manufactured by you or produced by you which these are by the Lord Jesus Right and it is to the praise of God. So God is praised He is glorified when your life Is filled with these fruits or the outworking of Righteousness, right? Okay, so let's let's read from 12 to 17 Right verse 12 onwards. Okay. I'm just a minute. Let me just Share this screen Okay. Okay. So verse 12 to Say maybe 18 But I want you to know brethren that the things which happened to me Have actually turned out for the furtherans of the gospel so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ and Most of the brethren in the Lord having become Confident by my chains are much more bold To speak the word without fear Some indeed speak Christ even from envy and strife and some also from goodwill the former Preach Christ from selfish ambition not sincerely Supposing to add Affliction to my chains But the latter out of love knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel What then only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth Christ is preached and in this I rejoice. Yes, and will Rejoice So an amazing perspective that we see here So Paul says, you know, I want you to know that the things which have happened actually Happened for the good Well, I might be imprisoned when I might be I might have lost my freedom But if you look at the big picture, excuse me Saying if you look at it, it has actually turned out for the furtherans of the gospel okay, and and it says that And it's become clear it has become evident to the palace guards that my chains are in Christ So, you know, they they realize that he is being imprisoned for the sake of the gospel So maybe he had a conversation or they might they might have been curious Okay, why is this person in prison? What crime did he come in and then that was also an opportunity for him to Talk about Talk about Christ. So he's saying, you know, all the things that have happened have actually happened for the furtherans of the Gospel I've actually turned out for the furtherans of the gospel so, you know, and and also what has happened is that So that is one side of the thing that people have come to know even the guards and everyone has come have come to know Why he's been imprisoned and the reason for his imprisonment, but and on the other side Even those who are free even those who are the other believers, they have become bolder So he says that, you know, most of the brethren in the Lord having become confident by my Chains are much more bold to speak the word without fear somehow the Paul being in prison and and Going through this, you know difficulty and being persecuted Somehow that seems to have, you know, Paul being the role model that he is and that seems to have emboldened The church emboldened the other believers. So they are also Very confident and speaking and the word of God and they share the gospel without they are beginning to share the gospel without fear At the same time, you know, not all is Good because there are some believers, you know, he mentions just like how we studied in the Corinthians that some Preach the gospel from envy and strife right, they are envious of others and maybe they is talking about strife or they are quarreling and not getting along and Intense quarrel. So there is strife and some some are preaching for the wrong reasons Even out of envy Maybe they're comparing their their lives with others lives and their ministry with others ministry and You know, the the fruit of their work the effectiveness of their work with others works and and he's saying they preach out of envy and strife, which is sad and From selfish ambition. Okay, so they are the motive for Their ministry and preaching is that they will get something out of it that their name Becomes famous It's a selfish ambition And and not really serving the purpose of of the kingdom of God And also supposing to add affliction to my chains. Okay, so So saying, you know supposing to add to my suffering, you know, when I hear about all these all these things And maybe the they they are comparing themselves with Paul and they are comparing themselves with other believers and preaching out of envy and so you know, there's For Paul it was it was when they maybe, you know, even maligned his name or discredited him and Like we saw in the you know earlier epistles that they were speaking ill of all and so on So trying to discredit his ministry and maybe they were doing that also So saying supposing to add affliction add to my suffering, right? But then this is what he says Was 17 right there are but there are some who are Preaching out of love knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of the gospel So they are preaching with the right reason for the right reasons Excuse me and And and then and Paul says that what then Only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth Christ is preached Excuse me, whether in pretense or in truth Whatever be the intention Whatever be the motivation He's saying I'm happy That Christ is being preached Right The gospel is being shared so So the thing is the truth is Is being spread Right even out of even out of wrong motivation something good is coming out of it Um, and so saying and in this I rejoice Okay, in this I rejoice and and will rejoice So, um, so he's saying I I rejoice in this Right verse verse 18 Whether it's in pretense or whether it's in truth Uh, since I know that the gospel is being preached. I I rejoice in this right so and the word there again rejoice which means to to be to be happy to be Uh, to be cheerful right to and So it's he's he's saying that I'm happy and I'm being cheerful Uh, because of Christ's message or the gospel being Preached okay, I'm rejoicing in this Right Okay, verse 19 For I know Um, let me just move the Yeah For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance Through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ according to my earnest expectation and hope That in nothing I shall be ashamed and But with all boldness as always So now also Christ will be magnified in my body Whether by life or by death For me to live is Christ and to die is gain But if I live on in the flesh This will mean fruit from my labor Yet what I shall choose I cannot tell For I am hard pressed between the two Having a desire To depart and be and be with Christ, which is far better Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you And being confidence confident of this I know that I shall remain and continue with you all For your progress and joy of faith That your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again Okay so Paul verse 19 says that I know this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer So the church has been praying for Paul And it says that you know through your prayer And by the work the ministry of the spirit of God Says the ministry or he says by the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ by the You know ever present Work of the Holy Spirit so I know that this will turn out for my Deliverance okay that I will be delivered From prison I will be set free so that was his faith that was his expectation And also that was that was something he firmly believed in Through the church's prayer and by the work of the spirit that he will be set free He will be delivered from prison According to my earnest expectation And hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed but with all boldness As always so now also Christ will be Magnified in my body whether in life or in whether by life Or by death So that was this thing that I know that you're praying and then You know, I know that God is working and he is pouring out his spirit So I know this will turn out for my deliverance And my expectation is that you know nothing in nothing I'll be I'll be ashamed but with all boldness Um As always that Christ will be magnified In my body that Christ will be magnified meaning that Will Christ will be made big For all our put on display for all to see Whether by life or by death Okay, so that was his earnest expectation And hope His expectation and hope His joyful expectation That this is how it will be that whether by life or by death that Christ will be magnified so And then verse 21 for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Okay, so So for him to live is is christ meaning that That it it'll be according to the will of God and in the purpose of God that Christ will be made manifest Right to for me to live his Christ Right what the Lord Jesus would do in every situation what the Lord Jesus would do to To minister to reach out To deliver to heal For me to live Is Christ Right, it'll be the manifestation of Christ. It'll be the display of Christ each and every day each and every moment You know, it's such a bold and confident and yet a humble declaration right of of the truth of You know of his life because that is what he has seen And that is what was his present because Even in prison that is what was happening that Christ was being glorified that the gospel was being Shared and preached and he had seen people in every situation, right? Just by looking at his ministry at Philippi itself You see that in every situation people have come to know the Lord right, uh, whether it was in prison whether it was, you know, seemingly like a Seemed like a You know a situation which seemed like defeat which seemed like failure right Even in those times even in those moments Christ was being preached Christ was being glorified in times of persecution Christ was being glorified and People were drawn to the Lord just imagine the you know the the jailer right of the prison in Philippi the jailer had his family coming to know the Lord and What what happened it it came out of that prison experience for Paul and Silas Like they were in prison And they chose to praise and worship God. They chose to glorify God in prison Everybody was listening and they knew that something was different and they experienced, you know the supernatural Deliverance Brought out by God and and they saw the exemplary character of these two men If the jailer was about to kill himself and Paul says don't do that, you know, we're all here You know, we've got to run away so Immediately immediately the jailer's response is what must I do? What must I do now? So he was so drawn to Christ through the life of these two men in prison so so Paul says with absolute confidence that For me to live is Christ I know that every moment that I live that every day that I live, you know, Christ will be magnified The gospel will be preached You know through my life, I know for that I know that for sure You know, so it's an amazing declaration and and our prayer should be that Lord let our lives be like that Let my life be like that To be able to say for me to live is Christ right It's an expression of Christ my life and it is an expression of Christ How Christ would express himself day in and day out that is what my life is right, which is Which means that truly the flesh is put to death each and every moment Right the flesh is put to death because the flesh also wants to express Right in strife in anger in pride in arrogance Right the flesh in rebellion The flesh just wants to do that So it means in Paul's life the flesh was really put to death Flesh was crucified each and every moment so that Christ And the life of Christ The love the character the nature of Christ was put on display each and every moment He says for me to live is Christ Okay, verse 21 the second part and to die is gain Okay, so For me to lie live is Christ. Yes. This is what it is Well, the second part of it the other side of it if I were to die Now that would be Again That would be something beneficial right And that let me and that word gain Okay, which means Which means profit Right It's it's it's something that is profitable It is an advantage So for me to live is this but then if I were to die Then it's an advantage Then it's you know Something that is Beneficial to me Why Because he's going to be with the Lord. He's going to be with the savior whom he's been preaching about Talking about whom he's been you know pointing people to He's going to be in the presence of God right so For me to live is Christ and to die That would be gain Right, so not just the physical aspect of death or everything coming to an end or all human suffering and Human struggle coming to an end not that not that you know It's not just that but to be in the presence of Lord and savior to be Seeing him face to face to be in his presence That would be gain Okay Then he goes on the rest of it. He goes on to say something about about his life, you know And he goes on to explain how For him to live is Christ and how that is beneficial Right, okay, so he says in verse 22 But if I live on in the flesh This will mean fruit from my labor Yet what I shall choose I cannot tell Okay, if I live on in the flesh This will mean fruit from my labor that there will be Fruit meaning there will be effectiveness. There will be positive results from my labor Yeah, so several things we we understand that Paul His life is going to be one of working for the gospel Is not going to put up his feet and just relax No matter what right, so it is going to results results, sorry in fruit meaning You know The positive effect of positive result. There will be positive result from his labor so labor which means that You know that the word that is used there talks about business or toil or employment You know some work that is being done hard work that is being done So for Paul, you know ministry Of course, you know, he's talking about the work of ministry which he was engaged in and and that was hard work That was toil that was um, you know something that he was engaged in and saying The things that I do the hard work that I do the labor that I do what I toil in there will be Result out of it. There will be positive result out of it Okay, if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit for my labor yet What I shall choose I cannot tell you know when I Is looking at, you know, both both these options, you know, if the lord were to call him and he for him to die is gain and But if he's going to live it will mean result It will mean it will mean both more lives being saved Through the gospel. It will mean that more lives are being built up Right. So saying, uh, you know, this is going to happen So but then I'm I'm just being pulled in both directions right Whether to be here and you know to be with christ I'm just you know, both these desires are equal. So You know something for us to reflect on right, so the reality of heaven the reality of Being in the presence of god He had experienced that right he had experienced a taste of heaven right The presence of the lord and and what it means and And uh, uh, so for him that was not something boring And sometimes people wonder, you know, what will I do in heaven? I'm just worshiping or singing or Sometimes our mind is not able to comprehend. What do I do that? Well, paul seems to have had a very strong revelation understanding And also the lord that he has preached He has you know, he has prayed to and he walked with every each and every moment and every day You know for him his presence for him His person everything was so so real That he longed to be with the lord And he was actually pulled in both directions And says no yet what I shall choose. I cannot tell Verse 23 4 I'm hard-pressed between the two Having a desire to depart and be with christ, which is far better just far better I you know all this earthly struggle and everything and things of the flesh everything is Not there anymore. So he's saying to depart from all this And to be with the lord is far better. Nevertheless verse 24 to remain In the flesh is more needful for you the need of the moment is that lives Need to be touched lives need to be ministered to people need to be ministered to n edified churches being edified Which was his paul which was his ministry, right? He was doing the very he was taking the gospel to be where to places where it was not heard And where it was hostile Meaning people were not friendly. They were opposed to it Anybody took the gospel to such places as an apostle as a pioneer And he was also building up the Believers right The doctrine and revelation and he was building up the believer in the deeper things of god Right, whether it's the work of the spirit or life in the spirit or Gifts of the spirit or a revelation of the cross and identity and so on so He was getting the believers getting the church To be rooted firmly in the word of god So he was doing that as well, so So he says that nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you the church And being confident or confident of this I know that I shall remain and continue with this with you all for all for your progress and joy of faith So I I know that and I'm confident of this that I will continue to minister I will continue to remain and minister that's me with you all for your progress for your development for your progress and joy of faith That you're rejoicing for me may be more abundant in jesus christ by my Coming to you again. So he was he was expectant He he had faith that he will meet them again that he would be delivered from prison and that he would meet them again Okay, um, so verse 27 says Only Let your conduct Be worthy of the gospel of christ. I think this is something that he Over and over again in In various epistles. He talks about that That he talks about uh, like even in galatians. We saw that now galatians four um Sorry, not galatians efficiency four. Sorry He he says, you know I therefore prisoner of the lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called To walk worthy Okay, so here again, we see the same thing only let your conduct Now walking worthy your conduct be worthy is the same thing saying you're the way you conduct yourself Your life your speech your choices your behavior your lifestyle Okay, so you're saying let your conduct Be worthy of the gospel Let it be worthy of the gospel, you know the worthy of this good news. This is great news. This is the best news right, but Your life should reflect it If this is the greatest news if this is the best news possible for the entire humanity Then your life should show it The way you live your life for this savior Like for this lord and savior who gave himself to turn things around in your life to remove sin to remove curse and you know for eternity to be with him and So that you will you know, you will spend eternity, you know, he's changed the destiny. So if if that is the greatest news That you are not lost that you are not hopeless then let your life Be worthy of it Live your life in a manner that is worthy of This savior that's worthy of this great news um, so that Whether I come and see you or am absent I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind Striving together for the faith of the gospel Okay, so whether I'm there In and I'm present there with you or Whether I'm absent Even if I'm not present physically that I that I may hear this You know a good news that I may hear of your affairs the world how you conduct your lives All right, how you're going about your daily lives and how you're going about Ministry that I may hear of your affairs That you stand fast That that you're standing Strong that you stand fast with one heart and one mind, you know with one spirit Okay, um Let me just uh hear a fair fair that you stand fast, okay So that word there which means to stand firm to persevere and Not fall down To be strong established So you're saying I I just want to hear this It just means un-mobile un-mobile standing firm Um Established so this is what I want to hear Like that in the long run Like that you stand firm Right So let your so when we say, you know, let your conduct be worthy. It's let it be consistent Right, let it be consistent. Let it not be up one day and down the other day Let it not be on one day and then off the other day or let you know Let it be consistent Even if I'm not there with you Even if I'm not there physically in your presence when I'm when I'm absent um, you know when I'm elsewhere That that I will hear Of your affairs that I will hear that you are doing good spiritually That you are strong that you established that you're firm Right with one mind say says one spirit Stand fast in one spirit With one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Okay, we'll take a break And then we'll come back and continue with that verse Right, we'll take a break right now for 10 minutes