Philippians 1:15-18
15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18 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.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18 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.
Paul identified those who went about telling of Christ with the wrong motives, selfishly competing and fighting to look better or gain greater numbers of followers. These thought to antagonize him while held captive in prison, unable to respond in person. Yet he knew others proclaimed the gospel of life, driven by love for God and others, not themselves. He knew that they knew why Paul suffered - as Christ did, for the good news to reconcile many to Him. Either way, however, he still had joy in knowing that the good words of life were being spread. Whether from true hearts or pretended reasons, Christ was still preached, and Paul knew that it was God’s Spirit who convinced and convicted anyway, so it was the message and not the messengers that gave him joy.
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