Philippians 1:12-30
Christ Is Preached
12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; 14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
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.
To Live Is Christ
19 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 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 by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.
Striving and Suffering for Christ
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, 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, 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. 29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
We are given the examples and words to motivate all believers to proclaim Christ, love for Christ, and suffer for Christ with resolute faith that strives against every opposition and adverse circumstance. We should be fearless in the face of adversity as we anticipate eternity. When Paul suffered unlawfully (Acts 26:31-32) for the gospel in a Roman prison, his spoken life’s testimony to them spoke volumes to the prison guards that his imprisonment was for the truth of the gospel and nothing else. Other believers who were there became emboldened to likewise fearlessly bear witness of Jesus Christ in proclaiming the gospel as well because of his example. The messenger of God knew that some would preach Christ for their own gain or to jump on the gospel train for their own fame or to try to discredit the message, but no matter what the motives of these were, Paul rejoiced that the message of sin, wrath, atonement on the cross, and the certainty of the resurrection to life (John 5:29, 11:25, Matthew 25:46, Acts 24:15) were being told and heard for God to work into the hearts of those whom He was calling and drawing to Himself. He also rejoiced that some preached Christ out of sincere love to reinforce Paul’s proclamation. Whether in pretense or in truth, the Lord was being proclaimed in the gospel. That is truly worthy of rejoicing! The example then was given and recorded here for us all to boldly and unashamedly tell the truth of our coming judgment and the need to be found in the righteousness of Christ to be saved from sin’s just consequences. Whether we suffer or are kept alive through the trials and persecution, we can hold fast to our standing in Christ and assurance that proclaiming Him is always worth whatever we face. This gives us needed strength when we falter or flee from speaking out because we fear the suffering for His name (Acts 5:41) for which we should rejoice to be worthy of such. Yes, we should be fearless in the face of adversity as we anticipate eternity. We pray for one another that we all may find courage and strength to endure for the Lord’s sake and that of the hearers of the good news to set them free from bondage to sin, death, and judgment. Like the apostle, we should be able to truthfully say, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” If we live or if we must die while pursuing and proclaiming Christ! we can be assured of grace to live or die for Him. Dying is infinite gain because we will be ushered into the very presence of the Lord which His enemies cannot keep us from, and continued living gives us more chances to reach and encourage others in the Lord. This is the eternal mindset we need to adopt to serve our Lord against all fear and with the honor and glo of God in mind as He works all circumstances for our good (Romans 8:28) and His glory. In all these things we are reminded to live holy lives with godly conduct in our words and actions and not compromise our calling for our comfort. We stand in agreement together in the Lord as we meet in church (Hebrews 10:24-25) to challenge and encourage each other to not be terrified of our enemies but to hold to our faith by trusting in His work in and through us to reach the lost. We believe and suffer for His sake in proclamation of the gospel and this is the sour of the inner conflict we must come to terms with as we proclaim, love, and suffer for Christ and His gospel.
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