5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure
of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at
the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right
for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you
are all partakers with me of grace, both
in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
Philippians
1:5-7
Writing from his prison cell in Rome,
Paul was thanking the Philippians for their fellowship/partnership with him in
the gospel of Christ. This is the city
where Paul was given a vision to come and preach the gospel. This is the leading city in the region of
Macedonia. Lydia the purple goods trader
was converted when Paul preached the gospel in this city. This is also the city where Paul and Silas
were put in jail because the fortune teller’s spirit was casted out which
caused the owner to lose his business.
This is the very city where the jailer and his household believed in the
Lord and were baptized by Paul. And the
believers in Philippi all supported Paul ever since they encountered him and
the gospel of Christ.[1]
In verse 5 we find a very important
word “fellowship” or “partnership” in which the Greek word “κοινωνίᾳ”
is used. “κοινωνίᾳ” is considered to be one of the
most important pillars of the church, besides “μαρτυρία”
and “διακονία.” However, the meaning of “κοινωνίᾳ”
is often lost in our modern understanding today. James Montgomery Boice explained it very
well:
What does
this mean? The word fellowship has
been so watered down in contemporary speech that it conveys only a faint
suggestion of what it meant in earlier times. When we speak of fellowship
today, we generally mean no more than comradeship, the sharing of good times.
But fellowship originally meant much more than a sharing of something, like the
fellowship of bank robbers dividing their loot. It meant a sharing in something, participating in something
greater than the people involved and more lasting than the activity of any
given moment. When the Bible uses the word, it means being caught up into a
communion created by God.[2]
Kent Hughes, quoting Gordon Fee added:
the depth
of the fellowship that Paul celebrated here exceeds that of any earthly
fellowship. The great reason for this is that there was, as Gordon Fee says, a
“three-way bond” between Paul, the Philippians, and Christ.[3]
Hughes
elaborated further of the meaning of “κοινωνίᾳ”
as it is supposed to be understood here:
I
recall several years ago a man in the church I was then pastoring musing after
his return from a short-term missions project about the wonderful fellowship he
had experienced on the trip and wishing that he could experience the same at
home. Since then I have reflected that his ten days with a band of brothers and
sisters serving in South America united in laboring for the gospel was a happy
experience like that of the first-century fellowship of the gospel. Further, I
think that when Christians go from church to church looking for good
fellowship, they are looking for an illusion.
What
do I mean? Fellowship over coffee after a church service is good, but it is not
Christian fellowship. It is fellowship among Christians, but not the fellowship
that Paul celebrated. Don’t misunderstand—having coffee and meals together is
one of our great pleasures. I love a cup of coffee with friends. I will eat
anything and all that is placed in front of me, relishing it all the more in
the company of good friends and conversation!
But if you are looking for true
fellowship, give yourself to the gospel at home and around the world. Serve
together with others in women’s Bible studies, children’s ministries, youth
ministries. Do short-term missions. Join mercy work to alleviate suffering in
places like the vast area devastated by Katrina. Take the good news to the
poor. Join a band of brothers and sisters to pray for the world. That is how
you will experience genuine Christian fellowship.[4]
Therefore, the understanding of
fellowship or partnership here must not be restricted to merely the gift of
money or anything material. Joseph
Barber Lightfoot pointed out:
as the
context shows, it denotes cooperation in the widest sense, their participation
with the Apostle whether in sympathy or in suffering or in active labour or in
any other way[5]
These explanations by those prominent
theologians give us guidance whenever we think about the meaning of
fellowship. The implication for this
understanding is massive. As our sermon
theme for today dictates, as followers of Christ we are to take part in the
gospel ministry, but we are not to join the partnership merely by doing the
easiest ministry, which is giving money.
Our
sinful nature often prevents us from joining the ministry as we are meant to
be. In the wisdom of the world we tend
to pick and choose the most convenient ministry that fits our lifestyle. We tend to avoid a ministry that is
difficult. We would only take up the
kind of ministry that, as much as possible, does not cost us a thing or that
costs us very minimally. The 21st
century spirit persuades us to only take ministry with instant results. Long-term ministry is very unpopular these
days, simply because we do not see the result right away. Even when we understand that this is a
partnership with God who is eternal, and in whom the ministry plan goes beyond
our capacity to fathom, we still choose a ministry that provides us with
instant fame, recognition, and even concentrating only on numbers, be it
financial strength or membership or assets, just like the demand for profit in
the business world.
Paul
has a say on this malady. In verse six
Paul addresses this matter with graceful assurance of God’s total involvement
in His ministry: “6 And I am sure of
this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the
day of Jesus Christ.” He reminds the Philippians that the One who
starts the ministry/the good work is God Himself. And God is not like humans who would quit
when difficulties arise. He Himself will
complete it, and ultimately when the day Jesus Christ comes the second time
arrives. This assurance should bring us
peace and joy. Because we won’t be left
alone. This assurance should also bring
us comfort knowing that God’s ministry does not depend on human strength, but
on God’s. Many of us who have truly
joined in ministry know precisely that our strength can’t sustain it.
However,
the reality of partnering with God in ministry should be revealed clearly. Paul reinforces the meaning of
partnership/fellowship by making a reference to something real that he himself
experiences as he partners with God. In
verse 7 Paul says:
7 It is right for me to feel this way
about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my
imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
The reality of suffering cannot be
negated in the true ministry of the gospel of Christ. It is there and will always be there. Jesus Christ Himself confirms it in John
15:18-21 saying:
18 “If the world hates you, know that it
has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would
love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out
of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember
the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If
they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they
will also keep yours. 21 But all these
things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him
who sent me.
In 2 Timothy 3:12 Paul affirms this
truth as he writes his letter to Timothy: “12 Indeed, all who
desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
But yet when we are in the prospect of joining the gospel ministry, we
despise suffering for Christ to the point of avoiding partnering with God
altogether.
Paul
reminds the Philippians that they ought to keep the partnership. They were fellowshipping with Paul even when
Paul was in prison back then when the church was just started. And then when Paul was on a missionary
journey to Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, before returning to Antioch
(Acts 17 & 18), meeting many difficulties and persecutions along the way,
the Philippians continued to support him.
Paul reveals this in Philippians 4:14-16:
14 Yet it was kind of you to share my
trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the
beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into
partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my
needs once and again.
And Paul calls Philippians as “partakers with me of grace.” Hughes comments on the meaning of grace here:
This is a
revelatory moment in Paul’s writings because “grace” here is not just saving
grace. Rather Paul considers suffering and sacrifice and struggling for the
gospel all to be grace. Proof of this can be seen in 1:29 where the verbal form
of charis (“grace”) is used: “For it
has been granted [graced] to you that for the sake of Christ you should not
only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” Suffering because of the
gospel is a grace in Paul’s thinking and theology.[6]
Lightfoot asserts a very powerful
comment regarding this grace:
If it is a
privilege to preach Christ, it is not less a privilege to suffer for Him[7]
The partnership or the fellowship (the
“κοινωνίᾳ”),
therefore, includes suffering – the suffering that emerges from taking part in
the gospel ministry. This is the natural
suffering every followers of Christ will experience.
As
our attention is undivided toward this partnering with God in the gospel
ministry which may very well result in our suffering, I would like to point us
to the truth that the 21st century gospel ministry has been
contaminated with the world’s values.
The value of comfort is number one in the list of contaminants. Christians in the first century entered into
fellowship with God knowing full well that they would be persecuted, because it
was the reality at that time. Yet many
of them still attempted to seek their own comfort by compromising with the
world, as one of Paul’s coworkers Demas did:
10 For Demas, in love with this present
world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.
(2 Timothy 4:10).
The 21st century is plagued
with comfort and convenience. The
advancement of technology has bombarded our minds and hearts. Every day we see advertisements that spell
comfort. This plague has infiltrated the
church as well. Comfort is the main
value in today’s world. If we adopt this
value, we automatically will reject discomfort, for such value is in line with
our sinful nature. Ministry too is now
being designed to provide comfort. Even
theology is now crafted to maximize comfort.
Prosperity theology for example, belief in Christ will bring wealth or
health or happiness as the world defines it, which is more comfort and
conveniences. Besieged with such value,
lifestyle, practical experience of comfort, many Christians have strayed from
the path.
But
that is not what Paul has in mind. For
sure that is not what Jesus has in mind.
Partnering with God in His gospel ministry will automatically include
suffering. The suffering that is
included in it is indeed God’s grace as mentioned in Philippians 1:29: “29 For it has been
granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him
but also suffer for his sake.” The word “granted”
there is using the word “χάρις”
which means “grace.” And so the verse is
better to be spoken: “For
it has been graced to you that for
the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his
sake.” So, avoiding the natural suffering for
joining His ministry and then devising a ministry that is suffering-proof is
just contrary to the nature of God’s ministry.
Next,
as we have overcome this hurdle, one more thing needs to be handled, that is
becoming a follower of Christ means unavoidably partnering with Him in His
ministry. This is a one package
deal. We can’t just believe in Christ
without fellowshipping with Him in the gospel ministry. We can’t just be spectators sitting on the
bleachers watching all other Christians working in His ministry. God’s church is not an entertainment center
where we buy the ticket (give the offering) and watch the entertainment (the
worship service and the sermon being delivered). And, being in fellowship with Him and other
Christians does not mean just having fun time together over meal and coffee, as
Boice and Hughes had pointed out earlier.
It means partnering in the service of His kingdom. I need to remind all of us again to be
careful of the 21st century model of Christianity that has been
contaminated by comfort. This model just
desires to join in the fun without the essence.
And in turn those people would replace the core teaching and faith of
Christianity with the worldly value.
Let
me tell you about Brandon. Brandon is
English. He has never gone to Indonesia
before. One day Brandon comes to
Surabaya to visit his friend Adam. This
is the first time Brandon visits Surabaya.
So Adam picks Brandon up at the airport.
As they talk in the car on the way to the hotel, Brandon says that he is
hungry. All the travel and the long
flight has caused him to crave food.
Adam asks Brandon what he wants to eat.
Brandon says he wants soup. He
tells Adam that he has heard about a famous chicken soup in Surabaya. So he requests Adam to go there. Adam takes Brandon to Soto Ayam (chicken
soup) Pak Sadi. Shortly they arrive at Soto
Ayam Pak Sadi. As they are settling down
in the restaurant, the waiter comes and asks them what they want to order. Adam asks Brandon what chicken meat he would
want. To Adam’s surprise, Brandon says
that he does not eat chicken. Adam says:
“Come again.” Brandon says: “I do not
eat chicken. I am allergic to it.” “But you wanted to eat chicken soup you
said,” Adam replies. “Yeah,” Brandon
answers, “I want the chicken soup without chicken whatsoever.” And Adam’s jaw drops to the floor.
Brothers
and sisters, if we desire to be a Christian without wanting to partner with Him
in His ministry, and if we only want to join the kind of ministry that is fun
and without the risk of the natural suffering that comes with it, then we are
like Brandon who wishes to eat chicken soup without any trace of chicken at all. Don’t you know that even the broth is infused
with chicken? You can’t have chicken
soup without chicken. In the same way
you can’t have Christianity without taking part in the gospel ministry. And you can’t take part in the gospel
ministry without being ready to suffer for it.
How much more, such kind of suffering is God’s grace for us as we
partner with Him in His good work of the Kingdom. May the Lord bless you all.
[1] Read Acts 16.
[2] James
Montgomery Boice, Philippians: An Expositional
Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 31.
[3] R. Kent
Hughes, Philippians: The Fellowship of the
Gospel,
Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 26.
[4] Ibid., 27.
[5] Joseph
Barber Lightfoot, ed., Saint Paul’s Epistle to the
Philippians,
Classic Commentaries on the Greek New Testament (London: Macmillan and Co.,
ltd, 1913), 83.
[6] R. Kent
Hughes, Philippians: The Fellowship of the
Gospel,
Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 34.
[7] Joseph
Barber Lightfoot, ed., Saint Paul’s Epistle to the
Philippians,
Classic Commentaries on the Greek New Testament (London: Macmillan and Co.,
ltd, 1913), 85.
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