Philippians (1): Roman colony imagery - for the gospel

We're going to read in the book of Philippians now together beginning in Philippians chapter 1 Philippians chapter 1 In verse number 27 Philippians 1 verse 27 Apostle Paul writing now the Bible says only Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ That whether I come and See you or else be absent. I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel and In nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition But to you of salvation and that of God or unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ Not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake Having the same conflict which he saw in me and now here to be in me now chapter 3 leaves the verse number 8 Verse 7 says but what things were gained to me those I counted loss for Christ Yay, doubtless and I count all things but loss For the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord For whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but done That I may win or gain you have to see that there The idea is to gain that I may gain Christ and be found in him Not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law But that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness, which is of God by faith that I may know him The power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable onto his death if by any means I Might attain to the resurrection of the dead not as though I had already attained either were already perfect, but I follow after If that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus verse number 17 Brethren be followers together of me and mark them which walks So as he have us for an example For many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ Whose end is destruction whose God is their belly the glory in their shame who mind earthly things For our conversation is in heaven For whence also we look for the Savior The Lord Jesus Christ Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like onto his glorious body According to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things onto himself now chapter 4 and verse 4, please Rejoice in the Lord always and again, I say rejoice Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving Let your requests be made known on to God and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus finally brethren Whatsoever things are true whatsoever.

Things are honest whatsoever. Things are just Whatsoever things are pure whatsoever. Things are lovely whatsoever.

Things are of good report If there be any virtue and if there be any praise think on these things those things which he have learned are both learned and received and heard and seen and me do and the God of peace Shall be with you now I'm Looking out at a good number of people and some of the people in this crowd today were in Cedar Falls on Thursday evening and heard me begin to give some of my meditations on the book of Philippians I make no apology for repeating myself because I'm not too proud to think that you remember everything that I said What I'm going to do for the next two messages at least at this conference is I'm going to continue with my meditations on the book Philippians What I want us to get is a good overview of the context of the book of Philippians and to get the thought pattern throughout the epistle There are different things you can look for in Bible study and you should look for when you're studying the scriptures If you're really keen at it You'll pick these things up quickly and if you're like me, it will take you 22 years to even find out they exist Number one you're going to see throughout an epistle like this that there is a pattern to the epistle You can find it if you read it over and over or if you get some helps to help you with the language There is also a structure to the writing But I think above the pattern and structure we need to be aware of the thought flow Throughout an epistle so that we never lose sight of the context in which each Individual phrase is found in which in which each individual verse is found in which each Word is found The reason I think that is important is because oftentimes I conduct what we would call a word study and I begin to take the words Individually and extract them from the text manipulate them find out what they mean twist them into my own message and then put them back in and Sometimes while I am doing that I am negating the clear teaching of that particular passage Because I'm neglecting the thought flow now, that's my lesson on how to read the Bible take it for what it's worth But we do see that the official epistle to the Philippians is very Direct in its theme. I Specific burden for these people you find that in the thought flow his burden was this That their gospel testimony would remain strong That their testimony in the spread of the gospel and their testimony in the preaching of the gospel would remain strong that it would remain strong through a partnership that is strengthened a Partnership between themselves and a partnership between them and the gospel workers who are taking the gospel out the gospel testimony is the main concern of Paul in the book of Philippians and their partnership Was being threatened because of interpersonal conflict Don't lose sight of that I'm going to get into some different overview aspects and perhaps bring it bring it down to a couple of very practical Points before I'm done, but don't lose sight of this Paul is concerned with the spread and the integrity of the gospel and the spread and the integrity of the gospel was being affected by the behavior of these people and their behavior was being affected by interpersonal conflict I Think the epistle to the Philippians is part of two different groups of epistles That that you could divide it up in number one. Of course, we know that this is one of Paul's prison Epistles that is Paul wrote the Philippian epistle while he was in captivity I would say we would group this with Ephesians Colossians and Philemon so Ephesians Philippians Colossians and Philemon are all prison epistles I would take it that these epistles were written at the same time that he was and in his home hired house He was captive in Rome But he had the ability to receive visitors and to allow visitors to go from him He heard about how the churches were doing and in hearing about how they were doing He was able to help them by sending them letters.

So Philippians is one of those prison epistles You may understand of course that second Timothy was also written from captivity, but it wasn't written from the same captivity It was written from Paul's final captivity that final captivity where he knew that he was ready to be offered Where he knew that the time of his departure was at hand the tone of second Timothy is different the captivity of second Timothy is different and it is not Included there's the first voice crack of the day It's not included in the prison epistles So very simply the prison epistles Philippians fits right in if you like putting things in little boxes so that you can move on there's your box but I also believe it is a part of a triplet of epistles that have very Specific designs in the New Testament and that's this letters that were written to assemblies to address function within the local church even to address dangers that were arising in the local church the local assembly We know that first Corinthians is one of those letters written to the assembly in Corinth to address The party spirit that was affecting their testimony to address the immorality That hadn't been dealt with that was affecting their testimony to address their disorder at the Lord's Supper and at the assembly meetings to address their lack of love one to another and Perhaps you could just write over the epistle to the Corinthians the first epistle to the Corinthians that Paul knew That failing to address the issues of morality and function at Corinth would tear the assembly apart You see that don't you I would say brethren that we are quite good at first Corinthians in general of taking it teaching it and applying it Now I know there are times where we have a difference of opinion on what passage X means and how to apply passage Y but what I'm saying is you see the importance of first Corinthians for assembly testimony and the preservation of the local assembly Another one of those epistles is first Timothy Because first Timothy is written to Timothy To help with issues in the assembly in Ephesus, right? so if first Corinthians was written to address the moral behavior and the functioning in the local assembly at Corinth first Timothy is written to address the dangers of allowing false doctrine to permeate the local church and As he writes that epistle the idea of doctrine is found on every page, isn't it? Doctrine sound doctrine false doctrine doctrines of demons and he talks about it because it needs to be addressed and he says Timothy the way to battle this false doctrine is to give attention or attendance to reading to exhortation and to doctrine that you Timothy would make an effort to read the scriptures publicly To exhort the believers from the scriptures publicly and to teach the doctrine in the scriptures publicly that's the only way to preserve the assembly from false teaching is to give Sound teaching and we're getting better at that Nobody's perfect Sometimes now this is all for for you to take as the Hebrew writer said suffer the exhortation Sometimes we take part in the assembly meetings and we're doing neither reading exhorting or teaching Now analyze your own messages based on that criteria and yes, I am here all weekend if you have a problem with that statement The reason I know is because I analyze my own messages. Sometimes I'm wasting time Sometimes I'm building in to the assembly wood hay and stubble things that will never stand the test of the Bhima but we do see in 1st Corinthians the importance of sound doctrine if the assembly is going to be preserved from danger We see the importance of moral teaching and the importance of function to preserve the assembly We would see the importance of sound doctrine to preserve the assembly But the epistle to the Philippians is one of these letters that Paul writes to address assembly behavior so that the believers will see just like immorality and Disorder and false doctrine can tear apart an assembly So can how the believers get along or don't get along? Tear apart an assembly and this is one we have a little more difficulty with at times, isn't it? Because it involves actually talking to people it involves taking the risk of personal one-on-one conversation to address the misbehavior of an individual Sometimes it runs the risk of offending said sister or brother right and We'd rather stand back and and here's a good one. You may have heard this one before.

Oh, yes There goes so-and-so again, but that's just him. He's been like that ever since we've known him Yeah, the reason probably part of the reason that brother has been such a problem ever since you've known him It's because nobody talks to him about it They say oh, he's just got those scruples. He's just has that temper He just has that way about him that way about him Could be driving people away from the assembly Nobody wants to talk to him.

I know you're looking at me funny now because nobody talks about this stuff That way about her Where you know, and I know That if we mention anything to her From the changing of the salt shakers in the kitchen to her showing up on time for meeting We know that she already has her excuse made and she already has her finger pointed at us and everything we do wrong in our life So we leave it alone Paul knows If the assembly is allowed to continue with all of this friction It's going to affect the gospel That's why he wrote it If you were to take a look at it You will see that that Paul had received a gift from these people that Paphroditus had left them with a gift for Paul and he brought it to Paul So he uses this occasion to write them a thank-you letter now a very little portion of this letter is taking up with the thank-you and much of it is taken up with the Opportunity he now has to encourage them to good behavior. There are there's very little corrective Language that is used in the epistle to the Philippians much of it is exhortative language much of it is language that is exhorting them and Encouraging them and comforting them and pushing them to strive toward being better And to overcome those personal issues now You will find different things throughout the epistle that lend itself to this theme the idea of joy and rejoicing in the Lord That's not corrective language brethren That is giving them something to strive toward like our brother was bringing for us today It is giving them something to strive toward. I know that my life is not full of this joy and rejoicing I'm having an issue with one of my brethren.

I need to go to that brother I need to go to that sister and I need to work it out so that I could have this joy and rejoicing as well he uses the idea of humility as a major theme in the epistle so that this humility is the means of achieving voice crack number two this humility is the means of Achieving and maintaining this peace and harmony among the brethren and sisters taking the low place and Allowing her to take the high road not the high road the high place suffering loss for the sake of the testimony in the gospel He hits all of those points But remember he's not bringing down the rod of correction he's using the exhortation and he's using the language of Encouragement to produce this behavior But there's one thing now there's no clock up here that I'm looking at you can remind me if I go over time I've got 16 more minutes and I want to talk about this Paul uses what they are absolutely familiar with as a springboard and Imagery to teach them what he wants to teach them Our brother talked about context and knowing who the words were written to so we can understand why? The words were written the way they were very simply Paul knows that these people are living in the city of Philippi to us today. That means nothing to them It meant everything the city of Philippi was a colony of Rome a Roman colony and to us today That means very little but to them it meant everything and Paul is now going to frame all of his remarks within that context. I am speaking to people who are citizens of Rome people who are living in a colony with all of its privileges and all of its Responsibilities and all of its pride Connected with the mother city connected with Rome Now it would take me a while to study the intricacies and the nuances of what it meant to be a Roman colony in the days of Philippi But I'll give it to you in this summary sentence the colony Was just like a little Rome in a foreign country Remember that the colony itself Was just like a little Rome Away from Rome not home away from home, but Rome away from Rome They functioned based on the same principles They had the same form of government and they were self-governing They had the same kind of officers in place to enforce the laws Etc.

And those who were Roman citizens living there had all of the rights that those had in Rome and This is how Paul begins now to build on that imagery He talks about their Citizenship He talks about their place of politics he does it twice in chapter 1 in verse number 27 He says only let your conversation be is it becometh the gospel in chapter 3 in verse number 20 He says for our conversation is in Heaven I'm not going to talk about the political nuances of that word But I'm going to tell you this when Paul said it they knew what he meant he meant just like you are living in Philippi and Philippi is really representing Rome You in Philippi are a representative of Rome and you in Philippi Need to behave consistent with your citizenship That's all he's saying He talks about the gospel and the gospel testimony and as time is going by I may bring that up more this afternoon But is as he is talking about their partnership for the sake of the gospel their fellowship in the gospel From the first day until now in chapter 1 He's also talking about the defense and confirmation of the gospel in chapter 1 Again, he says the confirmation of the gospel and the furtherance of the gospel until he gets to this verse number 27 He says only this I Could tell you a lot. I Could write on and on and on and on and on But this is the most important thing Let your behavior be consistent with the gospel that you represent Herein lies the challenge now. I could apply this broadly to all of us who are here and I could look out at a room full of young brethren and sisters and say remember if you want the gospel in your locality To be effective in testimony You make sure your behavior is consistent with what they are preaching in the gospel You make sure that your attitudes toward the young ladies are pure You young ladies Make sure that your tongue is always consistent with the message of the gospel You men who are in business You make sure that in the community you have a reputation as being honest in your business Now I must say brethren The Temptation is always there to cut the proverbial corners, right? But remember this you cut enough corners.

You're really drawing a crooked line and crooked is not Consistent with the gospel. But what he's saying here is not just a broad stroke What he's getting to is this you need to get along with one another in Harmony Because that's behavior consistent with the gospel so that when now I'm not talking about a brother who stands up and teaches false doctrine and I'm not talking about a sister who is obviously walking in sin I'm talking about the little things That pop up that cause us to have friction, right? So your kid is better at Something than my kid and I start to get jealous and the next thing, you know, my behavior toward you You don't think that happens it happens all the time and the things that you do to annoy me You say you're not allowed to say that the Christians are annoying. Well, I said it and let's deal with the problems now sometimes we are annoying some of you are Actually very difficult for a guy like me to spend a lot of time with I Should probably check and see if I'm a good guy to spend a lot of time with that's all personalities brethren and sisters That's all personalities.

Some of you are very forward Very forward to the point where you forget to stop and ask other people's opinions That's difficult to deal with and some of us are very shy and timid like like me and Brandon and we Shrink away from any kind of a leadership role in conflict and you ask us what we want for dinner and we'll never tell you right and That can be difficult, too You know We just all need to be a little more self-aware that some of the rough edges and some of the sharp burrs that are on our personality Become Can I say it worked on Just think about yourself and your behavior Because that can affect the gospel can and Then he says this Again, I would say Influenced by the fact that these people knew what it was to be Roman soldiers Many of the people who lived in a Roman colony had been given that position and a piece of land there because of Fighting in the Roman army. They knew what battle was and he says not only do you need to have behavior? consistent with your citizenship Consistent with the gospel, but you need to strive together For the faith of the gospel same verse now a different nuance He is saying there is a behavior that will bring you together and in order for us to be effective in the gospel we need to move in harmony and in unity and He brings before them the imagery now Not of the Roman legions and how they did battle the Roman legions really were a superior battle tactic the idea was that they broke up into small groups and they were really Flexible in the way that they could do battle and they could go around and they could go behind but before that before that Perhaps one of the greatest conquerors to ever live. Maybe one of the greatest human leaders to ever live Alexander the Great Conquered so much of the known world with a different form of warfare he used what they call the Greek phalanx and That was a form of warfare that didn't divide into small groups it came together as one large group and As it came together as one large group they had their shields prepared the Greeks had round shields and They had their spears ready they had their armor on probably about 60 pounds of armor, by the way, it was heavy and They were under under the leadership of the of their their sergeant of their captain and Eventually ultimately under the leadership of Alexander.

They knew what their role was Come together Stay together They came together shield to shield Shoulder to shoulder spear to spear Their spear would go out in front of them Their shield would go out in front of them and as they were moving forward according to history there was nothing that could stand in the way of the progress of the Greek phalanx as They were shoulder-to-shoulder They were protected with men standing behind them shoulder-to-shoulder Protected and they would take a step forward Protected and they would have their spear forward for progress and as they began to move forward The fear of the Greek phalanx fell on everyone in its way and they were efficient and they were effective and they were Powerful and they took new ground every time all the time But if they split up they lost An absolute failure You see why he says this now don't you he says let's think of the gospel as going forward Let's think of the gospel as being effective and if this gospel is going to be effective You need to come together You need to stand shield to shield and shoulder to shoulder With that sister and with that brother you need to stand with your spear in front with that Overseer and with that young man you need to move in step In fact, here's something for you in your personal study the prison epistles talk about walking quite a bit They talk about walking the idea of their manner of life for those of you study the words It is a pair of Patel. It is walking the manner of life But in the book of Philippians, there's one word that Paul uses that's different it's the stoic ale now It's not walking just in general in our manner of life, but it is walking in step with others It's the idea of an army walking together And when you see the army marching you see that every step is done in unison And Paul is saying you come together shield to shield you move together and use Unison and harmony under your captain step by step taking new ground for the gospel today today What matters more to you and what matters more to me? my own comfort my own rights my own feelings or the progress of the gospel in harmony and unity of my brethren That sounded angry when I said it didn't it you can't see me from the back. I'm smiling This is the ultimate in assembly experience to be taught by the scriptures To have that teaching affect us so that it changes our lives So that it allows us to come together in a way like unlike any other You know according to the book of Ephesians God has created a unity the Spirit of God has created a unity and we are to Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is no higher Christian experience than to put others before myself and to come together with that Attitude of humility and move forward and take new ground for Christ in the gospel I think it would change our assembly lives If I allowed the scriptures to change my personal life, I have two minutes He continues with the theme And our brother talked about the peace of God Romans were very aware of what they call today the Pax Romana It's Latin really for the peace of Rome in about BC 27 Octavian who later became Augustus if I remember correctly Established peace and For over 200 years that peace remained It was that peace That provided security for all of the Romans it was that peace and And and no fear of being attacked by the the town next to me It was that peace that provided security and prosperity for those Romans and Paul is using that figure now But he's not talking about the peace of Rome He's talking about the peace of God and he's not talking about the Romans and how they establish peace He's telling them here in the book of Philippians in the greater context That you commit yourself to God you roll all of your cares upon him all of your anxious cares you determine you have to determine to get along with your brethren and there's something that will provide for security and prosperity in the gospel that passes all understanding I Can understand the peace of Rome? with military might They established it And with military might they maintained it, but I can't understand this. Peace of God It goes beyond understanding and that is the peace of God which provides for us a Security absolutely, but it provides for us the environment for prosperity Now that's not prosperity with your pockets full and your house big that's prosperity in the gospel Prosperity in spiritual things And I think that this peace of God is found it right in the middle of the context of getting along with one another the God of peace is You talk about that a little later My time is gone. Please suffer the exhortation Let us be careful that our behavior one to another is consistent with the gospel that we preach Let us be careful to come together In absolute harmony and unity like the Greek phalanx to move forward in the progress of the gospel and Let us be careful in our dealings one with another To ensure that we behave in such a way so that the peace of God which passes all Understanding will keep us secure in him