Sunday School | Philippians

Introduction

Good morning, friends. Good to see you both. No, we're done Romans, but we got Philippians here. I got you, I get you. We're starting Philippians right now. There you go. Sir. Yeah. Alright, y'all. Thank you, Ray.

All right, friends. You guys look. Erin Smith is here. She's our new famous emcee. Hey, Erin. You're doing a great job. You guys, this here contains the lesson things for every week we do. So Luke, Acts, Romans, and now Philippians. This will always be up front, so any week you miss and you want to grab one, just come, filter through them, get whatever you want. Okay. And did everybody get a Philippians for this morning? Anybody need Philippians? Philippi, Philippi. We're good, good, good? Okay. Let's go.

Starting Philippians

What we are doing here is every week my plan is to walk through one book of the New Testament, but most books just get one week. We Romans for two, but that's kind of a big deal. And most books so far have gotten these kind of like four-page jobbers. That's because Luke and Acts and Romans are all pretty long. Philippians is four chapters, so I just did this one short. Sometimes it'll be front and back, sometimes it'll be longer if it's just a longer book. But in each case, what I want to give you is—like we've said this a few times, but what I always want to give you is not an excuse to not read the book. Right? This is not like, hey, good news, you don't have to read Philippians. Just read this. That would be terrible.

Rather, what I'm trying to do is give you some guideposts, some signs so that when you read Philippians, you might discover more there than you would if you were just going through it unguided. Kelly and I went to—I don't know if I already used this as an illustration, but Kelly and I went to Costa Rica. When did we do that, babe? Like a month ago? Where'd you Kelly? I've lost you. There you are. We had our thirtieth anniversary in October and we have never gone on a vacation without our children, who we love, especially our daughter Sadie. But we finally got to go on a vacation without any children. And it was terrible without Sadie being there. But nevertheless, we got to go on some guided tours of national parks and things with millions of animals, none of which we would have seen without our guide. Our guide, he just did such an incredible job of showing us things we would have otherwise missed. And that's all I want to do. It's all there. It's already present in the text. It's already there. But I want to just kind of point out, hey, look at this. Look at this. You might see this.

So Philippians. You can look at my list or you can not. But I'd love to give you, you guys start me off here. What do you know about Philippians? Walking in this morning, if I said, stand up here and give me a five-minute speech on Paul's letter to the Philippians, what would you say?

Key Themes and Background

It's a happy letter. It's a happy letter? It is a happy letter, Diane. How do you know that? Or what can you unpack that a little bit? Well, he's gonna tell you how to be happy. Yes. One of the recurring terms of Philippians is joy or rejoice, which is just kind of like the noun and the verb form of the same word. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice. Right? There's lots and lots about joy, rejoicing. Paul is in a very, very cheerful mood when he writes this letter.

Absolutely true. What else do you know about Philippians? Anything else? Pretty pretty. Stuart? Real loud, bro. Everybody, you guys are murmuring. Shh.

Consequential location where he planted that church because of the way it spread the gospel into other areas was pretty significant. Okay. And it went well. I mean, the gospel probably spread very quickly through these faithful people. That's good.

Okay, so what Stuart is saying is that Philippi—the letter, all these letters—are named after cities. They're basically letters from Paul to a church at a particular location. Philippians is written to the church in Philippi. And Philippi is the leading city of Macedonia. So it's an important city. Usually he tends to write to the important places. But Philippi is an important city. The things that happen there matter in the region. And in particular, they matter for one. Do you guys know what Philippi within the Christian church, what Philippi is famous for? What their kind of claim to fame is, so to speak? Have you seen this? I won't tell you if you don't know. Kelly, do you want to say?

Philippians' Characteristics

Okay, go ahead. Yeah, that's exactly right. Kelly's always right. So the Philippians are famous for their generosity. They're not often called the Philippians. They are usually called the Macedonians. I'll show you this in a little bit. But this is a church Paul loves these guys. I’m going to say they're Paul's second favorite. You guys know who Paul's seemingly favorite? Which of Paul's letters is the warmest, the most effusive, the most relationally drenched?

Thessalonians. Who said that? Good job, doctor. Okay. Yeah. I think Thessalonians—when you read it, like, man, Paul loves these guys. You read the Corinthians and you're like, oh, these guys are kind of annoying. All right? But the Philippians, Paul’s love for them is huge. There's an enormous amount of warmth, I would say second only to the Thessalonians. But it's enormous goodwill, cheerfulness, warmth, love. He loves these guys.

Anything else you want to start with? Anything else you know about the letter to the Philippians? Throw it in there. Yeah, Robin? Wasn't he still in prison when he wrote?

Philippians and Paul’s Prison Status

Yes. Very good. So Paul—this is one of what we call Paul's prison epistles. Right? So Paul, he makes explicit here that he's in jail while he writes it, which is so interesting because it juxtaposes with this cheerful, cheerful letter. Like, if I wrote you a letter from prison, you can bet it would be a grouchy letter. Okay? Like, I would not be a happy man in prison. But Paul was like, you know what? It doesn't matter because the fact that I'm in prison gives me unique access to share the Gospel with everybody else who's in prison. So game on.

The dude just sees life through this very odd lens. Okay? So here's some big stuff. Let’s take a look at the document. The theme of the letter is joy. I'll just give you some of these quotes. Listen:

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.
I will continue with you for your progress and joy in the faith so that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow.
Make my joy complete.
Welcome in the Lord with great joy.

It's not just that Paul is happy, but he's trying to be infectious with his happiness. It's a letter of great joy. And by the way, just to pick a fight, we'll do this very briefly. I'm not even going to prove my case; I'm just going to assert it: joy and happiness are the same thing.

Okay? There is this weird Christian myth that is completely nonsense—that joy is godly and exalted and high and free of circumstances, and happiness is human and base and lowly and unworthy. And it is garbage. You've been taught it your whole life. Half of you are probably thinking I'm wrong. And, but I'm not. And it does not exist. The distinction between happiness and joy that is often supposed has absolutely zero biblical warrant. What Paul is talking about here is happiness, mirth, joy, a sense of well-being, gladness. The Bible uses all these terms completely interchangeably. It's Oswald Chambers's fault that you think otherwise. And sweet, sweet Oswald was wrong about that. Okay? We can talk about it some other time. I'll try to prove it to you when we have more time. Okay? It's a letter of happiness. It's a letter of joy.

Major Themes and Affection

A couple of other major themes: as I said, it's incredibly affectionate. If you just look, I thank my God every time I remember you. It's right for me to feel this way about you. Since I have you in my heart, I long for you with the affection of Christ, you who I love and long for. Like, he is incredibly—Julie, how are you doing? So great. Glad you're here. So much warmth that just permeates the letter. He loves these guys.

And then the final thing that, if you're looking for, like, to characterize it, not to describe it, just to characterize it, it's a very, very hopeful letter. He's in prison. He's very cheerful. He loves these people, and he still is saying: the best is yet to come. The best is yet to come. The best is yet to come.

Some of you guys know that I'm a big fan of Jonathan Edwards. And Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon once that was just so brilliant about why Christians should be the happiest people in the world. Does anybody remember this? We've talked about this. Does anybody remember his three-point outline for why Christians should be the happiest people in the world?

This is all basically drawn out of Romans 8. But Edwards says—and I think Paul is living out—that for Christians: our bad things turn out for good. God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, are called according to His purposes. Our good things can never be taken away. Right? Nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ. And then finally, the best is yet to come. Our bad things turn out for good. Our good things can never be taken away. And the best is yet to come.

That perspective permeates Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He's like, it looks rough, but not to worry. God will use it for good. I love you guys. We're in this together. I want you to be happy. And I’m telling you: unimaginable happiness lies ahead in the future.

Okay? As you read through Philippians, see if you don't notice those sorts of threads, those sorts of themes, those concepts. Okay? So far so good? Anybody want to push back on any of that? Questions? Pull on its thread. Good, good, good? Okay. Then what I want you to notice here is that it is chiefly a thank you note.

The Occasion for the Letter

So I've used the term before that Paul's letters are occasional. Remember that occasional doesn't mean they're intermittent. What does it mean? Written for a purpose. Written for an occasion. The occasion for this is that it's a thank you note. And the reason he's written them a thank you note, as Kelly pointed out, is because they're incredibly generous givers. Now, he doesn't really get to his point until chapter four, but the occasion that spawned this letter is that they sent him a bunch of money. It's a letter that expresses—in one of the reasons I think it's so cheerful, so happy, so warm, so affectionate—is because the Philippians have been so generous to him. And in fact, if you look, there's no open. Just flip it over. Take a look at this. I want you to see this. Go to the top right corner. This church is discussed glowingly in Second Corinthians 8. This is not to the Philippians; this is about the Philippians. But you might miss that it's about the Philippians because here he calls them Macedonians. It would be a little bit like calling us here in Roanoke Virginians. Okay? But we are the Virginians about whom he is speaking. Okay?

So he says this in Second Corinthians 8:

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given to the Macedonian churches. Out of their most severe trial, their overflowing generosity and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. Their overflowing joy in their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity, which is so odd. Right? For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability, entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.

This feature here that we're seeing—what Paul is talking about here about the church of Philippi—is referenced in the letter to the Corinthians. I think it's helpful to notice. As you read through this, you're trying to follow Philippians internally—what's the flow of argument. I want to get Philippians. I want to understand Luke. I want to know where he's going in Romans. All those things. But don't get so contained to your little box that you're just following Philippians. Notice that the letter of the church in Philippi is going to reference people. He's going to talk about Timothy. Who’s Timothy? What does Timothy do? He's going to talk about the people in the letter to the Corinthians. He's going to talk about Luke, and he's going to talk about the creation of this church in Acts. And if in your mind you can begin to form a map of, like, oh, I get it. When I'm reading Acts and we get to the point where Paul goes to Philippi, begins to preach the gospel, and a church is formed, you can think, oh, I think I'm going to pause my reading of Acts. I'm going to go read Philippians to try to get a little context. Because it’s all connected. It's all a map. These are real people with real things happening, real relationships, real falling outs, real conflicts, real challenges they faced and overcame. The Philippians are being used as an example to the Corinthians to exhort them to get on their game. All of that inter-mapping is useful for you to see. So just notice some of those things.

When you read 2 Corinthians and he says Macedonians, think Philippians. Or when you read, say, an introduction to Philippi—you're like, oh, that's in Macedonia—I wonder if that's who he was talking about over here. Just start to build those connections in your brain. Okay?

And then similar to that, I included for you here the linkage in Acts. Take a look over in that top left column.

During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia, which makes you think Philippi, standing and begging him, come over to Macedonia and help us. After Paul saw the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. From there, we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia—reference to what Stuart said earlier—and we stayed there several days.

I'm telling you, it's all connected. It's all part of a map here. When you learn to see it, it will give more value and deepen your understanding. Okay? How are we doing? Questions about any of that? Am I moving too quick?

Key Shapes and Major Lessons

That's all the high-level big stuff. But I want you to also see that when you read Philippians, there are a couple of shapes that I want you to notice that permeate this book. Does anybody have a sense? I wanted to ask you this when we started. I forgot to ask: Is Philippians anybody’s favorite in the New Testament? Does anyone have a particular favorite?

Sharon, you'd say that? Okay. Are you comfortable saying why? Like, what is there a passage or something that you love? Or maybe you want to study on it? But why do you love Philippians?

You won't hear me, I heard that. That was good. Just be brief, and I'll repeat you.

The reason you love the book—maybe it's because there's some sweet gem in there—but so often, the things we love are the things we have experience with. I preached on Titus, and the reason we're doing this series is because I preached on Titus. I'm like, I just want to do an overview of Titus one Sunday. That was a random one, but I really had fun doing it. So now I want to do it 26 more times. And the reason I started with Titus is because I love Titus. The reason I love Titus is just because my first year of marriage I decided I would study it. And if I decided to study Galatians, I’d probably just like Galatians. But I did it, I became familiar with it, its contours became familiar, and that made me love it. That's the same thing that happened for you. You studied Philippians, and then it began to give up its secrets to you, and that became a sweet thing.

Okay? Now, for all of you, Philippians—whatever you've done—does a particular part of Philippians stand out? Is there a passage that is your favorite?

Nancy? I love Philippians 4:8-9. Often quoted. Do you have it memorized, or do you want to quote it?

By all means.

Think about such things.

Yes. Philippians 4:8-9. Lot of folks have that memorized.

Catherine, favorite part?

The word rejoice—probably my favorite word of all times. And the scripture that says rejoice, and then I say rejoice, it has that has grounded me and turned my thinking around. It’s like turning the Titanic in the midst of trial.

Yeah. So, rejoice. And then he says, let your gentleness be made known to all. That speaks directly—just like settle down. I'm holding you everything.

Rejoice here. It’s so tangible—just get wrapped in it and it just... yes. And then I realize, you know, that don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

There you go. That scripture reminds me of Philippians 4:6-7. You may have recognized that, right? This passage that immediately precedes what Nancy read. This—and lots of us have—have you ever repeated Philippians 4:6-7 to yourself? Like, this is classic Christianity: don't be anxious about anything, but in everything, pray, petition. How many times have I comforted myself with that?

Very good. Favorite part of it, John?

That passage he just read is known as the Christ hymn, and it's probably the case that Paul didn't write it—it's not original to Paul. When you find poems in the New Testament, several passages are like this: one Corinthians 15 has one, Philippians 2 has one. We understand this might be the oldest extant example of a Christian hymn. It’s possible Paul wrote it, but it seems more likely he simply quoted it. This was a song they sang. It would be like if I got up here and recited the lyrics to “Crown Him with Many Crowns." And you would know I didn't write that song, but we sang it last Sunday—like a hymn. That’s what this is. This Christ hymn is perhaps the oldest Christian hymn.

And I want you to see a couple of shapes here. This is the quintessential picture of the V-shaped gospel. Okay? Watch—listen, watch the flow. Watch the physical direction of this. He says:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God...

We start high. It’s exalted. But he didn’t consider equality with God something to be grasped. It begins to slip, it begins to lower. He makes himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, made in human likeness. He’s found in appearance as a man. He humbles himself, becomes obedient to death—even death on a cross. See this—the madness of this descent from the highest place down to the lowest place as he humbles himself to death, even death on a cross.

But then, it's a V. It's not just a diagonal line. And then:

Therefore, God exalts him to the highest place and gives him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This pattern—the V-shaped gospel—is I think the most important passage in the book of Philippians because this framework permeates Paul's understanding of the world. The V-shaped journey of Christ is the journey we are to follow. And Jesus says things like this all over the place: The way up is down. If you want to save your life, you must lose it. This is the path.

When Satan says to Jesus, “Bend down and worship me, and I will give you all the kingdoms of the earth," what he's saying is “skip the V.” Just take it. Exalt yourself. Reign. And Paul is saying: no, no, no. That's not what he does. He doesn't go from height to height. He goes from height to the very lowest place. And from there, God propels him to the very highest place.

Absolutely central, if you're going to understand Paul's writing, is the V-shaped gospel. And once you've understood that writing, which is frankly not the point, then you begin to realize, oh my goodness: I hate the letter V. I don't want to do that. But what if I did? What if I was willing to go to the lowest place?

What if I, who am not equal with God but consider equality with God something to be grasped, realize I'm not, and I should let it go—even if I had it—and go to the lowest place? If we followed this V shape, I think it would be magnificently significant in the world. It's what we're invited to do. But it is hard, is it not? It's super hard. You don't want to do that. That's what Jesus has done.

Now, knowing that, Paul is going to give us a couple of helpers throughout this letter. Because one of the things that permeates this letter is examples. Have you noticed? Like, who are chiefly four people that Paul says, "Behold, this is what we meant"? Who are the four? Who are the four examples of Philippians? A couple of them are easy, a couple are hard. Timothy and Epaphroditus, right? And that's listed here. I'll show you those in a second. Who are the other two?

Paul himself. Very good. And one more. Did you say Jesus? Because it's Jesus. Okay. These are the four, right? So when you read through Philippians, it’s a very incarnational letter. He's not just giving doctrinal theory. He's saying, look at Timothy. Look at me. Look at Jesus. Look at the other dude, whose name is Epaphroditus. Is that how you say his name? Right. Look at these people. Look at what they're doing.

Examples of the V-Gospel in Action

He describes Timothy:

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to see you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you.
I have no one else like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
But you know that Timothy has proved himself because, as a son with his father, he has served with me in the work of the gospel.

He is the pattern—serving others, neglecting himself, following the V-shaped gospel.

Similarly, Epaphroditus:

I think it’s necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs, for he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed, he was ill, almost died. But God had mercy on him—and not only on him but on me to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

Therefore, I am eager to send him back, so that when you see him again, you may be glad, and I may have less anxiety. Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to help me.

This description—it's subtle, maybe—until you notice, but like Epaphroditus, he gets sick, almost dies. You’re supposed to hear language of death and resurrection in his description. This is the pattern: enter risk, suffer loss, neglect yourself, serve others. Then God brings resurrection, exaltation. That's what Christianity is.

Reflection and Application

How are we doing? Catherine? Philippians 2:3 is another anchor:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.

That’s the whole book. Just like that. Spend a lot of time in that passage. I wish I did spend more in it. And of course, I shouldn't beat the dead horse too much, but the invitation is: consider other people’s needs more important than our own. Live the V-shaped gospel. Go to the lowest place. Trust the Lord to exalt you. Be like Him.

So there’s Timothy, Epaphroditus, there’s Paul, there’s Jesus—then there's supposed to be Marco, Suzanne, Tom, us—following that.

Now, here's what I want you to do. I have about fifteen minutes left. I want to save this. Don’t look at your sheet. Put it away. Crumple it up. Throw it away. Get out your Bible. Because I want to give you a chance to make a discovery on something I think is difficult.

So, don't cheat. Philippians 4:10-13. Listen:

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Paul says I know a secret, but he doesn’t tell us explicitly what it is. He says I know a secret. If you want to gain the secret of the secret of durable joy—like, the letter is about joy, happiness, gladness—what is it?

Your mission is: take three minutes at your table. Look at Philippians 4. Don't look at your sheets. What’s the secret? What is Paul saying is the secret?

The Secret of Contentment

You get three minutes. Here. Cheat if you want.

Robin? Did you look at the answer?

I think it’s the default but not the right one. Just stay on it. What's the secret to being content in all circumstances?

Robin?

Trusting in God.

Super loud.

What?

Trusting in God, who God is and that He's in control. He's got you. Okay. And you're getting that from Philippians 4:13? Or somewhere else?

Suzanne?

And you're going to 4:19, God will meet all your needs in Christ Jesus? That's where you're going? Okay. So the expression of gratitude perhaps.

Virgil?

Call this God's retirement plan.

Yeah.

For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain. If I may go on living in the body, this will be fruitful labor for me. Then what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. But it’s more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. So that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus will abound because of me.

I think he's there to serve. He's figured out—just being there and living. And what Virgil's comment has much to commend itself is that that's a specific example. Paul is saying: if I go left, if I go right, it’s cool either way. Right?

And back in chapter one, he said, here are a couple of options: I live or I die. Win-win. Right? And that follows the pattern he's setting of: I’m happy this way, I’m happy that way. How do we get there? How do we arrive at that happiness in both ways?

That's excellent. Let's keep going. A couple more thoughts, and I’ll try to glue it all together. Kelly?

Even the bad things work out for good. In union with Christ. I want to connect what you're saying about union with Christ to what Virgil was saying too. Keep going.

Do you want more?

Peace or joy or contentment, whatever—whether we live or die? And what Virgil was saying is because of our union.

Yeah.

Your union with Christ is going to be key.

Yes. Exactly.

These are all excellent. That he is in some way our union to him—knowing him, being in him. I skipped this at the beginning, but if you go through Philippians, one thing you'll see is that he argues Christ is our life, our mind, our goal, our strength. This is a Christocentric letter.

For sure. For sure.

There was one more. Who?

Where did I see a hand?

Judy?

Everything can be utilized for the great end of life. He's like: motives, purposes, circumstances. It's all operational for me because I understand I am on mission.

Okay. Very good.

Marco, last comment, then I’ll try to glue it together.

Well, from Philippians 1:12-14, it says:

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Paul here sees all circumstances—including chains—as opportunities to serve and advance the gospel.

The V-Shaped Gospel and The Secret of Contentment

What you're describing sounds like a V shape, not a cross shape. Can you explain cruciformity?

Yes, sure. The cross is the way down. When we call it cruciform, we like the way up, obviously—the resurrection. But to get from the high point down to the low point, then back up again, that’s the shape.

So, if you had a V—the cross is the first part, the descent—that's the initial downward stroke. The upward move is the resurrection. You're living the entire V, but the part you consciously embrace is the downward stroke, which is the cross.

Does that make sense? Am I mixing metaphors too much?

No, I was just Picturing a straight cross, which is up and down.

Right. So what you're describing to me doesn't seem like a cross shape; it sounds more like a V shape.

Well, yes. But the decision to follow Christ—to go down—is an embracing of death, which we represent with the death of Christ on the cross. So, yeah.

Final Encouragement

Almost done. Catherine?

It’s like the seed: a seed must fall into the ground to be raised.

Yes. Jesus says this repeatedly: death is the prerequisite for life. Resurrection comes out of crucifixion, all that.

So, if you go back and read Philippians, it's short—about ten minutes— but watch for the joy, the affection, the V-shaped gospel, the examples. And then, of course, it’s not just so we would be smart or do trivia; it’s so that when you go out to work on Monday, and you start ‘little deaths,’ some will seem small, some will be big. That’s the secret of being content.

Next week we're doing James. If you want to read Philippians and also pre-read James, that’s coming. And if you need any notes, they’re all up here. Thank you very much.