Purpose: Exemplified

The Bible tells us that everything we do is to be for God’s glory.  It explains that when we live in obedience, serving and living in the purpose God has given us, we will bring glory to God.  But what is "everything" we do?  Does this include how we brush our teeth or other mundane routines?  Does it include only public interactions?  How can we bring glory to God in "everything" we do?

We glorify God when, out of agape for God we lay down our rights, our freedoms in favor of God's glory.  The word glory describes a "shining forth". God’s glory is the “shining forth” or the “public display” of God’s character and nature, all the things God is full of—wisdom, love, creativity, beauty, strength, compassion.  When we demonstrate all the things that make God weighty and wonderful, God is made manifest for us, and those around us, to see and experience.  We glorify God when, out of love for all the things that God is full of, we lay down our rights, our freedoms to do in order to do what is most loving toward others.  

One practical reason why we should think about the glory of God routinely is that God’s glory is the greatest source of our joy. Humanity was made to see and know and delight in God’s glory, the shining forth of the beneficial attributes that God is.  It’s in contemplating the glory of God that we are freed from our preoccupation with lesser things. It is then our anxieties and fears begin to lose their grip, our hearts come alive, and all things begin to find their proper place in light of God.  Paul tells us that, as we “behold the glory of the Lord,” we are “transformed in the same image, from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18). Transformation happens in our lives by beholding the glory of the Lord. As we see and contemplate God, we become more like him. There’s nothing more wonderful than that. 

We look at Philippians 1:1-11 in this study and see that when we live with a Christ-centered purpose, God is glorified.  Paul wrote to thank the Philippians for their continued support, particularly the gift they had sent him while Paul was imprisoned in Rome. He also wrote to inform them of his present circumstances and to encourage the Philippians in their faith and to tell them about Timothy’s and Epaphroditus’s travel plans to Philippi. Paul had visited Philippi during his second missionary journey, founding the church in the city. Paul had formed very strong bonds with the Philippian believers, which was demonstrated in the warm, personal tone of his letter.

Philippians 1:1-5

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, 
4 always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 
5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Paul described he and Timothy as servants of Christ.  Many like to substitute the word slave for the word doulos but the word slave didn't come into use until the 1200-1300s.  Doulos was used to describe someone who is completely subordinate to a master, perhaps even owned by them. However, it can also be used metaphorically to describe a spiritual relationship. For example, Paul described himself as a doulos of Jesus, meaning he belonged to God and was obligated to heed God’s guidance and direction. So rather than an image of slavery as we Americans conceptualize it, doulos describes a committed obligation or pledge that completed subordinates one party to another.  This servanthood is by Paul and Timothy's own choice.

Paul addresses his letter "to all the saints...".  The term used is hagios and means sacred or holy.  Something set apart for special use as opposed to common use.  It was a favorite designation of Paul’s for those who trusted in Christ and was a substitute for the term “church” (the community of believers, not just the organization or building).  He also addressed his letter to the overseers and the deacons.

A detailed description of the role of overseers and deacons is listed 1 Timothy 3:1-7.  But to summarize it here an overseer should be an experienced believer with a good reputation.  An overseer should be above reproach, dignified, respectable, able to teach, and possess positive character traits such as being a good overseer of the family, thoughtful, self-controlled, hospitable, gentle, not a drunkard or quarrelsome, not one to lust for money.  An overseer should manage their household well, for if they can't manage their own household, their management of the church household would be in question.

Deacons were those who serve the church family in tasks that allowed the overseers to concentrate on leadership of the church family. The qualifications for deacons appear immediately after those for overseers in 1 Tim. 3:8-13; basically summarized as an experienced believer who holds the deep meanings of the faith with a clear conscience.  They are to be dignified, straight-talkers who are not addicted to alcohol or greedy for dishonest gain.  They must be the effective managers of a household who is likewise dignified, uplifting, thoughtful and faithful in all things. 

Many of Paul’s letters contain a note of thanksgiving for his readers. The church in Philippi was not perfect. Members there faced some dissension, as does every church. Not every memory of Paul’s time in Philippi would have inspired thanksgiving in most people, but it did for Paul because even the bad memories resulted in the furtherance of the gospel. As a servant of the sovereign God, Paul could give thanks both in good times and in difficult times.  This church brought joy to Paul in his prayers because of their partnership (koinonia) in the work of the Lord. 

Koinonia could mean “fellowship,” and it certainly implied shared partnership in the spread of the gospel. The church shared financially with Paul both in the past and while he was in prison. He appreciated their continued partnership and ongoing commitment.  The Philippians continued to support Paul through their gifts while he was in Thessalonica , Corinth, and while he was in jail in Rome.  Paul opened his heart to the Philippians and they to him, and they became part of the core of his being, as he demonstrates in the next passage.

Philippians 1:6-8

6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 
7 Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 
8 For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

God was the Source of the good work in the lives of the Philippian believers. 

Paul worked hard in Philippi on behalf of God to spread the gospel, display God’s Glory and to encourage the Philippian believers to become students of God. Likewise, the Philippians had also worked hard to support Paul’s ministry. But it was God who was at work in both Paul and the Philippian believers. God had brought new life to Lydia, the jailer, and others as He began the church in Philippi, and that work continued to the day that Paul wrote this letter. 

The entire process of salvation is seen in this verse. God’s good work started with salvation, then justification when they repented and placed their faith in Christ. God, who is both all powerful and faithful to fulfill His promises, would carry on this work as the believers were being conformed into the image of Christ in the life-long, on-going process of sanctification that continues until the believer’s death or the return of Christ.

Paul had a deep-seated affection for the Philippian believers. When Paul says that they are in his heart, he can be referring to the mind, the will, or as here Paul’s entire being. Paul had opened his heart to the Philippians by sharing the gospel, and they had responded by believing in Jesus and partnering with Paul in the work of spreading the gospel. This type of affection led Paul to pour out his life for them in their common pursuit to spread the gospel so that others might come to learn to follow Christ. 

The Philippians demonstrated what partnerships in ministry should be—prayers and helpful actions in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. Paul used two terms from the legal field. The first, defense, indicated a rebuttal against those who attacked the gospel. The second term, confirmation, entailed presenting the case against those who denied the gospel. Taken together, defense and confirmation dealt with providing reasons as to why the critics of the gospel were wrong and presenting an argument as to why people should embrace the gospel.

The Greek word for affection in verse 8 literally meant “bowels” or “inward parts.” Paul’s affection for the Philippian believers came from the core of himself and had its source in Jesus Christ. The work of Christ that Paul shared with the Philippians created a bond between them. Paul knew that in the work of spreading the gospel, he could depend upon these believers in both good times and bad. Because they were in his cor, his center (kar in Geek).  Kardia is the figurative core of your being. It is the seat and center of human life, emotion, volitional will.

But believers can’t rest on past successes and Paul didn’t want to see the Philippians make that mistake as he demonstrates in the next passage.

Philippians 1:9-11

9 And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, 
10 so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, 
11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Paul moved from thanksgiving for the Philippians to praying for them. Paul prayed that the love that meets the needs of all (agape) of Christ would continue to get stronger in the Philippians. Such love is selfless and is modeled on Jesus Christ. The Philippians needed to progress in their love for and faithfulness to God and to grow stronger in their love for one another. The church experienced disagreement and disunity, but Paul prayed their love for one another would grow stronger and overcome such issues. 

Paul prayed that the Philippians’ love would grow in knowledge. He used the  word epignosis to indicate deep, personal, experiential knowledge which would be expressed in practical ways. Knowledge probably includes “an accurate understanding of God and the world,” as well as of oneself. Epignosis is a Greek word that means "knowledge, understanding, or insight". It can also refer to the act of coming to know something, or an acknowledgment or impression.

Paul prayed that this love would grow based on every kind of discernment. The term for discernment (aisthesis) refers to having the capacity to understand the true nature of something. The phrase could be translated “depth of insight,” which enables a person to make correct moral decisions. Having discernment means a believer has the moral insight by which to accurately judge between “the rightness and wrongness of any thoughts and actions.”  Paul encouraged the Philippians to put everything to the test to find out what was superior. 

The goal of being prepared for Christ’s return is two-fold. First, believers need to be pure. The Greek term (eilikrines) means to be pure, or to be sincere. Believers are to be unmixed, i.e., separate from the world while awaiting the return of Christ. The Greek term is a compound word combining “sun” (helios) and “to judge” (krino). The idea was holding something in the light of the sun to inspect it. 

Second, Paul said believers are to be blameless (aproskopos). The idea behind this term is not to stumble or cause others to stumble. As believers grow in their love for God and others, they will know how to make the best choices that will demonstrate their sincerity and not cause others to stumble.

It’s important that love and knowledge go together. Without being grounded in love, knowledge can be cold, dry, boring. How sad it is to affirm sound doctrine but have no genuine affection for Christ and others.  At the same time, love needs to be grounded in knowledge—the right knowledge. 

Without being grounded in the truth, our love can flit from this to that, looking for whatever loves us back or makes us feel good in the moment. Many Christians never pursue wisdom and knowledge. Consequently, they make terrible choices and even follow false teachers, who prey on gullible emotion-driven people.  This passage underscores the need for both affection and discernment. Love is neither cold nor blind. Love is both deeply affectionate and biblically informed. We need love, knowledge, and discernment so that we can speak the truth in love to others.

If glory is  the “shining forth” or the “public display” of God’s character and nature, then  “glory” describes all the things God is full of—his wisdom, love, creativity, beauty, strength, compassion—all the things that make him weighty and wonderful.  God’s glory is made manifest for us to see and experience and respond to.  

Glorifying God in and with our lives is the believer’s highest priority, God is glorified when we live with Christ-centered purpose; when God is exemplified in our lives.