The Joy of Sharing in the Gospel

Philippians 1:3-11 ³ I thank my God every time I remember you.  ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.  ⁸ God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.  ⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,  ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-- to the glory and praise of God.

The Epistle to Ephesians is sometimes called an Epistle of Joy. The theme of joy cuts across the entire letter. In this short letter the word “joy’ and words related to it like “rejoice” occur about 16 times. In our times, when we hear the word “joy” we think of emotions, “pleasure, happiness, ecstasy” In the Bible, joy is not only associated with dancing, blessings and prosperity, feasting or offering sacrifices, but is also associated with sufferings. For Christians joy is something that we can experience regardless of our circumstances. To be joyful is a choice that we make.

In the next weeks we will take a journey thorough the book of Philippians, allowing God to help us to understand what it means to be joyful. By the time apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians he was in prison, most likely in Rome, facing a possibility of execution for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He could have chosen to complain about his circumstances, yet he was filled with joy. Was he happy? No. Was he is pain? Yes. Did he like the circumstances he was in? No. Was he joyful? Yes.

As you may notice my series topic is incomplete: It says, “Joyful Regardless…” God is calling us to a journey of joy - a journey of joyful trust. It is my prayer that during this time the Holy sprit will help us to understand what it means to live joyful lives.

From our scripture passage we see that: 

1. Our sharing in the Gospel brings joy to others. The Philippians brought Paul delight. Why? They were his partners in the Gospel. For how long? For as long as he had known them. “From the first day until now.” They were constant. They supported him regardless of his circumstances.

2. Our sharing in the Gospel is God’s doing. What they did was not their work. It was God’s work. The Lord started it and would bring it to the end. Verse 6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

3. Our sharing in the gospel can grow deeper. Paul prayed that the Philippians would not simply give but also abound in knowledge and insight. Why is this important? Because this is God’s work and if it is God’s work he must guide us in how to do it. 

May God richly bless you in this joyful partnership in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!