Study the Word

Guest (Male): Making the distinction between justification and sanctification, here's Pastor Thom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: Now, you don't need to be made holy if you're perfect, right? But that's the sanctification process. That's a cleaning process. But how He sees you right now is forever perfect. That's how He sees you.

The genius of that is a relationship that that then gives us with God because it takes away any fear of what He might do because of our still needing sanctification, because positionally He sees us as perfect.

Guest (Male): Perhaps you've heard the old fishing metaphor that the Lord first catches us, then He cleans us? How does that work out theologically? Well, find out as we begin a new book today on Study the Word, and that new book we're starting is Paul's letter to the Philippians. Starting things off with a short anecdote, then giving us some background to this letter, here's our teacher, Pastor Thom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: Did you hear about the cement mixer and the prison bus that crashed along the highway? Police advised citizens to look out for a group of hardened criminals.

Did you know that even saved Christians can sometimes have hardened hearts? Hebrews 3:15 says this: "As it is said, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.'" Every time we read the Word and ask and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, God does heart surgery on us.

So let's pray this morning that we allow God to do heart surgery in us, to open our hearts up, to see, to hear, to understand what it is that He wants us to leave here today understanding. So we open today with the book of Philippians.

Now, first of all, the book of Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul. Of the 27 New Testament books, Paul wrote 13 of those books—14 of those books if you include the book of Hebrews, which most believe that he wrote.

And of Paul's 13 or 14 letters, four of these letters were known as prison epistles. They are letters that Paul wrote while he was in prison. And this letter to the Philippians is considered to be the fourth and final letter that he wrote while he was in prison. He wrote it shortly before he was let go.

And it was on Paul's second missionary journey that he first came to Philippi around 52 AD. I've always found it helpful to realize that Paul was born around the year zero. Some say a little earlier, some say a little later. I just hang on that zero because it makes it easy when I think about how old he was. It's relative to the date AD. So he's around 52 years of age in the year 52 AD, which is about when he came to Philippi.

And the reason Paul went to Philippi in the first place was because of a vision that he had. And you can see here, Macedonia, and you can see that Philippi was the first stop in Macedonia on Paul's missionary journey. He's going from Antioch in that direction. And Acts 16:6 speaks to this.

Next, Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the Word in the province of Asia at that time. Then, coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go. So instead, they went through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.

That night, here it is, Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia in a vision from northern Greece was standing there pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there. They then went from Troas to Philippi, which was their first stop in Macedonia in response to this dream.

So this was Paul's second missionary journey, 52 AD. Paul also stopped in Philippi on his third missionary journey, beginning in Syria all the way up to Ephesus and then to Philippi and then back down again. So on his third missionary journey, he stopped there as well.

Now, just a bit of history on the city of Philippi. There are three things that Philippi was known for. Number one, it was founded by Philip, who was the father of Alexander the Great of Greece, in 368 BC. So over 400 years prior to this, it was founded by Alexander the Great.

And the reason Philip founded the city is that it is strategically located on a pass between a range of hills that separate Europe from Asia. And so all of that traffic would have traveled through this region, and this would have been kind of a guard city. It's eight miles to the south to the seaport of Neapolis, which is not shown here, but the seaport is, you can see on the Mediterranean Sea.

The second thing Philippi was known for was its silver mines. Some say gold mines as well. And this had made Philippi a great commercial center of the world with an estimated population during Paul's time of somewhere between 10 and 15,000 people.

And the third thing that is significant of Philippi is that it was designated by Rome as a Roman colony. Now, this is a specific designation. Now, for Rome to designate a city a Roman colony was an incredibly significant honor and distinction.

Rome would appoint cities to be Roman colonies based upon the city's strategic location. And the goal of appointing these cities was to ensure that peace was maintained in these places located far from Rome. Integral to that goal, to these Roman colonies, Rome would send retired veteran Roman soldiers to live in these cities, usually 300 veterans along with their wives and children.

Now, being the retired Roman soldiers, this virtually guaranteed that the city would remain loyal to Rome even though far from Rome and among people of different cultures and nations. And in these strategic locations, Rome found that very, very important.

And this is what made the Roman colonies unique. These cities were very nationalistic and the citizens were proud of their Roman citizenship. So in colony cities, the Roman language, Latin, was spoken. In these colony cities, Roman dress was the fashion. Roman customs were observed. In fact, everything was carried out exactly as it would have if it would have taken place in Rome.

And as such, its citizens were granted special freedoms. They were exempted from scourgings, from being beaten. They had freedom from arrest except in extreme cases, and the right to appeal to the emperor. Additionally, later on, they also became exempt from taxes. That's quite a good gift.

And this background of Philippi being a bastion for Roman loyalists helps explain why Paul and Barnabas were so quickly thrown in jail in Philippi. Because the charges leveled against Paul would have infuriated these Roman loyalists to the core. Here's what they were charged with in Acts 16.

When they went to Philippi, it says the whole city's in an uproar because of these Jews, they shouted to the city officials. Being Roman loyalists, they are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice. Now that in another city, maybe that wouldn't have had that great effect. In a colony city, that was treasonous.

And this sets up Paul's final days in Philippi on his second missionary journey, which took place in jail. Acts 16:22, the very next verse to what we just read: A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten and they were thrown into prison.

The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn't escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns. How do you like that? Stripped, beaten with rods, and at midnight they're singing hymns to God. And the other prisoners were listening.

Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open and the chains of every prisoner fell off. Then down in verse 35 it continues to this: The next morning, the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, "Let those men go."

So the jailer told Paul, "The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace." But Paul replied, "They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison, and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us."

When the police reported this, city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas, here again, were Roman citizens. So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia, which was in Philippi.

There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more, then they left town. You know, something parenthetically I love about Paul: whenever he got beat up, thrown in jail, manhandled, and let go, he'd always go back into the city one more time. He never high-tailed it. He'd go back one more time. That's just who Paul was.

So this is how Paul's first missionary stay in Philippi ended. Wow. Barclay says, "Paul left in a storm of persecution, illegal beating, and imprisonment." That's his recollection of Philippi.

And remember Paul wrote this letter while he was a prisoner in Rome awaiting his trial. And at the point Paul wrote this last, his last prison letter, his first court hearing in Rome would have taken place and apparently had gone well. And because of that, he was confident that he was soon going to be released from prison in Rome. In fact, he was set free in 63 AD.

And this might help explain how Paul could pull off, could muster up these words to write such a positive letter with such joy while imprisoned, in that he felt that he was soon going to be set free. 17 times in this short letter Paul mentions the words "joy" and "rejoice" while in chains.

One other important distinction about Paul's letter to the Philippians is that in it, Paul does not address any grave concerns as he does in 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, or Galatians, or Colossians. So you do not sense Paul's typical strategic word-crafting designed to get to a point and take on his detractors or to settle some theological dispute. That was not taking place in Philippi.

However, because of Paul's remembrances of how his time in Philippi ended many years ago, he wrote of that experience. Many years ago, I wrote in my Bible above the title "Philippians" these words: I wrote, "Before reading Philippians, read 1 Thessalonians 2:2." So let's do that. 1 Thessalonians 2:2 says,

"We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition." "We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi." ESV says, "suffered and been treated shamefully in Philippi." And this was all due to an exorcism that Paul performed on a fortune-telling slave girl.

So we see that Paul maintained clear recollection of his suffering and the outrageous shame that he suffered in Philippi. And just one last point of background: whenever Paul visited a new city, the first place that he would go to preach was a Jewish synagogue. And so in any book of the Bible, in any of his travels, when you find Paul entering a city and not going to a synagogue to preach, most biblical scholars believe that it was because that city did not have a synagogue.

Now, that's significant. Why? Because Jewish law dictated that any town or city that had at least ten male Jews—this is the synagogue in Capernaum—any city or town that had a minimum of ten male Jews was required to build a synagogue. And apparently, Paul did not find a synagogue in Philippi. So what does that say? Look at chapter 16, verse 12.

"From there we reached Philippi, the major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath, we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank." Now, on a Sabbath he would typically go to a synagogue. He did not. He went to a riverbank where we thought people would be meeting for prayer. And we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there.

One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart and she accepted what Paul was saying. So because of this, we know that this letter to the Philippians would have been a letter primarily to Gentiles, not to Jews, because there weren't ten male Jews in Philippi.

Now, with that background, let's dig in. Philippians 1:1-2: "This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I'm writing to all of God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace."

First thing we notice that this says this letter is from Paul and Timothy. Now, if you've read Paul's letters, what is obvious in its absence is Paul's usual claiming of apostolic authority in writing the letter. Now, this proves to us at the very opening of this letter that Paul is not dealing with any controversy in the church driven by false teachers who normally deny Paul's right of apostleship or to exert authority in the church.

This is how most of Paul's letters begin. These are all chapter 1, verse 1. Everyone, chapter 1, verse 1. Colossians 1:1: "This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus." 1 Corinthians 1:1: "This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus." Next, 2 Corinthians: "This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus."

Titus 1:1: "This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Christ Jesus." And then Romans 1:1: "This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach the Good News." But here in Philippians, he just says he's a slave of Jesus Christ. Doesn't mention his apostleship.

Again making the point, he was not needing to assert his authority over those who might have been detractors in the church in Philippi. He just says, "a slave of Jesus Christ." In Greek the word is "doulos," which means bondservant. Strong's Concordance says, listen, "devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests."

Devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests. And isn't that who we are to be? That we are to be devoted to Christ to the disregard of our own interests? We are a slave to Christ.

Again, Philippians 1:1 New King James: "Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons." Now, it says it is from Paul and Timothy, and I always think that it speaks to Paul's humility. I know that he had other reasons for doing that, probably for lifting up Timothy to the people of Philippi.

But it's interesting when you say, "this letter is from A and B," you're kind of giving equal billing. It puts both of them on equal footing with his audience, and I think that speaks volumes of Paul. And then Paul writes here, to the saints, the bishops, and the deacons of Philippi. Who are the saints that Paul is referring to?

Well, he's speaking to the individual members of the church in Philippi. So who are the saints here at Calvary Chapel? You are. Every one of you, the Bible says, are a saint. In multiple places, Paul refers to believers as saints. And do you know what's amazing about that? In Greek, the word for saints is "hagios." Listen, this is what the Bible says about you being a saint.

You are physically pure, you are morally blameless, you are consecrated. You are physically pure, morally blameless, consecrated. And positionally, ladies and gentlemen, this is true. All of you positionally, you are physically pure, you are morally blameless, you're consecrated. You say, "But I'm not really morally blameless. My actions, my words, my thoughts are not always pure and blameless."

Well, a verse that speaks to this is Hebrews 10, verse 14. Speaking of Christ, it says, "For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." "For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." I've mentioned this before; I love this verse because it makes so clear where we stand positionally relative to sanctification.

That when God sees you positionally, He sees you perfect forever. Now, forever means from now and tomorrow and the next day and next week and next month and next year and the next ten years. He sees you perfect forever. He's not surprised by what's going to happen in a week or two weeks from now. He sees you knowing all of that.

He sees you perfect forever. And yet at the same time, He is making you holy. Now, you don't need to be made holy if you're perfect, right? But that's the sanctification process. That's a cleaning process. But how He sees you right now is forever perfect. That's how He sees you.

And the genius of that is a relationship that that then gives us with God because it takes away any fear of what He might do because of our still needing sanctification, because positionally He sees us as perfect.

Philippians 1:1: "This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I'm writing to all of God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons." Some translations say to the elders, some say bishops and deacons. Both words "bishop" and "deacon" interesting, are used here for the very first time as a title in the church, as an office in the church.

Bishop is the Greek word "episkopos;" it means an overseer. A deacon is "diakonos," and it means one who runs errands or one who serves. And so the church is filled with everyone as one in one of those two categories. Some oversee in different settings and some serve.

And then Philippians 1, verse 2 says, "May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace." Now, this is Paul's standard greeting. We find it in Romans, in 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, and Philemon. Grace and peace.

And the word for grace in Greek is "charis." It's used 156 times in the New Testament. And many of you listen to people speak on this, they'll say that it means God's unmerited favor, which is really the same definition as mercy: God's unmerited favor. And it can mean that. It can mean God's unmerited favor.

But out of the 156 times, 155 times, this is actually the meaning: Strong's: "divine influence upon the heart and the response of the heart thus influenced." Listen again: God's divine influence upon the heart and the response of the heart thus influenced. So we're saved by grace.

We're saved by God's divine influence upon your heart and your response to His call to you. You're saved by grace, by His divine influence acting upon you. We minister by grace, we serve by grace by God's divine influence acting upon your heart and then you responding to that influence in service. We love by grace.

We love because God's divine influence comes upon a heart to love someone, to love the unlovely, and then the response of that heart thus influenced is then to love them. This concept of grace is a powerful concept. I suspect of all of the significant principles that God has in the Bible, the one that we or one of the ones that we really don't quite connect with is the significance of grace.

Guest (Male): Quite an assertion there from Pastor Thom Keller. And while grace is a challenge to connect with, it's liberating if we do. More on this next time when Pastor Thom Keller returns to Study the Word. What you heard today is our first study in Philippians. Would you like to give this a second listen?

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