Philippians 1:12-18; Luke 17:5-10, Keys to Joy

There are two crucial verses in Philippians.  1:21: For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain; and 3:10: That I may know Him...  The two verses support a central theme: Christ is all in all.  And of course, the central theme of Philippians is the central theme of the whole Bible.  This theme has already been noted in Paul’s salutation (v1-2) (bondservants of Jesus Christ) and in the prayer (v3-11) where Paul makes two references to the day of (Jesus) Christ and two references to Jesus Christ is the source of all that is good (v8, Paul’s affection; and v11, the fruits of righteousness).  

IN today’s passage we see something amazing: Paul is in prison and he is rejoicing.  We have noted that “joy” in the Bible is different than “joy” in the Roman/Greek world.  In Rome joyful people are those whose stars are aligned, whose circumstances are positive, and whose desires are being fulfilled.  This never happens in a Roman prison.  Even if, as Acts 28:30-31 indicates, you are under “house arrest”.  Paul is in prison for nothing that he did that deserved prison.  He is limited by his connection to a Romans soldier.

This fullness of joy is, of course, tied to the theme of the fullness of Christ in us.  With that in mind let us consider what we might call Paul’s keys to joy.

·        First, Paul has a bond-slave mentality, 1:1-2.  We say “mentality” because, the fact is, we are sons, no longer children on a par with the slaves (Gal. 4:7).  Jesus explained the bond-slave mentality in Luke 17:5-10.  When the disciples asked Jesus to increase our faith He answered by a call to servitude.  All the slave’s expectations revolve around his master.  His own will is always subject to the will of the master.  In the flesh we complain about that idea.  But in Christ, where our Master is the One who gave His life for us, we rejoice.  We know that whatever He tells us to do, wherever He leads us, we will be in a good place.  That is fundamental to fullness of joy while in prison for preaching the gospel of Christ.

·        Second, remember from the prayer the fellowship experience (1:3-8).  This also is fundamental to full joy for the believer.  Fellowship is an exalted blessing all across Scripture.  You see this if you read the Songs of the Pilgrim (Psalm 120-134).  The pilgrim turns his back on the frustration of this world (no joy there, 120) and looks to God for help as he sets out on pilgrimage to Jerusalem (121).  The first help God gives is to bring others around him on the journey: I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord (122:1).  This is the reason we value the local church (Heb. 10:24-25).  This is why Jesus, in preparing His disciples for His departure in the Upper Room, first called them to humble themselves before each other that they might love each other (John 13).