Why was Paul thankful for the Philippians
church? In one word it was their fellowship, a term that refers to their
partnership in Christ. They share the
same life from the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and thus are a fellowship. But in the case of the Philippians their shared life had shown up in several
ways.
·
Paul was thankful for their fellowship in the
gospel, v5. “From the first day” is very
literal. Did you see in today’s reading
in Acts that Paul, when he first arrived at Philippi, found a group of Jews and
preached Christ to them. Lydia believer
and immediately she took him and the “team” into her house and provided hospitality
(that’s a significant part of fellowship).
Then, just before they left town, the jailer became a believer and
immediately took Paul and Silas into his home and cared for their wounds (from
the beating they received for preaching the gospel). Again, that is fellowship. “Until now” (v5) leads us to the second word
of thanksgiving.
·
Paul was thankful for their fellowship of grace,
v7. As Paul writes this letter he is in
jail again, and again for preaching the gospel.
God was gracious to Paul, supplying his needs while in prison, and a
major part of that grace came through the brothers and sisters in
Philippi. They had sent a financial gift
to him in Rome ay the hand of one of their leaders, Epaphroditus (2:25). In this letter Paul remembers other times
they shared (i.e. fellowshipped) with
him in financial gifts (4:15-18) and labor (4:3; 2:25). The point was that, not only did Paul receive
grace from God through them, but they also would share in that grace, having
their own needs met by God (Phil. 4:19).
How did Paul express the extent of his
thankfulness for these believers? For
one thing he was frequently praying for them (v4) and every time he did it was
with a grateful heart (v3). His
thankfulness overflowed in his confidence about the Philippian believers and
their relationship with God (v6; we will consider this in more detail in our
next post).
In addition, look at the way Paul spoke of
these friends. I have you in my heart (v7).
I long for you (v8). They were his beloved and longed-for brethren (4:1). That’s the way we talk about our kids after
they go off to college or our spouse when he or she is gone for several
days. They were like family. No! They were family!
Do you have fellow believers in Christ that
you long to see? Not all churches were
like the Philippian church was for Paul.
Sometimes our love for brothers and sisters is stretched. But do you have those whose fellowship is
very real so that we have them in our
heart? Pray about this. And then may I suggest: look for those in
your local body who have needs and reach out to them in tangible ways. Show hospitality. Meet needs.
This is a bridge connecting our hearts and will make fellowship real.
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