Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Lesson for January 29, 2017

Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Lesson for January 29, 2017

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Bible Studies for Life By Jim Barnette, Ph.D.

Samford University and Brookwood Baptist Church, Mountain Brook

Sharing with Joy 

Philippians 1:12–21

We can share Christ with joy in spite of hardships. (12–14)

“I want you to know” was a conventional formula for signaling the body of a letter and thus pointing to the letter’s purpose. Paul’s purpose was to inform the Philippians of his circumstances as a prisoner. He does not speak first about his personal prospects but instead considers the prospects of the gospel, and in this matter he has reason for joy. Paul assures his concerned friends in joyful tones his imprisonment has served to advance the gospel. His boldness encourages fellow believers to share the Word of God more fearlessly. It was Christ who strengthened fellow Christians so the arrest of their leader actually increased the work of the Kingdom. Only through Christ can believers experience that miraculous shift of attitude from assuming Christianity is an escape from suffering to realizing that in spite of the reality of suffering the Lord empowers us to overcome any trial.

The “praetorium guard” was originally the Praetor’s tent in the camp. Hence it came to mean the governor’s residence (see Matt. 27:27) or perhaps the soldiers’ barracks. Soldiers going to and from the apostle most likely spoke about him to others, and shared he was imprisoned “for Christ.”

We can share Christ with joy in spite of critics. (15–19)

Paul goes on to acknowledge that some were proclaiming the good news with differing motives. Scholars suggest that those who preached “from envy and rivalry” were the Judaizers who are mentioned in Philippians 3:2. Paul does not criticize the content of their preaching. The problem was not doctrine; it was inappropriate partisanship. In spite of the ill will, Paul rejoices they were at least preaching the gospel. Is Paul saying this with a shrug? Or is this old soldier too weary to fight such partisanship? By no means. Paul did not approve such motives; he had renounced the shameful things (see 2 Cor. 4:2). What Paul realizes is the power of the gospel is not contingent on the motives or feelings of the person preaching. In spite of charlatans and “peddlers of the gospel” (2 Cor. 2:17), we can rest assured the gospel has its own life and efficacy. Because of this assurance, William Barclay declares Paul “had lifted the matter beyond all personalities; all that mattered was that Christ was preached.”

We can share Christ with joy in both life and death. (20–21)

With robust confidence, Paul is certain of the outcome of the events that are out of his control: He will be “delivered.” His language here is an echo of Job 13:16–18. He means deliverance or salvation in a sense larger than release from prison. The deliverance he has in mind is not contingent on his being released or executed. Paul is not filled with dread. His mood is one of “eager expectation,” literally of stretching one’s head out a window with anticipation and hope. Whatever the outcome, the apostle’s deepest hope is that Christ would be magnified. In practical terms, Paul does not want to be ashamed, but rather to exhibit full courage because of his faith in the One who saves us from this world to life eternal. Paul’s disposition is the opposite of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Hamlet found life so disillusioning he considered suicide, yet the unknown realm of death was so frightening he drew back. Paul did not desire death as an escape from life; he saw death as entrance into the greater fullness of a life already full.