Chuck Larsen

Paul moves on to exhort the Philippian believers to “note those who walk in this way, and follow this pattern you’ve seen in us.” (See Philippians 3:17). It’s interesting to notice the way people walk. I remember the old Monty Python comedy routine of the “ministry of silly walks.” John Cleese and others would walk in silly, weird, or clumsy ways to illustrate certain aspects of people’s lives. The way we walk does say a lot about our lives and languages have strived to be precise in describing walks. There are so many different kinds of walks. There are proud walks, there are confident walks, and there are walks of shame. You can slouch, sneak, creep or swagger. Boice says, “The need to describe such forms of walking has enriched language. Roget’s Thesaurus lists dozens of English synonyms for walking. The Zulu language, according to Eugene A. Nida of the American Bible Society, contains at least 120 distinct words for similar ideas—to walk pompously, to walk with a swagger, to walk crouched down as when hunting, and so on. These truths are an acknowledgment that the way people walk reveals something of their ambition, state of mind, and values.”

I expect it’s for this reason that Paul exhorts believers to “walk worthy of their calling.” In Ephesians 5 we’re told to walk “wisely.” In 1 Thessalonians we’re told to walk with “respect.” And in 1 John 1:7 we’re old to walk in the “light.” We are to watch how people “walk” in Philippians 3:17. What we should look for is those believers who have followed the pattern set by Paul and his team (Timothy, Titus, Luke, etc.) who the Philippians had known from the beginning. Richison says that the word “note” in this verse, “…is a military word meaning to reconnoiter, to look, watch or mark. Paul challenges the Philippians to reconnoiter the array of Christians in their purview to detect growing Christians.”

Those who are growing in the “grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” are easy to recognize. They live vibrant, exciting lives, pressing on in the things that really matter in life. In his commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Lange quotes Menken who says, “The ever recurring exhortation of the apostle to rejoice in the Lord, was adapted to assure them that Christianity is something bright, cheerful, and joyful, to make them certain, confident in their knowledge and walk in opposition to those who imagine that one must mix a bitterness, narrowness, and legal servitude with the mildness, breadth and freedom of the new covenant and its gospel.” Paul tells us to “watch out” for one and use them as negative examples. He then tells us to look out for those who live joyful lives in the Lord and follow them!

Paul talks about “pressing on” in Christ. He wants to know Jesus better. Knowing Jesus in an intimate personal relationship will build his faith and confidence in God’s promises and deepen his assurance of his eternal destiny. He wants to “take hold” of Christ since Christ has “taken hold” of Him. Then Paul talks about “pressing on” towards Christ. As he grows to know Christ better, his assurance increases and thus his life is changed. He becomes more and more like Christ. As Christ has “taken hold” of Paul, he was justified in Christ. Christ paid the penalty for his sin and he is completely forgiven and assured of his place in heaven. The certainty of his justification moved him along in the progressive process of actually becoming like Christ in his own life. Justification is the positional truth for every believer. We are forgiven and assured of our place in heaven based, not on our own efforts, but on what Christ accomplished for us on the Cross. Sanctification is the process by which the truth of Christ works its way into every nook and cranny of our lives and we become more like Christ.

Paul then argues in Philippians 3:14, that he will press on in his growth in knowing Christ, thus in his growth in becoming like Christ, until the Lord actually calls him home. He says, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The word prize might be translated “wreath” or “crown.” A garland like wreath was placed on the head of the winner of the public games in Greece much like a medal is awarded at the Olympics today. This wreath didn’t look like much the rewards that went along with it were what really mattered. The victor was welcomed home with a parade, he no longer had to pay taxes, and they made a statue of him in his home town.

The “upward call” is the time when the believer is called “home” to heaven. He is welcomed by those who have gone on before him. There are no taxes in heaven, but I’m also pretty sure there aren’t any statues either. This event is often referred to as the “glorification” of the believer. Since he’s been justified and all sin forgiven. He’s lived a life growing in his knowledge of Christ and in his becoming like Christ; he is now rewarded with the fulfillment of God’s plan of actually making us like Christ in Glory. This is how it works in our lives as well: In regeneration we are freed from the penalty of sin; in sanctification, becoming like Christ, we are freed from the power of sin; in glorification (reward and glory in heaven) we are freed from the presence of sin. In all of its pain and misery fostered on the human race, Christ has conquered sin once and for all on the cross, and through his resurrection has conquered death for us all – once and for all!

One of the greatest needs in our world today is for godly men and women to step forward in their service to others and to be bright shining lights of what true Christianity should look like. We are always more inspired by an example than by instruction. Many of our idols and heroes today are deficient in character and have serious flaws. Our athletes often struggle with gambling and illegal drug abuse. Yet we hold them up as examples to our young. The actors and actresses in our society are often immoral and unethical yet they are highly esteemed and nearly worshipped by their following. Politicians are often found trapped in personal promotion and even dishonest gain, yet we insist on re-electing them to office time and again. Paul wraps up his discussion about sending Timothy and Epaphroditus to Philippi by encouraging them to “…receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men” (Philippians 2:29). These are the kind of men that we should follow and honor. But we must be careful not to just try to do what they did; we need to seek to understand their heart. Find the source of their strength and tap into that ourselves.

Young people often chose an idol, or icon, to model their life after. They copy their hero’s every movements. Kent Hughes observes, “Many boys copy the way a great batter steps into the batter’s box—how he hikes up his belt, taps each cleat with his bat, spits through his teeth exactly sixteen inches to the left of the third base line, and then steps into the box, cracks his neck, brushes the bill of his hat with his left hand, and assumes his stance. Some girls imitate the wardrobe of a much admired older girl—her casual panache, her poise, her walk.” But this is to miss the very aspect of that individual that made them worth following. You must go deeper in people’s lives to find what matters most.

Phillips Brooks once observed all the young preachers who were copying Billy Graham. They would try to model their delivery after Billy’s but they missed what mattered most. In reality, one will never become a great preacher by copying the cadences of Billy Graham, or a major leaguer by chewing tobacco, or a beautiful woman by changing nail polish. Spiritually, as Brooks rightly observes: “If you really reverence a great man, if you look up to and rejoice in his good work, if you truly honor him, you will get at his spirit, and doing that you will cease to imitate his outside ways. You insult a man when you try to catch his power by moving your arms or shaping your sentences like his, but you honor him when you try to love truth and do God’s will the better for the love and faithfulness which you see in him.”

Paul seems to have an extremely well developed sense of empathy. He was able to identify with others and put himself in their shoes to experience what they were experiencing. When God showed mercy by healing Epaphroditus Paul planned to send him back to Philippi to be a blessing and an encouragement to all his family and friends. He writes in Philippians 2:28, “I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.” He was more eager because of the pain that the Philippians were experiencing over having heard that Epaphroditus was ill. Paul’s eagerness to send Epaphroditus back to his family and friends was motivated out of his concern for them. He identified with their grief and was eager to relieve it.

Richison observes, “Empathy is not sympathy. Sympathy is simply feeling the emotions of another person. Empathy is the ability to identify with the state of the other person. Paul put himself in the place of the Philippians. By doing so he acted unselfishly. He sent back someone very important to him. Empathy is a sign someone is thinking of others and cares for others.” There will be a lot of joy upon his return to Philippi. They will probably have a potluck and let him tell about his visit to Rome and his time with Paul. But more importantly, Epaphroditus would carry a letter from Paul that he will read publicly to them. It’s the letter that we’re reading today and that every generation of Christians have read since the establishment of the church. This letter, Epistle, became part of the Word of God.

No Paul was thinking about them when he decided to return Epaphroditus to his home church. Yet he still had some personal benefit from it. He adds in Verse 28, “and I may be less sorrowful.” It will be a huge blessing to Paul to have been able to act to alleviate the suffering of others. He knew that the family and friends of Epaphroditus would be comforted and experience great joy at getting him back into their midst. But Paul’s own stress was relieved knowing that he relieved that of others. That’s always the way it is. When we empathize with others and take action to help alleviate their hurts and pains and hardships we too receive the benefit and get to share in their joy. I would add that Jesus teaches us that the one who serves is the one who receives the greatest blessing. Jesus said “it’s more blessed to give than to receive.”

In our prayer list at Country Bible Church we are constantly praying for those who are sick or who have undergone operations or have contracted some disease and our prayer is always for healing. We pray that God has mercy on them and on those who love them by granting the request for healing. Sometimes He does. Sometimes He doesn’t. Epaphroditus was an emissary from the Philippian church to Paul in Rome. While there he became sick. We don’t know exactly what that illness was but the word got back to Philippi and all were praying for his healing. Paul reports in his letter God’s answer to their prayers. In Philippians 2:27 he says regarding Epaphroditus, “Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.”

James Montgomery Boice observes, “This fact leads us to some interesting thoughts on the sickness that many Christians have endured… Some people have taught that health is a birthright of Christians and that sickness is the result of sin or a lack of strong faith. Others, like Job’s comforters, have said that sickness is always a sign of God’s chastening. These thoughts are not true, and the case of Epaphroditus refutes them. Epaphroditus was a man who, Paul says, was to be held in the highest honor. Yet he grew sick in the midst of the most unselfish Christian service. Moreover, he was sick for some time.”

Isaiah writes, “with his stripes, we are healed.” Many apply this passage to physical healing as well as spiritual and emotional healing. It aroused the question of what kind of healing is to be experienced in Christ’s atonement for our sins. I will always argue that all three are ours. First there is Spiritual healing. We have complete forgiveness of our sins through faith in Christ. Yet, don’t think that the struggle with sin is over in this life. We still wrestle with the dark one, our sinful natures, and the temptations of the world around us and sometimes we sin again. There is emotional healing as well. All of the abuse and misuse we’ve experienced in this life is undone by the cross. But we still wrestle with unstable emotions in this life. There is physical healing as well, but we still get sick, we still get hurt, we still contract diseases and we still die! Yet there is a time coming when we will be completely healed of all maladies of this life. Paul has been delivered from his ever present thorn in the flesh. Epaphroditus has been healed of all diseases and sicknesses and we and all our loved ones will be healed also. We may not see it in this life, but I’m convinced that “God had mercy” on us all and will deliver us all. We have sorrow in this life, but God will not let us have “sorrow upon sorrow.”

Epaphroditus was the emissary from the Philippian Church to the Apostle Paul who was in prison in Rome. He brought the financial gifts to him. He brought word about the church and the many friends Paul had in Philippi. He brought encouragement and prayers for Paul’s deliverance from prison and protection over his ministry. We don’t know much about Epaphroditus. All we know comes from this letter. When he became sick with some unknown physical malady the word got back to Philippi and when he heard that they had heard about his sickness he became discouraged. Certainly he had family there that he loved very much and who were worried about him. In his sickness he wanted to go home. Paul writes about Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:26, “…for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.”

In this phrase we get another short glimpse into the heart of Epaphroditus. He really cared for others. People mattered to him. He could not wait to see his family and friends in Philippi again. His sickness and near death encounter helped him realize, as it usually does, how important family and friends really are. The Church should be like that for us today. The Philippian Church was not perfect at all. We’ve seen that in Paul’s early exhortations to them and we’ll see it again before the letter ends. Yet, there is something special about this church. The believers truly cared about each other. When churches do that the people just love to be there. Grant Richison writes, “It is the people in the congregation that makes the atmosphere of the church. People who are proud of and happy in their church will attract others. The esprit de corps of a congregation is an essential factor in its growth. That is probably the most overlooked factor in church growth. In other words, it is the people that make the difference between a cold church and a warm church.”

Let me add that Richison is also right when he continues, “The esprit de corps comes primarily from the people, not the pastor. Obviously the pastor makes a significant contribution. Neither is it the music, although music is important in forming an atmosphere. If the people of the congregation cluster in little huddles when newcomers come no matter what the service is like the church will be deemed a “cold church.” If the people do not smile and offer a warm hand shake strangers will feel like aliens.” It’s often difficult for us to break out of our comfort zones and reach out to new and different people. Yet Jesus’ whole life and ministry was reaching out to others and training His disciples to do the same thing. Paul’s whole life’s passion was to reach new people with the Gospel. We should share this passion! Many of our hurts, pains, and struggles in life would seem less severe if we embraced Jesus’ mission and put our focus on sharing the good news with those in need.