Chuck Larsen

Philippians 1:7 says, “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” The phrase that captured my attention in this verse is “partakers with me of grace.” The commentators see this in many different ways. What is it exactly that Paul shared with the Philippians? There are three particular possibilities that seem to hold true for me. The first is the one advanced by Boice. He argues that it’s the fact that all believers are recipients of God’s grace. He says, “…from the great apostle to the most humble believer, are participants in the grace of God. No truth will more quickly overcome divisions among Christians than the truth that we are all equally sinners and all equally recipients of grace.” He then goes on to talk about how there are so many divisions in Christianity as a whole and even among individual believers but when we begin to see each other as “a participant together with you in God’s grace” it builds a bond of love and affection.

Although very true, this interpretation ignores the context. The partnership “of grace” is specifically identified as being “in my imprisonment.” It seems to me what drives Christians together more than anything else in this life is the sufferings that we might share for our faith. When I first became a Christian, I was recruiting for the Navy Officer programs in Detroit, Michigan. Most of my fellow recruiters and staff workers were not Christians, but there was one Nuclear Power recruiter who was a believer. I didn’t like that guy. He was a real nerd! Then I became a Christian. All of a sudden I found myself seeking him out. Among the ostracism and negative attitudes and outright rejection I felt I found comfort and fellowship with him. I would go out of my way to eat lunch with him. When he bought a coke from the machine, he’d always offer me one. He became special to me and I to him and we didn’t have the kind of persecution that the Philippians shared with Paul at all. It was nearly nothing but still drove us together. It seems this idea is a rather what Paul has in mind.

But he also says that the partnership of “grace” was also in the “defense and confirmation of the gospel.” They had the same mission! As Paul ministered in Philippi and shared the good news the converts worked alongside of him in many different ways. You can see Lydia in the marketplace. You can see the slave girl in the ghetto and you can see the soldier in the army, each sharing Christ in their own way. From these three converts there was a church organized with elders, deacons and a whole congregation of believers. It is to this group that Paul writes his letter ten years after his first visit there. As each believer was added to that small fellowship, each one became a “partner” with Paul. We too who have shared in the Grace of God shown to us through the Cross of Jesus are partakers together with Paul as well as the first converts at Philippi. We suffer with them and we have embraced the same mission. In marriage we have “life partners.” In the Faith we have “eternal life partners.” No wonder Paul says, “I hold you in my heart.”

We are all social animals. We yearn to share our lives with others. Those who don’t know how to play well and get along with others are sometimes referred to as sociopaths. It’s a condition contrary to the normal drive we all have to share our lives with others. Some people are better at it than others but all of us want it. There may be times when we need to be alone just to reconnect with God. Jesus was so surrounded by people that he regularly took time away from people to reconnect with the Father. But that was always a temporary practice. It ended and Jesus returned to His ministry with others. God never intended for us to be lone rangers and to enjoy the things of life as individuals totally apart from a larger community. There would be no need for the Church if He did! No one is wise enough to live alone. No one is strong enough or good enough to go it alone. When we try to isolate ourselves from others sooner or later we’ll learn that God was right when He said in Genesis 2:18, “it’s not good for man to be alone.”

The Church is God’s program in which we share our lives with others and others share their lives with us. The Greek word that is usually translated as “church” is ecclesia. Its literal translation is “gathering of people.” It’s only in communion with others that we can find fulfillment and happiness in life. When Paul was isolated in a Roman prison he wrote the letter to the Philippians. He begins his letter to them in Philippians 1:3-4 by saying, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you…” Then he adds that he is praying for them “with joy.” What would cause his memory of them be so joyful. The answer is in verse 5; “because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now.” The comment about the first day drives me back to Acts 16 and the founding of the church. He only had three converts; two women and one man. They were extremely different from each other. Lydia was a rich business woman. The slave girl was just that; a slave! Then the soldier comes to Christ. In all you have 3 economic statuses. You have 3 classes. You have two genders, you probably have two or possibly three races. And yet these three came together in a “partnership” to promote the Good News about Jesus.

It reminds me of the Fellowship of the Ring. J.R.R. Tolkien’s task force is made up of individuals of disparate origin and ridiculous diversity that exceed any of our ethnic or social differences: four hobbits, tiny beings with large, hairy, shoeless feet; two men, warriors of the first rank always dressed for battle, one wizard, Gandalf the ancient nemesis of evil, an elf, Legolas, from a fair race of archers of the forest with pointed ears; and a dwarf, Gimli, a stout, hairy, axe-wielding creature from the dark chambers under the mountains. These are very different kinds of beings yet they were bound together by their great mission to defeat the forces of darkness and save the world. In their journey they experienced so much together that they became inseparable. Two of the more radically different beings, the dwarf and the elf became such great friends that Gimli was inducted into an order that had previously been reserved solely for elves. The church is made up of many different kinds of people as well, but our common bond, The Gospel, unites us with an unbreakable bond.

We often think that if God is in it, and if we submit to what God wants us to do, everything will go just fine. That just isn’t true. Paul wanted to go east from Troas but God wouldn’t let him. Instead he called him into Macedonia on the European continent. Philippi was the first stop on his journey. As you may know Paul’s custom was to go into the local synagogue and tell them who were already prepared spiritually that the Messiah had come. It was important to get a foothold in the Jewish community in every city. I think that’s why he had Timothy circumcised before they proceeded on from Lystra to Troas. Paul’s target was the Jewish men. Yet, when they arrived (Luke, Paul, Silas and a circumcised Timothy) in Philippi they found that there wasn’t a synagogue there probably because there weren’t enough men to establish one. If God was in the vision that brought Paul to Philippi you’d think there would have been a synagogue. But there wasn’t. He’d have to change his method! Oh, no! I hate change! When God gave Peter three visions in Acts 10, it was for Him to grasp the fact that God wanted him to change the way he was reaching out. He didn’t want to change either.

They found their way to a site on the river where some women would go to pray. Lydia, a business woman, was the first convert. After Lydia the next convert was the young slave girl who was demon possessed. She used to make lots of money for her owners. I suspect it was by forecasting the outcome of sporting events. Actually, I have no ideas but it had something to do with supernatural forces of evil at work in and through her. When she came to faith she lost the prophetic spirit and her owners had Paul and Silas arrested. They were beaten and thrown into prison. If God was in it, you’d think they would have had an easier time. Further, it was there in the middle of the night that Paul and Silas were singing hymns and an earthquake came and broke open the prison doors. The Jailor, moved by this example of joy amidst tough times, asked Paul what he needed to do to be saved. He became the third convert in Philippi. Two women from vastly different lives and a Roman soldier were the only 3 converts we read about in Paul’s stop at Philippi. If God was in it, you’d expect much greater results.

Paul planted, Silas and Timothy and Luke watered, and eventually God gave the increase. Ten years later while Paul is in prison again in Rome, he writes his short, four-chapter letter to the Philippians and he addresses it to “all the saints, along with the elders and deacons.” From the three very diverse converts came an entire church. It had a very significant body of believers. It had developed and organized around the Biblical model for the plurality of leadership with Elders who provide oversight and deacons who organize various ministries in the assembly. There was no synagogue when Paul arrived but there was a significant church by the time he was done. It might not have always looked like it, but you can believe God was surely in it. We should see that as true in our lives as well. It might not look or feel like it all the time, but when God calls us and we respond, we can be sure God will give the increase sooner or later.