Philippians 2:19-30 • Receive with Joy
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(This transcript was prepared using software tools and has not been reviewed for complete accuracy.)
Philippians chapter 2, beginning at verse 19.
You know, a principle of abstract physics is mass times velocity equals momentum.
But of course, when David Ross hits a 5-ounce baseball, pitched at 95 miles an hour, over a 405-foot centerfield fence, that is applied physics and momentum of a very different sort.
And it's momentum of a very different sort that the Apostle Paul has in mind too, as he's been talking about the principle of Christ's humility and sacrifice becoming model for our own humility before the Lord. And now in this passage of Scripture, he begins to apply that principle to our lives, saying, "How do you respond to a great victory in Christ?"
Let's stand as we receive God's Word with joy and at the same time hear what He has to say to us.
Philippians 2 and verse 19, Paul writes, "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by the news of you. For I have no one like Him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare, for they all seek their own interest, not those of Jesus Christ.
But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father, He has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send them just as soon as I see how it will go with me.
And I trust in the Lord that I shortly, that shortly I myself will come also.
I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger administered to my need. For He has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that He was ill. 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.
I am the more eager to send Him therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing Him again, and that I may be less anxious.
So receive Him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men. For He nearly died for the work of Christ, risking His life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. Let's pray that we might receive this word with joy.
Father, thank you for the encouragement of this service.
To be reminded of the adoption that we can claim because of the work of Jesus, you now name us after Him, enfold us into His work, robe us with His righteousness, and call us your children.
May we so rejoicing in that truth know how we should respond to a Father who loves us, and respond not out of a sense of dread or obligation, but of the joy of seeing what Jesus has done for us at the will of the Father.
Let us this we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Please be seated.
So after long years of darkness and the passing of multiple generations with hope deferred,
and promises unfulfilled through the seemingly endless journey of repeated disappointments, finally, the curse is broken, an epic victory is won, the champion is exalted, and the people rejoice. Of course, I am thinking about Jesus, even if you're thinking about the Cubs.
And I don't really mind you thinking about the Cubs because in the response of so many people to that victory, we actually see exemplified what may only be abstract to you if you were to read this passage without the events of the last week. Overall what we are being told here is a great victory that the apostle identifies multiple times as the gospel, which simply means good news, that's what gospel means. And yet it's being identified here by the victory of Jesus Christ, who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing.
When taking on the form of a human, He became obedient, even obedient to death on a cross,
wherefore God has highly exalted Him, given Him a name that is above every name, that is the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now that's the principle.
How does it get applied in our lives? Well the way people celebrated when there was a cause of great victory among us. I mean you just say, "How are we supposed to respond to Christ's great victory?" Well how did we respond just naturally to a sports team's victory? You know what happened after the Cubs won. People cheered. They hugged. They high-fived. It didn't matter what town they come from. It didn't matter what race they were. It didn't matter what income they had.
They delighted in each other. They gathered together around Wrigley, marching by five million people ultimately to end up in Grand Park around the parade.
Not only did they cheer in that way, they went to stores.
At midnight some of you went to stores after the victory to buy paraphernalia you don't need, but some of you are wearing even in this service.
Because you became generous with the trophies of the victory you wanted to claim. And finally even though you were tired and weary of your celebrating, you got up early the next day to go to work so that you could tease Cardinal fans and tell everybody about it. I mean it all makes sense.
When there's been a great victory, you want to express it in ways that are true to the reality that you are now experiencing. And that's precisely what the Apostle Paul is doing in this passage. He has just celebrated the great victory of the gospel. And now in the details with which he begins to talk about what people are doing in response, we begin to see what our response should be. What should we do in the light of this great victory of Jesus? We should love beyond all borders.
I mean just kind of think when the great victory was declared in our neighborhood, fireworks started going off. And we turned on the TV and we saw people from large town and small town and black and white and rich and poor pouring out in the streets, going around Wrigley Field. Everybody was gathering together to celebrate. And what they were celebrating is what Paul mentions in just the opening words of this passage, verse 19. "I hope in the Lord Jesus." Now that language of being in the Lord Jesus is the closest capsule of the gospel you get in all the Bible. This notion that we are now united to Christ, we are in Christ Jesus. I mean what I've tried to put in your minds, the image for this book of the Bible is the Russian nesting dolls. That you have one inside another inside another. That we are in Christ Jesus, which means we are surrounded by His righteousness. His identity has become ours. And the Apostle says, "My hope is in Christ Jesus." As though hope is not hope against hope, it is future confidence. It is faith forward. I actually have faith in my union with Christ. And why is that so important? Because he knows what's behind him.
I was a persecutor of Christians. I murdered people thinking I was doing something for the Lord. I recognize there is much of shame and problem and difficulty in my life. But I'm in Christ Jesus. And that's my hope going forward. And Paul does not just celebrate his own union with Christ. He begins to celebrate God's union with those that are part of the union with Him. After all he says in verse 19, "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you." Who is Timothy? The Philippians knew, verse 22, "You know Timothy's proven worth. How as a son with a father, he has served with me in the gospel."
Timothy?
Don't you remember who Timothy was? His mother was a Jew. His father a Gentile Greek. He was a half-breed in the thinking of the time, not acceptable in the Jewish community, not acceptable in the Greek community. A man without a country, a man without a home, a man without a family. And yet here is the Apostle Paul saying, "He became as a son to me and I his father." So that what we have celebrated already this day, the notion of adoption that one, without the ability to deserve it, without the ability to claim it, is made part of the family of God, is what Paul is doing when he says, "You know Timothy?
He's proven his worth, though people think he's worth nothing. He's my son. In Christ Jesus, I'm united to God and he's united to God, so we're part of the same family." And it's not just Timothy. I mean, if you think of the opening words, "You hope to see Timothy soon?" Why? "So that I too may be cheered by news of you." He's writing to the Philippians.
Here are Greeks.
They are Greeks who at long time were by their religion and by their armies, the opponents of the Jews.
And now Paul is saying, "I want to be one who cheers, brings cheer into your life and knowing good about you, bringing cheer into my life. I care about you now."
Our love is crossing all boundaries because of the unity they have in Christ and the trophy that we share together of the gospel. Is that real? Does it make sense? It makes sense by what the apostle is going to say in verse 25. He said, "I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need."
Epaphroditus apparently has been sent by the church at Philippi, who's a long way distant from Paul, who's in prison in Rome, to take a gift. You remember that Paul, even while he was in prison, had to pay for his own welfare. And so the Greek church, even though Paul hasn't been there a long time, sends Epaphroditus, one of their leaders, with a gift to take care of Paul in Rome.
Epaphroditus, name's strange to us, but more strange to any Jew who would have thought that an Epaphroditus follower would come to Paul. Epaphroditus is the male version of the Greek god Aphrodite.
Epaphroditus is named after a pagan deity, a deity of love and immorality. And now that same Epaphroditus is coming to Paul. And what we begin to see is Paul is receiving him and gives him these words of honor. Verse 25, "He's my brother."
The words in the Greek actually mean, "from the same womb."
We come from the same place now. We were sinners, but we are now in Christ Jesus. We are of the same family. We are brothers together. And not just brothers, but he's my fellow worker. He's working with me in the sake of the gospel. Not only that, he's willing to suffer and fight for the gospel. He is my fellow soldier.
Those who study these words say that this is wording of ascending importance. As though he was my brother, but more than that he has the status to work with. More than that he goes to war with me.
I value him that much. But after these words of ascending importance, there are words of increasing intimacy. And he's your messenger to me.
But he's also been my minister.
You sent him, but he's caring for me. As though what Paul is recognizing is, here is one who would normally have nothing to do with the Christian world, nothing to do with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And yet here he is out of the same womb working for the sake of the gospel, gathering together. And Paul is rejoicing in that. And with that is his concern even for Epaphroditus' health. Remember, verse 30, he nearly died for the work of Christ. But God saved him so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.
And even though he's been ministering to me, I'm going to send him back to you because I want you not to be anxious about him. So Paul begins to subvert his own interest to care for those at Philippi. Over and over again he is saying, "I'm going to love beyond boundaries. I want you to love beyond boundaries." Why would we do that? Because we're all rejoicing in the same thing. We have been made in Christ Jesus. He surrounds us now. He's our hope. He's our claim. And what we are about to do in just a few minutes is we are going to partake of this communion together. And when we do so, do you recognize what we are doing? We are gathering around communally as the same family saying, "I need this.
I'm in Christ Jesus. It's not my righteousness. It's not my provision that makes me right before God, but His."
And everyone who gathers for the same provision is working across boundaries to express love for one another as each of us claims before one another. This is my hope too.
This is what I claim too. Not my goodness, not my accomplishment, but what Jesus has done.
I have a friend in Florida, a pastor named Ray Cortese, and he enjoys telling the account of the trainer that he works with at the local gym who doesn't just train pastors. He said, "My trainer also has the job of training a prostitute and a nun."
The prostitute going through a substance abuse program became a believer and now worships in Ray's church.
And Ray said as the once prostitute began to experience what it meant to be in Christ Jesus, to recognize it was God's provision covering all of her shame, all of her sin, all the past, all the awkwardness, all the difficulty, that because she was in Christ Jesus, she wanted to tell more people. And the person that she most wanted to tell was the nun who was also working out in the gym.
But the trainer said even though she was a nun and had given her life to the work of Christ, she was constantly anxious, constantly afraid that she could not do enough, constantly aware that God had every right to judge her because of what was in her heart if not was in her actions. And so the former prostitute began to witness over and over again about the peace of God that came from being in Christ Jesus. Now Ray told that story with joy, but as he was telling it, what I began to recognize was I am much more like the nun than I am like the prostitute.
This is my job, my life given to the work of God. And yet so many times I get anxious and concerned. Have I done enough? Have I met people's expectations? Am I doing everything that's required? Is God going to be mad at me?
And what helps me so much is that all of us gather around this table together and we keep reminding one another. It's okay Brian, you can be at peace. We are in Christ Jesus, me, you, every single one of us. And we testify that to one another. We not only say we are united to Christ, we're united to one another. And the purpose for that is that we would recognize we are adopted into the same family and we only have provision by the work of Jesus Christ. And we claim that before one another to give each other peace and hope and deep reminder that it's only by the work of Christ, nothing in us. But in Christ I got everything, everything I need for hope and future because He has put me in union with Him.
If you begin to celebrate that, what happens? You become remarkably generous. I mean do you see how it happened with those at Philippi? How that happened with Epaphroditus? He's way away in Greece. The church could say to Paul, man he's in prison, out of sight, out of mind.
But instead the church at Philippi begins to say, we want to send some money to the Apostle Paul. After all he's our brother in Christ and he's doing ministry for the Lord and he needs to be taken care of. And so they take one of their own leaders, I mean this will be to their own deprivation, funds that will be to their own hurt and they begin to send them to Paul far away from them because they simply delight to do so. There's been a great victory. We want more people to know. I mean just think what happened on that night of the seventh game.
People got out of their homes, they got in their cars, they went to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy sports paraphernalia for the Cubs.
And when they did that they spent money needlessly, heedlessly to just show the trophies to people. Why did they do that?
Because I've become so generous when I think there's been a great victory that I want to be a part of that I want people to know about that I want to tell people about. I want more to know about this. But let me tell you something, I mean just honestly, I have some of those trophies in my closet but from another team.
And as much as you treasure them in the moment, in just a little bit, you'll stop wearing them because they will be out of date and they will start to fade and the memories will start to fade.
But we are a part of a victory that shall not fade or rust or rot in any way and it is the victory of Christ Jesus. And every time somebody comes into this church and recognizes, "God has made a way for me, not by my doing but by His doing," we are celebrating that gospel and that becomes a trophy of the grace of God as heart after heart after heart claims the goodness that shall never pass away in just a few weeks. We are going to have the Christmas programs where young people will be across the stage, dozens, sometimes scores, sometimes hundreds of them and they will be from different races and nationalities and families and backgrounds. And as you look at every one of them, I hope you are saying there is a trophy of the grace of God because every single one of them represents an eternal soul that is a trophy of the grace of God as people have generosity, having children in their homes, adopting children across the seas, having foster kids, caring for those that they have no obligation to care for. But it is the joy of the gospel that's moving them. I want to show this trophy. I want to show what God has done in my heart and we become generous beyond measure, generous beyond obligation because we simply say, "He has done great things for me. I want the world to see." And when we share in that way, that becomes the trophy that's wondrous because it never fades away as it is in the heart of a child, eternity preserved. And not only did we become generous be an obligation, we begin to serve without strength. I mean, think what is happening here. If you look at every person that is mentioned in this passage, there is some great incapacity that is obvious. And yet people are serving nonetheless. The Apostle Paul, listen, he was a murderer.
I mean, he is now in his own circles without any honor.
And yet he believes that God is going to work in him.
A man who all his life experienced only prejudice, shame, intolerance for his mixed heritage. Epaphroditus, somebody whose name is identified with a pagan Greek deity. And yet he comes to minister to Paul. The Philippians, you remember that church made up of Romans and Greeks and perhaps even a girl who used to be indwelt by a demon.
And all of these people are united in wanting to serve now for the purposes of Christ.
Why is that? Well, we know why that is. I mean, from the Cubs management, the day after the clinching game, there went out a tweet to all their fans, which says, "According to the Cubs management, you now have an excused absence from work."
Which of course meant absolutely nothing because everybody's going to work. Why are they going to work? They have to tease the Cardinal fans.
They want to tell everybody, "I'm going to work. I've got something great to do. I've got something great to tell." And so when we see Paul and we see Timothy and Epaphroditus and the Philippians who are in the harness wanting to serve the Lord, it's because they say, "We want other people to know. We've got a great message to tell. We've got victory to make known."
Well, if they're so incapacitated, where does that victory come from? Well, the words are so clear. Verse 19, Paul says, "I hope in the Lord Jesus." Verse 24, "I trust in the Lord." Verse 29, "Receive Epaphroditus in the Lord, for he nearly died for the work of Christ." Every single person identified is in the work of the Lord because they believe the Lord is in the work.
Why do we serve?
There's not a person here that could stand before the Lord and say, "God, you ought to use me because I'm just such a perfect example of Christ." No, there's not a person here that would have the capacity to say that. But we believe that when we are doing the work of the Lord, the Lord is in the work. And for that reason, I rejoice to see over and over again the people who come week after week after week to serve in the Sunday schools, the people who are part of heartbeat ministry who are trying to help our church and couples in our whole community know what it means to express the love of God through adoption. There are the Monday morning crew who come here Monday after Monday after Monday to keep this church functioning. There are people who go down to Peoria Rescue Mission. There are people who are serving simply by having children in their own homes that they are nurturing with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that for moms is their own calling to be faithful to the work of God. I'm nurturing an eternal soul right here. And in believing that, to believe that there is wonderful, good work to do as we are called into service by the joy of our hearts and the celebration of the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus.
I couldn't help but think of it this past week when I was listening to an interview with a church leader who is one of the Christian towns outside of Mosul.
Do you remember? Where now there are troops going in to try to rescue from ISIS.
And as that church leader was being interviewed, he identified that when ISIS, the radical Muslims, the terrorist Muslims had come into their village, that they had put on every Christian home in Arabic the letter N. Do you know what it stands for?
Nazarene. One who follows the Nazarene, which actually is a wonderful gospel message.
His identity is on my home. His identity is on my life. I am in the Nazarene.
Nobody meant that.
And in some ways you recognize great suffering was happening through all the time of the occupation of ISIS.
And so the interviewer said to the church leader, "What was the most significant moment for you when you reclaimed your church from ISIS and were able to worship there again?" The answer, the most significant and meaningful moment, is when we raised the cross again.
You know, something a little bit cynical in me said, "Well, why is that so great? I mean, after all, that's the sign of Jesus' death. Why is that hopeful?"
Said the man, "Because it reminds us that death and evil shall not have the final victory." Why is raising the cross that sign?
Because the cross is empty.
Because there's been a great victory. Because Christ has risen. Because He has provided. And because He has provided, we are in Christ Jesus for all eternity. It is after all what we are going to say here in these elements. Do you remember that when we partake of this supper, we do show forth the Lord's death until what?
Until He comes. We say, "God has made a way, and so I rejoice in love for others, in generosity for the cause of Christ, in service to the church, so that others may know what He has done is provided for people who could not provide for themselves. And in doing so, He claims a great victory. My heart, your heart, people all around us." And so we say, "Lord, we celebrate in union together to say to one another, you can be at peace.
You can have hope again.
Because this is showing you, you are in Christ Jesus, part of the family. Not only are you in Him, He's in you by these elements, giving you strength and hope for whatever He calls you to do." How do we know that?
Because the Lord Jesus on the night that He was betrayed took bread, and when He gave thanks, He broke it.
And He said, "This is my body that's for you. Take and eat, do it in remembrance of me."
In the same manner He took the cup when He'd supped and He said, "This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Take and drink, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show forth the Lord's death until what?
Until He comes."
This isn't the end of the story.
Those of us who say, "I stand before the Lord," not on the basis of what I have done, but claiming what He provides for me. He's my nourishment. He's my life, the nutrients of my soul. I know my sin. I know my weakness, but I'm united to Him. And in Christ Jesus, I have hope, and I celebrate it with all those who name the name of Jesus beyond all borders, giving my heart, my life for the service of the Savior who has given Himself for me.