‘Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brothers trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. But not only that, I also will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my eager expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.’ Philippians 1:12-20
Paul was not short on challenges when it came to helping to get our faith off the ground in the first century after Christ died on the cross. When we examine the text in the Book of Acts, we see his struggles after his conversion. He had enemies on all sides.
He faced the pushback from those who didn’t believe he was truly converted.
‘Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ‘ Acts 9:10-17
After Paul’s conversion, he sat there with scales over his eyes. I’m sure he was confused and possibly afraid.
Jesus reached out to a man named Ananias and asked him to lay hands on Sual. Ananias questioned the Lord on this. But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”
The Lord assured Ananias with these words: “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.”
Ananias faithfully followed the Lord’s instructions.
Let’s park here for a second: Ananias questioned the Lord about what He had instructed him to do. Are we to question the Lord about these things? The Lord does not hold our questioning against us. He gently instructed Ananias with the reason why he was asking him to see Paul.
Now, I will say this about direct revelation from the Lord. I believe that the direct revelation of the Lord for us as believers today is strictly found in the 66 books of the Bible. If we feel that God is talking directly to us, I believe bringing this to His word is important.
Please don’t get me wrong; when we feel a prompting to help someone we see on the street, and it is within our ability to help, we do it. I am trying to say that when faced with big decisions that affect others, and we feel that this is a revelation from God, we should make sure that this revelation lines up with God through His scripture and that it doesn’t go against the “free will” of those involved.
After the scales from his eyes fell off and he had something to eat, Paul went to the synagogue to make the case for Christ. I’m sure this was a real shock to those who knew Paul.
Now for several days he was with the disciples who were in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ. ‘ Acts 9:19-22
People started to recognize Paul. They realized that this was the man the religious leaders had given papers to put down “The Way.” I’m sure there was confusion on both sides. But it wasn’t long before the Jews started to plot to kill Paul. They lowered him in a basket out of a window to safely get him out of Damascus.
The next area of pushback for Paul came when he attempted to meet the leaders of the church in Jerusalem.
‘When he came to Jerusalem, he tried repeatedly to associate with the disciples; and yet they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus at Damascus. And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. And he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. Now when the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus. So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it continued in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it kept increasing. ‘ Acts 9:26-31
In this case, Barnabas made the proper introduction to the disciples, but with the heat that Paul was getting and with the Jews plotting to kill him, they thought it was best for Paul to go back to Tarsus, his hometown.
Peter was called for by a Gentile man named Cornelius. Peter received visions from the Lord about being able to eat foods that were outside of the Jewish dietary rules. Peter pushed back a little bit, but the Lord made it clear to Peter with this:
‘But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. ‘ Acts 10:14-16
The church was exploding, with the recent converts in Samaria, Cornelius calling for Peter to give him and his family the Gospel. It was being reported back to Jerusalem about disciples in Antioch. They sent Barnabus to investigate; after seeing how God was being glorified, he went to Taursus to get Paul and brought him back to the believers in Antioch. They stayed there for a year, preaching and encouraging the new believers.
‘So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And considerable numbers were added to the Lord. And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers of people; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. ‘ Acts 11:19-26
The religious leaders picked Saul (Paul) to destroy “The Way” because they knew he wouldn’t stop until it was eradicated. But God knew this about Paul as well, and when the Lord called Paul to salvation, He also knew this about Paul’s personality.
He was gifted by God with persistence. And we follow his story through stoning, shipwrecks, disloyalty, beatings, and under constant threat of death from the Jews as well as Gentile businesspeople whose worlds were being turned upside down by Paul’s faithfulness to the Gospel.
But through all of this, all he was concerned about was the advancement of the Gospel.
Returning to our focus verses in Philippians 1, we find Paul writing from prison. He had guards shackled to both legs, but he took every opportunity to extend God’s grace, even to the palace guard.
I find his heart amazing, even for those who were not loyal to Paul. Some thought Paul always found himself in jail because he was doing something wrong. But what Paul was doing was being uncompromisingly faithful to the Gospel. And with this came persecution from unbelievers and even those who claimed to be Christians.
‘Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brothers trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
Let’s look at his attitude toward being in chains. He says, “My circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel.”
Paul was not fearful to speak the word of God. He knew the Lord would be with him through all his circumstances.
I used to be fearful about some of the things that may have come from my past. But He revealed that even if things from the past “caught up” with me, He would be by my side to see me through. This revelation helps me look forward to the coming of the Lord instead of worrying about the things of my past.
‘Not that I have already grasped it all or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well; however, let’s keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. ‘ Philippians 3:12-16
Paul would say that he is “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.“
Paul was referencing both the “bad” and “good” aspects of his past. He realized that when we focus on the past, certain aspects could be an anchor to moving forward spiritually. However, when we focus on the coming of Jesus and the Gospel, these past events should not hold us hostage.
Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment.
Paul was uniquely qualified to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles as a Roman citizen who beat back the Judiazers, who wanted to impose the Law of Moses on those saved by grace. Because of this, he found himself with many people who would love for Paul to go away. But here was his conclusion:
What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. But not only that, I also will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my eager expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.’
Paul concluded that when the preaching included the name Jesus Christ, regardless of the speaker’s intention, whether their motives were pure or selfish ambition, he was filled with joy that the name of Jesus was being proclaimed.
The is power in the name of Jesus!
Heavenly Father, thank You for your grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
I pray that You will allow me to have peace with other believers, even if I may not agree with their views on scripture. You promise that You will make it clear.
I pray I can be humble as I serve those You have allowed in my path. I pray for compassion, patience, and joy when dealing with those I may find difficult.
Thank You for sending Jesus!
In the Holy Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!!
