the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 5 of 5
Philippians 1:1-18
This epistle has been called the book of Christian experience. This experience can be summed up as follows: Christ is sufficient for me. He is my life (Philippians 1:1-30), my example (Philippians 2:1-30), my goal (Philippians 3:1-21), my strength and my joy (Philippians 4:1-23). Paul does not speak here as an apostle, nor as a teacher; he is simply a "bondslave of Jesus Christ". How could he claim a higher position than that which his Master took (Philippians 2:7)? From the solitude of his prison in Rome he writes to his dear Philippians, among whom we have already met Lydia and the jailer (Acts 16:1-40). His fervent love (v. 8) for them is revealed by his prayers. Notice the chain of his requests: love, true knowledge, spiritual discernment, sincere and upright behaviour, fruit which remains (vv. 9-11).
Then he reassures them about his imprisonment. This blow which the Enemy thought to bring against the gospel had on the contrary contributed to its furtherance. Open opposition, intended to discourage the Lord’s witnesses, generally has the effect of stirring them up.
What is the apostle’s attitude on hearing that the gospel was sometimes being preached in very questionable circumstances? Not impatience or criticism – nor, on the other hand, any desire to associate himself with it. His is only a sincere joy to see God’s work being accomplished whatever the instruments used for the purpose.
