Preaching through Philippians
TOPIC:“Paul - The Joyful Christian”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Philippians 1:1-11
“Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy” (1:4)
A leading university sociologist said a few years ago: “All it takes to be happy is youth, money, success, good health, and a wife. Such a man has found the well-springs of happiness.” I disagree with him. Has he never heard of Solomon who had wisdom, power, wealth, pleasure, fame, and as to marriage, he had a thousand wives. And yet, with all of this he was not happy or content.
Paul the Apostle makes it absolutely clear that Christ is the source, substance and sphere of the Christian's joy. As we begin our study of the book of Philippians one can certainly detect the one dominant theme that runs throughout the entire Epistle. Paul strikes the joy note no less than sixteen times in four chapters. Eleven times he says to these Philippians “rejoice.” Five times he cries out “joy.” That Paul desires all believers to be joyful in Christ can be seen by the word “all” that is repeated twenty-four times.
I.
To begin with, think of the AFFECTIONATE GREETINGS Paul DISPATCHED. We read about it in verses 1 and 2: “Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Three thoughts stand out in these words.
First of all, think of the SENDERS of the letter: “Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ” (v. 1). The name Paul was a Gentile name meaning “little.” Perhaps this name was given to Paul because he was short of stature. The Hebrew name of Paul was “Saul” meaning “to ask or pray.” The name Timothy means “he who honors God.” Timothy was converted to Christ as a youth under the ministry of Paul while at Lystra on his first missionary journey. He was commissioned and commended to the Gospel elders at the church at Lystra.
It is interesting to note that Paul takes the lowest place as he presents himself to these people. He describes himself and Timothy as “the servants of Jesus Christ” (v. 1). Paul does not stress his apostleship because none of these . . .