miserable comforters

"There is a way of using theology and theological arguments that wounds rather than heals. This is not the fault of theology and theological arguments; it is the fault of the “miserable comforter” who fastens on an inappropriate fragment of truth, or whose timing is off, or whose attitude is condescending, or whose application is insensitive, or whose true theology is couched in such culture-laden clichés that they grate rather than comfort. In times of extraordinary stress and loss, I have sometimes received great encouragement and wisdom from other believers; I have also sometimes received extraordinary blows from them, without any recognition on their part that that was what they were delivering. Miserable comforters were they all."

DA Carson, For the Love of God

to live is Christ (phil 1:22-26)

Philippians 1:22-26

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

For Paul, to live is Christ and todie is gain. But that life in Christ is not about his own personal fulfilment, it is about others. The reason given why death is gain is simple - he gets to be with Jesus. But the reasons given for continuing to live are all about others:

• so that he will continue in fruitful labour
• it's more necessary for them
• for their progress in the faith
• for their joy in the faith
• so that they may glory in Jesus

Again, we see that Paul sees his life as a tool in God's hands to bless others. Do I see my life like that?

death is gain (phil 1:21)

 Philippians 1:21

For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

This is a crazy statement to the world's ears. Everybody is living for something and for that "something" dying is loss, not gain. If you are living for money, you lose it when you die. If you are living for power, you lose it when you die. Only living for Christ will turn death into gain, because we go to be with Him.

"Only Christ makes dying gain...only Christ, otherwise it's loss. " McArthur

honour christ (Phil 1:20)

Philippians 1:20

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death.

Death is a real possibility for Paul here but he just wants to honour Jesus whatever happens!

I know (Phil 1:19)

Philippians 1:19

[yes, and I will rejoice] for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance, 

When Paul talks about deliverance here, is he talking about being released from prison? Maybe, but he knows that ultimately he will be delievered

"I do know that that what I'm going through now is temporary and the future holds my deliverance, whether it's vindication in court, release from prison, well-being, or eternal heaven, I'll be delivered out of this." McArthur

How does he know this so confidently? Because of God's promises, God's word. Paul is quoting Job 13:16 - echoing that we might not understand our suffering but we know that God is working through it. He is also confident because of their prayers for Him and dependance on the Spirit. If he was only depending on himself or on his friends or the church then the full confidence of deliverence may not be there. But we can trust that God will do what he says through the Spirit.

Rom 8:28 For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose

rejoice (phil 1:18)

Philippians 1:18

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes and I will rejoice

It's almost unbelievable that Paul says he rejoices in the fact that the gospel is being preached, despite the wrong motives... despite the fact that people are doing specifically to "afflict" him (v17)! This shows once and for all that he does definitely care more about the advance of the gospel than anything else - more than his own suffering and more than slander and personal attacks against him. Two of the things that we hold in high regard - comfort and others thinking well of us - may be the source of joy for us, but not for Paul. Comfort and reputation are nothing to Paul compared to the gospel and its advance!

motives (phil 1:15-17)

Philippians 1:15-17

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.

Paul's imprisonment has inspired others to preach the gospel but different groups have different motives. Some are doing it out of love, for God, others and Paul. They understand that he sees his own imprisonment as an opportunity for the gospel to advance and they do as well. But anotger group does it out of selfish ambition and jealousy. They are envious of Paul and see this as an opportunity to step up and get a bit of recognition themselves. We need to examine our own motives. when we speak about Jesus to others, christians or non christians, are we doing it out of love for God and others or to make ourselves look good, to give that person a certain impression of us, to impress that person with us rather than God? Are we envious of other people or churches, becoming angry when things go well for them and secretly rejoicing when things go badly for them? I need God's help to operate out of love, not envy or rivalry.

without fear (Phil 1:14)

Philippians 1:14

And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

We might expect that the fact that Paul was in prison would make the others less bold to speak the word, more fearful for their own safety. But in fact the opposite is true, in persecution and hardship people see the reality of the gospel at work and nothing else matters to them. How does that reflect on our fear when it comes to speaking God's word when we face comparatively little threat of persecution? Their confidence comes from the Lord, the more I see of Him, and Him at work in others, the more bold I will be

imprisoned for christ (Phil 1:13)

Philippians 1:13

so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to all the rest, that my imprisonment is for Christ

Everyone there knows that Paul is imprisoned for Christ! When asked why he is there he doesn't just say its some sort of religious dispute, or talk about what he was falsely accused of. We know from his various defenses in Acts that he uses the opportunity to tell his story and preach the gospel. Does everyone around me know that when am I suffering, I am holding onto Jesus? Does everyone around me know that when something goes well, I am thankful to Jesus? Does my life, my actions, words and attitudes, make more of Jesus than of me?

advance the gospel (phil 1:12)

Philippians 1:12

I want you to know, brothers, that everything that has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel

Paul sees everything that happens to him as an opportunity for the gospel to advance. Imprisonment, persecution, suffering, restriction of personal freedom - Paul views them all as opportunities for people to hear the gospel and see it in action. He sees opportunities where we would be consumed with self pity. We might pray that God would use us to advance the gospel, are we prepared for him to do that in ways that might not be comfortable for us?

for God's glory (phil 1:11)

Philippians 1:11

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God

Paul has been talking about sanctification (the process of us becoming more like Jesus) for the last few verses. He describes it as growth in love, knowledge and discernment (v9) so that we can be more like Him (v10 and 11). This sanctification is not effort based self improvement, it comes from Jesus (v11), it is the fruit, the natural product, of righteousness (v11) - not our own righteousness, but Jesus', which has been imputed to us. Whay does all of this happen? To bring glory to God (v11), and so that we (and others) will see that glory and praise Him

sanctification (Phil 1:10)

Philippians 1:10

so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

the progression from the last verse is that our love grows as our knowledge of Him grows. As our knowledge grows, we grow in discernment, recognising the truth and accepting it (approving), conforming our lives to it and becoming more like Him (pure and blameless). The christian life is not supposed to be static but there should be constant growth and sanctification. This is not "self-improvement" but a natural outflow of our love for him which comes when we understand what he has done on our behalf on the cross.

love is not blind (Phil 1:9)

Philippians 1:9

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment

Paul wouldn't recognise the attitude that can sometimes exist today that says "I love God, He loves me, and that's all that matters" and avoids any further "theology" than that. Loving God is tied up in knowing Him. Without growing knowledge of his character and actions on our behalf, then we wont be growing in our love for Him, or we're growing in our love for a self-made "god". The more we know Him, the more we love Him. They feed each other. I want to know everything about my wife because I love her, and the depth of knowledge fuels that love.

With love and knowledge is discernment - the more we know of how God has revelaed himself, the more we will be able to discern the real thing, the truth from the lies. The more we love Him, the more we'll want to discern the real thing, because we only want the truth.

Affections (Phil 1:8)

Philippians 1:8

For God is my witness how I yearn for you all with the affections of Christ Jesus.

The words used here (yearn, affections) again communicate Paul's deep feelings for these people. He refers to the affections OF Christ. That is the reason for his deep feelings towards them, because God inspires that in him and because that's how God feels about them. This is not like normal human affections which usually attach to people who can do something for us and then expire rapidly. This is God given, unconditional love because they are people who Jesus died for, just like Paul. If this is how Paul feels about them, imagine how much Jesus feels towards them. We can't even begin to comprehend it, but we see it in action on the cross.