Our next daily Bible study . . .
Philippians 1:12 Bad Circumstances Turning into Good
Because life
is a process, we cannot always accurately assess what is “best.” In Acts 25:11, during Paul’s hearing before
Festus in Caesarea, he had appealed his case to Caesar which not only prolonged
his imprisonment, it also prevented the dismissal of his case at the local
level as King Agrippa later notes (Acts 26:32).
So now Paul has been transshipped and transferred to prison in Rome
awaiting a hearing before Caesar. It has
been more than 2 years since he was a free man.
Just as Paul
prayed that the Philippians would gain “insight” to be able to choose the
“best” (Vs. 9-10) we should not be surprised that what at first glance seems to
be “bad” actually turns out to be “good.” So, in these verses we see that
Paul’s situation has “actually turned out for the advance of the gospel”
(NET). Paul is far more concerned for
the Good News being proclaimed than for his own comfort. This would have been obvious already to the
Philippians in his persistence in the face of severe persecution in their own
town.
One of the
concerns the Philippians had mentioned in their letter to Paul must have been
concerning his well-being. They had
prayed for him, sent letters to him, and sent financial aid to him and are
concerned for his “situation.” In his
reply, Paul does not dwell on details but instead speaks of the wonder of
experiencing God turning something “bad” into something “good” – namely, the
advance of the gospel! In vs. 12 he says
it “turned out” for good. That’s a bit
of understatement there. At first
glance, it might look like mere happenstance.
But remember how Paul pointed out that in the Philippians’ own
circumstances, it was God Who was at work in them Who would continue to perfect
that work (vs. 6). Now turning to his
own circumstances, God is also at work even though what we see on the surface
is that it “turned out” for good.
Philippians 1:13-14 How Paul’s Bad
Situation Turns Out to Be Good
Paul
mentioned various opponents in this letter some four times in 1:15-17; 1:27-28;
3:2; and 3:18-19. These are not all the
same groups. Some are in Rome and some
are in Philippi. But notice that in
1:13-14 the “imperial guard” are not viewed as opponents. Here we notice who is not opposing his God-given commission to proclaim the gospel.
The gospel
was advanced in Rome in two ways. First,
in the prison, the “whole imperial guard” (those who guard Caesar) and
“everyone else” knows Paul is in prison “because of Christ.” And second, “most”
of the believers (in Rome) are infected by Paul’s bold example and have placed
their confidence in the Lord to speak “the word” fearlessly.
The novelty
of his religious notoriety has aroused the curiosity of everyone at the prison
including Caesar’s own palace guards.
And most of the fellow believers down town have been encouraged by
Paul’s bravery to also speak out about this famous captive’s message of Good
News.
What may
seem “bad” – even to us who believe—is, again, a matter of “insight.” The proclamation of the gospel is always
“good.” Paul is not saying that everyone
in the palace became a believer or that everyone in Rome had converted or even
that all the believers were trying their best.
But Paul and most of the believers in Rome had been enabled to proclaim
the gospel to nearly the entire town.
Philippians 1:15-17 Good and Bad
Motives in Proclaiming the Gospel
This matter
of “insight” even extends to examining the motives of those who preach the
gospel. There were some who had “bad”
motives that Paul describes as “envy and rivalry” (or jealousy and envy). These are the first example of opponents that
Paul presents in this letter. Then there
were some who had “good” motives that are described as having “good will.”
Remember
Paul did not found the church in Rome. While
in Corinth, he wrote his epistle to this already thriving church during his
third missionary journey before his imprisonment. Apparently, his powerful teaching had stirred
up some rivalry among “some” (Vs. 15) of the leaders who were apparently
delighted to see him behind bars now, so they could continue to advance
themselves by preaching the gospel! Remember,
even in Corinth, he had written in his first epistle about the potential for
coming to them with a rod (1 Corinthians 4:21). Some gross unrepentant sin was
involved there but still he may have come across as rather by-the-Book. And
here, as everywhere, there are always some who may be preaching a good gospel
message but for the wrong reason. (The
gospel message is pretty simple!)
[Note: Although
the KJV and NKJV have reversed the order of verses 16 and 17, there is little effect
on the meaning]. Verses 16 and 17 give
just a few more details about the motivations of those who have been stirred up
to proclaim the Word of God now that Paul is in prison. The good motivation is called “love” while
the bad motivation is called “selfish ambition.” Biblical love is always “other-centered.” In this case, concern for the lostness of the
Romans is a good motivation to preach to them.
Even concern for the apostle himself who has denied himself for the sake
of the message would be a good motivation—not wanting to see his message
languish in prison or die with him.
Paul
reiterates in verse 16 that the reason he is “placed here (in prison) is for
the “defense of the gospel.” It didn’t
just happen. There’s a reason. “Defense” here is the word “apologia” from
where we get the word “apologetics.”
Paul is in prison to make a case for the gospel that he would not
otherwise get a chance to do.
Ordinarily, he would not have had the opportunity to get a pass to enter
the palace or the military government administrative offices to preach the
gospel—but the “bad situation” turns out to be “good” and most of the believers
are encouraged to take advantage of the front-page news to share more fervently
the Word of God.
A number of
translations render the bad motivation in verse 17 as “they think they can
cause (or stir up) trouble for me in my imprisonment.” It is difficult to see how a true minister of
the gospel—even a selfish one—would enjoy seeing a rival imprisoned and further,
would hope for greater “trouble” to fall.
So, some take this to mean simply that they hoped to “rub it in” by
being the de facto leader in his
absence. This is possible, but Paul does
not explain further. What we do know,
sadly, is that there are some Christian leaders who seem to delight in tearing
down other Christian leaders because they disagree. The fact is that we have various “splinter
groups” within Christendom many of which preach the gospel but sometimes have
difficulty being cordial to one another.
We know that Paul had numerous opponents who were either believers or
professed to be believers but opposed his teaching in some way or were even
opposed to him personally.
Philippians 1:18-19 The Result of the
Splintered Proclamation of the Gospel
The outcome
of all of these “good” and “bad” motives is turned into “good” results because
“Christ is proclaimed.” This makes Paul
extremely happy. And as far as Paul’s
circumstances are concerned – which was apparently the Philippian’s original
concern—Paul expected that their spirit-prompted prayers would lead to Paul’s
eventual release from prison. Acts 28:30
tells us he was eventually released to “house arrest” for “two whole years” and
was able to preach to many people there including a large delegation of Jewish
leaders from the community in Rome.
Philippians 1:20-26 Torn Between Two
Desires
Paul had two
desires that drove him: the desire to live for Christ or to die and be with
Christ. But he understood and fully
accepted that the final decision over which was best was in Christ’s hands. Back in verse 6, he was “confident” that
Christ was doing a “good” work in the Philippian believers as they made
decisions to participate in Paul’s ministry by their sacrificial financial
gifts. Likewise, here he is “confident”
that whether he lives or dies, Christ is doing a good work in him, too. In this case, the good work is the exaltation
of Christ in his body as he boldly proclaims the gospel in such a way that he
will not stand ashamed in the “day of Christ.”
So, if he
lives awhile yet, he is determined to live for Christ, but if he dies, then he
is determined to exalt Christ in his death and knows he will exult in seeing
his Lord face to face. Paul considered
his death to be “gain.” He would be
shocked to think that there might be a eulogy for him at his funeral
proclaiming his death as a “loss.” Here
we have insight into the reason Christian funerals are so different from those
who do not know the Lord. When a
believer dies, there is only temporary parting with loved ones who are now with
Christ. Believers who remain behind know
that God still has work for them to do.
Thus, Paul in verse 23 feels “torn between the two” because being with
Christ is “better by far” when he considers his own desires but in verse 24 he
knows that it is “vital” that he remain for their sake. This is other-centered “insight” again.
So, even
though he is “torn” he is confident that he will remain for a while to
encourage their Christian faith and “joy” in trusting God. This reveals another vital part of Paul’s
ministry besides the proclamation of the gospel—the encouragement of growth in
other believers. Again, Paul states his
confidence that he will be released and hopefully see them again. We do not know if this ever happened. There is no Biblical evidence that he visited
Philippi once again. But that did not
prevent Paul from revealing his own desires.
As “good” as they were, God always knows what is “best.”
© Eric
Thimell 2018
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