Thrust statement: In Jesus Christ, God makes sinners saints to serve Him.

Scripture reading: Philippians 1:1-7.

INTRODUCTION

As one reflects upon this short epistle of Paul to the Philippians, one is immediately conscious of the joy that permeates this epistle. One of its great themes is “joy in the Lord.”  In this letter Paul calls attention to the fact that Christians are servants and saints (Philippians 1:1). In spite of trials and tribulations, Christians are to demonstrate through their faith how to triumph and conquer the enemy—Satan.  Through one’s faithfulness to God, one is able to attract and persuade other people to accept Christ. There is a sense in which Paul advances this concept of attraction as he explains how the Gospel is advanced through his chains:

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.  ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  ¹⁴ Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly (Philippians 1:12-14).^[1]

PAUL’S THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER (1:3-11)

Before Paul advances this perception of how God utilizes persecution to advance His Gospel, Paul sets forth his thanksgiving and prayer with concise theological statements about the very core of his thoughts about Christianity.  He writes passionately to the Philippians:

³ I thank my God every time I remember you.  ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.  ⁸ God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God  (1:3-11).

            From this pericope—Thanksgiving and Prayer—one discovers that Paul is conscious that God is at work in his life and in the lives of His people (1:6); he also stresses that they, too, share in God’s grace (1:7); it is his desire that their love will abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight into how to be pure and blameless (1:9-11); and, finally, he wishes that each be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. (1:11). Paul could still rejoice in spite of his confinement in prison.

         Could you rejoice in prison? Can you still rejoice about God working in you as you bury your father, your mother, your son, your daughter, your brother, and your sister? How do you feel about Christianity? When a congregation experiences problems within the local body of believers as the Philippians experienced, are you still conscious that God is working in you? Are you still aware that you share in God’s grace? Is it still your desire to abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight in love to God, to Christ, and to the Holy Spirit? Did the Philippian congregation exist without conflict? Listen to Paul as he pleads with two sisters that were at one another’s throats:

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.  ³ Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all (4:2-4).

SHARERS IN GOD’S GRACE (1:7)

How many can say, as Paul says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (1:21). This is the same individual who could say: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (4:11). As each person approaches this short epistle, one must ask the question: What is a Christian? How do you respond to this question? What is a saint? How do you respond to this question? Is your concept of a Christian, or saint, simply a skeleton or does it have flesh? Since this study is about saints in Christ Jesus, then one should seek a biblical answer to the question as to what a Christian is. Just a cursory glance at Philippians 1:7 reveals the innermost thoughts of Paul about what it means to be a saint in Christ Jesus.

   To begin with, Paul says, as stated above: “all of you share in God’s grace with me.” In other words, a Christian, or saint, is one who is under God’s grace and favor. But again the question is: What is grace? Grace by definition is simply unmerited or underserved favor. To the Romans, he writes: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Again, Paul captures the very depth of God’s grace and love in his epistle to the Ephesians:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Is not grace the free, spontaneous, and absolute loving kindness of God toward man? Grace stands in contrast to the ideas of debt, law, or work. Paul expresses this forcefully to Titus:

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,  ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,  ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone (Titus 3:5-8).

GOD’S WORKMANSHIP: CREATED TO DO GOD’S WORK (1:6)

God has saved Dallas Burdette, God has saved Darlene Violette, God has saved Katrina Burdette, God has saved Liz Stewart, God has saved Curtiss Creel, God has saved Carrol Brooks, God has saved Earl Moore, and God has saved every person who has responded to Jesus as Lord. Salvation is only “in and through” Jesus (Acts 4:12). If one is in Christ, he/she is a saint. To be a saint means to be in Christ. A saint is one who has been set apart by God. It means that God sees us and is concerned about us in a very special manner. Saints are individuals of whom God has taken hold and has set apart for his own function and purpose. Paul says,

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:12-13).

            Are you doing God’s work? Are you allowing God to work in you? God’s purpose in saving us through his grace is to do good works. Paul expresses it this way: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). God is working in Mickey Brooks, God is working in Tammy Salinas, God is working in Donnie Newton, God is working in Lisa Morrow, and God is working in Lavone Burdette.  Paul is saying, in essence, that C. J. Stewart is God’s workmanship; God is saying that Debra Newton is God’s workmanship; God is saying Frieda House is God’s workmanship; God is saying that Missy Jones is God’s workmanship.

Not only are Christians His workmanship, but also God is working in every believer. Yes, it is true that God is working in all of his saints. Are you conscious that God is working in you? Are you cognizant that you are a saint? Are you aware that you are special to God? You are enjoying the favor and grace of God through Jesus Christ. One should never forget the words of the Chronicler: “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). In response to the question, Who is a Christian? The answer is: a Christian is one who is a partaker of God’s grace.  Once more Paul goes right to the heart of it all:

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?  ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.  ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (Romans 8:31-33).

One cannot read this insightful statement of Paul without standing in awe of such love and security. Yes, Paul is saying, “I am protected, I am guarded, and I am safe” in Jesus—the One through whom God the Father reconciles the world unto Himself.

SAINTS IN CHRIST JESUS (1:1)

This lesson began with emphasis upon the statement of Paul in Philippians 1:7: “all of you share in God’s grace with me.” But now, one should reread Philippians 1:1: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints (toi'" aJgivoi", tois &agiois) in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons.”  The word saints often causes individuals to stumble. This word saint is not reserved just for certain outstanding men and women in life. The word saint is applicable to every believer. It is significant that Paul does not begin with the “overseers and deacons,” but he begins with “to all the saints in Christ Jesus.” Again, one should remember that a saint is not some exceptional Christian. If so, this would probably exclude all of us here at New Covenant Fellowship—especially Dallas Burdette.

            Just a perusal of the Book of First Corinthians reveals the carnal nature of the church. A casual reading of the Book reveals the divisions that existed within the local body of believers. Yet, in spite of this inherent weakness, Paul still addresses them as “saints,” or “sanctified” (1 Corinthians 1:2). Just as God took hold of the Corinthians, so God has taken hold of every man, every woman, every boy, and every girl at New Covenant Fellowship who has put his/her trust in Jesus. James Hagan, Marvin Wilson, Evelyn Wilson, Faith Wilson, and Bubba Wilson are sanctified in Christ Jesus. Have you been sanctified? If not, then you need to put your faith in Jesus.

            Paul begins this epistle to the Philippians by reminding them that they are “saints in Christ Jesus.” He was not content to just say, “all the saints at Philippi,” but rather “To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi.”  Are you aware that Paul uses the expression “in Christ” forty-eight times in his epistles? The Greek expression is ejn Cristw'/ (en cristw). Paul has no gospel apart from Christ. Christ is in me and I am in Christ. In the Corinthian letter, Paul expresses this truth by saying, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Earlier, in this same epistle, Paul calls attention to the unique position of the Corinthians: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (6:19).

Sanctification: Holiness As A Way of Life

The Corinthians, as stated above, were sanctified in Christ (hJgiasmevnoi" ejn Cristw'/, &hgiasmenois en cristw, “to make holy, consecrate, sanctify”).^[2] Their sanctification should result in holiness as a way of life: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy (aJgivoi", &agiois), together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours” (1:2). When one is “sanctified,” one is set apart for God. Are you “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ”? Paul tells the Ephesians: “He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 4:4). Are you “holy and blameless in his sight”?

Saint: Different From Other Things

The word saint is from the Greek word a{gio" (&agios) and is equivalent to the Hebrew word  vd\q{ (q)d#c), which is usually translated holy. The basic idea of this word is different from other things. To help one grasp the central idea of the word saint, perhaps some references to other Scriptures will set the stage for a more comprehensive view of this word. For example, Moses writes about the priests: “They must be holy (vd,qo) to their God and must not profane the name of their God. Because they present the offerings made to the LORD by fire, the food of their God, they are to be holy (vd,qo)” (Leviticus 21:6). In other words, the priests were to be different from other men, for they were set apart by God for a special function. Another example is found in Leviticus concerning the tenth: “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy (vd,qo) to the LORD” (27:30).

            The Temple was also holy because it was different from other places. God instructs Moses about the distinction between the holy place and the most holy place: “Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place (vd,qo) from the Most Holy Place (vd,qo)” (Exodus 26:33). Also, it is significant that the Jews were a holy nation: “you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites” (19:6). The Jews were different from all other nations. God, through Abraham, separated them from the other nations. They had a special place in God’s purpose. God, through the prophet Amos, says, “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2).

GOD CREATED A NEW ISRAEL

But the kingdom of Israel and Judah refused to play the part. Even when the Son came into the world, John informs his readers: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11). God created a new Israel—the Christian community—to be the real people of God. Just as the Jews were created to be a{gio" (&agios), holy, different, so now every Christian must be a{gio" (&agios), that is to say,   holy ones and different ones. Prior to Paul’s conversion, he was busily engaged in persecuting the saints. After this encounter with the Lord Jesus, he was told to go to Damascus. Then an angel of the Lord informed another servant of the Lord to go and see Paul. Luke informs his readers that when God told Ananias to go see Paul, he objected: ‘“Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem” (Acts 9:13). Ananias was just one of many saints in Damascus. It is also in this vein that Luke informs Theophilus that Peter also goes to visit the saints at Lydda: “As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda” (9:32). Yes, Christians are different from other people. But what is the difference? They are set apart for the service of God. Are you conscious of this privilege and responsibility for kingdom work?

            The clearest way to explain the distinction is to stress what one finds in the writings of Paul, for example, the phrases “in Christ,” “in Christ Jesus,” and “in the Lord” occur frequently in the Pauline letters. “In Christ Jesus” occurs forty-eight times,  “in Christ” occurs thirty-four times, and “in the Lord” occurs fifty times. This is the very essence of Christianity.  William Barclay captures eloquently the force of the “in Christ” phrase, when he writes: “What makes the Christian different is that he is always and everywhere conscious of the encircling presence of Jesus Christ.”^[3]

As stated above, the Israelites were called a{gioi (&agioi), which means holy, separated, and consecrated. The Christian church has inherited the title and privileges of the Jewish nation. Listen to Peter as he speaks of the church as the “holy nation”:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (e[qno" a{gion, eqnos &agion), a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. ¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  ¹² Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us (1 Peter 2:9-12).

The term holy nation does not assert actual or personal sanctity. In other words, the phrase is a social term, not a personal epithet. The phrase is not applied merely to persons of exceptional holiness. Nor is this term only applied to those of exceptional acts of saintliness. For Paul, the word saints is applicable to those who believe:

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  ⁹ They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power ¹⁰ on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people (toi'" aJgivoi", tois &agiois) and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10).

CONCLUSION

In Christ, God makes sinners “saints.” In and through Christ, God makes us saints in order to serve Him. In other words, in Christ, we have been “set apart” for His service. Are you one who believes? Do you wish to become a part of God’s holy people? If not, then you will be punished with “everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.” Again, the words of Peter are worth citing once more in order to focus on what the word saint demands: “I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11). In order for you to be a “saint,” you must become a part of Christ’s spiritual community. Do you stand out in the world? Do you show others how to triumph in the face of turmoil? Do you demonstrate to others how to conquer the things of Satan? Can you say, as Paul says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”?