Philippians 1:2; Grace and Peace ~ 202308200 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
08/20 Philippians 1:2; Grace and Peace; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230820_philippians-1_2.mp3
Introduction
Today we’re going to jump back into Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. Paul and Barnabas had brought the gospel into modern day Turkey, and established churches there (c. AD 46-47; Acts 13-14). A few years later (AD 49-51; Acts 16), he returned with Silas to see how the churches were doing, and to deliver news from the Jerusalem church. In Lystra, Paul picked up Timothy, who was ‘well spoken of by the brothers’, and brought him along on his journey. Directed by the Spirit, they moved quickly across Turkey to the seaport of Troas on the Agean Sea. Apparently Luke joined their team, and they crossed over to Macedonia, now northern Greece, to the city of Philippi.
In Philippi, they met an affluent God-seeking business woman from Thyatira, a demonized slave girl, and (after being accused of disturbing the peace and being publicly beaten) the merciless town jailer. These diverse new believers in Jesus formed the nucleus of the church in Philippi.
A little over 10 years later (AD 62), Paul, now imprisoned in Rome, writes a letter to this church to thank them for their generosity, to send their delegate Epaphroditus (who had been seriously ill and is now recovered) back to them, and to encourage them to humility and unity in Jesus.
1st Century Letters
This is a letter, and as a letter, it follows the standard letter writing format of the day with a few important adjustments. Letters began with a greeting, naming the author and the recipients, a thanksgiving and prayer, then the body of the letter, followed by closing personal greetings, and a benediction.
Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sender
Paul identifies himself as the sender of this letter, together with Timothy. It is not unusual for Paul to mention co-workers with him in the greeting of his letters; only in 5 of his 13 letters does he mention himself alone as the sender. 1 and 2 Thessalonians he simply says ‘Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church’, with no titles. When Paul uses some sort of title, he usually draws a distinction between himself and his co-workers. Paul refers to himself as ‘apostle’, and calls Timothy ‘our brother’ in 2 Corinthians and Colossians; he calls Sosthenes ‘our brother in 1 Corinthians; he mentions ‘all the brothers who are with me’ in Galatians. In Philemon, Paul refers to himself as ‘ a prisoner for Christ Jesus and Timothy our brother’.
Only here does he identify himself completely with Timothy. He doesn’t assert his authority by mentioning his calling as Apostle; rather he simply identifies himself as slave. He was bought with a price. He belongs to his new Master, the Messiah, Jesus. Paul, along with every other believer in Jesus, are simply slaves of Christ Jesus.
Recipients
He addresses this letter ‘To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons’.
To all the saints; saints or holy ones. Saint and sanctify are all from the same root word that means ‘holy’. God is holy because he is utterly unique, one of a kind, in a class by himself. We are called holy ones or saints, those who have been sanctified, because we have been set apart to belong to God. We are saints not because we are good people, but because we are ‘in Christ Jesus’; because we have a new identity. To those set apart to belong to God.
To the saints, with the overseers and deacons. Overseers, also called elders or stewards or shepherds, are those who have been called to watch over the church, to care for, to feed and guard and protect the church.
Deacons, a Greek word that means ministers or servants, are those called to serve the church particularly by caring for the needy among them, the widows, the orphans, those in prison; meeting both spiritual and practical tangible needs.
He names the saints first, because every believer, whether serving in an official leadership role in the church or not, is first of all a saint, one chosen by God, set apart to belong to God.
Salutation
Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, To all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Letters began by identifying the sender, then the recipient, then a greeting. Contemporary letters have been found following this same format. We even have examples contained in the New Testament that give us an idea of how letters were written.
In Acts 15, when the gospel had spread beyond Jewish bounds to the Gentiles, some believing Pharisees argued that “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). But salvation comes through hearing and believing the gospel (v.7), having hearts cleansed by faith (v.9); both Jew and non-Jew will be saved through grace, not by works of the law (v.11). The Apostles and elders determined to write to the Gentile churches to clarify the issue. They sent Paul and Barnabas, Judas and Silas,
Acts 15:23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. ...
Sender, recipients, greeting. Another example is found in Acts 23 after Paul had been rescued by the Romans and was being sent by night to Caesarea under guard to escape the plots of the Jews.
Acts 23:25 And he wrote a letter to this effect: 26 “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. ...
Sender, recipient, greeting.
Grace and Greetings
The greeting in both of these letters is [χαίρειν; chairein]; it means ‘rejoice’ or ‘be cheerful’, but it was used simply as a polite formality, simply translated ‘greetings’. The angel spoke this greeting to Mary; Judas spoke this greeting to Jesus when he came to betray him; [Χαῖρε; chaire].
Paul is following the standard letter format, but he modifies it. For the greeting he says ‘Grace to you and peace’.
Grace is the Greek word [χάρις; charis], a derivative of the standard greeting [χαίρω]. It means ‘grace’.
The angel told Mary ‘you have found favor or grace with God (Lk.1:30). John tells us that it is from the fullness of Jesus that:
John 1:16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John draws a contrast between the law, that gives us what we deserve, and grace or favor that we don’t deserve. Paul makes this same distinction clear in Romans when he says:
Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
Paul contrasts working to earn wages that are due and a gift that is not earned but simply received. He says literally ‘to the one who works, the payment is not counted according to grace but according to what is owed. Grace is a gift that is not worked for, earned, or deserved in any way.
Paul makes it clear in Galatians
Galatians 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
And then he says:
Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
To attempt to earn righteousness, to attempt to prove oneself just or to justify oneself by the works of the law would be to nullify the gracious gift of God. If you pay someone back for a gift they give you, it nullifies the gift; it is no longer a gift but a purchase.
In Ephesians, Paul says that God’s choice of us, before we did anything good or bad, his destining us for adoption, was all ‘according to the purpose of his will’ and it is ‘to the praise of his glorious grace’ (Eph.1:4-6) His choice was a gracious choice; it was a gift that was freely given, undeserved, unearned.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship...
Peace and Shalom
So Paul substitutes this theologically rich word ‘grace’ for the common ‘greetings’. And he joins it with ‘peace’. He uses this twin greeting in all of his letters. It is never peace and grace, but always grace and peace (or grace, mercy and peace to Timothy and Titus). Because according to Romans
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s undeserved grace comes first, justifying sinners who simply believe. God’s generous grace brings reconciliation; when we were enemies, he made peace through the blood of his cross (Col.1:20). It is God’s amazing grace that produces peace.
Grace, a derivative of the Greek greeting, and peace, in Hebrew shalom. This was the shalom of God’s personal presence.
Numbers 6:24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
It is the presense of God, in grace his face shining on us, that gives peace. Peace has broad eschatalogical (end-times) implications. When God showed Ezekiel the valley of dry bones and asked if these bones could live, he promised
Ezekiel 37:12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”
God goes on:
Ezekiel 37:21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
This is God’s covenant of shalom; wholeness, well-being, resurrection life, reconciliation, unity, rescue and cleansing, freedom from sin, every good promise fulfilled, God dwelling with his people forever. Shalom. Peace.
From the Father and the Son
Philippians 12 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The undeserved gift of perfect wholeness in his presence come from the one Giver. Grace and peace are found in only one place; they come from only one source. They flow from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The very fact that we can address God as Father, our Father, is grace, a gift we don’t have by right. By our fallen rebellious nature we are children of wrath. Adoption is a gift. It is only because of Jesus, only because we are in Christ, that we can address God as ‘our Father’.
Peace with God comes as a gift from God. God doesn’t wait until we make the first move toward him. It was while we were ‘alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,’ that ‘he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him’ (Col.1:20-22). It was ‘while we were weak and ungodly, that God showed his love for us; while we were still sinners, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son’ (Rom.5:6-11).
Grace and peace come to us from both the Father and the Son. It is not that the Father is angry, aloof and distant, and the Son persuades him to come around. It is God who so loved that he gave us his only Son. And it is our Lord Jesus Christ who said
John 10:17 ...I lay down my life that I may take it up again.18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
It was
Hebrews 12:2 ...Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
To all you saints in Christ Jesus... Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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2023.08.20 Sermon Notes
Philippians 1:2; Grace and Peace
Sender: Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus
Recipients: To all the saints/holy ones; those set apart
with the overseers/elders/shepherds
Acts 20:17,28
and deacons/servants - care for the needy
Acts 6:1-7
1st century letters: sender, recipient, greeting
Acts 15:23; 23:25-26
Grace; not what we deserve
Luke 1:30; John 1:16-17; Romans 4:4-5; Galatians 2:16-21
a gift freely given
Ephesians 1:4-6; 2:8-10
Peace; a result of God’s grace
Romans 5:1; Colossians 1:20
Shalom of God’s presence
Numbers 6:24-26; Ezekiel 37:12-14; 21-28
Good gifts from the Father and the Son
Colossians 1:20-22; Romans 5:6-11; John 3:16
John 10:17-18; Hebrews 12:2
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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org