Prelude To Philippians…

Morning!

Raises his cup of coffee

It is Saturday April 26th of 2025.  It is a cloudy, wet morning so far and comfortable outside until later tonight with a high of 74 forecast and things getting cooler as the night goes on.

The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This coming week, Lord willing, we’re going to be looking at Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  Paul had a brief visit with the church at Philippi, but some mighty Works of God happened while he was there.  It was at Philippi that Jesus introduced Timothy to Paul.  Paul was thrown into prison during his stay at Philippi and it was while he was in prison that The Holy Spirit moved mightily and released Paul from bonds in his prison stay.  It was also at Philippi that Paul used his Roman citizenship as leverage in being released from prison.  The Philippians faced persecution, false teachings, and conflicts in the church threatened their witness.

All who live godly—who live according to the Spirit—will face persecution. If they first persecuted Jesus, we are not greater than our Teacher; we will face persecution too. And if we have not already faced persecution or suffering in one way or another in our walk with Jesus, we might need to examine why.  Today is no different from Paul’s time when it comes to false teaching.  There is plenty of it out there.

Paul teaches….

1 Timothy 1: 1-11

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.  As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.”

The word used for charity is…

Agape: (Greek)

- Love, benevolent love, Godly love

Paul left Timothy at the church in Ephesus for a specific purpose: to confront those who were teaching false doctrine.  This doctrine was ungodly—compromised in one way or another—and instead of producing godly edification, it stirred up questions and doubts among the believers.

The doctrine Timothy was to teach—the doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul had taught him—had a clear purpose: godly love flowing from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.  A trust in Jesus that is not a game of pretend, but a faith that is strong, genuine, and rooted in Christ and the Spirit.

So.

How would we say our commitment to pure doctrine, Biblical doctrine, is?

Who do we trust to teach us?

Are we trusting in The Holy Spirit?

1 John 4: 1-6

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.  And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.  You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They are of the world.  Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.  We are of God.  He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us.  By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

We are to test every spirit.  And how do we test every spirit?  By weighing them against the Word of God with the purpose of understanding if they are from God or not.

But we should always remember Jesus’ teaching…

Matthew 7: 1-6

“Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”

Faithfulness to the Word leads to faithfulness in doctrine.  Faithfulness to doctrine will show us our hypocrisies and as we know we are to shed all our hypocrisy.  And not grumble while we are doing so.

Every church has its strengths.

Every church has its weaknesses.

And it is for this reason that I wanted to take a brief look into Revelation before we get into Philippians.

John writes…

Revelation 1: 3

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Jesus speaks to John, giving him messages to send to specific churches.  Jesus assesses and judges the spiritual condition of these churches, calling them to repentance where they have sinned and offering promises to those who remain faithful to His Word.  These are not distant or unrelated churches—they are the very churches planted through the work of Paul and, by extension, Timothy as well.  They are new churches, freshly planted and carefully tended, yet to each one Jesus has something to say.

Revelation 2: 1-7

“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamp stands: I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil.  And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you hav persevered and have patience, and have labored for My Name’s sake and have not become weary.  Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place- unless you repent.  But this you have that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.’”

Jesus Himself gives us plain instruction on what He cherishes about this church—and what He abhors.  The church of Ephesus were workers.  They labored for the Name of Jesus.  They tested those who claimed to be apostles and found them to be liars.  They could not bear evil.  They had patience.  They had perseverance.  They had not grown weary in the work they had been given by Jesus.  But all was not perfect. Their fire—their first love—had gone out.  The very love that had once inspired all their works was now missing.  And Jesus calls them to rekindle that first love through repentance.  If they would not repent, there would be a consequence: their lamp would be removed from its place in heaven.  Still, Jesus ends His words to them with a commendation: they hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which He also hates.

Now, the Nicolaitans were a group that taught mixing spiritual practices from other religions in with Christianity.  Jesus hates that.

Does this sound familiar?

Revelation 2: 8-11

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.  Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer.  Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days.  Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”

This is the only church in these two chapters that Jesus does not rebuke for anything.  I find it interesting that the one church without a correction is the church where spiritual testing and suffering were prophesied.

They were about to endure trials—even imprisonment—and yet Jesus only encourages them.  To the faithful, He promises the crown of life.

Revelation 2: 12-17

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: ‘I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.  And you hold fast to My Name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.  But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.  Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.  Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.  He who has an ear, let him hear what The Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat.  And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”

Faced with persecution, the church at Pergamos held fast to the Name of Jesus and did not deny the faith.  Yet despite this, Jesus once again finds impurity among them.  There were some who were eating things sacrificed to idols, committing sexual immorality, and mixing their spiritual practices with doctrines not taught by Christ.  Jesus calls them to repentance.  And to those who overcome, He promises the hidden manna—a reward only He can give.

The church of Philippi was facing persecution—both physical persecution and spiritual attacks through false teaching.  False doctrines had made their way into the church, and it was these dangers, along with their suffering, that Paul addresses in his letter to them.

I bring all of these examples for us to examine today so we can begin our study in Philippians thinking about the holiness of our doctrine.  Just in case we forget…

Romans 12: 1-2

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

How does a man cleanse his way?  By taking heed according to the Word.

And let’s not forget…

Romans 12: 3

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

I think that’s a good place to start for the day.