(Php 1:3) “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,”  As I look back over the years and ponder believers that were a part of my life, there are mixed feelings. Yes, I ask the Lord this day to make me remember the good, and not the bad; to think, as the chapter 2, verse 3b says, “…to esteem other better than….” ourselves. I have been blessed over the years with many, many hours of fellowship with loving, good individuals who expressed great love for me as I prayerfully have done the same to them. Thank God for each of you and may the Lord bless you in every way! May we always remember the good! (Php 1:4) “Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, (1:5) For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;” 

(Php 1:2) “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Our Father and our Savior, to this church and every church (a church being the Born Again)  bestows the blessings of grace (favor to be given but not deserved) and peace (between us and God). We rob ourselves of these blessings by choosing our own will and sin over His revealed Word and plan for each of us through being united in the body of local believers. We rob ourselves of peace by the same method. You need to be an active part of the local God obedient church near you. Remember, He is writing to the assembled, revealed by the direct terms bishop and deacons. You must be an active every Sunday attendee, for you cannot have an unassembled assembly which is the term for church (a called together assembly).

(Php 1:1) “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”    A misuse by denominations of the term “bishop” has robbed us of its Scriptural usage.  Instead of a hierarchy,  it was a reference to the position we know today as “pastor”. Another such example is the word, “elder”, also referring to a “pastor”. Each term speaks of a responsibility of the office. The meaning of the word, “bishop”: superintendent, overseer.  The pastor’s responsibility is over the church and its activities as a whole, from finances to preaching that comes from the pulpit. He can delegate jobs, but not his responsibility. The church is not a club, nor a democracy. It is to be under the God-called and led pastor.

(Php 1:1) “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”   The word, “saint”, comes from the word “sanctified”, which means to be separated unto God. That which is separated unto God always is seen to become holy, for it now is to be used exclusively for or by God. The Bible has this to say regarding you and your body, (1Co_6:20) “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”  How will you allow the Lord to use you and your body today.

(Php 1:1) “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”  A servant is one who serves at the beck and call of their Lord, their Master. Few have a true servant’s heart. We are willing and glad to be called a Child of God, one of the Redeemed, Members of Such and Such Church, etc.. But are we servants? This is certainly something I must consider before my Lord. “Do I serve Your at Your beck and call.”

(Eph 6:20) “For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”  An ambassador speaks for and at the direction of the country or person they represent. This is why they can speak without reservation – it is not their words, but those of another. They are not speaking what they think, concerned about whether it will offend or not. They speak what another has commissioned them to say and thus are not the ones saying it, but are the present voice of another. I am thankful to be an ambassador of Christ Jesus – of the Lord my God! I am honored to say what He would have me say, to share this mystery of godliness and salvation!

(Eph 6:19) “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,”   Is the gospel still a mystery? I say, “no”, for if you study it, it was a mystery before the death and resurrection of Christ, revealed at that time. We are sent out to reveal that mystery! The mystery was that God Himself would come to earth, live a sinless man, and then offer Himself as the second Adam, a representative of man. He would die in man’s place, paying for his sin. Christ would then come back to life to offer forgiveness through faith to those who believe and repent of that sin. He would then, at that point, bestow spiritual life upon each one. That’s the mystery revealed!

(Eph 6:19) “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,”  The context here is still victory over Satan, having put on God’s armor. Paul is identifying himself as in the battle alongside the hearers, and therefore instructs how we can rightly pray for him. All of God’s people need this prayer: that the Lord help us put aside self, give us opportunities and the boldness to speak the gospel to the lost.

(Eph 6:18) “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”  This is a continuation of the armor of God provided for the victory over sin and Satan. If I had just printed out the first part of that verse, we would have thought, “praying for self’s victory”. But true Christianity is not self, but others. The victory comes as we seek the good of others.