Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
November 6, 2002
Introduction
We ended last week’s study in the middle of a sentence:
(Phil 2:14-15 KJV) Do all
things without murmurings and disputings: {15} That
ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst
of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
:16-18 Joy in sacrifice
:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may
rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
word – logos – word
life – zoe – life
holding forth – epecho – to have or hold upon, apply, to observe, attend to; to give
attention to; to hold towards, hold forth, present
The words “holding forth” are the translation of a Greek word used in
secular documents of offering wine to a guest. It means “to hold forth so as to
offer.” This should ever be the attitude of the saint, offering salvation to a
lost and a dying world[1]
that – eis – into, unto, to, towards, for, among
I may rejoice – kauchema – that of which one glories or can
glory, matter or ground of glorying; a glorying or boasting ; from kauchaomai – to glory (whether with reason or
without); to glory on account of a thing; to glory in a thing
the day of Christ – the Rapture of
the church.
vain – kenos
– empty, vain, devoid of truth
I have … run – trecho – to run; metaph.
of doctrine rapidly propagated; by a metaphor taken from runners in a race, to
exert one’s self, strive hard; to spend one’s strength in performing or
attaining something; word occurs in Greek writings denoting to incur extreme
peril, which it requires the exertion of all one’s effort to overcome
laboured
– kopiao – to grow weary, tired, exhausted (with
toil or burdens or grief); to labour with wearisome effort, to toil; of bodily
labour
Paul has been saying that the Philippians needed to do all things without
murmurings and disputings so that they would be
lights in a dark world, and that if they continued to offer the gospel to others,
Paul would be blessed when Jesus comes back knowing that he hadn’t wasted his
time and efforts with the Philippians.
Lesson
Focus on the goal
We can tend to get all caught up in our own little lives and the problems
that surround us.
But our goal needs to be sharing Jesus with a sick and dying world.
:17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice
and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
I be offered – spendo – to pour
out as a drink offering, make a libation; in the NT to be offered as a
libation; fig. used of one whose blood is poured out in a violent death for the
cause of God
It is found in one other verse in the New Testament:
(2 Tim 4:6-7 KJV) For I am
now ready to be offered, and the
time of my departure is at hand. {7} I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith:
(2 Tim 4:6 NLT) As for me,
my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death
is near.
sacrifice – thusia – a sacrifice, victim; from thuo – to sacrifice, immolate; to slay, kill
service – leitourgia – a public office which a citizen
undertakes to administer at his own expense; any service; biblical usage – a
service or ministry of the priests relative to the prayers and sacrifices
offered to God; a gift or benefaction for the relief of the needy
faith – pistis – conviction of the truth of anything,
belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to
God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it; fidelity,
faithfulness
I joy – chairo – to rejoice, be glad; to rejoice
exceedingly
rejoice with – sugchairo – to
rejoice with, take part in another’s joy; to rejoice together, to congratulate
Paul is using language that makes us think of the Old Testament sacrifices.
(Num 15:1-10 KJV) And the
LORD spake unto Moses, saying, {2} Speak unto the children of Israel, and say
unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto
you, {3} And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or
a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn
feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the
herd, or of the flock: {4} Then shall he that offereth
his offering unto the LORD bring a meat offering of a tenth deal of flour
mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil. {5} And the fourth part
of an hin of wine for a drink offering shalt thou
prepare with the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one lamb. {6} Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two
tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin
of oil. {7} And for a drink offering thou shalt offer
the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savour
unto the LORD. {8} And when thou preparest a
bullock for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace
offerings unto the LORD: {9} Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering
of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin
of oil. {10} And thou shalt bring for a drink offering
half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of
a sweet savour unto the LORD.
With some of the various sacrifices, the animal was laid out on the altar
along with a “meal offering” made up of flour and oil, along with a “drink offering”
made up of wine.
The wine was poured out on top of the sacrifice as it lay on the altar.
One commentary (Pulpit Commentary) said, “Libations are amongst the
simplest and most universal of offerings to the unseen powers.”
The dictionary defines libation as: the pouring out of a
liquid such as wine or oil as a sacrifice to a god.
This “libation” might have been seen as “pouring a drink”
for the Lord.
The drink offering was to be a “sweet savour” to
the Lord, along with the rest of the offering.
Lesson
Joy in sacrifice
Paul sees his own life possibly coming to an end, and it being a picture of
this drink offering that is poured out on top of a sacrifice. He sees the faith
of the Philippians being a sacrifice, and he sees his own life being poured out
on top of it.
Yet Paul sees his own “pouring out” as a thing of joy, a good thing,
something that might be sweet to God.
Sacrifice is good. It is sweet.
Illustration
Judy Anderson, whose husband is the West Africa Director of
the World Relief Corporation, grew up as the daughter of missionaries in Zaire. As a little girl, she went to a day-long rally
celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary of Christian
missionaries coming to that part of Zaire. After a full day of long speeches and music, an old
man came before the crowd and insisted that he be allowed to speak. He said he
soon would die, and that he alone had some important information. If he did not
speak, that information would go with him to his grave.
He explained that when Christian
missionaries came a hundred years before, his people thought the missionaries
were strange and their message unusual. The tribal leaders decided to test the
missionaries by slowly poisoning them to death. Over a period of months and
years, missionary children died one by one. Then the old man said, “It was as
we watched how they died that we decided we wanted to live as Christians.”
Paul could see the purpose in his life being poured out.
He looked forward to the day of Jesus’ return, when he would see that his
offering wasn’t in vain.
Illustration
The legend is told of a desert wanderer who found a crystal spring of
unsurpassed freshness. The water was so
pure he decided to bring some to his king.
Barely satisfying his own thirst, he filled a leather bottle with the
clear liquid and carried it many days beneath the desert sun before he reached
the palace. When he finally laid his
offering at the feet of his sovereign, the water had become stale and rank due
to the old container in which it had been stored. But the king would not let his faithful
subject even imagine that it was unfit for use.
He tasted it with expressions of gratitude and delight, and sent away
the loyal heart filled with gladness.
After he had gone, others sampled it and expressed their surprise that
the king had even pretended to enjoy it. “Ah!” said he, “it was not the water
he tasted, but the love that prompted the offering.” Many times our service is marked by
multiplied imperfections, but the Master looks at our motives and says “It is
good.”
The Lord sees why we do things.
Others may not be pleased with what we do, but He sees our hearts.
:18 For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice
with me.
same cause – autos –
himself, herself, themselves, itself; he, she, it; the same
ye joy – chairo – to rejoice, be glad; to rejoice
exceedingly
rejoice with – sugchairo – to
rejoice with, take part in another’s joy; to rejoice together, to congratulate
:19-23 Timothy
:19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good
comfort, when I know your state.
I trust – elpizo – to hope; hopefully to trust in
in the Lord Jesus – Paul’s
expectation to send Timothy wasn’t just hopeful thinking. He felt it was something of the Lord.
Timotheus – Timotheos – “honouring God”
Timothy was Paul’s “son in the faith”
Paul probably met Timothy on his first missionary journey (Acts 14:6ff), at
which time, perhaps, the youth was converted (1 Cor. 4:17). Apparently, Timothy’s mother and
grandmother had been converted first (2 Tim. 1:3-5). He was the son of a Jewish
mother and Gentile father, but Paul always considered the young man his own
“dearly beloved son” in the faith (2 Tim. 1:2). When Paul returned to Derbe and Lystra while on his
second journey, he enlisted young Timothy as one of his fellow laborers (Acts
16:1-4). In one sense, Timothy replaced John Mark, whom Paul had refused to
take along on the journey because of Mark’s previous abandonment of the cause
(Acts 13:13; 15:36-41) (Wiersbe).
shortly – tacheos – quickly, shortly
to send – pempo – to send; to bid a thing to be carried
to one; to send (thrust or insert) a thing into another
may be of good comfort – eupsucheo (“good” + “soul”) – to be of good
courage, to be of a cheerful spirit
I know – ginosko – to learn to know, come to know, get a
knowledge of perceive, feel; to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of
your state – literally, “concerning
you”
:20 For I have no man likeminded, who will
naturally care for your state.
no man – oudeis – no one, nothing
I have – echo – to have,
i.e. to hold; to have i.e. own, possess; external things such as pertain to
property or riches or furniture or utensils or goods or food etc.; used of
those joined to any one by the bonds of natural blood or marriage or friendship
or duty or law etc, of attendance or companionship; to hold one’s self to a
thing, to lay hold of a thing, to adhere or cling to; to be closely joined to a
person or a thing
likeminded
– isopsuchos (“equal” + “soul”) – equal in soul;
this is the only place this word is found.
Paul has used several words or phrases to describe some related ideas:
1:27 in one spirit
– “in one spirit” – (heni pneumati)
*1:27 in one mind – “one soul” – (mia psuche)
2:2 likeminded
– literally, “same minded” (auto phronete)
*2:2 of one accord – sumpsuchos (“with” + “soul”) – of one mind, of one
accord; being united in spirit or harmonious.
2:2 of one mind – literally, “one
mind” (hen phronountes)
Paul is saying that Timothy has an “equal-soul” to himself. He knows that Timothy has the same concerns
and thoughts that Paul does.
who
– hostis – whoever, whatever, who; a qualitative
aspect in the Greek, namely, “who is of a character such that.”[2]
naturally
– gnesios – genuinely, faithfully, sincerely; from
gnesios – legitimately born, not spurious;
true, genuine, sincere
for your state – literally, “concerning you”
care
– merimnao – to be anxious; to be troubled with
cares; to care for, look out for (a thing); to seek to promote one’s interests;
caring or providing for
Lesson
Ministry of caring
Sometimes, it’s not hard to fall into a callused heart, where you stop
caring for others. We get hurt. We don’t want to hurt anymore. But we need to be careful that we don’t stop
caring. That’s when we lose our
usefulness to the Lord.
Illustration
A reporter in San Bernardino, California
arranged for a man to lie in the gutter on a busy street. Hundreds of people
passed the man but not one stopped to help him or even show sympathy!
Newspapers across the country a few years ago told how thirty-eight people
watched a man stalk a young lady and finally attack her—and none of the
spectators even picked up a phone to call the police!
A couple of teenagers in Detroit
discovered a woman in a telephone booth who had suffered a heart attack. They
carried her to a nearby house and rang the bell, asking for help. The only
reply they received was, “Get off my porch—and take her with you!”
A Kentucky doctor was driving
down the highway to visit a patient when he saw an accident take place. He
stopped and gave aid to the injured and then made his visit. One of the drivers
he helped sued him!
These things shouldn’t be pictures of us.
We need people who will care for others.
Illustration
When the starter raised the gun and said, "On your mark, get set
..." it looked like every other hundred-meter dash. The contestants were
lined up in the starting blocks. The crowd was on the edge of their chairs in
suspended anticipation.
When the starter fired the gun, the contestants sprang out of the starting
blocks, and even the casual observer could tell something was different. This
was the Special Olympics. It was special because the contestants were
developmentally and physically disabled.
It was special for a far greater reason than that. It was special because
of the way that hundred-meter dash was run. The runners moved down the track
shoulder-to-shoulder. Suddenly one of the young women sprawled headlong on the
track and turned over in some amount of pain and embarrassment.
The rest of the contestants moved on for ten or fifteen meters. Without any
communication among themselves, they all stopped, turned around, and jogged
back to their fallen friend. They picked her up off the track, comforted her,
and then arm in arm they ran together to the finish line. Those runners would
rather finish together than win the race individually.
-- Jim Dethmer, "The Gift of Mercy," Preaching Today,
Tape No. 112.
God is looking for people who will genuinely, “naturally”, care for each
other.
:21 For all seek their own, not the things which
are Jesus Christ's.
their own – heautou – himself, herself, itself, themselves
seek – zeteo – to seek in order to find; to seek
after, seek for, aim at, strive after; to seek i.e. require, demand; to crave,
demand something from someone
Paul is writing from Rome. There are probably a hundred or more
believers at Rome. When Paul wrote to the Romans, he was able to
greet 26 of them by name (Rom. 16).
Yet none of them were willing to go to Philippi. Only Timothy.
Lesson
Whose good are you seeking?
Paul had written earlier that one of the keys to unity was:
(Phil 2:3-4 KJV) Let nothing
be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. {4} Look not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Paul could only send Timothy because he was the only one not thinking of
himself.
Instead, Timothy was concerned about the things of the Lord. He was concerned for things bigger than
himself.
Lesson
Approving others
There is a sense in which we need to be careful about judging other
people’s motives in ministry.
(Phil 1:12-18 KJV) But I
would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me
have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; {13} So that my
bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; {14}
And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much
more bold to speak the word without fear. {15} Some
indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: {16}
The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction
to my bonds: {17} But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
Paul knew that some were taking advantage of his being in
prison to simply further their own goals.
They preached Jesus from “envy and strife”.
Others preached Jesus with the right motives.
{18} What then? notwithstanding, every
way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do
rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
In this situation, Paul chose to simply rejoice that Jesus
was being preached, even if it was being done for the wrong reasons.
Paul is in prison, and these guys are going to preach
whether Paul wants them to or not.
And for this situation, Paul simply chooses to rejoice.
Illustration
There are people on representing Jesus on TV who I might
not be particularly fond of, especially when it comes to their style of
ministry. I can do nothing about whether they are on TV or not.
There are going to be churches that are preaching the
gospel, but doing it in a way that personally makes me want to cringe a
little. I can do nothing nor do I want
to do anything about these churches.
Instead, I should choose to rejoice like Paul does.
There is a sense in which each person will ultimately be accountable to
Jesus.
(Rom 14:4 KJV)
Who art thou that judgest another man's
servant? to his own master he standeth
or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is
able to make him stand.
I need to learn to let those situations go.
Lesson
Disapproving
Yet here, Paul clearly doesn’t want to send just anybody.
He wants to choose someone whose heart is in the right place.
Paul was greatly concerned about the church in Philippi. He wanted to be sure to send the right
person.
(Prov 25:19 KJV) Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of
trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
I would say that Paul has learned over the years that some people will let
you down. He apparently had learned this
lesson with John Mark, who at one time had abandoned he
and Barnabas during one of their mission trips.
(Acts 15:37-40 KJV) And
Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. {38} But
Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. {39} And the
contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the
other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; {40} And Paul chose
Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.
I know that at times when we have a need, we may want to stick the first
warm body that comes along. But that’s
not always a wise thing.
Sometimes we need to learn to have a few criteria for the people we choose.
Paul will write to Timothy later concerning the choosing of men for
leadership in the church at Ephesus:
(1 Tim 3:1-7 ICB) What I say
is true: If anyone wants to become an elder, he is wanting
a good work. {2} An elder must be so good that people
cannot rightly criticize him. He must have only one wife. He must have
self-control and be wise. He must be respected by other people and must be
ready to help people by accepting them into his home. He must be a good
teacher. {3} He must not drink too much wine, and he must not be a man who
likes to fight. He must be gentle and peaceful. He must not love money. {4} He
must be a good leader of his own family so that his children obey him with full
respect. {5} (If a man does not know how to be a leader over
his own family, he will not be able to take care of God's church.) {6}
But an elder must not be a new believer. A new believer might be too proud of
himself. Then he would be judged guilty for his pride just as the devil was.
{7} An elder must also have the respect of people who
are not in the church. Then he will not be criticized by others and caught in
the devil's trap.
There’s a place for saying to someone, “you’re not ready for this yet”.
:22 But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son
with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.
the proof – dokime – proving, trial; approved, tried character; a proof, a specimen
of tried worth
he hath served – douleuo – to be a slave, serve, do service; of
a nation in subjection to other nations; metaph. to
obey, submit to; in a good sense, to yield obedience; in a bad sense, of those
who become slaves to some base power, to yield to, give one’s self up to
with me – Timothy didn’t serve Paul,
he served “with him”. Together, they
served Jesus Christ in the sharing of the gospel.
the gospel – euaggelion – a reward for good tidings; good tidings; the glad tidings of
salvation through Christ; the proclamation of the grace of God manifest and
pledged in Christ
Lesson
Proving yourself in ministry
The Philippian church had seen Timothy a couple of times already.
They saw him the first time that Paul came to Philippi,
when he had started the church.
(Acts 16:3 KJV)
Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him
because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his
father was a Greek.
(Acts 16:12 KJV)
And from thence to Philippi,
which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia,
and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.
When Paul had his long ministry at Ephesus,
at one point he sent Timothy to Macedonia
(Philippi) to check on the churches.
(Acts 19:22 KJV)
So he sent into Macedonia
two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
Later, after Paul caught up with Timothy in Philippi,
and they left to go to Ephesus.
(Acts 20:3-4 KJV)
And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he
was about to sail into Syria,
he purposed to return through Macedonia.
{4} And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia,
Tychicus and Trophimus.
They had seen up close just what Timothy was like. They knew his “proven worth”
There’s a place for proving people in ministry.
(1 Tim 3:8-10 ICB) In the
same way, deacons must be men that people can respect. They must not say things
they do not mean. They must not use their time drinking too much wine, and they
must not be men who are always trying to get rich by cheating others. {9} They must follow the faith that God made known to us and
always do what they know is right. {10} You should test those
men first. If you find nothing wrong in them, then they can serve as
deacons.
This all takes time.
“The submissive mind is not the product of an hour’s sermon, or a week’s
seminar, or even a year’s service. The submissive mind grows in us as, like
Timothy, we yield to the Lord and seek to serve others.” (Wiersbe)
Timothy was ready for this ministry because he had been serving with Paul. He had laid the groundwork for serving the
Lord.
Illustration
Warren Wiersbe shares this story:
A popular local nightclub performer visited a pastor and
announced that he had been saved and wanted to serve the Lord. “What should I
do next?” he asked.
“Well, I’d suggest you unite with a good church and start
growing,” the pastor replied. “Is your wife a Christian?”
“No, she isn’t,” the musician replied. “I hope to win her.
But, do I have to wait? I mean, I’d like to do something for God right now.”
“No, you don’t have to wait to witness for the Lord,”
explained the pastor. “Get busy in a church, and use your talents for Christ.”
“But you don’t know who I am!” the man protested. “I’m a
big performer—everybody knows me. I want to start my own organization, make
records, and appear before big crowds!”
“If you go too far too fast,” warned the pastor, “you may
hurt yourself and your testimony. And the place to start winning people is
right at home. God will open up places of service for you as He sees you are
ready. Meanwhile, study the Bible and give yourself a chance to grow.”
The man did not take the pastor’s counsel. Instead, he set
up a big organization and started out on his own. His “success” lasted less
than a year. Not only did he lose his testimony because he was not strong
enough to carry the heavy burdens, but his constant traveling alienated him
from his wife and family. He drifted into a “fringe group” and disappeared from
public ministry, a broken and bankrupt man.
“His branches went out farther than his roots went deep,”
the pastor said. “When that happens, you eventually topple.”
Take the time to grow. Prove
yourself in ministry.
:23 Him therefore I hope to send presently, so
soon as I shall see how it will go with me.
I hope – elpizo – to hope; hopefully to trust in
to send – pempo – to send; to bid a thing to be carried
to one; to send (thrust or insert) a thing into another
I shall see – aphorao – to turn the eyes away from other
things and fix them on something
The Greek word speaks here of the act of turning one’s attention from other
things and concentrating them upon one’s own situation. Paul was so forgetful
of self, yes, so dead to self, so engrossed in the welfare of others, that, even
though he was a prisoner, and was facing martyrdom, yet he had not taken
thought of his own welfare.[3]
presently – exautes – on the instant, forthwith
:24 But I trust in the Lord that I also myself
shall come shortly.
I trust – peitho – persuade; be persuaded; to trust,
have confidence, be confident
Different word than the one used in verse 19. Here the idea is being “persuaded” by the
Lord
shortly – tacheos – quickly, shortly
I … shall come – erchomai – to come