THE DISPOSITION OF A MAN OF GOD

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 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.” Philippians 1:3-6.

Don’t you just love Paul! God could not have chosen a better way to record His word for us than in stories and letters about real people, people we can relate to because they were just as ordinary as we are. With all his accomplishments, Paul reflects sanctified humanness in his letters.

Thankfulness, joy, confidence – these are the attitudes and emotions of a man who had walked a long and difficult road with Jesus. Even more telling was the fact that he was penning this letter from inside the royal palace guard in Rome, probably shackled to a Roman soldier, or at least under heavy guard as a dangerous criminal.

Why would Paul be regarded as a dangerous criminal? Because of his influence. It would have been well known that this one man had traversed a large section of the Roman Empire, sowing seeds of subversion against Nero Caesar, undermining his claim to be Lord, Saviour, the Son of God and the Prince of Peace. These were all false and arrogant claims, of course, because Nero was no god at all, only a deranged and ruthless despot. He murdered at will, including his own mother and innocent believers in Jesus because they would not honour him, Caesar, as Lord.

Was this really what Paul was doing? Was it his intention to undermine Rome’s authority and destabilise the empire? Of course not! Paul was preaching the message of another kingdom, superimposed upon Rome, that would bring people under God’s authority once again, and transform them into model citizens of Rome. Yes, he stood against cruelty, injustice and lawlessness, but not to undermine Caesar’s rule. His aim was to reconnect people to the living God through the cross of Christ so that society would be transformed by people who lived righteously and at peace with one another.

The message of Jesus had first of all changed him. He himself had been a ruthless killer – hunting down Christians and dragging them off to Jerusalem to be condemned and executed by the Jewish high court for their faith in Jesus. However, the risen Christ had intervened, and one encounter with Him had changed his life forever. His walk of faith in this Jesus, “through many dangers, toils and snares” as the hymn describes it, had taught him to trust Him and to rejoice in every good thing and in the worst of circumstances.

So now, incarcerated in a top-security prison in Rome, Paul was full of gratitude and joy, because he had left a trail of Jesus-followers who would perpetuate his work where he was no longer free to go. He was delighted with the transformation in their lives, from pagan idolatry to faith in the living God, and from lawless and ungodly living to chaste and upright lives because his message was powerful, able to change men’s hearts.

He was confident that the change in them, because of their faith, would continue and be completed when Jesus came to receive them home. Why? Because it was not about a one-sided effort. They were in partnership with the God of the universe and the Holy Spirit who resided in them. This was the guarantee that what God started in them He would finish.

Unfortunately, Jewish and Gentile unbelievers didn’t see it that way. Believers in Jesus were counter-culture traitors who should be hounded and exterminated as vermin. However, the very torrent of persecution they unleashed against believers in Jesus produced even stronger faith, courage and hope because they looked beyond this life to a life to come in the very presence of God. The hotter the hatred against them, the more secure they became in God.

Paul was able to revel in these beloved believers in Philippi, and to praise them for their faith and loyalty through difficult times. He encouraged them with his persistent prayers and expression of confidence that they would persevere, not matter what, until God completed what He had begun because they were not alone in their struggle.

We can also take heart from Paul’s declaration of confidence in God. We may not be in the same circumstances as these Philippian believers but we have our own adversities to contend with, and our own tests and temptations to endure. Will we give up in the struggle or will we hold on to the hope that, when it’s all over, we’ll still be on the winning side, purified in our faith and full of thanksgiving and joy because we made it to the end?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.