Scripture Reading: Phil. 1:7b, Phil. 1:19-21a
In this message we shall consider four very important terms used by Paul in Philippians: grace, salvation, the Spirit, and Christ. In 1:7 Paul tells the Philippians, “Both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel you are all partakers of my grace” (lit.). Notice that here Paul speaks of “my grace.” Then in verse 19 he goes on to say, “For I know that for me this shall turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” In this verse Paul speaks of salvation and of the Spirit. Then in verses 20 and 21 he says, “Even now Christ shall be magnified in my body...For to me to live is Christ.”
In these verses grace, salvation, the Spirit, and Christ are not defined in a doctrinal way. Rather, they are related to experience. When Paul says “my grace,” he is referring to grace in his experience. Likewise, when he tells us that for him this will turn out to salvation, he is not speaking of a mere objective salvation, a doctrinal salvation, but of a very experiential salvation. Furthermore, when he mentions the Spirit, he is surely speaking of the Spirit in his experience. Certainly his word about magnifying Christ and living Him is very subjective and experiential. In verses 20 and 21 we do not have an objective Christ, but the subjective Christ in Paul’s living.
Unfortunately, many Christians have the habit of taking things for granted in their reading of the Bible. Familiar with such terms as grace, salvation, the Spirit, and Christ, they may assume that they understand them. However, if they are asked to explain these things, they may have difficulty. For example, what does Paul mean by “my grace”? Furthermore, what does Paul mean by “my salvation” (KJV)? When Paul wrote this Epistle, he had been saved for many years and had even become an apostle. Why then does he indicate that he still needs salvation? Since we are already saved, why do we still need to be saved? What did Paul mean by saying that all that was happening to him, persecution, imprisonment, and even the dissenting preaching out of rivalry, would turn out for him to salvation? What kind of salvation is he talking about?
It would not at all be accurate to try to answer this question by asserting that salvation is not complete. Rather, we need to point out that, according to the Bible, there is more than one kind of salvation. God’s salvation rescues us from His condemnation. As sinners, we were condemned by the righteous God according to His righteous law. Thus, we were in need of salvation. Praise the Lord that we have been saved from God’s condemnation by the redemption of Christ! Furthermore, as sinners, we were under the usurping hand of Satan and under the power of death, destined for hell. Therefore, we needed a salvation that could save us from hell. However, in addition to being saved from God’s condemnation and from hell, we also need other kinds of salvation. For example, we need to be saved from our temper. Young and old alike need to be delivered from a bad temper. Furthermore, husbands and wives need to experience salvation in their married life. The wives need a certain kind of salvation, and the husbands need another kind of salvation, for both face different situations and problems. By these examples we can see that there is more than one kind of salvation presented in the Bible. When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he needed a certain kind of salvation.
The kind of salvation we need depends on our situation. If we are under God’s judgment, we need a salvation that rescues us from this. If we are under Satan’s hand, we need a salvation appropriate to that situation. Likewise, if we are troubled by our temper or face difficulties in our married life, we need still further kinds of salvation. Because Paul was a prisoner, he needed a salvation that applied to his situation in prison. Paul, a Jew, was not a prisoner in an ordinary jail; he was a prisoner of Caesar’s royal guard, the praetorium. Paul’s case was extraordinary. He had not committed any crime. His imprisonment was due to the fact that he preached Christ. Because he preached Christ, Paul was arrested and eventually imprisoned. At least part of the time each day, he was chained to a guard. No doubt, Paul suffered there in prison. He must have been despised and treated with contempt. To be sure, he needed a specific kind of salvation. By this I do not mean that what he needed was release from prison. No, he needed to experience salvation there in prison.
He says in verse 20, “According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death.” Here we see that Paul’s expectation was that he would not be put to shame. Suppose Paul wept over his situation. Would not that have been a shame? His weeping would have indicated that he was defeated, that he had lost his faith, confidence, and trust in the Lord. Or suppose that Paul became angry with the jailer and argued with him. This also would have been a shame. However, if Paul could rejoice no matter how he was treated, that would be a glory. In order to maintain such a victorious standing as an apostle of Christ, Paul needed a particular kind of salvation.
In verse 20 we see two aspects of the salvation needed by Paul. The first aspect was that Paul would not be put to shame in anything; the second, that Christ would be magnified in Paul’s body. Paul expected that his situation would turn out to his salvation so that in nothing he would be put to shame, but that Christ would be magnified in his body. Here Paul seems to be saying, “I need salvation so that I shall not be put to shame by suffering or persecution. Instead, Christ my Lord will be magnified in my body.”
Let us now consider the meaning of the words my grace. If we consider this expression in the context of the entire book of Philippians, we shall see that the grace which was Paul’s grace was nothing less than the Triune God whom Paul enjoyed and experienced and of whom Paul was a partaker. Thus, Paul’s grace was not God in an objective way; it was God subjectively and experientially, the Triune God processed to be his portion. Paul truly enjoyed and experienced the processed Triune God. He was rich in his experience of the Father, Son, and Spirit. This processed Triune God was Paul’s grace.
We are familiar with the hymn “Amazing Grace.” Although this is a good hymn, it does not speak of the Triune God as our portion for our enjoyment. When this hymn was written, the experiential knowledge of God among the Lord’s people had not come to this point. Even as recent as fifty years ago, Christians did not have the understanding of grace as the Triune God experienced and enjoyed by us. But standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, we have come to know that grace is far more than merely unmerited favor. Grace is the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — processed for our experience and enjoyment.
Today our Triune God is no longer the unprocessed God, or the “raw” God. Rather, He has been processed through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Those with a background in systematic theology may be troubled by the expressions “processed God” and “raw God.” They may argue that in the Bible we cannot find such terms. Although these terms are not used, the facts are there. In like manner, we cannot find the terms “Trinity” and “Triune God” in the Bible. However, there is no doubt that the Bible reveals the fact that God is triune. Likewise, we cannot deny that the incarnation was a process. Furthermore, the crucifixion, which led to resurrection, and the resurrection, which led to ascension, were also steps in God’s process. God has passed through a process not only to redeem us, but also to make it possible for us to enjoy Him as grace. Today the One we enjoy as our grace is the Triune God who has passed through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. As such a One, He is ready for us to take and enjoy.
John 1:17 says that the law was given through Moses, but grace came through Jesus Christ. When this grace becomes ours in our experience, we then enjoy the Triune God, and we can speak of my grace, our grace. Our grace is the very Triune God enjoyed by us.
Recently my wife and I were praying, thanking the Lord for all the enjoyment of Himself that He has given us. How good the Lord has been to us! We can testify that we have experienced Him and enjoyed Him very much. Because we have partaken of Him, He has truly become grace to us. This grace is now our grace.
In your experience do you not also have your grace? Perhaps you have experienced the Triune God as your grace in the church life and in your daily life. A brother may testify that even in helping to arrange the chairs in the meeting hall he experiences God as his grace. Also, a married sister may testify that in her life at home with her husband and children she experiences the Lord as her grace. It is very good to experience the Lord in this way and testify of it. But these situations can hardly be compared to what Paul faced in prison.
Paul experienced God both in his imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. In 1:7 Paul speaks of “the defense and confirmation of the gospel”; he does not here mention the preaching of the gospel. To preach the gospel is not unusual, but to defend the gospel and confirm it are extraordinary things. Paul defended the gospel, on the negative side, from perverting and distorting heresies, such as Judaism, dealt with in Galatians, and Gnosticism, dealt with in Colossians. Paul confirmed the gospel, on the positive side, with all the revelations of God’s mysteries concerning Christ and the church as unveiled in Paul’s Epistles. During Paul’s time, the gospel had been perverted and distorted by Judaism and Greek philosophy. Because he defended the gospel, he was persecuted. Neither the Judaizers nor the Greek philosophers were happy with him. In addition, Paul confirmed the gospel. He made the goal of the gospel clear to people in a positive way.
The goal of the gospel is Christ and the church. Paul preached message after message telling people about God’s economy. He taught that Christ is the mystery of God and that the church is the mystery of Christ. In this way, he confirmed the gospel by making the positive goal of the gospel clear to all who received it.
Today there is also the urgent need for the defense and confirmation of the gospel. Not many Christians are willing to speak concerning the church. As a result, even though they may preach the gospel, many do not know the goal of the gospel. Their goal in preaching the gospel is simply to save sinners, to win souls. Hence, there is the need for us to confirm the gospel by telling others of the goal of the gospel. If we do this, however, we shall meet opposition. Both the defense of the gospel and the confirmation of the gospel are difficult tasks and heavy burdens.
Because of the defense and confirmation of the gospel, Paul was persecuted, arrested, and imprisoned. The responsibility given to him to defend and confirm the gospel required a divine supply. It could not be carried out by ordinary means. Paul needed the divine strengthening and energizing. This divine strength and energy is the Triune God Himself. As Paul was defending the gospel and confirming it, God was with him to supply him. Furthermore, Paul was suffering persecution, mockery, and ridicule. No ordinary human being can bear such treatment without a special divine supply. But in the midst of imprisonment, Paul could enjoy God and experience Him. Eventually, this processed Triune God experienced by Paul became his grace. The Philippian believers were very blessed to partake of Paul’s grace. This means that they partook of Paul’s God, the very God he experienced.
Now we understand the meaning of the expression “my grace.” This denotes the very God experienced, enjoyed, and partaken of by Paul. It is not objective grace; it is subjective, experiential grace. Such grace is very different from something defined simply as unmerited favor. As we have pointed out again and again, it is actually a living, divine Person, the Triune God, processed to become grace to us.
The grace experienced by Paul became his salvation. Whatever Paul enjoyed of the Triune God became his salvation. Paul must certainly have been a patriotic Jew, one who loved his nation and intensely disliked Roman imperialism. Because of his preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, he became a prisoner under the control of the Roman imperialists. Actually, it was Paul’s countrymen who had handed him over to the Romans. No doubt, as Paul was suffering persecution in prison, he was thinking about his work. Prior to his imprisonment, his work had been marvelous and powerful. It was spreading even in Europe. But now his work had ceased. Certain ones among his contemporaries, out of rivalry with him, were glad that Paul was in prison and restricted from carrying out his work. If in the midst of such circumstances Paul wept, he would have been defeated and put to shame. However, we know from the book of Philippians that, instead of weeping, Paul rejoiced in the Lord. In this short book Paul speaks again and again of rejoicing. This indicates that when he was there in prison, he was rejoicing in the Lord. The guards did not hear him weeping; they could hear him rejoicing. In this, Paul experienced and enjoyed the Triune God as grace, and this grace became his salvation. Whatever happened to him turned out for his salvation.
When Paul was used of the Lord to bring those in Philippi to Christ, he was no doubt full of rejoicing. However, if Paul could rejoice only in that kind of environment but not in prison, he would not have been a true overcomer. Paul rejoiced not only when the work in Philippi was flourishing, but he also rejoiced in prison when his work for the Lord was restricted. In this we see real victory. This victory is the salvation which was Paul’s salvation. Furthermore, as we have indicated, Paul’s salvation was his grace, God Himself as his enjoyment. Therefore, Paul’s grace was his salvation, and his salvation was the Triune God sustaining him in a most difficult environment. Such a salvation is not objective; it is very subjective and experiential. This is the reason that in the book of Philippians Paul does not speak of God in a theological way, nor in an objective doctrinal way, but in a direct, subjective, personal, experiential way. Paul could say, “My grace is nothing less than my God. God is my grace, and the Lord is my subjective, experiential salvation.”
The Triune God could become Paul’s experiential salvation because God today is the Spirit. For this reason, in the context of speaking of salvation, Paul also mentions the Spirit.
If the Triune God is to be our experience and enjoyment, He must be the Spirit. The Spirit in 1:19 is actually the very Triune God. John 7:39 says, “The Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” In verse 37 the Lord Jesus had stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink.” He also said that those who believed in Him would have rivers of living water flowing out of their innermost being (v. 38). According to verse 39, “This He said concerning the Spirit.” The reason the Spirit was not yet was that Jesus was not yet glorified; that is, He had not yet been fully processed. But since the Lord Jesus has now been glorified, fully processed, the Spirit is here for us to enjoy. This Spirit is the very Triune God who has passed through a divine process to become available to us as our bountiful supply.
We can experience the Spirit simply by calling “O Lord Jesus.” We testify from our experience that when we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we drink of the Spirit. As we sense freshness within when we breathe deeply in the open air in the morning, we also have an inner sense of freshness when we receive the Spirit by calling on the Lord Jesus.
Receiving the Spirit by calling on the Lord is not the practice of mysticism. No, it is a marvelous spiritual reality, so sweet, refreshing, and enjoyable. We would not have this experience by calling on the name of such persons as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Plato, or Confucius. But what a difference we sense when we say, “Lord Jesus, I love You!” This is not superstition or a mere psychological phenomenon; it is the exercise of our regenerated spirit to enjoy the Lord.
Praise the Lord that He is now in our spirit! Because our God is so subjective to us, He is with us wherever we may be. Simply by calling on Him we receive Him, enjoy Him, and experience Him. By calling on the Lord’s name or by praying over even a few words in the Bible, we enjoy the Spirit with His bountiful supply. The Spirit is the One who actually becomes our salvation. We have pointed out that our salvation is our grace and that our grace is our enjoyment of God.
When we enjoy the Spirit and partake of Him, Christ comes forth and is magnified. On the one hand, we enjoy the Spirit; on the other hand, Christ is the One who is magnified. This is true both according to the Bible and according to our experience. When we call “Lord Jesus,” we inwardly enjoy the Spirit. But as a result of the enjoyment of the Spirit, Christ is magnified. He becomes our expression.
In our experience, grace, salvation, the Spirit, and Christ actually are one. Our grace is our salvation; our salvation is the Spirit; and the Spirit is the magnified Christ. We may also say that the magnified Christ is the indwelling Spirit, that the indwelling Spirit is our salvation, and that our salvation is our grace, the Triune God whom we enjoy and experience.
