Scripture Reading: Phil. 1:15-21
In Phil. 1:7-11 Paul uses a number of important terms. He speaks of “the defense of the gospel,” “the confirmation of the gospel,” “full knowledge,” “all discernment,” “proving by testing,” and “the fruit of righteousness.” In verse 8 he even refers to the “inward parts of Christ Jesus.” The key to understanding these verses and all the terms and expressions they contain is the experience of Christ. The experience of Christ is the master key which opens the door to the book of Philippians. It is proper to say that the defense of the gospel, the confirmation of the gospel, knowledge, discernment, proving by testing, purity, and the fruit of righteousness are all Christ Himself. Yes, even the defense of the gospel is Christ. If we do not have Christ, there is no way for us to defend the gospel. We can defend it only by Christ, not by eloquence. It is possible to preach the gospel and even to mention Christ quite often without having the reality of Christ in our speaking. In such a preaching of the gospel, there is no ministry of Christ to others. The way to defend the gospel is to minister Christ. Christ is also the genuine confirmation of the gospel, for He is the centrality, the focal point, of the gospel. Apart from Him, there is no confirmation of the gospel.
True knowledge and discernment are also Christ Himself. If we experience Christ day by day, we shall be filled with knowledge and discernment. We shall discern matters not by our natural cleverness, but by the Christ who lives within us. Our experience of Christ will make us wise and tactful. The indwelling Christ is our perceptive power. Although I was a true seeker after the Lord when I was young, I did not know that Christ could be my discernment, my tact, and my perception. But through the years I have come to see that He is the very ability by which I can see into the nature of things. The indwelling Christ is my perception.
In reading the book of Philippians, we need to remember that the experience of Christ is the subject and main emphasis of this book. The controlling factor enabling us to understand Philippians is the experience of Christ. Every aspect of the book is governed by this subject. This is the reason we say that the experience of Christ is the master key which opens the book of Philippians to us. If we apply this key to every verse and phrase in the book, we shall see that Paul’s concern here is nothing other than the experience of Christ. For example, in suffering for the gospel we may enjoy grace. To enjoy grace is to experience Christ. In Philippians 3 Paul speaks not of grace, but of the power of Christ’s resurrection. However, the power of resurrection in chapter three is the very grace in chapter one. Furthermore, to enter into the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings is to suffer for the gospel. This indicates that even in suffering for the sake of the gospel, we need to experience Christ. Although Paul uses many different terms in this book, his subject is one — the experience of Christ. Therefore, if we wish to understand Philippians, we need to read it in light of the fact that its subject is the experience of Christ.
In this message we shall consider the different ways of preaching Christ. According to 1:15-17, some preach Christ out of envy and strife, announcing Him out of rivalry, whereas others preach Christ out of love, with a pure motive. In this matter, today’s situation is the same as that faced by Paul in the first century. When Paul wrote to the Philippians, there were different ways of preaching Christ. The same is true today.
In 1:15 Paul says, “Some indeed preach Christ even because of envy and strife.” The word some here refers to those Christians who were opposing Paul and his ministry (2 Cor. 10:7; 11:22-23). Even at Paul’s time there were some who preached the gospel from envy of Paul’s influence and in strife with him. As the Greek word rendered strife indicates, they preached Christ because of faction and partisanship. In 1:17 Paul goes on to say that these “announce Christ out of rivalry, not purely, thinking to raise up affliction in my bonds.” The Greek word for rivalry denotes “self-seeking, selfish ambition, faction.” In Greek the word affliction means “pressure.” Those who announced Christ out of rivalry endeavored to make Paul’s bonds press him more heavily by depreciating him and his ministry while he was laid aside outwardly from his preaching.
Paul’s affliction in bonds was not mainly due to his preaching of the gospel, but to his defense of the gospel. The Judaizers mixed the gospel with the law and circumcision, but Paul defended the gospel. This caused the riot which put him into bonds (Acts 21:27-36).
In 1:15 Paul says that some also preached Christ out of good will. These were the ones who had fellowship, participation, in the preaching of the gospel with Paul and worked together with him for the defense of the gospel, preaching Christ out of love.
It is commonly thought among Christians that as long as we all believe in Christ as the Savior, worship the same God, teach the Bible, and preach the gospel, everything is all right. Although all Christians believe in the same Lord Jesus, worship the same God, teach the same Bible, and preach the gospel, they may have different ways of preaching Christ. It is very clear from Paul’s word in 1:15-17 that even in the first century there were different ways of preaching Christ. Both Paul and the Judaistic believers preached Christ, but in their preaching of Him they were very different.
Because there are different ways of preaching Christ, we need knowledge and discernment. This was the reason Paul prayed for the Philippians that their “love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and all discernment” (1:9). We need discernment concerning the different preachings of Christ. Christians all over the world are preaching Christ. However, we should not think that simply because all are preaching the same Christ, everything is fine. We need to realize that there are different ways of preaching Christ and discern between them. Hence, we are burdened in this message to cover the matter of the different ways of preaching Christ.
Concerning the gospel, Paul uses in Philippians several significant terms: “fellowship unto the gospel” (1:5), “the defense and confirmation of the gospel” (1:7), “the advancement of the gospel” (1:12), “the faith of the gospel” (1:27). We all need to have a clear understanding of these aspects of the gospel and not take them for granted. Whenever we read these expressions in Philippians, there should be a deep response within us.
Christians often speak of preaching the gospel; however, seldom do we hear believers talk of having fellowship in the gospel or unto the gospel. Even we ourselves are not very familiar with this term or accustomed to using it. The term “fellowship unto the gospel” may seem like an utterance in a foreign language. This indicates that we are still under the influence of our religious background, not adequately familiar with Paul’s terminology concerning the gospel. Let us learn to use Paul’s language with respect to the gospel. Let us speak of the fellowship of the gospel, the defense of the gospel, the confirmation of the gospel, the advancement of the gospel, and the faith of the gospel.
When many Christians preach the gospel today, they do not do so in the way of the fellowship of the gospel. They are not engaged in the defense of the gospel, and they do not exercise for the confirmation of the gospel. Their preaching may not lead to the advancement of the gospel, and they may not even have an adequate understanding of the faith of the gospel. For this reason, there are different ways of preaching Christ. Paul’s preaching of Christ included fellowship, defense, confirmation, advancement, and faith. But when the Judaistic believers preached Christ, they preached Him in an altogether different way. Instead of preaching Christ in the way of fellowship, they preached Him because of envy. Instead of preaching Christ in a way to defend the gospel, they did so because of strife. Yes, the Judaistic believers did preach Christ, but their preaching was not for the confirmation of the gospel. On the contrary, they preached Christ out of rivalry, out of faction and selfish ambition. Instead of all the positive aspects of the gospel, there were envy, strife, and rivalry. Such a preaching of the gospel did not cause the advancement of the gospel.
In principle, today’s situation is the same as the situation in Paul’s time. Many are preaching Christ, but in this preaching we can discern envy, strife, and rivalry in place of fellowship, defense, confirmation, advancement, and faith. Therefore, we need to adopt Paul’s vocabulary concerning the gospel and in a proper way, with humility and love, share this with other believers who are open to us. Perhaps the Lord will give many of the young people an opportunity to share with their parents what Paul meant by fellowship unto the gospel and by the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
The Bible is deep and profound, and we should not be content with a superficial understanding of it. In seeking to know the Bible, we care for the pure Word, not for the centuries of tradition or for the opinions of church councils. We need to learn to dig into the depths of the Word, pursuing the right meaning of the different words, terms, and expressions. Then we need to use the vocabulary of the Bible in our conversation. We do not care for tradition or for man’s systematic theology. We care only for God’s holy Word.
If we become familiar with Paul’s terminology regarding the gospel, we shall see that many of the different teachings of the gospel today are very shallow. There have been certain preachers and teachers who have discovered some of the treasures in God’s Word. But many of those who followed them neglected these riches, often placing more value on a certain traditional theological background than on a true understanding of the Word of God. We in the Lord’s recovery should not be satisfied with a shallow preaching of the gospel; we must come back to the Bible and dig into the riches contained in it. We thank the Lord that, in His mercy, we in the recovery are enjoying these riches.
Much of today’s preaching is not healthy. In this preaching something is presented to the people, but it is not healthy food. Rather, it is sweet and sugarcoated, pleasant tasting, but lacking in nourishment. We must be able to discern between such preaching and the preaching of Christ according to God’s economy.
In 1:18 Paul declares, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is announced, and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice.” Paul’s heart was so broadened by grace that he even rejoiced in his opposing ones’ preaching of Christ in pretense. What an upright spirit is this! This is the outworking of the life, nature, and mind of Christ who lived in him. His experience of Christ was an enjoyment. Such a life rejoices no matter what the circumstances may be.
In 1:19 Paul continues, “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.” Paul realized that both ways of preaching Christ would turn out to salvation. Salvation in verse 19 means to be sustained and strengthened to magnify Christ and to live Him. The circumstances in which Paul found himself forced him to experience Christ and enjoy Him in a fuller way through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. In Paul’s experience God’s salvation was carried out to the uttermost. The experience of such a salvation is altogether related to the enjoyment of Christ and the experience of Christ.
Paul’s circumstances also encouraged him to live Christ and to magnify Christ. Paul utilized the situations caused by the different preachings of the gospel to experience Christ, to live Christ, and to magnify Christ. Our situation is the same today. On the one hand, we cannot agree with certain ways in which Christ is preached; on the other hand, we must learn to be happy with the fact that Christ is being proclaimed. If this is our attitude, then the abnormal situation brought about by the different preachings of Christ will become an incentive for us to enjoy Christ, to live Him, and to magnify Him, as Paul did.
If we have the fellowship unto the gospel, the defense and confirmation of the gospel, and the advancement of the gospel, our preaching of the gospel will be healthy. The proper preaching of the gospel is safeguarded by these matters. The raising up of churches in South America illustrates this principle. In 1959 some brothers moved to Brazil with a burden for the spread of the Lord’s recovery. During the first ten years these brothers faced much suffering. But during the next eleven years more than fifty churches were raised up in different countries. A certain brother who has taken the lead in this matter is not a gifted speaker. But because his preaching is in the fellowship unto the gospel, with the advancement of the gospel, and for the defense and confirmation of the gospel, the Lord has used him in raising up these churches. We praise the Lord for what He has done in South America through the proper, healthy preaching of the gospel! May we all learn to discern the different ways of preaching Christ. In particular, may we discern between healthy preaching and that which is unhealthy.
