Philippians 1:4-5

Philippians 1:4-5

Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy

I.

The quality of the apostle’s prayer.

1. Prayer may be varied according to the spiritual mood of the suppliant. In some instances prayer may hardly rise beyond a mere duty; in other cases it may become the supreme joy of the heart.

2. The mood need not impair the sincerity. You may pursue the same journey through a thick and troubled atmosphere, as well as through the brightness and calm of the summer light; the path is the same, the goal is the same, the purpose is the same, yet in the one case the soul may sit as a bird with folded wings, and in the other it may be soaring and singing through the streaming glory.

II. Its object. Fellowship in the gospel I take to mean unanimity, entireness of accord, and I see no reason why the apostle himself should not be included in that fellowship.

1. The centralizing influence of God’s redeeming and sanctifying idea. No agent, principle, doctrine, has done, or can do, so much in the education and consolidation of heart power as the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul thanks God for their mutual accord, and this may exhaust the grammatical significance of his language; but the fact that he is joyfully thankful for this unanimity brings us into the presence of the sublime idea--

2. That Christianity is the most influential of all heart-uniting forces.

(1) Men who are one in Christ are united in the highest ranges of their nature. They are not one necessarily in the lower and temporary appetences of their manhood, but in the vitalities of their being.

(2) Death cannot break the seal that binds the friendships of the good.

(3) Distance cannot divide the sympathetic. Paul is in Rome; his friends are at Philippi; but in the great globe heart of the apostle Rome and Philippi are but different names of the same place. The union of the Church is guaranteed by the immortality of the principles on which it is founded. The moral is the immortal. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The joy of the faithful minister over the progress of the gospel

I. Joy always.

II. Joy is every prayer.

III. Joy overall. (J. Lyth, D. D.)

Pure joy

I. Springs from Divine communication.

II. Succeeds a previous sorrow.

III. Is superior to human surroundings.

IV. Is sustained by answered prayer. (G. C. Ballard.)

Intercession for others

I. An exalted privilege.

II. A holy duty.

III. A happy employment. (J. Lyth, D. D.)

Present rewards of Christian work

I. Work done creates grateful remembrances.

II. Grateful remembrances create a zest for prayer.

III. Prayer deepens joy. (G. G. Ballard.)

Fellowship and progress

I. Fellowship.

1. The bond of union--Christ. The attraction was irresistible to all who had come near enough to feel the force of the magnet of Divine love. This power directed all faculties, possessions, desires, in the same course. As He had not lived for Himself neither did they. The result was brotherly union. As all the rivers flow to find one common rest in the sea, so their melted hearts ran into the one fellowship--the Church. Here they found protection from the chill of the world and the storm of persecution. Weak faith was strengthened; the timid heart emboldened; unity begat strength and numbers, and augmented influence. The communal life brought together a vast capital to be invested in the cause which was so dear to their own heart.

2. Concerted action. The Christian communities existed as much, if not more, for external labour as for internal edification. As no Christian lived to himself, the whole Church could not possibly confine its wealth of power and influence within its Own circle. They lived one for another that all might live for the salvation of the world. The idea generally attached to a community is that it exists exclusively for the benefit of its own order, but the Christian society is built on the principle of give in order to receive. The Christians at Philippi met for prayer and for general improvement, in order to give the light of the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus to the world.

3. The transmission of moral influence is only possible through sympathetic media. The best cable chain would not convey an electric message any distance, but a small copper wire would do so round the globe. Divine truth must proceed from the heart of the Church, and be anointed with the unction of pure motives and tender sympathies, to accomplish its mission among men. The experimental expression of the truth is the most powerful and successful.

II. Perseverance--“from the first day until now.” The converts had not relapsed into idolatry, nor were any idolatrous practices incorporated in their worship. They had resisted all worldly influences. The converts held on their way, progressing in knowledge and the Christian graces. When the apostle looked towards this Church, he saw signs of growth and increased vigour.

1. True Christian fellowship absorbs the whole man, thought, desire, association, and progression. It is the family of God, with ample room for the development of human nature. Of all fruitfulness, true manhood is the greatest. The consummation of fellowship is found in the man Christ Jesus.

2. Christian fellowship absorbs all time and service. From the first day to the last, and from the last day on through eternity its bonds are unrelaxed. It is not a temporary engagement, but an everlasting covenant. Some of its forms must undergo changes, but its essence is the same, even fellowship with the Father and the Son, and communion with the saints. (Weekly Pulpit.)

Our fellowship in the gospel

I. How originated.

II. What it implies.

III. What it requires. (J. Lyth, D. D.)

True gospel fellowship

1. Lives which adorn it.

2. Hearts which beat for it.

3. Lips which testify for it.

4. Hands which work for it.

5. Gifts which extend it. (G. G. Ballard.)

Paul’s activity and prayerfulness

While his life was one of unexampled activity, it was also one of continual prayerfulness. These two aspects of his life are mutually explanatory. His activity was unwearied, just because his prayerfulness was unceasing. His religion was a life, and the heart of that life was prayer. The risen and exalted Saviour’s words uttered regarding him at his conversion held good ever afterwards: “Behold, he prayeth.” “As a good soldier of Jesus Christ,” he had all prayer as the weapon of his warfare. (J. Hutchinson, D. D.)