As I was thinking about this
passage that we're going to look at this evening, I was reminded
that this incident, Paul's in Rome when he's writing this letter,
but these people to whom he is writing, the Philippians, lived
in Philippi, and Philippi was in Macedonia, and Macedonia is
what we call modern day Greece, and Greece is in Europe. And
this was the first introduction to Europe of the gospel coming
to a particular city, when Paul went to Philippi and preached
the gospel there to the Philippians. And I'm sure you remember some
of the key individuals Lydia who gathered with the women at
the place where prayer was wont to be made and there she heard
the Apostle Paul preaching. Paul was there with Silas and
there was the damsel that followed them around in the streets and
used to call out about the God whom these men worshipped. and when the Apostle Paul released
her from the clutches of that demonic power, her owners were
very much put out and they caused a furore. in the city and Paul
and Silas were put in prison. I'm sure you're well aware of
the story after that, how that at midnight there was an earthquake
and the gates opened, the shackles fell off and the salvation of
the Philippine jailer followed soon after. So there was a little
group of believers here in Philippi just how many we wouldn't necessarily
know, but individuals that we are aware of, key known individuals
for whom the gospel had been a revolutionary, life-changing
power. The apostle clearly had an affinity
with these people for he wrote to them this letter and it's
one of the loveliest, perhaps I say, most familiar letters
that the Apostle writes. There isn't the same edginess
to it that we sometimes find in other letters where he seems
directed to address particular issues, problems, sin sometimes
in the lives of the people. And while I'm sure the church
at Philippi had its own problems, nevertheless, it seems clear
that the apostle was delighted with the fellowship that he had
with this church and undoubtedly they would feel a great love
and affection towards him also. And it's actually that theme
of the fellowship that I want to pick up on this evening. My
thoughts really are going to revolve around the little phrase
in verse five. So if somebody's looking for
a name for this sermon, it's fellowship in the gospel. And
if we read just together from chapter one of Philippians, and
verse one. Paul and Timotheus, that's Timothy,
the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus
which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons. Grace be
unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus
Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you, always in every prayer of mine for you, for you all
making request with joy. for your fellowship in the gospel
from the first day until now, being confident of this very
thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ. Our thoughts this evening then
are based upon these words. I thank my God for your fellowship
in the gospel from the first day until now. And what I have to say I think
is probably really very straightforward and simple. There's not going
to be any great theological revelation here this evening. It's just
a few simple thoughts that we can share together and I trust
found some comfort in. The first thing I wanted to point
out to you, perhaps by way of introduction, almost in a sense,
is that the Apostle Paul, as he writes this, recognises that
there is a God to thank. And I wanted just to point that
out, it seems to be a very simple thing and yet when we come together
and we worship and we engage together in the fellowship that
we have, it is because God is who he is, that God is. Now there are those who deny
God, there are those who would say that they were opposed to
God. I sometimes find it difficult
to comprehend such a position. I would think that people might
with some integrity say I can't tell, I don't know. How could I possibly know if
there was a God? But to actually say that there
is no God, I find a very presumptuous position. But there is a God,
and there is a God who has revealed himself, a God who has spoken,
a God who has entered into this life, who has taken an interest
in this world. a God who has revealed himself
to sinners. Now that's important. In the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ, that God who is transcendent,
and that means that he's above and beyond that which we can
understand. a little phrase that is sometimes
used with respect to God. And it says that God is a spirit,
infinite, transcendent, unchangeable, eternal. And in that nature, it's impossible
for us to know him. He is beyond our grasp, beyond
our comprehension. And yet, he has chosen to make
himself known. Let us not miss this point. As sinners, we have no rights
with God. As sinners, it is impossible
for us to know God. The word that is used to describe
our state is fallen. We have fallen, not simply in
our morality, though that is true, but we have fallen in our
understanding of who God is. And like condemned felons, we
are guilty and we are bound up trapped, if you like, in our
own cell. And we have no rights as those
condemned, those criminals, except in the knowledge that we are
awaiting judgment. Lord Jesus Christ needs nothing
from us. Lord Jesus Christ in his holiness
demands justice. God demands justice. And yet,
though man was at one time expelled from his presence and channels
of access closed down to man, God has, in time, out of a love
and affection for his people, brought a way of approach to
our knowledge and understanding. He has sent his son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and he has made that way of access available
to us. When we look back in the history
of the world, As scripture reveals it, we can see how nations come
and go, how men aspire and with their ambitions endeavour to
make sense of this world. Whether it's because they want
to seek after wisdom and they build themselves towers in order
to reach God. Or whether it's because they
say that's pointless, there's no reason in that, let's just
indulge ourselves, let's just follow our senses and see where
that leads us, let's find our true nature and our true selves. And God has shown in the history
of this world, what he thinks of both of those. The wise man
pursuing his own understanding, the philosophies of the world,
building up their towers of Babel and the Lord comes and he destroys
it. or those in the day of Noah who
followed after their own sensual lusts, and the Lord comes and
he destroys them. That is the reaction which we
deserve. That is what should fall to us
as sinners. And yet God, out of his love,
for sinful men and women, instead of executing judgment, instead
of bringing wrath, instead of laying that condemnation upon
us, instituted a plan of salvation, forged out a way of reconciliation,
sent his own son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be a redeemer, and
opened up a way of approach. In those days, Noah found salvation
in the sight of God. Abraham knew what it was to hear
God speak. David was discovered as one who
was beloved of God. God revealed himself as a God
of mercy to a line of people throughout history, a God to
whom he was pleased in the face of all they deserved to show
them grace and to show them himself. Indeed, God made himself their
God and they were called his people. Is he every man's God? Well,
he's every man's creator, and he's every man's sustainer, but
he's not every man's God. Paul said that there was a God
to thank, and God is not every man's God. The Word of God tells
us that. The Word of God tells us that
men pursue their own idolatrous paths in this world. They make
gods of pieces of wood, gods of things created, gods of their
own self. Paul writes to the Corinthians
and he said, you know that ye were Gentiles carried away unto
these dumb idols. they would not follow the true
living God, but made a God for themselves. The testimony of
men reveals exactly the same thing as the Bible says of them. In Psalm 53 we read, The fool
hath said in his heart, there is no God. corrupt are they,
and have done abominable iniquity, there is none that doeth good. And yet in that undeserved state,
undeserving state, There is the unsolicited free grace of God
and God himself speaks to men. God reveals himself. He says
to Jeremiah, am I a God at hand and nor a God afar off. So this is the first point that
I want to draw to your attention. Here is a God who has made himself
known to his people. A God who has revealed himself
by grace to those who didn't deserve a thing from him. And the other thing that Paul
says in this matter is also interesting. Not only is there a God but he
is my God. He says, I thank my God. So here's a question. If he is
Paul's personal God, is he my God? Is he my God? There is but one way to know
if He is my God, and that is to approach Him by the door that
He has opened, the door that is the way of access to Him. Jesus says, I am the way, the
truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. How is it that a sinful man or
a sinful woman can have a relationship with God? How is it that a sinner
can say, this God is my God? He is my God, as Paul here declares. How do we have that relationship?
Only by having the problem that separates us, the chasm that
divides, that which is the hurdle taken away and removed, only
in having the problem of our sin dealt with. And that's what
the Gospel is about. It is God coming to us and making
us His because He loves us and has pity upon us. We will not
be able to deal with the problem of our sin by our penance, by
our desire for forgiveness, by our efforts and our labours.
We can't work off the debt that we have incurred against a holy
God. We can't determine to be better
people and imagine that thereby we're going to in some way please
God. But God has shown a way. It is a way of blood. It is a way of sacrifice. It is a way of His doing and
securing. He has sent His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, that by the shedding of his blood and the cleansing
for sin that flows in that blood, we might be made fit for his
presence. By the imputation of a righteousness
that isn't our own nor is able to be worked by us, but the very
righteousness of God himself, our sins will be removed and
our fitness for his presence obtained. God will not have in his presence
any pride in man. He cannot and he will not accept
our labours, the work of our hand. For if he did, we would
have reason to glory in our own efforts and in our own accomplishments. God forbids, says Paul to the
Galatians, that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And so, for him to be my God,
our eyes must turn to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. For
him to be my God, we must know him by the way that he has set
forth. If our religion is in word only,
if our Religion is a formality, a ritual, a practice, a timetabled
schedule where we put in the hours and we go through the form. Then he's not my God, not in
the sense of that intimate relationship, not in the sense of that knowledge
that we have of who he is and how we approach him. It is by
faith. Through the grace of God that
we enter into that relationship with God, knowing that it is
by the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that
we have peace with him. John says, hereby know we that
we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his
spirit. We know him. and we call him
my God. Paul says something else I think
which is interesting in this little phrase. He says I thank
my God because he's a God worth thanking. This is interesting
because what Paul is doing here is he is tracing grace to its
proper source. He is saying that God is worthy
of our thanking. Now let me suggest to you that
true obedience, people always like to know, what have we to
do? What have we got to do? Well, let me tell you what you
need to do. If you want to be obedient to
God, if that's your motivation, if that's what drives you, you
want to be obedient to God, let me tell you what you need to
do. You need to thank Him for what He's done. Because that's
true obedience. True obedience is thanking God
for what He's done in Christ. And that's what Paul is saying
here. Paul is saying that here is a God who is worth thanking. It's true worship. You know what that word comes
from? Worship. It is actually worth-ship. That's the original meaning of
the word. It is recognising the worthiness
of God as we approach Him. And so when we gather together
to worship, we're gathering together to say, look how worthy He is. Look, look how worthwhile this
activity is because we are going to Him to say thank you for what
He has done. That's true worship. That's true
obedience. I thank my God. I thank my God,
says Paul, for your fellowship in the gospel. Have you ever
wondered why the Apostle Paul didn't thank the Philippians
for their fellowship in the Gospel? Pretty obvious thing to have
done, isn't it? It would have been a pretty obvious
thing for him to write in this letter. Thank you for your fellowship
in the Gospel. In some ways it might have been
quite appropriate for him to do that. He was recognizing their
help, their support, their contributions, their interest in him, their
prayers for him. Thank you. Thank you for your
fellowship in the gospel. But that's not what Paul says.
I thank my God. for your fellowship in the gospel
because he's tracing grace to its proper source. He knows where
the motivation for this fellowship and this care and this affection
that the Philippians have for Paul and for his labors finds
its origin. It comes from God. And all we
have that is of any use, all that we have, which is of any
spiritual value, any significance in this world, comes from God. All good and perfect gifts come
from Him. Paul thanks God. He thanks the Father. He thanks
the Father because he knows that in the eternal purposes of God,
a plan was forged to gather a people, a people that would be his people,
a people who would serve him in this world. He thanks the
Lord because he knows that it was the Lord Jesus Christ who
undertook the obligations of the covenant of peace and entered
into this world, taking upon himself the flesh of a man. We read it a little earlier.
He made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men. He knew where to give
proper recognition. It was to the Lord. And he knew
that it was God the Holy Spirit that had brought the power of
the gospel to apply in the lives of these Philippians. Why were
these Philippians supportive of Paul in his labors? Because
God the Father had chosen them in eternity. Why were these Philippians
engaged in the ministry of the gospel with Paul because the
Lord Jesus Christ had shed his blood for them on the cross.
Why were these Philippians engaged in the declaration of grace and
the upholding of the true gospel of salvation? Because the Holy
Spirit had laid upon their heart the true meaning of the gospel
in quickening power. You know, often men's prayers
are better than their doctrine would suggest. Foolish men imagine
that it is the will of the individual that brings everlasting life
into the heart and soul of a sinner. Well, if that was the case, then
we have no cause to thank God for a great salvation. And we
have every reason to thank the sinner for getting saved. And yet nobody does that. When
was the last time you heard a minister from the pulpit saying to his
congregation, thank you all for getting saved? Thank you all
for believing in the Lord. They don't do it. Their prayers
are better than their doctrine because they thank God for salvation. They thank God because men and
women have been brought in to the family of grace. Salvation
is of the Lord. It's ludicrous to thank each
other for getting saved because we know where the true source
of salvation comes from. It is His initiative, it is His
will, it is His accomplishments, it is His gift. Therefore, He
is worthy of all thanksgiving. The Apostle says, I thank my
God for your fellowship in the Gospel. Gospel fellowship is
a wonderful thing. It is the union that we have
together in gospel truth. And that word union is a lovely
word. I think sometimes what happens
as we go through our Christian experience is that we kind of
we know the words, we learn the vocabulary, but then we stumble
on something and it suddenly is so much more meaningful to
us than it ever was before. Union. The union that we have,
we share, don't we, on the Lord's Day, and the communion, the communion
service. What are we doing there? We're
having a time together, remembering the union that we have with Christ
and the union that we share with one another. We are coming into
that place of union with what Christ has done for us. And it's a lovely thought. We
can think of this union this union in the gospel, perhaps
in three quick ways. Firstly, we think about it in
the sense of the union that we have with Christ, with the body
of Christ. We have been united with him. The fact that he took our flesh
is speaking of that union that he took with us. He humbled himself
taking our flesh and he took our flesh that we might have
his spirit. And we were brought into union
with him. And we share that union together
as the Lord's people. All who have been united with
Him are united with one another. We have a common father. We are
brothers and sisters in Christ. Christ is our brother. We are heirs and joint heirs
with Him. And so that union that we have
with one another is a vital and important relationship that we
have with each other even as we gather around in this room
this evening because of our union with the Lord Jesus. And we are
united in our worship together because we labour together in
the Gospel. We labour together in Christ's
service. It is as if we We were driving along the road
just a few weeks ago, and I saw this man, and he's pushing his
car along the road. There's no one in the driving
seat, and no one steering it, and he's at the back, and he's
pushing the car, and I'm thinking, this man's not going anywhere
very fast. And I'm also thinking to myself, yeah, and if I stop
the car and get out here, and he sits in the car and steers
it, I'm going to be left pushing this car by myself. But I stopped
anyway. And just as I did, someone else
pulled up. So the pair of us got to the
back of the car, the guy jumped in, and we pushed it sufficiently
far for him to get it into the side of the road. But what were
we doing? We were uniting in a common cause. We were both
putting our shoulders, as it were, to the plough. We were
getting behind the work which had to be done. And that's a
union that we have together. And that's our fellowship. We
fellowship together in these things. And it's a lovely thought. The Apostle Paul is saying to
these Philippians, I thank my God for your fellowship in the
gospel. I thank my God for your fellowship
in the gospel. Friends, this is very often a
tough pilgrimage that we are embarked on in this life. This
world doesn't take hostages. This world can be a hard and
a difficult place to live in. And very often as we do go through
life we will discover that there are sadnesses and bitterness
and trials that we will have to undertake. It may be physical,
it may be emotional, it may be to do with our health, it may
be to do with our finance, it may be to do with our relationships,
it may be to do with the burden that we carry for our children,
it may be to do with the disappointments that we feel even amongst brethren, But in so many ways we will find
that this life is a difficult life to navigate. It can be a
lonely and a wearisome passage. And I think that's why it is
so important if the Lord Jesus Christ gives us another person
with whom we can worship, another person with whom we can fellowship
in the gospel, that we treasure that as a real blessing. Most people that you know aren't
saved. And it's probably likely that
most people that you hope are saved, aren't saved. But if the Lord gives us one,
if the Lord gives us someone, if the Lord gives us a little
group, with whom we can fellowship. That is an amazing privilege
in this life, for all its darkness and its hardship and its difficulties. Let us remember, therefore, that
our fellowship in the gospel is just that. It's fellowship
in the gospel. If people deny the gospel, we
have no fellowship with them. If people deny the things that
bind us together in Christ, that forge that union together, then
that's what we have as the ground of our fellowship. Turn with me to Leviticus 26.
I just want to show you something. Something that I think is interesting
and noteworthy. We've been talking about the
fact that Paul says, I thank my God. Leviticus 26, right in the heart
of Moses writings, early, early in the Old Testament. Look what the Lord says in verse
11 to his people. Leviticus chapter 26, verse 11.
He says, And I will set my tabernacle
among you. And my soul shall not abhor you. Well, for all the sin that's
in our lives, it ought to. But here is the Lord making a
promise. I will set my tabernacle among
you. Is that not a lovely picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ and his humanity? And my soul shall
not abhor you. And I will walk among you. and
will be your God, and ye shall be my people." Well, somebody
might say, that's the Old Testament. That's the Lord speaking to the
Old Testament people Israel. No, it's not. No, it's not. I'll
tell you why he said that. I'll tell you why he said that
to Israel. because he was showing us that that was the relationship
that he was going to have with his New Testament people in Christ. And I know that because the Apostle
Paul tells us that. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter
6. 2 Corinthians chapter 6. What have we said? We've just
said that our fellowship is in the Gospel. Our fellowship is
in the Gospel. In 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and
verse 14 we read these words. Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. If they don't believe the Gospel,
then we are not to be unequally yoked with them. We are not to
be yoked with them, for it is an unequal yoke. Be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? What concord hath Christ with
Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the
living God, as God hath said. I will dwell in them, and walk
in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. You know where you got that?
Right out of your Leviticus. right out of that promise that
God gave to his people. I will tabernacle with you. Not
only did the Lord Jesus Christ walk with us, but he walks in
us, and we walk in him. And that is the ground of the
union and fellowship that we have with one another, and it's
what makes us distinguish ourselves from others who don't hold these
gospel truths. Wherefore, says the Lord, come
out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and
touch not the unclean thing. and I will receive you, and will
be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty." We might have the opportunity and
the privilege of befriending many people in this life, and
I'm not against having friends. If we are to have friends, we
must show ourselves friendly, but Let us remember where our
union lies, where our fellowship lies, and what it is that binds
us together with the people of God. Unless men fellowship in
the gospel, there is no fellowship at all. And gospel fellowship
is us labouring together. It's us putting our shoulder
to the task together. Paul says, I thank my God for
your fellowship in the gospel. The Philippians were labouring
together with the Apostle Paul. They were with him bearing the
yoke. And these were ministering one
to another. Paul wasn't a minister to the
Philippians in isolation. The Philippians ministered to
Paul. To minister is to be a servant.
To minister is to serve one another. And as one serves in one capacity,
so that is reciprocated in love in another capacity. And we labour
together as we fellowship together in the Gospel. We comfort one
another in the hardships and the trials of life. We serve
together in Christ's church for the good of Christ's church.
Now there was distance. Paul was in Rome and Paul was
in prison and Paul was expecting any time that he might have to lay down
his life for the gospel. Angus read that a little earlier.
Yea, he says, verse 17 of chapter 2 of Philippians. If I be offered
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice
with you all. He was getting ready to lay down
his life. That was the sacrifice that he
was speaking about there. They were miles apart, Rome and
Philippi. Yet they laboured together. There
was fellowship bound them together. And we may be many miles from
one another, and you may never actually get to stand in the
company of some people who pray for you and who help you. before the throne of grace as
you help them. And as we meet with one another,
and as we serve together with one another, and as we might
meet occasionally together with one another, we are fellow laborers
in the gospel. You in your small corner and
I in mine. and your contribution is not
my contribution, nor mine yours, but we labour in that place that
the Lord has placed us individually. Each one serves in some capacity
or another in only, in the way that only they can. here or there
as God has ordained. Paul therefore could say, I thank
God for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until
now. Each of us who are saved are
bound together in the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and we are bound together in fellowship of the gospel. We have been from that first
day until now, and it is a bond that cannot be broken, neither
by time nor space. And so the Apostle Paul speaks
of his confidence. He says in verse 6, being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Let this be the ground of your
sure foundation, the substance of your hope day by day. Will I endure? Will I last the
course? Will I keep the faith? Will I persevere? Or will it
all become too much? Maybe we have such thoughts as
those from time to time. But the Apostle Paul says, he
that hath begun a good work. That's not you or me. That's
the Lord Jesus himself. He is the one who has begun this
good work in us. He is the author of our faith
and he will be its finisher. He that has begun a good work
in you. He's writing to Lydia. He's writing to the Philippian
jailer. He's writing to people that he
knows. He's writing to individuals here. And he is saying that he that
has begun a good work in you, you personally, he will perform it. He will carry
it through. It's God's work. It's not yours. It's his performance. It's not
ours. and he will perform it until
the day of Christ. There is a glorious day coming,
and it is coming for all the Lord's people, that great day
of the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. People will deny Him. They will
look into our faces and they will mock Him. They will ridicule
us. They will endeavor to undermine
the church. They will say that there is no
God. They will indulge their passions. They will have their
Mardi Gras. They will enjoy this brief life
as much as they can. But very soon, the day of the
Lord Jesus Christ is going to be revealed. And then there will
be nowhere to hide. And God will prove that that
work which he has started in the lives of his people and in
the life of his church will be completed. the great day of Revelation. Let us therefore hold fast this
promise. Let us rejoice that God has brought
us out of judgment into grace. That he has brought us to hear
the gospel of his peace. That he has opened our hearts
to receive that good word. That he has begun a work in us. that he has given us a union
in Christ, that he has given us a fellowship and a union amongst
the saints, that he has united us in the labours of the gospel. Let us value that gospel fellowship
which he has given, and let us see that the foundation of the
church is Christ, and we are a people upon whom, and we are
built upon him. Amen.