PHILIPPIANS 1:3-11
3I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
10 THEOLOGICAL TRUTHS FROM PAUL’S PRAYER
Our relationship with God is responsive in nature. He moves, and we respond. For this reason, gratitude is a powerful tool to deepen our connection to God.
In every circumstance, we can pray with joy because we know that the God to whom we are praying is in control and will do what is best.
All who have put their faith in Christ are partners together for the Gospel. This should change the way we think about other Christians and other churches. We are not competitors, we are partners.
God finishes everything He starts. If your life doesn’t feel finished, God isn’t done.
Even in prison, Paul believed that he was a recipient of God’s grace. Oftentimes, God’s grace is extended even more when we are in times of trouble.
Paul yearned for fellowship with the Philippians. When we are unified in Christ with other believers, we will develop a depth of fellowship that cannot be replicated by anything the world offers.
Love is not blind. Love is more than a feeling. True love is built on knowledge and discernment. It is a product of the mind as much as the heart. True love seeks to analyze and recognize what is MOST valuable. True love leads to purity and blamelessness.
Verses six and ten both mention the day of Christ, which refers to the end of all things. At that time, God will complete His work in us, and we will be completely pure and blameless. Until then, He is working on us to make us more pure and more blameless in what we love and how we live.
Our lives should produce the fruit of righteousness that can only come through Jesus Christ. Therefore, anything that does not come from Him is not good for us, and anything that makes us more like Him is good for us.
All good things bring glory to God. Anything that does not bring glory to God should not be on our todo list.
GRATEFUL PEOPLE HAVE SELECTIVE MEMORIES
PHILIPPIANS 1:3
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
Paul’s time in Philippi wasn’t exactly a vacation at the beach or a walk in the park. You can read all the details in Acts 16, but among other things, he had to deal with a heckler, he and his friends got beaten up, and he was even thrown in jail.
Yet, in Philippians 1:3, Paul wrote that he was thankful every time he remembered the people who lived in Philippi. Was he thankful for all the bad times? (not that he shouldn’t be as God helps us grown in difficult circumstances) Actually, verses 4-5 clue us in as to why he was grateful.
PHILIPPIANS 1:4-5
always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Paul was grateful for the good times. He had warm memories of partnering with the Philippians to see the Gospel spread throughout their time. He was thankful for the support they had given as He proclaimed the truth.
GRATEFUL PEOPLE HAVE SELECTIVE MEMORIES.
You can choose which memories you dwell on. Only you can decide which story from the past you will play on repeat in your mind. If you choose to focus on the worst of times and the worst of people, you’ll be depressed, bitter, and tough to live with.
If you choose to focus on the blessings and the blessed people, you’ll be grateful, hopeful, and a joy to be around.
What will you put on your memory playlist today?
Click on the image to download the DiscipleQuest PDF
The DiscipleQuest PDF includes 7 days of verse study prompts. You can use these seven studies to dig deeper into what the Bible teaches about loving what God loves:
- Amos 5:15
- Romans 12:9
- 1 John 5:1
- John 14:15
- Psalm 119:97
- 1 John 4:19-21
- Hebrews 1:9
Use these questions as journal prompts or as conversation starters with a group of friends or a Bible study group:
Paul starts many of his letters with prayers for the believers. Since we’ve already looked at his prayer for the Philippians, we’ll compare that prayer to a similar prayer in Colossians. As you work through this study, keep Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1 in the back of your mind.
When you pray for someone else, what kinds of things do you pray for? How do you decide for whom you are going to pray?
Read Paul’s prayer for the Colossians in Colossians 1:9-14.
Which part of this prayer do you most appreciate?
Which part of this prayer raises questions in your mind? (give the group a chance to discuss these questions)
Are any parts of this prayer convicting for you? Why?
Paul says he has not stopped praying for the people in Colosse. What do you think he means by that?
How would your relationship with someone change if you prayed for them every day?
For what kinds of people should you be praying every day?
Here are some of the things Paul prayed for the Colossians:
- increased knowledge of God’s will
- spiritual wisdom and understanding
- a life that honors and pleases God
- the fruit of good works
- a growing knowledge of God
- strength, endurance, and patience
- joy
Which of these prayer items do you most need?
Take a minute as a group and have everyone pray silently for each other and the needs they’ve expressed.
For whom will you commit to pray every day this week? What will be your prayer for them?
PHILIPPIANS: Line By Line
1:3-11: Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians
3. I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you.
Some people spark memories that make us grateful, and some spark memories that make us sad, angry, hurt, and other negative emotions. Paul’s words here are a reminder first that we are to pray for our enemies (Jesus said so). Secondly, his words are a challenge to us to strive to be the kind of people who spark gratitude in the memories of others. How we live and treat others impacts whether they remember us with gratitude or another lesser emotion.
4. Always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer.
Every time Paul mentions joy in this book, we do well to remind ourselves that he was in prison and still had reason for joy. One of those reasons is that he continued (always) to pray. In any circumstance, the more we unite ourselves to God in prayer, the more our relationship with Him and in Him will supersede our situation, and the joy will flow.
5. Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Paul’s joy was the result of partnership and the result of the gospel. Partnering is fun, and we can partner with others in many pursuits, but not every pursuit will bring joy. My partnerships may bring wealth, power, position, influence, popularity, and more. However, all those things will go away. When we partner with people in the gospel, the benefits are eternal. Partnering in the Gospel isn’t easy, and it might be frightening, but where two or three are gathered in His name (that’s partnering), He is there in the midst. He will never leave or forsake!
6. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on until the day of Christ Jesus.
If your life doesn’t feel finished, that’s because God isn’t done with you. His work in you will take a lifetime, but as He shapes you, you will become a masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). Paul’s confidence doesn’t rise from his own teaching or leadership. His confidence doesn’t rise from the Philippians’ ability or resources. His confidence is fully and only rooted in God’s faithfulness. Because God is faithful, Paul is confident that the good work will be completed in all of God’s children. As an aside, it’s good to remember that only God can determine when and how that work is done! We might think we know better, but He’ll do it His way, and it will be done right.
7a. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me…
Here again, Paul uses the word “partners,” which is a reminder that we are called to live and work in community with one another. When we think of our relationships with other Christians, if the word “partner” doesn’t spring to mind, we might need to think about doing something differently.
7b. …you are partners with me in grace, both for my imprisonment…
Previously, Paul said the Philippians partnered in the gospel (what Jesus did for them), and now he says they are partners in grace (what God gave them because of Jesus’ work). Amazingly, Paul connects God’s grace to his imprisonment. He is reminding the Philippians that no matter how bad they might think something is, it could always be worse. It’s better to be imprisoned in this life than to be separated from God for eternity. But for God’s grace, we would all be separated from Him!
7c …and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel
Their partnership now extends to how they respond to Jesus’ work and God’s gift. Defending the gospel together is their words as they tell people the good news and argue on behalf of Jesus. Confirming the gospel together is their actions as they demonstrate a changed life because of Jesus. Both defending and confirming the gospel will ultimately lead to more people receiving the gospel.
8. For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
There can be no doubt about how Paul felt about the Philippians. Later in the letter, he is going to offer them some challenges, but he wants to make sure they know his motives are pure and for their good. It is interesting to think about “missing someone” with the affection of Christ Jesus. Another way to say this is to say that Paul longs to be with them, in the same way that Jesus longs to be with us. How comforting it is to know that Jesus is more eager to be with us in eternity than we are to be with Him!
9. And I pray this: that you love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment.
Paul wants the Philippians to be discerning in what they love. It is easy to be distracted by all the world offers, and to fall in love with the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life; but the more we know Jesus, the more we can discern how to love as He does.
10a. So that you may approve the things that are superior…
When we see the words “so that,” we know that we are probably about to read an outcome of some sort. Paul’s desired outcome for the Philippians is first that they choose what is best. Not every choice we make in life is best for us, but there are some things that are “superior”. The more we grow in love and knowledge of Christ, the more superior our choices will be.
10b. …and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,
The day of Christ culminates in His return. Paul’s desire is that the Philippians continuously grow and mature until they meet Jesus. The measuring stick of that growth is purity and blamelessness. Both words represent victory over sin. Here is where we remember that we are not alone in this struggle. As we saw in verse 6, God is working with us and in us to bring our purity and blamelessness to completion. Our job is allow His work, to avoid fighting Him, quenching the Spirit, or seizing control ourselves.
11. Filled with the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
When we gain victory over sin, God gets the credit. Of course, it’s Jesus who did the work to make all of this possible. So when we grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus, His work cleanses us, and God is glorified!
Lake Bible Notes 
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