GLORIOUS EXPECTATIONS
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on December 4, 2024 under AM Bible Study |
AM Bible Study Group: December 4, 2024 from Philippians 1:19-21
Theme: We’ll have joy in any circumstance if we remember our victorious prospect in Christ.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
Yesterday, I—along with many other people—participated in a live video chat session with a famous television personality. If I said his name, you’d know him immediately. He had overcome a great deal of personal struggles and limitations from his youth, and ended up becoming an author, a producer, a film director, and the creator of one of the most beloved television characters in the world. I had heard before from someone else who had met him that he’s one of the nicest and most humble people you’d want to meet, and I was impressed that this was true. Listening in on the conversation was very encouraging and inspiring—especially after hearing of all the hardships he had overcome along the way. He’s a naturally bubbly person who seems to encourage positivity in others.
But later that same afternoon, I had a couple of conversations of a different kind. They were conversations about people who were each facing difficult sets of circumstances. Life might have to change in some significant ways for them. There may be a lot of limitations that they’ll have to live under; and a lot of the things that they have been able to do for themselves up to this point in life may have to be done for them by others. They weren’t the kinds of situations in which a merely natural, bubbly kind of personality would be able to sustain them.
The comparison of the two kinds of conversations made me ask, “How do we face the challenges of life when a winning, upbeat, naturally-positive attitude simply won’t do? How do we have joy when it feels like the world is closing in on us like the walls of a prison cell?”
The apostle Paul was in a very difficult circumstance like that. He was locked somewhere in a literal Roman prison cell for having preached the gospel of Jesus. His freedoms and liberties to travel and work had been taken away from him; and he became utterly dependent upon the mercy of others. As he wrote about his circumstances, he mentioned his ‘chains’ four times—in Philippians 1:7, 13, 14 and 16. And what’s more, it seemed that some other people were trying to add misery to his trial by preaching the gospel he preached out of spite and bitterness toward him.
And yet, after summarizing his circumstances to his Philippian readers, and after describing the difficult trial of how others were trying to make him more miserable, he was able to say in verse 18, “… I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” He not only rejoiced in the midst of the trying circumstances of the present but was confident that he would also be rejoicing in the future. This wasn’t the result of a bubbly personality. This was because of a spiritual conviction he held with regard to his circumstances. As we can see in Philippians 1:19-21, he told his readers about his confidence in his overall prospect in Christ. He wrote;
For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:19-21).
Some Bible teachers have called this ‘the apostle Paul’s finest moment’. And his words have certainly been the inspiration and encouragement of countless Christians throughout the centuries. In one of the most trying circumstances we can imagine—confined, secluded, lonely, limited, helpless, utterly dependent, uncertain of the immediate future—his words show that his joy didn’t come from joyful circumstances in the present, but from a confident ‘expectation and hope’ that transcended those circumstances. They teach us that we’ll have joy in any circumstance—even in his kind of circumstance—if we remember our victorious prospect in Christ.
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Now; there’s something very important for us to remember. The joy that Paul experienced wasn’t because of something that was naturally developed in him. It was the result of being in a relationship with Someone above and beyond his circumstances—a relationship with Jesus Christ by faith—a relationship in which Paul put his full trust in what Jesus did on the cross for him.
Later in his letter, Paul wrote about how he used to labor hard to earn God’s favor through good works done in his own power. But he repented of his ‘good works program’ and trusted instead in the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone. He wrote;
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:7-11).
This future outlook—the outlook that gave him the experience of sustaining joy in his difficult confinement—was based on the work of Jesus Christ for him. If it had been based on his own efforts, he wouldn’t have been able to experience a sustaining joy in such a dreadful time of limitation and need. But because it was based on someone above all those trials, it was a joy that was able to overcome those trials. In 4:11-13, Paul wrote;,
… I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13).
So then; looking at Paul’s words in this passage, what aspects of our prospect in Christ do we see that will give us joy in our own times of seeming confinement and need? First we see …
1. THAT DELIVERANCE FOR US IS CERTAIN.
This is ultimately true for us no matter how hard the present circumstances may be. In verse 19, Paul wrote, “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ …” One way or another, Paul knew he would be delivered out of his difficult circumstances.
Paul knew this because of two things. First, he knew it because of the prayers of God’s people. The prayers of God’s people once resulted in his fellow apostle Peter being released from prison. We’re told about it in Acts 12. An angel actually came to Peter’s prison cell at night, caused his chains to fall off, opened the prison doors, led him out to the street, and sent him forward to continue to preach and teach about Jesus. Later on in that story, we were told about how the Christians in Jerusalem were gathering together to pray for Peter’s release from prison. Paul likewise knew that God could do the same for Him if He chose to—and all in response to the prayer of his Philippian brethren.
But the other thing that assured Paul of his ultimate deliverance was “the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ”. When Paul became a believer, God placed the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ in him—sealing him forever as the property of God the Father through Jesus His Son. The presence of the Holy Spirit in him assured Paul that he would never be lost to the Father by anything that could happen to him in this world. He would absolutely, ultimately be in Jesus’ presence in heavenly glory one day. The confinement of a prison cell couldn’t prevent this from happening. This same sealing of the Holy Spirit is a reality for all of us who are redeemed by faith in Jesus Christ. As Paul wrote elsewhere, we have—by faith—been given …
. . . the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13b-14).
So; Paul knew—with absolute certainty—that he would eventually be delivered from his circumstances. It would either be by being released from prison as a result of the prayers of God’s people, or by execution and by entry into the glorious presence of the One who sealed him for Himself by “the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ”. Either way, he knew he would be delivered and that nothing could prevent it… and so, he rejoiced. And we can rejoice in the midst of our seeming time of confinement if we will remember that it’s our prospect too.
But it wasn’t simply the fact that his trial would eventually end that caused him to rejoice. He also rejoiced in the opportunity that living in the midst of that trial presented to him. Paul showed us that another aspect of our prospect that gives us joy is …
2. THAT CHRIST WILL BE MAGNIFIED IN US.
In verse 20, Paul said that he knew this would all turn out for his deliverance “according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Not only was Paul confident that he would be delivered one way or the other from his confining time of trial; but he was also fully assured—with a sure and certain hope—that Jesus Christ would be testified to and glorified in him in the process. Jesus Christ was proving Himself to the world through Paul—even while Paul was in a prison cell. This was something that Paul fully counted on to be true in the difficult circumstances of his imprisonment. As he said elsewhere, in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16,
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? (2 Corinthians 3:14-16).
But even more; this was also something that he fully expected to be perfectly true and fully realized in the future. As he affirmed near the end of his life, in 2 Timothy 4:6-8;
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
The great ambition of Paul’s heart was that Jesus be glorified and magnified in him. He held this ambition with “all boldness”; so that, whether by the public event of his release, or the public event of his execution, no one would fail to see Christ glorified in what happened to him. He was confident that, no matter what the circumstance may be, Christ would be magnified in him—either in his present circumstances in a prison cell or when he left this world and entered into Jesus’ presence. He knew he would never be “ashamed” in this hope—that is, he knew that he wouldn’t ever be disappointed in his expectation that Jesus was being magnified in him. This gave him joy. It will give us joy too—if we will remember that it’s our prospect as well.
And this joy is truly all-encompassing. Paul’s words go on to show us finally yet another aspect of this victorious prospect in Christ …
3. THAT WHETHER IN LIFE OR IN DEATH, WE WIN.
Putting it all together, Paul was able to affirm—in those wonderfully encouraging words—“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” If he was released and he went on to live and serve in his body for many years, he’d do so for Christ and for the advancement of His kingdom and glory. Or if he was executed and his body was put to death, his spirit would immediately ascend to heaven where he would enjoy the eternal bliss of the presence of his wonderful Savior. To live meant Christ—and the circumstances couldn’t prevent it; and to die only meant more of Christ—and the circumstances couldn’t prevent that either! And having that as his “earnest expectation and hope” resulted in a prevailing joy that could endure through any circumstance he could experience on earth.
By the way, dear brothers and sisters; can we say in our time of confining circumstances what Paul said in his?—”For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”? For many of us, it’s more like, “For me, to live is Christ, and also to enjoy a comfortable life”; or “For me, to live is Christ, and also to be free to go where I want to go and do whatever I want to do.” But Paul couldn’t say those things while in a prison cell. He had all those options taken away from him. And yet, he said that he had joy … and that he will have joy. That was because, for him, the greatest joy of all was one that could not in any way be taken from him by any circumstance. As he wrote in Romans 8:35-39;
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39).
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Now; as much as I enjoyed listening to that well-known actor as he chatted from the comfort of his home, I think I would have much preferred to sit on a pile of straw and listen to Paul talk from his cold prison cell. He was experiencing a kind of prevailing joy that is victorious over even the hardest of circumstances.
Now; we don’t know what the future may hold for any of us. We may—by God’s grace—live in comfort, prosperity, health, physical ability, and freedom all the way to the end of our days on earth. If so, then praise God! But we also may suffer loss of comfort, experience need, have increasing physical and even mental limitations, and become dependent on the care and mercy of others. And yet, even so, we can still rejoice and serve God faithfully in whatever circumstance we are in—if we will keep our focus on the glorious prospect that is ours in Christ. Our ultimate deliverance is always certain, Jesus Christ is always being magnified in us, and we always end up winning in the end … no matter what!
May God help us to grow—like Paul—to remember our glorious prospect in Christ!
AE
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