Servants and Saints
David H. Roper
As we have opportunity in coming weeks and months, we are going
to study the book of "Philippians" together. The city
of Philippi was located on the western shore of the Aegean Sea
in ancient Macedonia, today a province of modern Greece. There
is nothing there now but an assortment of ruins. The only remaining
structure of any size is an Ancient temple to the Roman God Silvanus.
The glory and honor have faded, but at one time Philippi was a
very strong and powerful Roman colony. It was named for Philip
of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great. Originally it
was called "Colonia August Julia Philippensis," so you
can see why they shortened it to Philippi!
It was the practice of the emperors to establish colonies in strategic
places throughout the Roman empire, primarily along traveled routes.
In order to preserve the Pax Romana, the Roman peace, they would
populate these cities with soldiers. It has been estimated that
at the time this book was written the population of Philippi was
three-fourths military - retired soldiers who had been given Roman
citizenship and a government stipend, and also active soldiers
there on garrison duty. Also, there were silver and gold mines
nearby and so the citizens enjoyed a high degree of affluence.
So you can imagine the type of city Philippi was.
There were a number of other very large and imposing cities in
that part of the Roman empire which are remembered for various
things -- Athens for its cultural splendor, Corinth for its architectural
glory. But Philippi has lived on in history and in the memories
of men primarily because in A.D. 62 a prisoner in Rome wrote a
letter to a group of his friends in Philippi, and this letter
we now have in our New Testament, The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians.
Paul was under house arrest in Rome. He had been arrested and
tried in Jerusalem, had appealed to Caesar, and had been sent
to Rome because as a Roman citizen he had the right to appeal
to the Emperor. For two years he was held there under house arrest.
People were free to visit him but he was not free to come and
go. He was chained to a Roman soldier throughout this period.
Evidently at the time he wrote this letter his trial had already
taken place and he was awaiting the Emperor's decision, a decision
from which there would be no appeal -- and Paul knew this. If
our dating is correct, the Emperor at this time was Nero, who
was not particularly known for his leniency, mercy, or inclination
to grant clemency to prisoners, particularly prisoners of Paul's
type. And so from a human standpoint his life hung from a very
And yet, throughout the book there is a great note of joy, excitement,
triumph, and confidence. For Paul's confidence was not in the
whim of Nero, nor even in any hope of his justice. His confidence
was in the Lord's ability to sustain him. You can see this in
chapter 1, verse 19: "For I know that this [my imprisonment]
shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the
provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," and in verse 29:
"For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only
to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing
the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me."
Paul sees that even his imprisonment is a part of the Lord's gracious
gift to him. One writer said that "joy ripples and leaps
through this book like a stream," It is an epistle of joy.
If I could state the theme in two sentences, it would be; "I'm
rejoicing in my circumstances. Are you?"
The church in Philippi was founded about A.D. 52, some ten years
before this letter was written. It was founded by Paul, and Silas,
Paul's companion on his second missionary journey, and Luke, the
Greek physician who accompanied Paul on at least portions of his
second and third journeys. Paul and Silas had gone to Troas, had
met Luke there and, because Paul experienced a vision of a man
calling them over into Macedonia to help, they sailed across the
Aegean and landed at Samothrace, went up to Neapolis, and on to
Philippi where they met with a group of Jewish women who gathered
near the river on the Sabbath to pray.
Philippi was largely a Gentile city and evidently the Jewish community
there was very small. Jewish law required that there be at least
ten men in a locale who were heads of families before a synagogue
could be built. Since there was no synagogue in Philippi there
must have been less than ten such men in town who considered themselves
to be Jews. But these women were meeting and worshiping together.
As was Paul's custom whenever he went into a new area to pioneer
a ministry he met first with the Jewish community.
In Acts 16 Luke tells us something of the beginning of this church
and describes the incidents by which three of the early members
became Christians. One was a woman named Lydia, the second was
a Greek slave girl, and the third was a Roman soldier. Lydia was
the first to respond to the Lord. She was a Gentile from Thyatira
in Asia Minor and was a very wealthy woman. She dealt in purple
fabric, and this particular type of cloth was a very expensive
commodity, perhaps the most luxurious that could be purchased
in that day. Through her endeavor she had become very prosperous.
Evidently she had a large house and it was in her home that the
early church gathered. Luke says that the Lord opened her heart
as Paul preached. And in response she opened her home to the church.
The second person to respond to the gospel was a Greek slave girl
who was a fortune-teller. She was possessed by a demon. Paul exorcised
the demon and the girl became a follower of Jesus Christ. The
third person was a Roman jailer. I'm sure you remember the account.
Paul and Silas had been imprisoned for preaching the good news.
After their feet were placed in stocks, they sang the night away.
In the middle of the night an earthquake occurred, the doors of
the jail fell open, and they were free to go. The Roman jailer,
fearful for his own life, rushed into the jail and asked what
he could do to be saved. Seizing the opportunity, Paul said, "Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you'll be saved." And this
Roman jailer did so. Then he took them into his home, bathed their
wounds, fed them, and provided for their needs.
It is interesting to me that Luke should go into so much detail
about the founding of this church, even to the extent of giving
us the names and the precise circumstances surrounding the salvation
of these three individuals. I think that it shows us something
of the capacity of the gospel to transcend all cultural and national
boundaries. Here you have an upper-class Asian mercantile lady,
a middle-class Roman soldier, and a lower-class Greek slave. And
yet they are all made one in Jesus Christ. All are free to meet
in the same home. All live with love and concern and compassion
for each other. All of the natural distinctions and lines of relationships
which ordinarily exist in the world are torn down, and new lines
are built, new relationships established. The Lord replaces our
desire to discriminate and to isolate ourselves from others with
a desire to live together in love and harmony.
I was talking to a friend of mine who recently graduated from
college and is working on a construction job this summer. He was
telling me how discouraged he has become because, when they eat
lunch on the construction site, the white workmen gather over
in one corner of the yard, the black workmen in another part,
and the Chicanos someplace else. He has tried repeatedly to move
into these groups, but the men are not particularly responsive,
and none of the other white workmen appear to care. This is perhaps
the first time he has seen this kind of situation. But those of
you who live out there in the cold, cruel world know that that's
life, that's the way things are in secular society.
And yet these barriers which men build are precisely the kind
of thing which Jesus Christ came to destroy. When the Lord moved
into Philippi -- in the persons of Paul, Silas, Luke, and other
evangelists, and they began to proclaim the gospel -- he began
to change hearts. He changed that tendency to isolate oneself
into a desire to serve and to give. This was happening in Philippi,
and a number of times in this book Paul speaks of the unity that
we have in Christ.
One other introductory matter before we look at the book: why
did Paul write this letter? On the surface it might appear that
his reasons were almost trivial, although, as you soon learn when
you study them, nothing about the Scriptures is ever trivial.
But as you read through it, you discover that this book is primarily
a thank-you note. The church in Philippi on numerous occasions
had supported the apostle Paul as he traveled, providing money
when he had need. So Paul wrote to express his appreciation and
gratitude for their willingness to participate in the gospel in
I wonder how many of you have ever considered a ministry of writing
thank-you notes? If Paul had not felt the inclination to write
this note we perhaps would not have this book. Maybe we would
have another one, because one of the early church fathers indicates
that Paul wrote several letters to Philippi. But this is the one
the Holy Spirit chose to preserve for us, and it grew out of Paul's
desire to say, "Thanks!" I wonder if we recognize our
responsibility as members of the body to express gratitude and
appreciation and thanksgiving to one another? I grew up with a
friend who has a ministry of writing thank-you notes. It is part
of the exercise of his spiritual gifts of encouragement and mercy.
He encourages people by dropping them a note just to let them
know that he is praying for them or that he appreciates something
they have done. It is a great ministry. And one of the reasons
Paul penned this letter was to express appreciation for what these
people in Philippi meant to him.
The second reason he wrote the book was to give a health report
on Epaphroditus, who was the emissary sent to Paul in Rome from
the church at Philippi to bring some money and to minister to
Paul. They sent not only some money; they sent someone who would
care for his needs. But while he was in Rome Epaphroditus fell
ill and, as you read between the lines, you also can deduce that
he was homesick. He missed the folks back in Philippi. And so
Paul explained in this letter why he was sending him back, and
shared something of Epaphroditus' concern and love for the people
Now, there is a third reason why Paul wrote this letter. It was
to rebuke two ladies in the church. We don't know anything about
these ladies except their names. They have gone down in history.
These are given to us in chapter 4: Euodia and Syntyche. Someone
has renamed them Odious and Soon-touchy. It seems that they couldn't
get along. They were quarreling and fighting and bickering and
disrupting the unity of the church. So Paul wrote this letter
to enjoin them to cease and desist and to live together in love
and harmony. And he called upon the church to encourage them in
this direction. Imagine the effect on this early church when one
of the elders read before them these words of introduction, and
the very profound theological sections which follow, and then
he got to chapter 4 and said, "I beseech Euodia and Syntyche
that they cut it out," It must have caused quite a stir!
We'll look at that later on.
This week and the next two we'll try to cover chapter 1. I'll
chart the course a little bit for you so you will know what we
will be studying. The first two verses are basically an introduction.
Then note verse 3. Paul says, "I thank my God in all my remembrance
of you." Verses 3 through 11 recount his memories of the
church in Philippi, and they evoke two responses in him: gratitude
for what has taken place in the past, and a prayer for their future.
In verse 12 Paul says, "I want you to know, brethren, that
my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the
gospel." Verses 12 through 26 bring them up to date on what
had been happening In his life. And he assures them that, far
from being an adverse turn of events, his imprisonment was very
productive in the furtherance of the gospel. Then in verse 27
he says, "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the
gospel of Christ." Here he turns from his remembrances and
his circumstances to their conduct. And the rest of the book is
essentially an unfolding of what their conduct should be. He is
concerned for them and their performance of the gospel.
Now let's look at the introduction, verses 1 and 2;
Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ
Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
including the overseers [elders] and
deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
This is a typical introduction to a first-century piece of
correspondence. If you were to pick up any secular correspondence
from this time, this type of introduction is what you'd find;
"Sender to recipients . . . then a word of greeting."
It has always seemed to me that this is the way we ought to construct
letters -- it saves you from having to turn all the way to the
back to find out who wrote to you!
But Paul speaks of himself as a servant of Jesus Christ, and he
refers to these people in Philippi as saints. If you are new to
the Scriptures this might strike you as strange. You might expect
"Saint Paul to the slaves," not "Slave Paul to
the saints." But Paul means precisely what he says, and that
is precisely the attitude we ought to have about ourselves and
about others. As far as we are concerned, we are slaves of Jesus
Christ; and as far as we are concerned about others, they are
saints. But it is equally true that others are slaves and we are
saints, because we all share in common the same relationship:
we are slaves of Jesus Christ, and we are saints - slaves in regard
to the position that we take before Jesus Christ our Lord, saints
in regard to the process that God is working out in our life.
There are two terms in the Greek New Testament which are translated
"servant" or "slave," and they are never confused.
There is a term for "servant" which is roughly the counterpart
of a member of the labor force today, someone who sells his time
and talents, an employee. He was utterly free to come and go,
and he had all the rights of a citizen. But there were also bond-servants.
They had no rights. Most of them had been taken captive when Rome
conquered surrounding nations, and they were bound to their masters
for life. They could exercise none of the privileges of citizens;
they were nobodies. Masters held the right of life and death ever
them. And it is this term, doulos, that Paul applies to
himself to describe his relationship to Jesus Christ.
This is where Paul starts, and this is where we must start. Unless
Jesus Christ is Lord in our lives, unless we are his servants,
his slaves in this sense, we really have no right to call ourselves
Christians, because that is the way the New Testament defines
Christianity - in terms of servanthood. Jesus said, "You
call me teacher and Lord, and that's what I am."
He is Teacher in the sense that he tells us the truth, Lord in
the sense that he demands obedience to what is taught. That is
the relationship that we have to him. We are slaves. And unless
we understand that we are slaves we don't really understand what
it means to be a Christian.
Some years ago I was talking to a friend of mine and trying to
explain the gospel to him. I was finding it very difficult. I
drew pictures and diagrams and showed him passages of Scripture.
But he just couldn't get it. I prayed for wisdom, and the Lord
gave me an idea. I said, "Mark, suppose the Lord were to
walk into this room right now and say, 'Mark, follow me.' What
would you say?" I saw the light dawn in Mark's eyes, and
he said, "I'd say, 'Lord, anywhere; anywhere!' " That
is what it means to be a Christian. Jesus is Lord and Master,
and he says, "Follow me." And I must say, "Lord,
anywhere. I'll go anywhere you want me to go, do anything you
want me to do, be whatever you want me to be." Those are
the terms of discipleship.
Now, when we become a slave in that sense (and remember, Jesus
says that his burden is easy, and his yoke is light) then we become
a saint. Again, that is the sort of term which is difficult for
us to grasp. What does it mean to be a saint? I usually conjure
up a vision of some emaciated woebegone individual who looks as
if he had been weaned on a dill pickle, and who, as someone has
said, would make a good frontispiece for the book of Lamentations.
But that is not the biblical concept of a saint The word means,
essentially, "holy one," and ''holy'' is the term which,
above all other terms, is used to describe God the Father.
In this regard there is a classic passage in Isaiah 6. Isaiah
sees a throne, and he sees the occupant of the throne and realizes
that it is Jehovah. This was in the year that king Uzziah died.
And perhaps, in contrast to the powerlessness and the death of
the old king, Isaiah needed to realize that the King was still
on the throne. God was still there, and Isaiah saw him high and
lifted up, saw that he is the Eternal One, and all-powerful. Then
he saw seraphim on each side of the throne, and these heavenly
creatures were calling to one another, "Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord of Hosts!" Above anything else that we might
say or think or infer about the Lord, the one thing which stands
out is the fact that he is holy.
And that is the characteristic which is ascribed to us as believers;
we are holy! We are holy because God's righteousness is given
to us in Jesus Christ, and God sees us just as he sees his Son.
And we are holy because he is working out in our life a process
designed to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. And that
process is so certain that God sees us as having already arrived.
When we become a slave and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
at that point God begins to work out in our life a process which
will conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. And that process
is guaranteed. God has, so to speak, a contract which he cannot
break, and he is going to work in our lives to produce through
our lives the character, the loveliness, the beauty of Jesus Christ
himself. You may be questioning that right now. You may be going
through a time in your life when you are discouraged and defeated,
and perhaps things don't seem to be working out too well. But
the promise is that God is in the process of making you a saint.
I was in San Francisco last week with my wife, Carolyn, and we
were looking at one of those clocks under a glass dome. You can
see all the works -- there are big wheels and little wheels, and
some of the wheels turn clockwise and some turn counter clockwise,
some don't appear to move at all while others move very rapidly.
It occurred to me that this is very much like what goes on in
our lives. Someone designed that clock to show the time, and there
is a process going on in it which contributes to that end. Everything
happening in that little clock is to the end that it will show
The same thing is true of us. There is a process going on in our
life, and everything that God does in our life is to the end that
we will display the character of Jesus Christ. Some are big things,
big wheels in our life which are obviously connected with the
process of maturity. We can see them work. And some are little
wheels for which it is difficult to see the connection. Some things
move rapidly, while others don't seem to move at all, or, as a
matter of fact, sometimes seem to move backward. But yet by faith
we can believe that the process is being worked out, and that
our destiny is secure. We are going to display the character and
the beauty of Jesus Christ.
Paul notes that this sainthood is not to be exercised in isolation
from the world, because he writes, "to all the saints in
Christ Jesus who are in Philippi," and Philippi was a pretty
sordid place. Therefore we cannot say that it doesn't work in
my shop or in my neighborhood or in my office; it will work anywhere.
You can be Godlike in any situation God puts you in. Secondly
Paul points out that this Godlikeness which the Lord is working
out in our lives is not to be exercised in isolation from the
other saints, because he writes, "to the saints in Christ
Jesus who are in Philippi, including the elders and the deacons."
It doesn't matter whether you are a leader or one who is led;
God is working out that process. There is no hierarchy in the
church. There is only one Lord. We are all brothers. There is
no pecking order, no distinction. We are all one. We are all recipients
of God's grace. We are all slaves. We are all saints.
And then a final word; all of this comes to us not through dedicated
effort, not through trying harder, not through clenching our teeth
and moving ahead on our own power. Rather, grace and peace come
to us "from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ."
He is the author of the work that he is doing in our life. When
we make him Lord, and rest on his ability, then he is going to
produce in us the end that he has in view -- conformity to Jesus
Catalog No. 3041
Series: Are You Rejoicing?
David H. Roper
Dave Roper's Home Page
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