Philippians 4:14-17; Fellowship in Affliction

PastorRodney’s Weblog

10/13 Philippians 4:14-17; Fellowship in Affliction; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20241013_philippians-4_14-17.mp3

Paul in this last section of Philippians is addressing the issue of giving, of financial support, and he uses this opportunity to help them better understand Christian giving.

Paul says in verse 10 that their thinking of him now at last has broken out into full bloom, and this has caused him great joy; joy in the Lord because the Lord is the giver of every good gift.

He makes it clear that he didn’t feel neglected by them; he was confident of their thoughtfulness toward him, but he knew the season prevented them from expressing their care.

Sometimes it is important to clarify communication by saying what you do not mean. He emphatically says ‘not that’; not that I am speaking of being in need. This is not about me, not about my situation, my lack. I am not talking about finances in hopes that you will give more. I’m not looking to you to supply my needs. He makes it clear he didn’t need their money. He doesn’t want to unhelpfully inflate their ego by telling them that he was counting on them.

He had learned self-sufficiency in all circumstances; he knew how to be brought low and he knew how to abound. He is in on the secret in any and every circumstance; being full or hungry, abounding and suffering lack, he is strong enough to endure it all, not in his own strength, but in Jesus who empowers him. He is not looking to them to supply his lack; Jesus is enough, whatever circumstances come his way. My contentment, my strength to persevere, is not dependent on your generosity. It is rooted only in Jesus.

Giving: A Good and Beautiful Thing

He makes it clear that he is not dependent on their gift. But he also doesn’t want them to think that he does not acknowledge the value of their gift. He says ‘yet’ or ‘nevertheless’ it was good of you to fellowship together with me in my affliction. It was a beautiful thing that they did.

Paul was willing to acknowledge that he had needs. He had experienced lack, not enough even for daily necessities. He said

Philippians 2:25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, … 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Paul was in need, and their messenger ministered to his need. Epaphroditus very fully completed their service to their apostle, which until Epaphroditus arrived, had come up short. In a sense they had an obligation to Paul, as he wrote to the Galatians

Galatians 6:6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

And to the church in Corinth:

1 Corinthians 9:4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? … 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? …9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? … 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? …14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

Paul had the right to be compensated for preaching the gospel. There was a legitimate obligation the churches had to support him, so he could say that they were ‘lacking’ in their service to him. But Paul did not always make use of his rights or demand his rights. He would rather forego his rights than put a stumbling block in the way of the gospel. He held himself up as an example to the Corinthians of what it looks like to voluntarily relinquish legitimate rights for the good of others and for the advance of the gospel.

He became an example to the Philippians of Christ’s strength for contentment in any and every circumstance, even in hunger and lack.

It was good and fitting and appropriate for them to support him financially, but he wasn’t counting on it or dependent on it. He acknowledges his own ‘need’ in his physical circumstances, and it was good and appropriate for them to bring support to him in his need; but did not ‘need’ their support in that Christ’s strength was sufficient to enable him to ‘honor Christ in my body whether by life or by death’ (Phil.1:20).

Christian Response to Affliction

He describes what they did as sharing, a partnering or fellowship in his affliction.

They had heard that he was in prison. But Paul encouraged them in chapter 1 that his imprisonment had turned out for good (Phil.1:12-14); he was seeing God bring good outcomes for the gospel both among the prison guards and by emboldening other believers to speak the word without fear.

But that didn’t mean that it was any less an affliction for him. The word ‘trouble’ or ‘affliction’ literally means ‘pressure’, something that presses down on us, a burden that is difficult to bear up under.

Jesus promised:

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Paul taught his churches to rejoice in afflictions or sufferings because affliction produces endurance, character, and hope (Rom.5:3) and he exhorted them to ‘be patient in tribulation’ or affliction (Rom.12:12). And Paul modeled this for them. After describing his life as an apostle as ‘always carrying in the body the dying of Jesus’ and ‘always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake’ (2Cor.4:10-11); he says:

2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Paul had an eternal perspective, and in light of that eternal weight of glory, every affliction he endured (and he endured much!) was ‘light and momentary’

What do we do with affliction? Expect it, rejoice in it, and keep it in proper perspective.

Prison Fellowship

But he affirms, ‘it was good of you to share in my trouble’.

This is something Christians do for one another. Paul exhorts the Colossians ‘Remember my chains’ (Col.4:18). He writes Timothy

2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

Hebrews says:

Hebrews 13:3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.

‘It was good of you to share in my affliction’ This word for ‘sharing’ has as its root the rich word ‘κοινωνία’ of Christian fellowship or partnership. This is a word that has played largely in Philippians. He began the letter by affirming their ‘fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now’ (1:5). This meant not only that they were enjoying with him the blessings of the gospel, but were financially invested in advancing the gospel.

Fellowship in the gospel. Just to keep it in front of us, when we say ‘the gospel’, we mean the good news message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone, and for the glory of God alone. As Paul and Silas responded to the Philippian jailer who asked ‘what must I do to be saved?’ they responded with this simple gospel message: ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. (Acts.16:30-31).

In 1:7 he commends them for being fellow-fellowshippers or co-participants in grace; both in his imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. In chapter 2, he exhorts them to unity based on the fellowship they have in the Holy Spirit. In chapter 3, Paul counts the one thing of surpassing worth ‘that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.

Here in 4:14 he praises them for their fellowship in his afflictions, and in verse 15 he commends their church for their fellowship with him in the accounting of giving and receiving.

Paul is in prison for the gospel, and they are communing with him in his affliction, they are standing with him in his suffering, literally sending one of their own with a gift and to risk his life to minister to his needs, partnering with him in the advance of the gospel. Their friendship, their fellowship with him means a great deal to him, and he says ‘it was good of you to commune with me in my affliction’.

Philippian Generosity

This was not new for them and Paul calls attention to that fact.

Philippians 4:15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.

Paul received a vision while in Asia minor (Acts.16:9-10) and immediately crossed over to preach the gospel in Philippi. Lydia, a business woman from Thyatira and her family, a demonically empowered fortune telling slave girl, and the town jailer and his family formed the nucleus of the church in Philippi. When Paul and Silas were kicked out of town, it seems Luke and Timothy stayed behind to help this new group of believers. Paul and Silas went on to the nearby Macedonian city of Thessalonica, and then on to Berea, and down to Athens and then Corinth in Achaia.

Paul here draws attention to the Philippians by their name as a Roman colony, and says ‘no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. He had spent a relatively short time in Philippi, and after he left, their hearts were stirred to send him help during the persecution he endured in nearby Thessalonica (about 100mi. away) He passed through Macedonia twice again (Acts 20:1-3), both brief visits. But more than once they sent help for his needs. Paul boasted of the Macedonian generosity to the church in Corinth, concerning his personal support:

2 Corinthians 11:8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.

And in regards to the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem:

2 Corinthians 8:1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

Seeking Fruit that Abounds

Paul is saying ‘I didn’t need your money; I can endure any circumstance through Christ’s enabling strength, yet it was good and right of you fellowship with me in my affliction when no one else did.

Again he feels the need to clarify; this might sound like he’s building them up so that they are compelled to give more. He wants to make it clear; it’s not about the money. He is not asking for more. It brings him joy in the Lord that their concern for him has blossomed, but their financial support of him is not what he is after; it is evidence of what really matters; their hearts. What Paul seeks is not the gift, but the fruit. He doesn’t care about the money; he has learned contentment in every circumstance. It’s about the people. He cares about these people. It brings him joy to see fruit in their lives, even if that puts him in the awkward position of humbly receiving a gift and carefully acknowledging their gift in a way that won’t be misunderstood. He’s not after the gift; he’s after the fruit, and ultimately that fruit will abound to your account.

Here’s what he told the Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 9:6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Jesus said:

Luke 6:38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

The proverbs say this:

Proverbs 19:17 ​Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

I do not seek the gift; I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.

Listen once again to how he describes this Philippian fruit:

2 Corinthians 8:1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor [the grace] of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

This is God’s grace given. This passion and purpose to give is a gift they don’t deserve. They didn’t make excuses; they had legitimate ones, but their joy in Jesus overflowed in a wealth of generosity. They had experienced God’s amazing grace, and they wanted in on the fellowship in this gospel grace with others.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org