Koinonia: A God Centered Partnership
Philippians 1:3-11
Philippians 1:3-11
Let's Pray...
When I talk about the church, I like to use the word family a lot. And if we are honest, family may not always fit.
There are a lot of times when the term “family” is a romanticized or idealized notion of what we one day hope to see in the church, not what it is now.
What the Bible teaches though, and what I've been learning this week, is that there is a deeper and more robust definition that we need to give to describe the church (people not building).
We are not only to think of ourselves in the church as a family.
This is why; as you might know from recent Thanksgiving gatherings, a family may be connected by blood and shared experiences — a shared past.
But aside from that, we as families, as blood relatives, can be about the most scattered bunch of people around when it comes to terms of direction.
We’re a family yes, there’s something of a connection there, but as individuals we’re going in a million different ways.
That's why I love a word that Paul uses in tonight's passage. The word is partnership.
You see, partners are MUCH different than family members.
Partners are two or more people who, regardless of who they were, and regardless what they've done in the past, and regardless what their affiliations might be in any other area,
They have a common goal and that is what brings them together and that is what binds them.
Some partnerships are short term. Politicians make temporary alliances to pass a piece of legislation that they both believe in.
Countries partner with one another to overcome a common foe.
Others partner for a longer period. Parents partner with schools to educate their children.
Workers in a factory partner together with management, to produce a product quickly and efficiently and with the highest possible quality.
And we, As Christians, are in the longest-term partnership. Take a look around, we are in partnership to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout our lives. And we’re in partnership to worship God eternally. The people you see here are going to be with you forever.
Before we get to Paul's teaching, lets see what Jesus had to say on the matter of the church as partners — unified for a common purpose.
In John 17:20-24, Jesus offers this prayer up to the Father for His disciples and all believers that have come through their ministry.
If you are a believer tonight, this prayer – From Jesus – is for you. Listen to part of Jesus' prayer. We’ll read it then go back and unpack it:
John 17:20-23
20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
20 "My prayer is not for them (the disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message (That's us and everyone who comes to Christ through us),
21 that all of them may be one (This is the big Idea for tonight. He, Jesus, desires that we might all be one. We're going to look at how Paul sees that unity and let's keep reading here to find out why we should be unified),
Again...
21 that all of them may be one Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity (And again He tells us why. See the pattern here.)
to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
To Jesus, we are to be a unified body, a unified family – A Unified Partnership – and not for ourselves only, but to further the Kingdom, to show more people the unfathomable, undeniable, unexplainable Love of God.
Do we get a benefit? Absolutely, we do. But that is a byproduct of our faithfulness; Faithfulness first to Christ and then to one another.
The Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 4:7-11 does what Paul does tonight in Philippians, he ties the love of God to the way in which we serve in the partnership for the gospel:
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
So, Peter is saying our speech, our service our everything is focused individually and focused corporately — in our partnership — on the common goal of pointing each other back to God and pointing the lost to God for their salvation all for the Glory of God.
Now, if we're all tracking on the idea of partnering for the Gospel. Let's read on in Philippians 1:3-11:
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Let’s unpack this:
3 I thank my God every time I remember you
(Unpack) Church is always {or at least often} on Paul’s mind.
It’s interesting that he always remembers fondly, or thanks God every time he remembers them. (he can't have forgotten the bad treatment he got on his first visit, but he focuses on the results of the suffering).
4 In all my prayers for all of you...
(Unpack) Church is always {or at least often} in his prayers. We're going to get to specifics of those prayers in a moment, but let's continue.
(in all my prayers for all of you) ...I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership
(Unpack) Here's the word, “koinonia” again, he sees this group of believers not only as brothers and sisters but partners. Koinonia can also be translated as having fellowship with one another, communion with one another, contribution to one another...
But what are they partners in? What are we partners in with all Christ followers everywhere? What kind of partnership brings this kind of joy?
v. 5 says a partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
(Unpack) Gospel community is key from the beginning of our faith walk.
As soon as we come into a relationship with Christ, we should also be making connections with Christians. This is something that needs to be on your priority list if you are a new Christian, but the weight is on those of us who have been in the faith for some time.
But, we can't give what we don't have. Koinonia is not a tack on, it is not an extra piece. It's not a negotiable. It is a key to the life of a Christ follower.
And again, it isn’t just a partnership — it’s a partnership IN THE GOSPEL.
The Gospel, isn’t just the facts of God’s creation, man’s fall, and the reconciliation of man to God through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Jesus taught that the Scriptures also include us.
In Luke 24:46-47 Jesus is talking to His crew after the resurrection and before He ascended back up to Heaven and:
46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
That’s usually where we think the Gospel stops, but Jesus goes on and ties the believers, the disciples, the Christ followers of His time and all of us that have come to Him since then and he says in verse
47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Why are we in partnership? For the Gospel. Does that mean we preach the death, burial and resurrection of our savior? Yes. Church planter Ed Stetzer says the bloody cross and the empty tomb are essential.
And according to Jesus, we are also in partnership to preach Repentance and the Forgiveness of Sins to all nations.
Paul got that, and the Philippians got it too. And this caused great joy in Paul’s heart and prompted him to keep praying for the church.
Now, moving on to v. 6, we see that as we preach the Gospel, including repentance and the forgiveness of sins, we are just helping the lost, we are building up one another and ourselves through our own repetitive hearing of the gospel.
6 being confident of this, that he (God) who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus
(Unpack) Why a community of faith? Why a partnership in the Gospel? So that others might see and be confident of the movement of Jesus in your life.
The church family – the church partners — can rejoice with one another when we see growth in each other. And we can call each other out when we see a need for repentance.
We are here to train, equip, encourage, and sometimes rebuke one another for the good of the church, which then improves our effectiveness in the work of evangelism outside these gatherings, when our boots hit the ground on the streets, in the workplaces, in the family settings — anywhere there are lost people in need of directions to Christ.
And as an side benefit, for the good of our individual standing.
Without one another it's not going to work out.
Without one another we will not be as effective as we could be together.
We just talked this weekend in mens group about the need to be partnered; that a rope of three cords is not as easily broken as one can be.
Jesus didn’t send His disciples out on mission alone right? No! Two by two as partners on a specific mission — as partners in a common goal — to spread the message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins, through Christ. (Mark 6).
Another point to see here that is equally important is that Paul is thankful, not only for the partnership with the Philippian church, but also for the evidence of God in them. Read v. 6 again:
6 being confident of this, that he (God) who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus
It all goes back to God. Always.
Also, Paul points us to the fact that we don't stay optimistic in this life — in this world — because of ourselves, or one another, or in the predictability of the world around us.
Instead we depend on God to finish what He started: Psalm 138:8
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands
Moving on.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains
(Unpack) By mentioning chains, Paul points back to the founding of the church and his present condition when he wrote this letter. He’s writing to Philippi from another prison.
This was not usually something to be proud of back then any more than it is now. To be imprisoned was disgraceful.
Yet Paul looked to imprisonment as another chance to proclaim the Gospel.
In a more modern context, this is a way in which people have taken a cue from Paul's example to fight for their social or political or environmental causes. The best example on our soil is arguably Martin Luther King Jr. What do these guys do? They partner for a cause.
And listen, we are not the church of “this cause” or “that cause” except for the cause of Christ. But if you feel called into social action, we do encourage it, so long as it DOSEN'T HINDER THE GOSPEL.
But the point of this text is that, more important than any persecution for social causes, we must always be mindful of the cost to freedom, to reputation, to health and to actual lives that the Gospel can bring.
We live in a free country. We can hold on to our freedom, but the question you must ask is, what if the freedom was gone and things got very hard for Christians here in America as it is in India or Indonesia or China? Would you be willing to suffer for your faith, if it came to that?
Make a note on your hand to go and read Hebrews chapter 11 when you get home. After you read it, ask yourself, “Am I willing to go to ANY LENGTH for the cause of Christ?”
One reason that I believe the Gospel is true, is because of the willingness of the early church to be persecuted and even to die en masse for what they saw.
Paul will delve more into his current circumstance of imprisonment in a few more verses. We won't get there tonight.
Back to the text he says:
v. 7 for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me
(Unpack) As Christians, especially as a church sharing in koinonia, in partnership, we act as one body.
We are all interconnected in our joys and triumphs and our suffering – through our fellowship in Christ.
When one Christian or church triumphs, we all celebrate. When one Christian or church is hurt or struggling, we all feel it AND WE COME TO PROVIDE AID.
8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus
(Unpack) This will sound a little weird to us today, but “the affection of Christ Jesus” has also been translated, I long for you “in the bowels of Christ Jesus” – That was an old time way of talking about the innermost point of the soul or spirit where our most honest feelings are found.
My question to you is this: Do you feel this way, this deep – core level attachment to other Christians? Remember what the love of Jesus looked like. Selfless, sacrificial. Look to the cross. Do you love your partners in the Gospel that much?
I'm not talking about liking them. There are some Christians who are obviously more taxing on our patience and who need a lot more grace than others.
But, do you love them? Can you get past personalities and get back to the root principles — to the core Christian virtue of Love?
This leads us into Paul's prayer. Remember, he talked earlier about always praying for the Philippian church. Now he's going to spell that out.
As we read, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Those of us who work for the church in the grass are associated with other churches in the area. I would encourage you to weave this prayer language into your prayers for the churches you’re involved with, that you partner with that you are in koinonia with.
Another note: let them know about the prayers. It can be so encouraging to know that we are being lifted up in prayer each day by our partners.
And finally, please pray. We talk about prayer a lot in church, but make sure you are actually doing it, all right. So many times you might mean to pray, then you forget who you said you would pray for.
Or it seems like you don’t have time or whatever, I know. But, please make the time, and develop prayer — prayer for others — as a discipline.
Maybe it means putting a sticky note in your Bible for people who are always to be covered in prayer and a separate note for particular prayers that a person or church needs for a shorter window of time.
But don't just pray in thanks for your stuff and in petitions for what you need. Pray for those God has blessed you to be around, Amen?
Now, to Paul's prayer for the Philippians:
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
As Paul prayed for the Philippians, this is my prayer for you all tonight. And Please pray these things for me:
I pray that your love may abound more and more: I pray that you never stop growing.
I pray that you never get complacent and satisfied with where you are in your faith, but that you continue to desire growth in you walk with God.
I pray that you never stop pushing into a deeper amount of love and quality of love that you share with one another.
I pray that you never stop focusing all of that love back toward God as well.
I pray that you will let Jesus be your example as you grow — More selfless — More compassionate — More patient — More devoted to the will of the Father.
And I pray that the love might continue to grow in knowledge and depth of insight. In other words, don't neglect studying the Word. Don't neglect the Doctrines of our faith.
Focus your heart by studying what God has revealed in Scriptures about Himself, and this life, and eternity. And study with your head, and heart. Doctrine is not an ugly word.
Who is God? What Is Sin? Who are we as mankind? What ALL was accomplished on the cross?
Study doctrine, read the theologians and study the books of the Bible.
There are free online tools available now to help you dig into the original languages of the Bible and learn for yourself.
Dig in. But dig in, not so your head is more full of God stuff, not so you can talk theology with seminary students, not so you can be proud of yourself.
No, do it so that love might continue to grow in knowledge and depth of insight.
I pray that as you grow in Love, it will allow you to discern what is best in this life — what is best in every choice you make, and word you speak, and action you take — so that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.
In other words, I pray that you would not get thrown of course from the race you are running.
I pray that in love and in partnership you might know where best to take the next step in your faith walk.
I pray that as sins are revealed in your life, that you might continue to walk a lifestyle of repentance.
I pray that your growth would be an encouragement and a reminder of why we turn away from what is past and we turn toward Christ in repentance.
I pray that you might walk blameless and pure until the day of Christ, so that by your example. The example of a life lived in gratitude for the saving work of Christ, you and I, we in the church, we as partners in the gospel, might lead others to Christ before he returns.
Let's pray...
