Philippians 1:1-6 - Confidence

Live confidently knowing He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.

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Philippians 1:1-6 (NIV)

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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.

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Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Articles 1-7

Article 8: The Saving Effectiveness of Christ’s Death

1. For it was the entirely free plan and very gracious will and intention of God the Father 

   1. that the enlivening and saving effectiveness of his Son’s costly death 

      1. should work itself out in all the elect, 

      2. in order that God might grant justifying faith to them only 

   2. and thereby lead them without fail to salvation. 

2. In other words, it was God’s will that Christ 

   1. through the blood of the cross 

   2. (by which he confirmed the new covenant) 

   1. should effectively redeem 

      1. from every people, tribe, nation, and language 

      2. all those and only those 

         1. who were chosen from eternity to salvation 

         2. and given to him by the Father; 

   2. that Christ should grant them faith

      1. (which, like the Holy Spirit’s other saving gifts, he acquired for them by his death). 

3. It was also God’s will 

   1. that Christ should cleanse them by his blood from all their sins, 

      1. both original and actual, 

      2. whether committed before or after their coming to faith; 

   2. that he should faithfully preserve them to the very end; 

   3. and that he should finally present them to himself, a glorious people, without spot or wrinkle.

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Summary

I hope you didn't blow too fast through the opening benediction. If you experience the blessing of gathering each Lord's Day with God's people to worship Him, these are words you likely hear often, and as such maybe it seems a bit stale to read the familiar words grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But those words are anything but stale; they come as the result of all that God has done for you in Christ. They are a life giving tonic you need to hear weekly as you're reminded that despite life's storms blowing all around you, that your God extends grace and peace to you rather what your sins deserve.

It must have been so difficult for Paul. He'd come into a new city like Philippi, and if, by God's grace, the people there were open to the gospel, he'd plant a church. He'd then stay with it awhile, teaching them doctrine and theology, and getting to know them at a deeply personal level. He'd build up a team of local elders and deacons, and sometimes ordain a pastor like Timothy or Titus. But then the time would come when the Spirit would call him to the next city to start the cycle again.

It still hard to move from one area to another in today's day and age, but at least the connection with the previous community stays strong due to social media and the fact that your phone number travels with you. All they had two millennia ago was written correspondence like this epistle we still treasure. But correspondence took weeks or months. It's hard for us to imagine not knowing what's going on with people we love.

But for all the angst and loneliness such separation caused Paul to feel, He doesn't worry. He thanks my God every time he remembered them. He filled his days and nights praying with joy because of their partnership in the gospel. And on top of it all he felt confident. He knew these Philippian people he loved were held tightly by our God and Father, and that God's grace is much stronger than they were.

  Dig Deeper  

Paul's confidence isn't based in an assumption that because these people were now Christians that somehow everything would instantly work out in their lives. Paul had experienced enough of life's realities first hand to know that often reality is quite the opposite of that.

But Paul realizes that the Christian life is a process, and that although preachers like Paul play a critical role in the process, he didn't need to worry that because he wasn't right there in Philippi guiding each and every step that the saints there would cease their spiritual development in his absence.

Paul could have this confidence because he knew that He who began the good work in each of these Philippians would carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Paul knew it was the Holy Spirit of God that regenerated each of those hearts he'd come to love, and that the Spirit would be faithful to finish the work He'd begun.

The Canons here captures how a portion of this process works. Christ redeemed - that is, He purchased - God's elect from every people, tribe, nation, and language through the blood of the cross. Then Christ granted each of these people who were chosen from eternity to salvation faith (which, like the Holy Spirit’s other saving gifts, he acquired for them by his death). 

This process that Paul has so much confidence in doesn't end there! He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion, as the Canons put it, as Christ faithfully preserves you to the very end; and that he should finally present you to himself, a glorious people, without spot or wrinkle.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who along with His Son, offers you His grace and peace;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will live with the confidence of knowing that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Romans 15