Are You a Partner in the Gospel? BY Adriel Sanchez for Core Christianity
Have you ever known someone who brought a smile to your face whenever you thought about him or her? (If you’re married, you should probably say “yes.”) Have you known someone who, when you prayed for him or her, you couldn’t help saying, “Thank you, God, for this person”?
That’s how Paul feels about the church in Philippi. In Philippians, his letter to them, he says, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy” (Phil. 1:3). He mentions his love, affection, and thankfulness for them throughout this letter (1:7–8; 4:1). Paul has a special place in his heart for the Philippians.
Churches Paul planted didn’t always respond to him like the Philippians did. Sometimes, these churches filled him with anxiety. Right after greeting the church in Galatia, he writes, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (Gal. 1:6). The Galatians began believing false teachings after Paul left them, and he worried that his work among them might be “in vain” (Gal. 4:11). Paul knew what it was like to have churches turn against him.
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And he knew what it is was like to minister and suffer alone (2 Tim. 4:16).
Why Do the Philippians Bring Paul Joy?
So, what did the Philippians do to make Paul so joyful? What was it that distinguished them from other churches? Why does he call them “my joy and my crown” (Phil. 4:1)?
It’s because of their “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Phil. 1:5). He had spent time in Philippi at least three times beforethe writing of this letter (Acts 16:6–40; 20:1–2, 5–6). And from his first converts in Philippi—Lydia and the jailer—up to the present, they’ve partnered with him in his work in the gospel.
Partnership here suggests intimacy, fellowship, working closely together. He’s saying, “We’re on the same team. We’re working toward the same end.”
