Philippians, the epistle of Paul to the Philippians. We began a survey study of this prison epistle this afternoon, and it will take our time and consideration for the next few weeks, both on Sunday mornings and on Sunday afternoons. We trust that the Lord would bless this study and that the exhortations and applications given here will be life transforming. Someone, not many people would ask such a question, but indeed the question needs to be asked. Why do we have preaching? A little child not knowing any better might say we need preaching to make the church service too long. I think some children think that and they learn to dread preaching as much as they learn to dread other things in life simply because it seems to take a long time. But the answer is we need preaching because preaching does two things. Preaching opens the scripture to us. All preaching should contain an explanation of a text of scripture. So we learn under preaching. Number two, preaching applies the Word of God to our lives. If it is simply an explanation of Scripture without the explanation of Scripture, then we do not have preaching. There are some men who say, well, I'm not really a preacher. I'm more of a Bible teacher. When they tell me that, I know they don't have the guts to apply the Word of God and take the heat. Remember, when the prophets came in the Old Testament, they spoke the Word of God so the people could understand it. And when they did so, they were usually stoned to death or severely persecuted. It's that application of the Word of God to us that we oftentimes do not like. But even in a survey study, I trust that we will deal with issues in our own lives, and this will prove life transforming. Father, we pray. that as we look to this Philippian epistle, that here, even within this congregation, lives might be touched and changed, transformed by the truth of God. This is our prayer, that true preaching will take place, and the Spirit of God would make good, personal, intense application. This is our prayer. Honor and glorify yourself in it, we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. I want to begin by reading several passages of scripture from the Philippian Epistle, and this will tie together the major themes and concerns that we will find before us in our studies of this epistle. The first is from Philippians chapter 1, verses 3 through 7. Paul writes, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making request with joy for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ, even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart. Inasmuch as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. By the seventh verse of the first chapter of this epistle, we see the intimate relationship that the Apostle Paul had with the Philippians. We see their continued support referred to in a very quiet and yet definite manner. We see the work of the ministry, the defense and confirmation of the gospel. We see here a pastor's mentality and a pastor's heart. He said, I have you in my heart. And then we see the congregation's part in the pastoral ministry. Ye all are partakers of my grace. When the pastor stands to preach, he is and has been upheld by those who have entered God's house already through prayer before they come here preparing and lifting up the pastor that he might preach the Word of God. The most serious preparation for the ministry of the Word takes place before anyone enters God's house. Philippians chapter 1 and verse 12, But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. The Philippians were concerned about the Apostle Paul now that he was imprisoned. What good could he possibly do? He writes to inform them that contrary to their expectations, his ministry has been furthered even from prison in Rome. Philippians chapter 1, verses 19 through 21, Paul writes, For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also, Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. His earnest expectation was that he would be supplied with that ministry of the Holy Spirit enabling him to speak the gospel freely. This freedom, this paresia, this boldness, this unreservedness of speech, he says, will come to him through their intercessory prayers. It is a tremendous passage concerning the doctrine of prayer in the New Testament. This also gives us the context for this legendary saying, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. By way of exhortation and application, the Apostle Paul takes one of the great doctrinal passages, a Christological passage in the New Testament, and uses it to illustrate Christian humility. Philippians chapter 2 verses 14 through 18. This gives to us a repetition several times of the key words to this epistle, rejoice and rejoicing. Do all things, Paul writes, without murmurings and disputings, in order that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth, or literally holding up, the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with me." There is a binding together between the preacher and the people through prayer and through the communion of God's people to empower the truth of the gospel. Philippians chapter 3 verses 10 through 14. Paul said that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, neither were already perfect, but I follow after, If that, I may apprehend that, for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do. Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. This passage is enigmatic to many. It simply refers to the reality of realizing in one's Christian experience the fullness and reality of our union with Christ. Philippians chapter 4, verses 12 and 13. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." This passage of Scripture is often quoted out of context. And we seem to put a limitless and infinite possibility to this passage, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Paul, in the context, might well have said, I can endure all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. This has to do more with a negative context than with a positive context. These passages then introduce for us this Philippian epistle. I want to note first, for I am going to contain myself in this message to introductory matters, giving us a basis for the remainder of our studies as we apply and open the text But I want to deal with some of the primary issues, introductory matters, in our message today. First, this is a prison epistle. And that's very significant. Even Paul's prayers, as we will see in these prison epistles, are unlike any other prayers in the entirety of the Word of God. we find some different aspects of Paul's nature, character, and personality revealed to us during this time. It is probably the only time in his ministry when he has the leisure and the time to think issues through rather than be in the forefront of spiritual battle. So there are some contemplative passages here where he deals with various issues in the Christian life that normally he would not be able to deal with. There are several of his letters or epistles that are known as the prison epistles. Those letters that were written to individuals, churches, or perhaps even to the nation during his first and possibly during his second Roman imprisonment, giving us the years approximately A.D. 61 to about A.D. 63. We have reason to believe from the internal evidence of the New Testament that Paul was released for a very short time and then imprisoned again at the beginning of the Neronian persecution in the spring of 64 A.D. and was finally beheaded about 68 A.D., shortly before the death of Nero, about the same time as the Apostle Peter and some of the other original apostles. In general chronological order, we can determine, we believe, the prison epistles. First, Philippians, second, Philemon, third, Colossians, and fourth, Ephesians. Ephesians and Colossians being written about the same time and quite parallel in length and quite parallel in subject matter. If Paul were the author of the book of Hebrews, and that is debatable, By the third century A.D., church tradition, Christian tradition, assigns the Hebrew epistle to Paul. The language is different. In the Greek, the structure is entirely different. I am of the opinion that Paul did write it and took to himself more of a rabbinical style to speak to the Jewish mind and heart. Many scholars, even most scholars today, do not believe that Paul did write the epistle to the Hebrews. Now, the gloss which is entered into the text of the Stephanus text and later Textus Receptus that written from Rome or so by Paul the Epistle to the Hebrews is a later edition that did not come into our scripture until the third century. It's not in the oldest manuscripts. And so we have great reason to say that it was written anonymously. And certainly with the prejudice against Paul, it could have been written anonymously except Internal evidence shows us that they knew the author, who was a good friend of Timothy, who was imprisoned, and who had a long enduring relationship with these Hebrew Christians. I do believe, everything taken in its proper aspect, that we do have a good case for the Pauline authorship of Hebrews. If he wrote the book of Hebrews, it was written during this time. His imprisonment in Rome, no doubt. Now, the destination and the readers. Paul sent this letter to the church at Philippi, the first church which had been established in Europe. It was planted during his second missionary journey, and it was a Roman colonia. We get our English word, colony, from this. A Roman colonia was a city of the highest standing. It meant that they possessed their own independent government and they were not garrisoned with Roman soldiers. They had a great degree of freedom. It was the chief city of northern Macedonia. The congregation there was greatly loved by the Apostle Paul. In Acts chapter 16 and 17, we find the establishment of the church at Philippi and then the aftermath as Paul leaves and goes on to Thessalonica. So out of those troubled circumstances, we see a church that has been planted, a church that will minister to Paul's needs once and again and again when no other church of his planting ever questioned or seemed to be concerned about providing for him. So they showed more of an interest than any other church that he had planted up to that time. Now the occasion for this Ephesian epistle. There are some major reasons and there are some secondary reasons. I talk sometime about external evidence and internal evidence. What do I mean by that? External evidence is evidence outside the Philippian epistle itself, outside the given writing. Internal evidence is evidence within the writing itself, as to the authorship, the destination, the circumstances of writing, and so forth. And of course, that's basically determined by internal evidence. What is the author's name? Why does he say that he's writing? Sometimes it's very evident. Sometimes there are major reasons, and then there's a secondary purpose involved. And it's helpful to know these things, because we situate ourselves in the context of the entire letter or epistle. And when we do this, that governs our interpretation. On one occasion, after a Greek class years ago, when I was teaching in a certain college, far removed from here. I was discussing with some of the students, and about half the students were men who were already in the pastorate, and several of them were quite older than I was. And I mentioned to one of the students who asked me a question, I said, you'll have to see this in the epistles of the Hebrews. Remember, Hebrews 4 12.14 tells us, holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. That is the utter necessity of a converted life. And I was going through the Greek text of Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 14. One of the pastors broke in, he said, Brother Downing, he said, that is your great error. And I, what does that happen to be? I have a lot of errors. Which is the great one? It's like, which is the great commandment, you know? And he said, If you just look at the title, you see that was written to the Hebrews. It's not meant for us. That's dispensationalism, by the way. The man, they were all dispensationalists there in that class. So, they discount the teaching of the book of Hebrews. And they miss entirely all of the very Christian teaching that's there because they don't believe these were Christians at all. They were Jews. We believe that they were Jewish Christians who were tempted to step back into Judaism to escape persecution. Well, my answer to him was, that's strange. I suppose, then, we don't have much of a Bible at all, being that Romans was written to those at Rome, Corinthians to those at Corinth, Galatians to those at Galatia, Ephesians to those at Ephesus, doesn't leave us any Bible at all. Nothing written to those in California, I'm sad to say. So, of course, I was on the bad side of another pastor. But this is the thinking today. We need to know the Word of God as thoroughly as possible, and we need to know the given context of any book, because it determines the interpretation and the application of the teaching. Epaphroditus, as you will see by reading the epistle, which I advise you to do this week in preparation for our further messages, Epaphroditus had come to Rome with a gift from the Philippian church. He had remained to help Paul. Prisoners in the days of the Roman Empire, if they did not have friends to help them out financially, usually starved to death. They were under the worst of conditions. Epaphroditus stayed to help Paul. You'll find this in chapter 2. Toward the end of the chapter, while he stayed to help Paul, he became grievously ill, almost died. And then eventually he recovered and the Philippians wondered what had happened to him. They heard that he stood there, he had not returned, and they were concerned about his spirituality. Maybe he had apostatized. They were concerned about his health. So Paul sends this Philippian epistle back with Epaphroditus also exonerating his character. Very important to note that. Very important to know that as a pattern how to deal with Christian workers and Christian companions. He also writes to allay their fears concerning his own state. Do you recall? The things which have happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. The people at Philippi expected that his ministry would be over or cut short because of his imprisonment, when actually the opposite was true. The secondary reasons include preparing them for a visit from Timothy in chapter 2, verses 19 through 23, his prayer request for boldness during his trial, chapter 1 verse 19 and onward, various exhortations including an exhortation to unity and then to help various women of the church. We find this in chapter 2 and also in chapter 4. There are two large sections of appeals or exhortations in this epistle. The theme of Philippians is found in the term joy. Joy, rejoice, and like words occur 17 times in 104 verses. The epistle itself contains 104 verses. These occur 17 times. If you are taking notes, I'll mention the scripture references. That will give some structure to the epistle. Chapter 1, verses 4, 18, 25, and 26. Chapter 2, verses 2, 16. In 17, the words occur twice. 18, they occur twice. 28. Chapter 3, verse 1, and verse 3. Chapter 4, verse 1. Twice in verse 4, and once in verse 10. using and studying through the epistle with the idea and major theme of joy. Remember, written from a prisoner in Rome, written for a man whose ministry is restricted, written from a man who is chained to a centurion and has relatively little freedom at all. His heart is filled with joy and this is descriptive of the entire epistle. If we could summarize these occurrences in their context, we would see in chapter 1, joy in living. In chapter 2, joy in serving. In chapter 3, joy in fellowshipping. In chapter 4, joy in persevering. Now to the content and character of this epistle. It is known to us as an intensely practical letter from the Apostle Paul. And yet, at the same time, it is theologically profound. It contains, among other things, in chapter 1, verses 9 through 11, the prayer of the Apostle Paul that their love may abound yet more and more in all knowledge and discernment. we see an exposition of Christian love being an intelligent love and a discerning love, certainly far removed from the modern evangelical concept of love as emotional. We learn much concerning the doctrine of intercessory prayer and motives for preaching the gospel in chapter 1. In chapter 2, the great Christological passage that forms its center. In chapter 3, the truth and reality of justification by faith and a warning against false teachers, all doctrinal as well as practical. And in chapter 4, by way of example, the contemplative issues of the Christian life. So we have here a combination of the practical and the theological interwoven throughout this Philippian epistle. Now I want to give you the outline of the Ephesian epistle and this outline will govern our study for the next few weeks. I will give you the major points and then I will return and I will fill in the sub-points. So if you want to take down the major points, leave three or four spaces on your paper and then we can fill in the sub points. It is always good in study to have an outline or an analysis of any book of the Bible before you. It gives it shape. It tells you something about its contents. The book begins to assume the proportions of a distinct personality. And in our acquaintance with our knowledge of the Scriptures, we need to know every book of the Bible that way. Where would we go for this? Where would we go for that? Primary passages of Scripture arise in our mind if we have an intelligent, comprehensive grasp of the Word of God. So we find now, and I'm going to give the Scriptures later, number one, Paul's relation to the Philippians, number one. Paul's relation to the Philippians. Number two, Paul's present circumstances. Number three, Paul's first practical exhortations to the Philippians. Number four, Paul's plans for his co-workers. Paul's plans for his co-workers. Number five, Paul's warnings against two errors. Paul's warnings against two errors. Number six, Paul's second practical exhortations to the Philippians. The whole section is given again to practical exhortations. And seventh, Paul's rejoicing for the Philippians. So we have a seven-part division to the epistle. We will go back then, and I will fill things in. We have first, in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 1, the salutation. The salutation after the manner of formal letters of the first century A.D. in the Graeco-Roman culture. Then we have, number 1, Paul's relation to the Philippians, chapter 1, verses 3 through 11. And we have four sub-points. In verses 3-5, His thanksgiving for them. In verses 6-7, His confidence in them. In verse 8, His longing for them. And verses 9-11, His prayer for them. So we have thanksgiving, confidence, longing, and prayer. It shows the intimate relationship that the Apostle had with these Philippian believers. This outline will also aid you as you read through this epistle this week in preparation for the message next Lord's Day. Number 2, Paul's present circumstances, chapter 1, verses 12 through 26. Two divisions to this section. Number 1, verses 12 through 20, his attitude toward the furtherance of the gospel. Paul's attitude toward the furtherance of the gospel. Verses 21 through 26, his attitude toward life and death. You can see already what application might be here for us as we face at times like issues. and we take our instruction and our example directly from the Word of God, do not have to resort to speculation and psychology. In our day, the ignorance of the Bible on the part of most cause people to look to philosophy and to psychology rather than to the Word of God for a quick answer to the issue. That attitude is there. I say it from my own personal pastoral ministry. When people come to me and say, I have this problem, what shall I do about it? They want to go for the quick answer. They want to go to psychology, to philosophy, because they can always tell me, I don't agree with you. I think you're not giving me what I need. But if I come to them from the Word of God, Then either they're living in obedience to God's Word or they're rebelling against it. That's why it's difficult to come to the pastor. He tells you the truth of God's Word and then the burden is upon you to submit to God's Word and live in obedience to God's Word or rebel against God's Word. And you would be surprised how few people follow the admonitions of the Word of God among professing Christians. They don't want it. They want philosophy, they want psychology. We have a tremendous amount of practical admonition here directly applied from the Word of God. Then third, Paul's first practical exhortations to the Philippians. Chapter 1 verse 27 through chapter 2 and verse 18. There is a fourfold appeal. In verses 27-30 of chapter 1, an appeal for steadfastness in the face of opposition. Now we know how to behave and how to live when we're opposed in our Christianity, straight from the Word of God. Number 2, chapter 2, verses 1-4, an appeal for spiritual unity in the congregation. That is our strength, is it not? Chapter 2, verses 5-11, an appeal for humility in the congregation. And then chapter 2, verses 12-18, an appeal to realize Christ's likeness in the life. Number 4 now, Paul's plans for his co-workers. Chapter 2, verses 19-20. Concerning Timothy, verses 19 through 24. Concerning Epaphroditus, verses 25 through 30. And then chapter 3, verse 1 through chapter 4, verse 1, Paul's warnings against two errors. When we look at Paul's personal example, Paul's personal experience, his self-righteous days as a Pharisee under the law, and then he goes on after this to warn against those whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things, and so forth. We can summarize all of these as warnings against two extreme errors. In verses 1 through 16, a warning against legalism. a law or works righteousness, a warning against legalism, and then in verses 17 through chapter 4 in verse 1, a warning against antinomianism, lawlessness in the life, worldliness among Christians, self-centeredness and sinfulness contrary to the very spirit of the gospel. Then sixth, Paul's second practical exhortations to the Philippians, chapter 4, verses 2 through 9. There is a threefold appeal here in verses 2 and 3, an appeal for unity, where he singles out some people who have ought one against another and have not straightened it out. Verses 4 through 7, an appeal for consistent and holy living. Verses 8 and 9, an appeal for holy thinking and doing. It is interesting, is it not, when we summarize these scriptures, how much of the New Testament is applied to knowledge, to knowing, to having a firm grasp on truth before we come to the part of living. The Christian life and the Christian experience is to be lived in the context of the knowledge of God and His Word. It's not merely a matter of feeling, not merely a matter of programs and activities, not merely a matter of the corporate life of the church and we're all together and we have this and we have that and we have our identity. No, it's living in obedience to the Word of God and this should transform the life. Much is given to knowledge. To the extent that we know God's Word, to that extent we ought to be spiritual people, progressively so. extent that we are ignorant of God's Word, to that extent we are culpable for our sinfulness and our deviation, for God has given us His Word in terms clearly to be understood and obeyed. The seventh and final part of the Epistle, Paul's rejoicing for the Philippians, chapter 4, verses 10 through 21. In verse 10, he rejoices for their care and their gift. They had sent a gift with Epaphroditus, finances so Paul could eat in prison, and also he could send out men on various missions because he could no longer himself work. In verses 11 through 13, he explains his independence of circumstances. Do you not wish that you as a Christian could live independently of your circumstances? That whatever your circumstances were spiritually, you could rise above them and be consistent? Paul tells us how. He says, I have learned. He made the most of bad experiences. Quite a lesson, is it not? In Christian ethics, God works. He thanks them for their gift in verses 14 through 18, and then He reveals the abundance of God to them in verses 19 through 20. Some of these scriptures have stood alone in people's thinking, and they have been meant to teach something that they simply don't teach. And we have to be aware that we do not overextend ourselves in the application of God's Word so that the Word of God is changed into meaning something it was never intended to convey. And then finally, the conclusion in chapter 4, verses 21 through 23. I want to close our introductory study this afternoon with five observations that I have taken from the material that has been presented today. First, Paul's experience at Philippi and the founding of the church there. We learn that being in the will of God does not preclude great opposition. It was utterly unquestionable that Paul was called to Philippi. The Holy Spirit shut up their ministry all the way through southern Galatia, through Asia, until they ended at Troas, a seaport. The only place for them to go after this was to sea. And while they were waiting there, Paul has a vision in the night, a man from Macedonia saying, come over and help us. Evidently the man in the vision could have been Luke. It was a man from Macedonia, and he didn't say, come over and preach the gospel to us. He said, come over and help us. Assured that the Holy Spirit had sent them into Macedonia, which was Europe, the gospel now enters Europe. And there was no man from Macedonia. There was a woman. In a woman's Bible study, there wasn't even a congregation there. There was a proshuke, a Jewish place of prayer and washing by the riverside, a mile outside the city. And there, the first convert wasn't a man. The first convert was a woman. And as God was blessing their ministry, Paul and Silas were arrested. They were beaten unjustly without a trial. They came near to being lynched. They were thrown into prison. And then they were forced later to leave the city. We read in history, and I think the most dangerous history books are those that are summarized. Those that are given as a series of anecdotes. I remember reading a two-page article when I was first introduced to the ministry of Robert and James Haldane. And Robert Haldane, of course, went to Geneva in 1860. He was 50 years of age at the time. He was a retired naval officer. He left his commission. His brother owned a shipping company. They were men of means in Scotland. They came to Baptist convictions, and they were ostracized by the Reformed people of Scotland. They became self-appointed and self-sustained, financially self-sustained missionaries to Europe. And they planted many churches. And in the process of time, Robert Haldane came to Geneva. And there at Geneva, Merle d'Aubigné, Cesar Millan, Louis Gowson, and a host of men, Boniface and others, all of these men were converted in what became known as the Second Geneva Reformation, or Haldane's Revival. And I'm thrilled to read accounts of that, this tremendous thing that took place with the students. They were all students, except Merle d'Aubigné was a pastor. They were all students of the theological faculty, the seminary in Geneva, which had become rationalistic, taught Arminianism, Socinianism, and Arianism, denying the deity of Christ. The influence of Calvin had been gone from there for a century and a half. Haldane came and rented an apartment across from the from the theological school, the theological faculty, and he put up long tables in his apartment with food and also the scriptures in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Some of the students had never read the Bible. They were going into the ministry as clergymen. They were unconverted. They had never come to the truth of the gospel. And there was Haldane with his English Bible in his hand, striding back and forth saying, it is written. And he taught through the book of Romans. Haldane's commentary on Romans are the notes that he gave to the students, and they were all converted. These men became the greatest men in the European continent for the great times of revival and spiritual awakening that took place throughout all the 1800s in Britain and in Europe. Well, I'm thrilled to hear that, but how many of you have read The Life, Labors, and Ministry of the Brothers Haldane? A book of about 600 pages in our library. Almost four times Haldane had gone to Geneva and left entirely discouraged. Terrible things, everything went wrong. He was finally, his wife came in a carriage, they were getting ready to move on to Germany and Berlin, when at the last possible moment he met a young man, Merle Daubigny, and then they established that Bible study. When you look at the intricacies of it, at the details of it, it was a horribly discouraging time. But when it's summarized, you've always heard that Haldane went to Geneva and among these students a great revival came and all of these great men were converted. Well, that's the truth. But it doesn't tell you about all the discouraging things that took place. Being in the will of God does not preclude tremendous opposition and discouragement. We have to remember that because if we do not, then in a time of discouragement and opposition, what will we be tempted to say? Evidently, this is not the will of God. We find this in Paul's ministry and we need to understand that in our own lives. Our second observation, the will of God is not necessarily ideal or will be fulfilled in an idealistic way. All of the opposition at Philippi shows us this. We should not have an idealistic view of the will of God. Oh, if the will of God were fulfilled, all of these problems would disappear. All marriages would be reconciled. All Christians would grow in grace. My, if the Spirit of God came upon our church in a time of revival and awakening, that for which we pray and ardently pray, these problems would be answered. These problems would be answered. This would be glorious. That might be true. But when people are converted out of the rawness of sinful society and brought into the congregation of God's people, there will be more problems than ever before, more apostasies than ever before, more disappointments than ever before, in the context of more conversions than ever before. Our third observation, although Paul might remain bound in prison, The Word of God was not bound. Paul said, I suffered bonds as an evildoer, but the Word of God is not bound. Here was Paul in prison, but they could not imprison the Word of God. People were being converted in Caesar's household. People were being converted at Rome in high government positions. People were bold to speak out the truth. because Paul was in prison. His courage in adversity fueled the flame of encouragement to other believers. The fourth observation is that we see here the secret of a consistent and full Christian life in chapter 1 and verse 21. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. There are no verbs in the original language. For to me to live, Christ, and to die, gain. The verbs are omitted for dramatic effect, to be impressed upon our minds. And when that very common construction occurs in the New Testament, we might put an equal sign there. For to me to live equals Christ, and to die equals gain. Some men and women seek death if life treats them too harshly. It is better to die than endure intense torture or persecution. But only the Christian can say, first of all, for to me to live equals Christ. And only if that is true does death equal gain. Most will lose at death because to live was not equal Christ. The fifth and final observation, theology is meant to be practical by application. We see the great Christological passage in chapter 2, verses 5 through 11, all given to teach Christian humility. All theology, if it is biblical theology, true Christian theology, consonant with the Word of God, has great practical application. We err greatly if we dare to think that theology is only theoretical. It is meant to be practical by application, and it will be if it indeed derives from the Word of God. Father, we pray that You would bless our study as we introduce this Ephesian epistle, this Philippian epistle. We pray, Father, that You would bless our studies, sanctify our thinking, glorify Yourself as we seek to apply the Word of God to our own lives. This we ask unto Your glory through Jesus Christ. Amen.