Philippians 1:11-15

 

Phil 1:11 (KJB)

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

 

Being filled - Having been filled

 

When a person becomes born again, they are immediately filled with all the fruits of righteousness. There may not be a manifestation of these for a while but with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer, we receive all the fruits of the Holy Spirit which manifests the true Christian lifestyle. (Gal 5:22-23 KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, {23} Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. These things can only come through salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ and these things will give the Christian the ability to praise and glorify God in the Spirit, which is the true worship of God. The righteousness of Christ is imparted to the believer for their entire life, which would also mean that as long as we are under that righteousness of Christ, a true Christian can never lose their salvation. (1 Pet 1:5 KJV) Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

Phil 1:12 (KJB)

But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;

 

Should understand - To know or become aware of

Have fallen out - Have turned out

Furtherance - Advancement

 

Paul now writes a section concerning his situation and the Gospel. He wanted the Philippians to know that what happened to him is actually turning out for the advancement of the Gospel and not for the hindering of it. In 1956 when five missionaries were killed by the Auca Indians, one would think that it would have been the end of evangelism in that area, however, it turned out to be the catalyst for evangelism and some of the men who threw the spears at the missionaries, were some of the ones who became saved. Paul is not being hindered by his circumstances of being in prison, instead, he is using the opportunity to continue sending forth the gospel. Basically, the great principle here is that one need not be under their circumstances, a Christian should be riding on top of the circumstances not allowing themselves to be hindered. The Gospel message is much more powerful than our circumstances can ever be and one must realize that all our circumstances are designed by God Himself for His glory.

 

Phil 1:13 (KJB)

So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;

 

Bonds - Imprisonment

Manifest - Known

 

Paul is further stating that his imprisonment may be in a physical prison, but his real bonds are in Christ. His situation had allowed him to bring the gospel to those who were guarding him and beyond. The word for “palace” is “praetorium” which could refer to the Praetorium guard which would have consisted of about 10,000 soldiers. Tiberius had placed 10,000 soldiers in Rome for the protection of him and his court. So the gospel may have spread through the ranks by means of Paul witnessing to some of the soldiers who guarded him and they, in turn, passed on the gospel message and that is how the Gospel was spreading throughout Rome. It is worthy to note that these soldiers were handpicked because of special qualifications so to reach them, was a great feat. That is called living above your circumstances.

 

Phil 1:14 (KJB)

And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

 

Waxing confident - Convinced or persuaded

Bold - To dare or be brave

 

Because of Paul’s imprisonment, he had the opportunity to speak with many about the true Gospel and with that was the encouragement to spread the word and to be bold in their witness. It is unfortunate that many Christians allow their circumstances to hinder their personal ministries. Here Paul is stating that those Christians who stand firm in the Lord will be able to speak the word with confidence because they do not allow their circumstances to dictate their obedience to God. God is fully aware of the trials we face and He also knows that these things can turn out to be times of greatest witness. It seems that negative circumstances are really positive circumstances when it come to Christianity.

 

Phil 1:15 (KJB)

Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

 

Envy - Jealousy of another’s success

Strife - Discord, contention, or quarrels

Good will - Favor, good pleasure, or desire

 

Even in prison, Paul knew of the false teachers who were opposing the true Gospel. There were some who were preaching out of the correct motives and these were probably some of Paul’s converts and associates. Then there were those who were envious of Paul’s position and the attention he was given concerning his ministry. Envy always seems to raise up people to contradict the true Gospel. False teachers have only one motive and that is to draw people to themselves rather than to lead them to Christ and they most likely figured that since Paul was shut up in prison, they could go around unhindered in their pursuit for followers. They may have preached Christ, but their real motive was to gain a following. (Mat 24:5 KJV) For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. The Lord already predicted that there would come those who would proclaim Him as Christ and come in His name but their Gospel would be one of total deception. At least, Paul could have taken solace that there were others who were preaching the truth and the people were not all under the spell of false teachers.

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