After sharing with the
Philippian church concerning being in a “strait” between
staying alive to be with them and dying to be with the Lord Jesus,
Paul noted the benefit to the people if he were to stay “in the
flesh”. In chapter one and verse twenty-five in his letter to
the Philippians Paul expounds upon the advantage they would have if
he were to abide. We read:
And having this
confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for
your furtherance and joy of faith;
The
verse begins, “And having this confidence, I know that I
shall abide and continue with you all...” Paul
said he had “this confidence”
which means “be persuaded, to trust, have confidence, be
confident” and it implies the idea of being “tranquilized”. It
calmed Paul's dilemma when he knew that he would “abide and
continue with you all”. There was a certain trust that Paul
enjoyed when he thought about staying alive, and by doing so the
people within the church would be benefited.
The
verse goes on to say, “...for your furtherance and joy of
faith;” There are two areas
wherein the church in Philippi would be advantaged by Paul continuing
to live. First, they would benefit in the area of “furtherance”
which means “progress or
advancement”. The church members in Philippi needed to grow in
their walk with the Lord, and since Paul was convinced he would stay
alive, they would continue their progress with God. The second area
of advantage for the church in Philippi was in their “joy
of faith”. “Joy of
faith” was the “gladness”
of having “conviction of the truth of anything, belief , relating
to God, relating to Christ, fidelity, or faithfulness”.
Because Paul the apostle would stay alive, the people in the church
in Philippi would continue in their growing relationship with God
which would help them to be “glad” and “joyful” over knowing
and believing in Him more and more.
As we think on these words
of Paul, do we have people in our lives who are benefited in their
“furtherance and joy of faith” in their relationship with
God? Do we have people we influence and are benefited because we
continue to live? Paul the apostle knew that there was an advantage
to himself if he died and went to be with Jesus, but he also knew
there was a huge advantage for the people in the church if he stayed
in the flesh. Perhaps we should examine our lives and ask the Lord to
help us to bless those who are advantaged by our being alive, and if
we have none who experience “furtherance and joy of faith”
because we live, may the Lord add many with whom we may share.
Next
time Paul shares about the way the Philippians with rejoice when they
see him, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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