Paul the apostle poured the
gospel into the church members in Philippi, and he was concerned that
he would have “run” or “labored in vain” in
his work with them. In chapter two and verse seventeen, we see
the depth of the care Paul had for them as he wrote of being “offered
upon the sacrifice and service” of their faith. We read:
Yes, and if I be
offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and
rejoice with you all.
The
verse begins, “Yes, and if I be offered upon the
sacrifice and service of your faith,” The
word “offered” is
“spendo” in the Greek language and means “to pour out as
a drink offering, make a libation”. Paul knew that his imprisonment
and possible execution would be as though he was being “offered”
as the “sacrifice” or literally “a sacrifice victim”
and “service” which means “a public office which a
citizen undertakes to administer at his own expense or a gift or
benefaction for the relief of the needy” on behalf of the church in
Philippi. Though Paul was paying and paid a price for the
Philippians' “faith” in the gospel of Jesus Christ, he was
willing.
The verse goes on to say, “I
joy, and rejoice with you all.” Not
only was Paul willing to be the sacrifice and service of of the
Philippian church members' faith, he was joyous to be so. He
declared, “I joy” which means “to rejoice, be glad and rejoice
exceedingly”, and as though he desired to emphasize the point, Paul
added “and rejoice with you all”
which means “to rejoice with, take part in another's joy, to
rejoice together, or to congratulate”. Paul not only wanted to have
“joy” within himself, but he desired to “rejoice”
with them as well.
As we ponder Paul's words,
do we have people in our lives in whom we have been offered as a
sacrifice on their behalf? Has our suffering in service been to the
benefit of others knowing and believing the gospel? Are there people
in whom we “joy” and “rejoice” over because
they have received Jesus Christ into their lives? Paul's idea of
being “offered” or “spendo” is like being “spent”
for others sake. If we were to measure our spiritual bank accounts,
would we be found empty because we have spent everything upon someone
else just so they could know the Savior Jesus? If so, may we continue
to be offered for the sake of others, and if not, perhaps it is time
to make a considerable withdrawal.
Next
time Paul tells the Philippians how he views his sacrifice for them,
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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