Philippians
Philippians is a letter in a very real sense. We preacher types, especially those of us with an evangelical influence, tend to want break down everything that the Apostle Paul writes into nice little particulars attached to one major theme. With a bit of cleverness and a little more hard work we might actually be able to squeeze out something of a major theme in this letter, but it might end up being quite contrived. If there is a theme of Philippians it is not literary. Philippians is the writing of a human being who is magnificently and beautifully putting on display his deep love, affection, commitment to and passion for the message of Jesus Christ.
Paul, perhaps more than anyone who ever lived, gave his life to the message of Jesus. Ironically, but so appropriately it brought him a lot of struggle, suffering, pain, and injustice. In fact Paul was in chains when he penned this delightful letter. Yet, he can rejoice. And he does not seem to be forcing himself to do so. Even more fascinating is that Paul is not rejoicing just because he knows that his faith in Jesus will get him to heaven when he dies. Although this is true and is one of the many reasons that Paul has to rejoice, it is still only one reason. With enthusiasm and childish charm the Apostle finds joy in any and every circumstance because he sees every circumstance of his life, whether he suffers or whether he prospers, as having a direct association to his relationship to Jesus Christ.
I have to believe that if Paul, even while sitting in a Roman jail cell, tried to look for a reason to despair he could not find one. He found that the gospel advanced whether or not he was preaching it. It advanced whether or not it was preached with good motives. He found that the worst thing that could happen to him was that they would kill him which he ends up saying would be the best thing that could happen to him because it would mean his being with Christ. But even if they didn’t kill him, his remaining on earth would be good news for those who he would minister to. He found that his life of suffering identified him so closely with Christ, and that the injustice he suffered at the hands of the Roman Empire would be vindicated by his rising again from the dead just like Christ, leading to his ascension into heaven just like Christ.
The gospel was about preaching and living out the message of Christ, and Paul was living it. This bode well for him ultimately. So even in his suffering he could rejoice because his suffering for the cause of Christ showed the legitimacy of his gospel. Paul was discovering that this world, no matter how hard it tried, could not stop the gospel. It could imprison its preachers, sabotage its message, and kill its followers, but it could not stop the gospel. This inspired Paul to write a beautiful letter, containing not a centralized theme, but a majestic poem, inspiring its readers to not give up courage, to stand strong together, knowing that they were preaching an incorruptible message, and following in the footsteps of an utterly victorious savior.