Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: PHILIPPIANS #2 - 1:12-30)
C. 1:12-30 NEW LIGHT ON SUFFERINGS OF IMPRISONMENT
1. 1:12-14 PAUL'S IMPRISONMENT: CAN EMBOLDEN SAINTS
GiNOskein [1097]de huMAS BOUlo-mai [1014], a-delPHOI, HOti ta kat' eME
Now I would have you know, brethren, that the happenings unto me
MALlon eis pro-koPEN [4297]tou eu-ag-geLIou [2098]eLElu-then [2064];
have come out rather unto progress of the gospel;
HOSte tous desMOUS [1199]mou pha-neROUS [5318]en ChrisTOgeNESthai
13 so that my bonds became manifest in Christ
en HOlotoprai-toRIo, kai tois loiPOIS PAsin;
in the whole praetorium, and to all the rest;
kai tous PLEIo-nas ton a-delPHON en KuRIo, pe-poiTHOtas [3982]tois desMOIS mou,
14 and that the more partof the brethren in theLord, confident through my bonds,
pe-ris-soTEros [4056]tolMAN [5111]aPHObos ton LOgon tou TheOU laLEIN.
are more abundantly bold to speak the word of :God without fear.
2. 1:15-20 IMPRISONMENT IN THIS LIFE: CAN FURTHER THE GOSPEL
a. 1:15-17 PAUL'S BONDS: VARIOUSLY REACTED TO
TiNES men kai diA PHTHOnon [5355] kai Erin [2054];
Some indeed preach the Christ even of envy and strife;
tiNES de kai di' eu-doKIan [2509] ton ChrisTON keRUSsou-sin [2784]; hoi men ex aGApes,
and some also of good will; 16the ones do itof love,
eiDOtes HOti eis a-po-loGIan [627]tou eu-ag-geLIou KEImai [2249];
knowing that I am set for thegospel's defense;
hoi de ex e-riTHIas [2052]ton ChristTON ka-tagGELlou-sin [2605], ouch hagNOS [56],
17but the others proclaim the Christ of faction, not sincerely,
oiOme-noi [3363] THLIpsin [2347]e-geiREIN tois desMOIS mou.
thinking to raise up affliction for me in my :bonds.
b. 1:18-20 PAUL'S GOAL: THAT HIS CIRCUMSTANCES RELEASE CHRIST TO BE PREACHED
ti gar? plen HOti panTI TROpo[5158], EIte proPHAsei [4392]EIte a-leTHEIa, ChrisTOS ka-tagGELle-tai;
What then? only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed;
kai en TOUtoCHAIro[5463], alLA, kai chaREso-mai;
and therein I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice;
OIda gar HOti TOU-TO moi a-poBEse-tai [576]eis so-teRIan
19for I know that this shall turn out to my salvation
diA tes huMON deEse-os [1162]kai e-pi-cho-reGIas [2024]tou PNEUma-tos IeSOU ChrisTOU,
through your supplication and supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
kaTA ten a-po-ka-ra-doKIan [603]kai elPIda mou,
20according to my earnest :expectation and hope,
HOti en ou-deNI ais-chunTHEso-mai[153], all' en PAsepar-reSIa [3054], hos PANto-te,
that in nothing shall I be shamed, but with all boldness, as always,
kai nun me-ga-lunTHEse-tai [3170]ChrisTOS en toSOmaTI mou, EIte diA zo-ES, EIte diA thaNAtou.
now also Christ shall be magnified in my :body, whether by life, or by death.
3. 1:21-26 CHOICES IN THIS LIFE
a. 1:21 For to me :to live is Christ, and to :die gain.
E-MOI gar to zen ChrisTOS, kai to a-po-thaNEIN [599]KERdos [2771].
b. 1:22 But if :to live in theflesh, - ifthis bringfruit from my work, - and what I shall choose I know not.
ei de to zen en sarKI, - TOU-TO moi karPOS [2590]ERgou [2041], - kai ti haiREso-mai [138]ou gnoRIzo.
c. 1:23-24 TWO WORTHY CHOICES
suNEcho-mai [4912]de ek ton DUo,
But I am in a strait between the two,
ten a-pi-thuMIan 1939]Echon eis to a-naLUsai [360]kai sun ChrisTOEInai; polLOgar MALlon KREISson:
having the desire :to depart and be with Christ; for it isvery far better:
to de e-piMEnein [1961]tesarKI a-nag-kaiOte-ron [316]di huMAS.
24yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
d. 1:25-26 PAUL'S CHOICE: THE GOOD OF THE SAINTS
kai TOUto pe-poiTHOS [3982], OIda HOti meNO,
And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide,
kai, pa-ra-meNO[4893]PAsin huMIN, eis ten huMON pro-koPEN [4297]kai chaRAN tes PIste-os;
yes, and abide with you all, for your :progress and joy of the faith;
HIna to KAUche-ma [2745]huMON pe-risSEUe[4052]en ChrisTOU IeSOU en eMOI
26that your :glorying abound in Christ Jesus in me
diA tes eMES pa-rouSIas [3952]PAlin pros huMAS.
through my :presence with you again.
4. 1:27-30 SUFFERING FOR CHRIST IN THIS LIFE: A PRIVILEGE
MOnon aXIos [516]tou eu-ag-geLIou tou ChrisTOU po-liTEUes-the [4176]:
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of the Christ:
HIna, EIta elTHON kai iDON huMAS EIte aPON [548],
that, whether I come and see you or be absent,
aKOUsota peRI huMON, HOti STEke-te [4739en heNI PNEUma-ti,
I may hear of your state, that you stand fast in one spirit,
miA psuCHEsu-naTHLOUNtes [4816]te PIstei tou eu-ag-geLIou;
with one soul striving together for the faith of the gospel;
kai meptuROme-noi [4426]en me-deNI huPO ton an-ti-keiMEnon [480]:
28and in nothing frightened by the adversaries:
(HEtis esTIN auTOIS ENdei-xis [1232]a-poLEIas [684],
(which is for them evidence of destruction,
huMON de so-teRIas [4991], kai TOUto aPO TheOU;
but of your salvation, and that from God;
HOti huMIN e-chaRISthe[5483]to huPER ChrisTOU, ou MOnon to eis auTON piSTEUein,
29 because to you it has been granted in the behalf of Christ, not only :to believe unto him,
alLA kai to huPER auTOU PASchein) [3958]: ton auTON aGOna [73]Echon-tes,
but also :to suffer in his behalf): 30having the same conflict,
HOIon EIde-te en eMOI, kai nun aKOUe-te en eMOI.
such as you saw in me, and now hear in me.
“LET US KEEP TO THE POINT”- Oswald Chambers - MUFHH
Philippians 1:20 (1:12-30) “ . . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death”.
My Utmost for His Highest. “ . . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed . . .”We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It's as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest - my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn't know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point - He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only - my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.
My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness.“Whether it means life or death - it makes no difference!” (see 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God's will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God's gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crises where we have to decide - for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.