February 2022 | Philippians pt. 1

Philippians 1 | “the affection of Jesus”

Philippians 1, John 14, Bible Project Video

Start this study by reading through Philippians chapter 1 — but before you do, take a few moments to slow down and connect with yourself and God’s Spirit. I encourage you to close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, feeling with your body as you breathe. As you breathe in and out, note that Spirit is present, is with you, and is experiencing God’s Word with you.

Humor me and answer this question honestly - what was it like to read the first chapter of Philippians just now? Have you read it many times before? First time? Maybe you just had flashbacks of memorizing some of these verses as a kid in exchange for toys or a grade?

I don’t know about you, but when I read short New Testament letters like this one I typically have one of two responses - either I am glad it’s a simple text with easy application so I can read, reflect, and move on with my day. And other times, I read and then think to myself, “I’ve read this/learned about this too much and I’m a little underwhelmed. Should I be feeling more or something?”. 

What about you? Take a moment to answer before continuing on —

The first chapter reveals Paul is currently in prison. He was most likely in Rome, and we know that he also wrote other letters during this imprisonment, such as Philemon or Ephesians. From the entire book of Philippians, we gain some context as to what inspired Paul to write his letter. The Philippian church sent Paul a financial gift to help provide for him during his time in prison, but they also sent a helper, Epaphroditus, to help care for Paul. As Paul writes later on, Epaphroditus falls ill and nearly dies, but thankfully recovers and will be sent back to the Philippian church soon. We see then in Paul’s letter not only a huge sense of gratitude and love for the Philippian church, but gain a sense of the humanity of Paul as he endures prison and waits for a ruling on the charges against him.

Taking in that context, it’s easy to read this chapter and see the central role the gospel has in the bond between the Philippian church and Paul. He addresses his friends as partners in the gospel, contributing to his work through their many gifts. What’s also clear in the first few verses alone is that the person of Jesus is integral for Paul’s stance towards his brothers and sisters.

He writes, “For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” The Greek word for "affection" can be translated to mean the "heart" of Jesus, the most inner emotions and experiences of Jesus (literally the “seat of the feelings” - I love that phrase!). Some versions have instead that Paul “misses” his friends instead of “longing” or “yearning”, but the point is clear - Paul really loves these people and strongly wishes he was with them.

Can you place a time you’ve “yearned” for someone or something to happen? To yearn is to long to be reconnected with something or someone and to be full of emotions in the process. When my son was born, he had to stay for a brief while in the NICU for monitoring and tests. Although I had been discharged and got to go home, this didn’t feel like entirely good news. Sure, I got to leave the itchy hospital bed, but I longed for my son, to be with him and for him to come home. We can imagine how this was for Paul, then; distant, imprisoned, unable to be with this specific group of people he loves and misses. He’s sharing his love for them and how he hopes to visit once he is released. But even with all that, the emphasis here seems to be on the love of Christ that fuels his yearning instead of the experience of the yearning itself. 

It is the “affection of Jesus” that shapes not only Paul’s longing for his friends but also his view of his current situation. Consider Paul’s words in verses 12-18:

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

His focus is simple - despite the intention, and even to the dismay of his “rivals”, Paul is satisfied because “Christ is proclaimed.” As Paul mentioned in verse 8, the “affection of Jesus” is what informs his view of not only his brothers and sisters but even those who he names as “rivals” against himself. The love of Christ seems to almost exclusively inform his view of both his friends and enemies; and with this reality, it’s no wonder this letter is considered the most “joyful” of Paul’s, despite being imprisoned, almost losing a friend, and even having personal opposition from other believers.

Just as the love of Christ formed Paul’s perspective in prison, it is his love of Christ that shaped his desire to “depart and be with him”, as he says in verse 23. It’s important, then, we slow down and consider the quality and nature of the love of Jesus, which so strongly impacted Paul and shapes most of his discourse in this first chapter.

On the night before his death, we find Jesus partaking in the Passover Meal with his disciples. This moment is poignant for both himself and his disciples; Jesus is sharing some of his last words before being betrayed and abandoned by those sitting around him. Likewise, the disciples are in their final moments with their Teacher before experiencing the horror of his arrest, beating, and crucifixion. 

Yet even in these precious moments, Jesus, their Rabbi and the Son of God, chooses to bring comfort. Addressing his disciples as friends, Jesus shares of his death, departure and his promised return. Even as he tells his friends of his death, he says he will not leave them "as orphans." And what a powerful word. Just as Jesus respects and empowers his friends to be leaders alongside him and continue to bring about the kingdom of God, he still understands their need to feel safe and to not be alone. Jesus knows how scary it was for the disciples to be separated from him, the one they loved and depended on. It is with this awareness that he promises to actually not leave them alone or abandon them, but affirms his actions are instead for their safety and good. He is fighting for them.

Jesus shows dynamic, caring love in this moment. He has the tender awareness of a parent but the empowerment of a friend; and in the end, he sees the vulnerability of his friends and moves towards them. Just as Jesus is the sacrificial lamb, he still prepares his friends for the sacrificial act through comfort and through prayer, knowing what it will bring for them to see their Rabbi experience such a death.

It’s Jesus’ prayer that serves as the crescendo. From John 17, we read this intimate prayer of Jesus to the Father, concerning those sitting around him:

While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

It's like Jesus is passing the baton of love and protection on from himself to the Father. He says, "I have kept them, and with this act I will set them apart for you; now I ask that you please keep them and protect them." As Jesus says he will not leave his disciples as orphans, in this prayer he literally passes the disciples to the care and protection of the Father. Before his death, Jesus unites his friends to their eternal Father; and He is not a Father who rejects his children, but one who accepts them in love, compassion, and safety.

​​In this moment, we see Jesus extending the love of a parent as well as the love of our eternal God. Jesus offers both eternal and emotional, moment-to-moment safety to his disciples. He recognizes they need not only the eternal hope of salvation, but also experience how this eternal safety applies to their moment-to-moment lived experiences. 

Pause for a second and reflect on this. The Lord of the Universe had so much compassion on his disciples, he spoke to them like they were children in need of a Father. It’s as if his actions communicate this reality - "I know this is about to be scary for you, so much so that you’ll even hurt me in the process. But even as I bear these burdens, listen to me. I love you and I'm never going to abandon you. Come, feel the love of the Father. He will keep you just as I kept you, and my sacrifice is to give you the safety you need." 

And as John 17 continues to reveal, even Jesus himself makes this clear - his prayer and sacrifice is not only for the eleven around him, but for all those “who will believe in me through their word” (v. 20). The way he prays for and cares for the few around him extends to all who will believe in Jesus through the word and power of his gospel.

The love of Christ is powerful and protective. His sacrifice gives us eternal hope, and all the more, it can shape our day-to-day need of safety and comfort. I believe it is a similar understanding that helped Paul to not only feel joy despite his circumstances, but even have a longing to be with Jesus over out of prison and with his friends - because it was based on this type of love. Not a way of thinking or living that moved him mentally “beyond” his physical surroundings, but an ability to be so connected to his eternal reality that his present reality became an opportunity to live out that which is true. And his eternal reality is based in the present, grounding, comforting love of Jesus.

Through love, comfort, care, and attention, Jesus’s promise of eternal safety is available to us in our day-to-day experiences as it will be for all eternity.