Philippians 1:3-8
"Partnership in the Family Business ”
Gospelcom Bible Gateway

³I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.⁸God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

It had long been Paul's habit to begin his letters with a thanksgiving and prayer report. This is not to be understood as thanksgiving and prayer in general, however, but it anticipates matters taken up in the body of the letter. Here one often finds expressed both the immediate urgencies and the theological basis for much in the letter. Philippians is no exception.

Three matters make up most of our letter: (1) genuine gratitude for the Philippians' partnership with him in the gospel over many years, evidenced most recently by a material gift brought by Epaphroditus; (2) news about his present imprisonment and what he expects to come of it; and (c) an appeal for steadfastness and unity in light of some relational breakdowns, present opposition and the danger of false teaching. These concerns predominate in Paul's thanksgiving and prayer.

First, he is genuinely grateful for them; indeed every time he thinks about them in prayer, he both thanks God for them--and for their lifelong partnership with him in the gospel--and prays for them with great joy, confident that God will bring his own good work in them to full fruition (vv. 3-6).

Second, Paul's present joy and confidence stem from his deep sense of personal relationship with them, evidenced both by their partnership with him in the gospel and his profound affection for them (vv. 7-8). They share in God's grace with him even in his present chains.

Finally, he reports the content of his prayer, whose concern is primarily for an increase in their love for one another, and thus that they be filled with the fruit of righteousness now and blameless at the coming of Christ (vv. 9-11). Thus through prayer and thanksgiving he anticipates the various concerns of the letter--their partnership with him in the gospel, his deep concern for them, and the need for love to replace internal bickering.

INTRODUCTION

1. What is your occupation, your business, what you do for a living? What do you do in the family business?

2. What business is God in?

3. Are you in the family business?

4. How is fellowship translated?

5. What is the product of the family business?

6. Has your life been changed by the gospel? What has occurred?

7. This morning we are going to learn three partnership principles for building the family business

A. Be thankful

B. Be confident

C. Be aware

I. Be thankful for God's work collectively

A. Isn't it strange that gives thanks in Phil 1:3 when you think about all that he went through? (cf.Acts 16)

B. How could Paul had been so joyful? What was it that filled Paul with such joy?

C. Paul's joy and thankfulness is directly proportional to the growth of the family business. The gospel is spreading. (cf. Phil 1:12)

D. If you were to view your life through the lens of your fathers business how different would your life be?

II. Be confident in God's work personally (v6)

A. I am absolutely 100% totally persuaded that...

B. God is interested in who you are and what you become in Him.

C. The gospel is always an inside job before it is an outside job. God first works in us before He works through us (cf Eph 2)

D. Workmanship is from Poiema. What does this mean?

E. Let's notice some things in this verse

1. Notice that God is in charge of the work.

2. Notice that what God starts, God finishes. He is the author and finisher of our life

3. Notice that we are objects of God's work

a. God's concerns - God is all about the inside

b. Our concerns - We are concerned about the outside

F. What is a good work in you?

1. Makes you guilty

2. Makes you hungry

3. Makes you happy

4. Makes you holy

G. What is the goal of this work?

1. God won't stop working on you until you are glorified and standing before Christ

2. This means that God is committed to the process.

3. This means that your life has a purpose. To be completed and to fit into the family business.

III. Be aware of God's work practically (7-8)

A. What are the signs that God is working in your life

1. You are a partner in the family business - you are involved in the Gospel (5)

2. Two more signs (7)

a. You defend the gospel (cf. 1 Peter 1:3, Jude 3)

b. You spread the gospel

1. When people receive the gospel and thereby confirms the gospel

2. When a receiver of the gospel becomes a transmitter of the gospel

APPLICATION

1. Ask God to work in you in those areas that are not of the family business

2. Give thanks together in your home team for the work that God is doing in your lives

3. Ask God to open your heart, mind, and soul to doing the work of the family business

4. Share the Gospel with someone this week.

MEMORY VERSE Philippians 1:3-7

³I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;