Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Philippians 1:1-11

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Philippians 1:1-11 ESV

I love Paul’s humility as he opens this letter. “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ” — not “Paul, the one God chose to spread the gospel throughout the world, and Timothy my little brother,” nor “Paul, a servant of Christ, and Timothy, my disciple.”

Then, I noticed Paul’s subtle encouragement for humility on the part of his readers as well.

Paul is writing this letter to all the saints in Philippi along with the overseers and deacons. He isn’t writing to the overseers and deacons and then telling them, “Hey, share this info with those other saints among you.”

When Paul says in verse 3, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,” expressing his gratitude that they have been partners in the gospel – in receiving the gospel and in sharing the gospel – he’s not just writing (or even primarily writing) to the elders, deacons, evangelists, and pastors. He’s writing to each and every believer in the body of Christ at Philippi. Each one of them are his partner because each of them (each of us) are partakers with Paul of God’s grace (verse 7). Paul wants each one of them to know how much he loves them, and how much he wants them to abound with more and more love, knowledge, and discernment.

My dear friends, my sisters, my fellow servants of Jesus Christ, I echo Paul’s words. I want you to know this, too!

Whether you are a 95-year-old great grandmother who has been studying the Bible verse by verse since you were “knee high to a grasshopper,” or you are a brand new believer reading Philippians for the first time, I am thankful for your partnership in the gospel, and I want you to know the Word better … so that you will know God better … so that you can love Him more and glorify Him more.

I want you to have deeper knowledge of the Lord so that you may accurately discern what is excellent and what is evil, so that your heart and your life may be pure when you meet Jesus face-to-face and so that the watching world will see your good works and be drawn to give glory and praise to God.

I love how each of Paul’s words seem to pour one into the next, like a stream rolling over a series of rocks until finally being deposited into the deep, wide, quiet lake of the glory and praise to God. I want you to know how much I love you, how thankful I am for you, how often I pray for you, that you would love God more, that you would know Him more, that you would be able to easily recognize what is good and what is not, that you may be pure and blameless, full of righteous fruits … to the glory and praise of God. That’s the end goal. The end goal isn’t about you, your happiness and holiness, your comfort and peace. The end goal is that God would be praise and glorified.

And the irony in that is that your joy is ultimately found in bringing God glory. I am never happier than when I am in the fellowship of other believers, worshipping the Lord together in song and prayer and Bible study.

I wonder – Do you have any sisters and brothers that you can say these words of Paul to? If so, have you told them how much they mean to you? If not, let me encourage you to find a group now. Find a local body of believers. Join a small group of women who pray for each other. Study the Bible with a few other sisters.

If you’re not familiar with Community Bible Study, check into them. They have groups all over the world. If you’re in the Memphis area, I invite you to join the Collierville, Tennessee group. We meet in person on Wednesday mornings or online on Thursday evenings.

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for each faithful partner in the gospel that You have put into my life. Some of them live just minutes away from me, while others live on the other side of the world. Thank You for each one of them, from the newest believer to the seasoned saint. I pray that their love will abound more and more, with knowledge and discernment, that they may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory of praise of Your Name! In the Blessed and Holy Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.