United by and for the Gospel
Lord's Day Sermon
This sermon was preached at Ascension Reformed Church in Moscow, Idaho on August 2, A.D. 2026. You can find the video here.
The Text
1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just 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. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:1–11 NKJV).
Introduction
As we join together in this endeavor to plant Ascension Reformed Church, it is really important that we are clear on our identity and mission, both as individual Christians and as a church. We need to have clear answers to questions like: What exactly brings us all together in this town and in this church? We can see that we are united together, but what is the source of this unity? And having been brought together, what is the purpose of our fellowship? Where are we headed? Where are we going, and what is it for? These are the questions that I believe our passage answers today not only for our church, but for the church in every age.
Summary of the Text
The church in Philippi was planted by the Apostle Paul and Timothy on his second missionary journey in Acts 16 around AD 50. This followed the “Macedonian call,” when the Apostle Paul received a vision of a man calling for their help and concluded that the Lord was sending him and his companions to Macedonia to preach the gospel to the unreached there (Acts 16:6–10).
Luke wrote that Philippi was “the foremost city of that part of Macedonia” and that it was a colony of Rome (Acts 16:11). Here in Acts is where we read of Lydia and her household’s conversion, a slave girl’s deliverance, Paul and Silas ’ imprisonment, and subsequent salvation of the Philippian jailer and his family. Now, about a decade later, the Apostle Paul writes this letter to the church in Philippi with Timothy still at his side.
He writes to the whole church there, “the saints in Christ Jesus,” as well as to the “bishops and deacons.” You might notice that some translations will say “overseers” instead of “bishops.” As Reformed Presbyterians, we understand bishops or overseers here to be synonymous with “elders” and “pastors” or “shepherds” as used elsewhere in the New Testament. This is something that sets us apart from Anglicans or Roman Catholics who understand “bishop” to be a separate office from pastor or elder. One reason we believe this is that the titles are used interchangeably in the New Testament, and sometimes even in the same passage all three are used for the same office, which you can see in Acts 20 and 1 Peter 5. So it is our understanding that bishops and overseers are other words for pastors or elders.
Unlike most of his epistles, Paul here does not identify himself as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, but instead as a bondservant (v. 1). He and Timothy are simply slaves of Jesus Christ—a theme of humility that will permeate this letter. But instead of being on the road preaching the gospel freely, he is writing now while imprisoned under house arrest, most likely in Rome. This detail is striking, for Paul’s letter is filled with thanksgiving and joy. The Lord is sustaining him even while he is imprisoned, and in particular, he notes thanksgiving for the church in Philippi and their partnership with him, even while he is in chains and defending the gospel.
Paul then concludes the introduction of his letter by sharing his prayer for them, that their love would abound more and more in knowledge and discernment, helping them approve that which is excellent, to be sincere or pure and blameless until the end, and to be filled with the fruits of righteousness to the glory of God.
Fellowship in Christ
So, with that broad overview of our passage this morning, let’s first turn to the Apostle Paul’s repeated emphasis in this passage on the unity he shares with the church in Christ and the gospel. Again, Paul addressed this letter “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi…” (v. 1).
First, I’d like us to consider the word “saint” or “saints.”
This is one of those Bible words that can easily be glossed over when it actually has significant meaning. Often when we think of “saints,” we primarily think of great men of God in church history, such as Saint Augustine or Saint Patrick. This is because in Roman Catholic theology, there is actually an elaborate process with various criteria for canonizing someone as a saint. For giving them that title. They must live lives of remarkable virtue, and after their death, not just one but two miracles by their intercession have to be investigated and confirmed as true, proving that the person is indeed in heaven—worthy to be called a saint.
Now, while evangelical and Reformed believers certainly have our own list of heroes of the faith, we do not have such criteria for who may be referred to as a saint. If you are a Christian, you are a saint. This is not based on your works—whether they be lacking or great—but based on the work of Christ. He has made you a saint.
But what exactly does the word “saint” mean?
To be a saint is to be holy. It is to be set apart and devoted to God. A saint is someone chosen by God. A saint is someone sanctified by God. This language comes from the Old Testament, such as in Leviticus 11:45, “For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” The Lord makes us holy before Him—we are given Christ’s righteousness in exchange for our sin. As 2 Corinthians 5 reads, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (v. 21).
So sainthood is not something obtained by the few, but it is the identity of all those who are in Christ Jesus. Every single Christian is holy by virtue of being in fellowship with the Triune God who Himself is the Holy One in our midst.
Yet you may be thinking, “I don’t feel like a saint much of the time. And what you need to understand is that positionally before God—you are a saint. You have been justified, sanctified, set apart, and made holy by the work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. And at the same time—you are in a sense correct. In this life, you are still growing in Christ. You are not yet that which we will become one day. The Spirit is still conforming you to the image of Christ, the Holy One. You have been made holy by Christ. And at the same time you growing in holiness. The seed has been planted and now the tree is growing. What this means is you are not striving to sainthood as much as learning to walk as the saint that you are.
So we are saints… and we are saints in Christ Jesus.
This phrase, “in Christ Jesus” (and its variants) appears over 15 times in Philippians, emphasizing the church’s unity in Jesus Christ Himself. This is extremely important for you to believe and understand. Jesus Christ is our ultimate source of unity here. We must never forget this, and we must never let any other thing replace Christ as our source of unity, becoming an idol. This includes good and true items—such as classical and Christian education, conservative politics, various doctrines or liturgical practices, or any other thing that brings like-minded people together. Many things of that sort are good and are an outworking of your Christian faith. But at the same time, they must never replace Christ as the central point of unity with all Christians, and with those you are in closest fellowship with in the local church.
So our shared identity is in Christ and the gospel. We have a unity in Jesus Christ. And we are saints brought together by the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.
But we also have a shared mission from Christ and for the gospel.
In our passage this morning, the Apostle Paul writes with thankfulness for the Philippians “fellowship in the gospel” (v. 5). Additionally, he says they “are all partakers with [him] in grace” (v. 8). That first word translated as “fellowship” in the NKJV is the Greek word koinonia, which many of you have heard of before. Likewise, the word translated as “partakers” is related to koinonia, sharing the same root.
To have koinonia is to have deep fellowship, which includes having a common life, the sharing of gifts and resources, and full participation of every person. In ancient Greek philosophy, Aristotle taught that true friendship always had koinonia—shared life together. In one sense, the Philippians have a shared experience of the grace of God together. They have been brought together by the gospel, by the saving grace of Jesus Christ. In another sense, the Philippians share in a fellowship with the Apostle Paul and one another in the advance of the gospel. They share in a united mission and ministry.
In some translations, such as the ESV, koinonia in verse 5 is translated as “partnership” in the gospel instead of “fellowship.” This is getting at an important aspect of koinonia, which includes not only spiritual support but also physical and financial support. And so we read here that the church in Philippi is united together in Christ in supporting the Apostle Paul’s ministry.
We can find more context for Paul’s gratitude for them in Chapter 4 of Philippians, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus…”
In this, we can see that the Philippians are joined together in partnership for the gospel. A decade ago the Spirit brought the Apostle Paul and the gospel to them, establishing a church in their city. And now they are supporting Paul and his mission with their prayers and with their resources, united together as a church for the saving work of Jesus Christ in the world.
The Apostle John likewise writes concerning this unity in mission in 3 John, where he exhorts the church to support a group of faithful missionaries as they continue on in their travels, telling them to send them on their way “in a manner worthy of God” (v. 6). He then writes, “For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support such men, so that we may become fellow workers for the truth (v. 7–8). Here John says that when you support those who have gone out for the sake of the gospel, you become “fellow workers” with them. It is as if you are laboring right by their side.
And so for us here in Moscow, this would include your financial support of this congregation. Your tangible support of each other through meal trains and the sharing of resources. Your prayers for our various outreach ministries like the pro-life sidewalk ministry, CRF and ISF, Farmers Market evangelism, Keith Darrell’s campus preaching, and the Madsens in Zambia.
We are called to be in fellowship together, partnering for the advance of gospel. You may not be the person on the frontlines right now, but you still have a part to play in the Body of Christ, supporting those who are.
And so you can see in this passage that we have been brought together by and for the gospel. “By the gospel” means that we share in the forgiveness of Christ, have been called out from the world together, and are united as different members in Christ’s one Body. “For the gospel” means that this fellowship does not terminate on itself, but flows outward to the world.
Perseverance & Sanctification
Now I’d like to turn to one of the great promises of the New Testament found in our passage in verse 6, where the Apostle Paul tells the Philippians he is “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Paul is saying that what the Lord has started in your life, He will complete.
This confidence does not arise from your own strength or will, or from some dogged determination on your part, or your own inherent righteousness—which you do not have. As the Apostle Paul rebuked the Galatians, “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made by perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3). No, Paul’s confidence that the Philippians will persevere in the faith does not come from anything in them. Our confidence does not come from ourselves. Rather, it is a confidence rooted in God—and His everlasting love in Christ toward His people. You have been united to Christ, and you must believe that He will not abandon you. As Jesus taught, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (Jn. 10:28).
Consider for a moment how comforting this truth is. He who began a good work in you will complete it. It is promised. This is not only a promise to you as an individual, but to the church as a whole. The individual and internal transformation promised to each believer leads to the corporate transformation of the Body of Christ. And so that is another thing we share in together as a church. It is something that we have fellowship in. Christ’s promise to sanctify us until the very end.
The Apostle Paul then shares his earnest prayer for the church (vv. 9–11). He prays that they would grow both in love and knowledge. Elsewhere, when Paul writes on the interplay between love and knowledge, he frames them in one sense as opposites. So in 1 Corinthians 8 he writes, “Knowledge puffs up; love builds up” or “edifies.” At the same time, later in 1 Corinthians he teaches what he is writing here to the Philippians, writing that if you have all knowledge but do not have love—you are nothing (1 Cor. 13:2).
What this means is that our love must be according to knowledge; it must be according to the truth. Love and knowledge go hand in hand. We want to grow in love, toward God and one another, but for this to be true love, it has to be love paired with true knowledge and discernment. We need to train our love and our affections to be in line with the truth of God’s Word. In short, we need to love the right things, and love the right way.
We have clearly seen this problem—of love divorced from knowledge or truth—for the past two decades and more in our nation when it comes to homosexuality and gay marriage. They say, “Love is love.” But in this, love is completely redefined. It is actually not loving to participate in such things. Likewise, it is not loving to affirm men and women in their sin. It is actually a form of hatred… And so that is just one case study in why love and true knowledge and discernment must be paired together in life.
Likewise, when it comes to loving one another in our families and in the Body of Christ, we must remember that love without knowledge can be genuine, but actually unloving. We need God’s help to discern how to be truly loving.
Consider this as just an illustration. Our son, Abel, recently injured his leg. He was in extreme pain, unable to walk for a week, but then slowly began to walk on it again. All the while each x-ray was marked by the radiologist as negative for a fractured bone. But it was not until we brought him to a specialist in Spokane that the fracture in those x-ray images was confirmed, and we were given an actual diagnosis and direction for how to move forward. In his case, he was allowed to continue to walk on it and did not need a cast… But if we did not seek out that information, and the fracture was actually very significant or in a particularly sensitive area of the leg, letting him continue to walk on it would have been very detrimental to his health. We needed knowledge—we needed accurate and true information—to discern how to best love and care for him.
A doctor may have compassion on a sick patient and a willingness to medically intervene with a procedure. They can cut them open and look inside—but if they don’t have a clue what they are attempting to even do in there or what they are looking for—if they don’t have an actual diagnosis—their good intentions could be fatal. And so it is with our love for one another, both spiritually and physically. We must ask the Lord for wisdom and knowledge, that we may discern how to care for each other.
As G.K. Chesterton wrote in his book Orthodoxy, “Love is not blind… Love is bound. And the more it is bound, the less it is blind.” Love is not blind—it cannot be oblivious to facts and reality and truth. In fact, it must be bound to the truth. And the more it is in line with the truth, the more it is bound to knowledge, the less it is aimless and useless and blind. And the more it is actual love.
And so we should make the Apostle Paul’s prayer here for the Philippians as our prayer—for ourselves and for our spouses and for our children and for this church community. We need to be asking the Lord to grow us in love that is tied together with knowledge and discernment, that we would approve what is truly excellent.
Day of the Lord
Now, so far we have considered what unites us together—Christ and our common mission. We have seen how our union with Christ transforms both our individual lives and the corporate Body of Christ. But now we must consider where all of this is headed. Where are we going? How does this story end?
In this letter, the Apostle Paul writes to the Philippians concerning their present joys and struggles, while keeping an eye on the future. He writes that he is confident that the Lord will continue to work in them and bring that work to completion “at the day of Jesus Christ” (v. 6). He repeats this reference again to this future Day, writing in verse 10 that his prayer is that they would be sincere and without for “the day of Christ.” So what is this “Day of Christ” that Paul is pointing them toward?
In the Old Testament, the phrase “day of the Lord” referred to His coming with judgment and salvation. A time when the Lord would break through and judge His enemies while saving His people. Many of these references to a coming “day of the Lord” pointed to specific events that came to pass, such as the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel or the conquest of the southern kingdom of Judah. So you have passages like Isaiah 13, which reads, “Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.” And most interpreters understand that this prophecy was most immediately fulfilled in history with the fall of Babylon.
In the New Testament, we would also understand the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem as a “day of the Lord,” as Jesus used such imagery in His Olivet Discourse. So in Matthew 24:29, when Jesus prophesies this coming destruction, He says that “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not gives its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Rather than referring to literal signs in the sky, this is prophetic language for the destruction of a nation, for a “Day of the Lord,” and it is taken right from Isaiah 13. So biblically, “day of the Lord” is a phrase used for a coming day of judgment.
At the same time, Scripture teaches that there is a still future Day of the Lord. You could say a ‘capital D’ Day of the Lord. All of these mini “days of the Lord” point us to the final “Day of the Lord” when God will finally judge both the living and the dead.
And so the Apostle Paul appropriately gives this phrase its New Covenant name—it is the “Day of Jesus Christ.” The Messiah has been revealed. The Christ has come, and He is the Lord who will judge heaven and earth at the end of this age.
This Day is where we are all headed. All of human history, every day that has passed since the first, every empire that has risen and fallen, every man and woman that has ever lived, all creation is heading toward this final Day.
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians that on the Day of the Lord, Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, and in flaming fire will take vengeance on those who do not know God or obey the gospel. He says that they will “be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day…” But for those in Christ, for the saints who have persevered by the grace of God, he says the Day of the Lord will be a day of rest, and that Christ will be glorified in His saints and admired among all who believe.
This ought to be a Day that we are longing for, for it is when our salvation is fully manifested. It is when Christ returns, the dead are raised, all people are judged, and we are presented as His Bride without spot or blemish (Eph. 5:27). This is the Day Paul longed for, as he wrote to Timothy, “There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8).
And so a question for you this morning is this — do you know of the Apostle Paul’s desire here? Do you ever contemplate this final Day?
Writing to Titus, Paul calls the coming Day of the Lord “our blessed hope,” when our great God and Savior Jesus Christ gloriously appears. And he says it is a day we ought to be “looking for.” “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…”
Notice there that God’s grace has appeared here and now to lead us in all righteousness. To sanctify us, to confirm our faith, and to help us to persevere to the end. And you are to do all of that, remembering and longing for the coming Day of Christ, when that good work in you will be made complete.
Conclusion: To the Praise & Glory of God
In conclusion, I want us to briefly turn back to the Apostle Paul’s prayer for the Philippians and consider the conclusion of it.
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
To the glory and praise of God. All of this is for that ultimate end.
While you live each day fully present, striving by the grace of God to grow in your love for the Lord, and one another, and in holiness—and while you eagerly await and long for that final Day of Christ, the consummation of your hope—you should be doing so for the glory of God. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Jesus says when you let your light shine before men, your Father in heaven is glorified (Mt. 5:16). Everything is for His glory!
This church is for His glory. This worship service is for His glory. All of our outreaches and mission work is for His glory. And all that you do at work, and at school, and in your homes with your families is to be for His glory. This is why He has placed His love upon you and saved you—for your good and His ultimate glory. You are united to and for Christ, that His Name would be magnified in all the earth.
There’s a beautiful and comforting passage in the Book of Isaiah, where the Lord is speaking to His people that illustrates this. It shows why He has called you, and why He is committed to keeping you until that final Day. Isaiah 43,
“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth—
Everyone who is called by My name,
Whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”
Ascension Reformed Church—This is the God you worship. This is the God who has saved you, who is growing you in holiness and Christlikeness, and who has brought you into sweet fellowship with His people. And this is the God who will keep you to the end.