The Book of Philippians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi, located in the Macedonian Province of the Roman Empire. Paul was called by the Lord to go to this city by the Holy Spirit, and he took three men with him: Silas, Timothy, and Luke the beloved physician. This quartet of missionaries traveled into this region, which is now the northern part of Greece. The city of Philippi was strategically located on a trade route that went east to west, and it was noted for its very rich gold mines. It was also a military port. So, this was a city of some importance.

Paul wrote to this congregation to thank them for gifts of support that he had received from them in times past. However, in writing to them, he accomplished much more than simply expressing his gratitude. He addressed pressing issues in the church, and made personal statements about his own walk with God. In addition, the congregation was encouraged to keep the faith, develop humility, remain unified in Christ, and when making requests to God, to do so with joy. This last admonition to have joy is particularly intriguing considering Paul’s circumstances; at the time of writing, he was imprisoned in Rome awaiting execution. However, the opening lines of Paul’s letter reveal that he had inner joy despite his situation.

When my wife and I were first married, she acquired a little plaque that has hung in various locations in our home over the years. The plaque reads, “Joy is not in things; it is in us.” In other words, joy is an internal state; it is not based on external factors such as material possessions, status, or advantageous circumstances. This is the type of joy Paul had, and it is available to us as well.

In Psalm 16:11, we read that the source of this sustained joy is the Lord. David declared, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” The “fulness of joy” David spoke of is an abiding feeling of peace and calm, of contentment and satisfaction, that flows out of us from deep within. This is only possible when the presence of God has been imprinted on our souls and our consciences are void of offense toward Him.

We must have the joy of the Lord in our hearts in order to be instruments that He can use as reflections of Him. When joy is missing in a person’s life, it is noticeable—the signs are often a dark mood, a discouraged attitude toward life, or a cheerless countenance. That should not be said of us; a Christian’s life should be marked by joy. People are naturally drawn to others who are joyful. We want those around us to see our lives and be drawn to us, so we can proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them.

In the first six verses of Philippians, Paul laid a foundation of four ways in which our joy can be full. He demonstrated joy in remembrance, intercession, fellowship, and confidence. Since, we want our lives to be marked by joy, as we follow Paul’s examples we will find that we too can have an inner joy that sustains us regardless of life’s circumstances.

Joy in remembrance

Paul’s letter began with a brief introduction, in which he addressed “all the saints in Christ which are at Philippi.” This tells us that his audience was the redeemed—those who had the love of the Lord in their hearts. In verse 3, we have the first way in which joy came to Paul. He said, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” This is an amazing statement! Paul had joy in every remembrance of this congregation.

To gain insight into what he might have been remembering, we can read Luke’s account of Paul’s mission trip to Philippi, which is given in Acts chapter 16. A short time after the four missionaries arrived in the city, Luke recorded, “On the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made” (verse 13). Meeting at a river to pray was the Jewish tradition in places where there was not a synagogue. We read in Psalm 137 that the captive Israelites did this very thing. The fact that Philippi did not have a synagogue suggests to us there were not even ten Jewish men in this large city, since ten is the number required to form a quorum for community worship, or to form a synagogue. When the missionaries went to the river, they encountered several Jewish women who had gathered there to pray. Paul preached the Gospel to them, as this was his purpose in coming to Philippi, and one of the women by the name of Lydia opened her heart to the message. She and her household were baptized right there in the river. No doubt, this was a joyful memory for Paul concerning them.

Later in the narrative, however, we read about circumstances that could not have brought joy to Paul. As the missionaries went about the city evangelizing, they were followed by a woman possessed by a demon who cried out, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation” (verse 17). Though she spoke the truth, Paul’s spirit was grieved. She was a fortune teller who worked for several men who owned her services. Paul called the demon out from her, and the woman was set free.

This caused a problem with her owners, who suddenly lost their lucrative income. They incited a mob to bring Paul and Silas before the magistrate—apparently these two were recognized as the leaders among the four missionaries. This resulted in Paul and Silas being severely beaten with stripes, thrown into prison, and placed securely in stocks. Nonetheless, the record of this account ends with a tremendous miracle. The Lord freed them from prison by an earthquake, and their jailer along with his household turned to Christ for salvation. While that brought joy, Paul had endured a lot, and his sufferings could not have been among the joyful memories he was referring to. Yet, he wrote that he thanked God upon every remembrance. He understood that God uses adverse circumstances for His good purposes, and external trials do not detract from our joy in the Lord.

We will all face situations in our lives that cause us to be troubled. There will be losses in life. We will mourn people we care about when they are gone. However, the circumstances of this life are temporary and should not take away our joy in the Lord, which is everlasting.

Joy in intercession

Continuing to verse 4 of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he said that he was “always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.” This statement tells us there is joy in intercession. In the Apostolic Faith Church, we have a tradition of meeting before services to pray. This is something we do as a body of believers because we want to invite the Lord’s presence into our midst as we gather in His name. During these short prayer meetings, prayer requests are read to us. After hearing them, we have an opportunity to once again drop down on our knees and pray concerning these needs. In our private devotional times, we often ask the Lord to bless our friends and loved ones, and we intercede for those we know who are facing challenging times in their lives. We call out their names to the Lord, reminding Him of the promises in His Word that He hears our earnest petitions. It is such a privilege to pray one for another! It may even be said that it is one of our highest privileges. The benefit to others is that God hears and answers prayer. The benefit to ourselves is that our joy becomes full as we intercede on behalf of others.

Joy in fellowship

In verse 5, we find the next reason for having joy. It says, “For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.” Here, Paul spoke of joy in fellowship. This word, “fellowship,” means far more than simply spending time with people we enjoy being with. Since most of us have a tendency to gravitate towards people with whom we have common interests, fellowship can be about being with friends in the faith to some degree. However, in the body of believers, we share a singular commonality, and that is that we are all redeemed. Fellowship among Christians is an opportunity to spend time with people who have also found salvation in Christ. These are people who share our appreciation for the Gospel and have similar core beliefs based on Scripture. In addition, they likely have experienced some of the same spiritual challenges and blessings that we have, and that makes them uniquely suited to encourage us, and us to encourage them.

Christian fellowship is also an opportunity to serve God’s people. There is a feeling of completeness and rightness that comes with being able to minister one to another. When we have occasion to work together, in whatever our hands find to do, it is such a high privilege. We have fellowship as we serve one another. Personally, there is nothing that gives me more satisfaction and I know others feel the same. When there is a need to be met, the body of Christ comes together, and the result is joy in fellowship.

Joy in confidence

We have considered joy in remembrance, joy in intercession, and joy in fellowship, and these lead to joy in confidence. From a practical standpoint, one thief that can rob us of our joy in the Lord is uncertainty. In verse 6, Paul said, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Getting saved is not something we accomplished on our own. While we believed unto salvation, it was the Lord who did the work. God sent His Son into the world to shed His Blood on the Cross for our sins and then to rise again. He made it possible for us, by faith, to reach out to Him so that our lives could be fully transformed through the work of salvation. What a marvelous, transformational experience that was for me. It made such a difference in my life! After praying through to victory on a hot summer night, as I looked in the mirror the next morning, I hardly recognized the person staring back at me. It was God who began that good work in me, and He is going to perform it until Jesus returns.

In a recent Sunday school class session, we had a lesson about the coming of the Lord and the signs of the times. One of the men in the class made the comment that when he was younger, he had some fear about missing the Lord’s return. At times, this apprehension still creeps in, causing him to want to be more diligent about making sure he doesn’t miss that crucial event. For anyone else in this position, Paul’s words in verse 6 are helpful. He tells us that God, who began the good work in us at salvation, will carry it through to completion. If maintaining our salvation were up to us, we would all fail, but it is not up to us; the Lord will do it. We must do our part by staying close to Him, but as we do so, He will keep us until that day when Jesus returns.

Is it even conceivable that God, who cared enough to send His Son to die for us, would not see us through to the end? He is the merciful God of Heaven whose desire is to bring people to Himself. Knowing this, we can have confidence as we walk with Him that He will give us victory until we hear the sound of the Trumpet. That was Paul’s hope and joy in his day, and it is our hope and joy as well.

Marked by joy

We don’t know when Jesus will return, but we do know that until that day, our joy can be full. It begins with surrendering our hearts to God and receiving His salvation. When we repent of our sins, for Christ’s sake He forgives us and transforms our lives, giving us a deep and abiding contentment. That is the joy of the Lord that Paul talked about. As Christians, our lives should be marked by this joy! The Gospel message is one of hope for us and for the world. May our desire be for others to see Christ in us and want for themselves what He has done in our lives as well.

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