Partners in the Gospel and Grace

Philippians 1:1-11 (ESV)
9/18/2005

† In the Name of Jesus †

May you realize the grace and peace of God our Father, and our Master Jesus Christ, is yours!

We are going to start out the sermon this morning, with a “cultural test”. I am going to say a name, and you are going to have to name the persons “partner”. They are from different generations, so do not worry if you do not know them all. The first is a comedy team, Burns and ________. Great! The second is one my parents, as ballroom dancers would know well – Astaire and ________. Ok – the next one is television show about police – Starsky and ________. Another comedy team – Cheech and __________. Ok – the ones that know that one – we have to talk later! How about another crime fighting team, Batman and _________. Or another cartoon, Rocky and ________. Partners are such, that it is hard to ever think of them being separated. We think of them, not as individuals, but as a unit.
It gets tougher now, as these partners are from 1900 years ago. Paul and __________. The answer is in today’s reading. The final partnership, the congregation of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church and ____________.

We are fact that we are partners in two things, just as Paul and the church in Phillipi were. The first, is receiving grace, and the second, we are partners in the Gospel of Christ, just as the Phillipian Church and the Apostle Paul were partners in those very same things.

Koinonia – Fellowship - Communion

You might wonder about this word “partner”. It appears, at least in the Greek, twice in the passage, once as “partnership”, and the other time as the verb “sharing”. It is the word we also sometimes translate as “fellowship”, “communion”, or even “community”. It defines a close community, that shares the same life, the same goals, the same desires, that overcomes obstacles and problems together, that cares about each other as Paul says in 2 Corinthians,

2 Make room in your hearts for us….3, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 2 Corinthians 7:2-3 (ESV)

It is the kind of relationship that Paul describes in today’s reading, “how I long for you with the affection of Christ Jesus”. That describes a fellowship, a group of people in communion together, the church; it describes us, as people, and their pastor. For me at least, I cannot see myself pastoring another church, and it would be my hope, that your love for each other, would result in your not being able to see yourselves anywhere else.

So let’s look at what Paul says we are partners in, what we share together, as the people of God,

We partner in Receiving Grace
Began a good work
Prior to the work?
The work
Love overflowing,
Knowledge and discernment -
Pure and Blameless

It starts with something incredible, yet simple, as it is described towards the end of verse 7,

“all of you share in God's grace with me.”

We share in the grace of God; God has given grace to us, His community of faith. The gift by which we all are saved, and made into one body. The restoration of the relationship between God, and us, so well described in the Old Testament reading today,

7 Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7 (NLT)

That pardon, that receiving of mercy, is the beginning of the work of God, spoken about in the our third reading today, He who began a good work, it states. We realize that we could not have turned from our wicked deeds, we could not turn to God, except by His power. That grace we share in, for we are the church, literally, those called out, those separated out by God, for a purpose.

We have gone form being the outcast, the evil, the ones condemned, to being recipients, together of the very grace of God. His work, as it is completed in us, by His spirit, results in the result of Paul’s prayer. Listen to it, as I describe it, personally, for us,

Our love for each other will overflow more and more, and we will keep on growing in our knowledge and understanding. 10 We will be able to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns.

What a prayer Paul wishes for his people there in Phillipi! A desire I would have for us. That we would not be satisfied with the knowledge of God that is gained in sermons on Sunday morning, but that we would take advantage of Bible Studies, that we would spend time in God’s word on our own, not just for knowledge sake, but to gain wisdom, and even more importantly, to understand. To understand the grace of God extends to every part of our life. To understand God’s priorities, and to live in them, rather than struggle with the priorities of the world. Ever have to decide between the lesser of two evils? Or the better of two blessings? In God’s wisdom, knowing we can trust Him, we have a whole different scale on which to measure – that is – what benefits His kingdom, and our community, eternally.

Living pure and blameless lives foes not occur because all of sudden, we stop sinning, and become perfect in our actions, thoughts and behaviors. We may become more like Christ, but that perfection still is not attainable by our own efforts. Rather it only occurs as we trust that Christ has re-created us, in granting us faith and repentance, as He baptizes us, and gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. That we can confess our sin, and know they are no longer marks against us.

Listen to verse 11, as it further describes us, as partners in grace,

11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:11 (NIV)

Here is the illustration that those that heard the Friday message have been waiting for! When I first read this, I rather pictured the church as a giant lemon-filled doughnut. You know the kind, with powdered sugar, that when you bite into it, the lemon filling comes squirting out through every hole in the doughnut? We, the church are very much like that donut. When being what we are meant to be, the church oozes out the fruit of righteousness, all over the place, just like the doughnut oozes out lemon filling! Our very existence, as people Christ has justified, results in, or produces fruit that show we are Jesus’s, that we know His grace, and mercy and peace. It is a natural result of realizing the grace we have been given, as a family.

We partner in the Gospel
Pastor and People – church and overseers/deacons
Defense and confirmation of the Gospel
Two Psalm Passages – this is the work!

As we receive the mercy of our Lord, it is then that we, as a church, the partnership expands, and we join as partners in the Gospel, with Paul, and the Phillippian Church and the church throughout the ages. A partnership filled with joy incredible, as we see the results of the work. A partnership that does take some work, but work that as a church, we have been called and prepared to do.

That is our work, as the church, as pastor and people. Our own mission statement out there on the church sign, urges us to bring the gospel, the good news, the word of Jesus Christ to this congregation and this community. They need to realize that they can trust in Jesus to fulfill in them, the very promises we know He has fulfilled in us. To know that there is hope in life, and to receive love from the incredible Lord and Savior. Paul indicates that the church there in Phillipi had from the beginning been his partner in sharing the gospel, in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel. But what does it mean to be partners in the defense and confirmation of the gospel? Let’s look!

First is the idea of defending the gospel, or as other translations say, give an apology for the gospel. Not apology in the “I am sorry” sense, but as a legal apology, to give cause and reason. The word is used in 1 Peter 3:15 (NJB), where is says,

15 Simply proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have.

Sharing in the work of the gospel is simply that, to give people an answer for the hope that you have in Jesus. Sharing the gospel of Christ is that simple. I know my life, my future, my eternity is set, because of Jesus, and His death, for me, on the cross. I have been given promises that are incredible, that I do not have to bear guilt, that my sins are forgiven, that everything will work out for good for me, because Christ has called and redeemed me. Even if we do not see it yet, that promise of God will sustain us, for we trust in Him!

Confirming the work of the gospel is a bit different. It is a legal term, indicating the situation is proven. I think of the receipt in a purchase, that proves the transaction has taken place. It is that verdict that is made based on evidence that cannot be questioned. It secures the truth, established it.

Next Pentecost, some of our catechists will stand up here, and I will confirm their faith. I will, on behalf of the church, testify that I have seen the result of their hearing the gospel, that they have faith, that they trust and believe in Jesus, in His work for them, as individuals. I do the same thing as people stand up here and become members. We know their faith, the gift of God that leads them to realize they are His. That His death was for them, that the shedding of His blood results in the forgiveness of their sin, as does their uniting with Him in Baptism, along with being given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Confirming the gospel then, is a testimony to its effectiveness. It is not just a theory, but instead reality. That the gospel, which Romans 1 says is the power of God unto salvation, is true. Not just in theory, not just as a theological treatise, but true, because it results in our salvation. We know it to be true, because it was effective for us.

Because of that, we know we can share with others, and bring them into the partnership.

A partnership based in Christ. A partnership that knows the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, that guards our, the church’s hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.