A Gospel-Driven Prayer

We find ourselves again this morning in the book of Philippians. Paul's letter to the Philippians. We've subtitled the book of Philippians, “The Gospel-driven life.” Paul is concerned, above all, that his dear friends in Philippi would be living consistently with the implications of the Gospel that they had believed. As we've said multiple times before, and will continue to say, chapter 1 verse 27 is the theme verse of the epistle. In it, Paul commands the Philippians: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

Paul desires that the Philippians' entire lives be shaped and driven by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He desires that when they face the issues of daily life—whether that be how to interact with one another in their relationships, how to carry out the ministry of the Gospel in their city, how to minister to one another and alongside one another, how to deal with persecution, false teaching, temptation, suffering, or trials—in all of those issues, Paul's concern is that they be able to take the truths that they have come to understand as a result of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—as a result of being saved and renewed by His sovereign grace—and to apply those realities to their lives. He means for the reality of being redeemed by the blood of Christ, being reconciled to the Father, being indwelt by the Holy Spirit—to have an effect on how they make decisions and navigate life together.

And there were particular issues that Paul wanted to address with the Philippians. Paul has received word from Epaphroditus of the goings-on in the church of Philippi...

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