December 15, 2021 — Philippians 1:1–11  

“I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in Godʼs grace together with me. For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere 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 1:3–11  

It is common for Paul to begin his letters with an expression of thanksgiving. What is interesting about this statement of thanksgiving is that Paul uses the verb “deomai” which in Greek is  translated as “praying” and “prayers”. The verb praying here describes some sort of lack or deficiency, and so by extension means “to request” or “to beseech.” In this instance, we understand Paul to be praying requests for the people, although he doesn’t tell us immediately what the content of his request is. Paul then adds that he makes these requests “with joy.” This is unparalleled among Paul’s thanksgiving statements. In fact, many scholars point to joy as the hallmark of this letter. Joy, Paul says, comes with the gospel of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit.  

Another interesting comment from Paul in this expression of thanksgiving is “koinōnia” (in Greek) here translated as “sharing”. Koinonia is translated differently in various parts of the New Testament, although usually as “fellowship”. Koinōnia is a word that expresses the essence of Christianity — something held in common, as opposed to something held in private; koinōnia refers to the community and its participants. 

This “Koinonia” is the body of Christ — the church — people working together to protect and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul prayed for the church in Philippi — Paul prays for our church today.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, our prayer is for the world, for all people to come to know Jesus and to share the gospel. Help us to celebrate and bring Koinonia every week. Amen.

Pastor Dave 

December 14, 2021 — Ephesians 6 

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak – that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:12–20 

The use of the term “spiritual” to describe evil forces is somewhat surprising. This is the only time in the New Testament that this word has a negative connotation — the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. More surprising still is that the struggle takes place “in the heavenly realms.” This does not mean a struggle in heaven, nor should we think of an area lower than heaven but higher than the earth. Rather, this phrase refers to the reality that encompasses life in relation to G-d.  When we live in Christ, we have the “gifts of the spirit”, as well as the “fruits of the spirit” listed in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

Those who live in Christ have been given every spiritual gift related to Christ in the heavenly reality. As such, those who live in Christ are to live doing all we can against the forces of evil on this earth. Our enthronement with Christ then determines how we live on earth. Our struggle reflects the heavenly reality of the “age to come”, which means we struggle against evil powers every day.  

Since verse 12 explains standing “against the devil’s schemes” in verse 11 (Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil), Paul was surely not thinking about structures of evil such as government, law, or social conventions. Rather, he thought of each individual’s “personal battles of evil” that seek to disrupt life as G-d intended it. This is why we need to put on the full armor of G-d, especially the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, help us to know your Word and to “wear” it as our personal armor every day. Grant us all the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. Amen.

Pastor Dave