Philippians 1: Living So That Christ Is Glorified

Introduction

This Sunday's service at Ueno no Mori Christ Church in Tokyo is unlike any other. The day before, the church held the funeral of an honorary elder. His photo sits in his usual place, where no one sits. Pastor Kazuo Tsukuda admits that he is "a little nervous."

He was asked to preach the Tuesday before. As he prayed about what to say, one phrase took hold of him: that Christ would be glorified, whether by my life or by my death. From it he draws a message on a simple question: what kind of life glorifies Christ?

He begins with the background of the letter to the Philippians, follows Paul in his prison, speaks about the mission each person has and about suffering received as a grace, then ends with the story of a quiet woman who gave everything to Christ.

Outline of the Message

1. A Letter Written From a Prison

• The letter to the Philippians dates from AD 61 or 62, almost thirty years after the death of Jesus. Paul wrote it in prison in Rome: it is one of the "prison epistles."
• The Christians in Philippi had supported Paul in his ministry and during his imprisonment. When they heard of his arrest, they sent Epaphroditus to Rome with gifts.
• Once in Rome, Epaphroditus fell gravely ill. After he recovered, he went back to Philippi, and Paul entrusted him with this letter of thanks to be read to the church.
• In it, Paul explains that his captivity has a purpose: in the praetorium, soldiers heard his message and believed, and brothers in the Lord began to proclaim the Word with courage.

2. May Christ Be Glorified, Whether by My Life or by My Death

• In verse 20, Paul longs for Christ to be glorified in his body, whether he lives or dies. He puts the revealing of Christ ahead of his own safety and even ahead of his life.
• Paul is on trial and may face a death sentence. Yet this is exactly where he prays that Christ will be glorified.
• The result: his imprisonment moves the gospel forward. The suffering of prison is turned into good, a "reversal of adversity."
• The pastor speaks to those going through a hard time: whatever your situation, if Christ is glorified through your life, "that is enough." This is the faith he invites us to seek.
• "What is a Christian? A Christian is someone who lives Christ." For Paul, living or dying came second.

3. Christ Is My Life, and Death Is Gain

• Verse 21 is an astonishing statement. "It may be something only Paul could say," the pastor remarks.
• As long as Paul lives, he has a mission: to serve Christ. If he dies, he has a hope: to be with Christ. A mission for living, a hope for dying.
• Each of us has received a different mission from Christ. The calling is to carry it out to the end, believing firmly in the eternal life Christ promised, and to live a life of faith centered on him.
• In verses 23 and 24, Paul longs to depart and be with Christ, which is "far better." But he judges it more necessary to remain for the Philippians.
• For Paul, to live is to show the beauty of Christ in his life and to live for others. He never thinks of living only for himself. He gives up the desire for relief and chooses the path of mission.
• In verse 27, he urges: "Only let your way of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ."

4. Born a Third Time: Living for a Mission

• Someone once said that a person is born three times. The first birth is the birth of the body. The second is the spiritual birth, when we believe in Christ and become children of God.
• The third is the birth of someone who lives for a mission. Living for our mission is the very reason we came into the world.
• A Christian does not live only physically and spiritually: he or she lives for the mission God entrusts to them.

5. Everyone Has a Place in the Body of Christ

• Paul traveled the world to proclaim the Word, plant churches, and lead them. Not everyone can become like him, "and it is not necessary."
• The church is the body of Christ, and we are its members: some are the eye, others the ear, the hand, the foot, the finger, or the mouth. Each one is indispensable, and if one is missing, the body is not complete.
• "No one is useless." God gave you life because you are needed in some part of this body.
• In 2 Timothy 4:5, Paul writes: "But you, be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." Paul had his mission, Timothy had his, and we have ours.
• In the church, everyone has a task received from the Lord: pastor, elder, board member, co-worker, leader, or simple member. It needs to be fulfilled.
• Someone wrote that living without carrying out the task the Lord has given amounts, in Christ's eyes, to being as good as dead. "It is a harsh saying," the pastor admits. But living wholeheartedly for the mission we have received is the life that pleases the Lord and that he blesses.

6. Suffering Received as a Grace

• In verse 29, Paul writes that it has been granted to us, as a grace, not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him.
• Life has its good times and its hard times. In the good times, walk with Christ in peace. In the hard times, remember that Christ suffers with you, and do not lose hope.
• Paul lived a faith with Christ at the center, even in suffering and in a life stripped of freedom.
• If you receive suffering as a gift from God, it reveals the glory of the Lord and becomes an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work.
• The pastor cites Romans 5:3-5: tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance produces victory in the trial, and that victory produces hope. Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
• In a book devoted to the life of this elder, a photo shows a calligraphy that a pastor gave him: "What I am today, I am by the grace of God." He kept this saying all his life, and it comforted and encouraged him in his struggles.
• For the pastor, the elder's life with the Lord was a life in which Christ was glorified, in his life as in his death: "to live was Christ."

7. A Simple Woman Who Gave Everything to Christ

• To conclude, the pastor tells, from the same book, the story of the mother of the late elder. She believed in Christ with simplicity, loved the church, and gave it everything.
• This woman, said to be unable to read, learned to read. She opened the Bible eagerly and kept listening to and counseling the women who came to see her.
• One Sunday after the service, she asked to speak. She had difficulty speaking, and people advised her not to. She insisted: "This is the last time." She thanked everyone for the fellowship they had shared and spoke words of farewell that no one understood at the time.
• Three days later, on a cold February night, she was seized by severe pain. Her two sons took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. The pain eased.
• To her worried son, she said: "Don't make that face. Don't worry. God is always with us." Then, with her eyes closed, she sang a hymn about the God who created all things and reigns over the world, until her voice faded. She died a few hours after arriving at the hospital.
• Her husband had been gentle when sober but violent when he drank, and unfaithful. She had suffered in silence for a long time. After her death, he changed: he drank less, went to church every Sunday, sat in the front row, listened to the preaching, repented before the pastor, and visited his wife's grave every day.
• "This quiet woman, like an ordinary mother, believed in Christ and gave him everything." Her life gives courage and hope, and it was probably what he saw in her that changed her husband's life. For the pastor, she is a beautiful example of a life in which Christ is glorified, in life as in death.

Key Takeaways

• Paul puts the glory of Christ ahead of his safety and his life. Even his prison moved the gospel forward.
• "Christ is my life": as long as you live, you have a mission received from Christ. "Death is gain": after death, you have the hope of being with him.
• You do not have to be Paul. In the body of Christ, everyone is indispensable and has a task to fulfill.
• Suffering received as a grace can reveal the glory of the Lord and let the Holy Spirit work.
• A simple, faithful life given entirely to Christ can transform those around us.

Personal Application

1. In the situation you are going through today, what would change if your first desire were for Christ to be glorified through you?
2. What mission has the Lord entrusted to you, in your family, your work, or your church? Are you carrying it out wholeheartedly?
3. Do you sometimes see yourself as useless in the church? What is your place in the body of Christ?
4. How do you look at your current trials: as a failure, or as an opportunity for God to be glorified?
5. Who around you could be touched by your quiet faithfulness, as this husband was by his wife's life?

Verses Cited

• Philippians 1:20-21
• Philippians 1:12-14
• Philippians 1:23-24
• Philippians 1:27
• Philippians 1:29
• Philippians 2:25-30
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
• 2 Timothy 4:5
• Romans 5:3-5
• 1 Corinthians 15:10

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Christ is my life, and death is gain" mean?

For Pastor Kazuo Tsukuda, Paul sums up his faith here: as long as he lives, he has a mission received from Christ to carry out to the end; if he dies, he has the hope of being with Christ forever. To live is to serve Christ; to die is to be with him.

How can Christ be glorified in a difficult season?

Paul writes from a prison in Rome, perhaps facing death. Yet his imprisonment moved the gospel forward: soldiers believed and brothers spoke with greater confidence. Pastor Tsukuda invites us to receive the trial as a grace, because it can reveal the glory of the Lord.

Do you have to be like Paul to fulfill your mission?

No. Not everyone can become an evangelist like Paul, and it is not necessary. The church is the body of Christ: each person is a member of it, the eye, the ear, the hand, or the foot. No one is useless, and everyone must fulfill the task the Lord has entrusted to them.