I Thank God For You

Sermon Series: The Joy of Partnering In Ministry
(A Study of the Letter of Philippians)
I Thank God For You
Philippians 1:3-11


Paul was a pastor/leader who really loved ministry and was thankful for the church. We see his thankfulness for ministry and the church in just about every letter he writes:

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, (1 Co 1:4).

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayer (Eph 1:16).

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. (Ro 1:8–10).

Giving thanks to the Father which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light (Col 1:12)

What a lesson for us! If Paul thanked God for believers who were so far away from Him, how much more should we thank god for each other everyday. We can call on each, support each other, pray for one another, bless one another, fellowship with one another, study with one another, and visit one another.

However, I believe the relationship between Paul and the Philippian church was a unique situation. My pastor said best while having breakfast I was shared with the brethren how much I love preaching through the book of Philippians. Pastor’s eyes lit up and he made a statement that is the best way to describe the relationship between this pastor and people. He said: “It’s not often we see a pastor write to a church he really likes! Paul and the church at Philippi like each other!”

As I was driving home from breakfast I started to meditate on my sermon notes and pastor’s statement came back to me, “they really like each other”.

The affection between pastor’s and members are often expressed once a year during the pastor’s anniversary, pastor care service, leadership encouragement service, or some special event. And even then one wonders how genuine are the expressions between both the pastor and members.

But for Paul, he genuinely loves and appreciates the church at Philippi.
Paul could not think of the Philippians without giving thanks to God for their fellowship in the gospel. The word ‘fellowship’ refers to sharing or holding something in common. We have a tendency to use the word very loosely these days. Any gathering of Christians in which there is a feeling of happiness and camaraderie is called ‘fellowship’. We have almost made the word synonymous with good food and a few laughs. But that, of course, makes Christian fellowship no different from what unbelievers often enjoy.
We can be sure that the apostle had something far different—and better!—in mind. It was more than merely enjoying each other’s company. It was partnership.[1]

Paul is so thankful to the church at Philippi for their love and support while he’s prison that he opens this letter with prayer of thanksgiving. And the point of this prayer is this:

I THANK GOD FOR YOU!

The affection Paul shares in this letter is so beautiful that calls of us to learn from it. Three (3) lessons to learn from this letter is this:

A. It is a prayer of AFFIRMATION – v. 3-6

Philip. 1:3-6 (NKJV)
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, [4] always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, [5] for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, [6] being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;


- Paul’s affirmation is genuine

Philip. 1:3 (NKJV)
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,


The phrase “My God” reflects Paul’s deep intimacy and communion with the Lord, to whom He belonged and whom He served. His thankfulness for the Philippians was to God, emphasizing both that the Lord is the ultimate source of all joy and that it was the Philippians relationship to Him through Christ that caused Paul to thank God.

Bruce Larson, in his book Wind and Fire, points out some interesting facts about sandhill cranes:
“These large birds, who fly great distances across continents, have three qualities. First, they rotate leadership. No one bird stays out in front all the time.
“Second, they choose leaders who can handle turbulence. And then, all during the time one bird is leading, the rest are honking their affirmation.
“That’s not a bad model for the church. Certainly we need leaders who can handle turbulence and who are aware that leadership ought to be shared.
“But most of all, we need a church where all are honking encouragements.”
—Robert Sweat

These verses screams honkings of encouragement and affirmation from pastor to people. Paul says every time I think of you I thank God. Wow! That is a big difference from much of what we see in our modern day relationships between pastor and people. Oftentimes, when we get in a room filled with other pastors, preachers, and lay leaders there’s more negativity than appreciation. I think it’s true and should be said of many pastors as it is said of many people who are looking for a perfect church. “If you find a perfect church don’t accept the call to pastor it for as soon as you do it will become imperfect”.

Paul’s appreciation for the church at Philippi is a continuing thankfulness. Sitting in a prison chained, bond, and closed in he still thanks God for the people in partnership with him in furthering the gospel.

I’m learning that no matter how numerous the difficulties of ministry work that I can still be thankful of the work being done to further the gospel. I may not be in prison physically but the challenges of financial resources, people resources, space limitations, low weekly attendance, or whatever ministry challenges are presented at any giving time it doesn’t change the thankfulness of being in partnership with God’s people to further the gospel of Jesus Christ.


- Paul’s affirmation is joyous

Philip. 1:4 (NKJV)
always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,

John McArthur says another indispensable element of joy for believers is interceding before God on behalf of others. Those who are obedient to the Holy Spirit will delight in the privilege of intercessory prayer. Faithful and sincere intercession is much more than an obligation: it is a joy.


- Paul’s affirmation is encouraging

Philip. 1:5-6 (NKJV)
for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, [6] being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

As the apostle gave thanks for the Philippians’ participation in the work of the gospel, he could not help but add a word of thanksgiving for the work of the gospel in them. He was thankful ‘… that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ …’

Paul was very good at slipping little nuggets of breathtakingly glorious truth into the mundane portions of his letters. This verse is one of those nuggets. It tells us the following:

• Salvation is God’s work. The Philippians did not begin the work of salvation in themselves only to have God come along and add a little to it. It was entirely his work. God provided the way of salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ, and he even enabled the Philippians to receive that salvation.

• Salvation is a good work. Salvation lifts the sinner from eternal condemnation and ruin and makes that person part of God’s family and a partaker of God’s eternal glory. Who would dare say that this is not a good thing?

• Salvation is a sure work. God does not begin it and then abandon it somewhere along the way. He does not pull his people from the flames of destruction only to allow them to slip back and be consumed. God completes the work of salvation. We know what it is to plan a work and undertake a work only to see it fail. But it is not so with God. We must not picture him looking over the redeemed multitude in eternity and saying: ‘We did fairly well. Eighty per cent of the saved finally made it home.’ God will not have to say such a thing because all his people will make it home. Not one will be missing! The faithful God will faithfully complete his work![2]


B. It is a prayer of AFFECTION – v. 7-8

Philip. 1:7-8 (NKJV)
just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. [8] For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

Note how closely bound together Paul and the church were.

1. They were partners in heart. Paul loved them as he loved himself; he held them ever so dear to his heart and they constantly filled his thoughts.

2. They were partners in the sufferings of Paul. This means...

· that they were sympathizing with Paul in his imprisonment.
· that they were sending hope to Paul while he was in prison.
· that they had or were themselves suffering because of the gospel just as Paul was.

The point is this: the affection between Paul and the Philippians was so tender that their hearts went out to each other. What one experienced, the other felt, even the sufferings of each other.

What a striking picture of the kind of sympathy needed for those who suffer. We must learn to be partners in suffering. Then and only then can we bear each other’s burdens and truly minister to each other.

“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).

3. They were partners in the gospel. The Philippians had not given up the gospel, nor had they become silent or complacent in sharing the gospel. They were actively defending and proclaiming the truth of the gospel. The church and its members were busy for Christ—actively bearing witness to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were taking the great commission of our Lord seriously.

4. They were partners in the grace of God. Paul was expressing the wonderful grace of God—the favor and blessings of God. And the Philippian church was expressing the same grace. God was pouring the richest blessings upon both Paul and the church. Why? What was it that was causing God to so richly bless these two? Their faithfulness: as this passage shows, they were bearing the marks of mature believers.


C. It is a prayer for godly ATTRIBUTES – 9-11

Philip. 1:9-11 (NKJV)
[9] And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, [11] being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.


As the apostle began expressing his gratitude for the Philippians, he mentioned remembering them with joy in his prayers (v. 4). He then proceeded to share four requests that he had been offering on their behalf.

That their love would abound (v. 9)

This may seem to us to be a very strange request in the light of what we have already noted, that is, that the Philippian church was already characterized by love. We can be sure that Paul is not now denying what he has already stated. He is rather affirming that love is a grace in which we can always advance. No matter how much we love, we can love more.

He is also praying for them to abound in a certain type of love, that is, love with knowledge and discernment. He will soon find it necessary to warn them about the ever-present danger of false teachers (3:2, 18–19). The Philippians would make themselves easy prey for such teachers if, in the interest of being loving, they were uncritically to accept everything that these teachers were presenting.

We should be keenly aware of this danger. How often the church today has refused to stand against doctrinal error because someone argued that we must be loving! And, of course, love was understood to mean being agreeable and tolerant.

No one believed more firmly in love than Paul, and yet he did not hesitate to rebuke a fellow apostle for compromising the truth (Gal. 2:11–21). Paul did this because he understood that love and truth are not enemies. The most loving thing we can do is stand for the truth in a loving way.

That they would approve the things that are excellent (v. 10)

The word ‘approve’ means to ‘distinguish’. The idea of seeing through to the heart of a matter is involved. Paul is praying that his readers would be able, in the midst of competing issues and concerns, to see what is truly important and deserving of priority, and that they would be able to make wise spiritual decisions.

That they would be sincere and without offence (v. 10)

The word ‘sincere’ translates a word that originally meant ‘pure’ or ‘unmixed’. In ancient times merchants would often patch cracked porcelain with wax. A merchant who wanted his customers to be assured of his integrity would advertise his porcelain as ‘without wax’.
Paul’s desire for the Philippians was that they be ‘without wax’, pure and blameless in their conduct, so they could stand unashamedly before their Lord. Paul constantly lived with that day on which he would stand before Christ in view, and he wanted his readers to do the same. The key to living this day is to remember that great forthcoming day.

That they would be filled with the fruits of righteousness (v. 11)

William Hendriksen writes: ‘Paul prays that in the hearts and lives of the Philippians there may be a rich spiritual harvest, consisting of a multitude of the fairest fruits of heaven; such as, love, joy peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22–23), and the works which result from these dispositions.’
As Paul reflected on the fruits of righteousness, he undoubtedly called to mind the words the Lord Jesus spoke to his disciples on the night before his crucifixion: ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5).

It is not surprising, therefore, that Paul reminds his readers that the fruits of righteousness ‘are by Jesus Christ.’ And because they are produced by Christ, they are ‘to the glory and praise of God’ because Jesus did all for the glory of God (John 8:29; 15:8; 17:1, 4).