By Andrew Williams – April 20, 2021
Scripture
“I want you to know, my friends, that the things that have happened to me have really helped the progress of the gospel. As a result, the whole palace guard and all the others here know that I am in prison because I am a servant of Christ. And my being in prison has given most of the believers more confidence in the Lord, so that they grow bolder all the time to preach the message fearlessly. Of course some of them preach Christ because they are jealous and quarrelsome, but others from genuine good will. These do so from love, because they know that God has given me the work of defending the gospel. The others do not proclaim Christ sincerely, but from a spirit of selfish ambition; they think that they will make more trouble for me while I am in prison. It does not matter! I am happy about it—just so Christ is preached in every way possible, whether from wrong or right motives. And I will continue to be happy,” Philippians 1:12-18 GNT
Paul is writing this letter from his jail cell in Rome. He has been allowed some privileges, as he has been allowed to rent his own place in Rome even though he is still a prisoner.
“When we arrived in Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier guarding him.”Acts 28:16 GNT
As a prisoner of the emperor, he’s guarded by the palace guards.
Persecution Brings Opportunity
I want you to know, my friends, that the things that have happened to me have really helped the progress of the gospel. Philippians 1:12 GNT
When we look at Acts chapter 28, we see the report of Paul finally reaching Rome, and being kept under house guard. He is allowed to have visitors, and we see that the members of the Jewish synagogue came to visit him. When they did, he preached Christ to them and some of them believed even though some of them did not.
We also find out that Paul continued to preach from his place of imprisonment. We can also imagine, that for the time that he was there, he also taught and encouraged the disciples who came to him to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ . But based on the previous history that we see in the book of Acts and his letters, we can assume that Paul also met up on opposition here in Rome also.
Opportunity Brings Witness
As a result, the whole palace guard and all the others here know that I am in prison because I am a servant of Christ. Philippians 1:13 GNT
Because Paul was under guard by a rotating shift of palace guards, and he was allowed to have visitors, and he was allowed to speak freely until his trial we realize that those who were around him heard the gospel regularly. This included the palace guards, and anyone who came to visit him. We see therefore that even though he was imprisoned he had full opportunity to preach the gospel, even to those who he did not expect to preach to.
Because Paul kept on giving his testimony, everyone who heard him found out why he was imprisoned.
Witness Spurs the Boldness to Preach
And my being in prison has given most of the believers more confidence in the Lord, so that they grow bolder all the time to preach the message fearlessly. Philippians 1:14 GNT
Now why would someone being in prison give the believers more confidence to preach and be bold? The first thought I would have would be that if Paul was in prison for preaching the gospel, then I should not preach the gospel because I would be imprisoned also. But as Christians we know that persecution was something that Christ said would happen, and from the recent history we realize that persecution has brought forth the spread of the Gospel. When we look at the Acts chapter 28 passage, we get some insight into why they might have become bolder.
“For two years Paul lived in a place he rented for himself, and there he welcomed all who came to see him. He preached about the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking with all boldness and freedom.”Acts 28:30-31 GNT
This verse shows that a man that was imprisoned was boldly preaching the word of God, and that he was free to do it. This was an example to all Christians of the type of boldness that they should have despite being imprisoned, despite being under persecution, or despite the threat to their lives.
Conflicting Reasons For Preaching
Of course some of them preach Christ because they are jealous and quarrelsome, but others from genuine good will. These do so from love, because they know that God has given me the work of defending the gospel. The others do not proclaim Christ sincerely, but from a spirit of selfish ambition; they think that they will make more trouble for me while I am in prison. Philippians 1:15-17 GNT
Now this section of the passage has always been a problem for me because I did not look at it in the context of which it was stated. The context that I am talking about is Acts chapter 28, where we see that some of the Jews did not believe while some did. When we look at this we realize that those who believed would preach the gospel out of love for others, and love for Paul because they wanted Christ to be known also.
For those who are offended by Paul, and the threat that he brought to their Jewish religion, we can see these people would preach the gospel so as to make life more difficult for Paul. If they could preach in such a manner that the authorities in Rome would become more antagonistic to Paul, and the Christian religion, then they would do so.
I also believe that some might have just wanted fame, and they wanted to progress their popularity by preaching based on Paul’s imprisonment.
Spreading of the Gospel Brings Joy
It does not matter! I am happy about it—just so Christ is preached in every way possible, whether from wrong or right motives. And I will continue to be happy, Philippians 1:18 GNT
Paul is happy that the gospel is preached regardless of the motive of the one who is preaching it. It is good that the true gospel is preached, but sometimes I wonder if the person who preached out of wrong motive was actually preaching the true gospel.
But based on the passage I believe that the only concern of Paul was the motive of the persons who were preaching, and therefore what they preached must have been the true gospel.
Conclusion
No matter what situation we are in, we can still preach the gospel and give our testimony. Our circumstances does not change the truth and as Christians we should always spread the gospel. We should not look at what other persons are doing, but look to Christ and what He has commanded us to do.
It is a great thing when the gospel is preached, and what better privilege to have than to bring Christ to someone. We will overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony.
