WM 365: GERHARD on the HEBREW TEXT: NOT CORRUPTED by the "CARELESSNESS OF SCRIBES"

JTR

The Vision (1.23.26): When things "fall out" for the furtherance of the gospel

 

Image: Winter sunset. North Garden, Virginia. January 2026.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Philippians 1:12-18.

“But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12).

Paul writes his epistle to the saints at Philippi while in bonds, literally in chains. As now, such circumstances did not typically win friends and influence people in that day. Paul had been slandered, attacked, beaten, and imprisoned throughout his ministry as an apostle.

He had survived death by stoning at Lystra (Acts 14:19-20). He fled Thessalonica “by night” after being threatened (Acts 17:10). He was nearly torn limb from limb in the temple in Jerusalem as the mob cried out, “This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place” (Acts 21:28). Forty Jews took a vow not to eat or drink till he was assassinated (Acts 23:12-13). Transferred to Caesarea, a Jewish orator named Tertullus accused him before the Roman governor Felix of being “a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 25:5). Appealing his case to Caesar, Paul was sent to Rome under the guard of a Roman centurion named Julius (Acts 27:1). The ship was wrecked in a storm, and Paul made it to shore clinging to the wreckage (27:44). As the survivors built a fire, a poisonous snake came out from the wood pile and bit the apostle on the hand. He shook the snake off into the fire and miraculously persevered. Eventually he came to Rome and was kept a prisoner for two years. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 Paul provides a list of many of the things he had endured as an apostle.

When Paul said in Galatians 6:17, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus,” he was not speaking metaphorically.

Paul’s statement in Philippians 1:12 comes in the context of his “lived experience.” He begins, “But I would ye should understand, brethren….” He wants them to understand his circumstances with Christian discernment. He calls them his brethren. They are together part of the family of God.

He declares that the things which have “fallen out” (taken place in his life in the providence of God; the verb means to loosen or unravel) for him have transpired for the furtherance [advance] of the gospel [here: the proclamation of the good news of what God has done for us in Christ].

As I read this passage it took me back to Genesis 50:20: “ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good.”

It also recalls Paul’s great declaration in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Just as God had allowed Joseph’s suffering to save many from physical famine in Egypt, God had allowed Paul’s suffering so that he might preach the gospel to many in Rome and save them from spiritual famine. This included some in the Roman palace (1:13) and even in “Caesar’s household” (4:22).

This is the way believers look at their circumstances whether filled with “smiling” or “frowning” providences. God is making things “fall out” for his own glory and the good of his people, for the furtherance of the gospel.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (1.16.26): He which hath begun a good work in you

 

Image: Winter morning. North Garden, Virginia. January, 2026.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Philippians 1:3-11.

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

In Philippians 1:3-4 Paul offers thanks to God for the saints at Philippi: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Always in every prayer of mine making request with joy.” For what cause does Paul offer these constant prayers of thanks and intercession? He says in v. 5 that it is “for your fellowship (koinonia) in the gospel from the first day until now (the present).”

Koinonia is a great Christian word. Fellowship in the gospel means a common commitment to the truth of and proclamation of the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. This is the unseen glue that binds believers together. If I love the gospel and I meet someone else who loves the gospel, we have an almost instant koinonia.

Paul says he had this fellowship with these “saints” at Philippi from the beginning. It has been consistent, from the first day to the present. It is unbroken. He could not say that to some churches, like those of Galatia who had left the true gospel for “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6).

Paul then expresses a confidence in the Philippian believers in v. 6. Namely, that He (that is, God Himself) “which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

I have often used this verse in pastoral meetings to speak to individuals who have wondered about their standing in the faith. Have they come to the faith for the first time, or have they taken a great leap forward in the faith? Is God doing something new or is he growing and advancing what was already there in seed form?

I think this verse can rightly be used to that end. But notice the context. Paul is addressing a church. He is affirming that God will perform what He has started in this church (and indeed in all true churches).

Those who are disappointed in what the church looks like at present need to remember that she is not now what she one day will be by God’s grace. One day the church will be like a bride adorned for her husband in fine linen (“the righteousness of saints”) (Revelation 19:8).

Until what time will the Lord be nurturing that which He has begun in His people? “Until the day of Jesus Christ” (v. 6). That is, until the day of our Lord’s glorious second coming when all things are made new. The apostle John thus rightly says, “it doth not yet appear what we shall be” (1 John 3:2).

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

WM 364: KEACH on the DIVINE AUTHORITY of the Holy Scriptures: Parts 14-15 of 17: REVELATION & REASON

 

JTR

The Vision (1.9.26): A Gospel Church Ordered by Scriptural Rule

Image: Winter scene. Pond in North Garden, Virginia. January 2026.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Philippians 1:1-2.

“Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:1-2).

Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi begins with three key points:

First, he identifies the senders of the letter (v. 1a). It is chiefly written by the apostle Paul, but also by his co-worker in the ministry Timothy. Timothy was a disciple with a good reputation among the brethren whose mother was a Jewish believer but his father a pagan unbeliever (Acts 16:1-2). He is listed as co-author with Paul of Philippians and five other NT letters (cf. 2 Cor 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1; and Philemon 1:1). The fact that two men are listed here is a reminder of the fact that we never minister alone but are always working alongside fellow laborers in the gospel.

They describe themselves as “servants [Greek: douloi, slaves] of Jesus Christ.” There is no room for arrogance in the Christian life and especially in ministry and service.

Second, he describes the recipients of the letter (v. 1b). It is addressed “to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi.” The word “saints” here means “holy ones,” those set apart for salvation through faith in Christ and sanctification as they abide in Christ. So, it is addressed to believers.

These saints were at Philippi in Macedonia (for the beginning of this church see Acts 16). Notice that the believers who lived in a particular area were meant to come together as the visible church in the place where they lived.

We have two key points here:

First: The church is regenerate. It is composed of believers.

Second: The church is local. We believe in the universal church, the mystical body of Christ. But the church is also local. If you are part of the universal, invisible church, you will also want to be part of the local, visible church.

Paul next adds, “with the bishops and deacons.” Are there three groups that are being addressed here: saints, bishops, and deacons? No. Only one group is addressed: the saints (believers) in the church. Within that church, however, there are men called to serve the body in two offices (cf. 1 Timothy 3:1-13). There are bishops (also known as elders or pastors), whose task is to teach and rule [administer], and there are deacons, whose task is to serve the church’s materials needs.

Third, Paul offers an apostolic blessing (v. 2). Notice he speaks of God’s grace, the means of their salvation, and peace, the end (outcome) of their salvation. By God’s grace, through faith in Christ, they have found peace with God (cf. Romans 5:1).

The church at Philippi was a faithful body of believers ordered by Scriptural rule. We too seek to be the same in our church.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

WM 363: KEACH on the DIVINE AUTHORITY of the Holy Scriptures: Part 13 of 17: TESTIMONY of ENEMIES

 

JTR

The Vision (1.2.26): Encouragements and Exhortations at the Head of a New Year

Image: Moon over the dunes. Topsail Island, North Carolina. December 2025.

The New Year often brings with it resolutions for behaviors we intend to practice or goals we hope to achieve.

As we begin a new year, let me share five brief exhortations (along with a Scripture proof) that might serve as resolutions for members and friends of CRBC:

1.    Let us be committed to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18).

2.    Let us be committed to sustaining this local church in its worship and ordinances.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

3.    Let us be committed to receiving and profiting from the “ordinary means” of grace, including prayer, reading the Word of God (privately in our personal lives and corporately in the church), hearing the preaching and teaching of the Holy Scriptures, submitting to baptism (if not baptized), and regularly taking the Lord’s Supper when it is served.

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).

4.    Let us be committed to meaningful fellowship and sincere expressions of love for the brotherhood of believers.

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34).

5.    Let us be committed to personal ministry (beginning within our own household), to evangelism, and to missions (spreading the gospel around the world).

“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle