Partner in Mission - A Study of Philippians 1:1-11

Our goal is to provide a practical resource for you, your small group, or your family, that can be easily implemented and applied. These studies are centered on the theme of each issue.

For this edition we’ve created a four-week Bible study based on “Partner in Mission,” the theme of the 2024 Biennial Convention. The convention, as well as this study, looks at it through the lens of Philippians 1:1-11.

Each week, read the assigned Scripture along with the devotional, and answer the reflection questions.

Companion videos, along with a PDF version of this study, are also available for you online at: www.FFBOOKS.org/4weekstudy

The Apostle Paul consistently thinks and writes in the plural. That is to say, he never conceives of Christian ministry as a solo endeavor. Whether it was fellow leaders or sister churches or close friends, he never tires of greeting each by name, exulting in their partnership in the gospel. The church at Philippi was no different. The opening verses overflow with superlatives, as if Paul can barely contain his joy and thankfulness. The church here had partnered with him from the outset. Paul first visited Philippi on his second missionary journey (see Acts 16:11-40), which saw the conversion of Lydia and the family of the Philippian jailer. This church had also contributed generously to the collection for the Jerusalem church, despite their extreme poverty. Paul was not quick to forget their shared past. The koinonia (fellowship, partnership, participation) mentioned in verse 5, however, is more than simply a shared experience—as if Paul were fondly recollecting a nostalgic road trip they once took. Their partnership in the gospel is more intimate than that, grounded in the “grace and peace” (v.2) of Jesus and rooted in his saving work. Their identity as “God’s holy people” (v.1) supersedes all other earthly identity markers and binds them together in common mission.

Reflection Questions:
1. Based on these verses, how would you describe Paul’s relationship to the church? What is his tone?
2. Read about Paul’s first visit to Philippi in Acts 16:11-40. How would these experiences have drawn them closer together? Why is remembering our collective past so important? How do we faithfully build on the past without allowing it to become an idol?
3. Why is it dangerous to think of ourselves as “lone ranger” Christians? What challenges to koinonia do we face today? What opportunities do you see for your church to partner in the gospel?

Self-confidence is overrated. In a world that prizes autonomy, independence, and self-sufficiency, the Apostle Paul’s words here might sound like nails scratching on a chalkboard: “…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Whose good work is it? God’s. Who began the good work? God. Who brings it to completion? God. Who does the verbs? God. Our confidence in mission rests not in any effort or skill or strategy of our own, but in Christ alone. The mission is his, not ours, and its success is guaranteed because we know how the story ends: God redeems and restores his lost and broken world. Spoiler alert (see Revelation): Jesus wins! Imagine this: A soldier enters battle for the first time. His heart beats fast. His hands shake, and he is filled with fear and anxiety because the outcome of the battle is uncertain. Now, imagine that same soldier in an alternate reality, one where he knows in advance that victory is assured. In which of those two situations do you imagine he will feel more confident? The second situation is ours as believers, not on a battlefield, but entering the mission field together to sow the seed of the Word, sure that the Lord of the harvest will bring fruit.

Reflection Questions:
1. How does self-confidence differ from Christ-confidence? Are they compatible? Mutually exclusive? What are some other sources of confidence people place their trust in?
2. Read Revelation 7:9-10. How does this passage encourage you? How does it challenge you to partner in mission?
3. Paul wrote this letter from prison. How might that affect the way we understand this verse? Do we face similar hostility to the message of Christianity today?

Paul was intimately familiar with suffering. He wrote his letter to the Philippians while imprisoned in Rome. On his first mission trip to Philippi, he was beaten with rods and thrown in jail. Elsewhere during his missionary journeys, he was mocked and stoned. An assassination plot was hatched against him as well. Jesus was clear that his disciples would face persecution (see John 15:18-25 & John 16:33), suffering, and trials of various kinds (James 1:2-4). Yet despite these ample warnings, when trials hit it never ceases to amaze us. Whenever we run up against suffering, we interpret it as a sign that something has gone drastically wrong. The human pain response causes us to cry out and look for escape. In this passage Paul deconstructs and re-casts suffering not as a warning flag but as God’s chosen means to advance the gospel. It is not despite Jesus’ suffering but precisely through the suffering of the Cross that he crushes the head of Satan and advances his divine rescue plan. What’s more is that we can learn to embrace the Cross, because we serve a risen Savior who promises that life—not death—gets the final word.

Reflection Questions:
1. What is your default response to suffering? How does suffering for the gospel differ from suffering in general?
2. How does the example of the persecuted Church serve to encourage and spur us on? What trials does your church face? How does suffering together differ from suffering alone?
3. Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. What is the difference between God’s wisdom and worldly wisdom? Why does the Cross appear “foolish?”

A church is a beautiful, strange, funny thing, whose continued existence is a miracle. Seriously! Think about it. In a very real sense, a church is a ragamuffin group of misfit toys who may not always have a whole lot more in common other than the fact that God calls us his saints (v.1). In what other context in life would you ever find such a disparate group of people spanning such an incredibly wide swathe of ages, interests, political persuasions, ethnicities, and economic situations, gathering together—week after week, month after month, year after year—in the same place? So what is it that binds us together in mission and causes such strong mutual affection? Paul puts it this way in verse 7: “…all of you share in God’s grace with me.” God’s grace, given to us through faith, is the tie that binds. It is the secret sauce that distinguishes the Christian faith from every other flavorless world religion. It is the message that, in the words of Tim Keller, “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”1 This restfulness in God spurs in us a restlessness for our unreached neighbors, that they too would come to experience rest for their souls.

Reflection Questions:
1. How would you describe the concept of grace to an unchurched person? Are there any everyday parallels or illustrations/examples that might help shed light on the topic? Why is grace such a powerful “binding agent?”
2. How do you balance the idea of being restful in Christ and being restless for your neighbors to know him? Which do you naturally drift toward? How might each feed the other?
3. According to verse 11, where does our righteousness come from? How does the world understand righteousness, and where do they seek it?