To have the enjoyment of Christ is to have the joy of faith. Paul speaks of the joy of faith in Philippians 1:25: “And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of the faith.” Paul was constrained by two things: the desire to depart and be with Christ and the need to remain in the flesh for the sake of the saints (vv. 23-24). Eventually he concluded that he would remain and continue with the believers for their progress and enjoyment of faith. Paul’s expectation was that he would minister more of Christ to the saints so that they would have more experience of Him. Through Paul’s ministry they would receive more infusion and as a result would have more faith. This faith would then bring them a greater enjoyment of Christ. In this way they would have the progress and joy of the faith.
Today we have the completed word of God. I encourage you to study the whole Bible, but especially to study the four books of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, books which complete God’s word. If you would have the faith which brings you into the full enjoyment of Christ with the church, you need to become thoroughly familiar with these four books.
The enjoyment of faith constitutes us into a sacrifice. This sacrifice is the very Christ experienced and enjoyed by us. Through the enjoyment of Christ, we experience Christ, gain Christ, and possess Christ. Our being is even constituted of Christ. In this way our faith becomes a sacrifice which can be offered to God.
I look forward to seeing the sacrifice of faith among the saints. I do not want to spend many years ministering Christ and the church to the believers only to find that they do not have much experience of Christ or enjoyment of Him. If we do not gain Christ, there can be no sacrifice. We shall not have the enjoyment of Christ, and the ministering one will not have the sacrifice of faith to offer to God. In order to have the sacrifice of faith, we need to touch the word of life in such a way that it becomes in our experience the bountiful supply of the Spirit. Then we shall have faith, faith which is the result of the Word and the Spirit mingled with our appreciation. This is the sacrifice which can be offered to God.
As used in 2:17, faith stands for the enjoyment of Christ, the experience of Christ, and the gaining of Christ. Our enjoyment, experience, and gaining of Christ become a sweet sacrifice offered to God. Then the ministering one will be happy to offer this sacrifice to God and at the same time pour out himself upon it as a drink offering.
I encourage all the saints to spend more time in the books of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, musing upon them, pray-reading them, and even singing them. We need to “strike the match” and experience the “burning” that we may gain Christ, experience Christ, enjoy Christ, and possess Christ. Then we shall have the faith as a sacrifice offered to God. We all need to have a faith which is mingled with the Word of God and the bountiful supply of the Spirit that we may have the sacrifice for God’s enjoyment.
Philippians 2:16 and 17 should be taken together. According to grammar, these verses are joined by the conjunction “but.” This indicates that the faith in verse 17 is related to the holding forth of the word of life in verse 16. In other words, the holding forth of the word of life is related experientially to the sacrifice of faith. Paul’s concept in these verses is that if the saints hold forth the word of life, he will have something of which to boast in the day of Christ. The present age is the day of man (1 Cor. 4:3), and the coming age will be the day of Christ. The one whose day it is, is the one to exercise authority. Because now is the day of man, man has authority on earth. But in the day of Christ, He will have authority. If in the day of man the believers hold forth the word of life, Paul will be able to boast concerning them in the day of Christ that he had not run in vain or labored in vain.
After speaking of the believers’ holding forth the word of life and of his being able to boast in the day of Christ, Paul goes on to say in verse 17, “But if even I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and priestly service of your faith, I rejoice and rejoice together with you all.” Even now, in the day of man, Paul could be poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice produced by the believers’ holding forth of the word of life. This means that when the believers hold forth the word of life, Paul has a basic sacrifice on which to pour out himself as a drink offering.
As we consider these verses carefully, we see that whatever we experience of Christ issues out of our faith. Our faith is the sum total of our experience of Christ. The holding forth of the word in verse 16 is the very faith mentioned in verse 17. The conjunction “but” joining these verses indicates this fact. On the day of Christ, Paul desired to boast that the believers held forth the word of life. However, even at present, in the day of man, Paul could have the sacrifice of faith as a basic sacrifice upon which to be poured out. This sacrifice of faith is identical to the saints’ holding forth of the word of life.
In verse 16 Paul speaks of boasting, and in verse 17, of rejoicing. In these verses the words boast and rejoice may be regarded as synonyms. Paul could boast in the believers’ holding forth of the word of life and rejoice in the sacrifice of their faith. In verse 16 we have the boasting related to the holding forth of the word, and in verse 17 we have the rejoicing related to the sacrifice of the believers’ faith. The rejoicing in verse 17 is synonymous with the boasting in verse 16, just as the sacrifice of faith is identical to the holding forth of the word of life. Once again we see that faith here is the sum total of our experience, enjoyment, and gain of Christ.