In 1:15 Paul says that some also preached Christ out of good will. These were the ones who had fellowship, participation, in the preaching of the gospel with Paul and worked together with him for the defense of the gospel, preaching Christ out of love.
It is commonly thought among Christians that as long as we all believe in Christ as the Savior, worship the same God, teach the Bible, and preach the gospel, everything is all right. Although all Christians believe in the same Lord Jesus, worship the same God, teach the same Bible, and preach the gospel, they may have different ways of preaching Christ. It is very clear from Paul’s word in 1:15-17 that even in the first century there were different ways of preaching Christ. Both Paul and the Judaistic believers preached Christ, but in their preaching of Him they were very different.
Because there are different ways of preaching Christ, we need knowledge and discernment. This was the reason Paul prayed for the Philippians that their “love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and all discernment” (1:9). We need discernment concerning the different preachings of Christ. Christians all over the world are preaching Christ. However, we should not think that simply because all are preaching the same Christ, everything is fine. We need to realize that there are different ways of preaching Christ and discern between them. Hence, we are burdened in this message to cover the matter of the different ways of preaching Christ.
Concerning the gospel, Paul uses in Philippians several significant terms: “fellowship unto the gospel” (1:5), “the defense and confirmation of the gospel” (1:7), “the advancement of the gospel” (1:12), “the faith of the gospel” (1:27). We all need to have a clear understanding of these aspects of the gospel and not take them for granted. Whenever we read these expressions in Philippians, there should be a deep response within us.
Christians often speak of preaching the gospel; however, seldom do we hear believers talk of having fellowship in the gospel or unto the gospel. Even we ourselves are not very familiar with this term or accustomed to using it. The term “fellowship unto the gospel” may seem like an utterance in a foreign language. This indicates that we are still under the influence of our religious background, not adequately familiar with Paul’s terminology concerning the gospel. Let us learn to use Paul’s language with respect to the gospel. Let us speak of the fellowship of the gospel, the defense of the gospel, the confirmation of the gospel, the advancement of the gospel, and the faith of the gospel.
When many Christians preach the gospel today, they do not do so in the way of the fellowship of the gospel. They are not engaged in the defense of the gospel, and they do not exercise for the confirmation of the gospel. Their preaching may not lead to the advancement of the gospel, and they may not even have an adequate understanding of the faith of the gospel. For this reason, there are different ways of preaching Christ. Paul’s preaching of Christ included fellowship, defense, confirmation, advancement, and faith. But when the Judaistic believers preached Christ, they preached Him in an altogether different way. Instead of preaching Christ in the way of fellowship, they preached Him because of envy. Instead of preaching Christ in a way to defend the gospel, they did so because of strife. Yes, the Judaistic believers did preach Christ, but their preaching was not for the confirmation of the gospel. On the contrary, they preached Christ out of rivalry, out of faction and selfish ambition. Instead of all the positive aspects of the gospel, there were envy, strife, and rivalry. Such a preaching of the gospel did not cause the advancement of the gospel.
In principle, today’s situation is the same as the situation in Paul’s time. Many are preaching Christ, but in this preaching we can discern envy, strife, and rivalry in place of fellowship, defense, confirmation, advancement, and faith. Therefore, we need to adopt Paul’s vocabulary concerning the gospel and in a proper way, with humility and love, share this with other believers who are open to us. Perhaps the Lord will give many of the young people an opportunity to share with their parents what Paul meant by fellowship unto the gospel and by the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
The Bible is deep and profound, and we should not be content with a superficial understanding of it. In seeking to know the Bible, we care for the pure Word, not for the centuries of tradition or for the opinions of church councils. We need to learn to dig into the depths of the Word, pursuing the right meaning of the different words, terms, and expressions. Then we need to use the vocabulary of the Bible in our conversation. We do not care for tradition or for man’s systematic theology. We care only for God’s holy Word.
If we become familiar with Paul’s terminology regarding the gospel, we shall see that many of the different teachings of the gospel today are very shallow. There have been certain preachers and teachers who have discovered some of the treasures in God’s Word. But many of those who followed them neglected these riches, often placing more value on a certain traditional theological background than on a true understanding of the Word of God. We in the Lord’s recovery should not be satisfied with a shallow preaching of the gospel; we must come back to the Bible and dig into the riches contained in it. We thank the Lord that, in His mercy, we in the recovery are enjoying these riches.
Much of today’s preaching is not healthy. In this preaching something is presented to the people, but it is not healthy food. Rather, it is sweet and sugarcoated, pleasant tasting, but lacking in nourishment. We must be able to discern between such preaching and the preaching of Christ according to God’s economy.