There's No "I" in Gospel

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:3-5).

The high plains drifter. Batman. Jack Bauer from “24.” Bryan Mills of “Taken.” American mythology is loaded with stories about the lone hero who fights evil all by himself. While these solo warriors make for leading men in movies, it’s not how it works when following Christ. Take the Apostle Paul. Don’t make the mistake of picturing the man from Tarsus walking throughout the Mediterranean rim like some lone wolf for Jesus. Did God give him a “very particular set of skills” to spread the Good News? You betcha! But as we see in Philippians 1:3-5, Paul did it as part of a team. You see, there’s no “I” in Gospel. God made us for each other. He made us for community. Following Jesus is a team sport.

Paul sits behind bars in Rome waiting for Caesar to rule on his appeal (Acts 25:11-12). He’s been in prison for four years since his wrongful arrest back in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-36). I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be thinking about anybody else if I were the apostle’s sandals at this point. But not our man Paul. His friends back in Philippi dominate his heart and mind. One thing that gets him through his prison bid are memories of his trip to their city. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” (v3). He consistently expresses his gratitude to His Heavenly Father for bringing these people into his life. 

There’s no doubt that Paul has awesome memories of Philippi. Remember, it’s the first place in Europe to ever hear about Jesus. He thanks God for allowing him to meet Lydia the fashionista down by the riverside (Acts 16:14-15, 40). He thanks God for using him to free a slave girl from the demon that tormented her (Acts 16:16-18). He thanks God for his relationship with the Philippian warden and his family (Acts 16:23-34). These are the founding members of the church Christ founded through His apostle in this Macedonian seaport. Just a reminder to every one of us that we don’t have to get our stuff in one bag before Jesus can use us!

The former Pharisee doesn’t just simply thank God for his Philippian friends. He’s “always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy” (v4). Twice in this sentence Paul uses the Greek word deesis. It describes a request, need to filled, want to be satisfied, or a desire to be met. In one of his letters to the folks in Corinth, he lets them know that Macedonian churches like the one in Philippi face “a severe test of affliction” and are in “extreme poverty” (2Cor 8:1-2). No first world problems in Philippi. They have desperate needs. And Paul is so filled with joy for what the Lord is doing in and through these people that he’s overjoyed to go to God on their behalf. 

I think it’s important to point out that the apostle is the one in prison yet he’s praying for the needs of his friends back in Philippi! He knows this isn’t about him. Can we chat for a moment? Good. We all need to get over our eyes out of the mirror. We live in a land of self-absorption. Instead of staring at our own navel, let’s look outside ourselves and see who we can help. Who can we lift up in prayer? For Paul, that’s the Philippians. There’s no “I” in Gospel. Following Jesus is a team sport. 

Just in case we still think Paul’s going rogue and doing his own thing, he reminds his friends of their “partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now” (v5). “Partnership” is the very familiar word koinonia. If you’ve spent any time at all in a Southern Baptist church, you’ve heard this term tossed around in the fellowship hall like a beach ball at a rock concert. If you’re like me, this word has come to mean some sort of anointed gathering where Aunt Lorene brings her special rice casserole to the covered dish supper. But it simply describes a joint participation, a partnership, or close association between people. No Lone Rangers. Nobody flies solo. There’s no “I” in Gospel. Following Jesus is a team sport.

Paul thanks Jesus that the Philippians are his teammates in sharing the Good News. So just what makes this news so very good? The Gospel (Gr. euaggelion) literally means “beautiful message.” The Good News is the breaking news that Jesus has done for us what we could never dream of doing for ourselves. He’s come to our rescue to save us from our rebellion. We place our trust in what He’s done. Jesus lived the perfect life of obedience to God that we fail to live. He died the death for our sin that we should have died. He rose to a new life that we completely don’t deserve. He takes our sin. He gives us His perfection. Martin Luther liked to call it the “Great Exchange.” Paul wrote about it in one of those Corinthian letters. “For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him (Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God” (2Cor 5:21). It’s not just Good News, it’s FABULOUS NEWS!!! And the apostle is stoked that the followers of Jesus in Philippi are on his team. There’s no “I” in Gospel. Following Jesus is a team sport.