CHRIST IS PREACHED

CHRIST IS PREACHED AND IN THIS I REJOICE! PAUL

"Don't you want to be sure you belong to the true church?" Two JWs stood at my door. "I was baptized into Christ," I said, "and I am sure He did not add me to the wrong one."

Since God ADDS THE SAVED to the Lord's church (Acts 2:47), the question is: HOW DO YOU GET INTO CHRIST? "buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." Col 2:12

We look at this Son - Jesus the Christ -
and we see the God who cannot be seen.
We look at this Son and we see
God's original purpose in everything created.

John wrote: "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:16-17

"And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." John 1:51; compare Jacob's Ladder, Genesis 28:12-22.

Jesus said: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." John 6:37

"Now John answered Him, saying, 'Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.' But Jesus said, 'Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side.'" Mark 9:38-40

Paul established the church at Philippi on his second missionary journey, 50 AD. Now he was imprisoned at Rome as he wrote to the Philippian church. Some opposed him and tried to destroy his influence. But even though he was in prison, he still reached out with Christ. "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;" Phil 1:12-13

Yet Paul had enemies who hated him more than they loved Christ - if they did love and accept Christ. Note Paul in Gal. 3:1-3. "before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?"

Paul wrote: “The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” Phil 1:16-18

Johnson's Notes wrote: "Some, indeed, preach Christ even of envy. The motives of all preachers are not pure. Some still preach Christ, full of envy for other preachers, and some from a love of strife. Those envious of Paul were probably Judaizing Christians. See next verse." —People's New Testament

Paul trusted God to be in control of everything, and that He would make good come from difficult times. "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee:" Psalm 76:10

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Glorious assurance! And this, it seems, was a "household word," a "known" thing, among believers. Persuaded that He who gave His own Son for them must mean them well in all His Plan, learn thus to take in good part whatever He sends them, however trying to flesh and blood: and to them who are the called, according to His purpose, all things do in His way "work together for good"; for, even when "He hath His way in the whirlwind," they see "His chariot paved with love" See 2 Timothy 1:9-10.

CHRIST IS PREACHED! Philippians 1:15-18

Philip. 1:16-18 (MsgB)
One group is motivated by pure love, knowing that I am here defending the Message, wanting to help. [17] The others, now that I'm out of the picture, are merely greedy, hoping to get something out of it for themselves. Their motives are bad. They see me as their competition, and so the worse it goes for me, the better—they think—for them.
[18] So how am I to respond? I've decided that I really don't care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!
And I'm going to keep that celebration going.


Robert Rainey in the UK, writing about 1880.

OF COURSE SOME. How do we fit this in with our idea of the early church??? The truth is, of course, that the early church faced every problem that the church is facing today! Technology does not change the basic problems, which grow out of human relationships.

Robert Rainey says: “Mixture of motive has haunted the work even of those who strove to keep their motives pure. And men in whom lower motive and worse motive had a strong influence have struck into the work alongside of the nobler and purer laborers. So it has pleased God to permit; that even in this sacred field men might be tried and manifested before the judgment of the great day; and that it might be more plain that the effectual blessing and the true increase come from Himself.” See verse 17. [compare 1 Cor. 3:12-15.]

16. THESE DO SO FROM LOVE.. Those who preach Christ with all good will. These viewed Paul’s imprisonment in the light of truth - as a defense of the gospel! Note 2 Cor. 5:13-15. "For the love of Christ compels us."

17. THE OTHERS. Robert Rainey says: “There were, as we all know, in the Church of those days powerful sections of professed believers, who contested Paul’s apostleship, questioned his teaching, and wholly disliked the effects of his work. Perhaps by this time the strain of that conflict had become a little less
severe, but it had not wholly passed away. We call these persons the Judaisers [circumcision party]. They were men who looked to Jesus Christ as the Messiah, who owned the authority of His teaching, and claimed an interest in His promises. But they insisted on linking Christianity to Jewish forms, and rules, and conditions of law-keeping, which were on various grounds dear and sacred to them . . . Possibly there might even be a Christian congregation in the city in which this type prevailed.” Compare Acts 21:20; John 19:15 and notes. They probably preached Christ as King, hoping to stir up the Roman authorities against Paul.

18. IT DOES NOT MATTER. Robert Rainey said: “It is NOT TRUE that the preaching of Christ serves no purpose and yields no fruits, in cases where it is not carried on in the right or the best spirit. . . Now the Apostle, looking at this, is glad of it. He is not glad that any men, professing Christ, give way to evil and unchristian tempers (natures). But he is glad that Christ is preached. There were cases in which he vehemently contended with such persons -when they strove to poison and pervert Christians who had learned the better way. But now he is thinking of the outside world; and it was good that the making known of Christ should gather strength, and volume, and extension. And the Apostle knew that the Lord could bless His own message, imperfectly delivered perhaps, to bring thirsty souls to Himself, and would not fail in His unsearchable wisdom to care for those who came, and to lead them in the ways He thought best.

LET CHRIST BE PREACHED. The converts do not belong to the denominations, but first of all to Christ. Neither is it appointed that the denominations shall permanently hold those whom they bring in; but Christ can hold them, and can order their future in ways we cannot foretell. . . . But God is not tied up to give no success to men acting under wrong motives: at least, if we are not to say He gives the success to them, yet in connection with them He is well able to take success to Himself. Through strange channels He can send blessings to souls, whatever He gives or denies to the unworthy workmen. Souls truly gathered in will soon get beyond their teaching.”