This document provides commentary on Philippians 1:12-14 from the Bible. It discusses how Paul found greater joy and progress for the gospel through his imprisonment. His imprisonment became well known among the praetorian guard and encouraged other believers to speak boldly about their faith without fear. The commentary explores various perspectives on how God can use difficult circumstances for good and further the spread of the gospel.

1. PHILIPPIANS
CHAPTER ONE
Chapter 1 Verse 12 - 14
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
SEPTEMBER 25, 2011
Commentaries Consulted:
• The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and
John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2007
• J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible
• Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)
The Theme of Philippians is:
JOY!
Philippians 1:12
“Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the
greater progress of the Gospel,”
Paul's maturity is evident in the present text as he makes it clear that difficult,
unpleasant, painful, even life-threatening circumstances did not rob him of joy but
rather caused it to increase.
The only certain cause for loss of joy in a believer's life is sin, which corrupts his
fellowship with the Lord, Who is the source of joy.
10“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do
not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will
teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.” Psalm 51:10-13

2. Although it is a gift from God to every believer, joy is not always constant and full.
Sinful attitudes such as dissatisfaction, bitterness, sullenness, doubt, fear, and
negativism cause joy to be forfeited.
Consequently, the only way to restore lost joy is to repent and return to proper
worship of and obedience to God.
Anything other than sin - no matter how difficult, painful, or disappointing - need not
take away the believer's joy.
Yet even minor things can steal our joy if we react sinfully to them.
A change for the worse in health, job, finances, personal relationships, or other
important areas of life can easily cause us to question the Lord, His sovereign wisdom,
and His gracious provision.
When something bad happens, joy can be one of the first casualties. We are
especially vulnerable when such things happen suddenly, taking us off guard.
Our response is often one of anger, doubt, distrust, fear, self-pity, ingratitude, or
complaining (joy stealers). In such cases, events that are not sinful in themselves lead
to sinful responses that steal joy.
We are not exempt from the common problems and difficulties all people face.
God's Word makes it clear that trouble in this life is certain to come.(John 16:33)
"In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world"
(John 16:33).
God can use even the most difficult trials for our good and for His glory.
"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the
testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4).
4“Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through
endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans
15:4 NIV
Paul was a larger-than-life model of a man of God whose joy never faltered.
He resisted anything that threatened to come between him and his intimate
fellowship with and trust in the Lord.
Paul certainly experienced sorrow and tears, suffered grief and disappointment, and
was troubled by sinful, weak, and contentious believers.

3. There never seems to have been a time in his life as a believer when circumstances
diminished his joy. In fact, it seems as if the worst affliction merely tightened his grip on
salvation's joy (Phil 4:4,11-13).
4“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Phil 4:4
11“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content
whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is
to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all things
through Christ Who strengthens me.” Phil 4:11-13
Philippians 1:12
“my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel,”
Prokope (progress) describes not merely moving ahead but doing so against
obstacles. The related verb was used of an explorer or of an army advance team
hacking a path through dense trees and underbrush, moving ahead slowly and with
considerable effort.
Resistance is therefore inherent to that sort of progress, and no one knew better than
Paul how inevitable the resistance of Satan (1 Thess 2:18 - Satan hindered us) and the
world (1 John 2:15-16) is to the progress of the Gospel.
John Bunyan's preaching was so popular and powerful, and so unacceptable to
leaders in the seventeenth-century Church of England, that he was jailed in order to
silence him. Refusing to be silent, he began to preach in the jail courtyard.
He not only had a large audience of prisoners, but also hundreds of the citizens of
Bedford and the surrounding area would come to the prison daily and stand outside
to hear him expound Scripture.
He was silenced verbally by being placed deep inside the jail and forbidden to
preach at all. Yet in that silence, he spoke loudest of all and to more people than he
could have imagined.
It was during that time that he wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, the great Christian classic
that has ministered the Gospel to tens of millions throughout the world. For several
centuries, it was the most widely read and translated book in the world after the Bible.
Bunyan's opponents were able to stop his preaching for a few years, but they were
not able to stop his ministry. Instead, they provided opportunity for it to be extended
from deep within a jail in the small town of Bedford to the ends of the earth.

4. OPTIMIST / PESSIMIST
Paul could say to his persecutors what Joseph said to his brothers after they sold him
into slavery: "It was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a
father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. . . .
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Gen 45:8; 50:20).
Countless numbers of God's saints have been able to echo that truth.
Job could have expressed it to his "comforters,"
Esther to Haman,
Jeremiah to the false prophets and rulers in Judah,
and the apostle John to those who exiled him to Patmos.
As always, the Lord can turn efforts to thwart His kingdom into means for advancing it.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ conquered sin and death, defeated Satan,
and provided redemption for all in every age who turn to Him in genuine saving faith.
Philippians 1:13
“so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout
the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,”
Paul next focused on two important achievements of his ministry, first on the progress
of the Gospel outside the church (v. 13) and then on its progress within the church (v.
14).
First, he rejoiced that his imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known
throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else (v13).
The praetorian guard was originally composed of some 10,000 handpicked soldiers.
It had been established by Caesar Augustus, emperor at the time of Jesus' birth (Luke
2:1).
These men were dispersed strategically throughout the city of Rome to keep the
general peace and especially to protect the emperor.
Members of the praetorian guard served for sixteen years, after which they were
granted the highest honors and privileges, including very generous severance pay.
Eventually they became so powerful that they were considered "king-makers," who
not only protected but also chose the emperors.

5. Paul's "chains" were somewhat longer than a modern handcuff, about eighteen
inches long.
The chain was not removed from the prisoner as long as he was in custody, making
both escape and privacy impossible.
Although the apostle was allowed to live in private quarters (Acts 28:30), he was
chained in that manner to a series of soldiers for a period of two years.
Over those years, it is possible that several dozen different soldiers were assigned to
guard Paul, each one becoming his captive audience.
If they were not already aware of it, those soldiers soon came to realize that this
amazing man was not imprisoned for committing a crime but for preaching the
Gospel.
His faithfulness in the cause of Christ soon became well known throughout the whole
praetorian guard and to everyone else.
The faithful believers in the church at Rome had no doubt long prayed that the Lord
would open a way to witness to the elite and influential praetorian guard.
In His sovereign wisdom, God answered that prayer by making members of that
guard captive to Paul for 24 months.
In addition to hearing his preaching and teaching, the soldiers also experienced
firsthand his graciousness, his remarkable patience and perseverance in great
affliction, his wisdom, his deep convictions, his genuineness, his humility, and his
genuine love and concern for them.
They were aware of the false accusations made against him in Caesarea and the
personal risk he had taken by appealing to Caesar.
Both his message and his character had a profound impact on those elite, hardened,
and influential soldiers.
How many of the praetorian guard became Christians is unknown, but those who did
became evangelists. It was through those men that members of Caesar's own
household got converted(4:22).
F. B. Meyer comments:
“At times the hired room would be thronged with people, to whom the Apostle spoke
words of life; and after they withdrew the sentry would sit beside him, filled with many
questionings as to the meaning of the words which this strange prisoner spoke.

6. At other times, when all had gone, and especially at night, when the moonlight
shone on the distant mountain slopes, soldier and Apostle would be left to talk, and in
those dark, lonely hours the Apostle would tell soldier after soldier the story of his own
proud career in early life, of his opposition to Christ, and his ultimate conversion, and
would make it clear that he was there as a prisoner, not for any crime, not because
he had raised rebellion or revolt, but because he believed that Him Whom the
Roman soldiers had crucified, under Pilate, was the Son of God and the Savior of
men.
As these tidings spread, and the soldiers talked them over with one another, the
whole guard would become influenced in sympathy with the meek and gentle
Apostle, who always showed himself so kindly to the men as they shared, however
involuntarily, his imprisonment.
How absolutely consistent the Apostle must have been! If there had been the least
divergence, day or night, from the high standard which he upheld, his soldier-
companion would have caught it, and passed it on to others.
The fact that so many became earnest Christians, and that the Word of Jesus was
known far and wide throughout the praetorian guard, indicates how absolutely
consistent the Apostle's life was.” (The Epistle to the Philippians [Grand Rapids: Baker,
1952], 36-37)
Philippians 1:14
“and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment,
have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”
Paul's faithful perseverance not only was winning converts outside the church but also
was strengthening and encouraging believers within the church.
The apostle's courage and faithfulness during his confinement caused most of his
fellow brethren, both in Rome and beyond, to be more trusting in the Lord because
of his imprisonment and to have far more courage to speak the word of God without
fear.
His influence was pervasive and far-reaching. It was not merely some believers, but
most of the brethren, who were encouraged by his imprisonment.
The implication is that, before Paul’s imprisonment, believers were afraid, or at least
reluctant, to openly share their faith. Hostility to this new sect of Judaism was growing.
Not only were Jewish leaders intensifying their opposition and persecution, but
pagans also began to see Christianity as a threat both to their religion and to their
livelihood (Acts 19:23-41).

7. Paul's example gave his brethren . . . far more courage to speak the word of God
without fear.
As they saw how God protected him and blessed his ministry, despite persecution
and imprisonment, their courage was renewed and their boldness and zeal
intensified.
His strength became their strength, as his example touched them. Through the Holy
Spirit, the impact of that one faithful life revolutionized and energized the entire
church.
The apostle's fellow saints discovered that, like the cowardice they once
experienced, courage is contagious.
Freedom to proclaim the Gospel is understandably cherished today by Christians in
the so-called free world. But many, if not most, of the great expansions of the faith
and spiritual revivals within the church have come during times of opposition and
persecution.
Christianity was long outlawed in communist China and even today in much of that
nation public expression of Christianity is still severely restricted. Yet by many
responsible estimates, there are millions of Bible-believing Christians in that great
country.
By contrast, in most of the "free" Western world the influence, if not the size, of the
evangelical church has been continually eroding.
Paul's circumstances were beyond most people's ability to comprehend. Yet he was
a model of joy, contentment, and peace.
Those inner qualities obviously were not based on his physical comfort, his possessions,
his freedom, his self-satisfaction, or his reputation and prestige.
physical comfort – the day is coming that God has prepared a place for us where our
physical comfort is provided for. But we are presently in His kingdom that is at war –
and our comfort is not the primary concern right now.