Philippians
1:14-18 "And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing
confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
(15) Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some
also of good will: (16) The one preach Christ of contention, not
sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: (17) But the
other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
(18) What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or
in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will
rejoice."
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth. " (John 1:1, 14) When Jesus walked upon this earth,
people had many thoughts concerning Him. Some thought Jesus was some sort of
magician and wanted to know more about Him. 'Come, do a few tricks for me. Work
a miracle so I can see what you are able to do.' Others thought Jesus to
be one of those people whose mind was not exactly right and He walked the
streets with some deceived men. Thankfully there were those who were blessed to
receive the grand truth of our Lord and, from the heart, followed Him with
great praise.
In our study of the Psalms, I asked the question concerning the size of your
God. How big is my God? Is my God able to do all things? His Word
tells us that He is. Do I believe that? Do I believe the same about my Saviour,
Jesus Christ? Do I simply expect Jesus to work a few miracles in my life
in order that I will be able to live a life of ease? What are my thoughts concerning
Jesus? Do I even really stop to give Him any thought at all except when I feel
that I need Him?
Steve, why are you asking all these questions? I'm glad you asked. The Apostle Paul had such a lofty understanding of Jesus that He knew whether someone preached Christ out of envy or strife, or if His name was declared sincerely in love and devotion - The name of Jesus was going to be mentioned and great things would happen. We sing of the power of Christ. We preach the power of Christ. We believe in the power of Christ. Have we truly received the depth of understanding that says Jesus Christ is indeed Lord and He does reign and rule according to His divine purpose and plan. Paul said, "whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached and I rejoice." I rejoice at the name of Jesus. Jesus fed thousands with five loaves of bread and two small fishes. The Holy Spirit is able to take a crumb of the Gospel and feed my soul. I rejoice to hear the name of Jesus. How about you? Paul was set for the defence of the gospel. Am I?