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Living for What Really Matters
PHILIPPIANS
acknowledging the reality of wanting to be little Christs.
In the opening of his letter, Paul wasn’t simply acknowledging the people of Philippi or even
the body of believers in Philippi. He was reminding them that they were sacred, holy, and
consecrated. Moreover, the Greek word for saints in this passage is almost always plural,
illustrating that this whole community is set apart for the Lord. This is important, because as Paul
moves on next to address bishops and deacons, he does so in the context of the larger community.
Scripture doesn’t share what a bishop or deacon specifically did in the early church, but this
leadership wasn’t over the fellowship of believers. Rather, the bishops and deacons were a part of
the set-apart community. How do we know that? Let’s again look at the words Paul used in
Philippians 1:
Circle the first word in the below phrase:
With the bishops and deacons.
With. If we look at that term in the BLB, we discover that the word literally means including,
denoting togetherness, union, and completeness. That doesn’t seem much like a hierarchy, does
it? Instead, Paul seems to acknowledge that the bishops and deacons are leading alongside.
God invented leadership, and He knew the best way forward for the growing church as it spread
the Gospel: not leadership that placed people under, but instead leaders who worked alongside.
This was a big deal. God had turned the tables on the way things used to be. You see, before
Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, the only person who
had direct access to God was the high priest. A few leaders and prophets were given the gift of
personal relationship with God (Moses and Joshua, for example), and in those cases, it was because
God Himself had given them a specific task. The normal person—like you and me—didn’t have
access to God.
But when Jesus died for our sins, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the everyday
people tore (Matthew 27:51), and God changed everything. He now places us in the company of
high priests (1 Peter 2:9) and gives us every privilege and gift of that position.
The leadership of the church in Philippi and the leadership of our churches are on the same
playing field as each of us. They are not leading from above, but alongside. No person is higher or
more valuable in the eyes of God than anyone else. We can lead people to Christ from wherever
we work, live, and stand.
Because of this, leaders of the church need to consider themselves first as a member of the body
or community, and second as someone who guides. The leaders and the led all make mistakes and
sin, we are all saved by grace, and all are wholly and completely dependent on God’s mercy and
goodness.
Reflect on the leaders in your life. Ask God to be with them, and to help you come alongside them
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