As we approach the Lord's table this morning we read:
Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
When this was written, Paul was not having a good day. He was in prison because of the Gospel. But it, like all other days, was sovereignly ordained and through its circumstances the Gospel would advance:
Philippians 1:12-13
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
Paul's confidence was not because of his own skill or oratory, but because the Spirit of Christ dwelt in him, as He does in us.
Why does this make Paul certain that he "will not be at all ashamed"? Because Jesus Christ is due glory and "now as always Christ will be honored"(megalynÅ)!
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