God’s Word for You

Philippians 1:12 To advance the gospel

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, February 16, 2026

12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the things that have happened to me really happened to advance the gospel.

This verse tells us that Paul had been a long time in prison, waiting for his case to come up, waiting, wondering, spending the time that he found was his to make use of the gospel in the prison-house to cheer the hearts of believers and to turn the hearts of unbelievers to Christ for the sake of their souls. Paul did not mind the turning of year upon year while he waited, learning by necessity to trust in the working of other men with his dear Christian friends in the churches he had founded. In Asia Minor there were the Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians. In southern Greece or Achaia there were the Corinthians, in the north (Macedonia) were the Thessalonians and Philippians, and of course the Romans in Rome. All of these had to be served by other voices, other sets of ears, eyes, and baptizing hands.

Paul’s enemies may have thought that the best way eliminate Paul from his work was to do nothing. Witnesses could somehow not be found or were slow to be produced. Let the appeal drag on through one winter, then another! But Paul’s response to all this? He was given an opportunity to be rather easy to find, even though it was far away. A letter to him in Rome would find him in Rome, whereas in his former traveling days a letter might take many months to catch up to him as he moved from place to place. So Paul looks at his imprisonment as something that happened “to advance the gospel.”

But wasn’t the imprisonment of Paul something done by the legitimate government? Of course it was. The Roman government had an obligation to take charges brought against a man seriously. In this case, there were those acting within the government, or at least back in the local government in Judea, who were acting from their own self-interest and using the law of the land for their own personal advantage. That will happen in any government as long as there are sinners in the world, right up until judgment day.

The government itself is a divine institution. “The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1). The general purpose of government is to encourage the good and to deter the bad, for the general good of the general population. That is to say, to make the sin-infested world a comparatively safe and comfortable place to live in. This was obviously Cain’s thought when he began to build a (walled) city for himself and his growing family (Genesis 4:17). Perhaps he was trying to protect himself from wild animals, or from retribution for murdering Abel, or both (see Genesis 4:24).

Now, unbelievers need there to be a government more than believers do, but in a broad sense, even a bad government is better than none at all. There is no divinely instituted form that a government must take (monarchy, duchy, democracy, republic, federation), whether the rule is in one person, a small group, or many. Aristotle thought that every government ends up being an oligarchy (a rule by a small group). Winston Churchill said that a democracy is the worst form of government except for all of the other forms that have ever been tried.

Certain human affairs are subject to the state (that is, the government): Money (Matthew 22:19-21), human life and safety (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:22-25); marriage and divorce (Matthew 19:7-8); peace and war (2 Samuel 11:1; 1 Timothy 2:2), and matters of civic law and justice: “the authorities are sent to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right” (1 Peter 2:14). They carry this out with fines (“he must be fined whatever the court allows,” Exodus 21:22), imprisonment (Matthew 5:25) and capital punishment, which is death (Romans 13:4).

Spiritual matters and the care of the church have not been given to the government, but over the years there have been times where this was confused when men governing the church (bishops and popes) became the heads of state. A government that meddles in the church’s affairs is usurping Christ’s prerogative (Luke 20:5). Likewise, the church must not dabble in government matters. Now, an individual Christian can serve in government, in the army, and so on, but the church itself must not harm the real cause of Christ. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews” (John 18:36). The church’s main concern is for its own members, apart from reaching out with the gospel. “Let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10).

Of course, in certain matters where both church and state have a legitimate interest, they may cooperate as long as this is possible (such as in education and marriage).

This brings us to Paul’s attitude about the government and his captors, the Romans. A Christian’s attitude about the government must be, according to the word of God, this:

1. Hearty support in all matters not pertaining to faith. “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:1-3). Therefore it is good and right that we pray for our government at appropriate times (the installation of a new President, the 4th of July, and so on). And it is permitted for a church to be used for the purposes of voting (without supporting any particular candidate either by posters, pictures, sermons, or such). And it is also permitted for a church to be used for civic purposes such as a blood drive (if this is practical) or for assembling and distributing care packages in time of war, and so on.

2. The church or its members must also sometimes suffer injustice. “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well” (Matthew 5:39-40).

3. The church or its members must sometimes refuse to obey the government in matter conflicting with faith. “But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God… We must obey God rather than men!’” (Acts 4:19, 5:29).

4. A Christian may also serve in the capacity of a government official. Naaman, the Syrian general, asked Elisha: “ ‘May the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this.’ ‘Go in peace,’ Elisha said” (2 Kings 5:18-19).

The church will be benefitted by the government, by being protected (Romans 13:4,6; 1 Timothy 2:2). And also, persecution by the government may sometimes provide a trial in which the church may prove it spirit. Jesus warned: “Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles” (Matthew 10:17-18). This is what Paul means when he says, “The things that have happened to me really happened to advance the gospel.” He will elaborate on this in the verses that follow.

The state has its head, who will always be temporary. But the church’s head is Christ, who reigns now and forevermore. “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6). “Of the increase of his government and peace where will be no end… establishing and upholding it from that time on and forever” (Isaiah 9:7).

And he will reign forever and ever.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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