God’s Word for You

Philippians 1:18a Rejoice

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, February 22, 2026

18 What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

The motives of the preachers is the subject of Paul’s statement, not their doctrine. It would have been impossible for Paul to have been content with false doctrine being proclaimed. He would never tolerate “a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or a different spirit than the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted” (2 Corinthians 11:4). He told the Galatians, “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally damned” (Galatians 1:8). Therefore the content of the message must have been true, but the motives of these rivals and trouble-makers must have been questioned. Paul must be writing this to calm the people back in Philippi who where concerned about it. He wanted them to understand that if he, Paul, were not concerned about this, then they didn’t have to be.

“Ti gar? (τί γάρ;)” he says. “So what?” What does it matter? The motives are not important as long as Christ is preached. This brings us to the concern some people have about the perfection of their teachers. Our Augsburg Confession addresses this, relying on Jesus’ words in Matthew 23: “Although the Christian church, properly speaking, is nothing else than the assembly of all believers and saints, yet because in this life many false Christians, hypocrites, and even open sinners remain among the godly, the sacraments are efficacious even if the priests who administer them are wicked men, for as Christ himself indicated, ‘The Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat’ (Matthew 23:2).” (Augsburg Confession, Article VIII).

And Luther said in his preface to the Epistle of James, “That which does not teach Christ is not apostolic, even if Peter or Paul taught it. Again, that which does preach Christ is apostolic, even if Judas, Annas, Pilate, or Herod did it.” What matters is what was preached, not the identity of the preacher.

Christ is preached. This brings Paul joy, so he says, “I rejoice.” He uses these words, joy and rejoice, fourteen times in this letter. Here the verb (χαίρω, present active indicative) shows an action (rejoicing) carried out at the present time and continuing on into the future. This wasn’t a one-time event, but Paul’s constant rejoicing, a Hurray! for the preaching of the Gospel while he himself couldn’t do much if anything at all, except be where he was on the sidelines.

His joy is for the success of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Gospel that proclaims the forgiveness of our sins. True joy comes from faith; faith that believes and trusts in God’s grace. This is the faith that produces peace, joy, and even the love and comfort of eternal life in the heart. We also give one another joy when we show our faith at work in our lives. “You will give us great joy and gladness when you obey what we have written through the Holy Spirit, and root out sin in your lives.”

There is no greater joy than the joy of Christ in the heart. This is the joy that has been set free of the burden of sin, that no longer stands accused by Satan, because the Christian is “a burning stick snatched from the fire” (Zechariah 3:2). This is the joy of Israel when they dedicated the tabernacle in the wilderness and they all witnessed the Lord “consumed the burnt offering on the altar” so that they fell facedown in awe and joy (Leviticus 9:24).

What does this joy produce? Without being forced, the Christian is willing and wants to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, and even to suffer anything and everything for the love of God and to the glory of God. Why? Because God has been gracious and loving. The favor of God produces joy in his creation, and most especially in man, the sentient, living, breathing, forgiven creature who has a place with him forever in heaven.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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