Philippians 1:3, 5–“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you . . . for your fellowship in the gospel . . .”; Philippians 1:12–“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel . . .”; Philippians 2:22–“But you know his [Timothy’s] proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.”
I love the book of Philippians. When you read it, you see the word gospel repeatedly. Not only is the apostle all-out about the gospel, he celebrates–in the letter to his friends in Phillipi–their “fellowship in the gospel” together. What does he mean by that term? Certainly there is an element of the love, joy, and peace together that comes from being saved and from knowing that Heaven is certain and coming soon. But, the main thrust of his communication is not what they have in the gospel, but what they are doing with the gospel. They and Paul are teamed up together in this great calling of going into all the world and PREACHING THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE!
My friends, we have the same glorious call together. I thank God for our FELLOWSHIP IN THE GOSPEL. Not only do we receive the benefits of the gospel, we get to go and proclaim this gospel together week after week. What joy! And . . . this gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Nothing else has the power to transform people from light to darkness, from death to life, from slaves-of-sin to children of God, from hell-bound wretches to Heaven-bound victors in Christ! Glory to God. Who wouldn’t want to “get out there” and make this gospel known?
Please, may I beg you, if you are not engaged in zealously making the gospel known, fall to your knees today. Cry out to the One who saved you with this gospel, that He would grant you grace to be obedient to the this great commission. May it be so, for the glory of God and for the furtherance of the gospel!