Saints, Bishops, and Deacons (Philippians 1:1-2)
Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:1-2)
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“Paul and Timothy…”
As with every epistle, the introduction to this book of Philippians is very important and we shouldn’t carelessly pass it by. Boice once noted,
When [Paul] writes these things, he writes them not as mere civilities – as you or I would say, “Dear John” or “Dear Lois,” “Sincerely and cordially” or “With kind regards” – but he writes them to communicate Christian truth and to teach the deepest and most significant Christian relationships. (1)
Right from the very start of this lovely book, we see evidence of Paul’s gracious spirit. First, I notice the inclusiveness of these opening words, “Paul and Timothy”. (ii) There was no need for Paul to include Timothy in his greeting. After all, Paul alone was the divinely inspired author. Yet, he honours young Timothy and shows his humility of mind in including him here.
This is a lesson to all of us, especially in regards to those who are younger or weaker in the faith. We ought to be like Paul towards them, encouraging and helping them, speaking well of them and building them up in their faith.
As this letter proceeds we will find that the characters of both these men were in accord with their names. Paul was the Gentile name that this apostle took upon himself when he began his ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. It means “little” and the humility of the apostle bears out the truth of this. (i)
The word Timothy comes from two words [τιμή ('timē'), meaning "value or honour"; and θεός ('theos'), the word for God] which together mean “he who honours God.” And we will likewise learn in chapter 2 that this was true of Timothy’s life as well.
Timothy would be well known to the believers in Philippi. He had accompanied Paul there on his first visit (Acts 16:1) and had also been sent with Erastus into Macedonia (Acts 19:22), when he likely would’ve visited them as well.
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“…the servants of Jesus Christ…”
Here we have another glimpse of Paul’s attitude in this lovely title that he gives to himself and Timothy. In almost all of Paul’s letters he makes mention of his apostleship, but not in Philippians. (iii) I believe that this is due to the character of the book. Paul is about to present the Lord in chapter 2 as the One who “took upon Himself the form of a slave” (2:7). And how could Paul take a title that was any higher than that of His master. Philippians presents Paul as the man who has been separated unto Christ and who wants to be like Christ; so if Christ became a bondservant, then that is the noblest ambition to which Paul can aspire. (iv)
I think that sometimes we forget that this is the calling to which even the most prominent disciples are called. Matthew Henry had it right when he wrote over three centuries ago,
“The highest honour of the greatest apostle, and most eminent ministers, is to be servants of Jesus Christ; not the masters of the churches, but the servants of Christ.” (2)
We live in a day filled with ‘masters of churches’, but what we truly need are ’servants of Christ’. The word is doulos:
“It refers to one whose will is swallowed up in the will of another. Paul’s will was at one time swallowed up in the will of Satan. Now his will is swallowed up in the sweet will of God. It refers to one who serves another even to the disregard of his own interests. [Once] Paul served Satan to the detriment of his own interests. Now he serves the Lord Jesus with a reckless abandon, not regarding his own interests.” (3)
Sometimes we forget that we were in slavery before we were saved. We were bound by the cords of our sins (Proverbs 5:22), and presumptuous sins had dominion over us (Psalm 19:13). But Christ has freed us from these bonds, and now we are the servants of Jesus Christ.
If we were to turn to the Old Testament, we would find that great men of faith like Moses (Joshua 1:2), Joshua (Judges 2:8), David (Psalm 89:20), and the prophets (Ezra 9:11) were all spoken of as the servants of Jehovah. Here, and elsewhere in the New Testament, men of faith are spoken of as the servants of Christ. This is our highest calling.
One of my favourite hymns is Handley Moule’s classic, “My glorious Victor…” It is rarely sung anymore, but the words are beautiful. Listen to the middle stanzas:
My master, lead me to Thy door; Pierce this now willing ear once more: Thy bonds are freedom; let me stay With Thee to toil endure, obey. Yes, ear and hand, and thought and will, Use all in Thy dear slavery still; Self’s weary liberties I cast Beneath Thy feet; there keep me fast.
(Interested in the music? Find it here)
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“…To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi…”
Brandon has already presented some excellent thoughts on the importance of Paul’s order in these introductory verses – “Jesus Christ … all the church … any bishops and deacons.” Since it has been well covered, I won’t write more except to note again the order. Christ must always come before the church,for the church exists for Christ and his glory, not vice-versa. Likewise the church is mentioned before her ministers. Again Matthew Henry said it so well,
He mentions the church before the ministers, because “the ministers are for the church, for their edification and benefit, not the churches for the ministers, for their dignity, dominion, and wealth. (4)
We should all take to mind Paul’s words to the church at Corinth. We are “Ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5).
But let’s turn back to “all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi.” In this epistle which stresses unity so strongly, this word “all” occurs over 30 times. How often we are guilty of only having an interest in ’some of the saints.’ We must remember that God cares for “all the saints” and His interest is in each and every one.
“When I was a child, every night and morning my father would pray for “the whole church of God.” This is as it should be: and if we are walking down here as Christ would have us walk, we will not be content that our hearts should take in any smaller circle than “all the saints.” We may not be able to walk with them all, in the paths they have chosen, but we may love them, and pray for them, all.” (5)
And so Paul addresses “all the saints of Christ Jesus who are at Philippi.” This would not be possible today. If we were write a letter today and address it “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at _______”, the postman would have to stamp it ‘undeliverable.’ Sadly the church has been schismed and divided by the devices of men and Satan. But one day it will be complete, when Christ brings his glorious Bride unto Himself.
Every true believer is a saint – a separated one. Many churches today teach that one becomes a saint after their death, but this is not Scriptural. If you aren’t a saint on earth, you will never be a saint in heaven.
I suppose that many shrink back at the thought of living men being saints, because they wrongly presume that being “a saint” refers to my holiness of life. This is not so. Being a saint has nothing to do with what I have done and everything to do with what God has done. He has set me apart to himself. And because I am set apart to Him, I seek to live in a manner that pleases Christ. Once I was separated from God and dead in my sins. Now I am separated to God and dead to this world and its ways.
Of course, the key to understanding this is the phrase “in Christ Jesus.” Mr. Wuest put it better than I ever could:
Christ is the sphere in which the believer has his new life and all his interests and activities. The believer’s new existence is circumscribed by Christ. Paul put this in other words in the expression, “For to me to live is Christ.” That is, the new life Paul has is Christ, which issues in a Christlike life… Christ in whom he is ensphered, separates him from all else. (6)
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“… with the bishops and deacons…”
We now have a list of the only three types of people found in a New Testament church: saints, bishops, and deacons. In Christendom today we have multiplied titles, positions, and names, until the average gathering may have dozens of man-made offices and many levels of hierarchy. Yet when we examine Scripture we must acknowledge that these are the ways of men, not God. What did the Lord say regarding these things?
“Be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
“Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
“But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. ” (Matthew 23:8-12)
There is a lovely pattern laid out for the church in the New Testament and it does us all well to each seek it out and put it into practice in our lives.
I began the article with the heading “How many bishops are in your church?” This may seem a strange question to many because we are used to having one bishop over many churches, but this is opposite to the ways of God! Man’s way is one bishop over many churches, but God’s way is many bishops in one church – as seen here in Philippi or in Ephesus (Acts 20:28).
There are a number of words in Scripture that are used to describe this one role in the New Testament Church. Among them are bishops, pastors and overseers. You will notice that all of those words are plural. That is how the Holy Spirit uses these titles in Scripture. As you read through the New Testament, you will find that every church has a plurality of these shepherds. You may find a church in your neighbourhood with ‘a pastor’, but you will only find churches in Scripture with ‘pastors’.
Some may be confused by the different titles used in our Bibles for these men, but a careful examination will show that they refer to the same people. Although there are apparently two different Greek words used in referring to these men, I believe that passages such as Acts 20:17&28, Titus 1:5&7, and 1 Peter 5:1-2 reveal that they both speak of the same individuals.
It would be wonderful if space allowed us to expand upon the many lovely facets of the character and qualifications of these men as laid out in the New Testament, but it does not. However I think it could be summed up by the words of Paul in other epistles. These men are “the stewards of God” (Titus 1:7), entrusted with the care of his church, and “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).
Now Paul mentions another group, the deacons. If we examine the Scriptures we will find that the qualifications for both of these roles are almost identical, but their outworking is different. I would simply define the difference as this. Bishops are men who take care of the inward and spiritual concerns of the church. Deacons are men that take care of the outward and practical concerns of the church (Acts 6). I think that based on chapter 2, we could safely assume that Epaphroditus did the work of a deacon in Philippi.
I notice that Paul used the preposition “with” when referring to these two groups of men. They are not “over” the church of God, nor “under” the church. They are “with” the church, serving alongside.
Both of these roles obtain a certain dignity because they are roles that Christ himself has taken. Peter describes the Lord Jesus Christ as the Bishop (episkopos) of our souls (1 Peter 2:25), and Matthew quotes our Lord when he said that he came not to be ministered unto, but to minister (diakoneo) and to give his life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). Perhaps it would not surprise you to learn that the word “saint” is also applied to the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 1:35. And so, whether saint or bishop or deacon, everyone of us has the same calling – to be like Christ.
Mr. Grant wrote:
The house of any one tells its story of, and gives its character to, the man whose house it is; and the house of God is that surely which holiness becomes. (6)
What should the church be like? It should be like the One whose house it is. “Be ye holy for I am holy.”
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“…Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Finally we come to this last phrase. It is a phrase that Paul uses almost word for word in the introduction to every one of his epistles. I don’t think that I could improve upon Matthew Henry’s insight into this verse.
Observe,
1.No peace without grace. Inward peace springs from a sense of divine favour.
2.No grace and peace but from God our Father, the fountain and original of all blessings, the Father of lights, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift (James 1:17)
3.No grace and peace from God our Father, but in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ as Mediator, is the channel of conveyance of all spiritual blessings to the church, and directs the disposal of them to all his members. (vii)
Who else could grace and peace come from but God himself. He is the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10) and the God of peace (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Every moment of our life is filled with the grace of God. In 1:29, we even read that God has “graced” us (so the word is) with suffering for Christ’s sake.
And in all circumstances we have his peace, a wonderful theme that will be developed further in chapter 4. The presence of Christ always brings peace. At his birth the angels announced, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men” (Luke 2:14).
Before his death, He himself said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Again in resurrection, his greeting to the disciples was, “Peace be unto you!” (John 20:19).
These are eternal gifts that he has given us – his peace and his grace. We pray that the Holy Spirit will make them real in the life of each one day by day.
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This article is part of the “Fridays in Philippians” series of synchroblogs.
Footnotes:(i) The apostle had two names, perhaps both given to him at birth:
- An Hebrew name, ‘Saul’ – “to ask or pray” – this was the name that he used prior to beginning his ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles
- A Latin name, ‘Paul’ – “little” – this was the name that he used after beginning his ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 13:9)
(ii) Notice how often Paul and Timothy are linked together in the Pauline epistles. They are paired in 2 Corinthians, Colossians, Philippians, and 1&2 Thessalonians.
(iii) There are only four epistles in which Paul’s apostleship is not mentioned in the introduction [Philippians, Philemon, 1&2 Thessalonians.
(iv) Perhaps another reason why Paul doesn’t identify himself as an apostle is because he wants to emphasize that the experiences described in theses chapters are experiences that are available to every Christian, not just an elite few.
References: (1) James Mongomery Boice, Philippians, pg. 20 (2) Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Volume 5, pg. 723 (3) Kenneth Wuest, pg. 26-27 (4) Matthew Henry, pg. 723
(5) G. C. Willis, Sacrifices of Joy, pg. 19 (6) Kenneth Wuest, pg. 28 (7) F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible: Fourth Edition, pg. 384 (8) Matthew Henry, pg. 724
