Philippians 1 - Rejoice, even in Suffering

In Chapter 1 of Philippians, Paul talks about his imprisonment being not a bad thing, rather a furtherance of the gospel. in verse 12-14 Paul says its a furtherance of the gospel as it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest, that his chains are in Christ. Also, in verse 14, he says how the fellow brethren in the Lord who are confident that these chains are of Christ, have become bold to speak the word without fear.

There are some that preach out of selfish ambition, not sincerity to justify Paul's imprisonment(Vrs 15-16) but there are also those who preach out of love and support Paul(vrs 17)

In verse 20, he tells us not to be ashamed but to be bold so that Christ will be magnified within us, whether it be life or death.
verse 21-23 Paul is wondering whether to choose to continue to live in the flesh or die. for him death would mean that he would be with Christ, and that is much better than continuing to live in the flesh. but if he lives then that would mean fruits of his labor. plus it would be better for his fellow brethren so that he would be able to continue to preach to them.
verse 27-28 Paul tells us to stay stead fast in the Lord so that we may not be terrified of our adversaries.
verse 29 - it is granted by Christ that you will not only believe in Him, but also suffer for His sake.



so we can follow Paul's example to rejoicing even when suffering. his imprisonment was a furtherance of the gospel as it drew attention and strengthened believers' hearts so they may speak boldly about the word. we too should be strong and bold. there will be those who persecute us, but through Jesus Christ can we be strong like Paul.