Looking Through the Eyes of a Disciple-Maker – Volume Two

As we look through the eyes of the second greatest disciple-maker in history (Jesus being the greatest!), we see that two words dominate the book of Philippians. One is the word “Gospel”, the other is the word “joy”. Gospel is the subject, joy is the sequel. Gospel is the proclamation, and joy is the product. When a believer in Christ refuses to be monopolized by extraneous (trivial by comparison) things, and preaches the Gospel to himself and practices what he preaches, he will know the “joy unspeakable and full of glory” mentioned in Scripture (I Peter 1:8). Though the word “Gospel” occurs nine times in the brief letter to the Philippians, there is no definition of the word in this letter. Here, the impact of the Gospel in the world and in the lives of believers may be clearly seen. Four of the major “plots” of the “Gospel” may be vividly seen here—the Person of Christ, His Work of Redemption for sinners, His super-exaltation above all things, and how all of this is worked out in human experience.