In That I Rejoice

Practical Theology for Women post:  Harm in Jesus' Name


This post is a true lecture to myself. It reflects my greatest struggle. Lord, how do I hope in Your Name when I daily witness so much harm done in Your Name?! Much of Scripture chronicles the battle between good and evil, the righteous who place their faith in God and the unrighteous who mock and scorn God. But what of the unrighteous who do NOT mock and scorn God, who actually call on God's name to justify their sins or deflect from their true character? Who bite and devour one another all in the name of Jesus?!

Thankfully, God does not leave us alone with this most troubling reality—when the redeemed wound the redeemed. His Word accounts for even this. In particular, Paul gives us a little vignette in Philippians 1 that encourages me greatly.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Paul is in jail for the cause of Christ. He is a true Apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit to spread the gospel. Even so, there are some people who preach Christ insincerely, out of selfish ambition, hoping to heap greater affliction on Paul by doing so. It's a disturbing picture. Who would do that?!

According to the passage, they are motivated by envy or jealousy – hating Paul for his success in spreading the Word, perhaps trying to upstage him or maybe even trying to incite authorities into exercising a heavier hand on Paul in punishment for the spread of Christianity. They do it from strife or rivalry (depending on your translation), indicating a bitter conflict to gain superiority. Fundamentally, their motive is selfish ambition. It's partisan, religious politics.

The picture Paul paints here couldn't be any uglier. And Paul himself is their victim. All this makes his last sentence all the more profound – “in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” 

When Paul says this, it isn't to let partisan bullies who preach Christ out of the worst of motives off the hook. I think instead Paul is presenting a stronger truth – that Christ, His Name, His Word, and His Gospel are more powerful than the faulty vessels that proclaim Him. His Name is a strong tower. His Word is a sword that cuts us to the bone. There is something supernaturally, powerfully good about God, His Name, His Word, and His purposes. And the essence of Who He is and all He came to do can't be undermined by incompetent, selfish proclaimers of the truth.

Each year at Easter, I come to the gospel based on new circumstances formed in the previous months. It's the same gospel each year, yet the new circumstances shine light on it from a different angle. Christ's sacrifice is profound against the backdrop of those who mocked Him on the cross. But it's also profound against the backdrop of those who denied Him at His darkest hour after professing faith, some sincerely like Peter and others insincerely like Judas. Christ's sacrifice is profound in light of those who use His name out of selfish ambition. But instead of such misuse of His name undermining the Cross, somehow God transcends and redeems even that.

In every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.