I invite you to turn one more time to Philippians. I must confess that this morning what I'm doing is finishing up some business. We had considered basically through verse 20 of chapter 4, and I had thought I would just skip the last couple of verses. It includes Paul's final greeting, as it were, and then his benediction. And if you remember back the last Sunday of 2007, Dr. Godfrey beautifully reminded us of what the benediction of our God stands for, and I didn't think there was much to say with regard to Paul's final greeting. So I thought I would just skip it. But someone here challenged me and said, You're not done yet. And I appreciate that very much. So I pray, too, that you, together, we will see what I believe the Lord has shown me through these verses in this past week. I'd like to read the opening words of Philippians again, chapter 1, verses 1 through 11, and then the closing words. Philippians chapter 1, beginning at verse 1, as we now give our attention to the Word of God. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart. For whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus and this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. In the very end of the letter, verses 21 to 23 of chapter 4, our focus being 21 and 22. Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Well, beloved in Christ the Lord, as I was growing up, it seems that every time my grandparents on my mother's side had an important anniversary, 35 years, 40, 50, we would have some sort of a celebration, and at that celebration, the family, meaning my uncles and aunts and cousins and my family, We would sing a particular song every time we had one of these celebrations. And that song is called The Family of God. And the chorus goes like this, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood, joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, for I'm part of the family, the family of God. And there are two stanzas. you will notice we say brother and sister around here. It's because we're a family and these folks are so near. When one has a heartache, we all share the tears and rejoice in each victory in this family so dear. From the door of an orphanage to the house of the king, no longer an outcast, a new song I sing. From rags under riches, from the weak to the strong, I'm not worthy to be here, but praise God, I belong. See, that's what the church is, by the grace of God, for Jesus' sake. The Bible, we know, calls the church the body of Christ and the bride of Christ. Very beautiful designations for the church. The Bible also points to the church as being the family of God. God Himself says, I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, in 2 Corinthians 6. But that's what the church is by the grace of God, or that's what the church should be. It is the family of God, and that's how we are to treat it. The church of Jesus Christ, we know, is made up of people from all walks of life. It's made up of people from different ethnic backgrounds, with different strengths and weaknesses, with people of different temperaments and levels of education and skills. All kinds of differences. But the thing that true believers have in common is that we are all sinners saved by grace. And those who are bound together in Christian love by our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Or we're supposed to be bound together in Christian love. And the question we might ask ourselves this morning is, are we? Are we demonstrating here in this place that we are the family of God? What is our relationship as individual believers in particular to the church of Jesus Christ here in this place with our fellow brothers and sisters, as well as brothers and sisters in other places? You see, on the one hand, we must confess that our busyness often keeps us from participating in the life of the church and in the lives of fellow believers as we ought to. We do our best as much as we're able, but the honest truth is we are all very self-focused. And on the other hand, sometimes our sin seems stronger than the tie that is to bind our hearts together in Christian love, as at times we let petty annoyances and we let personality conflicts or we let things that bug us about others, keep us from having and demonstrating that Christian love for one another as we ought. Now here at the close of Paul's letter, again, we find what are seemingly insignificant verses. And at first glance, we might say, well, they have nothing to do with us. Paul is giving a personal note to those to whom he is writing. But in these verses, we find Paul's salutation to the Philippian congregation. And again, I hope and trust that with me, you will find that these verses have everything to do with us. As this salutation, this greeting, first of all, reveals a portrait of the church. And secondly, it describes the fellowship of the church. First of all, this salutation reveals a portrait of the church. And what I mean by that, it gives us a glimpse, it shows us what the church is, of whom the church is made up. Again, Paul begins by writing to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi. And he closes, Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. The portrait of the church, and this is no surprise, I trust, to any one of us, is that the church is made up of saints. But now the first question we might ask is, what is a saint? And again, this is not a surprise to any one of us, but it's something that we need to be reminded of. Now there's a broad view, of course, when many hear the word saint, they instinctively think of a special type of church member. They think of an exceptionally Christian person. They may think of one who is a little more obedient and righteous than the average Christian. That's what many think of when they hear the word saint. And maybe at some point in your life you have fallen into this trap a little bit, whether you were accused of being a goody-two-shoes at some point in time, or maybe someone was complimenting you because of your Christian walk, and therefore, whether from embarrassment or out of piety, you might have been quick to say, I'm no saint. I'm far from being a saint. And I trust what you meant by that is, I am a sinner. Which is correct. But you see, beloved, if you truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but then also say, I am no saint, what you are doing is calling God a liar. Because the biblical view is that every Christian is a saint. Again, Paul, with many of his greetings in the letters that he wrote, he called them saints. He wasn't talking to dead people. He wasn't talking to super-Christians. He was talking to believers, those who were alive in his day who were members of a particular congregation to whom he was writing. He called them saints. And in other times when he didn't expressly or specifically call them saints, he alluded to them, he described them as saints. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 2, he says, to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the same way, Peter in 1 Peter 1, to God's elect strangers who have been chosen and according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit for obedience to Christ. A saint is one who is called out of the world by God. Saints are those whom God has set apart as His special, as His holy people, as those whom He has marked out for Himself because of Jesus Christ. Again, Paul begins and he ends this letter speaking to the saints in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is the source. He is the focus of that common life that saints enjoy together. As one commentator writes, we were born in sin and shapen in iniquity, but then the grace of God in Jesus Christ came to us and apprehended us, sought us out, and set us apart. You see, beloved, being a saint is not about what we do or don't do. it's about what we are what God says of us what God does yet beloved those who realize by the grace of God that they are in Christ Jesus set out to live holy lives as evidence of being set apart by God they set out to live lives well pleasing to God as Peter says through the sanctifying work of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ now the second question that we might ask of this portrait is who can be a saint and paul gives us direction here too again greet all the saints in christ jesus remember this is going toward the philippian congregation and then he says the brothers who are with me send greetings all the saints send you greetings especially those who belong to caesar's household Who can be a saint? Well, Paul is saying there were saints in Philippi, there were saints in Rome. Anyone can be a saint, Jew or Gentile, even those of Caesar's household, of whom some were servants, some were freemen, some were part of the nobility or ruling authority, some were simply working in the Roman civil service. And that means, beloved, that being a saint is not limited by nationality. It's not limited by ethnic background. It's not limited by growing up with a particular tradition. It's not limited by a certain level of education or a certain grade point average or the type of work that you do or your wealth or your status. It's not even limited by whether or not you were raised in the church. Caesar's household here is proof that anyone can be a saint. We know that in the Roman Empire at that time, Caesar himself was considered to be a god. And therefore, when it came to the citizens of that empire, one's loyalty and honor and worship was to be to Caesar, first of all. But Paul shows us here that the very word of life, which he encourages the Philippian congregation in chapter 2 to hold out in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation, that very word of life had already penetrated the heart of the Roman Empire. Nobody would have ever expected to find believers employed in Caesar's service. But there were. And even Paul, you remember that when Paul first was converted, when he became a Christian, the apostles back in Jerusalem, they were doubtful. Can this be? This guy, we know his past. Or we might think of convicted felons in prison. Or we might think of the homeless. Or we might even think of those in many of the churches that we do not necessarily agree with. You see, beloved, we tend to make judgments of others based on their looks or based on their past or based on their family or based on any number of things. But God is not limited in whom He calls. Anyone can be a saint if... And there is that one qualification, as we've already mentioned. A saint is one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God and of salvation, Paul says, for all who believe. And when the gospel is present, no one is hopeless. We confess that God's grace is irresistible. And that anyone, therefore anyone and everyone to whom the Holy Spirit gives the gift of faith, they will believe. Now, beloved, this, I trust, is a simple reminder for us. A very, very simple reminder, but a necessary reminder. You see, we believe that the reformed understanding of Scripture with which we have been blessed is the most accurate interpretation of Scripture. We believe that wholeheartedly, and we must. We must uphold it, we must defend it, we must teach it. But although there are many who are ignorant out there to predestination, election, reprobation, to salvation by grace alone through faith alone, yet we must also acknowledge that there are true saints found in many other churches and places. Praise God. And this points then to the third question we might ask of this portrait. Where can one be a saint? And again, if we consider Paul's letters, he wrote to the saints in Rome, To the saints in Corinth, to the saints throughout Achaia, to the saints in Ephesus, to the saints in Philippi. He referred to those as saints in Caesar's household here, in Colossae, in Galatia. Simply again, the answer is anywhere and everywhere one can be a saint, being a saint, a Christian. It's not limited by place. It's not limited by employment or circumstances or conditions of life. It's not limited by whatever governmental authority you might be under, although it may be harder and more risky in some places to be a Christian than in other places. But saints, true Christians, are called to provide the influence of God and the witness for God in all situations and places and stations of life. Think of some of the saints in the Old Testament. Nehemiah was cupbearer to a king in captivity. Esther was queen to a pagan king. Daniel was high up in the governmental service, again, in captivity in a foreign land. And that's not to say that all places are profitable for Christians. That's not to say that there will never be situations or places Christians are to avoid. There are. But as well, there are dangers for believers to avoid wherever they might be as a Christian. And those dangers include being ashamed of the Gospel. It includes compromising our Christian principles because of fear. Fear for being picked on. Fear for being persecuted. Or because of ambition for success. Thinking that my Christian principles are going to keep me from climbing the corporate ladder. simply one can be a christian anywhere but the danger everywhere is the temptation to hide the light of god's grace and love for any reason at all paul's salutation here reveals a portrait of the church the church is made up of saints believers from all walks of life from all circumstances of life. And that, too, is the portrait of the church still today. Now, of course, we're not talking about wolves in sheep's clothing, those who are part of the visible church but don't truly believe. We're talking about true believers in the church of Jesus Christ that make up that church. But that's the portrait of the church still today. Even here in this place, we have so much in common. But there are many differences among us. Yet by the grace of God we are saints together with one another and with all who truly call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we are. That's what the church is, a family of saints. And that includes even those among us with whom we don't always get along. It includes those who have hurt us or those whom we have hurt. Those who are critical of us or those to whom we have been critical. Those who have any sort of baggage, we might say, or those who are nosy, those who are gossips. You see, beloved, we still all struggle with sin as Paul reminded us in our reading of the law this morning that we must constantly be reminded to put off the deeds of the old man. And praise God, the Holy Spirit is still busy sanctifying us. But no matter what, if one truly believes and the Lord Jesus Christ, they are a saint alongside of you and me who claim to believe. But then we must also consider how we view one another and our relationship with the church of Jesus Christ at large, as Paul's salutation in the second place describes the fellowship of the church. And we're not just talking about fellowship in the sense of what we do on Sunday, come come together and worship and have a cup of coffee afterwards. But by fellowship here, what we're talking about is how saints treat each other. This salutation, again, is a greeting at the close of Paul's letter. And Paul teaches the believers are to treat each other as saints. That's what God said we are. And that's how we are to treat each other in the family of God. We are to treat each other as we would members of our own families with love and care and respect and the benefit of the doubt. And Paul is a beautiful example of this. He says, greet all the saints. All are included. Now again, we know that Paul was not able to be there and look them in the eye himself and to greet them himself. He depends on others to pass along his greeting. But this is not just an empty blanket, uncaring, well, tell everybody hi for me. Tell them I'm wondering how they're doing. That's not what this is. The NIV is a little bit misleading here. It says, greet all the saints. It puts saints in the plural, but in the original, saint is in the singular. It would be more accurate to say that Paul is saying, greet every saint. Greet each member of the community. And you might not think that's a big deal. But it's much more personal than what our NIV makes it. It's as if Paul is there and he looks each one in the eye, he shakes each one's hand, and he acknowledges each believer as a saint, as someone who is important, as one who needs to hear what he wrote. All are included. None are excluded. You see, Paul does not even treat some as less saintly than others. He does not even exclude those whom he needed to rebuke or admonish. Like Euodia and Syntyche. Or those who were exercising selfish ambition. Or if we think of the Corinthian congregation, those who were sinning as they came to the Lord's table, Paul still calls them saints. Or those in Galatia, whom he had to admonish because of the sin that was found there, he still included them in the family of God. They were saints. You see, beloved, Paul's love was not conditioned by one's level of maturity or by one's level of judgment or lack of. He did not limit His greeting to those who agreed with Him on every word, although He was right. He did not limit His greeting to those who lived perfect lives according to His teaching. He knew that all of God's people were at different places in their Christian life. But He knew that there is that one thing that binds all of God's people together. And that is the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which Peter says is more valuable than gold. And therefore, believers are called to treat each other as saints. To treat each other as what God says we are. And that treatment as treating each other as saints then includes expressing Christian love toward one another. And again, we may not see it, but that's, I believe, embedded in that beautiful word, greet. That word, greet, beloved, has the idea of to have an interest. Have an urgent and earnest interest in the well-being of fellow Christians. To express it. To say it. It has the idea of sharing concerns with one another, giving help, giving a hug, giving a word of encouragement. It includes a desire that the saints of God grow in their faith and that they enjoy protection from the temptations of the devil. Very simply, we might say that all of the interest and all of the love that we have and show to members of our immediate families is to be the exact same in the family of God, in the church family. And this is to be more than just in the local church. Here is where we have the greatest opportunity to show this, to treat each other as saints, and to express that Christian love, and we are to do that. And I believe we do. We are blessed here by the grace of God. Oh, we might make mistakes at times. Somebody might get overlooked once in a while. But indeed, when the plea goes out for help for this or that, the responses come in immediately. And God's people here in this place are there for each other. But it's not to be limited here. We are to be mindful of other believers in our community, in our state, in our country, around the world as we have opportunity. They are not just to be out of sight and therefore out of mind. But they are to be in some way every bit in our minds, many of whom we will never meet face to face in this life, but all of whom we will stand with side by side for eternity in heaven. Beloved, this salutation of Paul has wide implications for you and me. We cannot even begin to sort through it all. But we are called to have an amazing love and a concern for all of God's people as the early New Testament church did. You know, they didn't have email. They didn't even have the U.S. Postal or what we call snail mail. They couldn't, which even today, we can get a package from here to New York overnight if we need to. They didn't have that. Boys and girls, it took a long time for Paul's letter to get to Philippi. It took a long, long time. Yet if you think about it, if you read these letters of Paul, if you read the Word of God in the New Testament, they seem to stay in touch better. And they were more aware of each other's needs. And they expressed more concern for each other than we often do today, even for our sister churches in our own local area. Paul demonstrates this. Again, in chapter 1, he boasts in their partnership in the Gospel. And then he says, beginning in verse 7, It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the Gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ through the glory and the praise of God. What a prayer! For those whom he would probably never see again. We are to examine ourselves. As a family of God in this place and as individual members of that family, do we have this desire for the well-being of other Christian people? Of the homeless in our community who might be Christians? How do we know? Are we concerned about those in Malawi or in South America or in Africa or Russia? And are we concerned about those who minister to them in word and deed? Oh, indeed, we take up an offering. We're good at that. We're very good at that. Praise God. But I must confess that I do a lousy job of thinking about those for whom that offering is being taken. And about what I'm giving for. Do we want to? And do we take the time to read about them? To hear about them? To know of their condition? To know of their suffering? Do we truly pray earnestly as Paul did? That their love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight that they might be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness? Do we truly pray earnestly for the well-being of the church in this world? You see, beloved, we have no problem, and boys and girls and young people, you will understand this. We have no problem being interested in Hollywood stars, in professional athletes, in learning their statistics, their batting average, or how many points per game they make. And we have things like People Magazine and Entertainment Tonight and Sports Illustrated to keep our attention focused on the so-called important people of this world. But we must learn from the early New Testament church that part of our family that had a great desire to help one another and had a great desire to spread the Gospel. And with these greetings in Paul's epistles, including this one, these greetings underlined and emphasized the point that the church is more than just us. It's not just those who are here gathered around us and our acquaintances, few acquaintances in other places. more than just us. The church is the body of Christ. The family of God. And there is a peculiar unity among the saints of God because of the union that each one of us has with the Lord Jesus Christ. And we must understand that God's focus is not on the entertainment of this world. It's not on the hobbies of the world. It's not even on our national economy. It's not on those who reject Him. But God's focus is His family. The rest exists temporarily for the sake of God's family. His focus is on gathering those for whom Christ died. That's what He's busy with. And it is they upon whom He places His blessing as Paul closes the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. It is they upon whom He places His wonderful, marvelous name with all that that means for you and me. And our focus, too, is to be in line with God's focus. Our desire is to be God's blessing upon the saints of God, upon the family of God. Our focus is to be for the family of God, both far and near. Again, even here in this place, you all might not always agree with each other. You might all not always see eye to eye. You may have differences of opinion once in a while. You might be irritated by some, or you might be an irritant for some. You might find some to be critical of you, or you might be critical of some. But by the grace of God, as believers, we are saints. That's what God says we are. And we are the family of God. And therefore, may we see each other as saints in the Lord. May we treat each other as saints in the Lord. And may we exercise the love of God for one another. See, the family of God is where one ought to be able to find the love, Christian love, of brothers and sisters who are like-minded. The family of God is where one ought to be able to find safety and security from the world out there, the world that hates this family and wants to destroy this family. The family of God is where one ought to be able to find a common foundation with all the saints of God, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. Because apart from Him, apart from this family, there is only sinking sand. There is only eternal danger. but for all, including you and me, who look to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. God says, you are my child. I am your father. My son is your brother. And I give you brothers and sisters in Christ. Beloved, not one of us deserves to be a part of it. But again, as the song says, as I quoted, may we sing, Praise God, I belong. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we do praise Your most holy name for gathering a family for Yourself, for the sake of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. For making us to be a part of it. Along with all those everywhere who have, who do, and who will call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And although, Father, we have many brothers and sisters whom we will never know personally in this life. May we have a great desire for them more and more each day and for each other. That your children might grow in love for you. That more and more we might understand your grace displayed to us in Christ Jesus. And that more and more we would have a desire for those whom you have yet to bring into your family for Jesus' sake. Father, we thank you for that which we enjoy here in this place as a family of God. And we pray that you would never take that away. but that indeed you would strengthen our fellowship, our relationship here as brothers and sisters of Christ and in Christ to one another. We praise you for your precious blessings to us. In Jesus' name alone we pray. Amen.