Phil. 2:17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and I rejoice together with you all. Rom. 15:16 That I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, in order that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit.
The sacrifice of the believers' faith means that the faith of the Philippian believers was considered by Paul a sacrifice offered to God by him as a priest (Rom. 15:16), and his offering ministry was considered a priestly service. The issue, the result, of Paul's ministry was the faith of the believers. Faith in 2:17 is all-inclusive. It refers to much more than the act of believing. Faith here includes all the believers have received and enjoyed. Ultimately it includes what the believers themselves are. This faith was the result of Paul's ministry. Paul's ministry resulted in the all- inclusive faith of the believers, the faith which Paul offered to God as a sacrifice. We must not make the mistake of understanding the faith spoken of in 2:17 in a shallow, superficial way. Faith is a constitution of our experience of Christ. As such, it could be viewed by Paul as a sacrifice to be offered to God. The faith which can be offered to God as a sacrifice is a constitution of our enjoyment of Christ. The amount of faith constituted in us is in proportion to our enjoyment of Christ. The more we enjoy Him, the more we have the faith which is constituted of the enjoyment of Christ. Based upon the principle in the Old Testament that the drink offering required a basic offering, Paul regarded the faith constituted of the believers' experience of Christ as the basic offering upon which he could pour out himself as a drink offering. God in heaven must have been very happy with this situation. How pleased He must have been to see the faith as the basic offering and also to see the drink offering! On the side of the believers, there was faith; on the side of the apostle, there was the drink offering. What a marvelous scene! No wonder Paul could say that he rejoiced with them all! I believe that the Triune God was also rejoicing with Paul at such a happy, joyful scene. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Philippians, pp. 116-118. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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