This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Philippians” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, May 23, 1993.

This morning we are reading from Acts 20. Listen to the word of God. And from Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know from the first day that I came into Asia, and in what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying weight of the Jews.

How I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Spirit witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide. None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy and ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, and testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take ye therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, and feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood.

I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flaw, and also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch and remember that the space of three years I cease not to warn every one night and day with tears. Now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man’s silver or gold or pearl.

Let yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me. And I showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak. and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all, and they all wept sore and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more on his tomb. And they accompanied him unto the ship.”

Then, turning over to Philippians 4, chapter 4, verse 21, Philippians 4.21–“Salute every saint in Christ Jesus, the brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly those that are of Caesar’s household. the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Father, as is true with respect to all of us, how true this is with regard to those who will preach your words. Surely we would not take office to ourselves but depend upon your call and the confirmation of that call from within your Church, trusting that your Spirit is at work in the Church and is at such as will proclaim your word around the world. And even now, Lord, there are those who go on to proclaim it in truth. and be rejoiced in this and ask your blessing upon them, that they may have satisfaction in their labors, despite the fact that possibly afflictions come to them because of their condemnation. We also pray for your Church, that she may be protected from those who would be raised up presumptuously, those who have no call at all. May you keep your people, Lord, and deliver them. May we ourselves not be deluded, but hold to your truth and live in the confirmation of that gospel which you have given us with respect to our various vocations and tasks. If we ask for the sake of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

Some of us have difficulty with farewells. Some of us have difficulty with And I would judge that the reason why we have that difficulty is because of the intense emotion associated with farewells. You may be one of those self-conscious individuals who hurries through the lies.

But you would contend that your cruel detachment in no way expresses aloofness or indifference. Rather, in your more honest moments, you would confess that your cruel detachment is an expression of an embarrassment about the strong feelings at play in the situation.

Well, consider the Apostle Paul. Paul was neither embarrassed nor self-conscious about intense feelings. He was not embarrassed or self-conscious about the intense feelings associated with life generally, more particularly with farewells. It has always been hard on me, working my way through Acts 20. because I realize that the Apostle Paul is then something of a different emotional stripe than myself.

But given my emotional makeup, nevertheless, working through that Acts 20 passage, I can’t help but feel at the conclusion of it that I have been run over by an emotional freight train. You have the beautiful and powerful words of Paul to begin with, and what an impact they make. Then you have the repeated references in his remarks to the tears that he says he constantly shed on behalf of these people, not ceasing to shed them day and night. Then you have a very, very moving scene at the conclusion of the speech. You have to be made of stone not to be impressed by those concluding verses in Acts 20.

There’s an added dimension to this farewell in Acts 20. You can’t help but be impressed with how this particular farewell partakes a bit of death. In the parting of the feet of elders from Paul, there is a sense of finality settling in upon things, and a fear that these who are dear to one another will not see each other again in this world. We move from this remarkable farewell, this famous farewell, this extraordinary farewell in Acts 20, to the common farewells of Paul’s Admittedly, these farewells in Paul’s letters move along a somewhat different line. Yet, at the same time, the emotional strain and tone that we discern in Acts 20 is very much in evidence in these parting words at the conclusion of Paul’s letters.

Now, some general remarks about letter writing in Paul’s day. We must remember that Paul’s letters bear some resemblance to the letters generally produced in the Greek and Roman world. That is true and undeniable. forsakes the specific formulas found in those Greek and Roman letter-writing examples, and that in the interests of a thorough Christianizing of the letter-writing enterprise itself, subjecting his letters, then, his communication, to that Christian mindset that is so thoroughly dominant in him. So it is, where the Roman would end his letter with a rather bold and routine, farewell or good luck to you all. Paul transforms these concluding words. In effect, reorders them, recasts them in the interest of the gospel. in the interests of Christ. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus, he writes. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4.21.

And we might miss something of the emotional power of that statement. The word that Paul uses here has as its root the idea of an embrace. An embrace. And so, paraphrasing things a bit here, we might suggest that what Paul is driving at through this word is embrace every saint in Christ Jesus. This word also appears in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13, where the writer, the Hebrews, speaks of the patriarchs as those who greeted, that is, those who embraced the promises from afar. But this is Paul’s intention, seems to be borne out by what we find in other farewells from his other letters. Remember the encouragement that he gives at the conclusion of certain letters, say Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, where Paul encourages the saints not only to greet one another, but to greet one another with a holy kiss. Now, there hasn’t been much kissing going on around here, but there has been a lot of hugging. And that’s good. Paul’s farewell, then, greets us with something of an irony.

While he has reached the end of his letter, he has come to the conclusion of his communication. His words are for the purpose of furthering and deepening communication and intimacy amongst the saints. These farewells are anything but perfunctory or casual. They are deliberately framed, they are calculated, and they are filled full of meaning. They have a power of their own. They are intended to further and to build the affections of all parties concerned for one another. This is the common feature of each of Paul’s farewells. We were to look at them, even from letter to letter. Paul’s farewells further and build the affection Paul has for those Christians, those saints he addresses. is meant to be a hug all around from him to those to whom he rises.

Therefore, as we read Philippians 4.21, we must supply certain words. To be sure is to be extended to the Philippians, but it is from Paul. For me, greet or embrace on my behalf each and every saint in the congregation. At the same time, Paul’s farewell furthers and builds the affection of the Christians in a particular location are who have for one another.

In Philippians 4.21 again, Paul envisions Philippian saints embracing Philippian saints. Paul’s farewell furthers and builds the affection of the Christians in one place. The affection that Christians in one place ought to have for Christians in another.

Look at the full statement of this farewell in verses 21 and 22. Christians in Rome, where Paul is presently, are extending their embrace to believers in Philippi, actually embracing, though separated by Now, among other things, all of this set before us here in the greeting adds up to wonderful instruction with respect to the ordering of the Church, the structure of the Church in Paul’s day.

For instance, it is impossible for us to escape, given the character of the readings here, it is impossible for us to deny some form of connection. Do you understand what I’m saying? It’s impossible for us to deny some form of connectionalism as that relates to the Church.

And we’re not just talking about people connecting with one another within a particular congregation. We’re talking about congregations connecting with one another. Churches separated by many miles. We are told are intimately bound up with one another, involved with one another. They are intimately connected with one another. They embrace, though separated by many, many minds.

But we must note, further, these churches are bound, not just in an informal sense, at the level of a common affection that the people, as they congregate, express. They are also bound, and this is evident in Paul’s Philippian farewell particularly, through the leadership of the churches that are spoken of, the leadership coming into view in a formal fashion and manner.

Note the force and power of Paul’s imperatives in Philippians 4.21. Greek, every saint in Christ Jesus. To whom is Paul speaking? every saint in Christ Jesus. Is he speaking broadly to all of the people as they are gathered together, or is he speaking specifically to the leadership of the Church at Philippi?

The force and power of that imperative is that the directive is intended for the leadership or the officers of the Church. Specifically, they are instructed here, by call, to show this affection, this embrace, to communicate it, in fact, on call, to the people of the congregation.

In view, therefore, are those in Philippi whom Paul mentioned at the very outset of the letter, chapter 1, verse 1. The conclusion of that first verse of Philippians 1 makes specific mention of the bishops and the deacons. We’ve come full circle. As we started, now we conclude. It is they, then, these bishops and deacons specifically, who are called upon to embrace each and every saint under their authority and in their care. This becomes, in fact, something of the definition of their office, what they are supposed to be doing.

The pattern continues in that twenty-first verse, as Paul goes on to mention the brethren who are with him. The brethren who are with me greet you. The brethren who are with me embrace you. Now, who are the brethren? I do it to take exception to the brethren churches, if in fact they are hanging their case on this verse. The term brethren here does not refer indiscriminately to the group of Christians gathered to the congregation at large. are not all the saints, for all the saints are mentioned in verse 22. The brethren are specifically those who, with Paul, lead, instruct, preach and teach. They are the leadership, connected with him and worked with him in his ministry there in Rome. including those who specifically accompany him in his journeys and perform specific ministry with him.

A picture of the Church, therefore, is emerging for us out of the greeting. It’s something as simple as the greeting. You’re beginning to see, and the Church, as it were, takes shape out of these few verses. You see, churches over a wide expanse, geographically, connected to one another, even responsible to one another. But these churches, in this connectionalism that they express, are interacting through their leadership and not irrespective of that leadership. But no further now.

The term that Paul uses to describe the leadership in this particular passage, the clue is the specific designation of those who are leading in Rome as the Brethren. That term emphasizes a mutuality, a common office, a common level of authority amongst those who are teachers and preachers in the church. So that we are not here looking at a hierarchy, we are looking at a fraternity. All so well, therefore, is evidence against both congregational independency and, at the same time, Catholic episcopacy.

Those churches, those forms of churches, the structure of church life within those churches was not a consideration for the Apostle Paul. But of course, what we see here from Paul’s farewell about the structure of the Church was something of an aside to Paul’s main concern.

His chief concern, even in his farewell now, in these parting words, is to stress again, in a manner unique to the farewell, the overall message of the letter. What is that overall message of the letter? The overall message of the letter is this. The gift of oneself realized in Christ, reflected in the Apostle. The gift of oneself realized in Christ and reflected in the Apostle. That is what Philippians is all about. And now that message plays itself out in the farewell. How so?

The Philippian leadership, you see, those who are high, those who have position and authority, The Philippian leadership is instructed by the Apostle, who is himself high, having high office, is instructed to greet, even to embrace, each and every saint in the Church. No favoritism, no partiality, no greetings of only those we feel like greeting or are comfortable with, none of that.

The Philippian leadership here, then, is bound to recognize each member of the congregation as a saint and to treat them as a saint and to embrace them as one of God’s lambs. And to do this in humble service, in a self-emptying, in the gift of oneself, as an expression of love for those very people. The affection of those in Rome calls to be instructive to those at Philippi. Not only the apostle who is presently in Rome, but the Roman Church leadership, the brethren, and as well, he goes on to say in verse 22, all the saints. including those in Caesar’s household, get the impact of the mention of those in Caesar’s household, that is, those who the Philippian leaders, church leaders, might consider to be the most important and be impressed with most.

These join in a common greeting of humble service in which the very love of Christ Thus, one who emptied himself of his divine ferocity in order to greet, to embrace us, is presently being redeemed. that something as simple as the farewell words will serve to further and build our love, one for another. A love, I might add, that we who leave are bounded to express that we might be the very best help to those over whom we have been given charge, even to the point in that love of laying down our lives for the saints.

Let us pray. Yes, indeed, Lord, we would be bold to quote the apostles’ words. May we also be bold to express His feelings and affection. And may we then, Lord, be certain to follow in His steps as He followed in Christ’s, that we might empty ourselves for the sake of one another. making of ourselves a gift. We are asking, Lord, that this, in fact, may be impressed upon us in such a way so as to show us that we haven’t the strength to do this left to ourselves. That only if we are found in Christ, the very one who has done this exact thing, for our salvation. Help us, then, our God, in our grievings and our farewells. For Jesus said,

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.