Philippians: Paul Explains his Circumstances and the Progress of the Gospel
Philippians 1:12-14 - Are you courageous when telling others the Good News? Can you be like Paul or John Bunyan and rejoice at what God is doing rather than complaining about what He didn’t do?
“Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”
Philippians 1:12-14 NASB1995
Ok, the AI program that Steve uses to generate these images has hit this one out of the ballpark. I got tears in my eyes seeing this image of an elite Roman Praetorian guard sitting at the table and hanging on to every word from Paul! Timothy is also back in this image, taking notes for a letter or scribbling down the wisdom that comes from God through Paul. The Gospel can take the most amazing routes to reach ears and find believers! This is superb commentary from Warren Wiersebe, found on Precept Austin:
To begin with, these chains gave Paul contact with the lost. He was chained to a Roman soldier twenty-four hours a day! The shifts changed every six hours, which meant Paul could witness to at least four men each day! Imagine yourself as one of those soldiers, chained to a man who prayed “without ceasing,” who was constantly interviewing people about their spiritual condition, and who was repeatedly writing letters to Christians and churches throughout the Empire! It was not long before some of these soldiers put their faith in Christ. Paul was able to get the Gospel into the elite Praetorian Guard, something he could not have done had he been a free man. But the chains gave Paul contact with another group of people: the officials in Caesar’s court. He was in Rome as an official prisoner, and his case was an important one. The Roman government was going to determine the official status of this new “Christian” sect. Was it merely another sect of the Jews? Or was it something new and possibly dangerous? Imagine how pleased Paul must have been knowing that the court officials were forced to study the doctrines of the Christian faith!
Sometimes God has to put “chains” on His people to get them to accomplish a “pioneer advance” that could never happen any other way. Young mothers may feel chained to the home as they care for their children, but God can use those “chains” to reach people with the message of salvation. Susannah Wesley was the mother of nineteen children, before the days of labor-saving devices and disposable diapers! Out of that large family came John and Charles Wesley, whose combined ministries shook the British Isles. At six weeks of age, Fanny Crosby was blinded, but even as a youngster she determined not to be confined by the chains of darkness. In time, she became a mighty force for God through her hymns and Gospel songs.
The secret is this: when you have the single mind, you look on your circumstances as God-given opportunities for the furtherance of the Gospel; and you rejoice at what God is going to do instead of complaining about what God did not do.
Paul’s chains not only gave contact with the lost, but they also gave courage to the saved. Many of the believers in Rome took fresh courage when they saw Paul’s faith and determination (Phil. 1:14). They were “much more bold to speak the word without fear.” That word speak does not mean “preach.” Rather, it means “everyday conversation.” No doubt many of the Romans were discussing Paul’s case, because such legal matters were of primary concern to this nation of lawmakers. And the Christians in Rome who were sympathetic to Paul took advantage of this conversation to say a good word for Jesus Christ. Discouragement has a way of spreading, but so does encouragement! Because of Paul’s joyful attitude, the believers in Rome took fresh courage and witnessed boldly for Christ. " (Warren Wiersbe).
Paul could lament and cry about his imprisonment and the difficult circumstances of having to share his life, 24 hours a day, with a guard (some of the moments of that day had to be challenging, to say the least). He could bemoan his possible fate and show anger and hatred and cowardice. But NO! Paul spends his time spreading the Gospel to any ears that will hear or eyes that will read! He knows that his imprisonment is in the cause of Christ. As noted in the commentary above, if Paul was not imprisoned, he would have had no direct avenue of access to the very elites of the Roman Empire.
What would this guard do with this Good News? Some of the guards probably couldn’t wait until their shift was over because of this “religious zealot”; others probably learned, believed and became good evangelists of the Gospel in their own right. No wonder Christianity spread so quickly in Rome. According to another commentary I read, the early Christian writer Tertullian noted that the Roman government was quite concerned when they found that so many of the men in authority were Christians. Persecution thrived under emperors from Nero to Decius to Augustus Diocletian, but yet faith grew rapidly! Here’s what Charles Spurgeon says about this suffering:
There is no university for a Christian, like that of sorrow and trial.
Suffering times are a Christian's harvest time.
Also, the continued joy and fervor that Paul exhibited even while imprisoned encouraged other believers in Rome to trust in the Lord and spread His Word without fear. This is all because of the Gospel and because Paul had a captive audience with the elites of the Roman Empire and didn’t step away from the opportunity of those circumstances.
Let’s do a word study on Gospel:
This word comes from the Greek noun εὐαγγέλιον or euangélion (Strong’s G2098), with the following Biblical usages:
a reward for good tidings
good tidings
the glad tidings of the kingdom of God soon to be set up, and subsequently also of Jesus the Messiah, the founder of this kingdom. After the death of Christ, the term comprises also the preaching of (concerning) Jesus Christ as having suffered death on the cross to procure eternal salvation for the men in the kingdom of God, but as restored to life and exalted to the right hand of God in heaven, thence to return in majesty to consummate the kingdom of God
the glad tidings of salvation through Christ
the proclamation of the grace of God manifest and pledged in Christ
the gospel
as the messianic rank of Jesus was proved by his words, his deeds, and his death, the narrative of the sayings, deeds, and death of Jesus Christ came to be called the gospel or glad tidings
GOOD NEWS!
So what do we know about this Praetorian Guard? Here is what John MacArthur says about them in Precept Austin from his Philippians commentary:
"The praetorian guard was originally composed of some ten thousand handpicked soldiers. It had been established by Caesar Augustus, who was emperor at the time of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:1). These men were dispersed strategically throughout the city of Rome to keep the general peace and especially to protect the emperor. Later emperors greatly increased their numbers, and Tiberius built them a conspicuous fortified camp to make sure they had a high-profile presence in Rome. Members of the praetorian guard served for twelve (later sixteen) years, after which they were granted the highest honors and privileges, including very generous severance pay. Eventually they became so powerful that they were considered “king-makers,” who not only protected but also chose the emperors." (Philippians Commentary).
I admit to being somewhat cowardly about spreading the Gospel. It’s similar to my long-lost abilities with the Spanish language, which I studied for many years. I was best at reading it, pretty good at writing it, mediocre at hearing it and atrocious at speaking it. Now I can’t do anything in Spanish without struggling mightily because I don’t practice it. These devotionals are a tool that allows me to become better at spreading His Word, because I like to write and use that ability to dive into Scripture. Hopefully, this will translate into other ways to bring people to God.
Francis Chan has this to say about that courage, as quoted in Precept Austin:
“Why are we cowards when it comes to speaking the gospel? Could it be because there’s a deeper conflict going on? Could it be that speaking the gospel is warfare? I think so (see 2 Cor 4:3-4). Let us pray for great courage as we make the Gospel known to people. Let us think on the affliction of other missionaries and pray for God to grant us boldness in making the gospel known.” (Christ-Centered Exposition)
God can use us in any circumstance. I’ll end this with commentary from John MacArthur from Precept Austin about John Bunyan, another prisoner who reached the world when others thought they were silencing him:
John Bunyan’s preaching was so popular and powerful, and so unacceptable to leaders in the seventeenth-century Church of England, that he was jailed in order to silence him. Refusing to be silent, he began to preach in the jail courtyard. He not only had a large audience of prisoners, but also hundreds of the citizens of Bedford and the surrounding area would come to the prison daily and stand outside to hear him expound Scripture. He was silenced verbally by being placed deep inside the jail and forbidden to preach at all. Yet in that silence, he spoke loudest of all and to more people than he could have imagined. It was during that time that he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, the great Christian classic that has ministered the Gospel to tens of millions throughout the world. For several centuries, it was the most widely read and translated book in the world after the Bible. Bunyan’s opponents were able to stop his preaching for a few years, but they were not able to stop his ministry. Instead, they provided opportunity for it to be extended from deep within a jail in the small town of Bedford to the ends of the earth.
My next devotional examines Philippians 1:15-18 - Paul rejoices that Christ is proclaimed.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I pray that my circumstances always result in better ways to spread the Gospel. My circumstances are temporary, my salvation is eternal and others need to hear about that Good News. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 6/29/2025 to review the lexicon for Gospel.
Precept Austin was accessed on 6/29/2025 to review commentary for Philippians 1:12-14.