One question that the preacher has is, “On the basis of this text, what do I want the people to know?” In our text for today Paul is straightforward about the question, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”
What had happened was that Paul had been unjustly arrested and imprisoned under house arrest. Like so many things that “happen” to us in life it was partly the result of his enemies, partly a result of the Roman officials who just “happened” to be in charge, and partly a result of random events affecting his travel to Rome and the timing of his prosecution.
But whatever the seeming randomness of the events, they served to advance the gospel.
In the second part of the text Paul deals with events that aren’t random: Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, and some out of goodwill. Yet in either case Christ is preached.
I want you to know that while we look around us at the affairs and events of the world, and while we consider the seemingly minor occurrences in our daily lives, we are observing the world in which God is still active through His providence so that Christ is preached, the gospel is proclaimed.
