10 Rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 4:1–23)

Speaker: This is the Wednesday in the Word podcast, and I'm Krisan Marotta. Thanks so much for downloading. We will be finishing the book of Philippians today. We'll be covering all of chapter four, and I really hope you have enjoyed this and gotten as much out of it as I have. This is the tenth and final talk in our series. As always, you can follow along with the lecture notes by going to our website. You'll find those notes at wednesdayintheword.com slash Philippians N. Glad to have you along. Well, as we finish chapter 4 today, you will see that a lot of this is review. Paul is summarizing his main theme, and as he does so, he's applying it to a specific situation in the Philippian church. So all along, his focus has been on encouraging the Philippians to live a life worthy of their calling, to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. And he's not just urging them to be nicer or behave better, he's confronting them with the issue that faith matters and that it ought to change the way we live. So he wrote this letter to the Philippian church during his first Roman imprisonment. The Philippians have sent him a gift of financial support, and as a church they are basically doing well. Paul's writing this letter to thank them for their generosity and sending the gift, and we're going to see that come up in chapter 4. He also wants to assure them that he is doing well, even though he's a prisoner, and then primarily his main purpose is to encourage them to persevere in and live out their faith. In chapter 3, he began a warning against the Judaizers, which is what's going to lead into our section today. He said, Don't listen to the Judaizers. They were a Jewish group that taught that not only did you need faith in Christ, you also had to keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. And in warning against them, Paul recounts his own experience, how he was an expert at law keeping. He had all the advantages a Jew could have, and yet he considers that loss in order to gain Christ. Because insofar as it distracted him from seeing the real issue and his sin and his need for a savior, it was a detriment, not a gain. He used the language of an athlete saying, I'm focused on faithfully following Christ, focusing on that finish line like a runner focuses on it, forgetting what lies behind, just pressing on toward the next step and reaching that goal. He talked about how he counted on the power of Christ that was already at work in him to keep him faithful and then one day carry him across that finish line. He went on to say, This is how I, Paul, think about my life, and I want you to think the same way, use me as an example, as well as others who are mature and have come to this same perspective on life. And in 4-1 he says, Therefore, my brothers or sisters, he means everybody in the church, therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. So that verse should probably be the last verse of chapter 3. It's his summary, I think, following the warnings he gave in chapter 3, the therefore is his conclusion. And he says, Therefore, my brothers, my friends in the Philippian church, whom I love and long for with my joy, stand firm thus. So as he has stood firm, following his example, stand firm in the Lord. They shouldn't listen to the Judaizers, they shouldn't follow the way of those who are enemies of the cross, rather, they should stand firm in the Lord, clinging to the gospel, holding to the word of life as it was taught to them by Paul and the apostles. In some ways you could see 4.1 not just as the summary of the exhortation, he began in chapter 3, but it is a summary of the entire letter. Stand firm in the Lord. Choose life. This is what I want you to do. He used this same language when he started the letter in 127. He said, Oli, let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to see you or I'm absent, I may hear that you are standing firm in one spirit. It's that same language, standing firm. He makes the same admonition here in chapter 4 to stand firm. And he does it with a great deal of affection for the Philippians. They're his beloved brothers. He longs to see them again. They are his joy and his crown. And I think what he means here when he says, From my crown and my joy, is that when Christ returns and Paul is standing before him, part of his crowning glory and joy will be that the Philippians are standing there with him. He has this great affection for them. He urges them to stand firm and he's talking about what a crowning, glorious, joyous moment it will be when they are standing before the Lord with their faith strong. So he's urging them not to let anything c let them fall away, cause them to fall away. They shouldn't let the persecution they're facing cause them to fall away, not let the arguments internal in the church cause them to fall away, not the false teachers or the Judaizers, not the example of those who are setting their minds on earthly things. He said, Don't be distracted by all that, don't let any of that dissuade you. Rather stand firm in your faith and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he turns specifically to the one of the problems they're facing in their church. 4, 2, and 3, he says, I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syndiche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. Euodia and Syndicate seem to be two prominent women in the church, and they are not getting along. Here again he echoes the language that he used earlier in the letter which we saw in chapter two verse two. Quite probably he was aware of this disagreement between these two women from the beginning and had them in mind when he wrote chapter two. Now as he concludes he's urging them in particular to be of the same mind. Since it's been a long time since we talked about chapter two, let's just remind ourselves what it means to be of the same mind. First, Paul does not expect all Christians to agree on every issue. We know that from his other letters. He has some significant teaching in his other letters about how we should handle theological disagreements between and among believers. That said, he does expect that we will grow together in our understanding of and commitment to the fundamental truths of the gospel, and that there is some level of unity we can have because of our shared belief in the gospel. Eodia and Syndicate may have issues about which they disagree, and they may never completely agree on those issues, but Paul wants them to be of the same mind in the important things. I think he would encourage them each to remember, well he is going to encourage them as we sit as we'll see, to remember the importance of the gospel, to remember that they are fellow sinners saved by grace because of the mercy of God and the blood of Jesus Christ. So they each need to remember that they are called upon to be forgiving and gracious and forbearing toward each other, to remember that they are fellow sisters in Christ, they are travelers on the same journey of faith together, they have the same Lord, the same spirit, the same grace, and they are part of the same body where they call to love each other. In short, they should remember the things that Paul has been saying throughout this letter, to stand firm in and hold fast to the word of life. And if they do, they will come to be of one mind, to be able to graciously get along with each other despite the ways they disagree. Because the gospel puts their disagreement in perspective. Knowing God's in control and God is their Lord and Master allows them to let go of quote winning the argument. The gospel makes them free not to get their way. It gives them the freedom to give in and to defer when appropriate, because if they can trust that God is ultimately in charge and ultimately taking care of them, they can let go of winning and always getting their own way. Because they trust God is in control, they don't have to be in control. And we're going to talk a lot more about that in a minute as we go through these verses. Before we do, notice that these women played an important role in Paul's ministry and in spreading the gospel. He says, in four three, these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel. And you'll remember that another woman, Lydia, was one of the first believers and founders of the church in Philippi, and here we have two other prominent women who have furthered the gospel and labored with Paul. So I would not understand Paul to be saying, make these two foolish women stop fighting so that we men can get back to the important work of the ministry. Rather, he's saying, These are important members of and contributors to the work of the ministry. They're part of the group Paul calls his fellow workers. They work side by side with him. And that's why it's serious that they're not getting along. As leaders in the community, when they disagree, it could lead to a rift or a fracture in the church. If they were in disagreement over where to place the copy, I don't think Paul would even have mentioned them in this letter. But as leaders in the community, as two of the people in the group of people who others look to for leadership and guidance, when they disagree, it's serious. It has the potential to split and fracture the church, and Paul wants them to resolve their disagreement before the situation gets worse. The puzzle in these verses is who is the true companion that he mentions, or literally his fellow yoke fellow. We don't know who Paul's talking to or talking about. There's no evidence or clues in the letter, and there's no historical record to help us fill in the gap. People speculate a lot of different things. They speculate that it was perhaps Epaphroditus, the one who is carrying this letter to Philippi. And that's possible, but it seems a little strange to address the letter carrier in the letter itself because Paul could have just told him verbally what he wanted him to know. Others think it was Luke because Luke remained behind in Philippi and worked there for a long time. Others think the word we've translated true companion or fellow yoke fellow is actually the person's name, but we don't have any evidence that this Greek word was ever used as a name. Some people speculate it was Lydia. We just don't know. We don't know who he's talking to. He now goes on to repeat an exhortation he expressed early in the letter, and I think it's particularly relevant to the problem between Euodia and Synthy. I don't see this as a change in subject, but rather a relevant section to their disagreement. So let's start with four through seven. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Now this is one of those passages that gets translated into song and borrowed for public prayers, and it gets quoted quite a lot. And it's easy to read through it and see it as kind of a random collection of good ideas, like a laundry list. There's just one after another of these exhortations in a kind of random order, just all these good ideas kind of piling up on each other. So rejoice, be forbearing, the Lord is near, stay calm, pray, be thankful, the peace of God will guard your hearts. But as Bible students, we want to ask the question: could these ideas be related to each other? And if so, how? Is there a thread? Is there a theme that ties them together? And I think in fact there is a theme that unites them and ties them together, and I think it's related to the conflict between Euodia and Syndicate that he has just mentioned. Paul has just admonished Euodia and Syndicate to get along with each other. In fact, he's been urging the entire church to get along, to pursue a kind of loving self-sacrifice toward each other, and here he's urging them to relate to all people with gentle forbearance. Notice verse 5. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone, or the NASB translates that. That's the idea. And this is not something new. Remember back in chapter 2, he said, this is 2, 3 through 5. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourself, which was also in Christ Jesus. So the ESV translates this reasonableness in 4 or 5. The NSB translates it gentle or forbearing spirit. And the idea is not retaliating. It's a word that is related to the word we usually translate meek. It's often translated gentle or peaceable. It appears only five times in the New Testament, here being one of the five. And the idea behind it, I think, is is someone giving you grief? Okay, respond with gentle forbearance. Respond humbly. Respond without striking back or retaliating. Of course, the big question is how do you arrive at this kind of mature and loving perspective? How is it that you can respond with gentleness and forbearance? And I think all the ideas that surround verse 5 answer that question. That's what those verses are getting at. Interpersonal tensions arise from a conflict of needs and desires. You have two people, and somehow each one is not getting what he or she wants from the other. Maybe the other person's trying to influence the group to go in a direction that you find scary or risky or threatening, or maybe the other person's complaining about you or saying hurtful things about you, or maybe you're both striving for a position that only one person can have, say a position of influence, the same job or leadership role, something like that. So you have this conflict because you both have needs and desires and you're not getting what you want. The other person's getting in the way. And it seems to me that Paul is suggesting the key to interpersonal peace is an internal peace. And by internal peace I mean being content with what the Lord is giving you. We can live with the fact that other people are not giving us what we want if we trust that God is indeed the one taking care of us. If I have confidence that I am ultimately going to be okay because God is working in my life, He's bringing about my salvation, and He's promised and guaranteed that I will get across the finish line, as we talked about last week, then I can cut you some slack. The more confident I am that God is in charge and that He knows my needs and He knows my wants and wishes, and He knows what is absolutely best for me, the more confidence I have in that, the more I can let go of fighting for my rights, the more I can let go of putting myself forward and of striving to get all I can here and now. In short, the more confident I am in God, the more I can live with the fact that I'm not getting what I want or would like from you or other people in the church. So with that idea in mind, let's read through these verses again and see how it ties them all together. So he's just said, urge these two prominent leaders in the church to get along, and now he says in 4.4, rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice. Well, to rejoice in the Lord is to remember everything the Lord Jesus has done for us, everything he's doing now, and everything he has promised to do in the future. And in remembering that, as we talked about in chapter 3, we find joy and comfort and delight in the salvation he's bringing us. We realize salvation is something highly desirable, supremely valuable, and we rejoice because it is ours because of the Lord Jesus Christ. So he's saying, remember that, stand firm in that, focus on that. This is how I summarize that from chapter three. I know you're suffering hardship, but remember the great things the Lord Jesus is doing for you. He died that you might find mercy, he will return to raise you up to eternal life and great blessing. The Lord is bringing us a salvation that is so valuable we can hardly grasp it. And so in the midst of all the hardships of your life, find comfort and hope in the joy the Lord is giving you. Rejoice in the Lord. So his primary concern, I think, is not that they feel a certain way, that they have feelings of happiness. Rather, it's a perspective on life, an attitude toward life that he wants them to have. He wants their salvation to mean something to them, to be so important to them that they value it and understand it, and it changes the way they view and live their lives. And the more they understand and embrace that salvation, the more joy they can find in that in the midst of dating life. So in this context, when you're in conflict with another believer, it means remembering that God has his hand on you and on them. God is in control. God will ultimately fulfill the desires of your heart, and you don't need to strive with each other in order to gain them. God has promised to save you both, he's promised to save you from everything that plagues you now, and it's on that basis Paul can go on to say, show forbearance. In 4.5 he says, Let your reasonableness be known to everyone the Lord is at hand, or reasonableness or forbearance. Since you have the Lord to rejoice in, you can forbear with others who are not everything you want them to be. In this life you're not getting what you want from that other person in the church or that other friend or family member. Well, if you can remember that God is in control, you'll be okay. You can treat others gently and not retaliate and not fight back. The Lord is at hand or the Lord is near. There are at least two good interpretations of what he means by that phrase, the Lord is near. I lean toward the second one, but they're both compelling. They both have good reasons. The first one is he could be thinking of the way this phrase is often used in the Old Testament. He might be using it the way we see it, for example, in Psalm 145. This is Psalm 145, verse 18. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. That is, the Lord is closely concerned with our lives. He is near to those who call on him. When we call upon him, he is right there and able to act on our behalf. The image I like to use to explain that is think of a parent sleeping in the next room, or a parent at the foot of their child's bed. He's near, he's close by, he can quickly respond and act. So it's a picture of this close concern of being involved. He's near at hand, he's watching, he's attentive, he is concerned with your life. So that's one possibility. The other possibility is it could be used the way the prophets use the phrase, the day of the Lord is near, or the day of the Lord is drawing near. And there the emphasis is it's on its way. You can have confidence in the fact that God will intervene and set things right. You can be absolutely convinced because it's coming, it is happening, it's on its way. Now, as far as I can tell, when the prophets say the Lord is near, they aren't necessarily referring to minutes and hours, trying to say something about chronological time. They don't mean it is about to happen chronologically in the very near future, rather they mean you can count on it. It is coming, it is surely coming, it is on its way. Now those are closely related ideas, and in our context, I think Paul could mean either one of them. He could either be saying the Lord is near and closely concerned with your life and watching over you, or he could be emphasizing the Lord's promises will surely be fulfilled and will not fail. Either way, you can get you get the sense that Paul is making the point. We can count on the Lord to be our Savior and our rescuer and to give us what we truly need. Therefore, in this context of urging two leaders in the church to get along, he's saying you don't have to fight for it. You can have confidence that the Lord is on his way, that he is near, that he is watching and concerned, and that gives you the freedom to be forgiving of. Others and not retaliate. Next he goes on to talk about prayer, and again you can see how it relates to this theme of rejoicing in the Lord. 4.6. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. Well, this idea again fits right in with this admonition to treat other people with gentle forbearance. Let your heart be comforted and at rest, free from preoccupation and worry. If you are confident that God will not fail you, then you can live with the fact that others may fail you. The ESV translation says, be anxious for nothing, and I think the idea is to not be preoccupied with things. The opposite would be being so concerned with the potential problem that I just can't let it go and I can't stop thinking about it. To be anxious is to be in a state where I can't stop thinking, where I'm in this cycle of worry over and over, and he's encouraging them to take these sort of concerns to God and then rest in the fact that he's in control. Now think about that. Think about that connection. Why would it ease our hearts to take our request to God in prayer? Well, there's one possibility, which I think is the wrong one, but you hear it taught on occasion, and that is that if you ask God for what you want, he will give it to you. You see this in the so-called prosperity gospel. And that would certainly be calming if I say, God, this is bothering me, please make it go away, and he says, Done, that would make me feel a lot better. But that's not how life works, and that's not what Scripture teaches. We know that Paul does not believe that I will get whatever I ask for, and we can see this from his own life. In 2 Corinthians, he asked God to remove what he calls his thorn of flesh, and in 2 Corinthians 12, verses 7 through 9, he talks about how he asked and pleaded with God. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should leave me, but he said, My grace is sufficient for you. So, in other words, three times God asked for whatever this thing was to be removed, and God said no. This is a struggle I want you to have for a purpose that I have in mind. Now, we don't have time to get into what's going on in 2 Corinthians, but for our purposes in this discussion, we can say that Paul is quite aware that God can say no, and in fact, does say no. God can have his purposes that are quite different than ours, and he can say, I would, I know you would like me to release you from this, but not yet or not now. I have other plans. What's the other option? The other interpretive option is that he's saying we are taking our cares to the one who cares most for us and the one who is able to work on our behalf. Of course, this is the option that I think is I prefer the interpretive option I prefer. In other words, God has reached out to us in mercy, he has saved us in Christ, and that same person who saved me and reached out to me is the one to whom I'm making my request. So I may not be certain exactly how he will respond. I, for instance, I don't know that he will respond the way I have asked him to respond, but I can be absolutely certain that he is on my side and that whatever the response is, that response is ultimately for the best. I can express my worries and my concerns and thankfulness, not thanks because I know you'll give me exactly what I want, but thankful because I know who you are, I know how you've treated me in the past, I know what you've already done for me, I know what you've ultimately promised you will do, and I can trust you. So thankful that you have shown your love, thankful that you have offered me grace and mercy through the blood of your son. Thank you that you took a rebellious, hard-hearted, foolish person like me and reached out with salvation. So it's this whole perspective and attitude that I was lost, but now I'm found, and it's all because of what God has done in Christ. And I can trust God to keep me in his care, whatever the answer is to this specific problem. So I know that he will lead me into the fullness of life, and I am thankful for what I know he's doing in my life, even though I don't know what tomorrow holds. That gives you a kind of rest and comfort. I don't know that he will say yes, but I know whatever the answer is, he is absolutely the right one to handle it, and whatever answer he gives will be for the best. Now there are some prayers where God has promised the answer will be yes. The prayer for salvation will always be answered yes. The prayer that God would forgive me and save me from my sins because of the cross of Jesus Christ will also always be answered yes. The prayer that God would sustain, mature, and strengthen my faith will be answered yes. The things that He has promised to do, we can have utter confidence that He will do. The prayer that God would get me to the finish line, standing firm in the faith, that prayer will be answered yes. I can have confidence in those answers because God has made it clear these are part of his will and his plan. So it's right and appropriate to go to God in prayer and to express our trust in him and ask him to handle a specific situation and then trust him no matter what the outcome. Then in 4 7, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So see how this follows. I take all these things I'm anxious and worried about to God and the one who is completely able to handle them, and I trust him to handle them, and then he says the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds. So we have to ask, what does he mean by peace here? Well, before we look at that, let's look at what he means by surpasses all understanding. I think what he means is that this is the kind of knowledge or the kind of understanding that we would not have arrived at without God opening our eyes and teaching us. So it is not something we could sit down and reason to ourselves and figure out left on our own devices. I don't think he means this is some kind of mystical feeling that we can't comprehend. Rather, this is something that God had to teach us. This is not something that we would figure out without God opening our eyes and giving us revelation. What about peace of God? Peace can be either external or internal. And in many places in Paul's letters, peace means a lack of external conflict or the absence of hostility. So many times when he's urging his readers to be at peace, especially if he's talking about be at peace with each other or seek peace with each other, he means he wants them to stop contending and striving and get along, exactly as he has been urging them to do throughout this letter, that they abandon strife and pursue faith and get along. And he could easily mean here that kind of peace, the external peace with each other that comes from God guarding your hearts. At other times in other letters, Paul means a lack of internal conflict, being peaceful inside. And that's the way I think we tend to think of peace most of the time. Though I think if I'm understanding Paul's letters, it is less commonly what he means, but it certainly can be something he refers to. So he could be talking about the kind of peace that results from a heart that has been free from preoccupation with worry and concern. So the kind of internal calm we arrive at when we have turned our anxiety and preoccupation over to God in prayer. In this context where he's urging two women to get along with each other, both of these ideas could be involved in the discussion. They're striving with each other because they are preoccupied with their own needs and desires. And if they take that worry and that preoccupation to God, not only will their inner strife be resolved, but their outer strife will be resolved. So he could be saying, I want you to take your worries and preoccupations and concern to God. Take those worries that are causing strife among you to God, know that he is in control and that he will answer, and his answer will be best, and if you trust God to truly care for you, then your hearts will be guarded against the sort of anxiety and anxiousness that leads to conflict among you. So as we learn to trust God more, we are less inclined to make the kind of demands that lead to the external interpersonal conflict. Internal peace then in the heart can lead to external peace in the body of Christ. He goes on in this section 4, 8, and 9. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Again, this is one of these very often quoted verses that's sometimes taken out of context, and we can use it to mean all kinds of things I don't think Paul intended to in this letter to the Philippians. For instance, I don't think he means that we should only think about the pleasant things and ignore the hard realities of life. So he's not saying you should never read a book that has evil characters in it or a book that has strife or death in it. He's not saying you should only pay attention to Bach and the most exalted uplifting poetry and watch movies only produced by the Amish. Something like that. He's not talking about our cultural and aesthetic lives. I don't think he means anything different than what he's been saying all throughout this letter. He's still talking about unity among the church, about believers, and it's all in this context of summarizing the letter and urging these two women to get along. Notice these are two important themes that we find in verse 9, and they are themes he has been discussing throughout this letter. He was discussing them before verse 8, and he's going to go on to discuss them after verse 8. If we're following the flow of thought, we wouldn't expect verse 8 to suddenly diverge out of it and to be on a different topic. He has been urging them to follow his teaching and follow his example. These things that are true and honorable and right are to be found in the teaching and life of Paul. They're the truth of the gospel that he has been teaching and living out for them. They are the truth and honorable way of living that is based on this deep grasp and understanding of the gospel that he has been urging them to pursue throughout the letter and that he has modeled for them in his own life. He's been talking about that since 127. Second, in pursuing these things the peace of God shall be with you. What peace has he just been talking about? If they center their lives on true and honorable things of the gospel, then the peace of God will be with them. As they trust in the promises of God taught in the gospel of Jesus Christ, they will grow in peace with each other. This is the same thing he's been saying since chapter two. Let your shared faith, your shared commitment to the gospel bring unity among you. He's been urging them throughout this letter to let their minds dwell on the gospel and the implications the gospel has for their lives. This is a theme he's been talking about. Remember in 127, only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. And then in 4.1, stand firm in the Lord. I think that's basically what he's saying here in eight. Let your mind dwell on the things that are true. Like that runner we talked about last week, focus on the finish line. Rather than getting caught in this cycle of preoccupation with worry and anxiety, dwell on the truth of the gospel, the things that are right and just and good. Let your minds dwell on the things that are pure, the holy things that you should be pursuing in light of the gospel. Let your minds dwell on the things that are lovely, the praiseworthy things that you should long to have in your life. Let your minds dwell on the things of good repute, the things that truly make a person commendable and worthy of praise in light of the gospel. In other words, let your mind dwell on the truth of the gospel and the way those truths manifest themselves in our lives. The idea throughout this letter is let the gospel be real to you. Live in a manner that reflects the gospel. Stand firm in it. Hold fast to the word of life. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. All of that is the same theme of let the gospel be so real and so change you that it changes the way you live. Now in verse 10, he makes a shift. He returns to one of his purposes in writing the letter. He's, as I told you, is responding to a generous financial gift the Philippian Church has given him. He's coming to the end of his letter, and I think now he wants to specifically thank them for their generosity. So he's speaking to the fact that they have sent him money, and notice the way he approaches this task. It's very tricky to talk to people who've given you financial support. It's easy for that kind of thing to go wrong. So he says in 410, I'm really glad that at last you sent me money, and there are all kinds of ways you could get the wrong idea about his gratitude. So he's going to spend a number of verses explaining exactly what he's grateful for, what he is saying and not saying. For example, he is very careful to explain that he is not criticizing them for not having sent the support sooner. Look at 4.10. I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. He immediately says in verse 10, I know you've been concerned about me for a long time, but you had no opportunity to express that concern. So I understand why this gift didn't arrive any sooner. I'm not concerned about the timing of the gift. You didn't have the means or the opportunity to send it sooner. I understand I'm not criticizing you for that. Likewise, he doesn't want them to think that money is his chief concern. Look at 11 and 12. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I've learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. So he's quick to say, not that's the money that's the most important thing. I mean, we could say, you know, an alcoholic might say, I rejoice that you finally gave me a drink because I'm all about the alcohol. Drink is the main concern of my life and what I really care about. And Paul's saying, it's not like that. I don't think about money that way, and I don't want you to think about money that way either. So he's holding himself out again, I think, as an example. He understands there's a spiritual issue regarding money, and he's learned to be content whether he has a lot of it or he doesn't have very much of it at all. He's experienced both. And there's a certain kind of spiritual wisdom that can be gained by being content when you're poor, and there's a certain kind of spiritual wisdom that can be gained by being content when you're rich. In both cases, you have to learn not to count on the money, but in a slightly different way. You face different kinds of temptations in those different circumstances. But ultimately, in both of them, you have to learn that it is God who's taking care of you, it is God who's supplying your every need. In one case, you're learning that by being without money, and in the other, you have to learn it by having money. And in both cases, the temptation is to trust in the money rather than God, and in both cases, you must rejoice in the Lord and trust that ultimately real prosperity comes from the gospel. And Paul's saying, I've gained that spiritual wisdom. I've set my hope in the gospel, and that gives me perspective on all the financial ups and downs in life. So he's learned to be brought low, he's learned to do without, he knows how to abound, he knows what to do when there is plenty. So he's been in feast, he's been in famine, and he knows that he has to trust God in either case. Then he makes one of his more famous statements in 413, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Now I'm sure we've all heard sincere Christian athletes attribute their success to God and quote this verse. And we sometimes read this as if Paul is saying, I can do anything I want to do because God will give me the strength to do it. But ultimately you can see that he says this in a context. And the context he's talking about is all the circumstances of life. The all things he can be content in is primarily the ups and downs of finances. So he can be content whether he has a lot, he can be content whether he has a little, and he learned this through God who strengthens him. In many places, Paul talks about the strength and power of God at work in our hearts and in the lives of believers to give us wisdom, to give us perspective and understanding, to mature our faith and bring us to the right perspective. And I think that's still going on here. It is God's strength helping Paul to stay strong in the faith regardless of the circumstances. So facing all kinds of circumstances is the all things he's talking about. He wanted to make it clear that he's grateful for their financial gift, but not because he's focused on money and money is his goal. He has learned to be content with money and without it. He has learned to live in all financial circumstances by the power of God at work in him. On the other hand, he doesn't want them to think that he's ungrateful. He doesn't want them to get the idea that he's saying, oh, money, who cares about money? No big deal that you sent me a large gift. So he says in 4.14, yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. So even though I just said money is not my primary concern, money's not the focus of my life, it was gracious of you to share my concern and to ease my financial trouble. You have done a good thing. And he reflects on their generosity in the past, that they supported him from the beginning of their relationship, and he wants to be clear that he is happy for their sake, because their generosity reflects the wisdom and faith that God is working in them. Look at fifteen through seventeen. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. So when he first met the Philippians, he was preaching the gospel to them, he was driven out of town, and they alone supported him financially. The very next town he goes to is Thessalonica, and he says, Even then, even immediately, you were generous with me. But notice he's not excited because they gave him money, but because their gift was a credit to them. Their gift was motivated by the value they placed on the gospel and their love for him. So when he talks in 4.17 about the fruit that increases to your credit, I think the idea is this gift reveals that you believe the gospel so much you want to support it. Ultimately, that's going to profit you in the end. Because you were so concerned that the gospel goes forward, you wanted to share in my ministry, and you were willing to put your money where your mouth is, essentially. So he's not saying your gift was so large it will be to your credit, but the fact that they so embraced the gospel that they wanted to support it, and so they supported Paul as a minister of the gospel, that's what's to their credit. That's what he's rejoicing in, the faith that lies behind their gift. Then he concludes 418 to 23. And I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God, and my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus, the brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. I don't think we can see 419 as a specific promise that God will never let financial hardship fall on believers, the Philippians or us by extension. There are preachers today who would make that claim. They claim, you support me, you support my church, my ministry, and God will bless you financially. Some even go so far as to say the more you give to me, the better off you'll be. I'm exaggerating to make that point. No one ever preaches that idea so bluntly, but you do see the idea that if you give money to God's ministry, then God will give money to you. I think Paul would be horrified by that idea. Paul just told us that he himself experienced poverty at times. And you would think that if anyone could secure prosperity from God, it would be the Apostle Paul. If anyone had the prosperity gospel formula down, you'd think it would be one of the apostles, and particularly Paul, and yet Paul himself says, Look, I experienced times of lack and poverty. Scripture does not promise that Christian. Believers will always have financial prosperity and well-being, and that they will never suffer loss in this life. I think rather Paul is making a statement that their financial gift is an expression of their faith in God, and that faith is not in vain. God will indeed take care of them. He will supply their daily needs in the way he thinks best, in the amount he thinks best, and in the timing he thinks best. He will certainly supply what they truly need, which he alone understands, and ultimately he will supply what they need to gain eternal life in his kingdom and the riches of glory in Christ. So it may be his will that they die in poverty today, but tomorrow Christ will return and the riches of God's glory will be theirs in Christ. So it is just not true that if you give money to the church or to a ministry, then God will bless you financially. That's not a tit for tat guarantee. If they had sent money to the Apostle Peter rather than to Paul, I think Paul could have written the same passage to him. I think he would have rejoiced over what the gift says about their faith. Not whether he got the money or some other minister of the gospel got it, but the fact that they so cared about the gospel that they wanted to support it financially. So there are two things I want to say about money and ministry before we close this. One is you don't have to be on support to be in the ministry. Don't think that because you have a job inside or outside the home that you don't have gospel work to do. Everyone has a calling, everyone has a way they serve the kingdom of God and bring glory to his name and further the work of his kingdom. Believers can and do serve God in all kinds of occupations, all kinds of situations, and every kind of workplace. The second thing I would say is being on support does not make you more spiritual or more important than believers with jobs. There's often this unspoken assumption that if I have given up all visible means of support to step out in faith and trust that God will provide for me through the generosity of others, then I have done this noble self-sacrificing thing, and perhaps even the most noble self-sacrificing thing I can do. And therefore, I'm more spiritual than you poor schmucks with nine to five jobs. And there can sometimes be this unspoken attitude of you ought to support me because I am doing this great thing of letting go of a paycheck. Well, that attitude is dangerous. All of us ought to do that and only that which God calls us to do. For some, that will mean letting go of a paycheck. For others, that may mean keeping a paycheck. Some people may work in nonprofits, others may work in for-profit companies, some people may start a company and employ others. There is a virtue in pursuing your calling whatever it is, regardless of the means God chooses to support you. Paul is saying here that using our money to support the gospel in some way is an expression of faith. There are many, many ways to use money to support the gospel, from making it to giving it away. Giving it to a ministry worker with no other means of support is not the only way to use your money for the kingdom of God. It is a good way, but it's not the only way. We show what we value by what we think is worthy of supporting with our money. Money can reveal what we care about. It is a placeholder for our values, and that's something we ought to spend some time reflecting on and figuring out how to use our money wisely and well. But giving it away to a full-time Christian worker is not the only way to support the gospel and the kingdom. So being on support does not make you more spiritual or more deserving than people with nine to fine jobs, and there are lots of ways to serve the kingdom. To close, I want to acknowledge that much of what we have learned in this letter is hard. And I don't mean to be glim. Oh, you're in conflict with another believer, just trust God and it'll all be okay. Oh, you're going through bankruptcy, trust God, you'll be fine. There is a sense in which I am saying exactly that, but I'm not trying to suggest that this is a piece of cake, that it's that easy, that all you have to do is read Philippians and you'll be fine. We're talking about trials that are some of the hardest things we can face, and they're issues where the rubber meets the road. Paul's told the Philippians that their faith in the gospel should be so real to them that they can let go of strife and let go of getting their own way, and that's a very hard thing to do in real life when you're the one in conflict and you're the one facing the possibility of not getting your way. He's told them that their faith should be so real that they can face persecution and harassment for being believers. Well, that is a particularly difficult calling. He's encouraged them to trust God no matter what their financial circumstances. Well, who among us can really say we face all financial circumstances easily? It's a very hard thing to do. Facing these trials with the perspective that Paul is urging us to have, facing trials from a perspective of wisdom and maturity and walking with God happens over the course of your lifetime. It's not the kind of thing you can turn on or off with a switch of emotions. This is the kind of deep grounded perspective on life that we gain day after day over a lifetime of following God and standing firm in the faith. So the Philippians are facing internal strife, external persecution, they're facing false teachers and the Judaizers coming through to mislead them, they could easily be facing financial poverty. And in all of those situations, they're facing the question: what does it mean for me to follow God right now in these circumstances? And those are hard choices to make. They have choices to make about who they're trusting, what they're counting on, and whether their faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ really means anything to them or not. And that's a hard thing. They're difficult trials. So Paul is encouraging them to make those decisions wisely, to let their life be worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to reflect the gospel and show what they really believe. And there's only so much we can learn here in a Bible study or in a classroom or from a Sunday sermon. A lot of what we learn comes through the daily life choices that we make, the circumstances we face, the painfully hard trials and situations we're thrown into, and how we respond to them. This is a letter about faith lived out. The Philippians have lived out their faith by supporting Paul financially, and he is grateful for that gift and encouraged by what that gift says about the state of their faith. But they're facing more challenges, and he's encouraging them to live out their faith amidst those challenges. So when they're facing internal strife, when they're facing external strife, when they're facing persecution, when they run into teachers and philosophers who would lead them astray, when they face financial hardship and when they're facing financial plenty, all of those situations are going to come up in their lives and he's encouraging them to stand firm and hold fast to the Word of Life. And his prescription is always the same. In whatever the situation, put your trust where it belongs in Jesus Christ. The more you do that, the more you understand the gospel and where real security lies, where life is truly to be found, then the more all those other struggles in your life will fall into perspective. Not that they'll be easy, but they'll be put in their proper perspective.