Philippians 4:1–23

Be Determined to Never Give Up Your Christian Walk

Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

What Paul offers is not simply doctrinal content (though that is important) or simple orders designed to elicit some sort of explicitly Christian behavior, but attitudinal commands aimed at fostering whole-life, long-lasting commitment to the one true God.

What kind of exhortation will best help Christians persevere in the way of Christ?

Paul’s letters are the practical outcome of the Christian’s warfare against the world and Satan, it is defined as a matter of “standing,” and this is even more remarkable because it is part of a military metaphor. “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes … put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then” (Ephesians 6:11–14).

I suppose the difference between marching and standing is the difference between offensive and defensive warfare. Watchman Nee said, “The difference between defensive and offensive warfare is this, that in the former I have got the ground and only seek to keep it, whereas in the latter I have not got the ground and am fighting in order to get it.”

It is an imperative, a command with almost a military ring to it. Like soldiers in the front line, believers are commanded to hold their position while under attack. We are not to collapse under persecution and compromise, to fail under testing and complain, or to yield to temptation and sin.

Be Determined to Get Along with Other True Believers

2:I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel,

They are women who have worked with Paul in the cause of the gospel (4:3).

He pleads with them, and does not begin with heavy-handed authority.

Paul asks the person who is to receive this letter to intervene and help the two women sort it out. Try to help both sides see things from the other’s perspective and think through what faithful Christian attitudes should be in such circumstances.

Paul’s plea to the women, “agree with each other in the Lord.” This is not an appeal for unity at the expense of truth. Paul does not say, “just love one another, and that will be enough.” When fundamental gospel interests are at stake, it is sometimes necessary to divide.

This is not a hopeless demand for perfect agreement on every subject. Paul is appealing for a mental attitude that adopts the same basic direction as other believers, the same fundamental aim, the same orientation and priorities—that is, a gospel orientation.

Be Determined to Always to Rejoice in the Lord

4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

Acts 16, Paul and Silas were arrested and thrown into prison. Beaten, bruised, their feet in stocks, they displayed not a whiff of self-pity. Far from it; they began a midnight chorus of praise. Now Paul finds himself in prison again. He is not writing this epistle from a chalet in the south of France.

In one sense, this instruction is so self-evidently right that it is embarrassing that we should have to be reminded of it. Surely all redeemed men and women will want to rejoice in the Lord. Our sins have been forgiven! If we fail to respond with joy and gratitude when we are reminded of these things, it is either because we have not properly grasped the depth of the abyss of our own sinful natures and of the curse from which we have been freed by Jesus or because we have not adequately surveyed the splendor of the heights to which we have been raised.

The ultimate ground of our rejoicing can never be our circumstances, even though we as Christians recognize that our circumstances are providentially arranged. If our joy derives primarily from our circumstances, then when our circumstances change, we will be miserable. Our delight must be in the Lord himself. That is what enables us to live with joy above our circumstances.

“The joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

When and for how long are we to rejoice in the Lord?

Our circumstances may rightly call from us grief, tears, and sorrow. Unless the Lord comes back first, each of us will face death—our own, and if we live long enough, the death of loved ones and friends. And we will weep. But even in our tears, we may rejoice, we will rejoice, we must rejoice, for we rejoice in the Lord. He does not change. And that is why we shall rejoice in the Lord always.

Be Determined to Be Known for Gentleness

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (4:5).

This gentleness must not be confused with being a wimp, is in view is a certain kind of willed, self-effacing kindness. It really means that we are not to draw attention to oneself.

What do most of us want to be known for? Do you want to be known for your extraordinary good looks?

The sad fact is that even our highest and best motives are so easily corroded by self-interest that we begin to overlook this painful reality. Paul cuts to the heart of the issue: Be known for gentleness.

The “self-sins” are tricky things, damnably treacherous. In one of his books, A. W. Tozer writes:
To be specific, the self-sins are these: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love and a host of others like them. They dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them. The grosser manifestations of these sins, egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion, are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice.

One of the tests that can be applied to determine whether a movement is of God, is to observe to what degree those affected are making it their aim to be known for gentleness. Paul gives us a specific reason why we should obey this injunction. “Let your gentleness be evident to all,” he writes and then adds, “The Lord is near”.

Paul could mean that the Lord is near temporally; that is, that he is coming soon. Paul means the Lord is near spatially or perhaps better personally. He is not far off; he is very near. How then can we give ourselves to self-promotion? Suppose, for a moment, that the resurrected and exalted Lord walked into the room where you and your friends were seated would you be quick to parade your virtues?

Be Determined Not to Be Over Anxious about Anything, & Instead Pray

6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

There is a sense in which our society demands that we worry on a broader scale than any society in the history of the human race. We live in “global village.”

Those of us who have been born into the family of God know about these things. But knowing about them and finding them true in our experience are two different things. When was the last time you prayed explicitly and at length over the things that worry you, trouble you, plague you? Did you take them out and recount them to God, one by one, laying your burdens on him?

Time alone and quiet before God, that is what we need. Our lives are so rushed that we begrudge a three-minute “quiet time,”

Christians are not ostriches with heads carefully buried in the sand. None of this means that our paths will be smooth and edged with the sweetest smelling roses. There is no hint that we shall live above the pressures of other mortals by escaping them. Far from it. It is precisely in the context of the pressures we all must endure that we find our rest in God.

In fact, we are to go on the offensive. Not only are we to present our prayers and petitions to God, we are to do so “with thanksgiving.” This, surely, is what is elsewhere called “a sacrifice of praise” (Heb. 13:15). Anyone can offer praise when things are going well. To praise when by common human reckoning everything is the

Resolve not to be anxious about anything, but learn instead to pray. The result, as Paul describes it, is lovely: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). Once again it is clear Paul does not expect that the answer to our prayers will most likely take us out of the problems, but that our hearts and minds will be garrisoned by the peace of God.

Be Determined to Think Holy Thoughts

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest , whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

It should always make us fearful to remember that God knows our thoughts. Hebrews 4:13 reminds us, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Small wonder that David, after his sin with Bathsheba, could write, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalms 139:23–24).

Clearly, David recognized not only that God knew his thoughts, but that any real reform in his life must begin with his thoughts. That is why the Lord Jesus taught, in the Sermon on the Mount, that murder can be traced to hate, and adultery to lust (Matthew. 5:21–22, 27–30). That is also why, from God’s perspective, the real measure of individuals lies in what they think—not in what they own or in how well they deploy their gifts or even in what they do, but in what they think. If you think holy thoughts, you will be holy; if you think garbage, you will be garbage.

So it should come as no surprise that the prophets insist, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts” (Isaiah. 55:7). One of the sovereign remedies against sin is to spend much time, thoughtful time, meditative time, in the Scriptures, for it is impossible to get rid of the trash in our minds without replacing it with an entirely different way of thinking. Even kings and leaders, extraordinarily busy people, are told to make this their first priority (Deut. 17:18–20; Josh. 1:7–9). On the night he was betrayed, Jesus prayed for his followers in these terms: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). There is no enduring sanctification apart from the truth of the gospel taking hold of our minds. The way we avoid being conformed to this world, the way we are transformed into conformity with Christ, is by the renewing of our minds (Romans. 12:2).

I know it is possible for people to gain a sort of mechanical knowledge of Scripture that is not characterized by repentance and faith and that therefore remains spiritually fruitless. Our current danger is that we make very little effort to think God’s thoughts after him, to hide his word in our heart that we might not sin against him (Psalms. 119:11). To hide God’s word in our hearts—as opposed to our computers—means we ought to memorize it, read and reread it, think about it, turn it over in our minds. Only such committed absorption of what God says will enable us in turn to confront and change the unbiblical worldviews all around us, or as Paul puts it, to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God” and to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians. 10:5).

Think about true things, Paul insists, not about the false. Think about whatever is right; do not dwell on the wrong. (What does this say about the programs you watch on television?) Think about whatever is pure, not the sleazy. Think about the lovely, not the disgusting. Think about the admirable, not the despicable. Whatever is excellent, think about it.

The sad fact is that many people dwell on dirt without grasping that it is dirt.

The wise Christian will see plenty of dirt in the world, but will recognize it as dirt, precisely because everything that is clean has captured his or her mind.

Be Determined to Learn the Secret of Contentment

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

The secret of contentment is not normally learned in posh circumstances or in deprived circumstances, but in exposure to both. The question arises whether you would be comfortable and content if you were suddenly forced to live in poverty. if you suddenly fell into wealth. Would it instantly corrupt you? Or would you feel so guilty with all these possessions that you could scarcely look at yourself in the mirror?

Paul carefully insists that his own contentment operates under both conditions: “His contentment is focused on all that he enjoys of Christ Jesus.
That means he has learned, by hard experience, a relaxed contentment whatever his circumstances.

The secret of Christian contentment is quite unlike stoic self-sufficiency. Paul is not claiming to be so strong that nothing can move him. Nor is he simply resolving to be independent of circumstances by a superlative act of will. Far from it; he immediately confesses that if he has reached this stage of contentment he owes everything to God: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (4:13).

Paul is not claiming to be a kind of superman because he is a Christian and God is on his side. The “everything” in this verse is certainly not unlimited, as if Paul could be read to mean, “I can raise the dead” or “I can walk on water”.

Paul’s “everything” is constrained by the context. His point is that whatever the circumstances in which he finds himself, whether with the rich and the powerful or with the poor and the powerless, whether preaching with unction to substantial crowds or incarcerated in a filthy prison, he has learned to cast himself on God and to be content.

It takes the strength and resolution and perspective that only God can provide to live above changing, difficult circumstances. But to live above circumstances, utterly content in Christ Jesus, is to ensure that you will never give up the Christian walk. Resolve to learn the secret of contentment.

Be Determined to Show Christian Gratitude and Courtesy

14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
14 Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship.

Perhaps one reason it is God’s will for us to be thankful is that it is good for us.

A 2009 study again showed that being thankful can improve your life. At the University of California, Davis, professor Robert Emmons said, “Those who offer gratitude are less envious and resentful. They sleep longer, exercise more and report a drop in blood pressure.”

As Dostoevsky wrote regarding humanity in Notes from Underground (1864): “If man is not stupid, he is monstrously ungrateful.… In fact I believe that the best definition of man is the ungrateful biped.”

It is helpful to follow Paul’s course on a map. Paul left Troas in Asia Minor and crossed over to Europe, landing at the port city of Neapolis and proceeding immediately to Philippi. There he and Silas were beaten up, arrested, and eventually escorted out of town, but not before they planted this fledgling church. Leaving Philippi, Paul quickly passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia and arrived at Thessalonica, where in short order he started another church. So Paul is saying that even by the time he got to Thessalonica and started preaching the gospel there, before he left there to evangelize Athens and Corinth, the Philippians were already finding ways to help and were asking what part they could play in this great ministry. Apparently Paul stayed in Thessalonica only a few weeks, but during that relatively short time, the Philippians came through again and again. And for his part, Paul is not slow to express his profound gratitude.

Once again Paul insists that his words do not suggest he is asking for another gift. If he wants anything, he says, “I am looking for what may be credited to your account” (4:17). but because by being generous they have been acting like Christians—and God, who is no one’s debtor, will reward them. Paul is more delighted with
the blessings they will experience because they are a giving and generous church than he is with the help that has come his way.

This is wise. There are Christian leaders who are so unrestrained in their praise of people, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that they control others by extravagant flattery.

The saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household” (4:22). Paul may be in prison at Caesar’s pleasure, but the gospel has penetrated Caesar’s household. It is important to remember who is finally in charge and how he works.

The deciding factor is this: Do these believers see that all of Christian discipleship, all of Christian virtue, all of Christian resolution, all of Christian perseverance, must be offered to the glory of God, or do they think that these virtues are ultimate ends in themselves?

But if they are cheerfully and lovingly offered up to God—that makes all the difference. We must be determined with resolve to pursue these virtues not only because they are good, but because God demands them and gives us the grace to live them out. And the result is that he receives glory.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen”