Sunday, July 17, 2011

Philippians 4



Before we get too deep into chapter 4, we should simply read it over first so we don’t get lost in the details.
(1) THEREFORE, my dear brothers and sisters, **stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are ***my joy and the crown I receive for my work.
  • *Therefore: The "therefore" refers back to chapter 3, where Paul is talking about running a race. He writes how he runs this race by pressing on to the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
  • **stay true: stand fast in the KJV, stand firm in the NIV.
    • 1 Corinthians 16:13: Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.
    • 2 Thessalonians 2:15: With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.
Ephesians 6:13-14: Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. (NLT).
    • We must never let up because our daily lives are continually witnessing for either good or bad. If we slip up, we provide the lost an excuse not to believe in Christ.
    • At Pompeii, archaeologists discovered a Roman sentry standing at attention covered with volcanic ash. Even as the volcano erupted, the soldier stayed at his post.
    • Oddly enough, we are both to run and to stand!
  • ***my joy and the crown:
    • Paul used the ancient Greek word for crown that described the crown given to an athlete who had won the race. It was a crown of achievement (stephanos); not the crown that was given to a king (diadema). The Philippians, as they stand fast in the Lord, were Paul’s trophy. What kind of trophies will you receive? How many have been influenced for Christ by your life? When we get to heaven, we may discover to our surprise that our influence in others’ lives went way beyond people we directly knew, and perhaps generations after we’re gone.
    • 1 Thessalonians 2:19: After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!
(2) Now I appeal to *Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your **disagreement.
  • *Euodia means "well met" and Syntyche means "a sweet smell".
  • **disagreement:
    • We don’t know what their “disagreement” was about but it was one of the reasons Paul wrote this letter and why he said in 2:2: Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
    • Whatever their disagreement was, it was apparently having a very negative effect on the church in Philippi. They are giving Satan an opening to wreck the fellowship in the church. Notice that Paul isn’t taking sides.
    • Some may not think their disagreement would be a big deal, but the probable next steps in the process will be everyone in the church taking sides, splitting the church apart, thus destroying their witness to the pagans around them.
    • This letter would have been read aloud in the church. Imagine how they felt when Paul called them out publicly on the trouble they were stirring up.
(3) And I ask you, *my true partner, to **help these two women, for they ***worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my ****co-workers, whose names are written in the *****Book of Life.
  • *my true partner: Greek – suzogos. Paul doesn’t say to whom he’s referring, but the original readers of the letter would have known. It may refer to Epaphroditus – the bearer of this letter.
  • **help: Greek – sullambano (assist together).
  • ***worked hard with: Greek – sunathleo as in 1:27 where it is in the NLT standing together; i.e., strived together.
  • ****co-workers: Greek – sunergos. Notice how Paul has slipped in the little prefix “sun” 4 times in one verse to emphasize being united in purpose.
  • *****Book of Life:
    • Exodus 32:32: But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!”
    • Psalm 69:28: Erase their names from the Book of Life; don’t let them be counted among the righteous.
    • Psalm 139:16: You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
    • Luke 10:20: But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
(4) Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!
  • Nehemiah 8:10: …the joy of the Lord is your strength!
  • How could Paul be full of joy in his circumstances? The key is the phrase “IN the Lord”. Joy is the theme of this letter.
  • Fanny Crosby lost her sight when she was only 6 weeks old. She lived into her nineties, composing thousands of beloved hymns. On her 92nd birthday she cheerfully said, "If in all the world you can find a happier person than I am, do bring him to me. I should like to shake his hand." What enabled Fanny Crosby to experience such joy in the face of what many would term a "tragedy"? Fanny carried out a resolution she made when she was only 8 years old: "How many blessings I enjoy that other people don't. To weep and sigh because I'm blind, I cannot and I won't."  Some of Crosby's best-known songs include "Blessed Assurance", "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour", "Jesus Is Tenderly Calling You Home", "Praise Him, Praise Him", "Rescue the Perishing", and "To God Be the Glory". Because some publishers were hesitant to have so many hymns by one person in their hymnals, Crosby used nearly 200 different pseudonyms during her career.
  • Think of the joy Joni Eareckson exhibits when she speaks. A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson, then 17, a quadriplegic. Could you exhibit that kind of joy. How do your problems compare to Fanny’s and Joni’s?
(5) *Let everyone see that you are **considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is ***coming soon.
  • *Let everyone see: We witness not so much by words as by actions. The world around us is watching us and deciding about Jesus Christ. Remember my notes in chapter 3 that “someone is watching you…” The more we tell others about Christ, the more we try to live as God would have us live, the more closely others will examine our lives to see if we’re real and if this Christianity thing really works.
  • **considerate: Greek scholars tell us that the word translated “considerate” (“gentleness” in the NIV) is a hard one to precisely translate into English. Other possibilities include “moderation,” “forbearance,” “mildness,” and “fair-mindedness.” – all characteristics that the world disdains! How many men want to be called “considerate” or “gentle”? One writer calls it the quality of “inner calmness
  • ***coming soon: Could also be translated “near at hand” through the Holy Spirit, meaning “close by” or “readily accessible” or it could be referring to Christ’s return, which was always immediately possible.
    • Ephesians 2:13: But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
    • James 5:7,9: Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen…. Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!
    • Revelation 22:7,20: “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.” … He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
(6) Don’t *worry about anything; instead, pray about **everything. Tell God what you need, and ***thank him for all he has done.
  • *worry:
    • Psalm 55:22: Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
    • Matthew 6:31-33: “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
    • 1 Peter 5:7: Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
    • Some years ago a professor at a leading American university studied the things people worry about. His research yielded the following results: 40% never happen, 30% concern the past, 12% are needless worries about health, and 10% are about petty issues. Only 8% are legitimate concerns. That means that 92% of your “worry time” is wasted energy.
    • Worry is stewing without doing. Worry is wrong because it assumes that God can’t take care of you. He promised to care for you, but when you worry, you are saying, “Lord, I don’t believe you can take care of me so I’m going to take matters into my own hands.”
    • Worry and prayer are opposites. You can worry or you can pray but you can’t do both at the same time.
  • **everything: We’re not just supposed to pray about the “important” things – we’re to pray even about things that we might think “minor”.
  • ***thank him:
    • Ingratitude is one of the worst sins, practiced heavily by children who need to learn to appreciate what they have – as do we. I could fill a book with all the things, big and small, that He has done for me.
    • Ephesians 5:20: And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
    • 1 Thessalonians 5:18: Be thankful in ALL circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
(7) Then you will experience God’s *peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
  • *peace:
    • Notice this is God’s peace or the peace OF God, not peace WITH God.
    • Worry and God’s peace are opposites. If we’re worried, we’re obviously not leaning on Him and we’ve forgotten past answered prayers.
    • Colossians 3:15: And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
(8) And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. FIX YOUR THOUGHTS on what is TRUE, and HONORABLE, and RIGHT, and PURE, and LOVELY, and ADMIRABLE. Think about things that are EXCELLENT and WORTHY OF PRAISE.
  • The principle behind Paul’s words is simple: Sin always begins in the mind and so does holiness. When Paul says, “think about such things,” the command is in the present tense: “Keep on thinking about these things.” Find what is true and think about it. Find the lovely and think about it. Find the virtuous and think about it. Do it and verse 9 says “the God of peace will be with you.”
  • Think about such things - means more than ‘keep these things in mind’; rather, ‘reflect on these things and let them shape your whole life-style.’ ‘He desires us to “think” of them, because the mind is the root of all human actions. It is the mind that conceives and produces every action. Everything we do starts with the mind. Paul tells us to program our mind with thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Do you have problems with impure thoughts and daydreams? Examine what you are putting into your mind through television, books, conversations, movies, magazines, places you go, parties you attend, things or people you look at. Replace harmful input with wholesome material. Above all, read God’s Word and pray.
(9) Keep *putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
  • *putting into practice: Bible study is pointless if we don’t put into practice what we learn.
(10) How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me.
(11) Not that I was ever in need, for I have *learned how to be **content with whatever I have.
  • *learned:
    • Here and in verse 12 as well as in Matthew 11:29, Ephesians 4:20 & Hebrews 5:8, the Greek word is manthano which means “learn as a disciple” (mathetes is a disciple). Not “book learning”, not “university learning”, not “seminary learning” – No, Paul learned this secret by experience; this is discipleship.
    • Matthew 11:29 (KJV): Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
    • Ephesians 4:20: But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.
    • Hebrews 5:8: Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
  • **content:
    • Why is that the rich, the famous, the powerful are rarely content with what they have? Such things never bring contentment, rest or fulfillment – they only engender the desire for more.
    • Contentment is not automatic but must be learned over time. Happiness depends on circumstances; contentment comes from my confidence in God.
    • Contentment rests on two great truths:
      1. That God has ordained every circumstance of my life.
      2. That God will give me strength in every circumstance to do his will.
    • Hebrews 13:5: Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
    • 1 Timothy 6:6: Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
 (12) I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have *learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.
  • *learned the secret: Greek – mueo – used in those days in the pagan cults primarily to mean “to initiate into the mysteries.
(13) For I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH CHRIST, who gives me strength.
  • I can do everything = ‘I can be contented in all circumstances’.
  • Here is the “secret” he has learned in verse 12.
  • John 15:5: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(14) Even so, you have done well to *share with me in my present difficulty.
  • *share with: Greek – sugkoinonesas. Notice again Paul keeps using the Greek “sun” to emphasize that they need to work TOGETHER – united in a great cause! This is the same Greek word translated “partners” in 1:5
(15) As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this.
  • This was not a wealthy church: 2 Corinthians 8:1-2: Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
(16) Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once.
(17) I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.
(18) At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.
(19) And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
  • This promise is conditional. The believer who is self-seeking, who knows nothing of sacrificial giving, has no place in this promise. God will be no man’s debtor.
  • Lest we misunderstand, Philippians 4:19 is a promise that God will supply all our needs. But that doesn’t mean our prayers will always be answered the way we would like. Often we don’t really know what we need. This is the true meaning of Philippians 4:19. It is not a blank check that guarantees an easy road or an answer to all our prayers. But it does guarantee that our God will supply whatever we need when we need it. Sometimes that means miracles and sometimes that means a visit to the desert. But whatever it is we truly need to make us what God intended us to be, he will supply that for us. Every time. All the time.
(20) Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen.
(21) Give my greetings to each of God’s *holy people—all who belong to Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their greetings.
  • *holy people: Greek – saints. All Christians are saints! How far has the Roman church fallen from the truth into error!
(22) And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household.
(23) May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

NOTE:
Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.