I. Base Text: Philippians 4:1-23
II. Context
A. Philippians 1:1-2: Paul and Timothy write to the saints of Philippi along
with overseers and deacons
1. Church in Philippi established around 51 CE despite persecution (Acts 16:10-40)
2. Paul writes while imprisoned in Rome (ca. 60-62 CE; cf. Acts 28:13-31)
3. He writes to update them on his condition, regarding Epaphroditus, and provides
some exhortation and encouragement to fairly mature Christians
B. Paul prays to God in thankfulness for Philippian Christians and for their
growth in love and righteousness; Paul speaks of his condition as advancing
the Gospel; some preach from rivalry; to die is gain, to live is Christ; Christ
will be glorified whether Paul lives or dies; Philippians are to live as worthy
of the Gospel, suffering in Christ with Paul (Philippians 1:3-30)
C. Paul wants the Philippians to make his joy full by living in unity; have
Christ’s mind in them, humbling oneself so that God can exalt; obey, work
out salvation, for God works in us; be as lights to a crooked generation; Timothy,
Epaphroditus commended (Philippians 2:1-30)
D. Beware of the circumcision; Christians as the true circumcision; fleshly
status of no importance; importance of gaining life in Christ in the resurrection;
press on to obtain the goal of upward calling of Christ; those of the world
headed to condemnation; believers have citizenship in heaven, from which a Savior
is expected to transform us (Philippians 3:1-21)
E. Paul now concludes his letter to the Philippians in Philippians 4:1-23
III. Meaning
A. On account of our heavenly citizenship and expectation of resurrection Paul
exhorts his beloved Philippian Christians to stand fast in the Lord (Philippians
4:1)
B. Various exhortations (Philippians 4:2-7)
1. “Euodia” (Prosperous Journey) and “Syntyche” (Pleasant
Acquaintance) are exhorted to be of one mind in the Lord; loyal Syzygus (Yokefellow)
is to help these women, for they, with Clement, labored with Paul in the Gospel
and their names are in the book of life (Philippians 4:2-3)
a. This Clement believed to be the same as one of the elders of Rome who would
write to the Corinthians in the letter known as 1 Clement
b. This use of “book of life” unique in Paul’s writings, seen
otherwise in the NT in Revelation (Revelation 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 15, 21:27,
22:19)
c. As to the situation not much is known; there is most likely some kind of
disagreement that has come up between two women of the congregation, and a certain
male member is exhorted to help them sort out whatever differences they have
and return to being of one mind in the Lord
d. Euodia and Syntyche are attested as women’s names at the time; Syzygus
is most likely not a name
e. It is entirely possible though that all three are nicknames or ciphers; the
Philippians would know well of whom Paul spoke
2. Paul doubly commands the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord (Philippians
4:4; cf. Philippians 1:4, 1:18, 2:2, 17-18, 3:1)
3. The Philippians are to display their epiekes, that which is seeming or suitable,
thus forbearance, reasonableness, or moderation, to all men, for the Lord is
at hand (Philippians 1:5)
a. cf. Matthew 24:45-51, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
b. The Philippians are to behave appropriately because the Lord can see and
is coming soon!
4. The Philippians are not to be anxious about anything: in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving they are to make known their requests to
God, and His peace, surpassing all understanding, will guard their hearts in
Christ (Philippians 1:6-7)
C. Paul again uses the standard term for concluding a message (to loipon, “as
to the rest”; cf. Philippians 3:1), exhorting the Philippians to think
upon whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, of good report, of virtue,
and/or of praise, and to do the things which they saw, heard, received, and
learned from Paul, and the God of peace will be with them (Philippians 4:8-9)
D. The Philippians’ Support of Paul (Philippians 4:10-20)
1. Paul then turns to how the Philippians have supported and continue to support
him
2. He is thankful that they have revived their thought (phronein; cf. Philippians
4:2) for him; he knew they thought of him in the meantime, but knew they lacked
opportunity to provide assistance (Philippians 4:10-11)
3. He wants to reassure the Philippians that he does not speak out of want or
covetousness, for he has learned contentment, whether in lacking or abounding,
for he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him (Philippians 4:12-13)
4. Nevertheless, the Philippians do well to have fellowship (sugkoinonesantes)
with his afflictions (Philippians 4:14)
5. Paul reminds the Philippians that of all the churches they alone had fellowship/joint
participation (ekoinonesen) in terms of giving and receiving from him “in
the beginning” of the Gospel; they even sent support for his needs when
he was in Thessalonica (Philippians 4:15-16; cf. Acts 17:1-10)
a. The Philippians provided direct support to him
b. “In the beginning of the Gospel” not absolutely true but in reference
to the point of their conversion
6. He does not seek the gift for his own purposes but for theirs; he abounds,
for he has received what the Philippians had sent him by the hands of Epaphroditus;
he speaks of it in terms of a ritual offering to God, as a “sweet smelling
sacrifice” (Philippians 4:17-18)
7. Paul is sure that God will supply the needs of the Philippians through the
riches in glory in Jesus; he then praises God in doxology that He may receive
the glory eis tous aionas ton aionon, unto the age of the age -> forever
and ever (Philippians 4:19-20)
E. Final Greetings and Epistolary Conclusion (Philippians 4:21-23)
1. Paul now asks the Philippians to aspasasthe, salute or greet, all the saints;
the brethren with him salute/greet the Philippian Christians, as do all the
saints, particularly those ek tes Kaisaros oikias, from the household of Caesar
(Philippians 4:21-22)
a. Such is how we can be sure Paul is writing from imprisonment in Rome and
not Caesarea
b. This does not mean that any of Nero’s relatives have converted to Christianity,
although there was some speculation that Poppaea, Nero’s mistress-turned-wife,
might have been a God-fearer; it is far more likely that some of the slaves
who worked directly for the Emperor in his house had converted and such are
the saints greeting the Philippians
2. Paul ends the letter with a standard epistolary conclusion: the grace of
the Lord Jesus be with the spirit (sing.) of you (plural; the grammar is odd;
some manuscripts read you all, which it at least grammatically consistent; Philippians
4:23)
F. Thus Paul wrote to the Philippians
IV. Application
A. Rejoice!
1. Rejoicing is a major theme throughout Philippians (Philippians 1:4, 1:18,
2:2, 17-18, 3:1, 4:4)
2. This may seem particularly odd to us since Paul’s conditions are less
than ideal; few people find reasons to rejoice by being imprisoned, suffering
for another, seeking to be conformed to His death (Philippians 3:9-11)
3. Paul does not rejoice because he enjoys the feelings of suffering or really
digs imprisonment; he rejoices in spite of them!
4. Paul is in fact attempting to make it clear, both to the Philippians and
to us, that dire situations, pain, misery, and suffering are exactly the time
in which we should rejoice, not because we enjoy such things, but because we
find our satisfaction and hope in Jesus!
5. The Philippians are sharing in those sufferings (Philippians 1:29-30); they
must rejoice in Jesus because their faith and hope can sustain them through
whatever they must endure
6. Do we as Christians really rejoice in Jesus? Does our countenance brighten
as we consider the resurrection to come? Are we positive despite our circumstances,
resolute despite danger, and hopeful no matter the odds precisely because Jesus
lived and died but was raised in power and sits at the right hand of the throne
of God?
7. We do well to restore a sense of rejoicing in the Lord no matter what, and
often precisely because, of our circumstances!
B. Anxiety, Prayer, and Peace
1. One of the major themes of humanity is existential anxiety in the face of
the opposition we endure in this creation
2. Jesus addresses the matter in Matthew 6:25-34 for good reason: humans naturally
are anxious and afraid because they do not know what tomorrow will bring
3. In the face of powerlessness, we have power over our thinking about the future,
hence, we have power over worrying, so we worry!
4. Paul makes it clear that Christians are not to be anxious (Philippians 4:6);
as Jesus said, we should instead put trust in God our Father that He will provide
what we need (Luke 11:5-13): we must recognize we don’t have power!
5. Paul goes further: the primary means by which we can overcome anxiety is
to demonstrate our trust in God by making our prayers and supplications with
thanksgiving!
a. Through prayer we entrust God with our difficulties, challenges, and fears
b. But they must be in thanksgiving, lest we forget all God has already done
for us; the very act of thanksgiving reminds and reassures us of our Father’s
provisions
5. In so doing God will give us peace that surpasses understanding; if you have
ever experienced this peace you understand its Source and its supreme value!
a. Part of that peace is the recognition that you are reconciled to your Creator
who cares for you; any trouble in the world is of less consequence than that
(Matthew 10:28, Romans 5:6-11, 8:31-39)
b. Yet it is also a transcendental tranquility which we recognize does not exist
naturally in the high-stress situations that normally breed anxiety!
6. The challenges with which we deal are greater than we can handle (Ephesians
6:12); we must maintain our dependence on God who can provide strength and peace
beyond our abilities or understanding and quit trying to hold on to the vestige
of control we think we have in anxiety!
7. Thus Paul again shows the surpassing value of prayer, dependence on God,
and the realization that He will provide us exactly what we need
C. Meditation on the Good
1. We do well to meditate on Paul’s concluding thought: think on what
is true, honorable, just, pure, commendable, praiseworthy, virtuous, lovely,
excellent (Philippians 4:8)
2. As a man thinks, so he is (Proverbs 23:7); Jesus affirms that everything
we do derives from what we think and feel (Mark 7:14-23) 3. So what we think
about will invariably influence what we feel and what we do; so it is that there
are few things more important than making sure we meditate on the good so that
we may have good feelings and good behavior!
4. Such is why we cannot think we can put in evil or impure thoughts and get
out good behavior!
5. In the name of this principle we understand we ought to avoid coarse jesting,
filthy talk, sexualized imagery, grotesque violence, etc.
6. Such is true, but we must also be on guard against constant negativity coming
from ourselves, those we love, those whom we feel are “on our side,”
because that negativity can as toxic as the immorality we seek to avoid!
7. Not for nothing is the entire self-help industry based on the power of positive
thinking, positive reinforcement, and positive
self-esteem and encouragement of others; such reinforces why it is so important
to meditate on what is good and right and lovely and pure!
D. Contentment
1. Another major theme of humanity is never having enough
a. It never seems to fail!
b. One may be in poverty and sees that they don’t actually have enough
to eat
c. But one may get a little money, get food, but now don’t have enough
for shelter
d. Get a little more, get shelter, now there’s not enough for something
else
e. Reach “middle class” standing, have something for right now perhaps,
but not enough to be comfortable, not enough for confidence in the future
f. Perhaps one can get to full wealthy status: there’s always more to
have, more to store up and invest, more to provide for one’s descendants
2. Humans can never have enough…unless they learn to find enough in what
they have (1 Timothy 6:3-10)
3. Paul speaks about contentment in Philippians 4:11-13
4. He has found the power of being able to abound or be in want, to find contentment
in his circumstances: the power of Christ who strengthens him!
5. In Christ Paul learned to abound, have something for those in need, and to
be grounded in faith
6. In Christ Paul learned to be without, to trust in the provisions of the Lord
and His people, to find greater value in the hope of
the resurrection than any standing in this life (Philippians 3:7-12)
7. Paul’s lesson is not just to be satisfied in the little you have when
you lack because you have Christ; his lesson equally applies
to those who abound, to recognize that the abundance comes through the blessing
of God in Christ and should be used for His purposes
(cf. 1 Timothy 6:17-18)
8. Of a truth we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us; without
Christ we can do nothing!
V. Conclusion
A. We have seen how Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians
1. Exhortations to stand fast in the Lord, to be of one mind
2. Exhortations to rejoice, not be anxious, pray, find peace and contentment
in the power of God in Christ, follow the example of Paul
3. Commendation for support and salutation of Christians B. We do well to stand
fast in the Lord, seek maturity in the faith by being of one heart and mind,
humbling ourselves so God can exalt us, press forward unto the resurrection,
ever joyful, meditating on the good, doing all things through the power of God
in Christ!
C. Invitation/songbook
By Ethan R. Longhenry
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