Philippians 4(02–09)

Introduction

Last week we spent our time on the passage which runs from verse 12 of chapter 3 to verse 1 of chapter 4, where Paul said that he had not yet obtained the resurrection or perfection in the presence of God, which is the goal which God has set before us. We have not yet obtained these things, but, like Paul, we’re to press on to take hold of these things and we’re to forget what is behind us and we’re to strain towards what is ahead. If the Christian life is pictured as a race, we’re not to bow out of it and we’re not to go backwards, but we’re to keep going forwards to what lies ahead, which is eternal life in the presence of God where we will be made perfect so that sin will no longer be present in our lives and we’ll love God as we should with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength.

And, of course, the only reason we’re in the race and the only reason we’re on our way to eternal life in the presence of God is because of God. Paul says that Christ Jesus, God’s Son, took hold of him. And he says that God called him heavenwards. And so, if you’re a believer, then it’s because God called you through his word; and Christ took hold of you and made you one of his people.

And while we go on living on the earth, we’re to regard ourselves as citizens of heaven. That’s where our true home is. That’s where our first loyalty lies. That’s where we truly belong. And that’s where we will one day go. In the meantime, we’re eagerly awaiting our Saviour and Lord to come from heaven to bring us to our heavenly home, where our lowly bodies will be transformed so they become like his glorious body. And there, in the presence of Christ, our Saviour and Lord, and of God our Father, we will live forever and forever.

Last week I quoted from C.S. Lewis, who wrote that we’re too easily pleased. He said we are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us. He wrote that our desires are not too strong, but too weak, because we desire only earthly, finite things. So, when people are young, very often they’re interested in seeing their friends and getting a boyfriend or girlfriend and doing well in their exams. When they’re older, very often they’re only interested in their family or their career or their home and holidays. When they’re older still, very often they’re only interested in their grandchildren and their hobbies. These things may be good things, but God has made us for so much more than these finite things. He has made us for infinite joy in his presence, when we will see God in the face of Christ. That’s what he has made us for; and we mustn’t be satisfied with lesser things.

Now, it’s interesting that in the same essay — which is called ‘The Weight of Glory’ — C.S. Lewis went on to tell us that there are ‘no ordinary people’. There are no ordinary people, because every one of us has been made for eternity. Lewis writes that ‘it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.’ Everyone we encounter will live forever: either they will live forever in the presence of God; or they will live forever away from the presence of God. But everyone will live forever. And knowing that — knowing that there are no ordinary people, but only immortal people — should affect how we treat one another. We should take one another seriously.

And the reason I mention Lewis again is because, like Lewis, Paul moves on in this letter to the Philippians from writing about eternal life in the presence of God to how we treat one another here on earth. Yes, God has made us for eternal life in his presence. He offers us infinite joy in his presence. And we’re to press on to take hold of these things. But that doesn’t mean that what we do here on earth doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean we’re to ignore one another or disregard one another or mistreat one another in any way. How we treat one another matters.

And so, in today’s verses, Paul once again writes to us about unity in the church. And he tells us to let our gentleness be evident to all. And when we think about one another, we’re to think about whatever is good and praiseworthy in them.

Verses 2 and 3

Let’s turn to verses 2 and 3 where Paul refers by name to two members of the church and appeals to them to agree with one another.

I’ve said before that there are signs in the text that some of the members of the church in Philippi had fallen out with one another. So, right at the beginning of the letter, Paul stressed the word ‘all’. He wrote in verse 1 of chapter 1: To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi. And he went on to say: In all my prayers for all of you. He said: It is right for me to feel this way about all of you. All of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you. He mentioned all of them. All of them together. All of them as a whole. But were they united? Were they together? It seems that they were not.

Then in verse 27 of chapter 1 he told them to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. And he went on to say that he wanted them to stand firm in one spirit and to contend as one man for the faith. At the beginning of chapter 2, he asks them to make his joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love and being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not to your own interests only, but also to the interests of others. Then in verse 14 of chapter 2 he said that we’re to do everything without complaining or arguing.

So, there are these indications in the text that some of the members were not getting on with each other. They were being selfish and conceited, and proud; and they were complaining about one another and arguing with each other. And so, Paul needed to remind them that they should be united in one spirit. And now Paul refers to two members in particular who needed to agree. We don’t know anything about these two women apart from what we read here. We don’t even know the reason for their dispute or what it was that had come between them. But Paul singles them out and pleads with them to agree with each other.

And notice how careful Paul is not to take sides. He addresses both of them in exactly the same way. So, he pleads with Euodia and he pleads with Syntyche. He’s not pleading with one only, as if one is in the right and the other has to change. No, he says the same thing to each one. And instead of ordering them, or commanding them, instead of throwing his apostolic weight around, he pleads with them. He entreats them. He appeals to them. And so, he’s being gentle with them, which is perhaps what they need to be with one another. And in case anyone thinks Paul was being unkind by naming them, I should add that some of the scholars think that it would have been worse if Paul had not named them. Apparently in those days, if you were writing about your enemies in a letter, you would not mention them by name. Because they were your enemies, you wouldn’t want to say their names aloud or write their names in print. By not naming them, you were treating them with contempt. The same thing happens today, because I’ve heard people on podcasts who dislike Donald Trump and Elon Musk and they will not say their names. And so, naming these two women was actually a sign of Paul’s friendship towards them. And, of course, he goes on to commend them as women who contended at his side in the cause of the gospel. While Paul doesn’t say how they supported him, it’s clear that he appreciated their help and support. And so, he’s commending them. He’s praising them. But they still need to agree with one another. Whatever differences they had, whatever disagreement, they had to put it behind them and agree with one another. That is to say, they should have the same mind. That’s another way of translating Paul’s word and it’s the same word he used in verse 2 of chapter 2 where he said he wanted all of his readers to be like-minded.

And Paul adds the words ‘in the Lord’. So, they’re to have the same mind, they’re to be like-minded, they’re to agree with one another, because they are ‘in the Lord’. Both of them are believers. They’re united together under Christ. They are sisters together in Christ’s family. And it’s not right for the Lord’s people to fall out with one another. Instead of being divided, be united, because you both belong to Christ.

And Paul asks someone else to help them to resolve their dispute. Do you see that in verse 2? He refers to this person as ‘loyal yokefellow’ and asks this person to help the two women. The word ‘yokefellow’ denotes a companion or colleague or co-worker. We don’t know to whom Paul is referring, but presumably the person himself will know. In any case, it’s interesting that Paul is asking someone else to help the women resolve their dispute. Often it takes a third person to act as a mediator and to bring two people together. And, of course, it means that each one of us should be ready to act as a mediator or peacemaker and do what we can to bring disputes to an end.

And in the whole of verse 3, Paul uses a number of Greek words which begin with the same prefix which means ‘with’. So, he addresses this person who was a loyal yokefellow with Paul. And he asks him to help with these women. And the women have contended with Paul together with this man Clement and with others who have worked with Paul. By repeating this prefix which means ‘with’, Paul is underlining how we’re to be united with one another. We’re not to stand apart, but we’re to stand with one another. We’re not to be opposed to one another, but joined together.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we can’t ever disagree with one another. We’re not all the same and we don’t all think the same way. And so, we will differ from one another. But what Paul is saying here is that we’re not to let those disagreements spoil the unity and peace of the church. We’re not to despise one another or complain about each other and argue with one another. As we saw last week, Paul was aware that some people might think differently from him on some point or another. But Paul was willing to leave it up to God to make the truth clear to them.

And so, how we treat one another matters. Yes, we belong in heaven and we’ve been made for infinite joy and we should strain towards what is ahead and press on towards the goal, which is eternal life in God’s presence. But how we treat one another in this world and in our daily lives matters. God’s people should be united.

Verses 4 to 7

Let’s move on to the second part of today’s passage which begins with the command to rejoice in the Lord always. And Paul repeats the command: ‘I will say it again: Rejoice!’ He then refers to gentleness in verse 5 and to anxiety in verse 6: we’re to let our gentleness be evident to all; and we’re not to be anxious about anything. Instead we should pray. And then, in verse 7, he refers to the peace of God which guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

So, what’s the connection between all of these things? What’s the connection between, on the one hand, joy and gentleness and peace; and, on the other hand, anxiety?

We can draw a connection between these things by noticing that just as there are indications in the letter that some of the members had fallen out with one another, there are also indications in the letter that there were suffering for the faith. In verse 27 of chapter 1, Paul wrote about standing firm in one spirit. Just as Roman soldiers had to stand firm when under attack, so the believers in Philippi had to stand firm when under attack for their faith. He went on to write about contending for the faith, which is another military image. They have to defend the faith. And in verse 28 he wrote about not being frightened by those who oppose you.

So, the believers in Philippi were facing opposition from those who did not believe. And in verse 29 of chapter 1, he said that it has been granted to them on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but to suffer for him. And he said that he has heard they are having the same struggle as he had. And this fits with what we read in Acts 16 about the time when Paul brought the gospel to Philippi for the first time. At that time, some people who did not believe seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place, where they accused Paul and Silas before the authorities of being trouble-makers. They were then stripped and beaten and flogged and imprisoned. That’s what Paul and Silas suffering in Philippi; and it’s possible that the members of the church were suffering from the same kind of hostility.

So, there are indications that they were suffering. And whenever we’re suffering, it’s very easy for us to become anxious. And when we’re anxious, it’s easy for us to become irritable and short-tempered and impatient and to fall out with one another. And so, we can turn on one another, instead of being gentle with one another. But God’s people are not to treat one another that way.

So, what should we do? Firstly, we should rejoice in the Lord.

When Paul refers to rejoicing in the Lord, it’s possible that Paul has Habakkuk 3 in mind, where the prophet says:

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.

Our happiness is so often affected by the circumstances of our life. When we prosper and do well, when life is easy, then we’re happy. But when troubles come, our happiness vanishes and we’re filled with sorrow and sadness. But since the Lord is our Saviour, then we can rejoice always, because we know the Lord is with us and that he’s for us and not against us and that he loves us and cares for us.

And so, by telling his readers to rejoice in the Lord, Paul was reminding his readers to focus their attention on the Lord their Saviour, and to remember him and his faithfulness and goodness and kindness, so that they will be able to rejoice despite what they were presently suffering. And I should add that rejoicing in the Lord does not mean we’ll always be happy. After all, God did not make us blocks of wood who feel nothing when people attack us. But when we’re suffering, we can still rejoice, because though the people around us may hate us, the Lord our Saviour still loves us with an everlasting love and we can count on him to help us.

So, rejoice in the Lord. Secondly, instead of being anxious, remember that we can go to the Lord our Saviour and we can present our requests to him, asking him for the help we need. Paul says we can do this ‘in everything’. So, no matter what we’re facing or suffering, we can go to him with our prayers and petitions. Whatever we are facing, we can go to God to seek his help.

Paul says we’re to do it with thanksgiving. And that’s because we’re grateful to God because he loves us and cares for us. And we’re grateful that we can come to him with our worries and our needs. And we’re grateful that we can come to him because Christ has paid for our sins with his life and he has made peace for us with God. People will sometimes say to me that they don’t know how unbelievers cope with all the troubles and trials and sorrows of life, because they don’t have what we have, which is peace with God through faith in his Son and the ability to seek God’s help. The ability to pray to him is a wonderful privilege for which we are thankful. And so, despite our trials and troubles and sorrows, we can be thankful that we’re able to turn in prayer to our faithful Father who loves us and cares for us.

And Paul goes on to say that the peace of God, which is beyond our understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The word ‘guard’ is, of course, a military term. We’re to imagine a company of soldiers which has been commanded to protect a building from attack by the enemy. In a similar way, God guards or protects our hearts and minds, which are under attack from fear and worry and anxiety. God reassures us of his presence and help and he protects our hearts from fear and he prevents us from being overwhelmed by anxiety. He reassures us deep down inside that everything will be okay. So, think of Paul and Silas when they were imprisoned in Philippi. Do you remember what they were doing in the night? They were praying, presenting their requests to God. And they were singing hymns. God came to them in the night by his Spirit and reassured them that everything would be okay. And so, whatever fears they had vanished.

Again I should add that this does not mean we will never feel fear. But fear is rendered powerless, because whenever believers feel afraid, they are driven by their fear to seek the Lord and to seek his help and strength and comfort. And so, fear and anxiety cannot hurt us, because they direct us to the Saviour.

And so, when we’re facing troubles and trials and sorrow, we should, firstly, focus on the Lord and rejoice because we know that he’s our Saviour who loves us. And, secondly, we should bring our requests before God in prayer with thankfulness. And he gives us his peace to guard our hearts and minds.

And with his help, we’re able to do the third thing Paul tells us to do: let your gentleness be evident to all. One commentator (Johnson) explains that the word gentleness refers to the calm and kind disposition that enables a person to offer a non-violent, even generous, response to others’ aggression. So, think of the members of the church in Philippi. Some were complaining and arguing. How should the others respond? With gentleness. Others were suffering because of opposition from those who did not believe. How should they respond? With gentleness. We’re to display the Lamb-like gentleness of our Saviour and turn the other cheek and love even our enemies, just as Christ loved us and gave up his life for us on the cross.

And Paul reminds us that the Lord is near. Do you see that at the end of verse 5? It’s possible he means the Lord’s coming is near. So, we won’t have long to wait for him to come again. But it’s perhaps more likely that he means the Lord is not far from us, but he’s near us. He’s very close to us. He’s with us by his Spirit and he has promised never to leave us or forsake us. And so, he’s with us to protect us so that we don’t need to be anxious. But he’s also with us to help us to display his Lamb-like gentleness to the people around us.

All of us are different; and so, some of us are perhaps more likely to be short-tempered and harsh and aggressive and bossy. But you’re able to rely on the Lord to renew you by his grace so that you will become known, not for being aggressive, but for being gentle like the Saviour.

Verses 8 and 9

And in the final part of today’s passage, which is verses 8 and 9, Paul tells us to think about these things: whatever is true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable. Think about these things. Consider these things. Focus on this things. In fact, focus on whatever is excellent or praiseworthy.

It’s possible that Paul is telling us to focus our thoughts on the Lord Jesus who is perfectly true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable and excellent and praiseworthy. But I think it’s more likely that what he means is this: when we think of other people, we’re to focus on these things. You see, when you’ve fallen out with someone, or when someone is against you, it’s natural for us to focus on everything which annoys us about this person. And we can begin to nitpick and we can complain about all the things this person said and didn’t say; and all the things this person did and didn’t do. And you can go around, pointing out this person’s faults and failures. And soon enough, everything this person does annoys you and you can’t say anything good about him or her. But Paul says that we should think about what is good. Consider that. Focus on that.

Whenever I conduct funerals, I usually ask the Lord to help us remember everything that was good and praiseworthy about the deceased and to give thanks to him for it. The deceased person no doubt had their own fair share of foibles and shortcomings. But let’s not remember those things, but only what is good. And let’s not only do this for the dead, but also for the living. Let’s not focus on what’s wrong with the people around us. Let’s consider what’s good in them. Let’s look for the evidence of God’s grace in their lives and let’s admire all the ways God has begun to renew them in his image. And when someone criticises another person in front of us, or complains about another person, let’s turn the conversation towards whatever is good and praiseworthy in that person. And let’s give thanks to God for those good things.

That, of course, was Paul’s way, wasn’t it? Even as he pleaded with Euodia and Syntyche to agree, he commended them for contending at his side. And earlier in the letter, he praised Timothy and Epaphroditus. And he praised the whole church. And he tells us in verse 9 to put into practice what we have learned or received or heard from him. And so, there’s something for us to practise. Let’s practise being the kind of people who focus not on what is wrong in another’s person’s life, but to focus on whatever is good and praiseworthy in their life. Let’s practise thinking about whatever is good and praiseworthy in one another and let’s give thanks to God for the way he’s working in each one of us to renew us in his image.