Counting it all Joy
For the last few weeks we have been going over the Book of Philippians and I hope that you have learned what it means to pray for our brothers and sisters, and not just to pray but to pray with joy (Philippians 1:4), how difficult situations lead to the advancement of the gospel (Philippians 1:12), and how we are united with Christ and not with this world (Philippians 2:1). We have seen Christ’s example of humility (Philippians 2:5), and we have seen Paul’s example of how we gain righteousness not through religious actions or our heritage, but through faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9). As Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians, we see that Paul shows that the prize for the Christian is peace, it is peace with others, themselves, and their circumstances as they follow God’s will.
Paul begins to conclude his letter to the Philippians with a message to stand firm in the Lord, throughout all of Philippians Paul has shown us examples of how we must lean on our God when we are going through trials. Christ has the ability to understand our trials because He Himself went through them when He was on earth. We have also seen how we have been called to be of one-mind throughout the Church body, and it is this that Paul is encouraging two women to remember. Paul calls out Euodia and Synthyche to agree with each other (Philippians 4:2) as well as asks for the members of the Church to help the two women resolve their differences (Philippians 4:3). I am sure that if it was involving Biblical understanding and practice, Paul would have intervened in the issue specifically to bring clarity on the subject being disputed. Since the issue is not described, we can only assume that the issue between the two women was nonbiblical. Paul is encouraging the two women to set aside their differences to prevent the Church from going against what God designed it to be, which is to live in harmony with itself. When reading about these two women and their unknown dispute, I am always reminded of James 1:19 “19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,”, this is not only the standard that we are called to meet, but also the example that Christ gave us. When He was on trial and false witnesses came against Him, He did not become angry. Instead, He listened and when confronted about being God’s Son, He calmly confirmed it. “33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”” John 18:33-37. We can also see that when we strive to be united with Christ, we will be able to live in peace with others because God will grant us peace. “11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11.
Paul continues to tell the Church in Philippi to rejoice and let their gentleness be evident to all (Philippians 4:4) Paul reminds the church that the Lord is near and because of this we have no need to be anxious about anything in this life. “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7. As someone who deals with anxiety, this is something that I try to remember on a daily basis. We have a God who we are able to commune with directly through our prayers, He is always with us and always cares for us, He knows what we are struggling with, and He knows what is over the hill. When we turn our anxiety over to Him who is bigger than this world and the one who currently rules it, we gain the peace of God that will surpass all comprehension. It is why we are called to mediate on His word daily, the more we know about our God and the more we know His Word, the more we can recall when we are struggling and this is how we can find peace within ourselves. It is not a peace that we have earned, but a peace that has been given freely by God. Paul continues to remind the church to focus on what is good, “8 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. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9. When this world is going crazy, and it seems like every day there is some new worry, we need to focus on God and His attributes, it is through this that we will gain peace for we see that God is bigger than everything going on around us. We need to put the aspects that we have learned into practice as well, this will show that we have the spirit of humbleness that Christ had as He fulfilled the Father’s will.
In Philippians 4:10-22, Paul concludes his letter with the final peace that we can find, and that peace is with our circumstances. When we first went over Paul’s story of conversion, we saw what happened to him. Paul was bitten by a viper, shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, and imprisoned which is where he currently was as he wrote this letter. Despite all of these things happening to him, Paul continued to find joy in his circumstances. Paul knew what it was like to have plenty and also to want, to be well fed and to be hungry, Philippians 4:12. Throughout all of this Paul lived out the words found in Proverbs 30:7-9 “7 Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, 9 That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.” Paul knew that for every situation that he was in, God was in control and only wished to be in the will of the Lord. “We are at peace when we are leaning on the Lord and on His understanding. Through the actions of the Church of Philippi, we are given a wonderful example on how to be thankful when others help us. It is also a reminder that God will use us at times and in ways we might not know or have done before, since we don’t know when we may be used by God to help others we should maintain the attitude that has been described throughout Philippians, and that is an attitude of joy. If we have joy in what the Lord wants and is doing in our lives, then we will have contentment for what He has given us in that moment. This is the mindset that we should have, we should not be looking for more than we need nor stressing about what we do not have. God will provide for us just as He does for the flowers and birds,” Matthew 6:28-29.
Now that we have come to a close on our study of Philippians, I hope that you can use this to find joy in your current situation. And as we are all going through a lock down that has not happened in the history of the world, I hope that you will lean on the Lord, look for His understanding, not mingling with this world, but holding yourself to a higher standard. I hope that you encourage those around you to do the same. I am wanting to end this study just as Paul does in his letter. “23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” Philippians 4:23
Seek the Truth and encourage one another,
Alex