Welcome
Prayer
3rd week into the world-wide quarantine for the Corona Virus-19
Philippians 4.6-end
April 5th 2020
So, we left off last week with Paul writing to the believers at Philippi and saying:
Philippians 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life.
And we talked all about the idea of all names being written in the book of life and how they were removed rather than being added.
I am of the personal opinion – could be wrong on this, but of the personal opinion based on what I see in scripture, that all the names that were written in the Book of Life were written from the foundation of the world but pertained to them/then in and of that age or those whom God had chosen to do what was necessary to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
And that while this was the case there were those who could, of their own freewill and choice, have their names erased for whatever cause.
However, today, because I think the Great White Throne judgment has occurred for them/then, and that all have been reconciled to the Father by the victorious work of His Son, some still, of their own freewill and choice, will be allowed to remove themselves from this victory which is tantamount to inhabiting an eternal place outside of the Heavenly New Jerusalem at death.
For whatever its worth.
And that brings us to verse four where he continues and says:
4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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.
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.
14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
Alright, back to verse 4 where Paul says:
4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
If we sit back and examine what God has done for us in and through the life and death and resurrection of His Son the only real response a Christian really has is to rejoice – when we think about it.
So in the midst of their great trials in that time the Apostle Paul reminds them of this. And he adds
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
The word translated to moderation (epi-kase) speaks to a restraint of the passions and a freedom of all excesses. The word literally means “mildness, kindness, and gentleness – and that makes sense when we extend it out to lifestyle and demeanor.
I can’t help but think of my younger days lifeguarding on the beach and the group of guys I worked with. Moderation is the opposite description that would be given to them generally as they were wild, uncontrollable in some cases, and the antithesis of gentleness and mildness.
So after Paul tells them to govern their appetites he supplies the reason, saying:
“The Lord is at hand.”
Now, this could simply refer to the fact that the Lord was present with them, meaning, wherever two or three were gathered together he was there, and therefore he tells them to be cognizant of that and to live moderately.
The Greek term translated to “at hand,” however is ENGOOS, and it essentially means approaching – “the Lord is approching.”
So, the simplest interpretation of this phrase is that Paul is speaking of the Lord being coming toward them.
However, the term near by is not the same as the phrase “with you” (which he promised would be the case when two or three were gathered together.)
And so, I tend to see this passage as meaning that he was near in terms of his return. He was NOT there, but he was near, his time to return was near or approaching summarized by the English, at hand.
This is the common use of the turn of phrase – to say the event was nearby or arriving, but not there yet.
When Jesus was setting up his last supper he said to his disciples in charge of getting the room in Matthew 26:18:
“Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples.”
Of course, the Passover was NOT there but it was near, at hand and approaching.
When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he said to his drowsy disciples
“Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”
It was approaching.
Jesus said relative to them understanding the signs of the times and the fig leaves on a tree in Luke 21:30:
When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
Speaking of the end of that age and the Lords coming Paul wrote in Romans
Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
This is similar advice “to be moderate in all things, the Lord is at hand.”
And then speaking directly to the coming of the Lord, the believer at Thessalonica were being taught that the day was already there upon them and Paul reassured them saying in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2
“be ye not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”
Meaning, it was not near by yet.
Peter wrote in 1st Peter 4:7
“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”
Which again is similar advice as what Paul says here, but instead of be moderate in all things Peter says be sober and watch unto prayer – which in the end is almost the same exact advice.
Of course, the book of Revelation is all about the pressing coming of the Revelation of Christ to the people of that age, and so we read in the very first chapter at verse 3
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”
And the Revelation closes in Revelation 22:10 where Jesus says to John
“Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.”
The writer of Hebrews, using a derivative word for “at hand” wrote in Hebrews 10:25
“Do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorte one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Same with James who wrote in James 5:8:
“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”
Because Paul was often speaking of the Lord’s return to the Saints in that day, to interpret the line “to live in moderation for the Lord is at hand” relative to his return to them is scripturally viable.
That was the Apostles call on his life, to prepare the believers for His return to save them from the approaching and violent end of the age.
And it was the call on the other apostles like Peter and John. So, to me the interpretation of verse 5 is plain – he is telling them the Lord’s return is at hand, be moderate in their living.
And with this interpretation and meaning in mind Paul adds at verse 6:
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Where the King James writes “be careful for nothing,” the meaning is don’t be anxious over anything or for anything.
“Do not worry about the things of the present life.” The word used here –merimnate does not suggest that believers then were to exercise no care or control over the worldly matters around them nor to give up providing for their families but the meaning better means to have confidence in God and to be free in the mind from anxiety because of this reliance upon him.
Paul adds:
“But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God
It’s a great template for believers today – Go to God with every care and need and with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to Him.
This was how the apostles encouraged the believers in that day to live and I must say more than any other time in my 58 years of life here on earth there has never been a time where this advice is more applicable than today.
So back to Paul as he promises (verse 7)
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
And the peace of God – the peace which God gives – which Paul says, passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 26:3 says:
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind stays on thee.”
You want to have peace, a peace that is not of this world, a peace that is from God himself, which when it is present is beyond understanding? Look to Christ Jesus and trust. Relax in His care and wisdom. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him and He will direct your paths.
What a word for our present day and age – these unheard of days of world-wide quaranteen. His peace within the human heart defies description or understanding, and it does not necessarily make sense when experienced.
I mean how could it? When everything is falling apart all around us and yet we are full of otherworldly peace?
But this is a reality for every believer.
And at this point Paul enters into the “whatsoever/if there be any” passages – six whatsoevers and two “if there be’s” (verse 8)
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.
This is the opposite advice we read in 1st Thessalonians 5:22 where Paul says:
“Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
Instead, Paul says if there is anything WHATSOEVER that is
TRUE/HONEST/JUST/PURE/LOVELY or of GOOD REPORT . . . if there is any VIRTUE or PRAISE believers there were to think on those things.
The Greek word translated whatsoever means “all things” and lets run through these words in the Greek really quickly:
TRUE: (alay-thace) True and truth
HONEST: (semnos) honorable
JUST: (Dikayos) Right, Innocent
PURE: (hagnos) clean
LOVELY: (prosfeelace) friendly toward
GOOD REPORT: (eufeemos) good reputation
VIRTUE: (aretay) manly, of valor
PRAISE: (epaheenos) commendable
“think on” (lodgidzomahee) take inventory of; number them
In other words, look to the good, the blessings, the benevolence of God in your lives. Don’t focus and take inventory of the negative and lacking.
Whatsoever things fit these categories in your life or in life around you think about them, catalogue them in your minds.
And then Paul returns to a theme he has hit on before with these believers – and he says unabashedly:
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.
In chapter 3 Paul also commended them to follow him. Here he does it again, telling them that if they do the things that they have learned from him (and received and heard and seen him do) that if they do them, the peace mentioned above that comes from God through Christ would abide upon them.
At this point (verse 10) Paul uses the space to speak of what he has done, and how he has done it, and what he has learned as a result, in times both trying and abundant. And so he now adds the following (in fact lets read to the end of the chapter)
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.
14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. {I have all: or, I have received all}
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
21 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.
22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.
23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. <
This was added later and has zero authority but just for a point of interest, the subscription is translated in different ways depending on the language in which we read it. For instance:
The Greek is, “It was written to the Philippians from Rome by Epaphroditus.”
And the Syriac, “The epistle to the Philippians was written from Rome, and sent by Epaphroditus.”
And the AEthiopic, “To the Philippians, by Timothy.”
And so it goes. Next week, the Letter to the Colossians!
Which leaves us with only seven short books remaining in our coverage of the New Testament – unless we redo the book of Romans last.
We hope you will continue to tune in during this shut down time every Sunday or in our archives as we go verse by verse through the word of God.
Let’s pray.
