The Church: a people marked by peace
Notes
Transcript
Philippians 4:2–9 (NASB95)
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 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. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Introduction
As many of you have likely experienced, it only takes a quick glance at the news to be reminded of some war, conflict, or societal tension that appear to be so persistent. There are constant conversations about identity, economics, health, justice, and politics that all fuel some kind of concern or anxiety for one person or another. All these concerns fuel questions of security and well-being: Will I be accepted? Will I have enough money? Will power be given to the right people? Will justice be served? Will I be taken care of? Beyond all the headlines and the questions that follow there are those who have concerns in their own home and workplace that are sufficient to cause one to question their security and well-being. Does my spouse still love me? Will I have my job next year?
At the end of the day there is no shortage of things in this broken world which would rob people of their peace. Whether they can identify it or not there are those who have devoted their life’s every energy in pursuit of peace. Peace in their home, peace with their finances, and even peace in the world are the genuine longing of so many yet so many don’t know how to attain it. There are certainly attempts of every kind to satisfy that need, yet how many find themselves empty at the end of the day in spite of their efforts?
Last week we concluded our time with the waiting citizen. As citizens of heaven we find ourselves waiting for the day when Christ will return, all will be made new and we will finally be perfect and glorified! As much as we are waiting for that perfection, today we have the gift of peace. There is a peace and rest which we can know today because we are in Christ that is independent of all our circumstances. That is we don’t rely on abundant provision, good health, or world peace to experience peace as children of God. Our peace is in Christ and we have no shortage of Christ as citizens of heaven. Paul is going to identify three areas of our lives in which Christ provides us with peace.
The peace of Christ leaves no part of our lives untouched. Our relationships, hearts and minds are shaped by the peace we have with Christ.
The peace of Christ leaves no part of our lives untouched. Our relationships, hearts and minds are shaped by the peace we have with Christ.
Relationships of peace
Hearts of peace
Minds of peace
Relationships of Peace
Relationships of Peace
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
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First of all, how would you like it if you had a disagreement over the color of the carpet with a brother or sister and you ended up being called out by Paul in inspired Scripture for all of church history to see? We don’t know what the conflict was about, but it very well could have been serious considering Paul is making it public before the church in a letter. At some point in the past Paul has become aware of this conflict in the church between these two women who have served with Paul in the past. Paul knows them personally, and is actually attesting to their character in counting them among the fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. I don’t think we should count Euodia and Syntyche among the fringes of the church. These are likely women well known for their service alongside Paul in some respect and are counted among the true believers.
I hope we would see this little reality check Paul gives us: The church is comprised of saints and sinners. Not saints over here and sinners over there. We are all saints in Christ forgiven and declared righteous, and we are all sinners in the process of being sanctified. At times we disagree. At times we don’t disagree well, and we need the church to help us maintain peace. Paul encourages an unnamed saint, ‘true companion’ … “help these women...” Remember again how public this is! I don’t know that this is a strict prescription for how we ought to handle conflict in the church, but it is a reminder of how important Paul believes peace or harmony in the church is! Paul could have just as much wrote a private letter to address the issue privately, one addressed to this ‘true companion’ to be delivered in tandem with this letter. He didn’t do that though. Again, this letter is addressed to..
1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:
Even if you’re not Euodia and Syntyche you immediately know Paul isn’t beating around the bush. Peace and harmony in the church isn’t merely an ideal it’s something for the church to pursue together!
If I may say at the onset, one of the things that stands out most to me about this church is the harmony and peace that defines every gathering. It isn’t merely a lack of conflict, but a genuine care for one another and enjoyment of fellowship. It’s been a joy for Rachel and I to settle into this family and experience that fellowship of peace every week. I believe that peace we enjoy here every week is due to the very important element which Paul details here. Of these two verses the most important aspect we can notice is just two words in the Greek: “in the Lord”.
Our harmony and peace as Two Rivers Community Church isn’t due to some special sauce we have here at Two Rivers, though the coffee and cookies at the back in the morning are nice. No our peace and harmony comes from what every gospel preaching church has in common, our peace with Christ. Churches who keep the main thing the main thing in faithfully preaching and teaching the gospel year after year shouldn’t be surprised when everyone gets along. When a church is shaped by the gospel and knows what it means to have peace with God as adopted sons and daughters the fruit is peace. The Holy Spirit is happy to cultivate fruitfulness, particularly that of peace, in those who continually look to Christ in adoration, faith, and gratitude. It’s this fruitfulness of peace that Paul believes deserves defending and preservation.
Let’s take this one step further by way of contrast that we might recognize the uniqueness of this peace and harmony “in the Lord”. What does it take for peace and harmony to characterize an ordinarily secular family, business, organization, or even nation?
People have been trying to answer this question for centuries? What’s the key to world peace? In response to war the question is asked quite often. A few takes from some people over the year:
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. You cannot subjugate a nation forcibly unless you wipe out every man, woman, and child. Unless you wish to use such drastic measures, you must find a way of settling your disputes without resort to arms.” – Albert Einstein (Physicist, 1879 – 1955, Germany and USA)
“The strongest passions, and most dangerous weaknesses of the human breast; ambition, avarice, vanity, the honorable or venial love of fame, are all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace.” – Alexander Hamilton (Political leader, 1755 – 1804, USA)
“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.” – John Lennon (Musician, 1940 – 1980, England)
There’s certainly no shortage of ideas, but there certainly isn’t a consensus. Is it really a matter of understanding? If we know more does that provide peace? If we simply suppress man’s ambition and vanity will that give way to peace? If we simply stop wanting more stuff and demand peace will that fix it?
I hope we can recognize how all these fall short, but we can certainly recognize a certain kind of peace in the world that occurs by God’s common grace. When a husband lays aside his own personal ambition and selfishness he will likely know a kind of peace sooner than one who doesn’t. An organization that compensates its employees fairly will likely know a kind of peace sooner than an organization that doesn’t. Certainly an elimination of a general ignorance in society would promote some kind of peace.
These all sound good to some degree, but fundamentally none of these prescriptions provides peace with God or a change to the human heart. When we talk about peace or harmony in the Lord that is to characterize the church we must maintain the fundamentals. For true peace and harmony to be possible among people, peace with God must come first.
In the words of Matthew Henry
“What peace can they have who are not at peace with God?”
Similarly, for true peace to be possible among people, it must stem from a changed heart.
22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
Because we are at peace with God, our souls are purified. We have a new heart with which we are to fervently love on another. This heart of love is the heart of peace.
In one sense the world recognizes the problem:
There is a lack of understanding.
There is too much ambition.
There is too much materialism.
Sounds like a heart problem. Sounds like a heart problem man can’t change.
So how does this work itself out? What does peace with God have to do with how I get along with my spouse, or my fellow church member.
If I may put it briefly, when we are provided with all we need in Christ we need not demand it from others and are free to love them. How many arguments begin with demanding something from someone which has been provided us in Christ?
In search of right standing we demand the approval of others.
In search of respect and worth we demand it from others.
In search of love we expect it from others.
In search of provision we demand security from those around us whether physical or emotional.
Being at peace with God we have a right standing apart from the approval of man.
Being at peace with God we are respected as coheirs with Christ and need not demand it from others.
Being at peace with God we are loved with the unending love of Christ and need not demand it from others.
Being at peace with God we are assured of His care and provision and need not demand it from others.
This peace with God provides us such an abundance that we can approach our spouses, our brothers and sisters from a position of abundance in the Spirit and, with hearts changed, making it our ambition to love from that abundance. The reason we can pick up our cross and wash our brother or sisters feet is that not even death can deprive us of the abundance we have in Christ. Jesus went to the cross for our salvation knowing that nothing, not even death could deprive Him of the glory due Him in the end, in fact it was the path of death by which he would attain it.
This isn’t to say we will never be in need; we absolutely need the church and will require our brother or sister’s grace and patience many days, but, at the heart of the matter, peace is possible and natural to the church because Christ has provided with us such an abundance in changed hearts, the presence of the Spirit, and ultimately peace with God that we can experience peace and harmony in the Lord. There will be disagreements, frustration, and even sin, yet peace is possible because of the abundance we have in the Lord.
For those of you who come into this gathering week after week with that abundance in the Lord extending grace after grace, love upon love, and are willing to forgive, you make peace possible. Churches endure and hold together because of brothers and sisters like yourself. Thank you!
Paul has started with the most visible matters of peace and harmony, relationships. If conflict is visible it’s going to be visible in relationships, yet Paul knows conflict is more than interpersonal, it’s in the inner-person as well. More often than not we keep a pretty friendly relationship with most people in our lives, but
often times we hide conflict, restlessness, and anxiety in our hearts.
What hope do we have for hearts of peace in addition to relationships of peace?
Hearts of Peace
Hearts of Peace
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 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.
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It goes without saying, anxiety isn’t a uniquely biblical topic. Amidst all the world’s disagreements with the Christian faith there’s an agreement in large part that anxiety is a problem, and just like the pursuit of world peace the world has plenty of ideas about inner peace. There are books upon books and quotes upon quotes on the matter of anxiety, some are even referring to it as an epidemic of our modern day. Why might that be?
I don’t venture to answer such a broad question, but I will say that we shouldn’t be surprised when anxiety rises alongside a diminishing view of the God of peace. Paul’s understanding of the heart of peace is linked in every description to the person of God.
Rejoice. Let your heart have joy in the Lord
Be gentle. The Lord is near.
Be grateful. pray to God.
The peace which guards our hearts. the peace of God in Christ Jesus.
If we take God out of the picture so many calls to peace are reduced to sentimentalism.
Suppose a friend tells me they just lost their job and their worried about how they’re going to pay the bills next month.
I respond by saying, “Don’t worry about it! I’m sure everything will pan out.”
Upon what basis is my friend supposed to stop worrying? “Well Jon seems to think everything will be fine, so I guess I can relax and rejoice in my unemployment.”
It’s foolishness! My sentimental words don’t change reality. My friend needs someone to trust in who is trustworthy!
Suppose I’m a better friend than that.
I tell my friend that I know a guy who may be hiring, and I’ll reach out to them.
That ought to provide some relief to my friends anxiety right? There’s some hope that provision will come!
Is this the answer to inner peace? Find enough good friends to support you in your time of need? That’s probably good advice regarding material needs. There’s a certain security and peace being a part of a community or a church that is committed to one another, but what about health problems, wild fires, world war, death? Even the best of friends can only do so much!
The truth is that the degree to which our hearts can be at peace is directly correlated to the person of greatest power able to work for our good.
Sadly, for many that person is themselves. What kind of peace can anyone have if all they have to rely on is themselves?
For those who are more fortunate, they have family, the means to pay for a good doctor, a good boss, even a political candidate working for their good? Yet even these fortunate are restless and anxious. Why? They have everything they could ever want!
Even these fortunate few don’t have someone to deliver them from sin and death. As long as sin reigns in their heart, what joy can they know? As long as death awaits them, what is the meaning of life except to eat drink and be merry? Many come to the preliminary conclusion of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes without even thinking about it. No earthly man can resolve the anxiety of guilt and death which leads so many to search for peace in all the pleasures and promises of the world to no avail. Yet for those who come to understand the final conclusion of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, those who fear God, keep His commandments, set their faith in His provision, they can know true peace. Thank you Jeremiah for walking us through Ecclesiastes in Institute.
Paul wants to make clear that if we are to know peace in our hearts it must come from the one who has delivered us from both sin and death, the deliverance which only God can provide. Only in Christ can we know true peace. Only in Christ can we look at our sins and be at peace because He has died paying the price in full. Only in Christ can we stare death in the face and be at peace because we are united with Him and He is risen. What no sinful man can provide no matter how powerful or wise, God has provided in Christ that we may know peace.
A peace which rejoices for what we’ve been given and promised.
A peace which is gentle with the gentleness Christ has dealt with us.
A peace which has much to be thankful for in eternal life.
At the end of the day, a Christians heart of peace is rooted in the gospel. The good news is what puts our heart at ease because in Christ we know God is for us! Christ calls us friends! The one through whom all things were made and through whom all things hold together calls us friend! We have every reason in Christ for our hearts to be at peace today, yet Paul does call the church to action in accord with this heart of peace.
Paul calls us to pray!
Just because we can be assured of His love and care for us to the end unto eternal life doesn’t mean we do not pray.
Jesus assured his disciples that they would be fed!
25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
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Even with this assurance and peace knowing the Lord will provide, Christ teaches us to pray,
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
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Precisely because God is faithful to provide do we lean on Him in prayer! I don’t know about you, but I find that those who pray and pray and pray, asking again and again and again know a greater peace than those who don’t.
Peter gives us a very literal picture of throwing our anxiety before God:
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
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Simply put, we cast our anxiety before God in prayer. A prayer of humility that remains dependent. A prayer of faith in the gospel knowing he cares for us!
The peace every man longs for in this broken world is only fully provided in Christ and the gospel. No one can know peace in their hearts and be assured of their well-being as long sin and death haunt them.
As Christ’s church, His beloved bride, our hearts are guarded by the peace of God that is found through the gospel and prayer. I’m sure everyone in this room can think of some matter of anxiety without much difficulty. I would encourage us to ask two questions.
What does the gospel have to say about this anxiety?
If you’re worried about what others think about you, consider what Christ thinks about you!
If you’re worried about your finances, remember that a loving Father like God would never forsake his adopted children.
If you’re worried about your health, remember he who went to the cross for you will never leave you or forsake you!
Secondly, who am I expecting to provide? Are we looking to ourselves or have we cast it before God in prayer?
Once you’ve done this yourself, I’d encourage you to do it with another brother or sister. Think of someone you trust, message them after the service and make a point to meet with them this week. Let them show you how the gospel meets you in your anxiety. Let them pray for you in that moment. The humility with which we come before God in prayer is the same humility we come to one another in need of prayer and in need to hear the gospel applied to our circumstances.
If we’re honest, we get anxious just thinking about talking about our anxiety with someone else. The devil would like us to believe we’re different than anyone else and our struggles are unique and nobody has the anxiety I have. It’s all a lie and believing it keeps us from being the church Christ has called us to be. A church marked by hearts of peace is one that builds that heart together in leaning on one another applying the gospel to each other’s lives and praying for one another.
In Paul’s usual fashion, no part of the Christian is left untouched. The external relationships are marked by peace, the heart is guarded by the peace of God, as well as the mind.
Minds of Peace
Minds of Peace
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
In the same way that our hearts are able to be at peace in the gospel and yet we are called to pray. Our minds can know the peace of God in the gospel and yet we are called to think and act consistent with the gospel.
Paul provides a list describing all that is good and holy and says dwell on these things.
Additionally, all that you’ve come to know in my teaching and example, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.
I believe there’s a natural progression here from knowing to action. We’re a culture interested in productivity and results, but Paul takes the time to make sure the ongoing state of our mind is right before considering the actions or results. We are to dwell on or ponder what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and of good repute.
Why are these so important?
From the onset we can consider the state of the world again. We’ve recognized already the lack of peace that follows as long as sin and death reign: This is true of the mind as well as long as truth is absent. Whatever peace we may know from believing a lie may feel like peace, but in reality is a dangerous place to stand.
I don’t thinks it’s coincidental that Paul begins with truth. I might argue it’s the first thing to be sacrificed when the world can’t find peace apart from God. In an inability to assuage their guilt and shame they change the law for their acceptance. Perhaps if the law is different, then I will know peace. Alternatively, how many seek to ignore reality altogether in pursuit of peace? If this reality can’t offer me peace perhaps another will, and so they decide to escape the truth. Some with substances, some with entertainment, some by simply finding a community who also believe the little lies that help them cope.
Paul ensures us! Our minds are guarded by peace in dwelling on the truth. We need not escape the truth of reality to know peace precisely because we have the truth of what Chris has done on our behalf and will do. In this we know peace. On this we dwell.
Much time could be spent on the list that Paul provides, but the point simple. Peace can’t be maintained as long as we dwell on the lies and lesser things of the world.
As Paul says in Romans
Romans 8:6 (NASB95)
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
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If we are to know peace our minds are to be set on the things of the Spirit,
Whatever is true, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and praiseworthy.
In these things we can know peace.
We have a sense of what we are to have on our minds, but let’s also consider how if we are to put this into practice.
Dwelling and pondering requires time and intentional thought. It requires asking questions of the truths we’ve become familiar with. Not a questioning of interrogation but of exploration. Frankly, I find this very difficult without a pen or a friend. Putting thoughts to paper allows me to ponder something in a way I couldn’t otherwise. Even better, why not ponder what is pure, lovely, and right in discussion with another brother or sister. That’s what we do every week when we gather together in small groups. We consider what is right, pure, lovely and excellent and we talk about it. There’s very real benefit in pondering those truths because those truths shape our minds, the minds from which we experience the peace of God. If you’re not part of a small group I’d encourage you to contact one of the elders or myself! Don’t miss the opportunity to ponder and discuss all that is pure, lovely, and true in the gospel. It’s in this ongoing state of mind shaped by the gospel that our minds are guarded by the peace of God.
If we are not experiencing that peace of God it would do us well to ask, “What am I pondering? What am I dwelling on?” I hope it’s understood that dwelling on the sinful and the evil things of the world isn’t conducive to peace. We cannot expect the fruit of the Spirit from a mind full of weeds and thorns, but if I may go one step further, a mind absent of evil is not a mind full of all that is true, honorable, and right. A mind absent of evil is a mind absent of evil. Paul calls us with no shortage of descriptors to say, there is no shortage, an abundance of good, given to us in Scripture and the gospel that is to fill our minds. Now we can all recognize ordinary things which necessarily occupy our mind day in and day out. That ordinary work we do: that work of raising children, mowing the lawn, going to the office, doing the laundry that is all pleasing to God even all the mental energy it takes to just get the kids dressed in the morning. Let’s not relegate what is right, pure, lovely, and of good repute to purely spiritual thought or what we think about during small group. The ordinary work we do every day in the name of Christ and for His glory is deserving of our minds because it is good, yet in our free and quiet moments, what do we feed our minds? What do we dwell on? I’m not saying every spare momen need be devotional or pious in some sense, but consider all that Scripture has given us to dwell on:
True, honorable and right things!
Pure, lovely, and good things! Things that are truly excellent and praiseworthy. Might our minds be filled with such things!
In closing his argument, Paul does get to the application. After we have dwelled on things in all their goodness and purity, we are to take action!
Phil 4:09
9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
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We’ve come full circle.
We’ve addressed the visible peace in our relationships that comes from Christ.
We’ve looked at our hearts and minds guarded by the peace of God.
And Paul again addresses the visible fruit of peace and calls us to the work of image bearers. Making known the image of Christ in action.
I’d like us see briefly what of Christ we’ve learned, received, and heard in Paul just from this text. Surely Paul means more than “what you’ve received in this paragraph”, but there’s an example to follow in just the words given to the church.
Paul, like Christ, is concerned that the church would know peace.
Might that be our prayer this morning. “Father give me a heart that is concerned for my brother and sister’s peace in Christ.”
Let’s pray.
