Satisfied With Christ

Philippians 4

Verse 1........This first sentence in chapter 4 is a “because” statement or the reason why you do something spoken of prior......

Philippians 3:17–21 “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

Paul says be followers of him and mark them that walk after the flesh (whose god is their belly, enemies of the cross of Christ)

Know this that our citizenship is in Heaven, where Christ is and we also our eagerly waiting His coming.

Who, when He comes, shall change our vile body into a glorious body......according to His Work!

Ok, now because of this knowledge.......Stand firm in the Lord......Continue in the Lord, do not waiver!

We battle our flesh, on top of battling influences from the outside world, as well as the people who hates you for your faith in Jesus, do not loosen your grip on your belief in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ!

His Work will change us, will make us new inwardly and on His arrival back to earth will change our vile body, our humble body into a glorious body!!

So, stand fast in the Lord and His Work for us!

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

We believe that God through Christ is and that He makes all things new!

Before we move on, I must comment on Paul’s reference to this church.......My beloved brethren, my joy and my crown......

Paul does not get his joy from circumstances (that is what this whole chapter seems to be about), rather he gets his joy from his fellow believers......

These believers would be proof that Paul’s labor was not in vain......meaning “his crown”

Verse 2-3.....Paul appeals to Euodia and Syntyche.......These women were fellow-workers.....they were possibly among the women in Acts 16:13 “And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.” ............when Paul first preached the Gospel at Philippi.

Apparently, these 2 women were leading 2 opposing factions in the church. Some believe that it was likely over a personal conflict.

So, Paul urges the church, along with Clement (Nothing is known of him), to help these ladies resolve their issues.....

He calls this church “yoke-fellows” which means “companions or a partner”......partner with Clement to bring this division to an end.

Help them to live in harmony........What Paul will discuss next, will bring harmony, what he discussed about humility in Philippians 2 will bring harmony.

Mutual love, harmony, and peace between believers is essential for Spiritual stability!

This division was coming close to destroying the integrity of the testimony of this church! And it will, to any church!

Whose names are in the book of life.......If this isn’t a reason for unity, I do not know what would be..........It is also a reason to help our brothers and sisters!

Verse 4.......Rejoice in the Lord, always and again I say rejoice..........By this statement, it is one of confidence, that we can always rejoice in the Lord! Everywhere and in all situations, as he will state later, we can rejoice in the goodness of God! Paul repeats this for emphasis!

Do not rejoice about circumstances, for they come and go, but rejoice in the Lord!.....Jesus said in Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” .....I would argue that the joy of Heaven is the presence of God the Father and the Son!

This will be the theme of this last part..........rejoicing seems to suggest contentment!

Verse 5.....Moderation.....There a lot of words tied to this word......

Gentle, gracious, considerate, reasonable, forbearance.......One writer described it as contentment with and generosity toward others.

Mercy or leniency toward the faults and failures of others.

Patience when someone mistreats you, not retaliating.

Graciousness with humility seems to sum it all up!

Let that be what you are known for........

For the Lord is near......some state that this means that in light of the Lord returning soon, He will make things right..… “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord, He will repay.”....

Others state the Lord whom we serve is not afar off, He is near to us, to help us........some believe this because of these next verses.....

I believe we can use both as a good reason to be gentle and patient!

Verse 6-7.......Be careful.......Be anxious........About nothing........Meaning: “Don’t be anxious!”.......The first thing I read about this verse is this: “Fret and worry indicate a lack of trust in God’s wisdom, His sovereignty, and His power!.......Delighting in God’s Word and meditating on His Word are a great antidote for anxiety.”........

Jesus spoke specifically on this in Matthew 6:25-33......let’s look at it.......

Ok, so one of the truisms that Jesus reveals to us here is that God knows that we have need of whatever it is..........

Are you at peace that God knows about these things?

In everything.....In every situation of life, I would say.....in all our difficulties and even in all our easiness......all these things are within God’s reach according to His purpose!

Prayer and supplication.......

Prayer here means a place where you pray to God.........A place of prayer.........We house the Holy Spirit, we are the tabernacle, so our house is a house of prayer!

Jude 20 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,” .....This is not a form a prayer that might be sensational, but it is a call to pray from a house of prayer, praying for the will and power of God!......We pray everything in the name of Jesus Christ, that is what that is!

Supplication here means a plea or petition.......It is from a place of having need! We all have needs everyday, I think a good prayer for us is for us to recognize our needs!

With Thanksgiving.....Going with Paul’s theme, to be thankful means being content! So, our thankfulness goes beyond immediate needs, it looks to what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, which one is that through Christ the veil was rent into, that we can approach the Father in Jesus now!

Ephesians 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” ........Colossians 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Begin and end with being thankful, that the God of all things would even hear our petitions, that is being thankful for what He has done for us through Jesus Christ!

The result of this kind of prayer.........The peace of God will guard your heart.......Inner calm is promised to the believer who has a thankful attitude based on unwavering confidence that God is able and willing to do what is His best for His children.

This kind of peace surpasses all understanding, there is nothing within any human understanding that come close to explaining this kind of peace!

It keeps or guard our hearts and minds.....That is what is a at issue for us.....John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” ......

2 Corinthians 4:16 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

Our union with Christ brings us to this peace!

Verse 8..........Think on the good things......the things that are praiseworthy and of virtue (good)..........

Things that are true.........

What is true is found in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and in God’s Word.

What is honest rather honorable.....Worthy of respect.....whatever is worthy of awe and adoration......

What is just......whatever is right.........God is always right......Proverbs 11:1 “A false balance is abomination to the Lord: But a just weight is his delight.”

What is pure........Morally clean and undefiled.....James 3:17 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

What is lovely..........Pleasing or admirable......Focus on what is kind or gracious.

What is good report.......highly regarded or thought well of..........courtesy, back to kindness, grace and mercy would sum it up!.....Hebrews 12:1–2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Mark 7:37 “And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.”

The things that are praiseworthy and of virtue are these things and Paul taught to put our minds in those things!

Paul is leading this church and us to a logical conclusion, he is about to speak on contentment......The easiest way to be discontent is to think or dwell on the negative or everything that is displeasing. There are certainly displeasing things around to think on, but put our minds in what God has done through Christ and His people, that is good.

Verse 9.........Paul is urging this church and us, not in arrogance but more like confidence what God has done in him.......whatever they were taught and learned, heard and seen........

Do those things......practice....act out in your life......put them in action!

Verse 10.........The last time that the church at Philippi had helped Paul was about 10 years before, verse 15,16 speak to that........Paul knew that they wanted to do more but lacked the opportunity to help.

Verse 11-13.........He wrote this last part about their recent gift but the Holy Spirit had in mind to teach us about contentment throughout this chapter.......

In verse 11 Paul speaks that he wasn’t begging for the gift, in a sense of “want”.......He then says that he has “learned” experience had taught him that he could be content in any situation......because of everything about God, but if you read back up, you can see the source of that contentment......

Verse 4 rejoicing in the Lord.....That is rejoice that God is the God of goodness and power and mercy and grace and provision. Rejoice that the Lord is your shepherd and you shall not want. In other words, your rejoicing is not in the circumstance. It’s not in your own ability to evade the most fatal blows. Your rejoicing is in the Lord. Jesus said, John 16, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament. The world will rejoice,” – superficially – “you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy.” And that’s the promise of the Lord, that He’ll always be there to provide what we need to turn sorrow into Joy.

Verse 5....Moderation...... the most amazing things about Christ is that He was willing to take less than He was do. Wouldn’t you think that’s true? Well He was due absolute and total worship as God, but He was willing to accept far less than he was due with a meekness and a gentleness that really is astonishing and exemplary. That’s what he’s saying here. Let all people – let it be known to all people how humbly, patiently, enduringly, steadfastly, unselfish you are. Let it be known that you are very content to be given less than you deserve. Some suggest that the actual root of epieikēs is the word eikō, which means to yield. Not demanding rights, not demanding privileges, not demanding recognition, not demanding possessions, not demanding health, not demanding wealth, not demanding anything, even though you might think you deserve it. You see contentment belongs to people who are willing to take less than they’re due.

Verse 6......Be anxious about nothing......but by Prayer.... Contentment comes from just taking all your needs, as Peter said, and casting all your care on Him and leaving it there. Because you can trust Him with it. You can trust Him with all of it. Just take it there and leave it. And even if it doesn’t turn out the way you would like, you can trust Him to take care of you in spite of it.

Verse 7.....really is answered by our leaving it with the Lord and will cause us or should cause us to rest easy!.....Peace comes from resting in the wisdom and the power and the purpose of God, and in the end nothing ever goes wrong ultimately. People make bad decisions, bad choices, things go wrong in life. But ultimately for God’s children all things work together for – what? – for good. 

Verse 8.......Think on the good things.....Discontent is the result of negative thinking about yourself, about your suffering, about what you don’t have, what’s not going right, what you don’t like. And it’s a monster that if well feed gets very large. It’s a bad process to get caught in. And Paul says if there’s any moral excellence, if there’s anything worthy of praise, then turn to the positive. And certainly there is moral excellence and there are things worthy of praise and they come to those who focus on the things of God, which of course are what all of those things are referring to there in verse 8.

Paul defines the circumstances in vs. 12....He has been in both circumstances, cause he “knows”

Abased.......Humble....meaning low estate......small portions of food, clothing, daily necessities.

Abound....Prosperity......Having an abundance....plenty.

What Paul tells that he is instructed in is that he has learned the secret or how to live in both situations.......He was equally unaffected by poverty and riches. This knowledge is learned by walking with Christ, who is the sufficient One......

That brings us to the most quoted verse, more so than John 3:16..........I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me......

Defining “all things” is the key to this verse....… “All things” would be whatever is God’s things......Living this life unto Him, that would be the main one......living out our faith!........

Here are some verse that should help us here: Psalm 36:7–8 “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; And thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.”

Psalm 63:3–5 “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:”

1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

These all convey a satisfaction with the life lived unto God, the life of Christ

Paul states that he had learned to be content with Jesus Christ when he had great need/hunger, etc. and even in abundance (he did not hold on to that abundance as to lose sight of the satisfaction in Christ!)

Verse 14.......Paul stated that their help, was right on time, with his affliction! God’s timing is perfect and he knows what we have need of!!

Verse 15-16.....These verses explain when the need was met the first time.......it would of been in Thessalonica.....nobody else helped bu this church.......First preached......Acts 16:13 “And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.” ......Acts 16:40 “And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.” .......Acts 17:1 “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:”

Verse 17......The gifts that this church was giving was gaining eternal dividends to their spiritual account.

Verse 18......Epaphroditus brought the gift that they sent and it was plenty.........It was pleasing unto God like the sweet smelling aroma that God commanded in the sacrifices in the OT.....Exodus 29:18 “And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the Lord: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.” .........Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” ........

That is what they did.......They were a living sacrifice!

Verse 19......With “sacrifice” in my mind, there is some historical evidence that this church was struggling themselves, possibly had to go without some things to give to Paul.

Out of God riches He will supply, this is not talking about “give and get” this is talking about confidence in giving....Here are the facts that causes us to have confidence.....

God knows our needs

He sees our hearts

He has an abundance supply that He has already graciously given to us......That is His gift of His Son......We ask in the manner that Paul stated earlier and we know that God is near!

Verse 20-23.....To God be the glory forever......Paul’s response of praise to the God that does supply all our needs according to His riches in glory!

Say hello to every saint in the church....the brethren that are with Paul say hello too!

All the saints salute or greet you.....especially the household of Caesar.......

That is interesting.........Some believe that Paul is speaking about those that were Caesar’s family, princes, judges, cooks, musicians, custodians, soldiers, etc........Those would possibly be converted before he even got there, but Paul was also chained to Romans soldiers for a time, you reckon they heard the Gospel?????

My favorite close to a letter.....The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit (inward man)