Notes on Philippians 4:6-8

Passage

Philippians 4:6–8 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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.”

Study Bibles

GTY

6-9

The Philippians’ suffering at the hands of local opponents, whatever form it took, as well as their concerns over the woes of Paul an Epaphroditus, gave them reason to worry.

But, as Jesus assures us, such troubles are never outside the control of the sovereign God, who is our loving Father.

Matthew 6:25–34 ““Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

The antidote to anxiety is prayer, presenting to God our requests regarding every sort of concern while genuinely thanking him for his constant generous provision.

Colossians 3:15–17 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Rehearsing God’s lavish grace and expressing our confident dependence on him are means by which his peace - peace that finds no explanation in our circumstances - surrounds our fragile hearts and minds in divine protective custody.

AppSB

Connections

CCSB

V. 7

Paul’s choice of a military term “guard” implies that the mind is in a battle zone and needs to be protected by the “military guard” since the purpose of such a guard in a wartime situation is either to prevent a hostile invasion or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from escaping.

LASB

V. 6-7

Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray.

Also take time to listen to what God has to say to you, and thank him for all the good work he has done - in your life, in your church, in your community, and in the world.

V. 7

True peace… comes from trusting God to work everything out in a way that is best for you as you fulfill your role in God’s work in the world.

When we trust God, he gives us a peaceful perspective in a traffic jam, on a difficult phone call, in a troubled relationship, and even when death draws near.

V. 8

What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words, desires, and actions.

Paul tells us to train our minds to focus on thoughts that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

TESB

V. 6

The sobering truth is that the more you worry, the less you pray.

But the more you pray, the less you worry.

To deal with anxiety, make sure your petitions are precise.

Get real with God.

Offering thanks is a demonstration of faith in God’s goodness and provision despite what you see.

V.7

You will know God heard your prayer, not necessarily because the problem is solved, but because of the people that God gives you.

It’s as if God put soldiers and sentries around your feelings and thoughts.

V. 8

One of the reasons we don’t keep our peace is that we tend to dwell on the things that are set in opposition to the peace we’re asking for.

CSB

V. 3-4

“Life” is eternal life, whereas “godliness” is godly living; the latter cannot be obtained without the former.

Participation in the divine nature is possible only after escaping the corruption in the world because of evil desire.

V. 5-7

Each successive quality seems to spring from the previous one.

MacArthur

V. 8

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

2 Timothy 2:25 “correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,”

Ephesians 4:20–21 “But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,”

John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”