Rejoiced in the Lord Greatly

DECEMBER 15, 2021 STUDY NOTES PHILIPPIANS 4:10-12 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES It had been 10 years since Paul first ministered in Philippi (Acts 16) The Philippian church had its beginning and had faithfully supported Paul’s ministry Though for a time they had lacked the opportunity to provide for him Recently Epaphroditus had brought a generous gift from the Philippian church to Paul Paul is expressing his appreciation for that which he had received--Php 4:10 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. His appreciation is in order, it begins where it should, he rejoiced “in the Lord greatly” A heart of rejoicing has been an important theme in this letter, note how often joy is encouraged We find the word translated “rejoice” 7 times in Philippians, the word “rejoice with” 2 times We find another word translated “joy” 5 times, to rejoice is the theme of the book of Philippians This is the last time joy or rejoicing is identified by word in the letter, but it is not the end of joy Paul has already expressed the truth of joy that is “in the Lord,” Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Christians are to keep on rejoicing, we are commanded to rejoice in the Lord, Php 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. To rejoice in the Lord was a daily experience for Paul, and the Philippians knew that Paul wanted them to know how sincere he was when he said, “I rejoiced in the Lord” He adds “greatly,” Paul makes a special selection of word to explain his joy This is the only time the word translated “greatly” is found in the NT “Greatly” states the rejoicing as very great, expressing an exceeding strong state of rejoicing Rejoicing far beyond what one would normally expect, rejoicing which is difficult to express As rejoicing Christians, the Philippians understood rejoicing in the Lord, they experienced it If anyone could understand what Paul meant by “greatly” rejoicing, they could They could apply what Paul was saying to their own rejoicing, they rejoiced with Paul in Christ The Holy Spirit will communicate to one another Christians rejoicing in the Lord The real source of joy is the “Lord,” who was working in Paul and the Philippians Through a vision God had brought Paul to the Philippians and worked mightily (Acts 16:6-40) God was now working through the Philippians to minister to Paul--at the last your care of me hath flourished again; Time had gone by since the Philippians had last ministered to Paul with a financial gift But now once again they sent him support, they were concerned about his welfare The original translated “your care” is also found in, Php 2:5 Let this mind be (same word) in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: The song says, “no one cared for me like Jesus,” we must keep that in mind and care for others Paul said, your “care” for me has been revived, just like in the past your care “flourished” Flourished was a word that described nature in the spring, blooms, and flowers once again Describing trees which appear to be dead in the winter but flourish again in the spring Their thoughts, care, and giving were as fresh to Paul as springtime is to nature Paul knew that they had always been thinking of him, that they had never forgotten him WHEREIN YE WERE ALSO CAREFUL, BUT YE LACKED OPPORTUNITY “Careful” is the same word translated “your care” in this verse It has the meaning of concern, concerned enough to do something, hands on concern Page 1 of 5 “Lacked opportunity” means they had not had an opportune time to do something They continually had Paul in their mind, but the door of opportunity had not opened For some reason there had been a loss of communication between Paul and the Philippians They had not had an opportunity to be in contact with him and minister to his needs But when the opportunity came their care for him was quickly revived Their heart was with Paul and Paul wanted them to know the truth of his heart Which he explains in, Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Paul did not have a greedy spirit he was not in the ministry for money His explanation leads us into another very important subject, especially for our day How well do we handle the difficult circumstances of our life? Are you the victor over circumstances or the victim of your circumstance? We should learn a lesson from the daily circumstances of life, whatever they might be Our daily circumstances of life are an opportunity to test our spiritual state They will measure your spiritual maturity, NOT THAT I SPEAK IN RESPECT OF WANT The word “want” speaks of being in need, being deficient, being in poverty Paul often lacked the bare necessities of life, but he was not a beggar, his mind was right FOR I HAVE LEARNED IN WHATSOEVER STATE I AM “therewith” TO BE CONTENT “For” introduces Paul’s explanation in-regard to their gift to him, he did appreciate it Paul wanted them to learn the same lesson that he had learned, which we all need to learn “I,” speaks with emphasis, even “I,” Paul himself, that which is within his personal life “I have learned” means to learn through experience, and to apply what you have learned What he learned he lived, his life was not always easy, there were many difficult times He had to go through many different experiences of life to get where he was spiritually He learned through each of those experiences, the good, the difficult, and the trying times He learned because his mind was upon his Christian life, and the purpose of his salvation Scripture does not teach a trouble-free life for the Christian, Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; James commands something that only a Christian can honestly do, “count it all joy” James contradicts our human nature and the way the world thinks today The world says rejoice when you don’t have a problem and we agree with that philosophy But God has “joy” for the Christian in the time of our problems James is teaching that nothing should take away the “joy” of the Christian life Our joy is not based upon the things that this world will give us or take away from us James does not say rejoice because trial or trouble has come He teaches us that we can rejoice because of what the trial can become The question is not, “Will the trials of life come?” But “What will my trials become?” Will I still be able to rejoice even though I am facing the trials of life? He does not mean rejoice when they are all over, but rejoice through it all Sing the song that says, “Through it all, I have learned to trust in Jesus” “I have learned to trust in God, I have learned to depend upon His Word” Trials are a normal part of life even for the Christian, we are not exempt because we are saved To “fall into” means that we find ourselves in-the midst of something we did not want Realizing that we are surrounded by something, and it can happen before we know it The word “divers” means “manifold,” being multi-colored and of great variety Which does not necessarily mean a great number, mainly it refers to a great variety The word “divers” is an interesting word study, Peter uses the same word in the same way, 1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: Page 2 of 5 Our trials and troubles can be many, they are diversified, of various kinds, all kinds, any kind Anything can happen at any time, chaos and confusion can come at any moment Peter uses the same word again and explains why James can say to us “count it all joy” 1Pe 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Nothing will happen to the Christian without the presence of God’s grace God’s grace is “manifold” God has all kinds of grace God’s “grace” is bestowed upon us many times and in many ways “Grace” is the free giving of God, God has given all that we need, all that we need at-all times Any and every color of trial and trouble can happen to us during our life upon this earth But God has grace for every kind and time of trouble, so understand what Peter is telling us Put the two verses together, all kinds of trouble, all kinds of grace A certain kind of trouble, a certain kind of grace, every color of trouble, every color of grace Which is what Paul had learned, by the grace of God Paul had learned “to be content” A lesson that we all need to learn, it was a process for Paul, it will be a process for us Every trial Paul faced was a learning experience, each trial brought him closer to God As a result of the trial, he had a greater knowledge of God and God’s will for his life Look one more time at what Paul said, “FOR I HAVE LEARNED IN WHATSOEVER STATE I AM “therewith” TO BE CONTENT” Paul had many learning experiences, we have all had them, did we learn from them? What lesson should we have learned? “To be content,” in every situation, good or bad times Christian contentment is not in the external circumstances of life, it comes from within From the spiritual resources that are within, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God The Bible does not teach that we are to be happy because we face difficult days Christian contentment is not always a daily experience of life, Satan will challenge it Satan wants you to seek contentment through earthly possessions and a worldly lifestyle Contentment does not come through earthly possessions but through our heavenly position, Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Contentment does not depend upon our earthly resume, but our spiritual state, 1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Today’s society is not content, those who have little and those who have plenty are not content Many are miserable because they are poor, and many are miserable because they are rich A worldly life will never be content, a Godly life will be, 1Ti 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. A life of Godliness will be accompanied with “contentment,” which is self-sufficiency” Self-sufficiency is ours because of the sufficiency of God within us, 2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: Because of Christ we can be satisfied with life regardless of what we face in life Paul had learned to depend upon Christ through all of life’s external circumstances He was content because of his faith in Christ, because of his joy in Jesus Through faith he had learned how to make inner adjustments in the time of outer circumstances His contentment came through the power of his new life in Christ Paul explained it in, 2Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Contentment is never the result of earthly riches, worldly pleasures, or individual fame Paul said, “I have learned to be content,” he also had learned, Rom 8:28 And we know that all things Page 3 of 5 work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Contentment is the secret to success regardless of the circumstances of life, Php 4:12 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. “I know” is strongly stated, I fully understand, without question, without doubt, I am sure Paul’s assurance comes from his experience of being faithful to Christ in all things Read and study Paul’s personal experiences: The Jews took counsel to kill him at Damascus (Acts 9:22-25) At Philippi they beat him and put him in the inner prison (Acts 16:22-24) A mad mob searched for Paul in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-10) They followed him to Berea (Acts 17:13) They seized him in Athens and brought him to court (Acts 17:18-34) At Corinth they brought him to the judgment seat (Acts 18:12) In Greece there was a conspiracy against him (Acts 20:3) In Jerusalem, Jews caused a riot, stirred up a mob, beat Paul wanting to kill him (Acts 21:26-30) He was put in prison in Rome (Acts 28) Paul tells of the pain and suffering he endured as a servant of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23-33) In prison more than once, beaten many times, often at death’s door 5 times he received 39 lashes, beaten with rods 3 times, stoned once, shipwrecked 3 times Spent a night and a day in the open sea, constantly had to keep moving He faced danger from Jews and Gentiles, bandits and pagans, and false Christians There were sleepless nights, days of hunger and thirst, days without clothing and cold That is the man who says, “I HAVE LEARNED TO BE CONTENT” He said, “I know how to be abased,” how to go on when all has come down Paul knew what to do when life was filled with disappointments, turn it all over to God James agrees, Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Peter agrees, 1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Paul said, “I know how to abound,” to have more than enough with some left over Which is true of most Americans today and a problem with many today For many having an abundance can be more of a spiritual problem than being in want Paul had gained the victory over all circumstances of life, EVERY WHERE AND IN ALL THINGS What a testimony, content at-all times, joyful through all experiences, good and bad We must focus our attention on God today, trust Him for tomorrow, live for eternity each day Paul said, “I am instructed,” literally, “I have been initiated, I have learned the secret He had learned through the many trials and troubles he faced, and the grace that was sufficient, 2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. God’s grace rested upon Paul, and he could say God’s grace was sufficient when he “was full” There were the times of plenty, and he was satisfied, content, ready to go on And the same was true in his times of “hunger,” times of want, famine, poor, and needy Paul experienced the truth of, Psa 107:9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Paul stressed his point, “both to abound,” which he stated earlier, “I know how to abound” A hard lesson for many to learn, what do we do with the excess? Paul closed the verse with, “and to suffer need,” short of necessary supplies, falling short Paul is telling us that regardless of the circumstances of life that he faced, he was content Contentment is never attained through the old nature, it is of the spiritual nature Page 4 of 5 Paul never fell short spiritually, he was continually aware of the presence of the Lord, Heb 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. Therefore, he could say, Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Page 5 of 5