Bible Study on Philippians 4:1-9

Philippians 4:1-9
4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

This is, from my point of view, the way a father might talk to or about son – “my joy and crown.” 

In many ways, this is Paul speaking to his children – the Philippians.  He brought them to Christ and nurtured them as a church – either as one physically present, or over the distances through these letters.

Now that he is approaching the end of his life, his joy and crown are standing behind him, spiritually speaking, providing support and encouragement.

In Greek there are two words for CROWN.  One is diadema, which means the crown of a king.  The other is stephanos, which is the crown worn by a victorious athlete in the Greek games – it is made of olive leaves, interwoven with green parsley and bay leaves. 

Which word do you think Paul would use?

It is the stephanos- Paul loves sports and uses a lot of athletic imagery in his letters.

Paul is saying that the Philippians are his reward for his hard work.

4:2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.

Imagine being mentioned in the Bible, and you are mentioned because you were not behaving! 

Poor Euodia and Syntyche – their names are written on the blackboard for all to see as Paul encourages them to agree with each other “in the Lord.”  We do not know the conflict, but we know that conflicts happen, even in churches.  Sad, but true, but in the church we need to be able to put our differences aside and work for the Lord.

4:3 Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

This is a tantalizing tale – what in the world is this about?  We will never know.  Who were these people?  Don’t have a clue.

But they were women!

The early church allowed women to have a full leadership role.  In Greek society, it was the role of a woman to subservient to the men.  The did not appear on the streets alone.  They had a private apartment in the house away from the husband.  They did not eat meals with the men.  Women played no role in public life.

Sounds like the Taliban or ISIS!

Philippi was in Macedonia, however, and the Macedonians did things differently from true Greek society.  Women had a place in society unheard of in the rest of Greece.

What is important is that the women had a place in thechurch  they were workers for the Gospel, alongside Paul.  To say this in a Presbyterian Church is perhaps to speak to the choir, but many of our sister churches do not believe that women should have a place of authority – and the Bible does say that, but it was speaking about specific women in a specific church.  Overall, there are many times when women had authority in the church.

This active role that women had in the church was always important in Philippi.

When Paul arrives in Macedonia, his first contact at a meeting for prayer by a river and he spoke to the women gathered there (Acts 16:13).

Lydia was obviously a leading figure in Philippi (Acts 16:14).

Elsewhere, we see the prominent role women had.

There is another person in this list of coworkers who is not a woman – it is Clement.

This is important because he is our connection between Paul’s generation and all future generations.  He is the only person mentioned in the Bible who wrote a book but whose book is not included in the Bible.

Euodia and Syntyche go down in history as people who fuss.

Clement goes down in history as a peacemaker.

I’m pretty sure which we would like to be.

4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

4:5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

Two great Christian qualities are evident here.

1)     The first is that of joy. ‘Rejoice … I will say it again – rejoice!’

So here is Paul in a prison and he is saying, “rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.”

John Adams was one of the most interesting of our founding fathers.  He was a man of great faith, but his faith evolves over time.  His theology changes.  At one point he suddenly embraced the concept of joy, but with the regret that he had not discovered it earlier. 

Paul was lying in prison and he had an almost certain death facing him.

Paul is pretty much saying, “I know what cards I’ve been dealt.  I know what I’m facing.  I know everything that can possibily happen”  But I still say, “Rejoice.”

Christian joy is not dependent on earthly circumstance.  It is independent of it.  We are able to be joyful NOT because we have good fortune, but because of the continual presence of Christ.

2)     The second quality is gentleness.

American Standard Version (ASV)

⁵ Let your forbearance be known unto all men.

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

^5 [a]Let your ^[b]patient mind be known unto all men

Good News Translation (GNT)

⁵ Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. 

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

⁵ Let your graciousness be known to everyone.

King James Version (KJV)

⁵ Let your moderation be known unto all men. 

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all.

The word (epieikeia) translated as moderation, gentleness, patient - is one of the most untranslatable of all Greek words.

The Greeks explained this word as ‘justice and something better than justice’.

It was used when strict justice became unjust because it was too general and not specific to a particular situation. 

A person demonstrates a quality of epieikeia if he or she knows when not to apply the strict letter of the law and when to relax justice and introduce mercy.

It is opposite of a Pharisee, who always applied the strict letter of the law and not the spirit of the law, and remember Paul is a Pharisee who moved beyond the strict letter of the law.

Ordination Exams for those seeking to become ministers are very tough, and one of the things that makes them difficult is that the student has spent 3 years studying the letter of the law of the Book of Order, which is the rule book for our denomination.

One common question has to do with a request from parents who have just had a child die after just a few hours of life.  These two grief stricken parents want the dead child to be baptized.  What do you do?

In most cases, the students will give a theologically correct answer, backed by the Book of Order, in which it is explained to the parents that we do not baptize the dead.  That is the incorrect answer.

The correct answer is to ignore the rules of the church, to go against the Book of Order, and to follow the pastoral approach and to baptize the child.

That is letting one’s gentleness be evident.  That is letting your moderation be known to all.

Jesus encountered a woman caught in the act of adultery.  The community brings her to Jesus.  Jesus could have applied the letter of the law, which meant she would have been stoned and killed.

But Jesus applied a justice that was better than justice by granting forgiveness with the admonition to go and sin no more.

There is no one of us who deserves anything other than the judgment and the condemnation of God.  However, God goes beyond justice and grants mercy.

We need to do this as well.  We need to be like God.

Why?

Because the Lord is at hand.  This may refer to the Second Coming, or it may refer to the very nearness of Christ.  Either way – good reason to let our gentleness be evident to all.

4:6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

4:6 Do not worry about anything,

There is that frivolous song, “Don’t worry, be happy.”

This is not a frivolous “don’t worry,” but a call to take your anxieties to God in prayer. 

This is not a flippant, meaningless word we might say to someone casually, but a serious word we would say to someone who has cancer, someone who has lost a job, someone who is in fear or discouragement – but by itself, the phrase, “do not worry about anything” is an insult. 

You would dare not say simply these words to someone seriously ill or in deep trouble.

The phrase “do not worry about anything” has to be connected – cemented – to the words and phrases that follow:

but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

We can take EVERYTHING to God in prayer.

I sometimes question if my prayers are selfish, especially when I present to God trivial concerns.

For example, my car is making a strange noise.  It may be nothing.  But I need to take it in.  I don’t have time.  I worry about how much it will cost to repair it.  I worry if I have to buy a new car.

To pray – “Lord, fix my car,” would be trivial and selfish.  But to take to God in prayer my anxiety about finding the time and money to repair it is not selfish.  To ask for wisdom to know how to find the time to deal with it, is to ask for guidance, it is not a selfish order I place before God.

In some way or other, everything in our lives can be taken to God in prayer. 

Part of this is to take these things to God in prayer WITH THANKSGIVING.

It is so important that every prayer have an element of thanksgiving, and I think this is an area in which we often fail.

I recall my father contemplating the death of my sister.  She had just celebrated her 7^th birthday.  In his prayers for her healing, he always gave thanks for the gift God gave our family to be entrusted with her for her life, no matter how long that life might be.

Giving thanks in all things is something Paul encourages us to do, and to give a word of thanks in a prayer enables us to be less self centered and more God focused as we lift up our every request to God.

4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 I truly love verse 7.  I think it is great literary style.

There does come a time when you have the peace of God which passes all understanding.  It is a wonderful experience. 

Now here is an interesting thing about this verse – or at least I find it interesting. 

Paul talks about peace, and how this peace stands guard on your heart.

Just as it is in English, this phrasing in Greek is military.

The word that Paul uses (phrourein) is the military word for standing on guard.

This peace of God is beyond human understanding.  That means two things – first we cannot comprehend it.  There is something about God’s peace that is a mystery to us.

Second, it is beyond our ability to devise.  We cannot create or bring about this peace, because how to receive it is beyond our intellectual capacity.

4:8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

4:9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

 We always focus on something.  Our minds are always busy. 

Paul wants us to put our minds on things of good value.

If we think on things that make us angry, or if we think hateful thoughts, if we think lustful thoughts, if we think greedy thoughts – then we will build a rut in our lives we have trouble getting out of.

Build that rut out of positive things, and it is not a rut, but a good foot hold.

4:9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Keep on doing the things – in other words, practice, practice, practice.  Make these things habits.  We think of habits as negative, but a positive word is discipline!