Philippians 4:10–23

10 But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have revived your thought for me; in which you did indeed take thought, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it.  12 I know how to be humbled, and I know also how to abound. In everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need.  13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.  14 However you did well that you shared in my affliction.  

15 You yourselves also know, you Philippians, that in the beginning of the Good News, when I departed from Macedonia, no assembly shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you only.  16 For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again to my need.  17 Not that I seek for the gift, but I seek for the fruit that increases to your account.  18 But I have all things, and abound. I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable and well-pleasing sacrifice to God.  19 My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  

20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever! Amen. 

21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.  22 All the saints greet you, especially those who are of Caesar’s household. 

23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Commentary

Well, this is the final study in our reflections on Philippians. Thanks for staying with us through this little book. I’ve learned lots – I hope you have, too. Just as we are reaching the end of our study, most Australian States are starting to reduce COVID lockdown restrictions. Perhaps we’ve served our time and done our duty.

The first paragraph of our reading shows a mature and experienced servant of God. Paul explains that he is rejoicing, not because he has been delivered from suffering, but because the Philippian church has again engaged with him in his suffering. 

But we need to read this carefully. He is not rejoicing just because he now has someone to share his burdens; he is rejoicing because he knows that they will benefit from this spiritual work. Read that last sentence again.

This is a massive difference in perspective. Paul clarifies his own status of maturity in the Christian walk. He says that he has learned to put up with anything. Indeed, not just to “put up with it”, but to be content. He says that he has learned to be content in Christ whether he is rich or poor, warm or cold, hungry or well fed, safe or in danger. 

In other words, the externals are no longer as important to him as they once were. To put it in philosophical terms, the universals matter more to him than the particulars. The unseen is more important than the seen. The eternal realities are more present to him than the temporal realities.

This is a massive shift from where most of us probably find ourselves. We quickly lose our cool, our sang-froid, our confidence, our peace of mind – as soon as we are hit with some winds of distress. Difficulty at work, quarrel with our spouse, loss of money on a bad deal, some minor illness – all these are minor in the scheme of things, but they can easily knock us off our trajectory. If we are hit with the much harder things – divorce, death, loss of employment, painful rift with children, serious illness – we may have no chance of standing firm.

Remember how it is with little children. They burst into tears when they are not allowed to have a toy or have to eat something that’s actually good for them. But on the other hand, they are able to be comforted by being given a coloured trinket, a soft toy, or a chocolate. Their emotions are unstable, liable to collapse or revival at the slightest alteration of events. 

But as mature Christians, we should not be like children. Paul tells us that he has finally learned to be content no matter what. This is a lifelong goal for us – or ought to be.

The sentence, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me, (v13) has often been misused. Perhaps like me, you have heard people use this verse to suggest that we can do anything we like, achieve any goal we aim at, through Christ's strength. It has too often been used as a form of Christian braggadocio by those who think that God’s grace and strength is given to us to exploit for our own desires. The NIV makes it a little bit clearer by using I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

To understand this properly, I just have to refer you to one more Greek word before we finish. In fact, I’ll give you the whole verse: Panta ischyo en to endynamounti me Christo. That second word, ischyo : it does mean something as simple as to be able to do something. But it has a range of much stronger meanings, including to prevail, to have the power to do something as shown by extraordinary deeds, to have strength to overcome. 

Once we understand this, we can see that it means far more than just being able “to do all things”. More commonly, we might use endure, or overcome.

And how do we do this? By the endynamounti me Christo. The first word comes from the same root as our word for dynamite. It is an explosive power; a power that removes all obstacles; that removes mountains that are in the way. And Paul says that this power is in him, in Christ. And, therefore, in us, in or through Christ.

So let’s rephrase our verse: I can endure or overcome anything that comes my way through the power of Christ working in me. This reflects perfectly what Paul has been saying to the Philippians about how he is content in everything; and although he appreciates their help, it will do more for their good than his. 

Paul makes it clear by the follow-up sentence in v14, that he is just repeating, or filling out his previous thought. He can deal with anything; he can put up with anything; he can cope with anything – in the grace of Jesus Christ. He is not promoting a Christian superhumanism.  

But, he says, it was good for them that they reached out and shared his affliction. Of course, there was also benefit for him – but their help was not life-critical for him; he could have coped. He had sufficient spiritual resources. But it was life-critical for them, in terms of their own Christian growth. 

Perhaps this might alter the approach we take to our own deeds of Christian service and charity. 

We might congratulate ourselves less on how very kind we are being to others – and think more of how this service is actually an essential part of our own learning and discipleship. At the end of the day, when we do deeds of service it turns out for our own spiritual benefit as much as for others.

The second paragraph of this reading essentially builds on this same idea. We do things for others, with the result that we grow in spiritual blessings. But there is a subtle danger lurking in the undergrowth here that we need to watch out for!

This is one of the backdoors where the prosperity gospellers enter. I mean, in case you don’t know, those who seek to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a means of personal enrichment. This theory was very popular on early-morning television “Christian” programs some years ago, and still is, although some of the charlatans have been exposed, and have retired to enjoy their ill-gotten gains. It is still a massive industry in some African countries, especially Nigeria. You’ll still hear it even in some contemporary Australian churches. 

The message goes like this, though it comes in various guises:

“God loves a cheerful giver. If you give to God, he will give back to you, tenfold. So, if you want to be rich, then make a large donation to this church, to this preacher, or to this television ministry. The more you give, the more God will bless you. As you sow, so shall you reap.”

I’ve heard some outrageous versions of this, even in local churches here on the Gold Coast, where I live. “Even if your credit card is maxed out, then take that card now, and make a large donation, right now. God will bless you and you will receive his riches back in ways that you cannot begin to imagine. God is no man’s debtor!”

The trouble with this prosperity theology, or prosperity teaching, as it is called, is that it is half-true. But something that is half-true is, by definition, also half wrong. It contains just enough truth to make the lie believable. It contains quite a few bits of scripture – but it misuses them deceitfully.

It is true that Paul is teaching us here that as we give in service to others, God will bless us. But that is not the point of the giving. The point of the giving is that we serve God and reflect his character of generous love. Furthermore, the blessing we receive may not be in financial terms. In fact, it most probably will not be. God did not bless Paul with removal from prison. He blessed him with spiritual blessings of joy and peace and a deeper love and understanding of God.

I've chosen as our Memory Verse for this week, the verse: My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. But think carefully about this verse, in the light of what we have been saying here. 

God will supply our needs – that is his promise – but his view of our needs might be different from ours. We might think we need more money, but he might think our need is for greater trust, or deeper devotion, or more humility, or less pride, or less confidence in temporal things. Those are the needs he will supply. 

He promises to supply our needs, not our wants. This verse is not a secret spiritual code to raid the Great Vending Machine in the Sky.

Again, remember how children learn. 

A six-year-old thinks that their most urgent need is a new Lego kit or a new doll or a new scooter. Their parent thinks their most urgent need is some good books. At mealtime, a three-year-old child may think their most urgent need is a bowl of ice-cream. Their parent thinks they need some vegetables. A teenage girl might think her most urgent need is a vegan smoothie, while her brother thinks he needs a Big Mac and large fries to go. The wise parent might think she needs some red meat, a boiled egg, and a good book on nutrition, while her brother needs to put away his video games and take a long walk for exercise.

Growing in Christian maturity means learning to think about our real needs in the same way as God does. As our values line up with those of Jesus Christ, our desires for new treats merge more closely to look like the same things that he wants for us. They will generally have less to do with money and creature comforts and more to do with character and love and self-denial.

Paul concludes with various benedictions. Although there we could say lots about them, let’s be content with just one. Read v22 again: All the saints greet you, especially those who are of Caesar’s household.

Paul was in prison under the rule of Caesar. Christianity was to be persecuted for centuries yet, under various Caesars. But right then, God had his people right there, in the wolf’s lair. Never think that any place or political system is without a witness for Christ.

We might think that the political scene for Christians in China or Russia or Saudi Arabia or Iran or North Korea is pretty frightening. And, of course, those are frightening places for Christians. But be absolutely in no doubt: God has his people in those countries, too, and most probably in high-up positions, too. Right now, right there.

Estimates of the number of Christians in China vary, of course, because much of the genuine church is an underground church. But the most conservative assessment would be about 100 million. I’ve heard estimates from reliable, conservative people who are actually involved personally in Chinese ministries, of upwards of 300 million! Even Wikipedia estimates that there are between half and one million Christians in Iran. There are likely far more deeply committed and faithful Christians in many of these countries than there are in Australia.

Paul knows that the kingdom of God will never fail. We have read the end of the story: God wins! So Paul, and we, can be quietly content in whatever condition we find ourselves. 

God is in charge. All is well. Do not be afraid. Do not despair. Do not give up. Not ever. Rejoice! Even if just for now you are weeping – the one does not necessarily veto the other. 

In this little letter, Paul has taught us that we can rejoice even with tears in our eyes, and pain in our hearts or our bodies. Our rejoicing is not dependent on the temporal realities around us, but the eternal realities which we may not be able to see just at the moment. 

Even if what is seen causes us to weep, the unseen causes us to rejoice – all at the same time. Remember this as you stand around the grave, as you sit by the sickbed, as you watch your family disintegrate, or your life-savings and livelihood crumble.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 

Group or Individual Questions for Reflection

1.    Share with your group or journal those things that you worry about. How might you deal with them in the light of this reading?

2.    Have you ever been deeply blessed by another Christian or group of Christians who reached out to you in a time of need?

3.    On a scale of 1–10 (where 1 is low, and 10 is high) how much can you say that you are with Paul in declaring that you have learned to be content regardless of the situation you are in? What will you do about that?

4.    What have you learned throughout this whole study on Philippians? As a prompt, perhaps you could summarise some thoughts around these headings:

a)    Suffering

b)   God’s providence over your life

c)    Knowing Christ 

d)   Rejoicing

e)   Caring for others

f)     Faithfulness in service

g)    Christian character 

Passage for Memory:

My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19.

Prayer Time:

1.    Ask for grace to help you grow in maturity in Christ.

2.    Ask for the gift of learning to be content in all things.

3.    Pray for our brothers in sisters in Christ in other countries – especially those who are suffering persecution for the name of Jesus Christ, and for those who are in tiny minorities.

4.    Ask God to teach you over the coming years, how to truly rejoice in suffering and to be steadfast in faith.

Children’s colouring task created by Anna-Mieke Mulholland follows below.