‘Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.
Words of Encouragement
Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life. Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Paul’s Thanks for Their Gifts
How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness. At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen.
Paul’s Final Greetings
Give my greetings to each of God’s holy people—all who belong to Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their greetings. And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.’ Philippians 4:1-23(NLT)
Host: Welcome to Through the Word, leading you on a journey through the entire Bible, one chapter at a time. Today Kris Langham guides us through the New Testament book of Philippians. Now to Pastor Kris.
Philippians chapter 4! And this book just keeps getting better. Today the secret of contentment. Content is a beautiful word. It means satisfied. Satiated. At peace with my life and settled. When someone asks you, “Do you need anything?” and you can genuinely say from the core of your soul, “I’m good.” Content is a rare jewel in this world. And right here in chapter 4, Paul delivers the secret of contentment. What is it? Stay tuned. Verse 6:
“Do not be anxious about anything…” (Philippians 4:6).
Hold there a second. Anxiety. Worry about the future. That awful uneasy sense in your chest, because something might go wrong. The Word of God says:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (4:6).
I think that sometimes we worry because we feel like we have to dosomething. I can’t fix it, but at least I can worry. So God gives us something else to do: pray. Ask God, thank God, and trust God. And in verse 7:
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (4:7).
Now that is a beautiful promise. Peace, the opposite of worry. God’s peace – the one that transcends all understanding, that doesn’t have to understand why or how, and just trusts God – that peace will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The peace of God is a shield. It guards your heart. It guards your mind as well, protects it from doubt and worry. I have to admit, I was a worrier. One of the side effects of thinking too much. And I can’t tell you exactly how all this works, I can only tell you that it does. I pray, I trust, and I know His peace. So instead of worry, pray. And instead of thinking about all the problems:
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right…think about such things” (4:9).
And then verse 10 onward is the thank you part of the letter. Paul owes the Philippians thanks. They came through for Paul. Again and again they supported him, with money, prayer, letters. Now Paul is careful to point out that he’s not just manipulating them for more money. This is genuine gratitude. Verse 11:
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (4:11-12).
Did you catch that? The secret of being content. No matter what, content. And he wasn’t zapped with it by God, he learned it. Learned it from experience. Paul knew need, and he knew plenty. He had to go through it to learn it.
Corrie Ten Boom – who endured a German concentration camp for hiding Jews – said, “You’ll never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.” From the looks of it, contentment may be harder to find when you have plenty. But no matter, Paul says the secret works either way.
And what’s the secret? Well, if I’m reading it right, the secret is in verse 13:
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (4:13).
I’ll read it again, “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” Now Paul is not saying, “I can do anything I want because I have magic God power.” He’s talking about being content in hard times. He’s saying, “I can do this. I can persevere. I can stand firm and keep my joy and hold onto God’s peace and be anxious for nothing – I can do all this through Him – because He gives me strength. Strength is how you move – how you bear burdens and carry you cross – how you press on to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of you.
When life hits hard – He strengthens me, and I am content. Ask me if I need anything, anything at all. I’m good. Really good.
Host: Thanks for joining us for today’s quick audio guide. You can find the full audio guide for this chapter and hundreds more on the Through the Word app and website. Our apps are free and free to share, so tell your friends and take the journey together. And remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing Through the Word (Romans 10:17).
Bible quotes in NIV unless otherwise stated.
from Philippians Explained | I Can Do All Things Through Christ