Philippians 4

Being Content

It’s not always easy to be content. There are so many things around us that seek to take away our joy, especially over the past couple of years. So contentedness can be difficult to find. Right now, I’m traveling with my husband on a singing tour through New England. We are currently travelling through beautiful New Hampshire where the leaves are a rhapsody of color and the sky is a brilliant blue. It is the very definition of contentment. All is well with the world. The key though, is to always be content, even when the skies are gray and menacing, the storms are raging and the earth is brown and dust. Paul tells us the only way to find this kind of contentment is when we are grounded in the Lord, for He is our firm foundation.

Vs 1-3 So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord dear friends. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.

Paul begins this portion of his letter with the words “so then“, so we must connect this portion to the end of chapter 3. What we find is Paul reminding us, our citizenship is not here, but in heaven. We live here, work here, love here, and build relationships here, but ultimately, our home is not here. We need to walk in a way that reflects our true home and citizenship. I find it’s easy to get caught up in the distractions that surround us be it financial problems, relationship conflicts, political differences, physically illness or just having a bad cup of tea (coffee for most) in the morning. In the case of the Philippians church, Paul addresses a church disagreement that becomes a distraction between two leaders in the church – Euodia and Syntyche. We do not know what the problem was, but these women were involved in a deep enough division to warrant Paul asking for others in the church to help them come back to agreement. The Greek says they need to be of the same phronein. Phronein is a difficult word to translate into English because it combines the visceral, or inner heart, and the cognitive aspects of thinking. Paul wanted these ladies, and by extension the church, to be of the same heart and mind in the Lord. Having the mind of Christ is not just about thinking alike, it is also about having the same heartbeat as Christ. We know his purpose by the prayer he taught us to pray – “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...” And this is a word to our churches today. We are to have the mind of Christ. Our heartbeat should beat as one with Him. Everything we think, feel, and do should be about God’s kingdom and will coming to earth as it is in heaven.

Vs 4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

And here it is again – Rejoice – be joyful always. The Greek word for rejoice is chairó. Chairo is not just about being happy. It goes deeper than that. It has an etymological connection to the word chari, (they share the same root and thus core). Chari is the word for grace. Here we find the reason and the “how to” for our joy. We can rejoice always because of God’s grace in our lives. This is also the reason we do not worry about anything. We can, by the grace of God, come before Him with our prayers, petitions, thanksgiving and requests. Because of the grace of God, we have eirēnē, or peace beyond understanding. The word eirene has the same meaning as the Hebrew word shalom. To have true eirene or shalom, means we are made whole in the grace of God, and therefore have true peace that is totally beyond our understanding.

This peace will guard our hearts and minds in Jesus and leads into another of Paul’s “finallys”. With our hearts and minds guarded, Paul gives us eight things we need to dwell on: things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent and those things that are praiseworthy. Let’s break each of these words down to find the real meaning Paul is trying to convey. We begin with aléthés, which is a truth that cannot be concealed. It is a truth that has been tested so we can depend on it. Paul would have us dwell on truths we can depend on – the gospel of Christ, his righteousness and faithfulness. Next, semnos, which is honor that is revered or someone to be in awe of. We sing many songs about being in awe of God. There is one recent song by Jesus Culture entitled In Awe of You. A line in the songs says, “Melodies come and go, You remain. So I stand in awe, stand in awe of you.” Things will come and go, but God remains. He is always there and so I stand in awe and honor Him. Dikaios is justice that is righteous and innocent. We need to seek after true justice that will further the kingdom of God. Today’s world needs real justice, not the type courts hand down, but justice that gives glory and honor to God. Hagna is purity that is sacred, holy and free from defilement. Another thing we need in the world right now is men and women of God who are holy and pure. There are so many things that can distract us and take our eyes off God, putting them on worldly things. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus will keep our steps in line with Him. Prosphilés is lovely as in pros, which means to extend forward and phileo, which means to be affectionate and caring. We are to extend forward our care and affection for the One who gives us grace. Euphémos is commendable as in to be spoken well of. Let nothing come from our mouth or in our actions that does not point toward Christ. Arete is a moral excellence that is displayed for the purpose of enriching life. I love this definition. We are not moral just for the sake of morality, but because we want to be like Christ so others will come to His grace. Epainos is an enthusiastic acknowledgment for what deserves praise – true joyful praise! These eight things that lead to contentment and joy will take a lifetime of practice. Paul reminds us in chapter 3 that he hasn’t achieved everything yet, but continues to strive. The promise: if we can dwell on these things, the peace of God will be with us, we will be made whole in His grace, and then, we can truly rejoice always.

Vs 10-14 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me but lacked the opportunity to show it. I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content, whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. Still you did well by partnering with me in my hardship.

The Greek word for contentment is autarkés which means to be totally satisfied, totally independent of the worries around us, and a self-sufficiency that comes from the power of God in our lives. Paul says we are to be autarkes no matter the circumstances. Years ago Matt Redman wrote a song called Blessed Be Your Name. In the song he says we can bless the Name of the Lord in the land of plentiful and in the desert, when we are full and when we are empty, when things are going well and when things seem like they are falling apart. This is true contentment. Paul learned the secret of true contentment – it is that God will strengthen us both in times of abundance and need and in times of happiness and trial. That’s a hard lesson for us (for me) to learn. It is something I have realized more and more as this pandemic continues to ravage us. I need to be content in the current circumstances no matter what. I have a choice. I can rail and get upset about all the mandates, loss, guidelines, restraints etc. or, I can be content knowing God was, is and will always be in control. I can choose worry and constant anger and stress or I can choose God’s peace beyond my understanding. If I strive to dwell on Paul’s eight things, then I will discover that peace and joy. This will lead me to being content no matter what is going on around me. I know I can’t always control the circumstances I’m in, but I can choose to be autakes – content because of the power of God in me. Yes, it’s easier said than done – but this is why Paul says we need to dwell on these things. It is a life long process to learn true contentedness, but we now know the secret – God is able to strengthen us. He is strong when we are weak and His Spirit empowers us to walk as He walked.

Vs. 15-20 And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided, a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

And so we come to the end of Paul’s letter to the Philippians church. He thanks them for their great generosity. They have been taking care of Paul’s needs for many years, starting in the days when he first came to them until his present circumstances. They had been faithful servants. He describes their offerings in a most beautiful way. First, they are fragrant and second, they are an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. Paul is using language that eludes to the offerings in the temple of the Lord. These offerings were given out of the best that people had to offer: the unblemished lamb or ox, the best of their grain and oil, the first fruits given in faith that God would supply the rest of the harvest. These offerings were a sacrifice to give, so Paul teaches them that even though their gifts were given out of sacrifice, God is the one who will “supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Not only can we live in contentment no matter the circumstances, we can give graciously and freely because God will supply all our needs. The secret is, God is our strength. He is the one who can empower us to be content if we choose to let Him.