This week, we have been looking at the final section of this letter that the Apostle Paul
wrote to early followers of Jesus that is recorded for us in the New Testament
of the Bible called the book of Philippians. So far this week, we have discovered
that, as a result of the opportunity that the members of the church at Philippi
now had to demonstrate their consistent care and concern for him, Paul had an
attitude of delight in life and a quality of life that took the long view
instead of focusing on his current circumstances.
Paul had a mindset and not a fleeting emotion that
was producing something in his life as a result of the circumstances that he
found himself in that caused the members of the church at Philippi to demonstrate
their care and concern toward him. Paul revealed for us the reality that though all of his experiences, he had
come to the realization that it was God who empowered him to be content in
whatever circumstances he found himself in.
It was Paul’s mind-set
that resulted in an attitude of delight in life that took the long view and was
not based, limited, or tied to circumstances that empowered Paul to be content
regardless of circumstances. And it was this joy that resulted in a quality of
life and not a fleeting emotion that empowered Paul to be content regardless of
his circumstances.
In addition, Paul revealed the reality that the members of the church at Philippi
had been partnering with the Apostle Paul financially as he shared the claims
of Christ and the message of the gospel throughout the known world. The members
of the church at Philippi had remained connected to the progress that Paul was
making on his missionary journeys and was generously contributing to help fund
those missionary journeys. While other churches that Paul planted were not
partnering with Paul as he traveled to start new churches, the church at
Philippi was committed to help fund his efforts to start new churches.
What was so fascinating is that
the church at Philippi was not a wealthy church. On the contrary the church at
Philippi was a poor and persecuted church. Yet, in spite of their extreme
poverty and the intense persecution they were facing, the members of the church
at Philippi were extremely rich when it came to their generosity. The church at
Philippi had a ‘no strings attached’ approach when it came to their goodness
and generosity.
However, Philippians 4:17, Paul explained that he was not
seeking their financial support for his missionary activity just for the money
that it would provide him. Instead, Paul explained “I seek for the profit which
increases to your account.” In other words, Paul was thankful for the
generosity of the members of the church at Philippi because their generosity
and support of him would produce something.
Their partnership and generosity in helping share the
claims of Christ and the message of the gospel would result in a gain that
would grow in abundance as they partnered together in ministry and mission.
Paul then reveals what would be produced in the members of the church at
Philippi as a result of their generosity in Philippians 4:18:
But I have received everything in full and
have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what
you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in
Christ Jesus.
Here we see Paul explain to the members of the church at
Philippi that he had received the financial gift that they had sent as his
partner in ministry and mission. Now a natural question that could arise here
is “Well Dave, Paul isn’t planting churches, he is in prison: So why are they
sending him a financial gift to plant churches if he is in prison? I mean, he
does not money for planting churches, it sounds like he needs money for an
attorney?”
To understand why Paul would need financial support while
in prison, we first need to understand how prison operated in the first
century. As we discovered earlier in this series, prison in the first century
was not like prison today. Prison in the first century did not provide meals,
cable TV, and exercise equipment. Instead, in the first century, a prisoner was
responsible to provide for his own support while in prison, including food and
clothing. Because of that reality, Epaphroditus
was sent by the church at Philippi with a financial gift to help provide for
Paul while he was in prison and to serve Paul in a way that helped meet Paul’s
needs while in prison.
Paul then wrote this letter that has been preserved and
recorded for us today in the Bible to be sent by Epaphroditus to let the
members of the church know how he was doing and how much he appreciated their
financial gift. Paul wanted to let the members of the church know that their
financial gift was a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to
God. In other words, Paul viewed their support through their financial gift as
an act of worship to God that had been made by the church at Philippi.
Paul then makes a statement that is another one of the
most misunderstood, misused, and abused statements in the entire Bible in verse
19: “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in
Christ Jesus.” Now, just like verse 13, Paul was not thinking that this phrase
would be placed on bumper stickers and coffee mugs as a proof positive message
that God would provide the resources to purchase a new home, a new car, or
achieve one’s wildest dreams.
You see, Paul is not making this statement to individual
followers of Jesus. And there are two reasons why I am confident that this is the
case. First, the your in verse 19 is plural. Second, Paul makes this statement
in the context of the church at Philippi’s support of him while in prison. The
only way to view this verse as a promise to individual followers of Jesus is to
rip the verse out of context, which is what many people unfortunately do. Now I
am not saying that God does not provide for the needs of His followers. What I
am saying is that this verse is not the verse to use to say that God provides
for the needs of His followers. There are other verses that make that point.
With his phrase, Paul is reminding the members of the
church at Philippi that God will supply the needs of the church as a result of
their generosity towards him while he was in prison. Paul’s point is that the church
at Philippi’s joy in Jesus produced in them an open handed generosity towards
those who were partnering in the kingdom mission with them. And that open
handed generosity towards those who they were partnering in ministry and
mission with resulted in God providing for their financial needs so that they
could accomplish the kingdom mission that they had also been given.
Paul is revealing for us the timeless principle that the
church who generously partners with those who are engaged in God’s kingdom mission
by helping support that kingdom mission financially will have their financial
needs met by God so that they can engage in God’s kingdom mission. The church that
generously invests their treasure to help other churches, missionaries, or
movements of Jesus will have their financial needs met by God so that they can
in turn invest that treasure in the same kingdom mission that they have as a
church.
The church at Philippi’s joy in Jesus empowered them to
lives of generosity. The church at Philippi had a mind-set
that resulted in an attitude of delight in life that took the long view and was
not based, limited, or tied to external circumstances that empowered them to be
generous regardless of their circumstances. And it was this joy that resulted
in a quality of life and not a fleeting emotion that empowered them to be
generous regardless of his circumstances.
And it
is in this passage that we see that Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless truth
when it comes to finding joy. And that timeless truth is this: Our joy in Jesus
empowers us to live lives of contentment and generosity. Just as it was for the Apostle Paul, just as it has been
for followers of Jesus throughout history, our joy in Jesus will empower us to
live lives of contentment and generosity.
As followers of Jesus, when we find our joy in Jesus, we
will have a mind-set that results in an attitude of
delight in life that takes the long view and is not based, limited, or tied to
external circumstances that will empower us to be content regardless of
circumstances, because our contentment is in Jesus and not our circumstances. As followers of Jesus, when we find our joy in Jesus, the
result is a quality of life and not a fleeting emotion that empowers us to be
content in Jesus regardless of his circumstances, because Jesus will be enough.
As
followers of Jesus, when we
find our joy in Jesus, we will have a mind-set that
results in an attitude of delight in life that takes the long view and is not
based, limited, or tied to external circumstances that will empower us to be
open handed generous people, because, as Paul points out in verse 19, our
generosity reflects the generosity of Jesus. And as followers of Jesus, when we find our joy in Jesus,
the result is a quality of life and not a fleeting
emotion that empowers us to be open handed generous people in a way that
enhances the reputation of God and advances the kingdom of God.
So here is a question to consider: What does the level of
your contentment reveal about the level of joy or lack of joy, in your life? Could
it be that the reason that you do not have contentment is because you do not
truly understand what joy is or where joy comes from? Could it be that the
reason you do not have contentment is because your are trying to find joy in
all the wrong places?
And what does the level of your generosity reveal about
the level of joy or lack of joy, in your life? Could it be that the reason you
are not generous is because you are trying to gain joy from the numbers in your
bank account instead of in Jesus? Is
Jesus enough?
Because
our joy in Jesus empowers us to live lives of contentment and generosity…
