Paul's Practical Applications
- Drew Goodmanson
- Aug 15, 2004
- Series: Philippians
Introduction
Often people come to church on Sunday’s and they are looking for answers. During each week new challenges come up that we must face. Our lives are marked by highs and lows. How can we take Scripture and apply it into our lives? Today, we will read the beginning of the 4th chapter, where Paul tells the Philippians very practical things in response to who God is and what He has done.
Some of the practical applications will include how can we stand firm in the Lord, how do we deal with personal conflicts, how do we live with joy and finally, how can we have a gentle spirit so that all people see it? There is a lot to cover this morning so let’s begin by reading the text and then prayer.
Philippians 4
1 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
Prayer
Verse 1 begins with the word ‘therefore’ or ‘in light of what we just read’ it indicates the closest connection with what precedes this text. It is important for us to understand what Paul has already communicated. The truths of the previous verses directly impact the practical applications we are about to read.
What are the truths that Paul is referring to? That we should consider everything loss outside of Christ, that He is our only gain in life (3:8). That we should forgot what is in the past and press onward towards the goal to win (-14). That through faith in Christ we have a right standing before God and will be resurrected from the dead to eternal life (3:9). That we should walk as worthy Christian examples (), resist “enemies of the cross” (-19), and look forward to Christ’s return.
Really this goes back to the good news or gospel. While we were in sin, Christ took our sin upon himself to the cross so that we can have forgiveness and peace with God. It is when we accept Christ as our savoir, that God gives us salvation, and the Holy Spirit. If we do not see the gospel as the center, then all the practical application we will be discussing will either be legalism, misunderstood or wrongly motivated. We must have the Spirit to guide us into a correct understanding, beginning with who Christ is and what He has done for us.
Verse 1 - my beloved brethren whom I long to see …beloved.
On this first verse Paul mentions 3 times his affection for this church in
Paul’s desire is to bring Godly doctrine and instruction in love. This is important for all of us to recognize. We are a church that desires to learn doctrine and study theology. This knowledge can easily puff us up full of pride. It is like when we learn something new, it becomes a new sword we want to go and play with but we have not gained the love and wisdom to use it correctly. Many of us believe that bringing truth, like a 100 pound hammer, is love. If you encounter someone who is in error and if you cannot speak to them out of love, it would be better not to do it at all. My prayer is that we would have this love towards others that Paul had for the Philippians.
Just the other day when I spoke with David about the text I would be covering today. He and I talked about how much we love you. You are our family. You are the co-laborers in the gospel with us. David and I talk daily and it is about this church and our love for you.
Paul continues by calling the Philippians his joy and crown. What we see Paul communicate throughout this letter, is joy. We will be examining joy later, but it is important to see that Paul roots his joy in the Lord and takes joy in spiritual things. He takes joy in the people of this church who accepted the gospel, whose names are written in the book of life and who are his fellow workers for the gospel.
For those of you who have been involved in the ministry, or who have discipled or mentored someone, this is the joy you have as people grow toward the Lord. Looking back over the short time Kaleo has been in existence, we have seen many of you grow tremendously in the Lord. We have heard people say that they have grown more in a year here than their whole Christian walk previously. David and I take great joy in you. It is incredible to see the lives changed, decisions made based on Biblical instead of worldly principles, we’ve seen a community loving one another and desiring to share the gospel with both their words and deeds.
Just last week I had the opportunity to go out with the guys who serve at the Burrito’s & Socks ministry. I watched them serve hot food and interact with homeless people. I saw them love these people as they have been doing faithfully the whole year. It isn’t easy going out week after week, but they do it.
Over this time they have developed strong relationships with people on the street. These relationships have produced fruit both in the people they are serving but also in their lives. The week I went out, Vanessa’s husband Anthony had died. Vanessa planned a service commemorating the life of Anthony. A community waited for us to show up and then we gathered, read a letter, people shared comments about Anthony and we prayed.
I can honestly say that after I returned from this evening I was touched. Seeing these guys interact with this community gave me a tremendous feeling of joy. I took joy in the work of the gospel that is going on. I cannot encourage you enough, if you haven’t had a chance, to go out with this ministry to see this first-hand.
Paul also calls them his crown. This is not a crown of glory that a King would have but a crown of victory or achievement. This is like the Olympic medal being placed upon Paul because of the Philippians. Paul is saying that this church demonstrates his labors were not in vain, that their lives prove his calling as an apostle to the gentiles.
Friday began the opening of the Summer Olympics. I am always amazed to watch the stories between the events that show the lives of these athletes. They dedicate their lives to the pursuit of one thing, winning at the Olympics. Hours are spent all day training, constant practice as they pursue their crown.
We too ought to train so that we would win. We are told that through our life of faith, we will bear fruit. David spoke about knowing what our goal is 2 weeks ago from chapter 3:14.
Philippians I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
We are to compete for the prize. We are told to run the race to win. As we strive forward laboring for the gospel, we should ask ourselves, what is our crown? As you look back at the previous years, what is the fruit of your labor?
Now maybe this is just me, but when I thought about this, I thought, Christianity can seem a little crazy if we don’t understand it. We don’t want to boast so we think it is arrogant to think of what our crown is. We are told the first shall be last. We mix all these ideas wrongly and come to a purposeful confusion, thinking “Do I run to win or are the first last and the last first. Maybe I should run to lose so that I come in first”. We try to pretend that because we do not produce fruit, that we do not run to win it is because of humility. This is a false sense of humility.
On the flip side others want to glory in their good works. They want to present themselves to have far more crowns than they do. Their prize is not the upward call of God but the accolades of men. Ultimately all they have is a dead works-based faith.
We constantly have to remind ourselves that Christianity is not about our works, but our response. We must always go back to the gospel. Our labor towards a crown has to be in response to Christ and what he has done for us. He has given us life; He has wrapped us so that we are His righteousness before God. It is when we don’t understand what Christ has done that serving is a burden, attending church is an option and our lives don’t reflect Christ.
Verse 1 – in this way stand firm in the Lord
Just as all of you are ready to run to win, Paul continues by telling them to stand firm. As we looked at the ‘therefore’ connecting this verse to the preceding thoughts, we need to understand how we can stand firm in light of what Paul has already written to the Philippians.
Our standing fast is ‘in the Lord’. We can stand firm because of Christ, who He is and what He has accomplished on our behalf. Nothing will stand that isn’t in Christ; everything will be either gathered to Him or judged eternally. For those people who do not have Christ in their life, they cannot stand firm.
The term that Paul uses here is a military term. He knows that we are in a war. There is a spiritual battle and Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, often uses warfare as an example. Not understanding that we are in a war impacts us individually and it also has shaped the church.
As Christians often we forget that we are in a war. We don’t experience the visible signs of persecution of other countries where people are being killed and imprisoned for their faith so we may not even think about the spiritual warfare that exists in our lives. We wake up each morning unprepared for battle. Our life is a mess; we are constantly struggling with relationships, with money and work. We become lazy and tired. We do not stand firm.
Even in our evangelism, we may know intellectually it’s not true but we buy into the lie that
It is when we no longer see ourselves at war, that the world influences the church into apathy and non-biblical thinking. First, many of us have bought into the lies of the world. We approach scripture and when we read something we don’t like, we are more willing to reject scripture than the lies of the world around us. This has changed the church, over the last generation we’ve seen a radical shift in thinking on a number of issues from divorce, to secular psychology, to the critical understanding of God’s sovereignty and this list could go on and on.
Is the church standing firm or are we being moved with the changes of the culture and world around us? You and I are the church so we all need to ask ourselves, are we ‘standing firm? What does that even look like in our life? How do we get to a place where we feel grounded? How much different would we live if we believed everyday we were in a war that at any moment we might be under attack?
For some of you, you may have a feeling that you are not standing fast. Some may feel that against the struggles of this world you’d be happy to be standing, let alone standing fast. Part of this is you may be denying that there is a war going on. When we don’t expect war we are often continually caught off-guard unprepared for the challenges that life presents us. The other part is you are not preparing yourself for battle.
Scripture doesn’t make it a mystery that this war rages on and how we should prepare ourselves. How do we do this? God is not silent; as we read, Scripture gives us direction on how to stand fast in our lives. Turn to Ephesians 6:10-18.
Ephesians 6
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
We need to pursue truth, we must be made right before God so that we have His righteousness, we should be prepared with the gospel of peace, protected with the shield of faith and helmet of salvation and our weapon of choice is the word of God. Without these preparations, we will not survive the battle.
Practical Application
Again, this standing fast ‘in the Lord’. We are not able to do any of this, Christ is. We need to understand who Christ is and what He has done. If we believe in Christ and have faith in Him, it doesn’t matter what our circumstances are. Our confidence is in the Lord who can do all things. Through Him we can stand fast.
Verse 2 - I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
We continue into verse 2. Here we see that there are problems at Paul’s beloved church. Two women are in a conflict. We don’t know exactly what the conflict is about, it could be doctrinal or personal. My belief is that it was not doctrine or Paul would have dealt with it directly in his letter. It was probably personal or relating to church business. Regardless, Paul saw a threat to the church at
We don’t know much about Euodia or Synthyche, but it is important to know these people are Christians. Paul is assured of their salvation. Their names ARE written in the Book of Life. He knows their work, their fruit and their labor for the gospel. This is a moment of ‘when bad things happen to good people’. Even Paul and Barnabas had a falling out. (See Acts 15:39)
This letter was addressed to the entire Philippian community and was intended to be read aloud before the congregation. Can you imagine if we did this today in churches? I’d bet that it would be an effective tool in resolving conflict. Paul doesn’t take sides, he treats them both equally. They are told to be of the same mind.
Conflict is going to happen in the church. Even amongst people co-laboring in the gospel. We can get caught up in the ‘methods’ rather than the principles. Loss of harmony because of time, style, etc. Kaleo is a small church; this type of conflict would have a substantial impact on our community.
How do you deal with conflict with others?
The first thing I would suggest that you do if you find yourself in a conflict is prayerfully consider how to handle it biblically. This needs to occur to develop a heart of forgiveness, love and reconciliation. Even if you don’t feel these things it still does not change your responsibility to act on them.
If a disharmony arises because of personal preferences, we need to let it go for the sake of the gospel. If you are in sin you need to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. This needs to be done quickly so that bitterness and anger does not set in.
Hebrews 12
15See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Ephesians 4
26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity
If you have been sinned against, Matthew 18 beginning in verse 15 tells us how to deal with sin against us. First you need to go to the other person to work it out. If repeated efforts to resolve a dispute in private do not succeed, the Bible teaches that you should seek assistance from other Christians in resolving the matter. Lastly, the matter should be brought to the church.
How do we as a church get involved with people who are having conflict?
We also see Paul exhort a ‘true companion’, Clement and the rest of the fellow workers. Some have suggested that the ‘true companion’ is Luke, who we see journey with Paul to
Often times we see or are aware of discord and arguments between people in the church but we choose to do nothing about it. It is too messy and we don’t want to choose sides. But there will be times when we are going to have conflicts that require us to get involved.
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God
Galatians 6
1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
-More-
How do we avoid conflict?
Live in harmony (being the same mind),
The idea that Paul communicates here is a reiteration from the beginning of the 2nd chapter of Philippians. When he tells us:
Philippians 2
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Here is the motivation as to why we should be of the same mind. We have been united with Christ, we have been loved by Him when we didn’t deserve love, and we have been adopted into his family, into fellowship with the Spirit. We are to be one in spirit and purpose.
Verse 4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Right after Paul mentions this church conflict, he tells them to rejoice always in the Lord. This whole letter is marked by it’s constant theme of joy. He opens in Chapter 1 by praying with joy(1:4-5), in Chapter 2 he says he will die with joy (-18), and in Chapter 3 he lives with joy in the Lord (3:1). Now in Chapter 4 we are told to live with joy in the Lord always.
I know that David has already touched on joy through the weeks but we see Paul repeat his call for joy throughout this book so we must repeat it. The reminder is good for us.
Joy is lost in our culture. I think most people would look at joy as an emotion, that it is a heightened state of happiness. I believe it is more a state of mind, a disposition. It is rooted in our knowledge and understanding of who God is.
Here is a test of your joy. <GOSPEL> I tell you every time I hear that it, my being leaps inside me saying, amen to this good news.
We are constantly bombarded with images and ideals that run counter to God’s. There is a constant message that tells you to seek ‘joy’ or ‘happiness’ elsewhere in your life. Often we pursue relationships, works or family to find joy but it leaves us empty. I would argue that it is even more tragic for a Christian to pursue joy through worldly things. Non-Christians do not have a relationship with Christ so they do not know any better. But when we take the things of God and trade them for the things of the world, we are in a far worse state. We know the truth so our attempts at worldly joy leave us even more hollow.
Scripture demonstrates that our joy should not be based on our circumstances. Paul calls on the Philippians to rejoice while he was under arrest, imprisoned, and possibly facing death. We see the early church even rejoiced when they suffered because they were counted worthy to have suffered for such a worthy name. (Acts ). Even in the challenges of conflict we are to have joy. In fact, these challenges should
James 1
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
Some of you may be saying, “Are you kidding me? How are we going to have joy in trials and suffering?” This is not going to be easy. Personally I face struggles and it is easy to stop having joy. Even recently, I found out that my mother has breast cancer. But as my mom faces potential death we are to rejoice. This seems so counter everything we’ve learn in this world.
How am I supposed to have joy in this situation? How am I to rejoice that my 17 month old son may never get to know my mom? We can have joy because God’s plan is what is best for me and that all things work together for good to those who love God. (Romans 8:28) I can have joy because I know my mom’s hope and eternal state with God is secure. My mom has joy because she knows God had prepared her for this and in her reaction friends and family who do not know God are encountered with my mom’s faith being lived out in front of their eyes. In the 8th chapter of Nehemiah we read “the joy of the LORD is your strength” this helps my mom in this time of need. (Nehemiah 8:10)
If my mom did not have joy, her life would contradict her words and beliefs. Now most certainly, my mom doesn’t wake up each morning skipping around the house because of her cancer. But she does have a peaceful trusting faith that allows her to know God and find pleasure in Him. Her circumstances don’t change her rejoicing in God. And I have seen this used by God as an example to non-believers around her.
We should ask ourselves, do we have joy in our life? Would you say that your walk is one of rejoicing always? Even during trials and persecution?
When I ask myself this question, I can’t say I’m always joyful. And the more I thought about this command; I didn’t really know how to have this idea shape our lives. So I want to make sure that I spoke practically about it. How can we as a community pursue this joy?
Joy is not an option. We are told to rejoice always. To do otherwise is to reject God’s word.
When I feel like my life is not one of rejoicing it really seems to boil down to sin. This includes not trusting God at His word because my perspective becomes focused on the things of the world. Often we look at sin as things we do. We lie, cheat or steal. But we also are in sin when do not do the things God commands us. These are heart issues.
Our joy is tied into obeying the Father’s commandments and abiding in His love. Christ tells us
John 15
10If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. 11"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
So what do we do when we’ve come to realize that we are struggling with joy? First we should repent, confess our sin and pray that God give us joy. I encourage you to read the Psalms. These writings give us glimpses into a journal of a man who struggles with the same things we do. David writes (after being in sin):
Psalm 51
12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
David asks God for this joy. We must pray and ask the same. Joy is a gift from God.
Galatians 5
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness
Joy is also a result of faith. If you have faith in God’s promises, if you trust that He is sovereign and that He ‘works out all things for those who love Him, according to His purpose. Than we are free, regardless of the circumstances to experience His joy in our lives. Earlier we read in Philippians:
Philippians 1
25And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,
If you struggle with joy it is important to examine whether you are reacting to life without faith in God’s promises? All of us need to continually grow in our knowledge and faith in the Lord.
Often we hope that there is a more difficult answer to things of faith. It would make it almost more bearable if issues of joy and faith were mysterious with elaborate steps. The simplicity of answer Scripture provides often makes us want to reject what it is calling us to.
I would encourage you today to trust in the words of the Lord. God is faithful to keep His promises to us. If you doubt this I entreat you to cast this aside and pursue Christ. Meditate on your salvation, taste the Lord and know that He is good, read the Words of scripture and let them penetrate your soul. Really I am asking you to die to yourself and your plan that is filled with suffering and follow God’s plan that leads to joy in Him.
Verse 5 - Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.
Now we move to the last verse we are going to look at. We are told to let our gentleness be known to all men. This one word in the Greek is difficult to translate into English and we need to look at the fullness of its meaning. ‘Gentleness’ A word that is translated Patience (Wycliffe), Softness (Tyndale, Cranmer), the patient mind (Geneva Bible), Modesty (Rheims Bible), Forbearance (Revised Version), Moderation (King James Version), Sweet Reasonableness. TO endure wrongs against us. To not urge our own rights, self-sacrifice, a greater concern for others.
The word for gentleness has the idea of humility or self-effacing effort. Rather than being known for our wit, wisdom, or wealth, we should be known for putting others first (Philip. 2:3-4). I would even suggest the word graciousness. But even more so than this it is being gracious even when you are mistreated.
When I think about this, it brought to light my driving. Often when we are in the car we are quick to become upset when we are cut-off. How dare that person do that to me. We have an expecation of our rights over others. I think this is a good barameter for us to examine ourselves by. When no one is around and watching us, in a place we are free to pick our nose, are we gracious?
As a church, Kaleo has gathered a group that is committed to truth. Often the consequence is our desire to be right over gracious. This is a challenge for many of us as we interact with non-believers, visitors and new Christians. (Ex. When we were in a small group when someone says something wrong and we all jumped on them.)
Look at how Christ handled the same errors. Women at the well. Woman caught in adultry. How much more do we need to live in light of this? If Christ was not gentle and gracious toward us we would all be smoked.
I also would encourage our church to understand the instruction Paul gave and live it out missionally. We should live in such a way that all people watching us would see our gentleness. How are we going to make this graciousness known to all men? Our prayer is that as a community we would be known by are gentle kindness. That visitors would come in and see something different, they would be treated kindly.
Ex. Two weeks of the Courtyard. An event to bring people to so that they may see how we as Christians live, breath and interact. This is a non-threatening environment for people to see us be the church, to see our gentleness to one another and toward them. Are you willing to bring others into our community? Are you concerned that it will be a safe place to bring them?
Used to refer to either time or presence. Here presence. Psalm 119:151 And we are reminded of Him…
I know we touched on a lot of things today. I hope there is enough information for you to think about, but not enough so that you go home and study these things in more detail.
… into communion.
Prayer & Communion
0 Comments | Login to Post Comments