I. Reiterated exhortation to stedfastness, ver. I; II. Special individual appeals and entreaties, Philippians 4:2-3; III. How to be ready for the coming of the Lord, Philippians 4:4-7; IV. Precepts for guidance in Christian life, Philippians 4:8-9; V. The Apostle's joy over their liberality, because... [ Continue Reading ]
_Reiterated Exhortation to Stedfastness, Philippians 4:1_. In a few most affectionate and earnest words the apostle enforces the exhortation with which the Epistle began (Philippians 1:27), that they should continue stedfast in their Christian course. Philippians 4:1. THEREFORE. Because you are ci... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:2. I EXHORT EUODIA. The verb implies something stronger than the ‘beseech' of the Authorised Version. The apostle calls on these sisters by the authority of his office. Euodia (not Euodias, as Authorised Version) was one of those godly women of which the early church made much use, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Special individual Appeals and Entreaties._ We find from the history of the Acts of the Apostles that women were conspicuous among the first members of the Philippian Church. Lydia's house was the home of the missionaries. Women still were among their zealous members, but between some of them ther... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:3. YEA, I BESEECH THEE ALSO, TRUE YOKEFELLOW. Here St. Paul addresses some man whose influence was likely to have weight in bringing about peace and unity in the Philippian sisterhood. As the apostle does not name the person meant, there has been much speculation as to whom he is addre... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:4. REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAY. The apostle now takes up the thread of his thoughts from chap. Philippians 3:1. Two digressions on Judaizers and on those who mind earthly things have intervened, but he now turns back to his chief theme of ‘joy in the Lord.' AGAIN I WILL SAY, REJOICE. W... [ Continue Reading ]
_How to be ready for the coming of the Lord,_ 4-7. Turning from special exhortation, St. Paul gives some general precepts to the whole church. In these he exhorts to a religious joy, and this should be accompanied with a kind and forbearing spirit, which all men should recognise as specially Christ... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:5. LET YOUR FORBEARANCE BE KNOWN UNTO ALL MEN. Let them see that you behave with gentleness even in all the opposition of your adversaries. Thus shall they be taught that there is a power in Christianity, and be led to glorify your Master. The apostle does not encourage to any parade o... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:6. BE OVER-ANXIOUS IN NOTHING. ‘Careful' has lost its sense of ‘full of care,' and we have no good word to take its place. The feeling which the apostle wishes to check is that undue care for the things of this life which puts this world and its concerns before the service of the Lord.... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:7. AND THE PEACE OF GOD. A peace which shall banish all the over-anxious care, a peace which the world can neither give nor take away. Such peace did the Lord leave with His disciples, that their hearts should be neither troubled nor afraid. WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING. It is bet... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:8. FINALLY, BRETHREN. He lingers in the conclusion as though the writing of his letter in some degree soothed his longing for them. WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE TRUE. Not merely in words only, but in thoughts and actions. WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE HONOURABLE. Such as make men esteemed and rev... [ Continue Reading ]
_Precepts for the guidance of the Christian Life_, 8,9. With much emphasis of language, St. Paul urges on the Philippians that they be mindful of the various virtues which mark the Christian character, and carry out all that he has taught them either by word or example, and thus shall the God of pe... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:9. THE THINGS WHICH YE BOTH LEARNED, AND RECEIVED, AND HEARD, AND SAW IN ME, THESE THINGS DO. Knowing how much more telling example often is than precept, the apostle points to his own teaching and life as they had known them. At first they had been scholars learning from him; after th... [ Continue Reading ]
_He rejoices ever their Liberality_, _because it is a proof of the fruits of their Faith,_ 10-20. Now the apostle, before he closes his letter, turns once again to personal matters. He is rejoiced that they have once more manifested their care for him; not that they were remiss, but they had no fitt... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:10. BUT I REJOICE IN THE LORD GREATLY. The tense, which is rendered by the past in the Authorised Version, is probably only so in the original from the custom of the Greeks in writing letters. The apostle's joy still continued, and did not grow less after their liberality had been some... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:11. NOT THAT I SPEAK IN RESPECT OF WANT. This is not my cause of joy, that what was lacking unto me has been supplied by your bounty. It is not that I have felt want, and have been relieved from it. FOR I HAVE LEARNED. The apostle uses three verbs: ‘I have learned,' ‘I know,' ‘I have... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:12. I KNOW HOW TO BE ABASED. This was his ‘imitation of Christ,' of whom, using the same word he has before said, ‘He humbled Himself' (Philippians 2:8), and be employs the same expression where he is speaking to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:7) of preaching the Gospel without bein... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:13. I CAN DO ALL THINGS IN HIM THAT STRENGTHENETH ME. The insertion of ‘Christ' in this verse is due to a marginal gloss, and has not the authority of the earliest texts. It is noteworthy how the phrases, ‘in Christ,' ‘in the Lord,' ‘in Him,' abound in this Epistle, almost as much as t... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:14. HOWBEIT YE DID WELL, THAT YE HAD FELLOWSHIP WITH MY AFFLICTION. The apostle through the sustaining power of Christ would surely, he feels, have been supported to do the work for which the Lord was pleased to use him; yet it was good that the Philippians sent him aid, for it was a p... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:15. AND YE YOURSELVES ALSO KNOW. That he may more folly show how well he remembers their care of him, and that he meant no reproach by his words in Philippians 4:10, he proceeds to recall to them their former liberality in his need. YE PHILIPPIANS. The name stands emphatically in the... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:16. FOR EVEN IN THESSALONICA YE SENT ONCE AND AGAIN UNTO MY NEED. The hurried departure of the apostle from Philippi gave little time for arranging a provision for his further support and journeying, and the condition to which he had been reduced by the scourging made it impossible tha... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:17. NOT THAT I SEEK FOR THE GIFT. He has been praising, and with good reason, the unique liberality of the Philippians, but he will not leave them in doubt about the main reason why he is delighted therewith. Had it only represented material aid, it would have found scant praise from h... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:18. BUT I HAVE ALL THINGS, AND ABOUND. Your bounty has completely supplied my every need. As a gift, it has done what was intended to the full. I AM FILLED, HAVING RECEIVED OF EPAPHRODITUS THE THINGS WHICH WERE SENT FROM YOU. And no doubt the zealous service of the messenger did more t... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:19. AND MY GOD SHALL FULFIL EVERY NEED OF YOURS. The thought is continuous. God, my God, is well pleased, and He will not forget your love shown to me His servant, but repay you in your need. So ‘and' is better than ‘but,' as Authorised Version. And God's return shall be abundant, and... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:20. NOW UNTO OUR GOD AND FATHER BE THE GLORY. This is a more exact rendering of the original. The pronoun goes with both nouns, and ‘the glory' is that which essentially belongs to God. It might therefore be well to make the verse a direct statement: ‘To our God... _is_ the glory,' etc... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:21. SALUTE EVERY SAINT IN CHRIST JESUS. Give, that is, to all those who have begun to walk with Christ, my greetings in Christ Jesus. St. Paul could not know them all. Many converts would have been added to the church since his last visit. To none of these would he be deemed a stranger... [ Continue Reading ]
_Greetings and Benedictions,_ 21-23. He includes the whole church in his love, and sends, as a token of the oneness of all His servants in Christ, the salutations of the church in Rome, many of whom would doubtless be strangers at Philippi. Special greetings, too, are sent from the converts in the... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:22. ALL THE SAINTS SALUTE YOU. The greeting of the one church to the other. Though unknown, they were now brethren in Christ, and so could not be without interest in one another. There may have been some considerable degree of connection between the Roman colony and the metropolis, and... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 4:23. THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BE WITH YOUR SPIRIT. This is the form of the closing benediction according to the oldest authorities. Such changes from the primitive text have been introduced by a desire to bring all the closing benedictions as nearly as possible into one form.... [ Continue Reading ]