Final thoughts on Philippians (chapter 4)

 


     “…my beloved brothers, my joy and crown…take care of those women who struggled with me in the gospel…” (Phil. 4.1, 3).  We have already examined the tension in Paul’s letter to the Philippians between his frustration at being constrained by his imprisonment, on the one hand, and his detachment and joyful “resignation” to the will of God regarding his fate, on the other.  There is another paradox in this letter – on the one hand, Paul seems to be full of joy and exhorts his readers to “Rejoice…always!” (4.4); on the other hand, Paul acknowledges that the Christians of Philippi are engaged in a struggle against those who would silence them (1.27-30).  The French have an expression – “la joie de combat”; i.e. the joy of the battle.  There is indeed much joy to be had in struggling for a common cause together with likeminded people (cf. 4.14-16).  Hence Paul’s repeated request for the Philippians to be “of one mind” (4.2; cf. 1.27; 2.1-4).

     Paul calls the disciples of Philippi his “joy and crown” (4.1).  Throughout the letter, the apostle has been reminding the Philippians of the “day of Jesus Christ”, i.e. the final judgment (1.6, 10; 2.14-16).  As he wraps up his letter, Paul states that “The Lord is near” (4.5).  Paul rejoices that on “the day”, his efforts to evangelize and disciple the Philippians will be “crowned”, and they will be able to rejoice together after having received a favourable verdict from their Lord and Judge.

     As he prepares to sign off, Paul exhorts the Philippians to not be anxious about anything, but rather to ask God to supply their needs and promises them the “peace of God that surpasses understanding” (4.6-7; cf. 2 Tim. 2.4).  The apostle then instructs his disciples to ponder those things that are “true, grand, right, pure, lovely, and of good repute”.  He then reminds them one last time to put into practice “those things that they learned and received and heard and saw in him” (4.8-9).  As ever, Paul is the Philippians’ exemplar of a joyful, faithful, resilient and holy Christian.  Paul closes his letter by expressing his gratitude to the Philippians for the practical provision that they had made for his needs during his time in prison, all the while insisting that he has learned contentment and self-sufficiency, regardless of the situation in which he finds himself (4.10-20).

     In this letter, Paul is sending “a dispatch” to his comrades in the good fight of faith (cf. 1 Tim. 6.12; 2 Tim. 4.7-8).  The final victory is guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (cf. Phil. 3.20-21).  In the meantime, the battle rages on – and the Philippians have received the honour of suffering for their risen Lord (1.29; cf. 3.10-11).  The message of Paul’s letter to the Christians of Philippi can be summed up thus – Rejoice, carry on the struggle, be united and humble, full of grateful confidence in God, who will provide for your every need (4.19).

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