Philippians 4:14-23

14Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. 17Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. 18I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

20To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

21Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings. 22All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household.

23The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.



Dig Deeper

We have always tried to teach our sons to be responsible and to serve other people whenever they could. Sometimes this can seem like a long and fruitless task, but we are confident that it will bear fruit in the long run. Every now and then, though, there is an amazing breakthrough, an instance where they really do seem to get it. Recently, my wife was gone for the day and we had a bunch of people coming over to our house later that night. I was talking on the phone to my wife and mentioned that I needed to vacuum the floor and pick up a few things before people started coming over but I had so many other things to do that it was going to be a chore to get to it all. A few minutes later, I was in my room looking for a book when I suddenly heard the vacuum cleaner running, which was weird because the only other person in the house was our then four-year old. I walked out into the living room and there he was, vacuuming the floor. When he saw me, he looked up and said, "Daddy, I know you're busy and I want to help you." He did a great job vacuuming, and in fact he went on to dust the entire downstairs as well. I was grateful and praised him greatly for helping me out. The fact is, it did help me quite a bit, but my real joy came from the fact that he was learning to serve and think of others.

We know, as has been apparent, throughout this letter, that Paul is greatly encouraged by the Philippians and loves them deeply. Now we see that it has to do with the fact that they have helped Paul out before. This was not a one-time gift, rather they have served and helped Paul repeatedly, especially when others wouldn't or couldn't. Yet, Paul is not like a young lady who likes one boy in particular because he keeps giving her gifts. Paul isn't filled with joy for himself because they have supported him. His real sense of joy comes from the understanding that when they support him it is because of their love and devotion to God. Paul's true satisfaction comes more from knowing that the Philippians are embracing the true mature life of Christ that puts the interests of others above their own, than it does because they have made his life a little easier.

Paul continues to walk the fine line here between seeming ungrateful and seeming over-dependent on monetary gifts and support. It was good of them to share in his troubles. Paul was quite willing to suffer and struggle in the life of Christ as he spread the gospel, but as anyone would be, was encouraged by the fact that they had not left Paul on his own but had constantly and consistently partnered with him by supporting him. It was a habit of theirs and Paul was deeply appreciative. From the very beginning of their life in Christ they had shown the spiritual maturity and sacrificial heart to support Paul in the spread of the gospel. The Philippians were one of the first churches planted on Greek soil, and was apparently the only church that was in a position to support Paul as he continued on to Thessonica (Acts 17:1-9). Paul continued to travel and spread the gospel and it wasn't until he arrived in Corinth for a while that he settled in and set up shop as a tentmaker to help support himself, but even there they continued to help him. This was something that caused some grief and had upset some of the Corinthians (2 Cor. 11:7-11). Paul had felt that the Corinthians were not spiritually mature enough yet to be able to handle supporting him without doing so from a worldly perspective, but not the Philippians. They had been ready, willing, and able from the very beginning.

Yet, Paul knows that it was quite common in his day for roaming teachers and philosophers to go from town to town teaching their particular brand of beliefs and to charge people for the pleasure of listening to them. They would basically sell their teachings and the more you wanted to hear, the more you had to pay. Many people in the ancient world came to the perception that these men were crooks and charlatans. Paul is very aware of the surface similarities between what he does and these men and wants to avoid any appearance of actually being like them. So, he goes carefully about saying "thank you" while clearly expressing that what really matters is their support and partnership that are expressed by the gift, not the gift itself. He's grateful for the gift, but wasn't really looking for that. What he did want to see from them was their commitment to him and the spread of the gospel, though, and their continued gifts spoke that message loud and clear.

Paul uses two different metaphors in verse 18. He begins with language from the accounting world, saying that they have more than settled their account with him. He then switches to the language of worship and sacrifice from the Old Testament. Their gifts were like a pleasing sacrifice to God on the altar of the Temple. Paul knows that God isn't pleased by people who simply go through the motions (Ps. 50:7-15). What God really desires, and so then does Paul, is the heart and genuine love that flows from a heart truly committed to God.

Paul assures them that those who trust in God and are committed to His will, the way the Philippians have demonstrated themselves to be, will have all their needs met by God Himself according to the glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Many have taken verse 19 out of context to support their belief in the so-called prosperity gospel, as though if you simply give to a certain ministry and 'plant a seed' that God will give back to you and make you rich. This is not at all what Paul is talking about here. He has been, throughout the whole passage, playing down the role of money in all of this, it would make no sense if he was suddenly telling them that because of their gift, God would now make them monetarily wealthy. This would be a proposition that anyone, whether truly dedicated to the gospel or not, might sign up for. But Paul precisely doesn't want them to think about worldly wealth. The key to this verse is the last three words. The glorious riches come in the life of Christ not from worldly wealth. That is why Paul knows that they will be blessed by God in Christ, because they have sacrificed worldly wealth, not to gain more back, but to experience the full life of Christ.

Paul ends by urging them to greet all the saints in Philippi. He also sends greetings from the brother who are with him. Being that Philippi was such a Roman town, one where Caesar was held in particularly high regard, it may have been especially encouraging for them to hear that the gospel had reached into Caesar's own household. Truly the gospel to which they committed was spreading everywhere. His final wish is that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with them. In other words, that they might continue to live the life of Christ available to their spirits through the moving of the Holy Spirit.



Devotional Throught

Do you truly believe that God will meet all of your needs in the life of Christ Jesus? That means that sometimes, the way your needs will be met might actually come through the suffering or difficult circumstances that come as a result of your life in Christ rather than worldly comfort and wealth? Spend some time meditating on what that might mean on a daily basis.