All Things Through Christ
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 4th October service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Php 4:10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Php 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Php 4:14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
All Things Through Christ
Whatever the gift contained that was sent from Philippi to Paul it was of great encouragement to the Apostle. He returns again to mention it and express his gratitude. However, we should note Paul’s happiness was primarily spiritual. More than anything else he rejoiced in the Lord that these friends were standing with him in his bonds, supporting the cause of the gospel and giving of themselves out of their love for Jesus Christ. He rejoiced at their spiritual union.
A welcome return
Paul says ‘now at the last your care of me hath flourished again’. He is perhaps implying their practical assistance had ceased following some early support. Now it had been renewed. However, he attributes the pause not to any lessening of their affection for him, or waning of commitment to the work of the gospel, but to a lack of opportunity. This may have been through their own poverty or his distance from them. Now Paul rejoiced that again the Lord had inspired their hearts to send a gift and given them the ability and mind to do so.
The source of joy
In truth, the Apostle’s joy did not depend at all upon what the church had sent. It was their act of sending that encouraged him. Paul’s own physical state was of no concern to him. He had learned to be content in whatever circumstances he found himself. He had learned that even when he had nothing, he lacked nothing. Over the years the Apostle had encountered many trials and troubles. Being without food and clothing was not new to him. He tells the church at Corinth of his being ‘in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness’ (2 Corinthians 11:27).
Truly content
Consequently, Paul had learned to be content with his lot, indeed to be thankful for whatever he had, be it more or less. He was able to submit to the will of God, trusting that the Lord knew his condition and would supply his need in the proper time. Until then, as a faithful servant, he was willing to fulfil whatever task was assigned to him by His Master. Paul thinks not so much about what he has, or does not have, but rather about how he responds and reacts. His attention is upon his own feelings. He is, he says, content in ‘whatsoever state I am’.
A spiritual grace
As we have seen, Paul’s contentment was first spiritual. Like his fellow-workers in Philippi he believed his name was written in the Book of Life. He believed that the Lord was at hand. He had learned moderation in life by the things he had suffered. Here we all may discover a pattern for our own lives. This is how the Lord deals with His beloved children. Paul’s contentment was borne of trusting in the goodness and wisdom of his Saviour. He knew the God of peace. His contentment was a gift of grace.
The Lord our God
We who believe in the omniscience and omnipotence of God ought to take the Apostle’s comments to heart. Our great comfort in the trials of this life is that our God knows our state and has promised to do us good. No matter what we are called to endure we have the promise of the Father’s love, Christ’s presence and the Spirit’s comfort. We know and believe that our sovereign God is in full control of every situation and every circumstance of providence. Nothing is outside His control. Trouble may creep up on us but nothing surprises our God.
Lessons of faith
As taught children of God we know that anything we have that is good in this world is of God’s free grace. We know we are undeserving of the least of His mercies yet we are mightily blessed with His goodness all the days of our lives. We know if we have Christ we have all we need because He is our exceeding great reward. We believe that He who has here given us grace will give us glory hereafter. Like Paul in prison, a believer in communion with the covenant God and in fellowship with the Son of God, can say, ‘It is enough’.
A hard teacher
Paul had once walked the path of greatness in the faith of his fathers. He was honoured among the Jews. Now he had learned humility in the faith of Christ. Everywhere Paul went he was subject to opposition, whether among Jewish or Gentile people. However, Paul had been instructed by the Lord’s own sufferings and initiated into a life of relying upon his Saviour for whatever circumstances arose and whatever state he was in. These matters were not speculative to Paul but experiential. Remember, he was writing from prison!
Grace from on high
Paul is not bragging. He knows in his own heart these things are true. He knows, too, they are God’s gift to him. He does not hesitate to ascribe every strengthening, comforting and sustaining grace to the Lord Jesus Christ. After a lifetime of proving the faithfulness of His Lord and Saviour Paul believes that whatever he is called to endure he can do it because of the grace of God and the faith with which he is daily strengthened in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
Hymn 334
The Church Coming from the Wilderness. Song 8. 5
J. Kent 8s
1
Behold, from the desert of sin,
The world, and the curse of the law,
A fair one, whose garments are clean,
Does with her Beloved withdraw;
Retiring from thence, she appears
Dejected, and often complains,
Surrounded with sorrows and fears,
Yet on her Beloved she leans.
2
Thus up from the desert she goes,
Sustained both in fire and in flood;
Victorious, to vanquish her foes,
And all through the Lamb and his blood.
By faith she’s enabled to view
Fair Canaan’s delectable plains,
And faint, yet her course shall pursue,
When on her Beloved she leans.
3
When darkness envelops her mind,
By faith she shall hold on her way;
And, in the sweet promise, shall find
Her strength shall suffice for the day;
No fiery afflictions shall burn
Beyond what his wisdom ordains,
But times of refreshing return,
When on her Beloved she leans.
4
Her woes are permitted of God,
Her faith and her patience to prove;
The kiss, or a stroke of his rod,
Is all from immutable love.
By crosses and losses, at last
From self her affections he weans,
That on him her hopes may stand fast,
While on her Beloved she leans.
5
When foiled by the tempter, she goes
And makes the atonement her plea,
There pardon eternally flows,
And love wipes her sorrows away;
And when with her pardon she’s blessed,
Communion with Jesus she gains,
No longer a sinner distressed,
For on her Beloved she leans.
Hymn 904
“Our sufficiency is of God.” 2 Cor. 3. 5; Phil. 4. 13
J. Berridge 8.8.6.
1
O Lord, with shame I do confess
My universal emptiness,
My poverty and pride;
I cannot keep thee in my sight,
Nor can I think one thought aright,
Unless thy Spirit guide.
2
I cannot from my idols part,
Nor love the Lord with all my heart,
Nor can myself deny;
I cannot pray, and feel thee near,
Nor can I sing with heavenly cheer,
Unless the Lord be nigh.
3
Since Adam from God’s image fell,
On spiritual things we cannot dwell;
The heart is turned aside;
And none can raise to life the dead
But he who raised himself indeed,
And for dead sinners died.
4
Then let this mighty Jesus be,
An all-sufficient help for me,
Creating power and will;
Thy grace sufficèd saints of old;
It made them strong and made them bold,
And it suffices still.
Contentment is a great blessing in this life. True contentment is knowing God’s peace and trusting God’s providence. Paul teaches us that we can do all things through the Lord Jesus Christ who strengthens us and teaches His people contentment by the trials we face.