Philippians 4:8; Thinking in Sync with the Gospel

PastorRodney’s Weblog

09/08 Philippians 4:8; Thinking in Sync with the Gospel; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240908_philippians-4_8.mp3

Recap

Chapter 4 begins with ‘Therefore’. Therefore, because our citizenship is in heaven, because Jesus is coming back, because one day we will be made fully new (3:20-21), because we worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh (3:3), therefore because we value the one thing of surpassing worth to be knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (3:8).

Therefore, brothers, beloved, desired, delighted and boasted in, stand firm in the Lord. Therefore be of the same mind in the Lord. Therefore find your joy in the Lord. Therefore kill your anxiety by giving your worries to God through prayer.

Anxiety is an enemy of joy. Jesus said:

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

When we bring our anxieties to Jesus, cry out to him, and make our requests known to him, when we begin to live in God’s own peace that is bigger than our feeble attempts to secure our own peace, we will no longer be known for our anxiety. I will no longer feel the need to assert myself to get my way, to defend my rights; instead my life will be characterized by a gentle peaceful reasonableness. Our anxieties we make known to God through prayer, and as a byproduct our gentleness will be made known to everyone. God’s own peace, the peace that is characteristic of who he is, will guard both heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

…4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally

Paul continues by saying ‘finally’. This doesn’t necessarily mean ‘in conclusion’, as he used this same phrase at the beginning of chapter 3 as well:

Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

It literally means ‘the rest’, and we could translate it ‘what is more’ or ‘furthermore’. Here he launches on a rhetorically beautiful bullet list of what a life unconsumed by worry looks like;

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Structure

He gives six adjectives preceded by ‘whatever’, and then two nouns preceded by ‘if any’, and he instructs us ‘these things consider’ and then he gives four definite verbs of what we have experienced in his example, and he instructs us ‘these thing practice’, and he concludes with a promise of the presence of God.

Whatever Is True [ὅσα ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ]

He starts with a list of virtues, the kind of list that would be common in Greek culture of his day. He starts with truth. Whatever is true. It matters that there is objective truth, things that are true whether I believe them or not, whether I like them or not. True is in contrast to lies, to things that are false. Paul tells us there are things that are true, and these are the things we should give our attention to. Biblically, it is the truth about God that is of central importance. According to Romans 1, there are things God has revealed about himself through creation, but because in our unrighteousness we suppress these truths, because we exchange these truths for a lie, we bring the wrath of God upon ourselves (Rom.1:18, 25).

Truth in the New Testament is almost synonymous with God’s word, the good news message of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul refuses to tamper with God’s word, but instead makes an open statement of the truth, which he describes as ‘our gospel’ (2Cor.4:2-3). In Galatians 2, he is willing to stand his ground and even confront others in order to preserve ‘the truth of the gospel’, and he expects that the conduct of believers will be ‘in step with the truth of the gospel’ (Gal.2:5,14). Ephesians 1 defines ‘the word of truth’ as ‘the gospel of your salvation’ which we hear and believe in Jesus. Jesus himself claims to be ‘the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (Jn.14:6).

Whatever Honorable [ὅσα σεμνά]

Whatever honorable; that which is noble or dignified, that carries an appropriate weight of gravity, worthy of respect. In 1 Timothy both deacons and their wives are required to be ‘dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy, …not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful’ (1Tim.3:8,11). Titus expects older men to be dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love and steadfastness (Tit.2:2).

Whatever Just [ὅσα δίκαια]

Whatever just; that which is just, right or righteous. We are not righteous in the sight of God, as Romans tells us ‘None is righteous, no not one’ (Rom.3:10). Because of the satisfaction of God’s just wrath poured out on Jesus on the cross, God can be just and the justifier of the sinner who simply depends on the finished work of Jesus (Rom.3:26). Peter tells us

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Several times in Acts, Jesus is referred to simply as ‘the Righteous’ or ‘the Righteous One’ (Acts.3:14; 7:52; 22:14). John (1Jn.2:1) gives Jesus the title ‘Jesus Christ the righteous’

Whatever Pure [ὅσα ἁγνά]

Whatever pure; that which is clean or innocent or morally pure. Proverbs warns us:

Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?

Psalms tells us

Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

Psalm 19:9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

Paul expresses his concern in 2 Corinthians 11 that we would be led astray to follow a different Jesus, a different Spirit, a different gospel.

2 Corinthians 11:2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

John points us to the purity that comes through fixing our eyes on Jesus the pure one.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Whatever Lovely [ὅσα προσφιλῆ]

Whatever lovely; that which is pleasing, agreeable, aesthetically beautiful, delightful. This and the next word appear only here in the New Testament.

Whatever Commendable [ὅσα εὔφημα]

Whatever commendable; that which is admirable, winsome, attractive, well-spoken; where the last word indicates something that is asthetically pleasing to the eye, this word points to something that is pleasing to the ear. The noun form of this adjective is translated ‘praise’ in contrast to ‘slander’ in 2 Corinthians 6:8.

If Any

6 adjectives; Whatever is true, whatever noble, whatever righteous, whatever pure, whatever beautiful, whatever well-sounding. Paul follows these 6 adjectives with two nouns that are introduced by ‘if any’. This is an ‘if’ that is assumed to be true. We should be familiar with this from chapter 2

Philippians 2:1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

If Any Excellence [εἴ τις ἀρετὴ]

If any excellence; if there is any virtue, any valor, anything that is morally excellent. Peter uses this word to describe the excellencies of Jesus;

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

And a few verses later he uses this word to describe the virtue or moral excellence of those who believe in Jesus:

2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

And If Any Praiseworthy [καὶ εἴ τις ἔπαινος]

And if anything praiseworthy; if there is anything that is worthy of praise. Often this word points to righteous conduct that receives praise from God. But in Ephesians we read:

Ephesians 1:5 he predestined us …according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Peter points to our joy in the midst of trials:

1 Peter 1:7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Earlier in Philippians Paul prayed:

Philippians 1:9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

These Things Reckon

Whatever is true, whatever noble, whatever righteous, whatever pure, whatever beautiful, whatever well-sounding, if there is any excellence, if anything worthy of praise, these things think about.

After this bullet list of 8 things, 2 nouns and 6 adjectives, he gets to his instruction. These are the things you should consider. This verb means to reason, to count, credit, number, reckon, consider, take inventory. This is the same verb that shows up 11 times in Romans 4, translated ‘count’. He is talking about how God counts us as righteous; by faith or by works?

Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” 9 …For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.

This is a record keeping term, an accounting term. How do we count or reckon in our minds anything that is true, honorable, right, pure beautiful, commendable, any excellence, anything praiseworthy? We tally up these things in our mind, we calculate them as positive; in line with the peace of God that guards our hearts and minds, we choose not to fixate on anxiety producing lies, untruths, that which is dishonorable or shameful, that which is unjust, impure or defiled, anything grotesque, offensive. We count those things that are not excellent, not worthy of praise, as not worth our mental attention, and we focus the energy of our attention on that which is morally excellent and worthy of praise.

Our minds cannot produce the peace of God; as we were told in verse 7, it surpasses our understanding, but neither do we put our minds in neutral. Rather we fix our gaze on those things that are in line with the peace of God, we engage the mind in a pursuit of beauty, purity, truth, justice, honor, excellence.

We work to bring our minds into step with the peace of God, with the good news, ultimately with Jesus himself. Is there any truth more true, more honorable, more just, more pure, more beautiful, commendable, excellent or worthy of praise than the gospel?

Is there any person more true, more honorable, more just, more pure, more beautiful, more commendable, more excellent or worthy of praise than Jesus Christ? As Paul said, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in him” (Phil.3:8-9).

This is the mental part of the battle, to take every thought captive and bring it in line with the gospel, fill our minds with Jesus.

This is the thinking part of the battle; there is also a doing, an action side of the battle for peace, but that will have to wait until next time.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org