Philippians 4:21-23
Greet and greetings are the two repeated words. Basically this contains a list of people who send greetings to the church in Philippi. I wonder if the greeting that they use is found in verse 23: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. This is a variation of the greeting that Paul puts at the beginning of his letters: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So much more meaningful than, "Hey. How's it goin?" Can you imagine how people would respond if we started greeting people that way? I think the modern variation that I like the best is simply "peace". This goes back to pronouncing blessings: rather than just a simple "God bless" (which is meaningful), Paul always found a way to specifically bless certain people.
The other phrase that captures my attention is "those who belong to Caesar's household". In a few short years, the message of the kingdom has spread from a handful of rough fishermen and tax collectors to the very halls of Caesar's palace. This reminds me of the parable that Jesus told about the yeast hidden in the bread dough - it works under the surface, almost subversively, but you never know where you are going to see the evidence of it and you can bet that it's influence is great than you could ever imagine.
Showing posts with label Philippians 4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippians 4. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
the peace of God from the God of peace
Philippians 4:4-9
Key words: rejoice, peace (which is a recurring theme in these verses as well). This passage contains a list of things to think about: whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely, etc.
Paul is saying that we should rejoice, no matter what the circumstances because we can present our requests and burdens to God. When we do that, the peace of God covers us which allows us not to focus on things that are discouraging but to think on things that are right, pure, etc. As we follow Paul's teaching and example, we will experience the presence of God. Paul started this letter by rejoicing that the gospel was being preached and ends by encouraging his readers (twice) to rejoice.
This passage reminds me that God is the God of peace and that the peace of God is something I need to experience in my life. I get so stressed, so anxious, so burdened with everything that I think I need to keep juggling and I wonder how I am going to keep all those balls in the air. The cure is simple: rejoice and pray. Rejoice that I have the God of peace as my Father and that he is near. Rejoice that the God of peace hears my prayers and will pour out his peace on me. Ask God for strength to carry the load that HE has placed on me and wisdom to know which parts I have placed on myself or allowed others to place on me. Then ask for discernment in how to off-load those things that aren't part of HIS calling. Peace be with you!
Key words: rejoice, peace (which is a recurring theme in these verses as well). This passage contains a list of things to think about: whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely, etc.
Paul is saying that we should rejoice, no matter what the circumstances because we can present our requests and burdens to God. When we do that, the peace of God covers us which allows us not to focus on things that are discouraging but to think on things that are right, pure, etc. As we follow Paul's teaching and example, we will experience the presence of God. Paul started this letter by rejoicing that the gospel was being preached and ends by encouraging his readers (twice) to rejoice.
This passage reminds me that God is the God of peace and that the peace of God is something I need to experience in my life. I get so stressed, so anxious, so burdened with everything that I think I need to keep juggling and I wonder how I am going to keep all those balls in the air. The cure is simple: rejoice and pray. Rejoice that I have the God of peace as my Father and that he is near. Rejoice that the God of peace hears my prayers and will pour out his peace on me. Ask God for strength to carry the load that HE has placed on me and wisdom to know which parts I have placed on myself or allowed others to place on me. Then ask for discernment in how to off-load those things that aren't part of HIS calling. Peace be with you!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
"my true companion"
Philippians 4:1-3
Paul uses some pretty extreme language to describe how much he loves the church at Philippi: my joy, my crown, dear friends, those whom I love and long for. It's obvious that this church holds a very special place in his heart. That's why it must grieve him so much that Euodia (is that the Greek form of Yoda?) and Syntyche were causing divisions.
Paul gives three instructions: stand firm, be of the same mind in the Lord (Euodia and Syntyche especially), and to help these two women reach unity in mind. Unity was hugely important to Paul, possibly because any disunity would provide a crack for Satan to pick at to destroy a church and people's faith and possibly because, according to Ephesians, unity displays the wisdom of God to the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms.
These instructions could be given today: stand firm - don't give up, don't give in, don't stray from the truth and keep striving after righteousness and sanctification. I think that because we are a fast-food society, we're not willing to put much effort into anything - if we don't see instant results, we give up and move on. The problem is that our sanctification is going to take a long time and the results may be minimal (if noticeable at all) in the short term. We can't give up! We must stand firm.
The question I have is: who is Paul's "true companion"? The NIV text note says that it is probably a guy whose name is Syzgus (which means "companion"). But that seems a bit strange to me that Paul would introduce this loyal or true guy that we've never heard of before. Not impossible, but you'd think if he meant that much to Paul his name would appear elsewhere.
Paul uses some pretty extreme language to describe how much he loves the church at Philippi: my joy, my crown, dear friends, those whom I love and long for. It's obvious that this church holds a very special place in his heart. That's why it must grieve him so much that Euodia (is that the Greek form of Yoda?) and Syntyche were causing divisions.
Paul gives three instructions: stand firm, be of the same mind in the Lord (Euodia and Syntyche especially), and to help these two women reach unity in mind. Unity was hugely important to Paul, possibly because any disunity would provide a crack for Satan to pick at to destroy a church and people's faith and possibly because, according to Ephesians, unity displays the wisdom of God to the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms.
These instructions could be given today: stand firm - don't give up, don't give in, don't stray from the truth and keep striving after righteousness and sanctification. I think that because we are a fast-food society, we're not willing to put much effort into anything - if we don't see instant results, we give up and move on. The problem is that our sanctification is going to take a long time and the results may be minimal (if noticeable at all) in the short term. We can't give up! We must stand firm.
The question I have is: who is Paul's "true companion"? The NIV text note says that it is probably a guy whose name is Syzgus (which means "companion"). But that seems a bit strange to me that Paul would introduce this loyal or true guy that we've never heard of before. Not impossible, but you'd think if he meant that much to Paul his name would appear elsewhere.
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