IN THE PURSUIT OF PEACE - IV

Philippians 4:6-9
Bob Bonner
October 5, 2008

This morning we come to the close of a segment of Scripture that is extremely practical and important for Christians to understand and apply if we are going to effectively work together for the advancement of the Gospel. If you have your Bibles with you, I invite you to turn in them to Philippians 4. I know of no more practically important passage of Scripture for Christians to keep in mind, to continually return to for help, if they really want to work together for the cause of Christ and for the understanding of His gospel.

Paul’s objective in writing to the Philippians and, in particular, the major point of the concluding segment of this letter is to bring unity to the ministry of the local church in Philippi. From more than 30 years of ministry experience, Paul knew well that only when Christians are unified and at peace with one another can they focus on what’s most important, the expansion of the Gospel.  This means not only the leading of people to Christ but the instructing of Christians in how Christ’s gospel is the secret to their lives being transformed.

In verses 4-9, Paul explains that if unity is going to be restored, the supernatural peace of God must reign between brothers and sisters in Christ. And for that peace of God to reign, Christians must keep the first four commands in these verses etched in the forefront of their minds, ready to be put into practice when tension or conflict arises between them. For Paul knew that just because a person may know Jesus, it does not free that person from being a disruptive agent in the cause of the advancement of the Gospel. All of us can, have been, and will in the future be part of a conflict with another Christian. So when disruption comes, how do we experience the peace of God and restore unity and reconciliation? That’s what Paul addresses in these verses, beginning with his four progressive commands. He writes: 

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! ⁵Let your gentle

Spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the

peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts

and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸Finally, brethren, whatever is true,

whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is

lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if

anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. ⁹The things you have

learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things,

and the God of peace will be with you.

The specific petition that Paul has in mind in verse 6, “be anxious for nothing” but pray, is not what many people think Paul has in mind here. Paul is not giving a general prescription on how to experience a worry free life or how to find freedom from the entanglement of one’s fears. There are several passages in Scripture that speak to those issues, such as Matthew 6:25-34 and 1 Peter 5:5-7. In context, what Paul has in mind is the disruption of ministry due to broken relationships and all of the anxieties and tensions that go along with those broken relationships.  Paul pointed out to the Philippians that they needed harmony and healing among themselves so that unity could be restored in the church at Philippi, because only if they were unified could they effectively minister together. Paul outlines four progressive steps to reconciliation, harmony, and healing in verses 4-6. When Christians in conflict follow all four of Paul’s steps as outlined in verses 4-6, then, in verse 7, Paul promises us that we individually and corporately will discover God’s supernatural peace. This in turn will replace the tension with harmony, and unity will be restored so that the church can return to fulfilling its purpose to advance the Gospel.

Each and every believer must continue to be on alert to the potential conflicts and hurts that can disrupt this peace. Each individual must take seriously their role in following these four steps outlined in verse 4-6 so that peace among Christians in the local church may result. Allow me to quickly review the four progressive steps that each individual needs to take for God’s supernatural peace to reign in our hearts. First, “Rejoice in the Lord” and ask yourself, “Have I made my personal feelings more important that what Christ says is of primary importance, the cause of the gospel? At the moment, am I really seeking after that which is most important to God and His purposes or am I focused on my interests?” Second, recognize that when slights or differences of opinions or feelings of being disregarded or disrespected occur, God calls you to be “gentle-spirited” toward that one who has hurt you. This trait of being gentle-spirited is superhuman and can only come from God. Third, admit that you can’t be gentle-spirited in your human strength, and that your flesh would rather be disturbed and fret about your hurts and what the other person has done to you. This should then lead us to obey the fourth command--turn to God and pray. 

Why are we turning to Him? Because He is the only one who can change our hearts and supernaturally enable us to live at peace with each other. Hence in prayer, we are to turn to Him to confess our sin and our need for His enablement to make each of us gentle-spirited toward each other. In verse 6, Paul explains how it is that we are to position ourselves so that God will miraculously empower us with His gentle spirit that can lead to peace. Each of us is to commit to praying with a thankful heart. The three different terms used in this verse to describe prayer drive home the point of our utter dependence upon God and at the same time our need to completely trust in Him. They reveal humility on our part.

On the other hand, our arrogance and self-centeredness is revealed when we whine, complain, or continue to judge, slam, slander, or condemn others when there is a difference of opinion. 

Our humility is revealed when we thank God for who He is and that He is there. Even though we don’t like this situation or the person with whom we are in conflict at the moment, we are thankful for the opportunity to grow through it, and even start to thank God for that brother and sister who has hurt us. As we do this, God promises that “the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds.”

Before we move forward and look at why we would ever want to thank God for the one with whom we are conflicted, and before we look specifically at how to pray for them, I want us to return to verse 7 to point out a few more details that I believe to be important.

As I mentioned last time, this expression “the peace of God” is declaring that this peace is that which comes from or finds its supernatural source in God. It is a reflection of His very nature, His calmness, the tranquility that makes up His eternal being, that serenity which characterizes His very person. This peace or the release from tension with others is not something that we can manufacture or even imitate. In Paul’s own words, it is the peace “which surpasses all comprehension.” This peace of God is totally foreign to the experience of the unsaved. Even when believers experience this peace, they are hard-pressed to explain it. It is a peace that only comes to us when we humble ourselves before the Lord and pray.

Someone might ask at this point, “Why is this peace so important?” Paul answers that when he tells us that it is the only thing that can “guard our hearts and minds.” Those words, “hearts and minds,” were not intended to imply a distinction between the two, the heart and the mind. By putting them together, Paul was merely making a comprehensive reference to the believer’s entire inner being, his emotions, affections, thoughts, and moral choices. This inner part of a person is vulnerable to attack by the enemy, Satan. If it is not protected by God’s calming peace, all of our decisions, plans, and attempts to organize so as to work together for Christ will be open to attack and disruption by the enemy. We need God’s peace to guard our minds; we need His calming presence to do His supernatural work. This peace acts as a sentry to guard the praying believer's heart and mind under the sovereign influence of Christ Jesus.

This word “guard” is a military term used of soldiers on guard duty over a fort or citadel, protecting it from attack. The picture would have been familiar to the Philippians, since the Romans stationed troops in Philippi in such a citadel to protect Rome’s interests in that part of the world.  In this situation, the metaphor is the castle of the mind of the Christian. If the castle can be held, progress in personal growth in the gospel goes forward; if the mind and focus of one’s heart can be captured, then backsliding and spiritual decadence begin. According to this verse, when we pray thankfully to the Lord as we are told to here, our minds are garrisoned strongly by God and His peace. The walls of our affections and choices are constantly patrolled. God’s sentries, His supernatural peace, never sleep at their posts.  Ultimately, Paul’s words are picturing for us the importance of the presence of God in power and in our daily experience.   

Now, let’s look more closely at the two final verses of this segment of scripture. Keep in mind the context. The context is the tensions felt between two Christians, which are so strong that the two are divided and cannot work well together for the cause of Christ. The context is that of seeking God in prayer, thanking Him not only for His presence in the midst of a difficult situation and for His enablement to work it out if both parties are willing, but also, and most importantly, for the individual Christian with whom there is conflict and invariably disrespect. As a result of verse 7, many ask, “So, how do I pray thankfully for this fellow Christian with whom I am at odds? What do I pray?” Verses 8-9 give us the answer. Paul writes:

Finally, brethren, whatever [about the person with whom you feel tension]

is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence

and if anything worthy of praise [concerning this person] , let your mind

dwell on these things [rather than your hurt or why you don’t like the

person with whom are at odds.] 

And then Paul encourages them to imitate him and the way he has handled similar conflicts that they were aware of. He says in verse 9, “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.”

In the original Greek, verses 8-9 make up one single sentence, a conditional sentence that grammatically demands that you understand it as being based on something that is true. Let me explain. In verse 8, Paul begins with listing eight adjectives that can describe a person. The last two adjectives are introduced by the word “if,” causing some to think that possibly in some situations there could be nothing excellent or worthy of praise to thank God for concerning this person with whom they are in conflict.  According to the Greek scholar Dr. Gerald Hawthorne, with whom no one disagrees, the impact of the grammar here would probably be better served if in English these words were translated, “since there is excellence . . . since there are things worthy of praise” concerning the person with whom you are at odds. In other words, there is always something praiseworthy that we can find in another believer, if we are humble enough to look for it in them.

Typically, because each of us is so self-centered, when we are at odds with another, our first thoughts are not of what is good and right concerning the other person. Our first thoughts are things like, “What a jerk!” or worse. It takes a great deal of humility as well as submission to the Lord to choose to change your thinking and to look for what is right about the person. These verses speak to rearranging your thought life through discipline so that the God of peace can freely work in you and the relationship. This changing of the way you think about another takes work. It doesn’t come easily, naturally, or by accident; it is an intentional choice. The verb “dwell on these things” means far more than to simply think about this. It means to evaluate, consider, calculate, or chart a course. Furthermore, the verb form calls for a habitual discipline of mind, literally, “Keep on thinking this way about the person.” 

These verses reveal the secret to becoming gentle-spirited toward the person with whom you are at odds. It is to pray prayers of thankfulness over them. And mysteriously, God promises to transform your disturbed heart, and grant you His supernatural peace.

Having said that, let’s explain each of these eight adjectives. As we do, if you are wrestling with another believer, if you are feeling tension toward them, think of examples of how these adjectives fit them, understanding that not all of them will, nor will any one of them always fit them at all times. 

In other words, take the sixth adjective, “good repute.” This is the only time this Greek word is used in the Bible. It refers to the conduct that is worth considering because it is well spoken of by people in general. Such words as admirable, gracious, or kindly would describe what is meant by this term. An example of such a person would be Mother Teresa and her work in Calcutta. Yet all of us, even Mother Teresa, at one time or another got angry, so she was not perfect or always acted in “good repute.” But her overall style, the manner in which she lived her life, will cause most to remember her as an admirable person.  

Hence, when you think about the person with whom you may be at odds, were they displaying “good repute”? If not, then don’t lie and thank God for something that wasn’t true. But if it is generally true of them, then focus on it, dwell on it, and thank God for this characteristic of the person.

I’ll tell you right now, it will be difficult for you to thank God for one who has gotten under your skin. Your own pride will be your opponent in the struggle. But as you ask God’s help to show you how to pray in this manner and what to pray for, you will begin to discover His peace flooding your heart. Your hardness of heart toward your fellow Christian will be softened.  I will warn you that doing this once may give you peace for the moment, but doing it once won’t make the peace last forever. Hence, this will be an exercise in continually praying for your Christian opponent. In the end, this kind of prayer brings the lasting peace that sets the stage for unity. 

Now, let’s look at the rest of these descriptive words. The first adjective is “Whatever is true.” To a typical Jew like Paul, this expression would have to do with truth in speaking. Hence, does this person typically tell the truth--is he truthful, as opposed to lying and deceiving? If the Christian with whom you find yourself in conflict is one who is basically truthful, apart from this particular issue, thank God for their being basically a truthful Christian.

Second, is “honorable.” This word refers to lofty things, majestic things, things that lift the mind from the cheap and tawdry and from ignoble acts of self-interest to that which is noble, good, of moral worth, awe-inspiring, and worthy of respect. If the person demonstrates this in their lives, thank God for them, and try to be specific as to the occasions when you remember their being “honorable.”

Third is “right” or “just.”  This describes one who gives God and others their just due. It involves duty and responsibility. It entails satisfying all obligations and responding to what is dutiful. The epitome of being “right” is always defined by God and His character.

Next is “pure,” which refers not only to being morally chaste but also to being right with God, not holding on to unconfessed sin, so that one is ceremonially ready to serve.

This next one, “lovely,” or as some translations have it, “calls forth love,” is only used here in the New Testament. Outside the New Testament it refers to that which is amiable and attractive. It means to “make yourself winsome” while avoiding that which is likely to give offense.

We already looked at the sixth one, “good repute.” These two terms, good repute and lovely, in themselves lack the inherent morality of the previous four adjectives, which probably leads Paul to add the next line, “If anything is excellent.” The idea behind this word “excellence” points to anything which highlights the highest good of humanity or recognizes the virtuous acts of selflessness such as volunteering at a hospital or helping another high school student with a difficult class. This may not be spiritual, but it is a positive thing to do.

The last is “anything worthy of praise.” “Praise” used here in this context, in conjunction with the previous adjective “excellence” or “virtuous,” has in view those things that have to do with general ethical conduct which merits the praise of humankind, not just worshipers of God. Such was its meaning in contemporary public life, where it was used of conduct that called down universal human approval. An example of this conduct might be saving a person from drowning.  

When we come to verse 9, Paul moves from the mental or thinking aspect to the behavior or doing aspect. In this verse, he basically tells them to follow Paul’s example.  He says, “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” 

First of all, what specific “things” does Paul have in mind here? Obviously, the things he has just been writing about: to live at peace with one another, to remain unified, and to work together for the advancement of the gospel. He reminds them that he personally taught them these things, and they received them. That word “receive” is the technical term for the receiving of a tradition for the purpose of handing it on intact to others.  But Paul didn’t just explain these things from a pulpit; he modeled them so that they could see how it was fleshed out. In addition, they had heard how he had lived with contrary, self-centered, selfishly ambitious Christians in Rome, who made his life miserable. As we studied in chapter one, he looked for the good in those Christians with whom he was in conflict.  In a nutshell, he pointed out their good when he said, “At least they are preaching the gospel.” His focus was thankfulness to God for what they were doing right. He was a model of being gentle-spirited.

Paul knew how to love and work with people who at times were disagreeable, and now he is telling them and us to follow his example, to practice these things. And the command there is to continually practice these things, to make it a normal routine of one’s life. If they do, he promises them that they will experience the presence of “the God of peace” in their midst—a very unique expression. Every place Paul uses this expression of the presence of “the God of peace,” the context is one of strife and unrest close at hand. It is during that time that we need God’s presence. His presence is essential for the strength, tranquility, and contentment necessary for spiritual unity and effectiveness in the advancement of the Gospel.

 Why is the concept of unity so important within the family of God? What happens when we are continually in conflict with one another? What happens when the world witnesses peaceful resolutions among Christians?

 Paul called other believers to follow his own example as a follower of Christ. Others will follow your example in how you deal with disagreeable Christians. What about how you deal with disagreeable Christians do you think some might applaud you? What specific areas of your life do you think you need to work on if you are going to live more peaceably with other Christians?

Think of a person who tends to rub you the wrong way. Choose one of the characteristics in verse 8 on which we are called to dwell. Which one comes most easily for you in this situation? Which one is most difficult and one that you would like God’s help to discover this characteristic in the other person?

If you are having a troubled relationship with another person, are you willing to be humble? Are you willing to admit your faults? Are you willing to ask Christ for help to achieve a gentle spirit? Are you thankful for that person?

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