Everything in Jesus

Philippians 4 (CSB)

So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me but lacked the opportunity to show it. I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship. And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided—a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Tonight we're going to focus on verses 10 through 23. 

Philippians 4:10–23 (CSB)

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me but lacked the opportunity to show it. 

1 1I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. 

12 I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. 

13 I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. 

14 Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship. 

15 And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. 

16 For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. 

17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. 

18 But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided—a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 

20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. 

21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings. 

22 All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household. 

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

It’s striking that Paul begins this section in verse 10 by rejoicing in the Lord because the Philippians were concerned for him. I think this is something we can all relate to. There are times when we’re struggling, and simply knowing that someone cares for us, that someone is cheering us on or standing with us, can bring real encouragement. That kind of support can ease pain and help carry us forward.

Paul opens this with that sense of rejoicing, the joy that comes from being loved and supported by the Philippians.

But then he goes on to clarify something important. He says that he’s not speaking this way because he is in need, as though their concern was the source of his strength. While their support brought him joy, it wasn’t what enabled him to endure his circumstances. And then he shares something remarkable.

Paul says that he has learned a secret. It’s interesting that he uses that word, because a secret is something known by very few. Paul deliberately chooses this word to describe what he has learned throughout his journey.

He explains that he has learned to be content in whatever situation he finds himself in. He knows how to be brought low, and he knows how to abound. In every circumstance, whether facing plenty or hunger, abundance or need, he has learned the secret of contentment.

This is the secret Paul learned in his walk with Christ: there is a way to endure hardship and to live in abundance with the same steady contentment. It’s a secret because so few people truly understand it. In fact, not even many Christians fully grasp what Paul is about to say.

The secret, the reason Paul could experience contentment, joy, and endurance even in suffering, is this: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” 

A translation you may be familiar with goes:

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (KJV)

So who is the one who strengthens Paul?

Jesus.

As we’ve walked through Philippians together, I hope that over these past months you’ve felt a growing desire to be with Jesus. After spending so much time in this letter, it’s clear that at its core, Philippians is really about one thing: knowing Christ and being united with him.

Every command Paul gives in this letter flows out of that relationship, out of knowing Jesus and living in union with him. From the very beginning, Paul addresses the letter to the saints in Christ Jesus. Everything that follows grows out of that reality.

And tonight, we learn an important lesson from this passage: that knowing and resting in Jesus will strengthen us in times of difficulty and abundance. For Paul, that contentment,  that rest, and that strength were found in the midst of extreme hardship and pain.

At the time Paul was writing to the church in Philippi, he was in prison. I think we can certainly say that he knew what it was like to suffer. His suffering was real. It was hard. And as he mentions, the encouragement he found when others understood his experience and his suffering meant a great deal to him. But it wasn’t what strengthened him. It wasn’t what made everything okay.

What made it okay was knowing Jesus.

Tonight, if we go to the book of John, which is where we hear Jesus speak most clearly about himself and who he is to us, we hear him say the following in John 8:31–32:

John 8:31–32 (CSB)

31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus said with authority that continuing in his word is what truly makes someone his disciple, and that when we continue in his word, we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free.

Truth is found in Jesus, and it is that truth that sets us free.

If we go a little further in John, we read Jesus sharing these words with the disciples before he goes to the cross:

John 14:1–7 (CSB)

14 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way to where I am going.”, 

5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” 

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus says that we can rest content knowing that he has a Father, that his Father has a home, and that this home has many rooms. Jesus is going to prepare a place for us, and he will come again and take us to himself, bringing us to be with him.

He also says that we know the way to this place where we are going, and he answers immediately that the way is himself. He is the way to the Father, the way to God, and the way to the place that has been prepared for us. The way is Jesus Christ himself.

And if you keep reading, we come to John 15, where Jesus says this:

John 15:1–11 (CSB)

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples. 

9 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 

11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

Jesus here affirms what Paul is telling us in Philippians: that apart from him, we can do nothing. Paul understands this, and he expresses gratitude for the Philippians’ generous giving. They were a poor church, exceedingly poor, yet they gave out of their generosity, and Paul was thankful.

We can also be grateful when other believers in Christ support us and bless us, and we can take joy in that. But with Paul, we affirm that Jesus Christ is the one who strengthens us.

Abiding in Jesus, abiding in the vine, allowing him to cut away the branches in us that are not bearing fruit, allowing him to prune us, and allowing us to be conformed more fully to his way and his will, is what we aim to do.

So Philippians is about abiding in Jesus. It is about knowing Jesus. And tonight, I want to invite all of us to know Jesus, to abide in him, to live in him, and to love him, to experience his love and his grace for us.

Because of Jesus, we have peace with the Father. 

He died in our place. 

He took the wrath of God on our behalf, nailing it to the cross. 

And he overcame death, he rose from the dead, so we can confidently say, 

I am saved. 

I am safe. 

Jesus is my rescue.

Let us aim to be generous like the church of Philippi, to bless our brothers and sisters in Christ. And let us aim to find our help only in Jesus, in times of difficulty and in times of abundance.

May we abide in Jesus daily through prayer and meditation, knowing him intimately and purely. May that impact our lives, change the way we live, and may the fruit of our lives be grace, goodness, kindness, generosity, and humility.