Rejoice in Peace

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! Let everyone see your gentleness. The Lord is near! Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:4-9).

Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia (part of modern Greece); Paul first visited the area and preached Jesus around 51 (cf. Acts 16:11-40). Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi most likely around 60-61 from Rome while living under house arrest there (cf. Philippians 1:1). Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians in order to provide them assurance and encouragement regarding his house arrest in Rome and to exhort them to continue to live as faithful citizens of the Gospel and to privilege their heavenly commonwealth (Philippians 1:1-4:1). He had most recently given specific exhortation for Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord, and for “Syzgyus,” or “true yokefellow,” to help them do so (Philippians 4:2-3).

Philippians 4:4-9 would represent Paul’s peroration in his Letter to the Philippians. A peroration is a concluding message designed to recapitulate what had been said, to stir up the emotions of the audience, and to leave a lasting impression upon them. Yes, Paul would continue afterward by explicitly bringing up his support situation in Philippians 4:10-20, and so Philippians 4:4-9 does not strictly conclude Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. But Philippians 4:4-9 nevertheless remains Paul’s peroration, since it is his final attempt at truly stirring up the hearts of the Philippian Christians by providing them encouragement and exhortation in their faith.

Paul’s peroration in Philippians 4:4-9 can be compared with similar kinds of messages in Romans 12:9-21, Colossians 4:2-6, and 1 Thessalonians 5:12-25. Sometimes we might consider these Paul’s “scattershot” messages, since they seem to present a series of rapid-fire exhortations encouraging various forms of faithful conduct. But Philippians 4:4-9 does not present itself as much “scattershot” as some of these other passages; Paul continually returns to the theme of peace in God in Christ.

Yet Paul’s first theme in this peroration featured rejoicing in the Lord Jesus (Philippians 4:4). He had already encouraged them to do so in Philippians 3:1, and here he repeats himself for emphasis. Paul had spoken frequently regarding rejoicing and opportunities to rejoice throughout the letter (cf. Philippians 1:18, 2:17-18, 28, 3:1, 4:4, 10). Even if Paul would not bring rejoicing up again in this peroration, we do well to understand the rest of the message in light of this exhortation to rejoice. Rejoicing in the Lord does not mean a denial of difficulty and distress; Paul certainly has valid concerns and apprehensions at the moment, and no doubt the Philippian Christians had some trials going on as well (cf. Philippians 1:1-27, 4:2-3). Despite all the difficulties, however, they could all share in their joy in Jesus: they shared in the life of God in Christ no matter what they might experience in terms of physical distress, grief, and pain. This joy, therefore, is not nearly as much an emotion as it is a decision: it required Paul and the Philippian Christians to remember in whom they had entrusted themselves no matter what they might be experiencing. Paul was under house arrest in Rome and could not even be fully confident he would survive his trial, and yet he could rejoice in the Lord and encourage others to do the same. We can gain much from his example.

Paul then encouraged the Philippian Christians to conduct themselves so others might see their epieikes, their gentleness or moderation, and declared the Lord (Jesus) was near (Philippians 4:5). These two statements are surely related to each other: the Lord Jesus was both watching them and would return soon, and so it was wise for the Philippian Christians to behave themselves with gentleness/moderation toward others. In truth, Paul could have appended the recognition of Jesus’ watchfulness and return regarding any and every command and exhortation he could make regarding the faith and conduct of Christians. Yet mentioning Jesus’ judgment and return in light of gentleness/moderation is likely consistent with his exhortation in Romans 12:18-21 and Peter’s in 1 Peter 4:12-19: the Lord is watching, the Lord will judge, and the Lord will render vengeance better than you will. Therefore, in those circumstances and situations in which the Philippian Christians would be tempted to prove forceful about their rights or standing or whatnot, and to resist being wronged, Paul encouraged them to instead prove gentle and moderate, for the Lord would well and truly avenge.

Paul then exhorted the Philippian Christians to not be anxious about anything; instead, through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving they should make their requests known to God, and His peace, which surpasses understanding, would guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). Peter would provide a similar exhortation in 1 Peter 5:6-7, urging humility before God and casting cares upon Him since He cares for us. The logic behind these exhortations remains compelling: much anxiety and worry involve some level of attempt to exert control in areas under which we have very little control, and we do better to entrust ourselves to Almighty God who does exert control over all things. The Philippian Christians were thus encouraged to make their requests known to God yet with thankfulness: to thank God for all He has already done and provided goes a long way to provide assurance and confidence of God’s continual faithfulness in preserving, strengthening, and sustaining us through whatever we are called to endure, and God would provide His peace which surpassed understanding to that end. We can profitably consider this peace as the reconciliation we have with God, how Jesus killed the hostility between God and among one another on the cross (cf. Ephesians 2:11-22); but we should not prove entirely dismissive of the possibility God will provide, through His Spirit, a calmness and peace in the soul of His people despite all they may be experiencing and enduring.

Unfortunately, Philippians 4:6-7 has often been used to deny the reality of anxiety as a mental health concern for many people, with a blithe and blasé insistence people suffering with anxiety should just pray more and/or better. Paul manifestly has more conscious forms of worry and anxiety in mind; it would be unreasonable to understand Paul as suggesting those who have subconscious, “irrational” anxieties over which they exercise little to no control to just pray and “get over it.” Instead, we do better to have the kind of pastoral heart Paul had for the Philippian Christians and many other Christians toward those who struggle mightily with various forms of anxiety. Yes, we all do well to turn to God and pray about such things. If we continue to struggle with anxiety even when we are faithful in prayer, it is no sin to seek medical and/or psychological support to help address anxiety, and to encourage, not condemn, fellow Christians who experience such challenges and difficulties.

Paul’s following exhortations in Philippians 4:8-9 should be understood in light and as part of Philippians 4:6-7: Paul would have the Philippian Christians think upon anything which was true, respectable, just/righteous, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and/or praiseworthy, and he would have them do that which they heard and saw in him; if they would do these things, the God of peace would be with them. We could attempt to dissect every characteristic listed in Philippians 4:8, yet they seem to represent a commonly known and accepted sort of list of virtuous things; the overwhelming force of the whole is where the power of this exhortation lies. This is as close as Paul will get to encouraging a “positive mental attitude” in his exhortations; while such things tend to be encouraged today with a view of “self-optimizing” and getting “gains” in whatever discipline one seeks to obtain such “gains,” Paul encouraged this kind of thinking to promote faith and trust in God in Christ through the Spirit. The world has always and will continue to be full of news and meditations which lead to despair, discouragement, distress, and grief. Humans easily get ground down by the constant need and negativity; compassion fatigue remains a real thing. We should never turn a blind eye to the distress and grief in the world, but we should also not allow ourselves to get dragged down into profound despair because of such things, either. If we give thought to what is true, respectable, just/righteous, etc., it will be easier for us to feel and act in ways consistent with those virtues; if we give thought to their opposite, exercising virtue proves more challenging.

This was not the first time Paul encouraged the Philippian Christians to follow his example, and he frequently encouraged Christians to observe and follow his example (Philippians 3:17; cf. 1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 2 Thessalonians 3:7, 2 Timothy 1:13, 2:2). We can often find this appeal to follow the example of people problematic, since we tend to focus on how people often fail to live up to the full example and stature of Jesus. We can have every confidence Paul did not want anyone to follow him in his faults and temptations. But Paul did not prove as deluded about human nature as many of us do: he understood how people are social beings and their thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors will conform to groups as patterned by influential members of such groups. This proved all the more important for the groups of Christians since many of them were coming out of a very different set of socio-cultural behaviors. In short, everyone has heroes to which they look up and will often try to emulate. Paul did not attempt to suppress this tendency; he instead encouraged Christians to find better examples and “heroes.” They could have done a lot worse than what they saw in Paul. No one should follow any human example to the point of participating in anything contrary to the purposes of God in Christ; nevertheless, we should strive, and encourage others to strive, to look up to faithful Christians and imitate them in their faithfulness.

Paul very much wanted the peace of God to be with the Philippian Christians (Philippians 4:9). He wanted them to share in reconciliation and relational unity with God in Christ through the Spirit and among one another. Perhaps this does have something to do with the recent difficulties and dissensions between Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2-3); maybe it also would provide them refuge and shelter in the midst of distress and persecution coming from outside forces.

We also do well to rejoice in the Lord, strive for all to see our gentleness and moderation, to continually pray with thanksgiving and make our requests known to God, focus on that which is true, faithful, lovely, and excellent, and imitate faithful Christians so we might all share in the joy and peace which comes from God in Christ through His Spirit. We will always have some kind of resistance or difficulty from the world, but it is so much worse when we find division and dissension among ourselves; God has not called us to thus exemplify the world, but to find peace and joy in Christ together to bear witness to God’s work in Jesus to every successive generation. May we entrust ourselves to God in Christ through the Spirit as encouraged by Paul and share in the joy and peace of God forevermore!

Ethan R. Longhenry