Transcript

Eugene Peterson once wrote of how he saw a family of birds teaching their young to fly. Three young swallows were perched on a dead branch that stretched out over a lake.

“One adult swallow got alongside the chicks and started shoving them out toward the end of the branch—pushing, pushing, pushing.

“Then the end one fell off. Somewhere between the branch and the water four feet below, the wings started working, and the fledgling was off on his own.

“Then the second one was pushed off. But the third was not to be bullied. At the last possible moment his grip on the branch loosened just enough so that he swung downward, then tightened again, bulldog tenacious. The parent was without sentiment.

“He pecked at the desperately clinging talons until it was more painful for the poor chick to hang on than risk the insecurities of flying. The grip was released, and the inexperienced wings began pumping.

“The mature swallow knew what the chick did not—that it would fly—that there was no danger in making it do what it was perfectly designed to do.

“Birds have feet and can walk. Birds have talons and can grasp a branch securely. They can walk; they can cling. But flying is their characteristic action, and not until they fly are they living at their best, gracefully and beautifully.

“Giving is the air into which we were born. It is the action that was designed for us…Some of us try desperately to hold on to ourselves, to live for ourselves. We look so disheveled and dismal doing it, hanging on to the dead branch of a bank account for dear life, afraid to risk ourselves on the untried wings of giving and helping others.

“We don’t think we can live generously or sacrificially because we have never tried. But the sooner we start, the better, for we are going to have to give up our lives finally, and the longer we wait, the less time we have for the soaring and swooping life of grace.”

Philippians 4:10-13:

“But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

The church at Philippi had supported Paul faithfully on a long-term basis. It had been around 10 years since Paul had founded their church and when he wrote this epistle.

When Paul wrote, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly,” this was due to the financial gift that he had recently received from the Philippians while he was in prison in Rome.

Paul joy, as always, was “in the Lord.” Paul didn’t thank the Philippians for their gift but instead he thanked the Lord. Paul saw that it was due to the Lord’s working in their life and His grace that motivated the Philippians to give. They sent the gift, but he rejoiced in and thanked the Lord as the ultimate source of the gift.

Of their gift, Paul wrote, “that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again.”

Paul rejoiced that “now at the last,” or after a period of time had elapsed, they had given and assisted him again in the work of the Lord.

The words “hath flourished again,” means to shoot up, sprout again, grow green again.

And as it’s been said of this passage, “Like a person rejoicing over the signs of spring after a hard winter, so Paul rejoiced to see again the signs of personal concern from Philippi after a long interval of silence.”

But Paul did not blame them for the time in which he received no help from them, but said, “wherein ye were also careful,” or though you surely did care and desired to help, “but ye lacked opportunity,” they just did not have the right opportunity to help.
The Philippians had not forgotten the apostle. Paul told them that he knew they cared and were concerned.

The Philippians did not lack love for Paul; they only lacked the opportunity to show it. But when the opportunity did come, they seized it and their care blossomed and flourished again. They sent a gift, and their generosity and love touched the apostle.

Paul wrote in verse 11, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

“Want” means a falling short, a need, or a lack of something. Paul was quick to dispel any thought that he was complaining or that the Philippians’ delayed support caused him any discouragement or discomfort. Though he had been in need and his situation was difficult in prison, this did not concern the apostle.

Because Paul said, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

Paul said that he had “learned” this about contentment. Contentment is not automatic. And Paul had not always known this. He learned to be content through long, hard experience, and the work of the Spirit in his life.

Paul had learned that “in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

He had learned to be content, no matter his state, no matter what his financial condition might be. Outward circumstances did not affect Paul inner contentment or joy. And at this point in his life, Paul had been in need, yet he was content. Paul was satisfied with whatever he had and with what little he had at this time.

Paul was around 60 years old at this time. He was a prisoner, chained to a Roman guard, under house arrest, not knowing if tomorrow he would be brought to court and either killed or set free. He is without the comforts of home and the privileges of privacy.

He needed food, clothing, blankets, and money. He didn’t have a clue about his future, but he is content and full of joy.

It’s been said that “Contentment is to be at peace in Christ’s sufficiency.” Paul’s contentment was in Christ and in God’s control and he found rest, sufficiency, and contentment for his soul in this by faith in whatever state he found himself in.

As it’s been put, “What was it that drew Adam and Eve’s heart away from God in Genesis 3? What was it that seduced them into the material world, into Satan’s clutches?

“They wanted more. What they had, although awesome and satisfying, wasn’t enough. In fact, God wasn’t enough. They were willing to do anything for more, even if it meant turning their back on God. At its core, our problem is a lack of contentment with God and with what He has provided for us.”

Paul had “learned” something in verse 11, and as a result he refers to what he KNOWS now in verse 12. And he tells of the states he had learned to be content in.

In his ministry, Paul had learned how to live in extremities with contentment. He adjusted to either with equal composure.

Paul wrote that he knew “how to be abased,” or how to get along with humble means, having definite financial and material needs. And Paul knew “how to abound,” or how to live with having abundance, an overflow, and more than enough.

It requires as much spiritual maturity to handle abundance as to handle poverty. As it been said, “It takes a steady hand to carry a full cup.” And prosperity often does more damage to believers than hardship and difficulty.

Whether he had very little and lived in poverty or he had more than enough and an ample supply of everything he needed, Paul was content either way.

Paul added that “every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”

Everywhere Paul went and in any circumstance he found himself in, he had learned to be content whether he was “full” or well-fed from a full-course meal, or “hungry” with little or no food to eat. The word “full” was used of feeding and fattening animals, like a cow who loads up on grass after finding a good pasture.

Paul knew how to be content whether he had plenty to eat or when he was deprived of enough to eat. He had learned to be content in having abundance or in suffering need.

How all this was possible in Paul’s life was, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Like Paul, we can have the strength to be content in all things and all circumstances, through Christ. We can endure all that happens on the outside because we are strengthened by Christ on the inside.

Through Christ, Paul had strength in both adversity and prosperity. It was the power of Christ within him that gave him his spiritual contentment.

Christ put the strength into his life that enabled Paul to be content everywhere he went and in all things he went through.

Paul was making clear to the Philippians, that though he was a prisoner and in need at the time, he was not discouraged. Although he was destitute, he was not down.

This was because of Christ, and through Christ and faith in Him, Paul was strengthened and content. He could do all things through Christ who strengthened him.

Philippians 4:14-17:

“Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

“For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.”

In speaking about his ability to be content, Paul did not want to give the impression that the Philippians had somehow done anything wrong in giving and supporting Paul.

Though Paul had learned to be content, and Christ enabled his contentment in all things, Paul added, “Notwithstanding ye have well done.”

Paul did not want the Philippians to think he was ungrateful for their gift. The phrase “ye have done well” in the originally means, “You have done beautifully,” or “You did an honorable thing.”

Their gift was a beautiful and honorable act of grace. And Paul was grateful for it and commended them that “ye did communicate with my affliction.” The word “communicate” does not mean to communicate with words, but instead with one’s pocketbook.

Paul is referring the money the Philippians shared and sent to support him and supply for his needs during his “affliction,” or his imprisonment.

That word “communicate” means to share, to become a partaker together with others, or to have fellowship. This shows that giving to another person is an act of fellowship. The Philippians shared jointly in Paul’s ministry by their support. Their gift was a demonstration of solidarity with Paul in his affliction and in the furtherance of the gospel.

Paul appreciated this recent gift they gave, and then in verses 15-16, he took them back to show their pattern of thoughtfulness and generosity for which he was also grateful.

The Philippians had from the outset always been a giving church and excelled in the grace of giving. Paul wrote in verse 15, “Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia…”

“In the beginning of the gospel” refers to 10 years earlier, recorded in Acts 16, when Paul entered Europe and he first preached the gospel of grace in Philippi and they trusted Christ as their Savior.

Philippi was in the region of Macedonia, and Paul said, “when I departed Macedonia.”

Leaving Macedonia on his second apostolic journey, Paul went south to the region of Achaia and to Athens, and from there he went to Corinth.

Paul said that after he left Macedonia, “no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.” Only the church in Philippi, “communicated,” or again shared in and gave to Paul’s ministry.

This isn’t referring to the gathering of funds for the poor saints in Jerusalem where Paul makes it clear that the “churches of Macedonia” gave to that collection. Philippi was a part of that, and so were the other churches of Macedonia, like Thessalonica and Berea.

Here Paul is talking about who gave to him personally and his ministry. And the Philippians were the only ones to support and give to Paul during this period when through Paul’s pioneering efforts the gospel first entered and was established in Europe.

The terms “giving and receiving” are bookkeeping terms referring to the credit and debit side of the ledger. The Philippians were the ones giving and Paul was the one receiving.

This order was reversed initially when Paul first came to Philippi. At that time, Paul had given the gospel of the grace of God to the Philippians and they received it.

Now in appreciation for Paul’s ministry in bringing the gospel to them so that they were saved, they were gladly and willingly giving to Paul and he was receiving it.

In verse 16 we learn that even before Paul departed Macedonia to Athens and Corinth, Paul recalled how the Philippians had sent him gifts in Thessalonica: “For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity” (v. 16).

Thessalonica in Macedonia was the next city that Paul visited after leaving Philippi. Acts 17:1 tells us that Paul was in Thessalonica only three Sabbath days. But being there less than a month, Paul said that “ye sent once and again unto my necessity.”

“Once and again” means that the Philippians sent a gift once, and then again, or they gave two financial gifts to Paul while he was in Thessalonica during that short time, which is remarkable. It shows that their hearts had been touched by the grace of God.

Paul didn’t ask for any financial support from the Thessalonians while he was there, and he reminded them of this in I Thessalonians 2:9: “For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.”

During this time, the Philippians’ financial support, along with Paul working and making money on his own, allowed him to preach the gospel without burdening the Thessalonians financially. This had the added benefit of not having his motives or sincerity questioned.

The gospel bore much fruit in Thessalonica as a result, and many were saved and an assembly was established in the city. This was due in large part to the generosity of the Philippians and their partnership with Paul’s ministry through giving.

This reminds us that our grace giving today is about supporting the Lord’s work so that people might hear the gospel of grace and be saved.

That spiritual viewpoint to our giving makes the idea of trying to follow the law’s tithing under grace go out the window. That misses what giving is all about under grace.

We give, not to hit a percentage mark, thinking this pleases God today, rather we give and we give willingly, and even sacrificially, to the Lord’s work so that people will trust the Savior and be saved from hell and come to the knowledge of the truth.

Paul added in verse 17, “Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.” Paul pointed out that he said all this not because he was hinting at another gift or more money.

The Philippians had helped him so much, and he did not want them to think his commendation was him still looking for more.

Paul did not “desire a gift,” but he did “desire fruit that may abound to your account.”

Greater than his desire for financial help was his desire that fruit should abound to the account of believers.

The gift of the Philippians had brought joy to Paul and he rejoiced in the Lord because of it, but it was not just because of the personal benefit for him, but because of the spiritual benefit to them. And Paul was more elated by their gain than by their gift.

Paul saw their gift as an investment in eternity, and that they were accruing spiritual, eternal dividends to their account by their giving. Paul is looking forward and thinking of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Think about this. The Philippians gave to Paul. And this gave the Apostle Paul the means travel and minister and take the gospel of grace to others. They gave. And souls were saved. They gave. And churches were established.

They gave. And Paul cared for the churches and wrote letters to them to encourage and ground them in the faith, letters that were inspired of God and were part of His Word.

Think about how their fellowship and partnership in giving with the Apostle Paul will reap eternal reward from the Lord’s hand at the Judgment Seat! It’s mind-boggling.

But even for us, when we give to the Lord’s work, we don’t know how the Lord might use it, but we do know that the Lord does use it, and we know that when we give materially to the Lord, we will receive spiritually from the Lord one day.

Think about how 30 million years from now, how glad we will be that we made that decision 30 million years previous to give to the Lord and to His work in this world.

All that the believer has belongs to the Lord, and when we give to Him, we are only giving Him what is His own (I Chron. 29:13-14). But when we give it back to Him, it is accounted for, and He will reward us one day for it. As Charles Baker has said, “We never make ourselves poor by giving to God.”

Philippians 4:18-19:

“But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

“The disease cirrhosis of the giver was discovered in A.D. 34 by the husband-wife couple of Ananias and Sapphira.

“It is an acute condition that renders the patient’s hands immobile when he is called on to move them in the direction of his wallet or her purse, and from thence to the offering plate. This strange malady is clinically unobservable in such surroundings as the golf club, supermarket, clothing stores, or restaurants.

“Some try to use a fake remedy, pointing out to the patients that income tax deductions can be claimed for giving.

“The best therapy, and that which leads to a sure and lasting cure, is to renew the mind and transform the heart by God’s Word. Prescribed Medication: Frequent doses of Romans 12:1,2, accompanied by a dash of 2 Corinthians 9:7. This dosage will become quite pleasant if swallowed with a heaping tablespoon of Philippians 4:19!”

Paul wrote that “I have all,” or I have received it all. He acknowledged their gift and states that he had received “all” the funds they had sent. Paul’s letter of Philippians was his written receipt for their donation and a thank-you note.

Regarding their gift, Paul said, “I abound,” it was more than enough to take care of his needs. Paul said, “I am full,” which is something I say every day! By their gift, Paul had been filled full and was now well supplied.

Paul had “received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you.” Paul wrote of Epaphroditus earlier in chapter 2. Epaphroditus was from Philippi. He was the one who provided the Philippians with the opportunity to give financially to Paul again.

He was willing to make the long 800-mile trip from Philippi to Rome where Paul was a prisoner. And he carried their love gift to Rome and he faithfully completed his task.

Paul described the gift to help him as “an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.” This is Old Testament language taken from the Levitical offerings.

Paul dignified the sacrificial giving of the Philippians by describing what it meant to God.

It ascended as a fragrant sacrifice to Him. It was both acceptable and well pleasing to Him. Paul regarded their gift as a sacrificial offering to God and an act of worship.

The Philippian church was among the “the churches of Macedonia” that Paul described in 2 Corinthians 8 as being in “deep poverty” but who gave generously toward the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem. And we see here in Philippians that they had again given, and given sacrificially, in sending a generous gift to the apostle Paul.

There were five main offerings described in Leviticus to be offered under the Law. The first three: the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the peace offering were called sweet savour offerings, and they were offered voluntarily.

Because the gift by the Philippians was given sacrificially and voluntarily, it was a sweet smell to God, it was acceptable, and well-pleasing to Him.

This teaches that when we give under grace, and we give voluntarily and sacrificially to the Lord’s work and those in need like the Philippians, it is well-pleasing to God.

Giving brings blessing to the one giving the gift, it brings blessing to the one receiving the gift, and in it all, we see here that our giving is well-pleasing to God.

Then in verse 19, Paul wrote, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

In verse 17, Paul wrote of the spiritual rewards in heaven and eternity that the Philippians would receive through their generosity.

In verse 19, Paul wrote of the supply of God for the Philippians’ physical needs in this life.

This well-known verse is a specific promise for those who like the Philippians, give sacrificially to the Lord. The promise is both broad and yet restricted.

God does not promise to supply all our greeds, or all of our wishes, wants, and whims, but the NEEDS of those whom He uses as channels of generosity to give to others in need and toward His work in this world. God supplies our needs so we can continue to bless others.

It’s been said, “When God is in our hearts of compassion, prompting us to get involved in helping others, when He is in our acts of generosity, honoring our support of those engaged in ministry…and when He is in our strong commitment, using our sacrifices to bless other lives, He does not forget us in our need.”

God used the Philippians to meet Paul’s need as a prisoner in Rome. Since they supplied Paul’s need, Paul reminded them that God would supply their needs. And He would do so “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Randy Alcorn says this, “Like piano playing, giving is a skill. With practice, we get better at it. We can learn to give more, give more often, and give more strategically. We teach the pursuit of excellence in our vocations. Why not make giving something we study, discuss, and sharpen, striving for excellence?”