Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on Philippians 4:1-6.
Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved
and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved
(Phil 4:1).
In the midst of
whatever conflict the
church might face, whether false teachers without (Phil 3:2) or disagreements within
(4:2: Euodias and Syntyche), the apostle Paul exhorted the saints to stand fast in the Lord.
This command is still relevant for the church. There are many
forces asking believers to change, to adapt, even to compromise, but God’s Word
tells us we must stand fast.
As Paul said to the church at Ephesus, we must be “no more
children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph
4:14).
The
apostle and spiritual father of the church at Philippi addresses the saints first
as “my brethren dearly beloved and longed for.” One of the great blessings of
being a Christian is that we become part of a great family. We are spiritual “brothers.”
Paul
says the saints were not only his brethren but also “dearly beloved.” This
means they were loved by God (John 3:16; 1 John 4:19). It also means they were dearly loved by the apostle.
He adds that they were “longed for.” Paul expected to be released
from prison and to have a face-to-face reunion with them (cf. Phil 1:23-26;
2:24).
The apostle then calls the saints “my joy and crown.”
First, they were his joy. Their love for Christ and their
obedience to Christ’s commands had brought Paul great joy.
Think of the joy a father experiences when he sees the birth
of a child, when he sees that child take his first steps, when he sees that
child walking in a graduation ceremony, or when the son become a father
himself. Paul had joy as a spiritual father. He had exhorted them: “Fulfill ye
my joy” (Phil 2:2).
Second, they were his crown. This relates back to Paul’s
image of being in a spiritual race and pressing toward the mark (3:13-14). The
winner received a laurel crown. By coming to obedient faith these saints were
to the apostle his crown, a reward, an honor, a sign of victory.
All these expressive titles of affection lead to his
exhortation: “stand fast in the Lord.” This is a call to stability and
rootedness in the faith (cf. 1:27).
The call to stand appears over and again in Paul’s writings
to the churches (cf. 1 Cor 16:13: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith”; Eph
6:13: “and having done all to stand”). He also warns that a man who thinks he
stands should “take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12).
Paul
also at times used the organic image of the Christian being like a tree that
was deeply rooted and not easily moved (cf. Eph 3:17; Col 2:7: “rooted and
built up in him, and stablished in the faith).
We
also see this in the Psalms where the godly man is described as “like a tree planted
by rivers of water” (Ps 1:3; cf. Ps 52:8:
“I am like a green olive tree in the house of God”; Ps 92:13: “Those that be planted
in the house of the Lord shall flourish
in the courts of our God”).
Just
as a plant does not grow and flourish and bear fruit unless it is deeply rooted
in the ground, so a believer does not grow and flourish and bear fruit unless
he stands fast and is deeply rooted in the faith.
To
cinch his affection, Paul concludes by calling them “my dearly beloved” (Phil
4:1).
As
the saints at Philippi were exhorted, so are we today. Let us, then, dearly
beloved brethren, stand fast in the Lord.
Grace
and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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