In this message Paul exhorts believers to pursue four great qualities in the Christian life: joy – humility – faith – prayer. May the Lord enable us to grow in His grace!
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6 Essential Marks Of The Christian Life
Philippians 4:4-7
As we come to Philippians 4:4-9, the apostle Paul is beginning to bring his epistle to a close. After this section, Paul will write to the Philippians about the gift they recently sent him, and then close the letter.
So, how does Paul bring his epistle to a close? What is on his mind that he wants ringing in their ears? Interestingly Paul starts to close his letter by giving 6 strong imperatives. A Greek verb can several different moods. All of the verbs in this section are in the imperative mood, which means that they carry the force of a command. You have heard of the 10 Commandments. Well, here we have the 6 Commandments. These six things are not a suggestion, or given as options. They are commanded of all true believers. What are they?
- Rejoice in the Lord always
- Let your gentle spirit be known to all men
- Be anxious for nothing
- Let your requests be made known to God
- Dwell on these things
- Practice these things
The believer in Jesus Christ is commanded to these things, which means that they are 6 essential marks of the Christian. What are they?
Joy – Humility – Faith – Prayer – Meditation – Obedience
I plan on teaching about the first four this week, and the next two the following week. So, this morning, let’s examine the marks of joy, humility, faith and prayer.
1. Joy
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”
Joy is the dominant theme of this letter. The book of Philippians has been called “The Joy Epistle”. Paul mentions “joy” or “rejoice” 15 times in only 4 chapters. And remember, that he is writing as a prisoner from a prison cell! So, what do we learn about rejoicing in our text? I want to make five observations from the text.
1) Joy is commanded. It is just as much a command to rejoice, as it is a command to repent or believe, or to love God or neighbor. God does not give you the choice whether you feel like rejoicing or not. He commands you to rejoice! Don’t get this idea that you will rejoice if you feel like it, but won’t rejoice when you don’t!
2) Joy is not dependent on our circumstances. That’s easy to see, because the Philippians were undergoing severe trials. In 1:28 we learn that they had opponents. In 1:29 we are told that they must suffer for Christ’s sake. In 2:14 we see that they were tempted to grumble and dispute. In 3:2 we learn that the Judaizers had infiltrated the church and were seeking to impose their legalism on them. In 3:18 we learn about false teachers who were encouraging them to indulge their flesh. No, there were many trials and temptations that were assailing the Philippian church, but Paul called on them to rejoice in spite of them.
3) Joy is in the Lord. Well, if joy is not dependent on our circumstances, what is it dependent on? The Lord! Our relationship to the Lord. The Lord is the sphere in which we rejoice. When you can’t rejoice in your circumstances or trials or suffering, you can always rejoice in the Lord. Though your circumstances change from day to day, sometimes favorable and at other times unfavorable, the Lord never changes. You can always find joy in Him.
4) Joy can be experienced always. It follows that if our Joy is not in our circumstances, but rather in the Lord, then there is never a time when we can’t rejoice. That’s why Paul writes about being “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” Even in the midst of grieving, there is reason to rejoice in the Lord.
5) Joy is extremely important. Why do I say that? Because Paul repeats the command twice. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” When a Biblical author wants to emphasize something they will use repetition. Today when an author wants to emphasize something they can italicize it, or underline it, or put it in all Caps, or bold it. But Biblical authors use repetition. For example, when Jesus wanted to emphasize something he would say, “Truly, truly I say to you…” Paul used repetition in Galatians 1:8-9, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” Brothers and sisters, this should tell you something. Your joy is very important. I believe it is important because it is your strength. The joy of the Lord is your strength – Nehemiah 8:10.
So, let me ask you, how are you doing with this command “rejoice in the Lord always”? If you’re not doing well, the solution is simple. Look away from your trials and pain and temptations and look at Christ.
2. Humility
“Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.”
What is the command? The Greek word behind “gentle” is practically untranslatable. William Barclay has said in his commentary that it is one of the most untranslatable of all Greek verbs. There simply is not one English word that is the equivalent of the Greek word. And it is easy to see that this is the case. I consulted a lot of different translations to see how the word was translated. Here is a sampling – gentle, moderation, reasonableness, forbearance, graciousness, modesty, consideration, patience, temperance, magnanimity.
Basically this word describes someone that does not insist on their rights. When someone is unkind, rude, or takes advantage of them, they do not retaliate in kind. Rather they are gentle. They are reasonable. They respond in moderation. They forbear, are gracious, considerate, patient, temperate and magnanimous. In short, this describes a humble person. A humble person regards others as more important than himself. He takes the low place, and is content there. Because he does not think more highly of himself than he ought to think, it does not occur to him that he must insist on his rights.
This exactly describes the Lord Jesus Christ, doesn’t it? Philippians 2:6 says that “although He existed in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” Jesus did not insist on His rights. If He had, He never would have come into our world to save us. He describes Himself as “gentle and humble in heart.” The Lord Jesus Christ was humble. The apostle Paul is calling us to Christlike humility.
When should we obey this command? “Let your gentleness be known to all men.” This is a call for us to demonstrate humility in every area of our life, so that all men see it. In other words, don’t put on a show of humility at church, but then insist on having things your way in your home, with your family, or at your job. Be a humble person through and through at all times in every place, before all men. Let your humility be seen by non-Christians as well as Christians. Let it be seen when you are slinging a hammer, or working with others in the office, or helping a fellow worker on a gutter cleaning job. Let your family see humility in you in the way you are gracious and reasonable and forbearing – not insisting on your rights, but giving up your rights for the sake of Christ.
By what power can we obey this command? “The Lord is near.” There is the source of power – the Lord. When Paul says that the Lord is near, I believe He is telling us by what power we will be able to live a life of humility before all men. The nearness of the Lord will give us the power we need to live this kind of life. The Lord is near can be understood in terms of time or space. If we understand it in terms of time, it means that the Lord is coming soon. It would mean that we must live a life of humility because the Lord is returning and we want to be found doing His will when He comes. But it can also be understood in terms of space. The Lord is near, meaning He is close to you. He is present with you. I am inclined to understand it in this way. I believe Paul is giving us the power source to live the Christian life. The Lord is near. He is a very present help in time of trouble. We can go to Him, rely upon Him, cast ourselves on Him, pray to Him, and put our trust in Him. And His nearness will be felt and known and will empower us to do His holy will.
3. Faith
“Be anxious for nothing.”
Anxiety is the opposite of faith. If you are anxious about something that means you are not trusting the Lord. The Lord has promised to work all things together for good. If you are anxious then you are not believing His promise. You are believing that maybe in this particular case the Lord is not going to work it together for good.
Did you realize that worry is a sin? If we are commanded never to worry, then to worry must be sin. And of course it is, because it displays a lack of trust in the loving care of our heavenly Father. Worry is just as much a sin as lying, stealing, murder or adultery. When we find ourselves caught up in worry and our stomach is in knots, we need to go to God, confess our worry as sin, and ask him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives us something to do but it doesn’t get us anywhere. Someone once said, “Don’t tell me that worry doesn’t do any good. I know better. The things I worry about don’t happen.”
Behavioral psychologists tell us that:
- 40% of what we worry about never come to pass
- 30% of what we worry about is in the past and worry can’t change it
- 12% of what we worry about is needless worry about health issues
- 10% of what we worry about is miscellaneous matters that don’t deserve worry
- Only 8% could be counted worthy of worry. However, of that 8% there are things you can do something about and things you can’t. Of the things you can do something about, just do it, and quit worrying. Of the things you can’t do anything about, worry is not going to change it.
Faith or trusting the Lord is an essential mark of the Christian life.
Of course you can’t be saved without faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith…” “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Faith is essential to the Christian life. But it is not just essential to begin the Christian life, it is essential to continue to live the Christian life. You can’t follow Jesus if you do not trust Him.
Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Even the great apostle tells us many years after his conversion that the life which he now lived in the flesh, he lived by faith in the Son of God. Brethren, we can’t live the Christian life without living it by faith. That’s the only way we can live it. We have to trust Jesus Christ every step of the way. We are weak, fallible, ignorant, confused, and sinful. Left to ourselves we would surely fall and come short of the glory of God. Apart from Christ we can do nothing.
Isn’t that what the 12 spies discovered? They were sent into the Promised Land to spy it out and bring back a report to the rest of Israel. There were 12 spies in all. All 12 of those spies saw the very same thing. They saw a good and lush land, which was inhabited by warriors in fortified cities. 10 spies saw those things through the eyes of unbelief. 2 spies saw them through the eyes of faith. Because they had no trust in God to give them the victory, they were unable to go in and take possession of the land. We can be just like them. He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Brothers and sisters, do you trust God? Do you trust Him in the hard times as well as the good times? Do you trust Him when you are hurting and suffering? Do you trust Him when you can’t see Him and don’t feel His presence? Trust in the Lord is an essential mark of the Christian life. May all of us have it and grow in it!
4. Prayer
“but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer and supplication. I love the way the NLT puts this verse, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.” Now, we are all familiar with the meaning of prayer. Its most basic definition is simply talking with God. But what about this word “supplication”? The meaning of supplication is “the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly.” So, what are we supposed to ask or beg for? It must be those things that we are inclined to be anxious about. Whenever you start to feel anxious about something, pray and supplicate God immediately. This is what the psalmist was communicating in Ps. 55:22, “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you.” 1 Peter 5:7 says, “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
In everything. There is a story of a missionary who was ministering in the jungles of Africa. One day he was met on his morning walk in the jungle by a great voracious lion. He cried out to God, and the Lord delivered Him from the paw of the Lion. But that night he was kept awake all night long by a mosquito in his room. In the morning he had dark circles under his eyes, and the Lord spoke to Him, “You asked me to deliver you from that lion, but you thought you could handle that mosquito by yourself, didn’t you?” We need to pray about everything. Nothing is too small to bring to the Lord. Maybe you think that you don’t want to bother God with the little stuff. It’s all little stuff to God!
With thanksgiving. Isn’t that great?! When you go to roll your burden on the Lord, and ask Him to take this care off your heart, don’t forget to do it with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for what He has already done in your life, and thanksgiving for what you know He’s going to do in the future. Don’t just go to God with your laundry list of all the things you want Him to do for you. Go to Him with thanksgiving and praise and worship in your heart. Yes, He wants you to bring all of your cares to Him. But He also wants you to do so as a worshiper.
And the peace of God… So what will be the result if we don’t worry about anything but pray about everything? The peace of God will flood our hearts! Now this is not peace with God. That’s an objective reality. That is talking about enemies being made God’s friends because of the shed blood of Christ. No, this is something subjective. This is something that is felt and experienced and known. It is the peace of God. God’s peace.
Which surpasses all comprehension. You won’t be able to understand this peace. It is not a natural peace. You can’t explain it. It is entirely supernatural. It is heavenly. It is divine. This is not a peace that you can generate at will. This is a supernatural peace that comes from God, and it is entirely unexplainable. It surpasses all of our comprehension. We don’t understand how it comes to us, or why it would come to us, or how it drives away our anxieties. We just know that it does, because we have experienced it.
Shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. God’s peace is like a guard marching, not around a city wall, but around your heart and your mind. God’s peace will keep intruders and enemies out. Worry would like to break into your heart and your mind. Worry would like to disturb your tranquility of soul. But God’s supernatural peace will protect your heart and mind from those enemies.
So, when does God’s peace flood our hearts and minds and protect us from our spiritual enemies? It is when we refuse to worry about anything, but instead pray about everything. If we do not have a prayer life, we shouldn’t think that we will experience this incomprehensible supernatural peace. Decide today, this morning, that you will make time every day to spend with God in prayer!
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, this morning I would like you to break up into small groups of 2 or 3. I want you to reflect with one another on these 4 essential marks of the Christian life: Joy – Humility – Faith – Prayer.
Confess your sins to one another. Tell one another which one of those marks you struggle with the most. Then pray for each other. We will take 5-10 minutes to do this now.
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