Paul exhorts the believers to "stand fast in the
Lord" (Philippians 4:1)
He calls the believers at Philippi his "joy and crown"
(I Thessalonians 2:19) and eagerly anticipates seeing them as such in the "Day of Christ"
(Philippians 1:6-10)
Paul exhorts the believers to "be of the same mind
in the Lord" (Philippians 4:2)
He also exhorts them to "stand fast in one spirit,
with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27)
Paul exhorts his "true yoke fellow" to "help
those women which labored with me in the gospel" (Philippians 4:3)
It is only through those "whose names are written
in the book of life" (Philippians 4:3) that "prayer and supplication in spirit" can be made "for
all saints" (Ephesians 6:18)
Paul exhorts the believers to "rejoice in the Lord"
(Philippians 4:4)
Paul's main purpose for writing his epistle to the Church
at Philippi was so that they might "rejoice in the Lord" (Philippians 3:1)
His desire was for them to "worship God in spirit,
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3)
It is God Who "is able to make all grace abound"
to the believer, so that the believer "may abound to every good work" (II Corinthians 9:8)
Paul exhorts the believers to let their "moderation
(yieldedness) be known unto all men" for "the Lord is at hand (near)" (Philippians 4:5)
A believer should be known for "yieldedness"
- the same original Greek word is rendered as "patient" (I Timothy 3:3) and as "gentle" (Titus 3:2), which is characteristic of one who knows that the Lord is "near"
The Lord is as "near" as the believer's spirit
- the spirit of the believer and the Spirit of the Lord are "one spirit" (I Corinthians 6:17) in that the believer's spirit is "sealed" to the Holy Spirit
until the "day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30) when the believer's body will at last be free from the "bondage
of corruption" (Romans 8:21-23) at the appearing of the Savior (Philippians 3:20-21)
Paul exhorts the believers to NOT worry about anything,
BUT to pray about everything and to make "supplication with thanksgiving" (Philippians 4:6 cf. I Thessalonians 5:17-18)
Paul exhorts the believers to look to prayer, so that
they may experience the "peace of God", which will "guard and keep watch" over their hearts
and minds "in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7)
It is the "peace of God" which should rule in
the hearts of believers through the indwelling of the "Word of (the) Christ" (Colossians 3:15-17),
which is the equivalent of being "filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18-20)
Paul exhorts the believers to think on (consider) and
do (practice) the things which they have learned and received from him as well as heard of and seen in him, so
that they too can experience fellowship with the "God of Peace" (Philippians 4:8-9) as was the case with Paul's godly example amidst intense persecutions
(II Timothy 3:10-12)
Things that are true (Greek, alethes = not hidden)