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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Philippians 4:4 - 4:7
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Php_4:4-7
4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Php_4:4 There are two present active imperative forms of the term "rejoice" in Php_4:4. The term can be translated as a farewell, but in this context they must be translated "rejoice" (cf. 1Th_5:16). This is a major theme in Philippians. Notice the number of times the terms "all" and "every" are used in Php_4:4-13 as in Php_1:1-8. Joy must not be linked to circumstances. The key is the believers' relationship to Christ ("in the Lord").
Php_4:5
NASB "gentle spirit"
NKJV, NRSV "gentleness"
TEV "a gentle attitude"
NJB "good sense"
This call to Christian lifestyle began in Php_3:1, but the discussion of the false teachers drew Paul's mind away until this point where he renews the emphasis. The term itself is best translated "kind," "gentle," or "yielding" (cf. 1Ti_3:3; Tit_3:2; Jas_3:17; 1Pe_2:18).
▣ "be known to all men" This verse has been interpreted in two ways:
1. believers are to have this gentleness toward other believers so that those outside the church will notice and be attracted to Christ (cf. Mat_5:16)
2. this gentleness is to be applied to all people, regardless of their relationship to the Lord, as a witness to His power in the lives of these converted pagans and as a deterrent to unfair criticism by unbelievers (cf. Rom_12:17; Rom_14:18; 2Co_8:21; 1Pe_2:12; 1Pe_2:15; 1Pe_3:16)
NASB, NRSV,
NJB "The Lord is near"
NKJV "The Lord is at hand"
TEV "The Lord is coming soon"
This word "near" is used of time (cf. Mat_24:32-33). The Second Coming is a recurrent theme in Philippians. This has a very similar meaning to the Aramaic word maranatha (cf. 1Co_16:22; Rev_22:10). The any-moment expectation of the Second Coming was and is an encouragement to Christian living (cf. Rom_13:12; Jas_5:8-9).
It is also possible that this could have referred to the Lord's moment-by-moment presence with believers (cf. Mat_28:20; Rom_10:8 and F. F. Bruce's Answers to Questions, p. 201).
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Php_4:6 "be anxious for nothing" This is a present active imperative. The church at Philippi was under great tension, both from without and within. Anxiety is not an appropriate characteristic for the Christian life (cf. Mat_6:25-34 and 1Pe_5:7). There is nothing that should worry believers except possibly their standing fast in the Lord and serving Him. The great enemy of peace is anxiety.
▣ "but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving" This is a key answer to anxiety-prayer, for others and ourselves, mixed with thanksgiving. It is interesting how often Paul uses the term "thanksgiving" in combination with prayer (cf. Eph_5:20; Col_4:2; 1Th_5:17-18; 1Ti_2:1). There is an obvious contrast between "for nothing" and "in everything." See Special Topic: Paul's Praise, Prayer, and Thanksgiving at Eph_3:20.
▣ "Let your requests be made known to God" This a present passive imperative. There are several passages in the NT which emphasize that believers should persist in prayer (cf. Mat_7:7-11; Luk_18:2-8). Possibly, thanksgiving and perseverance are the two missing elements in a proper theology of prayer. God knows what is needed but He desires the fellowship and trust involved in prayer. God has limited Himself in many areas to the prayers of His children; "We have not because we ask not" (cf. Jas_4:2).
Php_4:7 "the peace of God" It is interesting that in this context the peace of God is mentioned in Php_4:7 and the God who gives it is mentioned in Php_4:9. The first emphasizes what God gives and the second His character. Peace is used in several different senses in the NT:
1. it can be a title (cf. Isa_9:6; Rom_15:33; Rom_16:20; 2Co_13:11; Php_4:9; 1Th_5:23; 2Th_3:16)
2. it can refer to the peace of the gospel in an objective sense (cf. Joh_14:27; Joh_16:33; Col_1:20)
3. it can refer to the peace of the gospel in a subjective sense (cf. Eph_2:14-17; Col_3:15)
Sometimes 2 and 3 are combined as in Rom_5:1. See Special Topic: Peace at Col_1:20.
▣ "which surpasses all comprehension" This is a present active participle. It has been interpreted in two ways: (1) God's peace is better than human reason or (2) God's peace is beyond human reason. The parallel passage in Eph_3:20 is helpful. God's ways are beyond our ways (cf. Isa_55:8-9). An example of this peace that passes all human ability to understand is found in the life of Paul in this very chapter (cf. Php_4:11-13). The peace of God must be unconnected with circumstances and locked securely to the person and work of Christ. For "surpasses" (huperechô) see Special Topic: Paul's Use of Huper Compounds at Eph_1:19.
▣ "shall guard your hearts and your minds" God's peace acts as a soldier guarding believers. This same beautiful truth of God's garrisoning of His children can be seen in 1Pe_1:4-5. The two Greek terms "heart" (kardia) and "mind" (nous) are synonymous in speaking about the whole person (feeling and thinking). Paul emphasizes Christian thinking throughout this letter. See note at Php_3:15. See Special Topic: Heart at Col_2:2.
▣ "in Christ Jesus" He is the key to Paul's theology. All of God's benefits and blessings flow to fallen mankind through the life, teachings, death, resurrection, Second Coming and personal union with Jesus Christ. Believers are vitally united with Him. This is theologically synonymous with John's "abide in me" of John 15.