From the Pulpit...

In the beginning of the letter, Paul wrote that he thanked God for the Philippian Christians, and particularly for their “fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.” We remarked that this had to do with not only their common sharing of life in Christ with the apostle Paul, but with the fact that they shared material things to assist Paul in his spiritual ministry. In this way, the epistle to the Philippians is something of a thank you note from Paul to the church for their faithfulness in supporting his work. In this section of chapter 4, Paul comes around to that thanksgiving theme again. There is a lot to chew on here: the example of the Philippian church in supporting missionary ministry; Paul’s way of looking at the gift both from his side as recipient but also from the donor’s side; and the confidence that God will supply our needs in Christ, with a view toward those good works.