Date: 6/11/19
Lesson #30
Title: REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS, AND BE GENTLE TO ALL
“Special Notes” and “Scripture” are shown as endnotes.
NIV Bible is used throughout unless noted otherwise.
Scripture: (Philippians 4:4-5, NIV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Introduction
With verse 4, Paul returns to his favorite theme: “Rejoice in the Lord Always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” The repetition must be designed to give emphasis to the command to rejoice and to the many benefits of rejoicing in the Lord.
Disharmony in the church often is the by-product of internal, personal conflicts, and Paul now directs his exhortation to the inner state of peace.
Commentary
(4:4) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Paul discloses to the Philippians two great qualities of the Christian life.
The first quality is JOY. Paul was lying in prison at this time with almost certain death awaiting him; the Philippians were setting out on the Christian way (way of life), and dark days, dangers and persecutions inevitably lay ahead. So Paul says, “I know what I’m saying. I’ve thought of everything that might possibly happen. And still, I say it? Rejoice!” Christian joy is independent of everything else on earth because it has its source in the continual presence of Christ.
The repetition of the word must be designed to convince any who might doubt that Joy can accompany afflictions. could be translated, “Keep on rejoicing in the Lord always,” literally, “Again I will say, keep on rejoicing.” While he wants them to have the joy of the Christian life, their rejoicing will also contribute to peace and harmony in the church and will aid attainment of inner tranquility without which outer peace is an impossibility. The fact that he emphasizes that they should be constantly rejoicing within Christ, and in union with Christ, suggests that they may have had constant reasons for which a carnal person would be depressed or complain. Here he is not saying that they are always happy, but rather he is admonishing them to be rejoicing in Christ, even if their situations and conditions are hard.
Paul goes on to say in verse 5: “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” “Gentleness” is the Greek word (epieikeia) which has also been translated moderation, patience, softness, the patient mind, modesty, forbearance, forbearing spirit, magnanimity, and C. Kingsley Williams has: “Let all the world know that you will meet a man half-way.”
The Geeks themselves explained this word as “justice and something better than justice.” They said that epieikeia ought to come in when strict justice became unjust because of its generality. There may be individual instances where a perfectly just law becomes unjust or where justice is not the same thing as fairness. A man has the quality of epieikeia if he knows when not to apply the strict letter of the law when to relax justice and introduce mercy.
Let us take a simple example from the life of Jesus. The Christian, as Paul sees it, is the man that knows that there is something beyond justice. When the woman caught in adultery was brought before Him, Jesus could have applied the letter of the Law according to which she should have been stoned to death; but He went beyond justice.”Let your gentleness be evident to all.” As far as justice goes, there is not one of us who deserves anything other than the condemnation of God, but He goes far beyond justice. Paul asserts that the mark of a Christian in his personal relationships with His fellow-men must be that he knows when to insist on justice and when to remember that there is something beyond justice.
(4:5) Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Why should a man be like this? Why should he have this joy and gracious gentleness in his life? “Because,” says Paul, “the Lord (Christ or Yahweh) is near.” If we remember the coming triumph of Christ, we can never lose our hope and our joy. If we remember that life is short, we will not wish to enforce the stern justice which so often divides men but will wish to deal with men in love, as we hope God will deal with us. Justice is human but epieikeia is divine.
In contrast to the unreasonable demands put upon others which are sometimes voiced by those who do not have the mind of Christ, a Christian should be characterized as one who is gentle and forbearing in his attitude toward others and is reasonable in his demands. The apostle wants this to be well known as a Christian attitude, not only among Christians but by all men.
Our judgment of others is tempered by the fact that God will need to judge us, and consciousness of our own failures and limitations tends to make us more patient with others who may fall short. Such an attitude will not only reveal a work of grace in the heart of the individual Christian but will provide an atmosphere for harmonious relationships within the church.
The joy in a Christian’s relation to God expressed in rejoicing and a gentle spirit in relation to fellow Christians indicates the fruit of the Spirit.
The Greek word used here for gentleness is rendered in other places as “sweet reasonableness.” The Greeks said it was justice and something better. It describes the man who knows when to relax justice and let mercy come breaking in. But what is the force of the following, “The Lord is near.” It is generally taken to mean, “Christ is coming back soon.” However, since Paul proceeds to talk about prayer, it may well be an echo of Psalm 145:18, “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”
I think I heard someone ask, “Brother Lowe, what do you think Paul means here?” He probably means that the Lord is near in the sense that He is nearer now than when the Philippians first believed (Rom. 13:11{a]). The New Testament generally, and Paul’s letters specifically, speak of the appearance of Christ as an incentive for obedience (Rom. 13:11-14{b]; Phil. 1:10, 2:16; 1 Thess. 5:4-11). That is the way Paul speaks of it here, and we should not allow modern ridicule of apocalyptic thinking to lead us away from this legitimate and important incentive for ethical behavior.
What a picture of Christ we are to show to the world; gentile fairness and suitable reasonableness? which are to be intimately and experientially made known to them. This means through personal interaction with everyone with whom we have contact. Through this means, they will know that “the Lord is near”? that they can touch Him by touching us, and that He is available to us.
Scripture and Special Notes
[a} (Rom. 13:11) And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
[b} (Rom. 13:11-14) 11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh{i] {ii].
[i} the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.
[ii} We have come a long way in our reasons for obeying the law: from fear to conscience to love to our devotion to Jesus Christ. The emphasis is on the imminent return of Christ. As His servants, we want to be found faithful when He returns. The completion of our salvation is near! The light is dawning! Therefore, be ready!
