Title [Philippians 4:1-3] Three Counsels
Main text: Philippians 4:1~3
Title: Three Counts
In the text, Paul exhorts believers to practice three things. I know that this counsel is essential not only for the church in Philippi at the time of Paul, but also for the church today. Now, I hope that we too know that this exhortation is directed to me and receive it as an Amen and put it into practice.
1. It was said, “Stand in the Lord” (1).
The expression “stand” here refers to a soldier defending his trenches from the battlefield to the end. Christians should live their life of faith with this mental attitude. A life of faith is never a life of peace or smoothness. There are always temptations and trials. Sometimes you have to be attacked for no reason. Even in such a situation, it is faith to keep the faith firmly, and to do God's work with this faith is the life of faith. But Paul is pointing out where we should stand. He said “in the week.” It confirms that you are a right believer only in Jesus Christ. It is important not to have our own will, beliefs, thoughts, or attention, but only our Savior, Jesus Christ, to be deeply rooted early and stand unwaveringly. Because Jesus is the only way, truth, and life, those who stand in the Lord are safe and can enjoy eternal life. May we all stand firm in the Lord until the coming of the Lord.
2. It was said, “Have the same mind in the Lord” (2).
It is a personal exhortation to Euodia and Syntyche, but in reality it is an exhortation to all saints. The Philippian church, which was built around the self-employed Lydia, had a great influence of women members. However, the conflicts and quarrels between Euodia and Syntyche, two prominent women, caused chaos throughout the church. Paul is grieving for this, but he is admonishing us to have the same heart. The unity of the church is the Lord's earnest desire. Foreseeing the division of the church, the Lord asked for unity in the final prayer of Gethsemane (John 17:21-22). A variety of people gather in the church. They may have different ideas and different values. As a result, conflicts and quarrels may arise without consensus of opinion. If it is a religious or doctrinal issue, you have to risk your life to fight it, but usually there are many cases where you fight over the issue of initiative.
He is exhorting these churches to “have the same heart”. It is God's great grace and blessing that our church has reached today without conflict or contention. I hope that this beautiful image will be maintained until the coming of the Lord. But the important thing is that we are admonishing our hearts to become one. If there is no conflict on the outside, but there is a conflict on the inside, this is also a mistake. When even the mind becomes one, it becomes a perfect one. The church must be one in the Lord. When we become one in the Lord Jesus, not people-centered, we can say that we are completely one. We hope that our members will be fully united in the Lord and fulfill God's great will.
3. He exhorted “help … help” (3)
Today we received three exhortations from Paul. “Stand in the Lord” “Be of the same mind in the Lord” “Help… help.” I hope that we will all become more beautiful by keeping these words in our hearts and putting them into practice.