Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
2 Corinthians 9:7
We’ve come to the end - this is our last sermon in our series on Philippians
It’s a bit bittersweet for me
We’ve come to recognize that Philippians is a book about the Gospel
Paul has repeatedly emphasized some of the greatest truths of the Gospel
The beauty of Christ’s obedience and exaltation
The futility of our misguided attempts to make ourselves righteous in light of the righteousness offered to us in Christ
The necessity of unity in the church
In fact that has really emerged as one of the core themes of the letter
The Gospel leads to joy which leads to humility which then promotes unity
And here we are at the end - yet Paul still has a few things to say to the Philippians and, by extension to us
Great Uncle Steve
Running laps around his house for a quarter
In the late 70’s that was a lot of money - today it would probably be a dollar or even two
He wasn’t a very generous person
We all love a generous person
The Lord loves a generous giver as well
Tonight we’re going to look at
Paul’s commendation to the Philippians for their continued generosity
At his promise of God’s provision for their needs (as opposed to prosperity)
And at his closing statements to this church
Read Philippians 4:14-23
Pray
Gospel Partnership
Philippians 4:14-16, 2 Corinthians 8:1-2, Philippians 1:27-29, Philippians 4:10, Philippians 1:3-5
The Philippians probably feel a bit down
They were not an affluent church and were undergoing intense persecution
Yet they had managed to send Paul a financial gift to help with his expenses
Yet he has the audacity to write that he is content in both need and surplus
And that he can do everything through Christ who strengthens him
In addition to that they were expecting Timothy and got Epaphroditus
And Paul hasn’t even come out and given them a proper thank you for their gift
Instead he says - nevertheless
Even though I am content and can do all through Christ
You did a good thing in helping me
This is as close as Paul comes to giving an outright thanks to the Philippians
But underlying this statement is also a sense that this should be the last time they send him such a gift
Kid’s helping with projects around the house
I love that they want to help
Often makes the job last longer than it would have
Sometimes my thank you is really “thanks for helping this time but really I’d prefer to do it alone next time”
That is in essence what Paul is saying here
He reminds them of their previous efforts on his behalf
Previously he had written to them
Now he comes again to say
Notice that in both passages Paul refers to the first preaching of the Gospel
Not only were the Philippians, as with most believers, excited about sharing the Gospel
They were excited about supporting the ministry of the Gospel
The fact that no other church had shared in Paul’s ministry speaks to the depth of the relationship that he had with the Philippians
Not even Ephesus - he was there 3 years - or Corinth - 18 months - shared the same relationship with Paul that this church did
It could be that those churches had been beset by Pauline opponents almost immediately whereas Philippi had remained relatively immune
Paul’s warnings in Philippians 3 are to watch out for the arrival of these false teachers not a warning against teachings already being taught in Philippi
Even this statement that highlights again their koinonia with him in the Gospel could be taken as a cold shoulder to their gifts
Paul uses the financial terminology of payments and receipts - almost what you would expect from a creditor
You sent your money, I kept stellar records and now here is your receipt in the form of this letter sent with Epaphroditus
Even though this may sound a cold thanks from a dear friend, Paul is about to become more affectionate
Gospel Prosperity
Philippians 4:17-19, Acts 2:43-47, Acts 4:32-37, Acts 5:1-11, John 15:8, Genesis 8:20-21, Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:15-16, Philippians 1:3, Psalm 23:1, Matthew 6:25-33, 2 Corinthians 9:8
Paul starts off by saying that even though the gift was good - the evidence and increase in “profit” for the Philippians is far greater
the word for profit here is karpon which means fruit or outcome
While generosity is not mentioned as one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 it walks hand in hand with all of those attributes
From the very beginning new converts were generous with their earthly possessions - it was one of the attractions to the early church
This was such an attraction that it became a false sense of status for the early church
All that is well and good but look what happens next
See the false humility of generosity can often be played off as piety - seek the genuine fruit of the Spirit
But here we see that the Philippians, by their continued support of Paul, had genuine fruit
Paul gets even warmer when he borrows Old Testament terminology to describe their gifts - as a fragrant aroma
The concept of a soothing or fragrant aroma as a part of the sacrifice to God originates with Noah
When the priests would offer a sacrifice on the altar they would add incense to give it a pleasing aroma
Here Paul ties our obedience to the concept that this is our sacrifice to God
He does the same in Romans 12:1
The writer of Hebrews takes the concept even further writing
And there is a promise attached to this sacrifice
And it’s not a vague promise from just anyone - Paul says “my God”
Twice in this letter he has referred to God as “my God”
Paul is affirming that we don’t serve a distant god who cares nothing for our daily needs
the deist watchmaker god
Our God cares for our daily needs and is involved in every facet of our lives - it is His imminence
The Philippians gave out of their great love for God and for Paul and sacrificed out of their poverty
Paul now makes them a promise that God will meet all their needs out of His riches
This is a theme throughout Scripture
Jesus teaches on God’s provision for our physical needs in the sermon on the mount
So there is certainly the truth that God provides our daily needs
But there also needs to be a warning included with this passage - many have twisted this to mean that God is going to meet every desire
In his words on this passage Joel Osteen puts it this way “One touch of God’s favor can blast you out of barely enough and put you into more than enough.”
He goes on to say that we should “let go of the past and choose to have an abundance mentality” - but that is not what Paul is saying here
Another more orthodox preacher - H.B. Charles - puts it this way
“God promises to meet your need, not your greed.”
God does have the means to meet all of our needs - He owns the cattle on a thousand hills - but that doesn’t mean we’re all going to live in 3500 square foot mansions in La Jolla.
It is always for His purpose, His glory and our good.
A parallel passage to this is 2 Corinthians 9:8
Here we have a clarification of what Paul is talking about in Philippians 4:19 - that we may have an abundance (our needs met) for every good deed.
God will meet our needs - in His time, with His provisions and for His glory…not for our prosperity
That is Gospel-centered prosperity
Farewells
Philippians 4:20-23, Romans 11:33-36, Ephesians 3:20-21, 1 Corinthians 1:1-2, Philippians 1:27-29, Philippians 2:1-4
Paul could never resist taking an opportunity to worship God
At the end of his doctrinal treatise in the book of Romans he launches into a beautiful doxology
Again in Ephesians as he transitions from doctrine to application he again praises God
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