And I Intreat Thee Also

NOVEMBER 10, 2021 STUDY NOTES PHILIPPIANS 4:3-5 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES INTRODUCTION In the previous verse Paul appealed to two women, by name, to settle their differences Paul did not state what their problem was, they knew, and evidently the church knew also Whatever the problem, it was a hinderance to their ministry and the ministry of the church We need Christians and churches today who are concerned about their testimony and ministry So concerned that they are willing to correct any problem that hinders their witness for Christ Paul is going to instruct us, encourage us, and exhort us to do that in the rest of the book Php 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. Paul again states his concern over the problem of the two women in the church He personally calls upon someone in the church that he calls, “a true yokefellow” Some believe that he was a man with the Greek name meaning “yokefellow” Whether that was his actual name or not, it identified with who he was, the church knew him He was a man living up to his identification, if it was not his actual name, he had earned the title The church knew who Paul was speaking too, and he knew that Paul was speaking to him They also knew that Paul spoke with authority, if Paul spoke, you listened The one that Paul spoke to, was a “true” Christian, true meaning real, genuine, and sincere He was not a hypocrite, he was a faithful Christian, a “yokefellow” The word “yokefellow” means a comrade, a close companion, teammate, or fellow worker The Greek word was used to refer to two oxen yoked together pulling together the same load It is sad that “true yokefellow” cannot be used to identify all Christians or churches today We need true spiritual workers working together rather than competing against one another Christians united-together, bonded together in Christ, working as brothers and sister in Christ So united for the same Christian cause that we can come together and solve all potential problems Paul believed that it could happen in the church of Philippi They could solve their problems and disagreements without a church split Paul calls upon the “true yokefellow” to “help those women,” intervene, take immediate action “Help” them reconcile their difference, something that must be done because of their testimony The problem goes beyond the testimony of two women, it is affecting the testimony of the church This is not a case that calls for church discipline, which is now a thing of the past in churches Paul is saying, join hands with them, but when you do, be sure you are holding on to the Lord Paul’s request is not a task for the human spirit, it must be the hands of spirituality Our “help” must be through that which is known as the “fruit of the Spirit,” Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Paul tells us why it is so important to help them, they have been a part of his ministry They had been involved in the ministry that all Christians should be involved in Paul said, “help those women which labored with me in the gospel” “Labored with me” has the meaning of being on the same side, working together Striving together for the same reason, same purpose, same goal, a common cause The same original word is found in, Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; These women had labored together with Paul for the cause of “the gospel,” the good news In secular Greek the word translated “labored with” was an athletic term It referred to an athletic contest, in which a group of athletes strove together as a team Their common goal was to win the contest, to defeat the other team How important is it today for the church to labor together, strive together to defeat our enemy John identifies our opposition, 1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. Every day Christians face the world that is not of God, we see it, we hear it, we don’t like it So, what are we going to do? The answer to the problems of our world is “the gospel” The two women that Paul was concerned about had been faithful witnesses of the gospel They had been concerned about lost souls destined to Hell, they had ministered together Now there was a hinderance, there was a conflict between them, which Satan would use How far has the Christian witness and church ministry gone from the dispute of two women Look at the many denominations that will not minister together in our day Denominations have denominational splits, churches have splits, Christians won’t work together Satan has plenty of religious strategy to use against the witness of the gospel today The witness of today requires the “whole armor of God,” Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. “The wiles of the devil” refers to his strategies, methods, trickery, his craftiness Satan strives upon Christian quarrels and disputes, church divisions, and church splits Instead of contention against one another Christians must “contend for the faith,” Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. The two women who had labored with Paul in the gospel had also labored “with Clement” We don’t know who Clement was, he is not mentioned in any other NT verse It is a matter of interest to us that we don’t know all that we want to know about those in verse 3 But it is important for us to realize what we do learn from verse 3 We can’t identify those referred to in verse 3 by name, but we can identify them by their witness They were all well known within the church, and they were not alone, Paul tells us more “With other my fellow laborers,” what a testimony for a local church to have Co-workers of God, standing side by side, working together for the cause of Christ Paul reveals how important that is in, 1Th 3:2 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: Paul said three things about Timothy in this verse: He was a “spiritual brother” He was a minister of God He had worked with Paul and others to spread the Gospel of Christ Paul and Timothy were joined together in the work of God, the work was for God What Paul said about Timothy should be true of every Christian All Christians are fellow-workers for God, 1Co 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. Our spiritual goal should be to work for God by helping others work for God Paul sent Timothy to accomplish that goal in the Thessalonian church He was sent to establish and comfort them in the faith, that they might minister the gospel Paul states one other fact about the Philippian church, “whose names are in the book of life” Names are written in the “Book of Life” because of the Gospel The Gospel is the “Good News” of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ Those who have received Christ as their Savior have a reason to rejoice, Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. We must preach the gospel because names need to be written in the Book of Life, Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. The last verse found in the Bible tells us why we must preach the gospel, Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Only those whose names are written in the “Book of Life” will enter the New Jerusalem One good reason to do today what Paul tells us next in Philippians 4 Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. This verse is often quoted but modern Christianity needs to learn its truth and live it We have the most modern means of comfort and ease that the world has ever known Life is as easy as it has ever been, push a button and you’ve got it, it is ready to go or enjoy But stressful living seems to be greater than ever before, people are looking for a stress button In this passage Paul has several commands for the Christian, he speaks to us today A command-- Rejoice and Keep on rejoicing--that sounds good--we need to learn how A command-- Don’t worry about anything--that sounds good--we need to learn how A command-- Pray about everything--that sounds good--we need to learn how Learn and put into practice what Paul tells us and you will move from worry to the peace of God You will experience “the peace of God” and the “God of peace will be with you” It all sounds good, it is true, you can stop worrying and start rejoicing if you will: Rejoice in the Lord (vs. 4) Believe that the Lord is at hand (vs. 5) Turn it all over to God (vs. 6) Think God, think Christ (vs. 7) Think right (vs. 8) Live right (vs. 9) That does sound good, now let’s learn it and live it “REJOICE” is the theme of the book of Philippians, “rejoice in the Lord” We find the word translated “rejoice” 7 times in Philippians, the word “rejoice with” 2 times We find another word translated “joy” 5 times Read Philippians through at one setting and take note of the verses referring to joy As you do, pray for the Spirit to teach you something special about rejoicing in Jesus Pray that your personal testimony will be “rejoice in the Lord always” Evidently Paul knew that he would be talking to some Baptist one day, they need to be told again So, he said, “and again I say rejoice,” indicating that it is not always easy to do The only way possible is “in the Lord,” the joy is in Jesus, it is not in worldly happiness The joy of Jesus is not the same as worldly happiness, which is based upon “happenings” Everyone is happy when everything about our life is good and going our way, the way we want it We are happy when good things happen to come our way, but they don’t always come And even when they do come, they don’t last forever Christian joy is not based upon the right circumstances of life, but the right relationship in life How long has it been since you sang, “count your many blessings, see what God has done?” Satan will offer you a “happy hour,” but it doesn’t always last that long The joy of Jesus is an internal and eternal joy that trouble or time cannot take away The mindset of “in the Lord” allows your mind to be lifted above the things of this earth Worldly affliction, trials, and troubles cannot overcome the Spirit-filled life The world we live in must see the joy of Jesus in our daily walk of life If we are going to represent heaven to earth, we must be filled with the joy of Jesus As Christians, we are commanded to rejoice in the Lord, Php 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Christians are to keep on rejoicing, Paul gave the same message to the Thessalonians, 1Th 5:16 Rejoice evermore. The Christian is to always rejoice, something that only a Christian can do Rejoicing at-all times through all things is not a natural response, it is a supernatural action Paul was not teaching something new, rejoicing in the Lord is also found in the OT “For the joy of the LORD is your strength” is often quoted by Christians today, Neh 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. (Don’t grieve over worldly circumstances, rejoice in the Lord) The verse applies to those who will confess their sin and turn unto the Lord Their joy would be experienced in the blessings of God bestowed in and through them Habakkuk rejoiced in the Lord despite outward circumstances of life, Hab 3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Though the things they depended upon for their earthly prosperity failed, they rejoiced in God, Hab 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. God’s salvation through His Son Jesus is an eternal salvation, we can trust Him for today, Hab 3:19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. “The Lord God” is not only “Omnipresent,” everywhere present at-all times “The Lord God” is not only “Omniscient,” all knowing, there is nothing that He does not know “The Lord God” is also “Omnipotent,” all powerful, all mighty Christian joy is much more than a feeling or an attitude, it is settled conviction, as sure as God is Christian joy is based upon the assurance that God is in control, Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Christian joy is not the result of worldly wealth, earthly success, or physical health All-of the earthly good things we might experience will one day change, God is unchanging We must allow God to make the changes in our life that are necessary, we must “let God” Php 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. This is another verse that calls for a decision time, that which we must allow to take place No one word in English can express the meaning found in the Greek translated “moderation Bible teachers have given many different words to explain what it means: Tolerance; patient; gentleness; forbearance; humility; courtesy; friendly; loving; bighearted; The same word in the original is used in, 1Ti 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; The same word is found in, Tit 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. Both of those verses are describing the characteristics that church leaders should have But Paul’s instructions are not to be limited to church leaders, they are for all Christians The same word is found as one of the terms describing God’s wisdom, Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. The same word is translated “gentle” again in, 1Pe 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. In each of the above verses the meaning of the word is applied to the life of Christians We are to be: Fair in all dealings; mild mannered in behavior; of a gracious spirit; of a generous spirit; outgoing personality; striving to be a blessing to others; a spirit of goodwill; a spirit of understanding; a loving and forgiving spirit; a life of contentment Christians are not to be one who is miserable and causes others to be miserable We are not to be rude and overbearing, or selfish and unforgiving Scripture is describing the kind of people we need as friends Everyone needs someone like the life described as “moderation” to be a part of their life Scripture is describing the kind of witness that the lost world needs That is why Paul says, “let your moderation be known unto men” “Be known” is meaningful to us, the thought is knowledge gained by experience All the truth that is identified in the word “moderation” is to be made known We are to learn its truth and then make it “known unto men” Let everyone see the conduct of a life of “moderation” The world needs to see a good testimony for the Lord Paul gives us a good motivation to do what he has said, “THE LORD IS AT HAND” This verse gives us a reason to be all that is described in “moderation,” the Lord is at hand Because there are so many references to the second coming of Christ in scripture It is easy to think that “the Lord is at hand” refers to His second coming, and it may do that It could mean that the Lord’s return is near, we must be obedient to His will, live for Him today But there is another possible interpretation, the meaning could be that the Lord is always present There are many verses of scripture throughout the Bible telling us that the Lord is always there As always, the best way to find the meaning of a verse is to look-into the context According to verse 4, Christians are to “rejoice in the Lord always” Which is possible because of His immediate presence with us Consider verse 6, Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. None of which could be experienced apart from the Lord’s immediate presence As Christians we don’t need to worry, we need to take the Lord by the hand, He is always there Considering the context, the immediate presence of the Lord is the preferable interpretation But either view should result in the same way, commit your life to Christ today, Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Either view is true, He is coming again, Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. Rev 22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. The point is, live for Jesus today because He is coming one day Or the meaning could be His presence is with us now, He is there to help, take Him by the hand Which is an encouragement to us at-all times, even in times of trials and troubles, Psa 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psa 145:18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. His presence with us is our motivation to be a witness to the world, Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. What assurance is greater than the presence of the Lord? What power is greater than the hand of the Lord? We can witness without worry, Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Our next study will begin with Philippians 4:6 Until then, don’t worry, just witness, take Jesus by the Hand, and tell others they can too