Whatever is Lovely
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If you have a Bible go ahead and grab it. We will be looking just at 2 verses today: Philippians 4:8-9. We are getting close to the finish line as we only have about 3 videos left but there is still a lot that we can dive into in what we have left. Here in these verses, Paul has another Baptist preacher moment as he begins this verse with the word, “finally” but he still has another 14 verses to go but Paul is beginning to bring this letter to a close. I like to refer to these verses as “Paul’s Beatitudes” because the message, I believe, is fairly similar to what we read in Matthew 5. Let’s go ahead and read these verses and you may be able to see why I refer to these as Paul’s beatitudes. Paul writes in Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Exposition of Verse 8
Exposition of Verse 8
Verse 8 specifically is what I believe constitutes Paul’s beatitudes. Verse 8 prioritizes the thoughts and the actions of the believer. We as Christians are to dwell on the things that are true, that are honorable, just, pure, lively, and commendable. Now how are we to do this? By focusing on the things that are most important. The eye of the Christian is to be solely on Christ and we are to live solely in pursuit of holy living. I think that in many ways, the Beatitudes were given to drive our actions while Paul’s words were given to drive our thoughts and these 2 sections of Scripture combine together to guide us in our sanctification. Paul brings together all of these virtues and he does not necessarily say, “live in this way” but he says, “think about these things.” The Christian mind is to be occupied by things that are honoring to Christ. As we think of truth, we think of how Christ is the way, truth, and the life and that there are no lies or deceit in God. As we think of that which is honorable, who is more honorable than our sinless Savior? As we think of that which is just, no one is more just than the great Judge of the universe. As we think of whatever is lovely, what greater love has been shown to the world than Christ’s love for us on the cross? As we think of that which is commendable, who else is deserving of praise than the Lord our God? So Paul, is telling the Philippians that living a Godly life extends beyond our physical actions. To live a Godly life, one’s very thoughts must be possessed by Christ. Our thoughts will drive us long before our actions do. Max Anders writes, “Paul understood the influence of one’s thoughts on one’s life. Right thinking is the first step toward righteous living. What is right living? It is thinking devoted to life’s higher good and virtues.” Are your thoughts compatible with the Christian life? Are your thoughts driven by what we see in the Gospel? Are you thinking sanctified thoughts? It is entirely possible for Christian to live like a non-Christian and it is entirely possible for a Christian to not think like a Christian should. Will we always think perfectly in this life? No. Will we act perfectly in this life? No we won’t, and we have seen this elsewhere in Philippians, but that does not mean that we shouldn’t try. The world shouldn’t just notice that our actions are different, they should notice that the way we think about things and process things are completely different. Our thoughts will show the world that we are the People of God. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “As Christian people we must see to it that the whole of our life, our very thoughts and ideas, everything, are under the mighty control of the risen Lord. Every thought must be brought into subjection to Him. Christ must control our minds and the whole of our thinking.” Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:5
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
Paul understood just how greatly thought drives action. If our thoughts are not Christ-centered, our actions will not be Christ-centered. If our minds are set on sin, our lives will be set to sin. Paul understood that Satan is doing battle with not just our physical lives but our thought lives. Our thoughts must be captivated by Christ or else Satan will continue to have his way with our minds. We are to fortify our thoughts so that they would obey Christ. With the time we have left, let’s go ahead and look at verse 9.
Exposition of Verse 9
Exposition of Verse 9
Paul says in Philippians 4:9
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Here we see the importance of having Godly leaders in our lives. Paul already admitted in Philippians 3 that he was not a perfect person but he was someone that sought to imitate Christ in all that he did. It is important for you to surround yourself with Godly men and women. It is vitally important for us to surround ourselves by so great a cloud of witnesses like we read in Hebrews 12:1. John Calvin said, “Now, the main thing in a public speaker should be, that he may speak, not with his mouth merely, but by his life, and procure authority for his doctrine by rectitude of life. Paul, accordingly, procures authority for his exhortation on this ground, that he had, by his life no less than by his mouth, been a leader and master of virtues.” It is one thing for us to be taught right doctrine by someone, it is another thing to see a right way of living in someone. I can think of several pastors that taught good doctrine but did not live Godly lives. I think of someone like Mark Driscoll who for the most part, taught good doctrine, but he did not imitate Christ in thought, words, or action. I can also think of quite a few people who lived godly lives but did not have the right doctrine. I think of someone like Charles Finney who did a lot of great things in the name of Christ but to be honest, had horrible doctrine. We don’t want to be all doctrine and no action or vice versa. We need doctrine, we need positive actions and Godly living and we should hopefully see that in the people that we look up to and allow to lead us in our lives. Now we also understand that no pastor or leader is perfect. But we should not follow someone solely because they have the title of pastor. Follow someone because their teachings, minds, and actions are centered on Christ and then put that into practice within your own life. Discipleship doesn’t do much if it does not help you live a life that is honoring to God. Finally, Paul says that as we practice these things, the God of peace will be with us. One of the tremendous beauties of the Christian life is knowing that God is always with us. Paul knows that the god of peace will be and already is with the believer. We as Christians can have a great deal of joy in knowing that the God of peace is for us and not against us. When we possess the peace of God, we possess all that we need. We may not have peace with the world but we have peace with God Himself! We possess Christ Himself and God will not remove His peace from those for whom Christ has atoned for. I want to end this study with a long quote from St. Augustine. Augustine says of the peace of God: “Peace will be your gold, peace will be your silver, peace will be your broad estates, peace your very life. Your God will be your peace. Peace will be for you whatever you long for. In this world gold cannot also be silver for you, wine cannot be bread for you, what gives you light cannot provide you with drink; but your God will be everything to you. You will feed on him, and hunger will never come near you; you will drink him, never to thirst again; you will be illumined by him that you may suffer no blindness; you will be supported by him and saved from weakness. He will possess you whole and undivided, as he, your possessor, is whole and undivided himself. You will lack nothing with him, for with him you possess all that is; you will have it all, and he will have all there is of you, because you and he will be one, and he who possesses you will have this one thing and have it wholly.” Let’s go to the Lord in prayer and thank Him for the peace that He has given us.