Philippians 4: Joy in Covenant Relations

At the beginning of his sermon on Philippians 4, PJ 2.0 gave us a brief outline of the chapter. In Philippians 4, Paul has four points to make. He says to his readers, “Be united,” “Be happy and practice love,” “May God bless you as you have blessed me,” and “Encourage one another.”
So I sat back, expecting John Han to delve into how Paul develops these themes throughout the chapter. Instead, he started talking about law school and contracts. I wondered, “Where is he going with this?”
Then John started talking about the difference between contracts and covenants. And then I got it. What Paul says in Philippians 4 stems from the fact that Paul was in a covenant relationship with the Philippian church.
Covenants are very important throughout the Bible. On occasion we read of covenants made between people. But more significant are the covenants made between God and certain individuals or groups.
God made a covenant with Noah, promising that He would never again destroy the world with a flood. He made a covenant with Abraham, promising that he would have descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky, that God would give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants, and that (by virtue of the Messiah) “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).
God made a covenant with Moses and the Israelites, promising blessing in exchange for obedience to His laws, and punishment in exchange for disobedience. He made a covenant with David, promising that one of his descendants would rule over the nation Israel forever.
But the greatest covenant of all is the New Covenant; the covenant that promises forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It is the covenant in which God says, “I sent My Son to die on the cross to pay for your sins. And if you will but place your faith in Him, then I will forgive you, take away your sin, and give you eternal life.”
What has this got to do with Philippians 4? Everything. Paul had entered into this covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. The believers at Philippi had entered into this covenant relationship with Jesus. That common ground served as the foundation of the covenant relationship Paul had with the Philippian church. In fact, it can be said that by virtue of our relationship to Christ, all Christians throughout the entire world are in covenant relationship with one another. According to Ephesians 4:4, the universal company of Christians make up one body; the Church. We are all one with Christ and we are all one in Christ.
So as we come to Philippians 4, Paul expresses his heartfelt desire for these people with whom he was in covenant relationship. And part of his sentiment is the result of how they had expressed their love and concern for him and for the spreading of the gospel. He speaks of a time when theirs was the only church that gave him financial support for his ministry. They did something that John said is characteristic of being in a covenant relationship. They did the right thing, out of their hearts, expecting nothing in return.
Herein is one difference between a contract and a covenant. In a contract, you do something with the expectation of something in return. And don’t get us wrong here. Contracts in and of themselves are not bad. I have an employment contract with the Home Depot. I go into work every night and do the job they assign me to do—with the expectation that they will give me a paycheck. And I need that paycheck so I can pay my bills. Believe me, if I didn’t get that paycheck, I wouldn’t be in there every night stocking shelves.
Within a covenant, the overarching principal is that you do the right thing, expecting nothing in return. And that is what the Christians in Philippi did for Paul. They supported his ministry, expecting nothing back from him.
The interesting thing is that, while they did not expect anything in return, either from Paul or from God, they did get something back. First of all, they received a letter from Paul, expressing his thanks and friendship, as well as his heartfelt prayers for them. Since our sermon was on chapter 4, we can specify that his prayer for them included a desire that they be united, happy and loving, and blessed by God. In addition, they received a promise from God, through Paul’s letter, that God would meet all of their needs “according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (v. 19).


QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION

1. In the covenant God made with Moses and the Israelites, He promised to bless their obedience and to punish their disobedience. In Philippians 4:19, a group of Christians received the promise that God would meet all their needs, apparently in response to their support for Paul. If we’re not careful, these kinds of things can lead us to doing things for God with the expectation that He will bless us in return. How can we guard ourselves against this kind of mindset?


2. Paul had a deep, heartfelt love for the Philippian Christians, and they had the same kind of love for him. As stated above, this stemmed from the relationship each had with Jesus Christ. At Imago Dei, how well do we express our love for each other? How can we do a better job of developing and expressing love within the church? How does this tie into the relationship each of us has with the Lord?


3. PJ 2.0’s sermon did not address any specific verses within Philippians 4. Instead, it was a good explanation of why Paul says what he does in this chapter. Still, we would do well to spend some time interacting with the passage. So in your e-group, read through the chapter, and see if you can pick out some of the more significant verses in the chapter, even if they are typical “go-to” verses. Share about what these verses mean to you. And discuss their significance in relation to the covenantal relationship Paul had with this church, as well as the relationships we have in our church today.