Paul's Love Letter from Prison
A Study of Philippians - 13
We come now to Philippians chapter 4 and verses 19 to 23. Paul says:
"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings; especially those who belong to Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen".
I suppose the best known and best loved statement in this chapter is the one in verse 19 that we finished with last time: "And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." We must observe that this follows immediately after Paul's commendation of the Philippians for their kind and thoughtful stewardship towards him and his fellow evangelists.
Every Christian believer knows by experience that God always makes provision for His people. One of the great titles given to God in the Old Testament of the Bible is "JEHOVAH JIREH", which means "The Lord will provide." You will remember that David in Psalm 23 says, "The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in want." Let's look carefully at this great promise here in Philippians chapter 4, and break it down in this way:
First, "My God..." The Lord was very real to Paul. He was told by Ananias a disciple of the Lord, at the time of his conversion: "The God of our fathers has chosen you, that you should know His will." Much later on, in Acts 26 verse 22, as he stood on trial before King Agrippa, Paul could say, "I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to both small and great alike." Paul knew God in a personal relationship as HIS God, and he experienced the Lord's preserving grace and keeping power all through his life. Do you know God in this way? Are you enjoying and resting in His care and experiencing His daily help?
Then the verse goes on: "Will meet all your needs." Note that it does NOT say "All your WANTS"! Everything that you or I might want would not necessarily be good for us. Someone has said that in ourselves we are but empty vessels, but this gives the Lord room to work in us his miracles of bountiful grace. Are you trusting the Lord daily for your every need, spiritually and materially?
Third, our verse says that God will supply our needs "According to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." This phrase shows us the means by which God will meet our needs. We are to recognise that as rich as God is, so rich is He in His giving to us. Note, too, that they are described as His "glorious" riches, and that they are found alone in Christ Jesus in Whom all the fullness of God dwells. The hymn-writer put it like this: "Thou O Christ art all I want, more than all in Thee I find." God has blessed us as believers with every spiritual blessing in Christ our Saviour and Lord, and through Him He will meet us with all the resources of heaven as we trust Him.
If you are in need today, of whatever kind, grasp the promise of this verse that "My God WILL meet ALL your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
In verse 20 Paul seems to sum up all he has been saying in a lovely expression of praise to God: "To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." How wonderful it is to know, dear fellow believer, that the Almighty god, in all His power, riches and glory, is the One Who evidences and assures us daily of His fatherly care in our lives.
We come now to the final verses of "Paul's love letter from prison." In verses 21 to 23 Paul is thinking of every individual believer in the church at Philippi. Every one of them had a place in Paul's large heart of love. This included the well-known as well as the least known humble believer, for they were all precious, not only to Paul, but to the Lord Himself. Notice that he describes them as "Saints in Christ Jesus", just as he did at the beginning of this letter.
You will recall that we discovered there that every Christian believer is made a saint at conversion. A saint is simply one who has been set apart for God by faith in Christ and by the work of the Holy Spirit. It is because of our relationship with the Lord Jesus that we are called "saints". We are saints "in Christ Jesus", it has nothing to do with our own merits, resolutions, endeavours or achievements.
The New Testament makes it clear that a true saint is one who has been cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore one in whom the Spirit of God dwells. He is one who is living in the experience and enjoyment of Christ's life and who is daily following His example.
Paul now shares with his Philippian friends something that is very special. He says in verse 22: "All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household." This is, of course, a greeting from all the believers in Rome, but in particular it is a special greeting from those who were members of the household of the Caesar Nero. Some would be slaves, others would be soldiers, including those guarding Paul, and still others perhaps officials in the service of the Roman court. We can't know who they were, but one thing is certain - they had all been reached by the gospel and had received it, and had been gloriously changed by it. No doubt many of them would have heard the message from Paul himself.
It has been well said that the gospel knows no boundaries for it can find its way into the humblest of dwellings as well as into emperor's palaces. The good news of salvation through Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation for all who will receive it. Friend, have you received this message? Do you know that your sins have been forgiven because you have come to God in true repentance and put your faith in Christ as your Saviour and Lord? You can do this right now as you listen to "Discovery", and then write to us and tell us. Then we will be able to say to you as Paul says in the concluding verse of this letter: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with your spirit. Amen!"