Although we completed the
third chapter of Paul's letter to the Philippians with the idea of
Jesus changing our “vile body” to be fashioned as his body
some day, in chapter four and verse one of Philippians Paul completes
his thought concerning how we should respond to such a wonderful
promise. He wrote:
Therefore, my brethren
dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown,
so stand fast in the
Lord, my dearly beloved.
The
verse begins, “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and
longed for, my joy and crown,...” When
we see the word “therefore”
in the Bible, we should always discover why the “therefore”
is there for. “Therefore”
is a conclusion word which means because of what was just said the
following conclusion should be drawn. Paul names the Philippians “my
brethren dearly beloved and longed for”
as a affectionate phrase which notes Paul's closeness to them as
brothers, his beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, people worthy
of love, and his deeply desired church members. He calls them his
“joy and crown” which means “gladness and the eternal
blessedness which will be given as a prize to the genuine servants of
God and Christ: the crown (wreath) which is the reward of the
righteousness”. Paul's relationship was so close to the Philippians
that they were as family, and since he was the one who brought them
the gospel in the first place, they were also to be the agents by
which Paul would receive a crown of righteousness some day.
The verse continues, “
so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”
After his affectionate terms for
the Philippians, Paul gives them his conclusion-like charge - “stand
fast” which means “to
stand firm, to persevere, to persist, to keep one's standing” “in
the Lord”. Because the promise is from the Lord that He will
not only change their bodies and bring them to heaven with Him, there
is no greater place upon which the Philippians could stand than “in
the Lord”, and as though one phrase of affection was not
enough, Paul calls the Philippians “my dearly beloved” one
more time. Paul not only cared for the church members in Philippi
deeply, but he desired that they put their full standing upon Jesus
Christ because of His promises.
Where do we “stand
fast”? Is it upon the Lord Jesus who is the strongest of
foundations and gives hope of eternal life? Do we waver in our trust,
faith and belief in Him? Oh “my brethren, dearly beloved and
longed for” who read this blog regularly, there is no one
greater in whom we may “stand fast”. It is Jesus who is
the sure foundation, and it is Jesus who provides for us great and
precious promises of not only the changing of our “vile body”
but also giving us the ability to live with Him in Heaven forever.
“Therefore” let all who read these words “stand fast
in the Lord, my dearly beloved”, and may the Lord teach us how
to love others in the same deep manner that Paul loved the Philippian
church members “my dearly beloved”.
Next
time we will see how Paul deals with two church members who are
disputing, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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