IN THE SCHOOL OF CONTENTMENT – Philippians 4:11-13
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 18, 2018 under 2018 |
Preached Sunday, March 18, 2018 from Philippians 4:11-13
Theme: True contentment in all circumstances comes through a learned dependency upon Christ.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
For as small as it is, there is an amazing amount of profound theology and good practical Christian instruction in Philippians. But did you know that the primary reason Paul wrote it was as a ‘thank-you’ note? He was in prison at the time—most likely in Rome—suffering for his faithful preaching of the gospel. His dear brothers and sisters in Christ in the city of Philippi had heard of his difficult situation; and they had collected an offering to help meet his needs. They sent it to him by the hand of a faithful Christian named Epaphroditus; and Paul wrote this ‘thank you’ letter for Epaphroditus to take back with him when he returned home.
I want to draw your particular attention to Philippians 4:10-14. That’s where the real ‘thank you’ portion of the letter is found. Paul wrote;
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity (Philippians 4:10).
Paul was a gracious man. He knew how to respect people by returning thanks to them for the good things they did for him. In fact, if you were to read on in this letter, you’d discover that—to some degree—these good Philippian Christians may have even given more than they were able to afford to give. They put themselves in need to help Paul; and he prayed later that God would supply all their needs according to His riches in Christ. Obviously, such a sacrificial gift deserved great thanks.
But then, he goes on to say something remarkable after acknowledging this gift;
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (11-13).
He didn’t mean that the gift wasn’t important. He goes on to add in verse 14, “Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress.” He didn’t want them to, in any way, interpret what he said to mean that he wasn’t deeply grateful for their act of love, or that the gift wasn’t beneficial or helpful to his situation. He went on to tell them later that the thing he was most grateful for about this gift was the eternal reward that they would receive for their kindness and support of the cause of the gospel. But he wanted them to know that, so far as it concerned him, his sense of happiness or contentment—even while in the difficult circumstance of imprisonment in a dark Roman jail—wasn’t dependent upon this gift. It wasn’t, in fact, dependent upon any external circumstance or material supply at all.
Rather, Paul’s contentment was based on a Person—Jesus Christ; through whom he was able to be content in all circumstances of life. He was in a jail cell; but he was content because he wasn’t in that cell all alone. He had complete contentment and inner satisfaction through a deep fellowship with Jesus Christ; and he wanted them to know this so that they too could share in the secret to contentment that he himself had learned.
* * * * * * * * * *
I hope I may take a moment to explain to you why I have been drawn to this passage this morning. There are a couple of reasons.
First, I—like you—try carefully to pay attention to the world around me. And I am burdened by the prevailing attitude of ‘discontent’ we see all around us. I believe that we live in the freest and most prosperous land in the world. And yet, I don’t think I’ve seen a time when people were more angry and discontent than they are today.
Now, it’s certainly true that we live in a fallen and imperfect world. And obviously, wherever there is true injustice, there must be something done to correct it. But it seems to me that there is something deeper in all that we see today than just a desire for the correcting of injustice. I believe we see a deep-seated discontent in the heart that would not be resolved merely by changing the circumstances. And I certainly hope I am not overgeneralizing; but it seems to me that the greatest amount of active unrest and discontent in our culture comes from those who have vocally expressed a rejection of a traditional faith in Jesus Christ, or who have made it clear that they do not believe in the God of the Bible.
‘Contentment’, then, is something that is greatly needed in our world today. As Paul told these Philippians, true contentment in all circumstances comes in an individual and personal way—through a learned dependency upon the Person of Jesus Christ. As followers of Jesus in this fallen world, we need to reflect the kind of attitude of contentment in Christ that inspires the unbelieving people of this world to desire a relationship with Him too.
But that leads me to another reason I have been dawn to his passage; and it’s something that I need to state very carefully.
As a pastor, one of the great frustrations I feel is that of seeing so many of my professing brothers and sisters struggle with the problems and troubles of life—and the whole while long, not see them take hold of the unlimited resources for life that are made available to them through Jesus Himself. Now; I stress that I need to say that very carefully, because we all are learning. The troubles and trials of life can be overwhelming at times; and it’s hard to be what we know God wants us to be. We all have to grow into a whole-hearted trust in Christ and into a dependency upon Him; and we all need to be patient with each other.
But the Bible makes it clear that the Lord Jesus is our Helper in all the troubles of life. And yet, I fear that too many of us who profess a knowledge of Jesus look for that help in other things than Him. And as a result, many of us suffer with a prevailing attitude of discontent.
Now; Paul had hard circumstances too. In fact, he suffered in some unimaginably horrible ways and through some terrible circumstances of trial and need. And yet, I believe him when he says that he had learned the secret of contentment in all circumstances of life. He pointed to Jesus as the answer; that through Jesus he was able to do ‘all things’—that through Christ who strengthened him, he was able to endure contentedly in the midst of all his outward trials.
I believe that Paul shares that secret with us in this morning’s passage. He shows us clearly that true contentment in all circumstances comes through that learned dependency upon Christ that Paul himself had embraced.
His amazing life was proof that it truly is so.
* * * * * * * * * *
So; let’s look closer at this passage and learn about the secret that Paul is sharing with us. And I suggest we begin by considering this word “contentment” itself.
The word that Paul uses in the original language is a compound word. That means that it’s a word that was formed by putting two other Greek words together. The first half of this word is from the word that means ‘self’; and the second half is from the word that means ‘sufficient’ or ‘enough’. So; in the original language in which Paul wrote, to be ‘content’ meant to be ‘self-sufficient’ or ‘sufficient in one’s self’.
But I don’t believe Paul would want him to understand us as saying that he was ‘self-sufficient’ in the sense that he didn’t need anyone’s help—that he could do it all. That would be contrary to everything else he says. Rather, I believe what he means is that he feels sufficient and satisfied in his lot in life—that he doesn’t feel that there is any external thing that he needed in order to feel sufficient or to feel that he had enough. He had a sufficiency that was above and beyond anything that this world could give him—and he had it to the fullest and was satisfied within. There were troubles and trials in his life, it’s true. There were circumstances that were very hard and painful at times, and there were occasions in which Paul had great physical and emotional needs. Gratefully, God had led the Philippian believers to help meet some of those needs. But ultimately, what they sent wasn’t necessary in order for him to be satisfied deep within himself. He was satisfied at the deepest inner level—even in his times of outward need—because he had inner contentment in Jesus Christ.
What a difference it would make in this world if people could experience that of deep contentment within. What a peaceful world this would be if everyone could be ‘self-sufficient’ in that sense. What a wonderful thing it is that Jesus promised to those who love Him when He told His disciples,
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
That’s a kind of contentment that isn’t at all dependent upon the outward, external circumstances of life. It’s a kind of contentment that the circumstances of life cannot add to or diminish or take away.
So; how was it that Paul was able to be so victoriously content within through Jesus? Let’s look closer in this passage and see.
* * * * * * * * * *
The first thing we discover from verse 11—something that I would say is absolutely vital to remember—is that …
1. IT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE LEARNED BY EXPERIENCE.
Look at what Paul says. He tells his readers, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content …” The word that Paul uses here is one that refers to learning or to being taught primarily by experience. Now; that’s not what most of us who are followers of Jesus would like to hear. We may prefer to think that there’s a mystical, spiritual ‘event’ that happens in our lives that zaps us and makes us instantly ‘content’. But not even the great apostle Paul had that happen to him. He shows us instead that—to paraphrase the old slogan from the financial institution: “We obtain contentment the old-fashioned way—we learn it”.
When I think of this, I remember a student I used to work with in seminary. I hope I don’t disillusion you by telling you that not all seminary students are as ‘saintly’ as they should be. Some of them can be real complainers! Some of them, in fact, are perpetually complaining about the work they have to do: the books they have to read, the papers they have to write, the ministry assignments they have to fulfill. And sadly, a lot of those complainers don’t get much out of the seminary experience.
But this one particular student that I’m thinking of really stood out from the rest. He was very much a believer in the sovereignty of God. He was convinced that he had been placed by God into seminary in order to learn how to serve Him; and was confident that every professor he had, and every assignment he was given, and every ministry challenge he faced, was under God’s sovereign supervision—that it was all given to him by God for his learning. He thanked God for all that he was asked to do; and he did it all with great zeal. And I have to tell you; I never—either before or since—encountered a student that had gotten as much out of his seminary experience as he did. He was truly refreshing to be around.
And I believe that’s how you and I need to be responding to all of life. The Bible tells us in Romans 8:28 that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”—that ‘purpose’ being our conformity to the image of Christ. And that would mean that, as believers, every circumstance that comes our way—every trial and challenge—is under the sovereign permission of our loving heavenly Father; and all designed to teach us and train us to grow in a dependent relationship with Jesus Christ.
So; we just ought to see ourselves as ‘in school’ all the time—The Graduate School of Contentment in Christ! Life isn’t purposeless; and the things that happen to us are not meaningless. They are all allowed by God in order to help us ‘learn by experience’ the sufficiency of Jesus Christ for everything that we need to be content in all circumstances. And we ought to always remember that we’re in that school all the time and in every circumstance or test of life.
We just need to decide now that we will be good, full-time students—and faithfully learn!
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; I certainly see this ‘student-like’ attitude in the example of Paul. Look, for example, at what he says in the first chapter of this letter. He was sitting in a prison cell—not knowing what would happen to him. And yet, he tells his readers;
But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: the former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice (1:12-18).
Do you see what he was doing? He was taking good, realistic inventory of his circumstances, was setting Jesus’ priorities in the forefront, was examining what the sovereign God was accomplishing through those circumstances in the light of Jesus’ priorities, and was ‘becoming’ what Jesus wanted him to be in them. And thus, he was content—“in this I rejoice, yes; and will rejoice”.
This illustrates to us another principle we learn from Paul about contentment in Christ …
2. IT INVOLVES KNOWING HOW TO ‘BE’ IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.
Look at what he says in verse 12; “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Paul’s words cover just about every time of circumstance; don’t you think? And yet, in all of them, he had learned how to ‘be’ in them. He hadn’t learned how to ‘avoid’ them, or how to ‘control’ them, or how to ‘change’ them. But instead, he learned how to ‘be’ in all of them.
The word that he uses in this verse is a very interesting one. When he says, “I have learned …” (or as it is in some translations, “I have learned the secret …”), he is using a word that was typically used by practitioners of mystery religions. They were ‘initiated’ into these secret societies and groups; and now knew their ‘secrets’. Paul may have been using this word in order to show that, through Jesus Christ, he had something greater than any of those mystery religions or societies could offer. And there’s more. The word itself is put in the passive voice; which means that it was something done to him—not something that he did himself. And there’s more still. It’s a word that’s put into the perfect tense; which means that it was a completed act. We could translate it this way; “I have been completely and perfectly taught in the fine art of how to be both full and hungry; how to be both in abundance and how to be in need.” He had no power to change his circumstances; but through Christ, he found contentment in having been taught how to be what he is supposed to be in them.
Now; I don’t believe Paul would say that he had completely ‘arrived’ yet. If you were to go back to Chapter 3, you would read these words:
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (3:12-14).
He hadn’t become ‘perfect’ yet; and we can be glad, because that makes him a more effective example to us! But he could nevertheless say that he had been completely taught in how to ‘be’ in each of the circumstances of life.
Have you thought of that before? Sometimes, when times of trial come upon us, our first response is to figure out how to avoid them or how to get out of them. But have you ever thought that what our sovereign heavenly Father really wants you and I to do is to allow Him to teach us in them?—to allow Him to show us how to ‘be’ completely dependent upon the sufficiency of Jesus in them? Like Pastor James wrote in James 1:2-4;
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2-4).
“Perfect and complete, lacking nothing”—doesn’t that just sound like another way of saying ‘contentment’? It comes from allowing ourselves to be taught by God, in every circumstance, how we are to ‘be’ through Christ.
* * * * * * * * * *
So; in the School of Contentment in Christ, verse 11 tells us the method of our education—and that is to gain contentment by ‘learning’ it experientially. And in verse 12, we find the application of our education—and that is having been taught how to ‘be’ in every kind of circumstance. And this leads us to one more part of the procedure; and that is its practice.
In verse 13, we see that …
3. IT IS PRACTICED THROUGH CONTINUAL DEPENDENCY UPON CHRIST.
Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” He doesn’t simply say, “I can do all things”; as if it were all in his power. But rather, he says, that he can do all things—that he has learned by experience, and now is taught in how he is to ‘be’ in every circumstance—through a constant, continual life of dependency upon the Person of Jesus Christ through a personal relationship of love and obedience and faith.
I think here of what Paul told these Philippian believers just a few verses before our passage—back in 4:4-9. Just listen to these words, and consider how the kind of constant dependency upon Jesus that Paul models for us will result in contentment:
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you (4:4-9).
* * * * * * * * * *
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; you and I are in school right now. It’s the Graduate School of Contentment in Christ. Every trial—every challenge—every need—every struggle—are all in the hand of our faithful and sovereign Father; and are all meant to teach us how to be overwhelmingly content in Christ.
We gain this contentment by learning it through experience—allowing ourselves, with God’s gracious help, to be taught what He wants us to be and how we are to conduct ourselves in each and every kind of circumstance of life—and all through a constant and continual dependency upon the Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we are enabled to do all things.
And may I close with one more thing? We can rejoice in Philippians 1:6. Paul gave great assurance to his Philippian brothers and sisters—and us also—when he said;
… being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
EA
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